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happy74827 · 7 months

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Chaos Theory

[Mike Schmidt x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: When Mike's crazy schedule finally aligns with one of the so-called "parental meetings" at Abby's school, he decides to see what it's all about. Little did he know he'd come to seriously regret that.

WC: 2,590

Category: Slight Fluff

I failed an exam today, so I wrote this to cheer myself up. I still feel pretty crappy, but this was really fun to write lol.

Also if you see any grammar mistakes, no you didn’t.

『••✎••』

When it came to Abby’s school, Mike was at a disadvantage. He couldn’t go to any of the parental meetings, not because he didn’t want to, but because he was constantly doing something work-related during the time those meetings were scheduled.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t keeping an eye on her grades and school attendance. It just meant he couldn't be there for the day-to-day things. Abby was a good kid, though; she never gave him trouble about the things he missed, and she did a pretty good job of keeping her grades up and attending all her classes.

Her teacher, you, was also very understanding of his schedule and position. He wasn’t sure how many teachers would have been as patient with him as you were. It was part of the reason he had grown fond of you, though it had been a gradual process that happened mostly unbeknownst to him.

At the beginning of the year, he had only been concerned about getting Abby acclimated to her new school. She was a quiet kid, stuck to her drawings, and it was even hard for him to get her to open up sometimes. Runs in the family, apparently. But, somehow, you were able to break down the wall that had been erected around her. Abby still didn't talk all that much, but she would always come back from school with a smile on her face. So, Mike was happy.

Then, like all good things, it came crashing down like a house of cards when his work schedule finally aligned with one of the “upcoming” meetings. This one was apparently a very big deal, and it was strongly implied to show up.

He hated these things despite never going to any before, but he just knew it would be filled with nosey people asking questions about his life. His sister. His “wife.”

God, he was already annoyed. The only saving grace was that it was the last meeting before the holiday break, so once it was over, he would be free for a while. Free to do what, exactly? Work, most likely, but a guy can dream.

The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day and the start of his personal nightmare. The door to the classroom was opened by one of the school's assistants, who held a clipboard in hand and waited for the “parents” to enter the room. He had arrived earlier than the scheduled time so he could speak to the assistant and find out what the meeting would entail, and already he knew it was a bad idea coming in here.

The woman was a nosy old biddy that was all too eager to learn the details of his and Abby's life.

He kept his answers short and clipped, but it did nothing to dissuade the woman. It got worse when he entered the classroom and saw the number of other parents who had shown up. He felt like an animal in a zoo; all the eyes followed his movements as he went to sit closest to the wall and away from the rest of the people.

The surrounding parents looked as though they lived in the next town over. They were clean-cut, hair styled perfectly, and clothes ironed. It was like they were trying to be a picture-perfect family.

He looked down at his own attire. His work boots were scuffed and dusty. His pants had a few grass stains from a recent job. His flannel shirt was buttoned wrong, and the sleeves were pushed up. Even his hair was a mess; he had tried to style it but didn't have much success, so he eventually gave up. The only thing going for him was that he had taken a shower before he left, so at least he didn't smell like sweat and grime.

As the meeting began, Mike had to try his best not to fall asleep. It was the typical teacher stuff. How the kids were doing. What the curriculum was for the following year. What their goals were. Blah, blah, blah.

Mike didn't care. He trusted you, and he knew his little sister was smart. She didn't need someone holding her hand and telling her what she was doing right or wrong. He knew this because he did that, and she didn't need it.

What did interest him, though, was the fact you kept looking his way. You didn't look at the others, and when you spoke, it was usually aimed toward them, but he saw the way you would look at him from the corner of your eye. He figured you were probably in shock that he actually showed up this time.

The meeting dragged on, and he was ready to leave. There were a few moments he had caught himself nodding off as he needed sleep, and this wasn't helping him. But then, like everything else in his life, the universe decided it was his time to suffer.

There was one woman who had sat at the front of the classroom. She wore her hair pulled back tight in a bun, her shirt was pressed, and her face was set in a permanent frown. He hated that lady; she reminded him of his good-for-nothing aunt who only wanted to criticize every choice he made.

The lady was also the mother of the most spoiled, brattiest child in the whole class. That damned kid had made it her life mission to torment Abby. He had come home more than once with her complaining about it, and when Mike had brought it up with you, you had told him that you had spoken with the parent.

That, of course, had done nothing. The child was an annoying pest, and he hated the way she treated Abby, but his sister had learned early on to deal with the bullying on her own. It didn't stop him from wanting to throttle the little shit, though.

The woman, the one who had started all his problems, took the opportunity to start a round of questioning. The first few were innocuous until they weren't.

"You seem to be a very patient woman." The woman had spoken to you, but her eyes were locked on him. "Is it a skill that was learned?"

The question itself was innocent enough, but the inflection and tone she used were meant to cut. He wasn't stupid. He knew she was alluding to something. It was always something, but he had to force himself not to say anything; the woman was a viper, and if he said something, she would attack without hesitation.

"I think anyone can be patient," You had responded diplomatically. "It's just a matter of the situation."

The woman didn't look happy with your answer, but she didn't pursue the line of questioning.

"Well, I couldn’t help but notice a certain someone who decided to finally drop in."

There it was. That was the opening.

Mike could tell you didn’t like the turn of conversation, and you were clearly trying to divert it elsewhere. It was no use, though. Mike could see the glint in the woman's eye as she prepared for the kill. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were cold. "I was starting to think that Mr. Schmidt had abandoned his responsibilities. Wouldn’t be the first time someone in that family did such a thing."

He couldn’t help but have visions of his accidental mall incident from last year flash in his mind when he processed what the woman had said. He could easily hop over the desk and deck her right in the mouth. He had the muscle for it, and it was very tempting.

However, he would not.

If there was anything Mike had learned over the years, it was how to control his emotions, even if the situation was dire. The last time he had lost his cool, he ended up getting fired, but that was a long time ago… okay, not really, but the point was, he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

He wouldn't give the woman the satisfaction.

Mike leaned forward in his chair, arms crossed over his knees, and looked the woman straight in the eyes. "That's funny. I could say the same thing about your kid."

"Excuse me?!" She hissed, and she seemed offended. Good. He hoped she was offended.

"Okay, okay." You intervened, hands up as if to placate the two of them. "Let's keep this civil, okay? The last thing we want is to be kicked out of the school for brawling. That's not beneficial for any of us." You then looked back at the woman. "Let's not bring personal matters into this."

"Personal matters?" The woman was appalled at your statement, and her voice was so loud in the quiet room. He could tell many of the other parents were looking at them now, and he felt the weight of their gazes on him. It only made his anger spike. "That monkey of his tried to bully mine for three months now, and she's never done anything."

Monkey? Monkey?! Oh, he was going to kill her. It was one thing to talk shit about him; he was used to that, but Abby? No. Absolutely not. His little sister was the best damn thing to come into his life. He wouldn't have it.

But before he could say something, before he could even get out of the chair, you had done something he would never have thought you would. You got up and went to your desk, then you returned, holding a paper. You held it up for all the parents to see.

"This is a drawing my students did a few weeks ago," you started, and he was surprised at the level of calmness you were exuding. "The assignment was for them to draw the thing they loved the most."

Hearing those words, Mike had a feeling what was coming next, but he wasn't going to say anything. It would be like tempting fate. Still, he watched as you grabbed one of the papers, and then you turned it around so he could see it. Abby had done the drawing, and it was not only of him but of everyone else in her class as well. She had even drawn you standing near her with a kind smile. It was the picture she had brought home from that field trip months ago. It was a nice picture. Really nice. He liked it, and he knew Abby was proud of it.

"I made copies of every drawing so the parents could see them," You continued as you held out the picture for everyone to see. "So, tell me, would a bully do this?"

Your voice had a bite to it now, and he could finally see just how angry you were. He was surprised at how much control you were exerting. The other parents, however, were shocked at your sudden display of emotion. Even the woman, who had looked as though she was ready to take you on herself, looked like a deer caught in headlights. She didn't know what to say. No one said anything. Even he was shocked by your sudden outburst.

You were normally such a mellow person. Understanding, even. Always ready to listen, always ready to understand. You were the one who was there to help when something went wrong. You were the person who everyone turned to. You were… nice. You were a kind person. You were—you were just like Abby. That's all he saw in you now. You were just like his sister. You were just like her. You had that same determination and that same look of knowing something that others didn't, but there was also something else. You were a fighter, too. It was just something he hadn't noticed until this very moment.

You weren't the nice teacher everyone thought you were. No, you were more. You were the person he knew his sister was becoming.

"And to answer your question from before," you continued, ignoring the growing outrage from the other parent. "I'm a very patient woman because I understand that not everyone has the same opportunities. Some of us have a responsibility to provide the basic necessities for our family, which can often lead to not being able to attend these types of meetings.”

You looked directly at the woman when you spoke the last part, and you did not look happy. At all. In fact, he was pretty sure that was a little vein on the side of your head.

"Not everyone can be at their best every moment. Not everyone is at their best all the time. Not everyone has the privilege to complain about things not going their way. So, while I am a very patient woman, I will not have any of this derogatory about my students and their guardians." The calmness in your voice was gone, and your voice was rising, and you had started pacing back and forth behind your desk as you spoke. "Because if there is one thing that I cannot stand, it's someone who criticizes others just to make themselves feel better."

You went on to speak about your experience with the woman's daughter, explaining that a meeting needed to be called upon to address the issues with the child. You didn't stop there, though. No, you also spoke about how she should have addressed the situation when it was first brought up and how that, in turn, impacted the rest of your class. You had even pointed out some of the other parent's children who had done the same thing.

Suddenly, this meeting wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

It took a while, but once you finished your little speech, everyone had finally gotten over their shock and embarrassment. The meeting, as such, continued without incident, and by the time it was all said and done, Mike was ready to go home.

As he stood from his seat and made his way to the door, however, you stopped him. You had your bag in your hand and your coat on as well.

"I just wanted to—"

"You don't need to apologize," Mike cut you off. He didn't want an apology. He knew you weren't at fault here. In fact, he was surprised you took the time even to defend him. That didn't happen often. "I was expecting something like that to happen, but I appreciate you speaking up for Abby. She's got a good teacher."

He thought you would be embarrassed or even annoyed, but instead, your face lit up, and your cheeks turned red. "Oh, uh, well, it's my job. It was what I needed to do."

"Maybe, but you did it anyway. So, I appreciate it." He looked around the room and noticed everyone else had left. Even the nosy assistant had disappeared. He didn't know what to say, so he settled with saying the first thing that came to mind. "And hey, maybe next time you can tell them this is why I don't go to these meetings."

Your laugh was light, and you had a smile on your face. He liked the sound of it. He liked seeing it, too. He also liked the way it lit up your eyes. They had a beautiful color. So bright, so shiny. It was almost hypnotic.

"I'll consider it."

Mike wasn't sure how, but somehow, he knew you were telling the truth.

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sepublic · 1 year

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Post-Hoot with Dana Terrace!

Dana’s put over 200 hours into games she’s missed since the finale; Octopath Traveler, Little Nightmares, etc. Sarah Nicole-Robles cried harder than she ever did when she said I learned a language I’ll never forget, a whole chapter of my life is over, during the King-ceanera. She said the line once and was suddenly sobbing because of how meta it was.

Rebecca has a ‘sona during the bit with Barcus in the epilogue sequence. Cissy also cried when watching with her family, her kids asked her about it; Sarah was really excited as she watched the finale.

No sequel happening, but we can always hope; Dana would like to do more, but Disney owns the IP and needs to give them permission. Dana knew the prequel line in the finale was ham-fisted as hell but still went with it because she was pissed (she said Fuck to express her rage). Rebecca went back to the Anger phase of grief after watching the finale after realizing what they missed, but Sarah was also in Acceptance because it was hard to regret something that ended so well.

Dana doesn’t cry that much, but TJ’s remix in the soundtrack made her cry. Dana brought back everyone for BBBYYYEEEEEEE, noting this was every character’s last line, and wished Hooty had more lines. Alex improvised a cut line after the Bye with Hooty expressing appreciation for the finale and readiness for his spin-off.

Dana won’t say much in hopes she’ll get to do more for TOH in the future; A Youtube reviewer (shoutout to all, Zachary Ax, Man of a Thousand Thoughts, Rebecca herself), the Third Bill got it right on Hooty, and Dana won’t be more specific about that.

They found out about the shortening during S2; They had an ending in mind that Dana had in mind since development, but it needed too much setup and so they couldn’t pull it off. All of Season 2A was written before knowing the cancellation; Follies at the Coven Day Parade was the first episode fully written knowing the show was shortened, hence the tonal change. The Galdorstones was an arc Dana planned more on, as well as the Coven Heads; Bat Queen; It was a hard situation choosing what to leave out.

There weren’t whole episodes written that had to be trashed; Just one-sentence ideas on a whiteboard never fully outlined or scripted. But Dana is still happy with what came out, because it was pretty damn cool.

Rebecca Rose once saw someone with a King sweatshirt like hers at Disneyland and said hi, but they just side-eyed her and didn’t respond; Despite this, Rebecca hopes they had a happy day and believes they were just having a bad time. Sarah joked about not being so forgiving.

String Bean’s inspiration: Owlbert is in the title of the show, String Bean indeed was there the whole time! The S wasn’t completely intentional at first, but Dana flipped the logo around and figured it out. When making the first episode, the logo wasn’t finalized. They always liked the idea of Luz being connected to snakes, it’s what she brought to school and they liked her reclaiming something she terrorized her classmates with. The Snake-Shifter idea specifically; Zach Marcus just said “Snake-Shifter” as they brainstormed ideas and Dana, being a sucker for lame puns, was sold.

That was indeed Dana being represented as a student in the epilogue! She was Beastkeeping and Oracle; Dana can see the future of the show, and really likes animals. Raine’s palisman was indeed hidden within the violin’s design; Hunter and Dell worked to fix the palismen after Raine broke it trying to stop Belos. The violin is more akin to the staff, anyhow. Dana considered responding to a question about general Caleb, Evelyn, and Flapjack lore, but Sarah insisted she stay silent in case they get to answer it as an actual story later.

Dana liked to think while writing Thanks to Them; No, Evelyn’s spirit isn’t in Flapjack. But to Philip, he saw Flapjack as the culmination of the corruption in his brother Caleb; He saw Flapjack, if it weren’t for YOU. You can see a hint of it in Masha’s story, Evelyn entices Caleb with Flapjack, who was Caleb’s introduction to magic. Evelyn was probably disguised as a human, and trusted Caleb for seeming reasonable and less violent. Perhaps like Dog owners passing each other by and suddenly becoming friends over this.

Evelyn and Caleb’s relationship was sweet, from platonic curiosity to romantic. Eda doesn’t know she’s descended from them, nor does Hunter; And Dana has more to say, but will keep it hidden. Luz will stay the majority of her stay in the isles as she goes to college. Camila bought the shack leading to the human world, which allowed Luz to visit during holidays, weekends, etc.

They never got to explore it, but it could’ve originally been the home of Philip and Caleb, long abandoned; Eda emerges after discovering the portal. In the next thirty years, she fixes up the shack as she builds the Owl House. Dana also advised fans to google Death of the Author, since she’s technically no longer working on the show, and thus gives permission for fans to write their own answers.

Eda became the Owl Lady before Owlbert, due to the curse; They planned to do an episode where Eda learned palismen carving with Dell, and how Eda reclaimed the Owl identity to carve Owlbert. Dana stills has the outline of that episode in her head…

According to Rebecca, Caleb and Philip’s graves were in the basement of the shack, based on this church in New Haven Dana passed by every day on her way to school (Gravesfield is based on some places in Connecticut). However, Dana realized the graves didn’t fit into the story. They also had an ‘original’ Belos design for him taking over animals. Marina Gardner did some amazing Belos designs, and Thanks to Them alluded to it.

The Portal’s eye comes from the Titan’s missing eye!!! Hunter is bisexual, Willow is pansexual, this is how Dana always wrote and imagined them in her mind, but it’s not explicitly stated so technically it’s more headcanon. Dana noted how some people just picked it up. Dana likes to think Amity and Lilith rekindled their student-mentor relationship. Having worked in the library, Amity was interested in Lilith’s knowledge of history. Dana suggested to Zarya(?) from the design team to add notes to Lilith’s museum blueprints. A helicopter passed over and they joked it was Disney trying to stop spoilers.

Cissy only got her lines and didn’t know any other details about the finale, to Dana’s surprise; Dana explained that people not getting a full script is due to the pandemic. Before quarantine, actors would get the full script. They have to rely on Eden Riegel and Dana for context a lot. Bosook Coburn spoiled Luz’s death to Rebecca Rose during the celebration party. They came up with a lot of designs for dying Luz, trying to figure out how they can hollow out her head how much. Dana mentions it’s up to the showrunner to show how much they want to the actors.

Thanks to Sarah, they kept in Luz saying her own SFX during her fight with Eda in O Titan, Where Art Thou; She heard someone do it as part of the mock script and wanted it. When Dana voiced Eda and Luz at the end, Dana was crying. There’s a recording of Season 2B and Season 3 of Dana doing a voice-over of the script to get approved by executives.

Dana clarified everyone would’ve had more of a chance to talk with each other, such as Hunter and Amity; Hunter would’ve talked to Vee, as well as more human realm kids, literally everyone would’ve had a little more time with each other. Dana loves Luz and Hunter’s sibling dynamic. Dana was sorry they couldn’t have Luz and Raine hang out, but they had the Hexsquad storyline. Luz finished high school in the human world, with the renewed motivation that she’ll go back to the isles. Knowing she has a safe space outside of high school made it more bearable, as was the case for Dana growing up.

Cissy brought up Gus’ hair in the epilogue, which she loved; Emmy Cicierga did the design for Gus and Raine. Harpy Lilith was by Emmy; Dana did Emira, Eberwolf, and Skara’s timeskip designs. The name of the Titan is unpronounceable for humans.

Dana can’t say much about the Archivists; The Collector never had a flash-forward design, as they age much more slowly than everyone else. Maybe the Collector got just a tiny bit taller. The idea of the Collector came from creepy dolls, as well as a nightmare; John Bailey Owen had a google folder filled with cool references of creepy dolls with a starry aesthetic, liminal minimalist nightmare-scape. They knew who the Collector was gonna be, what role they’d play, but the vibe still needed to be decided.

Dana confirmed the Collector was always a part of the show before the shortening, and they solidified their placement after the announcement. The Collector has indeed stayed connected with the others, visits occasionally. Dana has seen fan comics on this and teared up.

Hooty doesn’t have to be vacated from the Owl House if he doesn’t want to; When the door isn’t active, Hooty could be present. The new portal can probably fold up, and Hooty is busy as a curator for Hooty’s new museum.

Dana said Raine and Eda’s business is their business; Not all love stories end in marriage. It’s their thing and it doesn’t diminish any love, but they do live in the Owl House together (Raine moved in).

Mattholomule getting a palisman is something Zach Marcus can answer, since he made the character and Dana respects the lore he made. It’s hard to say for Dana if Vee and Masha are dating, since Masha didn’t show up in the finale, but Vee definitely has a crush on them. Again, Dana encourages the Death of the Author approach, if the headcanon makes you happy.

Alador and Odalia got officially divorced after the finale, and the kids happily lived away from her. They might visit her if they have the energy, but also recognize she’s a toxic influence they can cut off at any point. Dana gave a shoutout to Rachel McFarlane’s voice acting, praising her performance for Odalia.

In regards to the tower King was born in, Dana has an answer; It was related to a character we all know, who now may have amnesia.

There was a plan to explore Gus and Willow’s glowing eyes, and do it for other characters; Amity wasn’t going to have that, strong emotions are indeed connected to magic. It was mostly a worldbuilding magic rule they could’ve expanded on, that Dana wishes she did early in the story.

In the boards, Dawn Han(?) did Clouds on the Horizon, and did the scene of Amity and the twins hiding in the factory as their parents talk about the Abomatons, Alador is worried since it seems like a tad much. Alador had T-rex arms in the storyboard, and it reminded Dana of Remy from Ratatouille, so when they got to the scene of them looking into Alador’s lab, Ratador was drawn in his place as a joke. Dana laughed so hard she decided to keep it in, with Dana handwaving it as Alador’s palisman.

According to Dana, a show should be appreciated for as it is; But the other way to enjoy it, under the context it was made, is also important to her; Both ways are valid. It was easier for Sarah to voice depressed Luz since she was also depressed. The writers preferred to put their feelings into the show, VS a more happy-go-lucky approach as others did; It was kind of dark for a bit, especially during quarantine. Sarah felt her own experience validated with Luz’s depression, but she and Dana appreciated the balance of having a happy ending too.

What made the crew hopeful was knowing the characters would always have a happy ending; Luz could continue her studies in full-force, a new family. They KNEW it would end happy. Dana acknowledged how the fandom misinterpreted “I hate the term happy endings,” and Sarah knew about the quincenera when asked during previous Post-Hoots, but couldn’t answer.

Rebecca commissioned 3D-printed Funko Pops of S2A Lilith and S1 Luz, and gave them to the others as gifts; Rebecca didn’t know about Avi’s appearance until two days before the Post-Hoot, otherwise she would’ve had a Funko of Raine made. Dana’s stand for Luz had to be made with painter’s tape (she appreciated it) due to Rebecca running out of the other kind, and planned to place it beside her Peabody award. Elizabeth Grullon, Camila’s VA, had to call her mom in the middle of a session to translate her line about maduros into English.

Cissy clarified this wasn’t intended to be the final Post-Hoot! And the video was ended with a BBBBYYYEEEEE!!!!!

#the owl house #dana terrace #caleb wittebane #evelyn clawthorne #boiling isles titan #edalyn clawthorne #eda clawthrone #raine whispers #raeda #palismen #the owl house hunter #willow park #bisexual #pansexual #post Hoot

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babushkatty · 5 months

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Tranquil SAGAU - Part 6

-> Part 1

-> Part 5

With Dvalin gone, you were left basically homeless. Not that it was much of an issue, not really. The forests had been very kind to you -- you could easily live the life of a hermit if you so wished, without having to worry about food, water, shelter or animal attacks.

But it would also be horribly lonely. No compassionate silence, no background noise and buzz of other people scurrying around and going about their day without minding you, no one to speak to if you ever felt the need to.

You liked being alone, but you were still human and humans were social animals.

Soooooo, you promptly asked Crepus about working in his Winery in exchange for accommodations, because 'one that asks, does not stray'... or something like that anyways. Your sister always made her life that much harder because she outright refused to ask for help even when hopelessly lost or overwhelmed, so there must be something to the saying at least.

"You don't have to work to earn your keep, (Name). I'd be more than happy to house you as my guest for however long you want!" is what Crepus 'Sunshine Personified' Ragnvindr responded with.

Crepus used Puppy Eyes, it was super effective!

You laid defeated, a puddle of cuteness overload once again wishing for sunglasses to protect yourself from the blinding smiles and imaginary wagging tails.

Crepus was horrible for your heart.

Still, you would go insane if left with nothing to do for days at a time, so you went to turn the Ragnvindr library upside down with Crepus' blessing, a bunch of notebooks, a bunch of pens and a delusion that you'd do any actual studying in there.

This was Teyvat, but this wasn't Genshin Impact -- a library wouldn't have interesting lore, it'd have dry history and even drier geography, accompanied by boring economics and even more boring politics (which was a damn shame too, politics were so interesting when written right).

You never quite had a head for those, prefering subjects with more practical applications that could be practiced instead of having to be beaten into your thick skull until you memorized it just long enough to write the exam.

Though for some ungodly reason you still remembered that onions were actually leaves. It was one of the very few things you remembered from school, actually.

Probably the trauma speaking.

Still, you did find some interesting books - a diary speaking of the Decarabian rule, for example.

Today, I don my very own Windblume.

I can only hope Lord Decarabian never learns of its' significance.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

The winds are particularly harsh today.

I am afraid, but I smile and play my lyre as if nothing were happening at all, like I always do.

Sometimes, I forget if what I do is to reasure the people or to delude myself that everything is as it should be...

Then again, does it matter when the result remains the same?

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

The people are growing restless.

Their yearning for freedom gave birth to a small wind spirit that seems fond of my playing. It is an adorable being, even if it has yet to communicate with us.

It remind me of a newborn puppy.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

The people are planning a rebellion.

I want to help, but how can I? I am no soldier, my strength lays with the pen and the lyre, not with the sword.

Ragnvindr told me there was no need for more warriors, that I was doing enough by keeping the morale up with my performances... I am hesistant to believe him.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

The little spirit has spoken for the first time today.

It said that it knew the song I was playing, despite it being a new piece I was in the midst of creating, and sang along to lyrics I had yet to write.

It was strange, but it made me happy nonetheless.

Perhaps I was strange too, for feeling that way.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

You had a suspicion on who the author of the diary was by that point. Maybe Crepus would be open to giving this diary to Venti, instead of it gathering dust on the shelf?

Idly, you wondered how it had survived so long, but figured Ragnvindr and his descendants took good care of it.

I met Ragnvindr today.

Something compelled me to share my worries with him, even though I knew he had enough weight on his shoulders and I ought not to add more.

"If you cannot trust in yourself, then trust in me and my trust in you instead" he told me.

It helped.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

Meetings regarding the rebellion are more and more frequent. Ragnvindr, alongside a man named Amos, have convinced the Gunnhildr clan to participate against all odds.

I can understand their hesitance. Should we fail to kill Lord Decarabian, their legacy would be no more.

I admire their bravery.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

The wind has long since realized change is imminent, even when Lord Decarabian himself has not - the little spirit said so.

King of Gales indeed, even the wind has rebelled against him.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

Ragnvindr speaks of a bad premonition.

In truth, my heart is uneasy as well, but how can I share those feelings with anyone but myself? It is not the time to bother others with my issues -- it is time to reassure everyone, to rouse their spirit and not to let fear take root even as they stand against a God. It is my duty as a bard and as a fellow rebel.

The Windblume feels particularly heavy as I write this.

I fear I will not live to see tomorrow's sunset, but I fear for my dearest friends and for Mondstadt even more.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

My little spirit friend is still without a name.

I know it does not bother them, they are the wind itself after all, but I would still like to give them a name others can remember them by.

A name that they can remember me by once I pass on, selfish as it is to bind an immortal to a memory.

But I am selfish, even if Ragnvindr may see me as a paragon of virtue. I am a human and to be human is to be flawed. I am not ashamed of it, even if I often feel guilty for it.

Perhaps it will be the very last thing I achieve in this life of mine.

It is hard to name them.

I've thought of many names up until now.

Caelus. Liberius. Aella. Calliope. Achill. Carmine. Hilarius. Hanne. Zephyrinus. Dieter. Sascha. Scilla. Paulus. Notus. Veronica. Agna. Vergil.

Those are just a few of the ones I discarded.

None fit.

I can only hope the right name reveals itself when it is time.

.　 . • ☆ . ° . • ° : . * ₊ ° . ☆

That was the last entry.

You closed the diary and carefully put it aside.

☆(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ* ✨ Author Note✨

It was not supposed to be mostly nameless bard POV via old diary.

It really wasn't.

Mans literally kidnapped the chapter entirely against my will while I was half asleep yesterday and attempting to write at nearly midnight and I was powerless to stop it, on god.

But hey, at least we got potential Venti bonding set up for the future?

I was planning for more fluff, but I also have no outline for this, so my chapters have a chance of getting kidnapped at any time.

✨BY THE WAY!!!!✨

The charm of spontaneous writing, I guess?

If you have something you want to happen - for example we're in the library right now, so maybe you want a book about a specific tidbit to appear - do let me know, maybe I'll write it in!

I had 2 tests and 1 retake yesterday and holy shit i got through all of them and tomorrow is last day of uni then it's ✨HOLIDAYS✨

✨Taglist✨

@game-savvy @chaoticfivesworld @mmeatt @avalordream @ymechi @andromeda-gay @naynayaa @undecidingfate @thedevioussmirk @tumb3ld0wn @balaur-bondoc @yi-chii @yarabutterfly @nervouseaglelover @vexingpraedyth @indelible-colouring-markers @whitefantasy21-blog @kapitankarate

#genshin sagau #sagau x reader #sagau #genshin impact #x reader #genshin x reader #isekai #x gender neutral reader #x gn reader #x gn y/n #self aware genshin

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issacballsac · 9 months

Text

“Being Apart of The Sk8 Crew„

Just rewatched Sk8 the infinity and now I wish I had friends so ! Gn reader

Joe | “I wanna marry your abs!”

Y’all would meet your first time at S

Obviously you’d be amazed by his skating and even if u don’t like men he’s hot as hell bro don’t lie

One of two things happens

You A. Run up to him and ask abt his skating techniques and such

Or B. He actually walks up to you to talk about your skating(only if ur good ofc💀)

He’s such a dad

If you’re younger than him he’s constantly trying to sound smart/give you wisdom

Sometimes it’s solid advice the other times it’s pure nonsense

If you like to cook/want to learn he’ll happily teach you

If not he’ll settle for a new taste tester

He would def make jokes all the time

Some genuinely funny

He expects you to laugh at all of them even if it wasn’t funny

He’d appreciate it if you didn’t cock block him like everyone else

Despite being quick to take off his shirt he’s very fashionable and takes pride in his looks obviously

If you ever needed fashion advice best go to him!

He’s a pretty laid back guy so you wouldn’t get into arguments often

Would love to skate everywhere but he’s like…got a job and responsibilities so..

Still a great dad friend to have

Honestly would care and worry over you if you got into some dumb shit so don’t do anything stupid and he won’t worry

Joe for the win🗣️‼️

Cherry/Kaoru | A.I. Advancement

You’d meet when he paid a visit to Joe’s restaurant

Ofc you knew of him bc he’s popular but you never MET Kaoru

You def walked in on their date arguing

It was so awkward u were jus like:🧍‍♂️

“Is this a bad time time to visit you?”

“Hey! Kaoru this is [ ], the kid I was talking about.”

“What a peculiar child to willingly hang around you.”

“Whatever you say, Pinky.”

He’s kinda weird with his whole AI stuff but other than that a great friend

Makes snarky comments with you

Unless ur too nice to make snide remarks

Constantly complains abt the angle of your turns

Unironically would show up at your parent teacher conferences(if you’re still in the lower schooling ofc)

Would never admit it but he loves each of his friends and would be genuinely concerned if anything happened

Shadow | Petty Clown

Oh when y’all met you wanted to throw hands

I imagine something similar to his introduction with Reki

Bro straight up threw an explosive in your face???(smoke bomb maybe but still)

He may be petty but you’re pettier(is that even a word?💀)

You found out he worked at a flower shop bc lets be FR he doesn’t look much different outside of S

Lil arguments here lil threats there and you leave with a nice assortment of flowers

Bro side eyes you EVERYTIME y’all cross paths at S😭

After the whole gang is assembled y’all no longer act this way towards one another

Bros the only responsible adult of this group

He def did your makeup once and you broke out the next day💀

“Are you sure you know what you’re doin’?”

“Trust me, kid.”

“I don’t know why but I don’t.”

You try and help him with his relationship endeavors but it never works out😭

He’ll go to the gym with you if you don’t wanna go alone

Gym bros‼️🗣️

Miya | Catty Child

This fucker

Y’all are quite the duo

Annoying ass mfs whenever and wherever you go

If you have any sort of pet it’s his pet now

Bros the animal whisperer

He’d have to be interested in your skating for y’all to become friends

So pretend ur decent or even amazing; however big ur delusion allows itself to be🫡

He’s smart but would invite you somewhere under the premise of studying just to goof around

If he needs a second player for his game bro is gonna drag your ass so y’all can play

Goes shopping with you just to complain about how everything is ugly in the stores

“That’s not cute, who thought selling this was a good idea?”

“Bitch—if you’re going to be negative the whole time go home‼️”

Reki | Redheaded Menace

If you thought you + Miya was a devious duo just imagine you and Reki

Y’all would prob meet second after you and Joe met

Bc he works at a skate shop

And you need skating stuff(you can tell I’m not a skater💀)

If you’re just a good skater and don’t know actual science and shit behind it he’s constantly telling you about it like you care

You guys cruise around together for fun

He made your current board and you’ll never get another one that’s not from him

You teach him any and all tricks/skills you know

Probably took you to his house to give you your current board bc he was working on it in his house and you met all of his family

His mom is just happy he’s got some friends

You become besties with his mom

She gossips abt news and celebrities with you

Claims ur like her other child(forget the rest of them👺)

Makes you lunch bc she’s nice like that

You let him ramble abt stuff he’s interested in even if you aren’t listening fully

Would silently beg you to stay back with him during the hot spring scavenge bc he’s scared

Forces you to watch horror movies with him bc he gets scared and needs someone else with him

Bro would be elated the whole day if you called him cool

Snow/Langa | Canadian Curiosity

Omg he’s Canadian?😦 Seize him!

Obviously being involved with S you would’ve heard of Snow but Reki would’ve introduced y’all before the big news

Bro would shove him in your face as if he’s a shiny trophy(at the beginning ofc)

“This is Langa! New guy from my class apparently he’s interested in skating.”

“Sick—he’s so pale.”

“He’s from Canada.”

“Oh.”

Bro is so oblivious it’s crazy

You gotta like SPELL IT OUT for him if you’re ever alluding to smth

Langa stays hungry and would go out to eat with you anytime

You and Reki would def help him decorate his room bc it’s…bland

It’s not bad but there’s no personality

He tells you abt his favourite dishes back in Canada and y’all try and locate any places in Japan that might sell smth similar

If not you guys attempt to make it yourselves at his house

His mom walks in on y’all ruining the kitchen💀

“Langa I’m…home.”

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hey Langa’s Mom!”

Bro is a skating addict and will skate whenever and wherever

Wants to race you like at least twice every week

Loser pays for dinner

You help him with his reading and writing and if you didn’t already know he’d teach you English

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gatitties · 1 year

Note

👀

You did? I should check them.

Then, what about Platonic Yandere! Luffy, Zoro and Sanji with Female!Teen!Y/n who is from the real world and is a fan of Strawhats Pirates but got teleported into their world?

─Yandere!monster trio x fem!teen!reader (platonic)

─Summary: you find yourself in your favorite anime but things seem to be a little weirder than you imagined

─Warnings: obsession, toxic behavior, general yandere stuff yk

Part two

─ One day your existence simply decided to teleport to the world of one of your favorite animes, One Piece, let's not go into details, you just did it somehow and you accepted it quickly because you had already read about all those fanfics where someone changes universe.

─ But nothing happens! It seemed that all the luck you never had finally came to you with a bang because you landed on the Mugiwara ship, nothing less.

─ Excited was a word that fell short of how you felt in that world, but also scared because you knew the entire context of many of the things and atrocities done.

─ You forgot everything bad to focus exclusively on the fact that you were meeting your favorite or comfort characters, you could definitely die after this because it was like a dream come true.

─ Leaving all the confusion and distrust of how or why you were there, everyone seemed to believe that you were not from this world and that they were not real in yours because you knew a lot (too much) about them.

─ Usopp is a little afraid of you because of all your knowledge about them.

─ Robin wanted to know more about the void century but Luffy simply refused you to give them 'spoilers' of what was about to happen in their lives, you had no choice but to respect him, now he was your captain after all.

─ Luffy was very clingy to you from the beginning, he found your admiration towards them adorable, he really likes to impress you when he uses his devil fruit, although everything here is out of the ordinary and impresses you.

─ You won't have a second of peace with this boy if you ever get hurt by someone (or even if it was your fault because you tripped or something), he feels responsible for your health and won't let anyone do anything to you.

─Zoro is in the same line of thoughts as his captain because in his eyes you were someone completely vulnerable in this world full of monsters, that sometimes you get lost because of your fascination simply increases his degree of protection.

─ Sanji became equally fond of you, having you in the kitchen learning about your world was more fun than he thought at first, he felt like a father whenever you came to him to tell him about any nonsense you had done with Luffy on some random island.

─ And despite the fact that all this time with them was incredible, you inevitably missed your loved ones, your old routine and life.

─ The faces of the three when you carelessly commented that from now on you were going to start looking for a way to return to your world was completely horrified, the three of them looked at each other and nodded, a silent pact.

─ They threatened Nami because she was the first one who offered to help you, just like Robin, weren't you happy with them here? You seem happy and you would be well protected, why would you want to leave their side?

─ They would lie if they find valuable information, they only try to protect you, you have also told some bad things about your world and if you leave they will not be able to keep you safe.

─ Luffy is much clingier, Zoro is much more careful of your surroundings, Sanji doesn't seem to take his eyes off you in case something unexpected happens that could hurt you.

─ You practically have a trio that is all over you all the time, lucky for you, you decided to ignore a lot of the red flags in their behavior, chalking it up to just being worried and you couldn't defend yourself, which got you rid of a lot of possible punishments.

─ Although, it was inevitable not to notice how persistent they are when you want to go explore an island, you don't even have a wanted poster because they always manage to lock you in the ship somehow when the fights start.

─ But by the time you realize that they are behaving differently from their normal personalities, it will be too late, they will limit you as much as they can, they will only blackmail you because they would hate to see you hurt by one of them.

─ It doesn't matter if you start to be afraid around them because of their obsession, Luffy will still demand his hugs, Zoro will want you to take a nap with him and Sanji will make you his kitchen assistant whether you like it or not, you have no opinion here, just do it.

─ The punishments are not very severe, no violence, just deprive you of things like food or movement, if you need to spend a few hours or days in your room without seeing anyone, you will.

─ They won't see their behavior as strange, no one from the crew will dare to say anything to help you because the last time Franky was almost decapitated by Zoro.

─ They see you as an innocent little sister who doesn't know how to take care of herself, they don't want anyone to corrupt you, they're just trying to keep you safe, can't you see that? They want the best for you even if they have to punish you in the process, after all you were a careless teenager who was unaware of true evil.

─ Now you'll be safe, right?

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dira333 · 10 months

Text

Married life

Sasuke x reader, just a little bit of fluff

Contrary to popular belief, being married to an Uchiha isn’t like the dreams of little school girls.

He doesn’t bring home flowers every day or serenade you under the stars. He doesn’t buy you fancy jewelry or take you out to dinner every week.

The reality was a lot less impressive.

Most of the Uchiha estate had been destroyed in Pain’s attack and restoring what was left gobbled up your savings faster than Naruto could scarf down a bowl of Ramen.

It had taken Sasuke a whole year to prove himself worthy of taking on something above a D-Rank Mission, his earnings barely paying the bread you put on the table.

And it took a toll on him, you could tell, that his contributions were so small.

He had never been a romantic and living as a nomad for so long had stolen what had been left of his inclinations. Why should he buy you flowers if they would only wilt on the table? Why buy jewelry you would not be able to wear during work?

Luckily for the two of you, you’d never been one to compare.

“Thank you.” You tell him when he opens the door for you, leaning in to kiss him. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Sasuke smiles softly. He doesn’t remind you that you’ve only been gone for the day, he likes your little routine.

“I found something today.” He tells you as you unload the groceries you’ve got on the way. Without asking he picks up the fruit and places them in the bowl on the table where they are always in sight, a nice little remember to eat a bit more healthy.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’ll like it. How was your mission?”

“Boring, but I guess that’s fine once in a while. I’m free tomorrow, do you want to sleep in?”

He throws you a smile from where he’s putting the meat in the fridge.

“Always. Ready for your present?”

“Always.” You copy him and let him take you by the hand, guide you through the house onto the unfinished patio.

“Wait here. I’ll be back in a second.”

Despite his efforts, you hear the soft mewling before he even opens the door.

You turn with a smile to him awkwardly holding a calico kitten, the cat desperately trying to escape.

“I found her in the bushes.” He explains as he drops the kitten into your waiting hands. “Knew you would love it.”

“She’s so cute. Have you given her a name yet?”

“I’m not good with names.” He laughs softly when the kitten starts gnawing on your thumb, his own hand softly caressing the kitten’s tiny head. “You name her.”

“How about Yuki?”

“Like Snow?”

“No, like Happiness.”

“I like that.” He gifts you a smile that’s carefree and open and so rare on his face. It makes him look just as young as he still is, as innocent as he once was.

“Thank you.” You lean up to kiss him. “You’re the best.”

It’s not the first pet Sasuke has brought home.

Around and beneath your house live a lizard, a turtle, and a finch, all animals he’s found and brought home to nurse back to health. Maybe the cat will stay in the house, maybe it won't, but every time he brings home another stray and claims that it’s a present for you, it reminds you how much love he’s still left to give.

Being married to Sasuke is not a glamorous feat nor the carefree life some might have thought at age 12.

It’s a calm and gentle adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.

And one of these days you’ll ask him to add another soul to the potpourri of your life when the patio is finished and the kitten has learned that the bedroom is off-limits.

Or maybe, like those things often go, it will happen when it happens.

#My writing #Sasuke x reader #Sasuke Uchiha #Naruto x reader #Naruto fanfictions #Sasuke fluff

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 months

Text

Habit ~ E.O.

A/n: This felt the way eating something for the first time in a longen time when you are it a lot as a kid? Does that make sense? Idk I just love it

Request: “...Enoch O’Connor x Male I beg of thee” by anon

Word count: 2200+

MASTERLIST

Jake was the most annoying person Y/n had ever met.

The problem with a boy shaking the very core of the way Miss Peregrine's Home worked, is that there was a set routine. Not just the same day, every day. Not just the same clothes. Not just the same activities and expectations, but also the same people. The same dynamics. Everything was clear and simple and predictable - as it was supposed to be. It was Enoch and Horace and Olive and Fiona and Claire and Emma and Millard and Bronwyn and Hugh and the twins and Y/n. They all had their chores, their meals, and their rooms. Wake up, do the exact same thing, reset the day, go to bed.

In some ways, Jake changing everything was nice. Emma was happier with him, and they were safer now. They'd always be safe now. Miss Peregrine didn't have to deal with her imperfect day, and they had lots of new friends.

Change was hard though, and unpredictable. Emma and Jake, and then Fiona and Hugh. And then suddenly everyone was a lot less okay with Enoch and Y/n pining for each other but never doing anything about it.

Enoch and Y/n had always been like this. They avoided each other despite everything, somehow having pulled it off for decades straight now. Anytime they did talk, the room seemed to go still. They were insatiable, starving for each other. Every look was too long, and yet too short. Every conversation saturated with so much emotion neither boy could handle it.

Being a teenager was hard.

But for decades, everyone had left it alone. At some point the distance and awkwardness and desperate yearning had become a part of the routine. Wake up, do what you did everyday, glance over the way Y/n's breath caught, a smile tugging to his face when Enoch brought something to life, ignore the way Enoch's eyes lingered when Y/n began to chat with a bird or squirrel or worm.

Even Fiona was good at it, and she was Y/n's sister. They had always been far more concerned with their own relationship as siblings. Two halves of one whole - a plant gift and an animal gift. Flora and fauna.

But now she was busy with her own crush, and without her there to fill Y/n's time, it was more and more obvious how ridiculously in love he was. Olive had met a girl in the other loop they'd joined who had wings, and the two had been having a ball flying around together - which meant Enoch was more available than normal as well.

Of course they ended up in the same space more often than they usually did.

The new kids weren't used to the pining. It wasn't routine, they hadn't learned to ignore it. And the more they pointed out that the way Enoch and Y/n acted wasn't a just-friends-and-family feelings kind of situation, the more the other kids acknowledged it too. Suddenly everyone was looking at the boys expectantly, and with all those eyes on them... it was hard to ignore their own situation even more.

This was especially hard on Y/n. He had always known he wasn't going to end up with some epic love like in the books. Even before the loop, everyone had marked him as insane and weird. His little sister could make flowers grow in the palm of her hand, and her older brother knew all the town secrets because the pets could talk to him. But after the loop? The options were so limited and he was gay - it wasn't going to happen. No way in hell that with one person he could even possibly end up with, who he liked, liked him back. That sort of thing was difficult to find even with several options. But one?

Not to mentioned he hadn't really come to terms with the fact that he wasn't straight. Everyone knew he was into Enoch, but outside of that they had no idea what was going on with his sexuality. He'd never opened up about it, and flat out denied anytime someone had asked. Even Fiona had nothing to offer in terms of information - he hadn't told her anything either. Which was weird, because they knew a lot about each other. She was his confidante.

He'd never even admitted it to himself.

That wasn't good enough for Leroy and Sofie though. They were two of the kids from the other loop, and they were determined to play match maker between the two boys. It was how a harmless game night had gone so terribly wrong. They had convinced Jake to talk about all the silly, immature party games he had heard of and to "experience the culture they were missing out on" all the kids from both loops had been dragged into several different rounds of truth and dare and spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven. Nothing happened for most of the people, who only fist bumped or took the opportunity to info dump in a space where the other person had no option to listen.

And then Enoch and Y/n got picked.

For the first ten minutes, both boys were completely composed. But Enoch had a very good understanding of time and as more than seven minutes passed, he grew agitated. "It's been long enough, let us out," he called.

When all that came back from the other side was giggling, Y/n got irritated too. Being this close to Enoch was bad enough without there being a foreseeable end in sight. "Guys. Guys!"

"Talk about your feelings!" Sofie called back, and a dozen pairs of feet could be heard on the stairs, leaving Enoch and Y/n. In a closet. Locked for who knows how long. Alone in an entire room, in the basement.

Miss Peregrine would put it together and come and get them before dinner, but... even that was a long way away.

It was quiet a long time, but eventually even Enoch couldn't handle it. He broke first.

"Are we just going to wait for Miss Peregrine?"

Y/n shrugged. "They all left, so... It's not like even if I did anything here they'd let us out."

"Did anything?" Enoch scoffed. "Did what exactly."

"I don't know," Y/n snapped. Both boys were rather hot headed and tended to interact with each other through biting remarks and snarky banter. These snippy words were familiar to them.

Enoch rolled his eyes. "I'm not just going to sit here that whole time. At least tell me what they think we need to share feelings about?"

Y/n shrugged. "Beats me."

Another king quiet and then Enoch seemed to soften. He had changed a lot since Jake too. He had been so defensive of Emma before, but now he saw the flaw in that. Emma and Jake were happy, and more than anything he... envied them. He wanted that. And he had wasted enough time keeping himself from it. If Emma could open her heart to getting broke to risk love and succeed... maybe he could too. "Y/n."

"What?" He was gorgeous. That withering look and unwavering attitude. Enoch loved that he could always keep up, matching any sass off or sarcastic comment. Often beating Enoch at what he had always considered as his own private game. A game he never lost at... until Y/n. Y/n who found his homunculus fascinating instead of disturbing and never scared at even the worst of Enoch's attempts. Y/n who was so awkward and brash with people, but so gentle and calm and caring toward animals. Y/n, who was his best self out in the woods with no shoes on and a smile on his face as he closed his eyes and listened to the wind through the trees, the birds singing, the bugs buzzing...

"Do you want to play Twenty Questions?" It was another of Jake's silly games. They had planned to play it after Seven Minutes in Heaven but, well, now they were locked in a closet.

Y/n shot him a withering look, cocking an eyebrow. "No."

Enoch's lips almost twitched into a smile. "Come on. Since when are you more of a buzz kill than I am?"

Y/n sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He looked at Enoch again and couldn't help but soften. They were both like this. Hard to touch, impossible to get close to. Rough and snappy. Except for those select few. For Enoch, it was the girls. Fiona and Claire had it the easiest; Olive had to work for it; Emma had gotten under his skin after Abe. For Y/n, there was no one who had worked their way into his good graces as well as Enoch had. He of course had softness for the kids, always taking to children who needed someone to have their back - even if they wouldn't admit it - but Enoch was still special. He always was.

Enoch swallowed a smile, matching Y/n's casual energy. They both leaned against the wall, Y/n crossing his arms over his chest and Enoch slipping his hands in his pocket. "You go first," Enoch encouraged. There was something playing in his eyes, so bright it shone even in the low lighting.

Y/n raised an eyebrow, unsure. "Okay... what's your favorite color?" It was a dumb question - he already knew - which meant that if Y/n wasn't going to try neither was Enoch.

"Triangle." He smirked, then leaned forward. "Do you like men?"

There was a long silence in the closet. It felt... horribly fitting. Suffocatingly on point. "Why do you ask?"

"That's not an answer," he shot back.

Y/n's face burned. "That's a dumb question! You've never cared once in our decades of friendship and now you do? Why?"

"Because of Jake." Y/n almost began going off about how annoying Jake was, but Enoch cut him off. "I thought everything was set in stone. He were the group we'd always been. Abe proved it to me. We can get smaller, but never bigger. But then Jake came along and left behind everything for Emma. And I realized, maybe that's what love is. Maybe it's giving up what was for what could be. Because it's worth it. And if I made a leap like that, I won't even have to give anything up. All I have to do is take the first step."

His voice was so soothing, but his words were like shots of ice through Y/n's veins. It was a startling contrast. "Enoch..." He frowned, pursing his lips. He couldn't look at the other boy. "What would you do if I asked you that? You can't expect me to-"

"I do. I like men."

Y/n's jaw dropped. He snapped it closed after a beat, eyes trained on Enoch. The other boy seemed... excited. Genuinely. "And you're telling me this... for a reason. I assume?" Enoch just nodded. He wasn't just excited; he was nervous too. To be fair, so was Y/n. "Because you like me?" He asked, even more softly.

Enoch hesitated. Then nodded. "I... have. For a long time."

Y/n sighed, head falling back against the wall. A part of him wanted to argue, wanted to fight it. Wanted to stick his head in the sand.

But a much larger part of him knew that this had been coming for a long time.

“I thought when I told you I was into men it would be scarier.” Enoch laughed at Y/n’s confession, and it was only a split second before Y/n joined him. It was completely bizarre and borderline ridiculous. They’d been denying their feelings so long it had become habit. First out of hesitation. You never know exactly how someone would react to something. And then it was friendship. They were so close, and they’d gotten into a pattern of thought. They were only friends - nothing else was possible. But as everything around them changed, pattern had no room in their life anymore. So habit had taken over.

And now…

Y/n rested his head on Enoch’s shoulder, hesitantly taking his hand. Enoch sighed, squeezing back. Reassuring him.

“I like you specifically,” Y/n piped up.

Enoch’s smile was small as he tried to fight it, but the blush across his cheeks gave him away. “I like you too.” Y/n chuckled again, and Enoch echoed him. Like their energy was bouncing off of each other, growing. Becoming simply by the existence of the other.

“I don’t want our first kiss to be in here,” Enoch sighed. The closet was too much a metaphor, but even more-

“I don’t like that everyone’s forced so much onto us,” Y/n agreed. “Thank god they did, but-“

Enoch huffed with amusement. “But I don’t want them to have everything. Some things are just for you and me?” Y/n nodded and Enoch smiled, leaning close and pressing his lips to Y/n’s forehead. Y/n sighed, content. They stayed like that until the close door was opened, several pairs of curious eyes staring in at them.

“Are you together now?”

Y/n and Enoch exchanged looks and then scrambled to their feet, both shouldering the door open and slipping out. Everyone was laughing - even the ones who tried desperately to lock the pair back in the room.

And so the boys were out of the closet.

They took each others’ hand again when they settled onto the couch together, an everyone had to agree: that could be enough.

#male reader #Enoch O’Connor #miss peregrines home for peculiar children #enoch oconnor x male reader #enoch oconnor imagine #enoch oconnor x reader #miss peregrines home for pecuiar children imagine #miss peregrines home for peculiar children x reader #miss peregrines home for peculiar children x male reader #Finlay MacMillan #Finlay MacMillan x reader #Finlay MacMillan x male reader #Finlay MacMillan imagine

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 1 year

Text

Not As Expected

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~6.7k

Summary: You and Wanda have a baby

A/N: Apologies y’all. I know very little about birthgiving. also very stressed atm so I will be in and out today. Mostly out. Enjoy ...

Warnings: Angst, very vague descriptions of labor

You’re woken up from your dream about infinite dogs by a swift kick to your shin. You jump in surprise that eventually becomes pain when you open your eyes and realize what just happened. You sigh inaudibly as you look to your wife beside you who is predictably restless. She’s muttering under her breath and shifting occasionally as she dreams about something you’d probably never be able to guess.

Since reaching the third trimester, Wanda has become a regular occupant of the many different pieces of furniture in your house. She seems to have very little energy these days, and you often come home to find her sleeping on the couch in the den, or upstairs under the covers in bed. You don’t mind the sleeping because you know how tired your wife is, and honestly when she’s asleep she doesn’t have time to fret about your baby’s imminent arrival.

Despite having everything prepared, the nursery is fully stocked and decorated, and the house has been child-proofed as much as necessary for an infant, Wanda still is anxious. She often flits around the house looking for something that needs fixing, or rearranging in the already finished nursery that she’s redecorated twice. She decided that she wanted to change the theme from clouds to baby animals and you just obediently went to the store and helped her in any way possible.

You’ve been anxious throughout Wanda’s pregnancy too because despite knowing that she was mere weeks away from giving birth, the previous attempts at getting pregnant have made you fearful. You had given up trying getting pregnant, and you and Wanda had talked about adopting. You’d actually matched with several children, but they never made it to your house due to biological family conflict, or incompatibility issues. After a few months of trying that, Wanda expressed her desire to try and get pregnant. She was at the compound maybe once monthly, but otherwise she was a stay-at-home mom to their cat, two dogs and rat so she honestly had nothing better to do.

She’d posed the question like this and despite rolling your eyes at the idea, you’d eventually decided that it was worth a shot.

Your wife had been excited about the prospect of being pregnant in a way you’d never been, and you were glad that it had only taken a couple of tries with IVF for her to get to this point. She was thrilled and despite the early sickness, mood swings and now constant soreness and fatigue, Wanda was still excited. She was ready to be a mom to a human baby and she just hoped to give birth to a healthy, happy one soon.

You and Wanda had talked about it a lot, and despite being curious, you both had decided to wait to learn the sex of the baby until they arrived. It was a little difficult preparing for them this way, but you’d been against the pink vs blue thing from the start so you were all too willing to buy anything and everything for your kid. You of course had bought so many stuffed animals that they filled almost half the crib, but Wanda let you do it and enjoyed watching you excitedly arrange them around the nursery.

Overall, Wanda’s pregnancy had been pretty painless, and you were grateful for this. She’d only had mild sickness and cravings early on, and her mood swings were usually manageable and easily solved with cuddling. Your friends and brother-in-law stopped by often to check in and they all promised to help when the baby arrived. You were very grateful for this and you wouldn’t hesitate to ask for assistance because you were exhausted and Wanda was even more exhausted. You were also eager for your family to get to know your little one. You’d all been waiting a long time for this.

You had it easy compared to your wife, and you knew that. However, when nights such as this became more frequent you started to wonder if this was still true. You loved your wife, there was no question about that, but you couldn’t say that you loved being woken up in the middle of the night. Most of the time Wanda would talk in her sleep or move around so much that she jostles you. When you were particularly unfortunate like tonight, she’d hit you because she was dreaming.

You watch as she continues to dream and you consider your next move. You don’t want to wake her up because she hadn’t felt good before going to sleep, but you do try to move away a bit so you’re out of striking distance.

This works about as well as it usually does, and as soon as you pull away from your wife she stirs with an irritated whine.

“Come back.”

You’re not even sure if she’s awake when she says this, her eyes are still closed, but you know better than to try and resist. You merely sigh and move back towards your wife and pull her into your arms. Maybe if she settles, she won’t kick you again. You’re not convinced that this is the case, but you manage to fall back asleep before you’re proven wrong.

When you wake up next the sun is up and streaming in from between the curtains. You shift so it’s not shining in your face and it’s in that moment that you realize your wife isn’t in bed. You frown and sit up as you look at the clock to see that it’s late. It’s 9 am and you’re wondering how you slept in so much.

“Wands?”

You slowly get out of bed because you’re only half-awake before you glance to the bathroom. The door is closed so you knock but after a few seconds of no response you open the door carefully. You call out for Wanda again but she doesn’t answer and you quickly see the bathroom is empty. You frown before deciding to go downstairs figuring that your wife might be in the kitchen. You walk down the stairs and immediately see your two shepherds standing in the kitchen watching and waiting for something.

You realize what that is as soon as you spot Wanda standing at the counter in front of the ingredients she’d gathered to make her breakfast. Her hands are planted on the counter and she’s bending over slightly in a way that makes you think she’s going to be sick. You hurry the rest of the way to her, ignoring your two dogs, as you try to figure out what’s wrong.

“Wanda, are you okay? Are you in pain?”

You wait anxiously as Wanda takes a deep breath before shaking her head. She turns to you with a forced smile that does little to make you feel better, but you don’t have time to ask again before she’s offering an explanation.

“I’m fine, Y/n. I was just going to make breakfast, but then I started to feel weird. I’m better now though.”

Wanda is about to grab the eggs in front of her, but you’re still a little concerned so you reach out to stop her. You take her hands with a frown and wait until she’s looking at you to ask. You notice that both Rogue and Boone are anxious, and you don’t think it’s because there’s bacon nearby that you’re not sharing.

“What do you mean weird? Are you having contractions?”

You’d been worried about Wanda not telling you when she was feeling poorly since the beginning of her pregnancy. She didn’t like to bother you and you’d only tried to tell her a dozen times that it wasn’t a bother, and that you wanted to make sure she was comfortable. She’d done a good job since her second trimester, but now you’re nervous again. When you see her gaze dart away from you and to the duo on the ground that was whining at this point, you realize that something was off.

“I started having them yesterday, but they stopped fairly quickly so I thought it was nothing.”

You’re probably staring at her incredulously, but you don’t notice as you try to think about where the bag you’d packed for your sudden emergency trip to the hospital is located. It was already in the car, wasn’t it?

“You’ve been having contractions since yesterday?”

Wanda shakes her head as she tries to explain better because she can tell you’re panicking and she doesn’t want that. You don’t need to panic about this, it’s fine.

“No, just for about an hour, but then they came back just now. They’ve stopped though.”

You shoot your wife an appraising look before you nod in understanding. You look back to the food that’s out and you decide that you’re going to make breakfast. You say this and Wanda tries to argue but you shake your head before leading her over to the counter to sit down.

“If you want you can help from here, but I can handle it, Wands.”

She just sighs in defeat and you can’t help but smile victoriously as you finally take a second to greet your dogs. You scratch the two of them at once because despite learning to get along, they are very jealous whenever the other one gets attention. You’re only a little worried about how they’ll react to a baby taking all of your time.

“Hello my handsome boys, were you keeping your mommy company?”

They both try to lick you and you laugh before waving them away toward your wife. They’re not allowed to be in the kitchen and they know this, but sometimes you aren’t super strict. You’ve been trying to do better since Wanda was moving slower and didn’t need to be tripping on your dogs. She’s almost tripped over Boone when he’d snuck up on her while she was cooking once, and you’d freaked out.

You loved your pets, even Fletcher, but you had become increasingly stressed by the idea of them adjusting to your newborn. You knew none of them would be alone with them, but they were all young and energetic creatures that sometimes didn’t understand calm. You had a feeling it would be fine, and there would just be an adjustment period. However, as the vet and the main caretaker of the fur children, you felt responsible for them and their behavior. You watch as the duo leave you and walk over to Wanda who reaches down to pet them with a smile. She’s glad that Boone and Rogue were able to get past their initial disagreements and they were almost as close as Boone and Fletcher at this point. The older shepherd had gravitated more towards Wanda once he became more comfortable with you two and especially once you moved back home.

He was often found at Wanda’s side no matter where she was, and you loved that she had a good relationship with him. You would have felt guilty if both dogs had gravitated towards you. You finish washing your hands and turn to the stove which lets you face your wife and you can’t help but smile as she coos at the duo at her feet. She pats her lap as you’re mixing the eggs and you watch as both Boone and Rogue try to jump up to put their feet in Wanda’s lap.

They grumble at each other in annoyance but Wanda shifts so she can accommodate both of them and they stretch so they can lick her face in a sloppy kiss.

“Good boys. You’re going to be such good older brothers, hmm?”

The dogs just whine in response and you laugh as you check to make sure the pan in front of you is hot before pouring the eggs in. You consider what Wanda says as you start to stir absentmindedly. You imagine the three of you all cuddling with your pets as a big happy family and you find yourself smiling. It’s all you’ve ever wanted, to have a large family with your wife and be able to enjoy a life separate from the mob. You’re sure raising kids will be stressful, but as long as it’s not life-or-death stressful you’re ready for it.

“Y/n. “

You hum slightly in acknowledgement as you turn off the stove once the eggs are finished. You’ll let Wanda eat these while you make her bacon and then you’ll make yourself some. You realize that Wanda hasn’t responded and you frown slightly as you look up to see her staring at you with a slightly panicked look.

“What? What is it?”

Wanda looks down to her stomach and then the floor where the dogs are both sniffing a small puddle and she tries to take a deep breath.

“I think my water just broke.”

Natasha Romanoff was bored and it wasn’t even 9am. She had gotten up at 4 as usual, gone for her normal run and trained with her sister already. She didn’t have anything scheduled until 10, but she hated to just sit around and do nothing. It was Saturday and she should be happy to have time to relax before her day really begins. She’d spoken with Pietro yesterday, and there was way too little to do for a Saturday. She’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she’s trying to figure out what she can do to fill her day when her phone rings.

She sighs as she reaches for the device with an uninterested look. She expected something work-related, but she sees it’s you and she’s quick to answer it. She sits up with a smile.

“Hey, Y/n, what’s up?”

You try to sound as calm as possible because you are really trying not to worry too much. You know that Wanda will pick up on your stress which will only increase her own, so you speak in an almost uninterested tone as you continue to speed down the road.

“Hey, Nat. I have a favor to ask if you don’t mind.”

You glance over to Wanda to see that she’s breathing deeply and trying not to flinch in pain as her contractions continue.

“Sure kid, what do you need?”

You clear your throat before speeding through a yellow light. This is a normal thing for you, so you’re not showing any signs of stress at all. Definitely not.

“Well Wanda’s in labor, and I was wondering if you could meet us at the clinic.”

Nat doesn’t register your words completely given your almost lackadaisical attitude and she just nods in confirmation. It only takes her a second to curse and jump up and find her keys before she’s rushing out the door.

“She is? Wow, ok. We’ll be there soon!”

You and Wanda had discussed at length where you should go for the redhead to give birth. The compound had been your first thought, but Wanda didn’t want that. She found it stressful to go to work where people would undoubtedly hear or see she was pregnant. She’d only been so willing to be pregnant because you both agreed to keep it a secret for as long as possible. This meant not visiting the compound after a few months when she started showing, and then not spending time out in public until they were born. You’d gone along with it because you wanted Wanda and your baby to be as safe as possible.

For this reason, you and Wanda were on the way to a smaller, private clinic that had agreed to host her when the time came. It only took the doctor you’d chosen knowing about it for the entire thing to be possible. She owned the clinic and was a good friend from a former life that could guarantee anonymity for the two of you.

Your first call had been to her to make sure that today worked, not like there was much of a choice given how things were progressing, and she’d said that she was already at work. She’d told you to come on in, but not to hurry because it sounded like it could still be a while before the baby came. You’d told Wanda this and she’d relaxed as much as possible with the sharp pains continuing to surprise her.

“Thanks, Nat.”

When you and Wanda arrive, you’re only a little surprised to see that Nat and Yelena are there already. You smile at them before you hurry to get out of the car so you can help your wife. You can tell that she’s in pain and you hate that there’s not much you can do about it. Well there’s not really anything you can do about it unless you count asking the doctor for an epidural or pain meds stat.

“Hey, Nat. Yelena. Thanks for coming so quickly.”

The duo just nods and Nat’s smiling as she helps you open the passenger-side door and reach for your wife. Wanda’s smiling but it looks vaguely like a grimace as she greets her friends who despite not showing it, in Yelena’s case at least, are excited to be here with you two.

The family has only been waiting for years to have the two of you to have a kid, and now that it was happening, they were over the moon. Wanda waddles her way across the short distance from the car to the clinic doors. Everything had already been arranged and the group of four were met by a nurse and quickly led to a room.

“Good morning, everyone. Are we ready to have a baby?”

You watch as Wanda smiles slightly as she nods in confirmation. You assist her as she’s walking and you feel your heart rate start to pick up at the realization that it’s happening. You’re about to have a baby.

“Y/n?”

Wanda’s voice breaks through your slightly panicked state and you turn to her as you help her sit down on the exam table. She’s shooting you a worried look and you frown automatically because she shouldn’t be worried right now. You want her to be as calm as possible for this sure to be stressful and physically draining process. You’re going to do your best to make sure this happens.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

The question seems ridiculous to you given that your wife is the one who is about to push a baby out of her. You nearly laugh at her question but you realize why she’s asking as soon as you nod in answer.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m great. So ready for this.”

You wait as patiently as possible as things get set up and Wanda is examined. You are grateful that there’s a privacy screen because some of the noises you hear are making you nauseous. You feel like a wimp but you’re tired and you are a vet for a reason. You do your best to hide any sign of discomfort as you squeeze Wanda’s hand with a smile.

“How are you feeling, my love?”

The redhead smiles at you despite the fact that the strengthening of her contractions makes her head swim. She is glad to have you here with her despite your reservations, and she’s only a little worried about how long this is going to take.

“I’m okay, thank you for being here with me.”

You lean over to kiss your wife as you glance to your friends who are in the doorway only occasionally glancing in. You know that at least Yelena is as squeamish as you are, and Nat’s on the phone with someone, probably Pietro. She’ll keep him updated and he won’t come until closer to the delivery time. Wanda will be stressed if he’s here too early because he’s bound to rile her up one way or another. Not to mention, the older Maximoff surely doesn’t want to see this part.

“Of course, Wands. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

Of course, as you say this you consider what you left at home and how you’re certain that someone is going to have to check on your pets. You can’t help but smile and Wanda’s watching you so she doesn’t miss it. She shoots you a curious look that turns a little pained as a particularly strong contraction hits her.

“What’s with the smile?”

You turn back to Wanda and you take a moment to brush the stray hairs from her face with a smirk.

“I was just thinking about how the boys have certainly eaten your eggs and bacon at this point. Fletcher probably helped.”

Wanda’s eyes widen as you mention your quick departure and how you hadn’t taken time to clean up breakfast before heading here. You’re not really worried. You’re more amused than anything, but Wanda is starting to stress which makes you realize you should have kept this particular thought to yourself.

“Oh no! Fletcher is going to be blocked, and the dogs are going to vomit and--.”

You shake your head as you squeeze her hand and try to distract her from the frantic thoughts as she imagines the chaos that could be happening at home right now. You kiss her cheek before reminding her that you have a lot of family, and you’d already asked someone to check on the kids at home.

“No, no. Everyone will be fine. Piet’s going to check on them. You just focus on here and now, okay Wands?”

The next five hours feel like 10 as you and Wanda wait to meet your baby. Wanda is honestly the one doing all the work, and you’re just sitting by her side as she nearly breaks your hand and cries off and on. It’s a relatively easy labor despite its seemingly daunting length, but Wanda delivers a healthy baby girl and you couldn’t be happier.

You’re exhausted, but you know that compared to your wife you had an easy time. She’s sleeping now after you reassured her that you would look after your baby, and the whole family is standing in the room as they all look at the new addition to the family.

“Oh my god.”

“She’s so tiny.”

“Are you going to tell us her name, kid?”

You can’t help but smile as you shake your head as you stand and pass your daughter to her uncle first. He’d been running back and forth between here and your house to check on your pets and to make sure he wasn’t in the way. The only ones who’d hung out for the entire time was Steve as he stayed nearby to make sure nothing went wrong. He’d been on guard for so long that he was nearly falling asleep where he stood. It’s only after Pietro was finished cooing over his niece for now that Steve perked up. The baby was passed to him and he jumped slightly as he tightened his hold on the little one.

He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to him if he’d dropped her.

“Not yet guys. Wands wants to be awake to break the news, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

You smile slightly as you turn away from your precious bundle that looked miniscule in Steve’s arms to look to your wife. Wanda finally looked relaxed and you brushed some of her hair out of her face. She was sweaty and undoubtedly sore, but you were going to let her sleep for a while.

Nurses would come back and take your daughter for a bit, and although you planned on staying with Wanda, you’d asked Nat to go with her and not let her out of her sight.

It was unlikely, but you wouldn’t put it past someone to try and kidnap your baby and you’d rather be paranoid than heartbroken.

Pietro sighs dramatically, but its effect is dimmed by the fact that he’s still beaming. He’s so happy for his sister, and you, because you’d waited so long for this. You finally had a kid and he couldn’t wait to spoil her. Pietro says this and everyone laughs as Yelena finally gets her turn with her niece as well. She looks to the little squishy chubby face and she falls in love immediately. She kisses her cheek before turning at the sound of the door opening behind them. She sees some nurses in scrubs and realizes that they need to do their thing. She hates to let her go, but she knows she’ll be in good hands as her sister follows the trio out of the room.

“She’ll be plenty spoiled with all of the family she has.”

Wanda’s still groggy a few hours later when she wakes up to an unexpected presence on her chest. She frowns slightly and is about to shift and roll over when she feels a hand on her arm. She opens her eyes to see you holding her still as you meet her gaze with a smile before looking back to your daughter who’s nursing.

“Sorry, she was getting fussy. Little one has an attitude already.”

Wanda smiles at this as she looks to where her daughter is cocooned in blankets and being held against her chest by her wife as she feeds. She reaches out to hold her, and at that moment she realizes how tired she still is. Her arms are sore and she almost drops them until she hears her daughter coo as her eyes open.

“Hi there little one.”

Wanda smiles widely and tearfully as she takes a moment to interact with her baby. You just watch in admiration as your daughter tries to follow your wife’s hand. She blinks and you almost cry when Wanda starts to cry again. You’re sure she has a headache from how much stress she’s been under and how much she’s cried. You’re glad to at least see that she looks happy, and you sigh in relief as you sit down next to your two girls.

“How are you feeling, love?”

Your hand is still on Wanda’s arm and she sighs happily as she turns to you with a smile. You move closer so you’re able to kiss her cheek, and she hums happily before turning back to the little bundle that’s fallen asleep at this point.

“I’m great, detka. I’m so happy…and tired.”

You smile at this and nod in understanding before looking around to see if there was anyone nearby. You are sure that Wanda would like to go home and sleep, but you honestly can’t remember if she’s supposed to stay here for a while. You are sure your friends are lurking around somewhere, at least Steve and Bucky, and you grab your phone before offering Wanda a sympathetic smile.

“I bet. You did so well though. Do you want me to see when we can go home?”

Wanda nods tiredly and you start to dial Steve’s number when you notice someone walk by the door. They glance in quickly so as not to see anything they shouldn’t but once they realize the coast is clear they’re shooting both you and Wanda a smile.

“Hey there. How’s it going in here?”

Wanda turns at the sound of her friend’s voice and she smiles as she shrugs half-heartedly. You wave Bucky in and smile as you watch him look to your daughter who you still haven’t called by her name yet. You and Wanda had talked about potential names once you realized that you were having a girl. You didn’t want to know initially, you liked the idea of being surprised, but Wanda had been adamant about needing to properly prepare, so you’d given in. In the end, the only difference between preparing for a girl vs a boy was the name. You bought many pink things, blue things, and everything in between.

Both you and Wanda were on the same page about raising a kid. You wanted to do it together and you wanted to do it in a way that would give your child a freedom that neither of you had.

“We’re getting a little tired. I was about to see when they’re all good to leave.”

Bucky nods at this as he looks over his shoulder briefly before smiling as he steps a little closer. Wanda’s stopped nursing at this point and you’re helping her hold your snoozing baby as you wait for an update. Bucky says that he’ll figure this out and he disappears leaving you to turn your attention back to your tired wife.

“We’ll get out of here soon, okay? Then you can rest as much as you want.”

Wanda smiles at this and thinks about arguing, but she stops herself when she realizes you could be telling the truth. Despite just having a baby and both of you being exhausted, you would be shocked if you didn’t get a chance to rest after this. Yelena had left earlier with a vague comment about picking up a few things, and Nat had gone with her. Pietro was back at your house and you wouldn’t be surprised if by the time you got there your friends had shown up.

They’d been adamant about helping you both once the baby arrived, and you couldn’t be more grateful. Despite wanting to spend every second with her, you are truly exhausted and would like to sleep for the next 6 days. Wanda doesn’t have that luxury, but she can still rest between feedings and take some time to recover.

You had underestimated the toll that being pregnant would take on her, and labor had somehow been more intense. You knew that she was fighting the need to sleep now as you watch her eyes flutter closed periodically. You were certain that once you got home and you were in a safer place, she’d pass out. You can’t help but reach out for her and wipe some of the sweat from her brow as you lean further into her.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Wands?”

She smiles sleepily before shaking her head and glancing at you with tired eyes before checking on her daughter.

“No thank you. You being here right now is all I need. I might fall asleep if we can’t leave soon though.”

You laugh at this and despite what you assumed earlier; Wanda does actually fall asleep right before you’re given the green light to leave. You wake her up briefly so she knows that she’s heading home, and you help her into a wheelchair before taking your family home. Steve and Bucky confirmed your suspicions that everyone is at the house, and you smile before shooting your sleepy wife a knowing look.

“That’s great. We’ll officially introduce everyone to her.”

When you’d said this, you had meant the members of your family that were people. However, now that you sat beside Wanda on the couch as the redhead carefully held your daughter out for your dogs to greet, you realize that they were an important part of this process as well. You’re pleased when Boone and Rogue sniff your daughter and don’t seem to mind the new presence in the house. Whether or not this will continue as time passes, you’ll just have to see, but for now the duo just sit at Wanda’s feet and watch as the rest of the family interacts.

“So are you going to finally tell us her name?”

This comes from Pietro who’s sitting in one of the chairs across from them with an expectant look. He’s still smiling and you’re sure that his face hurts especially after Wanda breaks the news. You honestly didn’t have a strong preference for names like she did. Your family was unfortunately mostly gone at this point, and despite wanting to remember them, you didn’t feel the need to borrow their names. Wanda on the other hand was a little more attached to the idea of giving your daughter a meaningful name, and you had no problems with this. You smile as she sits up a little and tells her brother, your friends and your dogs who are all paying close attention to you two the name she’d chosen.

“Everyone, meet Natalya Y/l/n- Maximoff.”

Everyone’s face lights up and Yelena has to bite back her initial retort of jealousy when she realizes who your daughter is named after. Although it’s very close to her sister’s name, she recognizes the twins’ mother’s name. Pietro smiles widely as he stands up to hug his sister, and he nearly trips over the dogs as he collapses next to the younger, tired Maximoff.

"That’s perfect, sestra.” He says something else in their first language that you vaguely understand. You watch as Wanda smiles brightly and kisses her brother’s cheek in thanks. He then turns his attention to his niece to play with her little fingers.

You watch him for a moment before your attention goes to your smiling friends. You can tell they are all pleased and you wonder how you’re going to tell them that you have not chosen godparents in an official way. You and Wanda had both decided that your family was unconventional and this should be no different. She wants all of your family to have important roles in your daughter’s life, so they were all going to be unofficial, official guardians.

You hug them all and Yelena sneaks behind Wanda to try and get Natalya’s attention. She can’t help but reach out and try to poke the baby’s cheeks and you just laugh at this as you address Nat’s amused look.

“Is this going to get confusing?”

Wanda catches the tail end of this question, but you laugh before she can offer the solution you came up with. You shrug slightly as you claim that it won’t be that difficult to differentiate between the two.

“Nah, you’ll be big Nat while she’s little Nat.”

Nat laughs at this as she sits down on your other side and pulls you into another hug. You relax and feel your eyes start to grow heavy, but the sound of growling catches your attention. You sit up quickly to see what the problem is, but luckily Boone and Rogue are just fighting for your wife’s attention. You keep watching them as they come to an agreement and Rogue is allowed to put his head in Wanda’s lap while Boone just sits at her feet.

Wanda smiles as she reaches out to pet the shepherd’s head which makes him pant happily. He tries to nuzzle closer to her, but he realizes that Natalya’s in the way. He whines slightly but decides to take a different approach that surprises you.

“Ow, bud, what-?”

You cringe and watch in confusion as your dog climbs into your lap so he can get closer to your wife. You’d said that you were grateful that he liked Wanda so much, but this was slightly annoying. Luckily you were too tired to care and you sigh in defeat as Rogue’s tail wags as he licks Wanda’s face with another whine.

Wanda smiles and she goes to scratch her dog with both hands once Yelena decides that she wants to hold little Nat.

“Little Nat. You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you?”

Wanda quickly gets a face full of fur and you reach out for your other dog so he doesn’t feel too left out. You scratch him with a smile before looking to Steve and Bucky.

“I might need some help getting upstairs if this keeps up.”

You’re only half kidding because by the time that everyone gets their turn to cuddle with little Nat, both you and Wanda are asleep on the couch. You’re cuddled up with Rogue who is luckily no longer sitting directly on top of you. He’s curled up next to Wanda’s side and his head is on her leg as he goes between napping and watching everyone around him.

He knows all of these people and he likes them fine, but he’s not used to having them all in his house with his people and it’s stressing him out. He’s tense where he lies protectively next to his sleeping mothers, and he can’t help but want everyone to leave.

No one notices as he looks over to where Nat is placing little Nat in her small bed. Everyone moves over to the kitchen to get drinks and discuss getting some food and groceries for you two. They are coordinating who will do what when Rogue jumps off the couch and heads toward the sleeping baby. Boone is still lying at Wanda’s feet and he sits up and watches as Rogue sniffs around the bassinet. He barks in warning when the other shepherd sticks his face in, and everyone in the kitchen turns to see what’s wrong.

You and Wanda are still asleep, but when little Nat starts crying you wake up with a groan. By the time you look over to see what’s going on, Nat is beside your dog and reaching out for him as he continues to sniff the crying baby. You fly off the couch and unfortunately wake Wanda in the process as you hurry over to make sure nothing’s wrong.

“What is it? What happened?”

You quickly realize that little Nat is just scared, but you’re not sure what set her off. You look to Rogue who is whining slightly as he’s held still by Nat’s grip on his collar. Boone is up at this point to investigate and you quickly reach out for your baby with a frown.

“I think he just scared her.”

You’re not sure which dog Nat’s talking about, but you don’t get to ask before Rogue whines louder and tries to move closer to little Nat. You frown in confusion and maybe your brain is still a little foggy from sleep but you reach out for him with a smile and scratch his head.

“You can let him go, Nat.”

“Y/n!”

You didn’t realize that Wanda was up until she’s near shouting at you. She’s wide-eyed as she walks over to where you and the rest of your friends have started to gather. They’d abandoned their plans when the dogs started to wander around. They didn’t seem super interested in Natalya initially, but they knew they needed to keep a close eye on them. They’d only looked away for a second.

“Wands, it’s okay. He was just saying hi.”

Wanda looks to you and then your shepherds nervously as she tries to figure out if you’re telling the truth. Rogue is still looking at the calming baby in your arms as you rock her gently. You might be a little tired when you kneel down on the ground so your dogs can greet their new sister, but you’ve always been a good judge of character. Whether it be people or animals, you’ve always been able to tell what they intended to do.

“Y/n…”

Wanda has to stop herself from yanking you back to your feet, but you shoot her a smile as you promise that it’s fine. You just want to see what they’ll do and you know that Nat is only a breath away from grabbing Rogue again, so you’re not worried.

“He just wants to make her feel better, isn’t that right, Rogue?”

The shepherd continues to smell the still sniffling baby before he throws out his long tongue and licks little Nat’s face. Your daughter’s eyes widen as if to say ‘what was that!?’ and you can’t help but smile as Nat sneezes when Rogue’s fur rubs against her face. You pull your daughter away and hand her over to your wife who you know is dying to look her over. You sigh as you reach out for your dog and pet him with a smile. You look over to both Nats, the younger one is sleeping in her mother’s arms, and you can’t help but lean over to kiss her before doing the same to your dog.

“I knew you’d be a good big brother.”

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #wanda x you #silver springs #silver springs drabble #silver springs au

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sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee · 4 months

Note

Can we get Riddler's reaction to SO coming home with an injured animal, maybe with a side of 'no, we are not keeping it' but they end up keeping it anyway?

"We are not keeping the damn thing-" Riddler Party x S/O

Oh this is something I'm very familiar with LMAO. I tried to include a variety of animals here.

Not to be lame or a square or w/e but as a general reminder, if you ever find injured wildlife, please contact your local shelters or animal control. These are fantasy scenarios and in most cases- wildlife is either better left alone, you will need strict temporary guidance or they need to be taken care of by professionals. In many places, you need a license to care and keep undomesticated animals.

TW: animal harm and abuse, mentions of dog fighting, medical procedures

Gotham

It all happens so quickly one day when the pair are driving in Gotham. His S/O notices what looks like a small brown bundle in the middle of the road and panics for Edward to stop. Before he can really get an explanation, they're shouting over their shoulder about a turtle, taking off their jacket. Then he's the one panicking as he watches them stop traffic to scoop up the animal.

The painted turtle has a huge crack in it's shell and a hurt leg. Not knowing what to do, they take it to a vet to see if anything can be done. Surgery, a fiberglass covering... A free sexing to determine the turtle is otherwise a healthy girl. Edward is already devouring the informational packet given to him in the waiting room. A lot he already knew but, well, it pays to learn more!

He's probably one of the few riddlers that doesn't actually say "no we can't keep it." There might be a brief moment where he questions his S/O if they even want a turtle- for the most part it's kind of... fascinating? They keep visiting the turtle in the hospital before she's released and he asks so very many questions about care and what they've been doing for her-

Before it's even been officially decided she's coming home and not being released back out, he's getting a tank ready. Heat lamps, a UVA/UVB light, pond, a dock for basking. A very strange amount of decorations related to questions marks and his special interests that you might not expect decor for.

This turtle won the lottery. She gets a very fancy omnivore diet with vitamin and mineral supplements. He even ends up cultivating species appropriate plants in the tank for her to enjoy and snack on occasionally. She's never bothered much other than the routine tank cleanings. Edward just likes watching her and watching his S/O gush over how pretty she is.

If anyone asks to pick her up, he will give a speech on how actually, human contact stresses them out so if you could never ask again, he'd appreciate it. He intends on her making it many more decades despite not having any clue how old she is now.

Penguin is going to hear so many fun facts about turtles now. Oswald might consider trying to murder him... again.

60s

A baby bird that fell from it's nest. He watched as his S/O tried and failed to reintroduce the bird back to it's mother. He even helped them weave a fake nest and put it up in the tree to see if their parents would take the babe back. To no avail. He was prepared to comfort his love if the little thing passed on.

Yet he watched his S/O roll up their sleeves and start making a nest of their own. A heat lamp that was originally used for one of Edward's plots, now for the chick. He insisted they could probably find someone to take care of it. He's certain he could light a cigarette in a public place and get Batman's attention if they wanted a more heroic figure for the job. With a sidekick named Robin, surely he has a thing for lost little birds.

Birds aren't really his thing, you see. Not part of the gimmick. He has nothing against them, love, but... perhaps Penguin? Still no, huh? The determination of his S/O is rather inspiring, even if it goes against his own wishes. Feedings every few hours, changing papers and blankets. Checking the crop. He noticed the collection of bird care books from Gotham Library.

He starts feeling more affection for the thing once it grows fluff. As his S/O gently holds his hand out to teach the bird to step up. There's something endearing about all of it. How passionate they are. How could he truly say no? It's when the feathers appear and the soft cries begin that they confirm they have a little mourning dove.

In devotion to his partner and their new animal child, he sets up a bird cage and perches himself. Reads the same care books, albeit in half the time. Once the time is right, he even builds an outdoor cage to allow the bird fresh air and stimulation that is safe from predators.

While he doesn't appreciate the mess the bird leaves, he doesn't mind the shoulder buddy. It does, however, make him slightly less intimidating towards Batman, as if he needed anything to help with that.

Zero Year

His S/O had a habit of bringing home animals. They had some... special certification, he wasn't paying terribly much attention to what- What it meant was that after they moved in together, there would occasionally be a small furred or feathered creature in the spare room off his workshop that needed to be bottle fed. He wasn't sure how he felt about the habit. It was something he almost admired. Wanting to care for something small and weak. Yet it was a vulnerability he could see being taken advantage of.

Good thing he's such a pleasant and non-needy personality that doesn't need all his S/O's attention! He lived with it. Perhaps he was better for it. Personal growth... even if at moments he felt jealous and despised it. He supposed they needed a hobby of their own considering how his "hobby" was so all-consuming.

Then they brought home the red fox. A fur-farm rescue. Nowhere else to go, they said. Edward tried to put his foot down. How would they even care for it? A fox... Ridiculous! He also knows it can't be tossed back out into the wild. It would die. His stubbornness holds even as he watches his partner cut their hands open on wire fencing to make an enclosure.

It isn't until they ask him, truly ask him, if he hates that they save animals. Seeing the pain in their eyes and sensing the possibility that they might even leave- he makes a decision. No amount of avoiding annoyances is worth losing the one person he truly trusts in this life. He builds an outdoor enclosure with catch doors and even sits down with the thing.

Winning him over was as simple as the vixen stealing his screwdriver and laughing at him as she played keep away. He was irritated with her, at first, yet as he caught her and all she wanted was pets and affection... He supposed it was also cute the way she would hoard boiled eggs out of his hand. Alright, maybe, just maybe- Maybe she could stay. Only out of his good will.

He gets to a point where she'll sit in his lap while he trims her nails and brushes her fur. His S/O can do the yucky medical stuff she hates, this is his time.

BTAS

It was a kitten that set his life upside down. His partner, his darling beloved, found it abandoned and hypothermic in a box after a storm. No indication of mother or another human coming to find it. His eyes weren't even open. A little tuxedo that mewled for any kind of nourishment and warmth. Edward was ready to call Selina to come pick it up- until he remembered she was currently incarcerated by Batman for a diamond heist.

It wasn't his bathroom being overtaken as a quarantine zone that made him upset. It wasn't even the alarm that went off every two hours for feedings, even in the middle of the night. No, it was how exhausted and emotionally tired his S/O looked after two days of taking care of him. When he said they were not, could not keep the cat, his partner insisted on doing everything themselves.

He was regretting it, to say the least. At 3am, while he was working, he could hear the alarm going... and his S/O snoring through it. With a sigh, he turned it off and began to prepare the formula. He went through the steps in his mind as he had seen his partner do for the past week and a half. Feed, burp, stimulate for the bathroom, make sure he's warm. Then he got in there and found a creature shouting and demanding to be fed and loved now.

Putting the kitten on his chest, watching his ears wiggle and feeling the tiniest muffins being made on his chest... that was the moment he fell in love. In that instant, he understood. This little sootball that looked like lint that exploded in the dryer- he was worth the hardship.

After that, Edward took on the nightshift for his partner. A few more weeks and their schedules could get back to normal. Ish. And their fancy well dressed man could be released into the rest of the house to cause chaos galore. Kitten energy is a bit too much for Edward, but he adjusts.

Telltale

When his S/O had stumbled into his workplace, bloodied and holding a blanket close to their chest, he feared the worst. He was prepared to dismember whoever had done this to his partner- and then they mentioned it wasn't their blood. Irritating, yet relief flooded his system.

He cleared a nearby table and watched as his S/O unraveled a bleeding, wounded dog. Struggling to breathe. Whining. A prong collar embedded into its neck. In the haze of panic, he extrapolates that his partner found it thrown away like trash in an alley. Even in this state he could make out the bite marks of other dogs on her body. Dog fighting.

Yet the mottled colored mutt seemed disinterested in attacking, even in this vulnerable state. Had she already given up? He was prepared to euthanize her himself until his partner looked at him with wet eyes asking if there was anything he could do. A tired sigh.

He knew some people with the proper equipment. Yet even as he contacted them, he insisted the two of them were not keeping the dog. He would help take care of the dog. Then they would figure out where she could go.

This lasted until one night in the lab as he sat at his desk, he felt a heavy head lay on his leg. As he looked down, there she was, staring up at him- tail wagging. Even after everything they'd put her through... she was putting all her trust and affection in a human. He would never admit it, but it reminded him of himself in some small way towards his S/O. Finding that love after pain atop of pain.

He stopped mentioning getting rid of the dog. Insists no one else will want a former fighting dog, so she might as well stay. It has nothing to do with how she cuddles between her "parents" on the couch. That she'll fetch things for her master with a dopey pleased look. And of course not because she gets accustomed to waking Eddie when he's experiencing night terrors associated with his past. Lowkey she's his emotional support dog and he's her emotional support human and his S/O gets to watch that relationship bloom.

Arkham

Despite Edward's lack of care towards the many strays in Gotham, his S/O seemed rather enamored with them. He comments that they should leave feeding the mangy things to Selina. Yet, he doesn't stop them. Then there was one cat in the neighborhood that wouldn't escape either of their notice. A mean feral that wouldn't let anyone near it. He'd wait for everyone else to eat food before picking off scraps.

He thought it was sort of charming how his S/O asked him for a trap to catch the beast. He asked them why they'd bother. It would appear the creature had gotten an eye injury, likely from fighting. He'd never expected them to actually catch the beast, no matter how genius his craftsmanship on the trap. And yet...

One eye enucleation and spay surgery later, his next question was when they were going to release the cat back out. Or call catwoman to deal with it. As his S/O told him neither would be happening, he began to try to put his foot down. No, never. You will not be keeping him. If they'd really wanted a pet, he could make one! Not this... possible mixed breed of a wild cat with a domestic one.

Fortunately they had a small spare room they could clear out for a kennel to allow the cat some comfort while he healed. Edward would listen as his partner going into the room and cooing. Followed by hissing and "no... No, c'mon-" and more bargaining. He shook his head. What were they expecting? You can't just bring a creature like that back with that kind of hate.

It isn't until one night when he's working that he hears... a meowing. It's strained and croaking. He goes to inspect the room and seen the one eyed cat staring up at him. A soft meow. Then a head bonk on the cage bars. Yet as he knelt down, the cat reared back and hissed.

Over the next week, he would visit the cat with his S/O. He noticed this scraggly, scarred cat looking up at them. Hissing less and less. Hesitantly approaching until his S/O was able to touch his head. Then they heard it for the first time: his purr. It was then Edward knew he was not going to be able to get rid of this ugly as sin cat.

The cat absolutely chose his S/O as his person, but that doesn't leave out Edward. The cat likes sleeping on some of his machinery when it's warm. Jumping on his shoulders when he falls asleep at his desk. Edward finds himself petting deep into his now-soft fur when he's stressed.

Selina will give him so much shit about this cat. Forever.

Batman 2022/Nashton

His S/O found the little creature after a dog had gotten hold it. A possum joey without a mother anywhere in sight. A few calls later, a wildlife shelter visit and lots of stress and worrying, they were told the possum was going to live... But not in the wild. There was enough damage to its body that even after healing, he might not be able to defend himself properly.

Edward tried to reason why it should stay with someone else. They'd have better care. They'd become an education ambassador, maybe! He... It's so tiny and fragile, and that makes him so nervous.

Edward is projecting a lot of feelings onto this little thing that mostly wants to hiss and cling to his sweatshirt. He'll just fuck it up, you know. The problem that arises is too many rehabbers in the area are full up. There might not be any space for the little guy- Faced with the possibility of euthanasia, Edward's S/O looks at him with dewy eyes.

How can he say no to that face? And the face of, he supposes, their newest companion. After faking some paperwork and certifications, they are bringing home a small possum.

Over time, he ends up relating a lot to the possum considering their reputation. They're just scavengers! They can't even get rabies! Yet everyone just seems to hate them for being born. He knows what that's like...

He does so much research on dietary needs since possums require such a variety of care. Protein, proper phosphorous levels, fruits and veggies. He really likes feeding him cooked chicken hearts out of his hand. Since they walk so much in the night, he makes an exercise wheel for the little guy to use. Builds climbing walls and poles for him to hang from if he wants. His S/O gets to help hammer nails in!

Sometimes Edward's S/O is looking for the possum and asks Edward... only to see a little black and white head poke out from his hoodie. The two of them know they won't have the possum for long (in the wild, they only live around three years!), but he's kind of used to shorter lifespans with his rats.

He's going to make sure the years they have, though, are going to be enriching and full of happiness.

#gotham riddler #60s riddler #zero year riddler #capulo riddler #btas riddler #telltale riddler #arkham riddler #batman 2022 riddler #riddler #foxwriting

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bakerstreethound · 2 years

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Must be the Late Night Talking | sherlock holmes

Nothing to see here but another blurb. I apologize if it seems scattered, but writing has been keeping me going pretty much for the last couple of days as a form of comfort so...yeah this happened. We’re also going to ignore that this is 1.1k+ words so yes, it’s a blurb.

Please don’t claim, repost, copy, or translate my works to other sites. There’s some hurt, perhaps slight comfort not entirely sure since I wrote this on a whim to process my feelings/emotions whatever they’re called. It may have some angst too if you squint.

===============================================

You fell limp onto the couch, dressed in nothing but sweatpants and an old sweatshirt, your muscles screaming in agony. Moreso was your brain, throbbing and it wouldn’t stop no matter how much water you drank. You huffed in annoyance and pulled your blanket closer around you burrowing into its warmth.

The loneliness ached in your chest, spreading through your body and you were too tired to care. You huffed, pulling your blanket closer around you burrowing into its warmth. Even glancing at your phone became a chore nowadays, barely chirping with the messages you hardly ever got anymore. It seemed others had grown apart from you. Old friends went up and away, forgetting about the person who had done their best to support them through their University adventures and beyond.

Now you’re here, nothing more but a relic of a time long gone. Your soul felt old but you had so much more life inside you, it hurt to find as you wallowed away day by day, pushing through the tasks and assignments looming over your head.

So you did what you knew best, kept your head up, working day by day in hopes that something would be better, yet the perpetual twinge would hit ever so often as it did now.

You loved Sherlock with all you had, but this loneliness was something different, a perpetual bone-deep ache and you swallowed a lump in your throat when you looked outside the window.

Two people stood close together on the pavement, laughing boisterously at something on their phones, heads tossed back, carefree and smiling. Further down across the street, two others were sitting on a bench, one holding a loaf of bread while the other enthusiastically took photos of the birds flocking near them, their face beaming in elation.

The scowl on your face deepened and the ache persisted, knocking against your chest like a wounded animal. In a way you supposed you are one, constantly pacing, trying to find things to make you happy. Even the food you used to love now tasted coarse and flavorless on your tongue like sandpaper.

Despite this, despite it all, you feel alone even with Sherlock in the same room as you. You love him, adore him but you want a close friend, a close companion to confide in no matter how much you deny it.

You knew he felt this way too even though he wouldn’t express it directly. You saw how Sherlock’s eyes filled with glee when John walked into a room ready to join him on a case. How you wanted someone like that to look at you like it only took both of you to conquer the world, that invisible yet visible thread of affection and companionship a constant in your life.

Even then, you wanted someone else to call too when times got hard, when you needed a shoulder to cry on and vent your worries out to. You never had much hope in deep bonds with others, especially after the toxic instances you found yourself in a time or two. It made you question if you were normal, why you were always tossed to the wayside for the promise of something better no one but you could offer.

What could you offer? You were awkward, shy at best then when you learned to put on your brave face, a cheerful facade able to be boisterous and loud to get your opinions across…you felt better. But none of them who saw you then would understand as you curled up in the middle of the bed, your heart aching in your chest desiring more than that, that futile connection, something other than your words that could soothe others like an balm did nothing for you.

Give and take.

You gave too much, too took much, strained yourself you forgot you had to stop to run. The you find yourself heaving struggling to hang on as life passed you by like a bullet train speeding out of control.

Then you turned to words, your true solace in the darkest of times, something that made you feel awake even when your style pained you to no end they were there for you as you wove them about the page, an elixir to quell the pain of loneliness and the ghosts it brought.

Those were your only true freedom, something you could rely on time after time. You find yourself wandering towards your bedroom and opened one of the journals you had lng abandoned, insisting you’d fill it up by the end of the year two years prior. A good half of it is nothing but empty lines still and you trace them, the deep aching sorrow inside you surfacing more.

And that’s how Sherlock finds you half asleep on your bed, your fingers skimming through the words in your two older journals with the half used one cracked open on your lap.

“I’ve written so many poems, Sherlock I doubt one of them will ever see the light of day.” You murmur quietly, your face half hidden in the shadows. You felt the bed dip and swallowed the lump forming in your throat, hating to see how he looked at you in this state, one of quiet despair.

He scooted closer to you ensuring he doesn’t sit on anything or have them scatter to the floor as he wrapped around you gently, his hand stroking your side.

“You can read them to me if you’d like or start one of those blogs like John has.”

You sighed, leaning into his touch, ignoring once again the ache in your chest. “I don’t think I will, I’m not ready yet.”

He kissed your neck, his thumb gently brushing along your lower lip. “That’s okay, when you’re ready, then.”

You melted into him more, tossing all the rest of your things to the nightstand, turning in his embrace to where you gaze met his and you find yourself rememorizing every part of him. This was what your home felt like, his heart beat sure and strong in his chest when your head rested on top of it, his fingers tracing patterns along your back.

The ache subsided in your chest at his minsistrations and you found yourself yawning, running your fingers through his curls gently before pressing the softest of kisses to his lips. You knew the ache would return sometime again, that worry surfacing bringing your insecurities along with it. Still, you ached for a close friend. In that way, the only way, you envied your husband so. For he had John and you had but pen and ink.

******

@frostandflamesfanfic @starks-hero @feral-for-strange @lilythemadqueen @azu21 @battledress @sylvieofasgard @strangelockd @ravencatart @classickook

#Sherlock Holmes #sherlock x reader #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock holmes x you #sherlock holmes imagine #bbc sherlock imagine #sherlock fanfic #bbc sherlock #benedict cumberbatch #sherlock tv

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imabeautifulbutterfly · 3 months

Text

Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

Summary: Din and Ann show vulnerability

A/N: Hello lovelies,

I hope everyone has a good start to their long weekend, if you have one, and if you don’t I hope you have a good weekend. Apologies for not posting yesterday, my sisters and I decided to last minute go away, there was a lot of packing, doing my nail, and dying my hair that needed to happen. Needless to say, I was learning to type again with nails, so it took me longer to edit, than usual.

Anyway, have a lovely weekend.

Love oo

Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.

Warnings: tenderness, grooming horses, rope discussions (learning to tie a knot), mentions of past abusive behaviour, past captivity, and restraints. Apologizing, grief, animal in pain, if I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link | Words: 1,273 | Previous -> Next

Main Master List | Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

THE CRESTWORLD

Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

I did my best not to stare, while he showed adoration for Misty.

Din pulled back from the gentle headbutt he was giving Misty. He lovingly stroked her mane, before directing his attention towards the knot he tied.

“Before you begin to groom, you want to make sure to use a quick-release knot, also known as a highwayman’s hitch. Make sure to tie the lead rope above the height of their wither.”

“Their what?”

“Their withers, their shoulders” he motioned. “Do you know how to tie a highwayman’s hitch?”

I didn’t say anything, I just grabbed the rope from his hand and tied it to the barn, he simply nodded.

“Good. After dinner we’ll run through a bunch of different knots we use here on the ranch. I would recommend you spend at least 18 mins a day practising.”

I tilted my head at him, “18 minutes? That’s a specific number”

“Ever heard the 100 hour rule? 18 minutes a day for a year is all you need to be better than 95% of the world in any discipline.”

“Do I need to be better than 95% of the population in tying knots?”

“If you know how to tie them without looking, you’ll know how to untie them too.”

I shifted as I petted Misty, “Is there a reason I should know how to untie them?”

I did my best not to look at Din, I didn’t want him to see that I already knew why it was important to learn how to untie a knot.

After all, the only reason I knew how to tie a highwayman’s hitch was because of my ex. After the first time, I attempted to leave, he kept my hands and feet tied up and locked me up in that closet for three days.

Of course, he made sure to check on me every couple of hours. Each time he opened that closet door, he reminded me, I needed him in my life. Without him in my life, I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to do anything. After that incident, I made a point to learn what I could about knots.

Misty moved her head, pulling me out of my past memories, phantom pains radiated through my wrists. My eyes closed as I shook out my hands focusing back on Din’s voice.

“… and self-defence. You should know how to save yourself if you need to … never know when someone may … when you might run into someone who feels they have a right to dictate terms. Anyway, those are a few reasons.”

Din finished, his eyes focusing on mine. He tilted his head as though he was trying to determine if I had been paying attention to what he said; I simply nodded and cleared my throat, “Right that makes sense, emergency situations and for self defence.”

He noticed Ann’s vacant expression, it was the same expression she had when he commented about the lock on the door to her bedroom when she arrived, and when he raised his voice. Despite learning from the Marshall, she’d been one of his ‘special people’, he never inquired or asked Ann about her past, regardless he could tell she’d been in a rough spot. He regretted saying anything, it bothered him when her face turned into that vacant stare.

It wasn’t her.

Truthfully, he didn’t even know why it came out of his mouth.

An odd sensation settled in his stomach, he wondered if he should apologize for saying something or just gloss over it like nothing happened. Even his reaction this morning was excessive, and although he apologized for that, he still didn’t feel it was enough.

He cleared his throat, “Ann, I … listen about this morning, I am really sorry. I was tired and cranky, barely got any sleep trying to find those damn lost sheep. Not that it excuses it, but as you know Aq Vetina can get pretty cold at night, sleeping outside wasn’t exactly comfortable … What I’m trying to say is that I apologize for taking your head off this morning. It was rude and thoughtless and you deserve better than that, so I am sorry.”

He let out an extended sigh, hoping he did the right thing.

My hands drifted from Misty and settled by my side, I wasn’t sure what to do or say. Somehow standing here listening to him apologize again made me feel odd. After all, he usually wasn’t a very talkative man, unless there was a point he needed to address.

It was so odd hearing a man apologize and actually mean it. Her ex apologized all the time, but he never actually meant it. After every insult, every abuse, he would apologize, but he never changed his ways.

I cleared my throat, nodding to his statement, “Thank you for apologizing. I can tell you’re sincere about it; and truthfully, after our talk this morning I realized I may have been pushing things a little.” I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the tension there, “I’m sorry too. This sort of arrangement is new for me, so if I do step over the line with your son, please let me know. Last thing I want to do is make you or Grogu uncomfortable. Even though we haven’t known each other for very long, I feel comfortable here. With you. Both of you. I’m not trying to be anything other than both of your friends.”

“I know” Din’s hand reached up and began petting Misty, “like I said, it was all my fault this morning. Truthfully, I was missing … Camilla after the incident with the teacher.” He shifted in his spot, clearing his throat. “Friends?”

I smiled and nodded, “Friends. If … if you ever need to talk … I’m here.” I offered hoping that would ease his concern. Din didn’t respond, he simply hummed in agreement.

Silence settled between us for a few minutes, both of us feeling awkward and slightly exposed. My eyes drifted off to the field, focusing on Bessie, when I remembered I needed to tell Din about what I observed earlier.

“I have a question” doing my best to steady my voice and move on from this awkwardness.

“Ask away”

“Is Bessie okay?”

Din peered from around Misty, focusing on Ann, his head tilted slightly as his brows furrowed, “Why wouldn’t she be?”

“This morning she was mooing a lot, even after I milked her, she didn’t seem comfortable. She was even trodding slowly”

“Hmm, I’ll check on her in a bit” He seemed contemplative as he shifted around Misty, “Alright, so once you have Misty tied up, we start with the hooves.” Din walked Ann through the steps, teaching her which way to stand to avoid being kicked in the face, then how to curry Misty.

“You want me to curry? What’s curry?”

“It’s when the horse is rubbed or ‘curried’ to loosen dirt, hair and other waste or debris, plus it stimulates the skin to produce natural oils.”

“Oh, okay so like brushing”

“In a way”

He couldn’t help laughing as he watched her begin brushing Misty like she was a cat, “Not like that” he stood behind her, placing his hand on top of hers. He was so busy talking her through the motions, he hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten, or how small, warm and soft her hand was in his, at least not until he looked down to see if she had any questions.

The world fell silent as their eyes locked. Din’s heart thumped against his chest, wanting to break free. Ann’s stomach tightened, as a shiver ran through her body.

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Main Master List | Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

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aita-blorbos · 2 months

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(AU/OC) AITA for killing my daughter’s girlfriend?

I (55M physically, 107M immortally) am a vampire. I was turned a few years before my daughter (25F physically, 47F immortally) was born, so she was born a vampire. I raised my daughter as a single dad and it was just her and me, and I wouldn’t ask for it to be any other way. I love my daughter, she’s my world.

This all started a few months ago. My daughter found out that I drink human blood and she got upset for some reason, even after I explained that drinking animal blood makes us weaker. I have to be as strong as possible to protect her if danger comes. However, she didn’t seem to understand. She called me a murderer and said she didn’t want to see me again, so she moved out and cut off contact with me. I have missed her every second of every day since then.

Long story short, I end up meeting this human, we’ll call her S (21F) and I find out that she’s dating my daughter. I end up finding out where my daughter is currently living through her (the details aren’t important). I obviously hate everything about this. My daughter isn’t talking to me and now she has a girlfriend? It’s like S was trying to steal my daughter away from me or something. And not to mention, S is annoying as hell.

I’d like to clarify that I am not homophobic and this has nothing to do with my daughter being gay. My own partner is non-binary. I have always loved my lesbian daughter. I don’t care that she’s dating a girl, I just hate S. And my hatred for S has nothing to do with her being gay.

Anyways, me and my partner (we weren’t dating at the time this happened but they’re my current partner) were out hunting one day and right after we make the kill, we discover that S was hiding in the trees and had seen it! I had already hated S, but the fact that she’s seen me technically commit a crime was even worse. So I attempted to kill her. This bitch takes out a wooden stake and stabs me in the stomach! It turns out that she’s a VAMPIRE HUNTER! Not a very good one, clearly, since she didn’t kill me and she has no idea her girlfriend is a vampire, but whatever.

So obviously I wanted to warn my daughter that her girlfriend is a vampire hunter. But my daughter took S’s side! Apparently she already knew that S is a hunter and was just… fine with it?! My daughter acts like she can change S or something! She seemed CONVINCED that S wouldn’t hurt her, that S would go against her training for her.

Obviously, my daughter is insane. This naivety could cost my daughter her life. So I took matters into my own hands. I killed S to protect my daughter, so that my daughter would be safe. I didn’t want her near a hunter.

My daughter was upset and said she hated me. Whatever. She can hate me as long as she’s safe. I love her enough to keep her safe no matter what has to be done.

A few weeks later, my daughter comes to me asking for help training a fledgling vampire, and I realize that she turned S into a vampire instead of just letting her die. I was pissed, clearly. Being turned was one of the worst things to happen to me and I would never wish it on someone else, even with as much as I hate S. And S comes from a whole family of vampire hunters who she can’t go back to now that she’s a vampire.

Despite this, I did try to help S learn and control her new vampire abilities, but it didn’t work because S is terrified of me and wouldn’t stop cowering in fear 🙄 and she bit me when I tried to pick her up in bat form! My daughter fired me from the teaching position and my partner started helping instead.

Now my partner and S are friends, and my daughter is still defending S, and everybody seems to love S except for me. S is terrified of me and sees me as some horrific monster. And S is the reason why my daughter won’t come back home! I don’t see why I have to like S.

I recently switched to drinking animal blood so that my daughter will talk to me again, but my daughter and my partner keep trying to make me and S get along, and S still hates me for killing her.

So, AITA?

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality

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justsomekpopstuff · 2 months

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monsta x as d&d characters

NOTE: Remember, these are just my opinion and how I would classify them in D&D. You can have your own perspective, just don't be a hater about it. I also know that my D&D knowledge isn't perfect. Don't judge me.

Shoutout to @vesvosmozhno who encouraged and awaited this post! You are awesome, and thank you for all your support!

current masterlist | fic recs

Shownu: Half-Orc Barbarian

Shownu was born and raised into a communal clan of half-orcs, living in isolation from the rest of the world. While he did have parents, he really was raised by the entire group, with each member teaching him every skill they could. As he grew, he eventually became a proficient blacksmith, becoming the official apprentice for the clan. Everything was peaceful - until it wasn't. One day, the village was attacked by a group of raiders who had a particular hatred for half-orcs, wanting them to suffer. The raiders were destroying everything in their path, taking anyone and anything they could get their hands on. Shownu, who happened to be finishing his shift at the blacksmith's, ran out to the commotion, newly forged and sharpened axes in his hands. After witnessing the terror for himself, Shownu's rage became too much to handle. Despite his typically peaceful nature, he blazed through the raiders, as if the axes were made to be in his hands. When the raiders realized there was no stopping him, they ran, never to be seen again. While the village stood silent, marveling in Shownu's show of strength and fury, all he could care about was going back and fixing the damage to the shop, as well as what he was going to eat for lunch. That day, without him knowing, his people deemed him the town protector, knowing that his love for his village and his might would protect them from any danger - even with his peaceful demeanor.

Wonho: Human Druid

Wonho doesn’t have any memory of where he really came from. All he knew was that as a small child, he wandered into the feywild and was adopted by the people there. They showed him all sorts of magic, but quickly learned that he loved animal magic the most. As he grew, they focused more on teaching him the lessons of animal magic, and Wonho quickly became a druid prodigy. Befitting for his gentle temperament, the feywild people bestowed upon him the power to transform into a small lop-eared rabbit, with a nature as gentle as himself. After bestowing this gift upon him, the feywild people gave Wonho a mission: go into the human world, and show the power of love and kindness to those who are most in need of it. Each village he approached, he approached with kindness and curiosity, which was off putting to most of the locals. However, those who saw his genuineness and appreciation for learning welcomed him. Wonho quickly learned he had a soft spot for the orphanages of the villages, seeing how much in-need the young children were of love and kindness. Wonho became a regular presence, often showing up in his rabbit form to greet the children as they played. He rarely showed his human form to them until one night, when he was caught sneaking in extra food rations by the head of the orphanage. The head of the orphanage watched as Wonho got so spooked by his presence that he accidentally shifted into his rabbit form, exposing himself as a druid - and the one that was giving comfort to the children. The orphanage owner, instead of kicking Wonho out, allowed Wonho to stay and work at the orphanage as a caretaker for the children. Needless to say, the children were incredibly overjoyed at his presence, both animal and human. Wonho knew from then on, his mission would always be complete.

Minhyuk: Tiefling Rogue

From the time he was born, Minhyuk knew that he was meant to be a showman. As a small child he would regularly pretend to be different characters, creating new stories of people and things from far-off lands. However, because of his appearance and infernal nature, his theatricality was often seen as a threat by the other children. Being a tiefling was seen as a curse. Despite those who tried to make him feel ashamed for who he was, Minhyuk never gave up on his dream. However, as much as he put on a brave face, he could never deny that the words of the ignorant cut him to his core. One day, it became all too much. He saw the horrible paintings on his home, depicting him as nothing more than an awful monster, a creature never to be respected. That night, he packed his things and ran, never to return to his hometown again. Every village he wandered into, he found the outcasts, the odd-ones-out, and the rejected. To each of them, he gave kindness and respect, and shared his dream of creating a show where no one would have to be ashamed of who they were. Eventually, he had a whole group of followers, and their dream began to take shape. Every talent, magic, look, and style were welcome in Minhyuk’s show. He would make sure they were all introduced with respect and lauded with praise. Anyone who dared try to ridicule his fellow performers would quickly be met with Minhyuk’s legendary infernal wrath. While his show was still met with the usual group of detractors and protestors, Minhyuk knew that he was doing what he was meant to. His dream of showmanship, and showing the world what those who are rejected are capable of, all came together. No matter what, he never let the hatred get to him anymore.

Kihyun: Half-Siren Bard

Kihyun was born on a boat to a sea-faring family, but ships are not friendly places to small children. There was a massive storm that tossed him overboard, and because of his age, he began to drown. That was, until he felt two arms scoop him up and the air returned to his lungs. He would learn that he was saved by a siren queen who had taken pity on him and bestowed him with some of the powers of the sirens. Kihyun was raised with the pod, never really questioning why he was the only one without a tail, scales, or gills. To him, they were the only family he actually knew. He grew up singing, his voice becoming a unique and alluring power that benefited him greatly; and, because of his mostly human origins, he would learn that he is the only “siren” that could walk between sea and land. When Kihyun reached adulthood, he decided to leave the pod and venture onto land full time, promising his mother the siren queen to never forget his true self. He wandered onto the shores and began his new life, humming his way through local villages. Because of the alluring tone of his singing, he quickly drew crowds. Local taverns tripped over each other to try and get him to perform, and Kihyun found himself obliging all of them, bouncing to a different one each night. However, this quickly became too much for Kihyun. He decided to become an apprentice at a local bakery, where his skill with baked goods nearly outshone his talents for music. Every now and again, the owner of the bakery would open the door to the shop to let the locals hear Kihyun’s humming as he worked. One day, an elderly member of the village came into the bakery, and Kihyun recognized them as the owner of one of the oldest, smallest taverns in the village. Kihyun felt it was fate as the tavern owner lamented over how few patrons came through their doors. Kihyun volunteered to help, scheduling a performance for that night at the old tavern that brought in nearly the entire village. Seeing the smile on the tavern owner’s face as he sang brought so much joy to Kihyun’s heart that he announced to the village that this would be the only tavern he would perform in. From then on, Kihyun was a baker’s assistant by day, and a tavern singer by night. He finally felt whole both of his worlds finally at peace with each other.

Hyungwon: Human Ranger

From his earliest memories, the only human person that Hyungwon ever knew was his grandfather. Living in the middle of nowhere, on the outskirts of society, Hyungwon was raised to trust and respect the land around him, and was taught how to survive in the harshest of conditions. Despite his disdain for exerting extreme amounts of energy, Hyungwon became a skilled survivalist. Eventually, his grandfather passed away, and Hyungwon was driven to live out in the wild on his own. Because he didn’t really have anyone else, Hyungwon found himself connecting more with the wild, especially with the animals. This led to him discovering his ability to summon an animal companion to keep him company. This animal companion, or companions, became a hoard of rats he accumulated while on the road, with their leader, whom Hyungwon named Ratrick. Every now and again, whenever he realized that he was running low on supplies that he couldn’t make or find himself, Hyungwon (having a small existential crisis) forced himself to wander into local villages to restock. He would use Ratrick and his hoard rats to gather what they could before he had to step in and do it himself. Anything he could do to avoid people, he’d do it. The only person who ever made the effort to become friends with Hyungwon and give him one small connection to society was Shownu. The only reason that this happened was because Shownu almost killed Hyungwon by accident after he found Hyungwon sneaking large amounts of snacks out of the community pantry. Shownu saw that despite Hyungwon's incredible reflexes and skill, that all Hyungwon really wanted was to be. Just be. So, Shownu gave Hyungwon the supplies he needed and told Hyungwon that if he ever wanted a place to return to, that he would always have one in Shownu's village. That one connection was all Hyungwon needed in the world - that and Ratrick.

Jooheon: Human Sorcerer

Even though he would deny it, the village where he was born called Jooheon a miracle. For many generations, the village had been plagued by a militant occupation of power and money-hungry warlords. These warlords would regularly steal children as young as infants to raise them to be pieces of their military machine. Jooheon’s family did everything they could to keep his birth a secret, but his presence was felt all the way to the Feywild. The Fae decided to bless Jooheon with magic abilities - a jack-of-all-trades magic that would help him on his quest to freedom. Despite his blessing, Jooheon grew up hidden and isolated. His parents told him stories passed down from those before them of how the village used to be free until the warmongers had taken over. Every story fueled Jooheon to want to take action, and so he grew his magic to one day bring that liberation to his village. As an adult, with his Fae blessing fully charged, he made his presence known with explosions, taking out many of the warmonger’s bases. Cultivating all of his power, he blew through the warmonger’s encampments. By the time dawn began to break, not a single leader was left. The village was finally free - but, what now? Jooheon spent days in the village, ensuring everyone that he was force of good, and working with the other villagers to liberate all of the lost children that had been stolen from them. As more weeks passed, Jooheon began to feel more like there was something more left for him to do. As the village got back on its feet, free of their militant oppressors, Jooheon felt more and more useless, and his family could sense it. And so, they knew to let him go. They knew, with his Fae blessing, he would become a powerful freedom fighter that would bring liberation to countless people - just as he was born to do.

Chankgyun: Half-Elf Bard

Changkyun was born into a family of bardic singers, beloved by the humans and elvish. Everyone born into the family was blessed with a beautiful voice, and joined in the family choir once they came of age. That was, until Changkyun came along. When he became old enough to start his training to join the family, they learned something quite jarring - Changkyun couldn’t sing at all. No matter what they tried, he just could not sing to their standards; and so, they gave up on him. Every time they would travel to a new town to perform, Chankgyun’s family would sit him in the very back of the tavern while they performed. One night when he was a tween, and they saw him scribbling away on some paper. When they snatched the paper away from him, they saw that this whole time he had been writing lyrics -lyrics for him to perform. At first they laughed, reminding Changkyun that he was tone-deaf, but then he opened his mouth and began to rap the lyrics to perfection. His musicality, despite not singing, rendered his family speechless, as they never realized that talent could look different than what they expected. And so, Changkyun’s family gave him permission to join the family choir - an offer that he quickly refused. Chankgyun knew he was meant for more, and the fact that it took them until now to realize it never sat well for him. He walked off into the night, lyrics and a small drum in tow. On Chankgyun’s travels, he grew his skills of rhythm and rap. His unique musical stylings (and sporadic d*ck jokes) enthralled every village and town he came across. Despite being more shy and quiet when not performing, his stage persona was goofy, flirtatious, and a little bit of a menace. Every now and again, when he would have to interact with fans on the road, he’d break out the persona - an act that would regularly get him into trouble. There was an incident where he accidentally got engaged to a half-orc that he sweet-talked…he doesn’t like to talk about it. But, with every adventure and every song, he felt more and more free. He was no longer the “tone-deaf outcast”, but a creative spirit in his own right - one that he was meant to be all along. His talents helped him connect to so many on the outskirts, including Minhyuk, Jooheon and the others. Changkyun knew from then on that he would never be tossed aside again.

#monsta x #monsta x imagines #monsta x headcanons #monsta x drabbles #my musings #shownu #wonho #minhyuk #kihyun #hyungwon #jooheon #jooheony #changkyun #i.m.

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geekynerdfinallyhada-name · 3 months

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Okay, this is not a good time to post this ON VALENTINE'S DAY but since this is brought up again and I will tell my theories!

WARNING: It's a theory! Contains comics and movie spoilers! You have been warned

I never shared this before, It just I had a theory that Talia slept with Jason is to rise a dna from him? I have a theory about Damian isn't actually her and Bruce's kid. But with Jason instead.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you haven't read Under The Red Hood comics or Red Hood: Lost Days, here is my previous post!

What's to prove this?

Talia had a different reputation or depiction now, it seems? She had always slept around in order to rise a powerful kid or descendants to the league? I'm sorry if I explained it wrong, I wanted to say that she had a kid with Deathstroke.

Is she a good mom? No, it's a fan fiction. Batman Family: Slice of Life, Webtoons it's a fan service behind every drama in DCU. It's hardly happening. Talia always seen her child as weapon, she's searching for the powerful heir? The one to leads the next League of Assasins, I'm sorry if I depicted this in wrong way! Since I'm talking about modern Talia!

I want to clear something though, I have read or known her appearance is not something REALLY, PURE EVIL, SLUTS,

Checked out my reblogged post...

https://www.tumblr.com/geekynerdfinallyhada-name/736530848644464640/is-this-good-its-from-btac-s3-8?source=share

Also her version in BTAC: S3 #8

Enough talking about that one, let's get to the explanation point.

Notice that Bruce's eyes is blue?

It's Blue, right??

"He had his father's eyes, don't you think?" -Talia, Death in The Family

First, seems Talia here had her eyes colored brown. She had brown eyes and...

That child had FUCKING GREEN EYES

Also guys! If you ever wondered, I guess this is where the fan fiction begins with Jason had green eyes. He is actually had always been "blue eyes"

We can argue if it's animation error and inconsistencies! But yes... Fucking hell, she's a manipulator. One thing about manipulator is that they're a liar, never trust their words so openly

Thank you to have a time to read this! I'm sorry if I makes grammar mistakes or my words are so messy! You'll get what I mean: She said Damian had his father's eyes, but Bruce's eyes is Blue and her eyes is brown. Um! Jason Todd does have green eyes in there, which is... Damian's eyes!

Another thing! The one in Red Hood: The Lost Days, it's the first and I think... Only? (I'm not talking about N52) Where it's clear that he slept with someone, Talia *THAT SOMEONE IS THE ONE WHO RAISED HIM!? :'(( okay, he was emotionally vulnerable too!? Is he... Groomed???????

Please broke my theories, thank you!! :) We know we don't want this to happen but drama is drama anyways. It's DCU, it's always been darker things happened

#jason todd #red hood #arkham knight #dc comics #robin jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd robin #bruce wayne #under the red hood: lost days #under the red hood #talia al ghul #bruce and talia

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canmom · 1 year

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Animation Night 156 - THREE YEARS

I did it.

Happy birthday Animation Night, my weird little baby. You are now three years old.

Three years ago, I was watching the Japan Animator Expo. I was blown away and charmed and overwhelmed. So I was like, I have to make people experience Me! Me! Me! for themselves. And while I’m at it, everyone needs to absorb Aeon Flux. What if I were to... stream some cool weird animations on Twitch instead of my usual videogames?

Well, that was a hit!

So I did another week, pulling in package films like Robot Carnival. At some point I decided to try screening entire movies. My friends helped me research films I’d never heard of, and compiled two wonderful lists of animated music videos. At some point we switched from mostly short films to mostly movies. Runtimes got more and more ambitious. The writeups got stupidly elaborate. Every week I’d nerd out and research some new director or studio or subject.

Before I knew it, I was celebrating a whole year of that. And then another! And now, what do you know, it’s three. We have covered a truly startling cross-section of animated films from across space and time.

At this point it feels like if I missed a week, I’d die or something.

(You might be thinking, hold on, I thought you said the anniversary was next week? Well, I did a maths oops. I was trying to take into account the difference between ‘52 weeks’ and ‘365 days’ and I screwed up! No, 156 is the closest week to the anniversary. Except... actually all the previous anniversaries were actually celebrated a week early, since I was counting from a notional ‘Animation Night 0′. But uh... having established that tradition I’m not gonna break it.)

So, let’s go over a few highlights from the last year, as has become traditional. But what are we watching tonight? Well, previously we marked the occasion by rewatching some of my faves from the early days, like Aeon Flux, Tekkonkinkreet or Dahufa. This time, the spotlight is going back to the Japan Animator Expo, which was a thing that Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara organised, pulling in an incredibly varied collection of short films from all sorts of different studios - a chance for some of the greatest animators to cut loose and make some concepts that would be too weird or elaborate to make normally. More on that in a bit!

So. The last year. The first week AN 105, we took a look at old school Imaishi at his most stylish in Dead Leaves, and a strange Japanese-French angle on LA in Mutafukaz. Fun movies, a promising start.

But the next week, I lost my friend Fall. It still makes no fucking sense, and it won’t ever. On Animation Night 106, I used this ritual to remember her by showing Haibane Renmei, an anime deeply important to her. It proved to be exactly what I needed to see at that time - one of the most truthful depictions of grief. I still miss Fall. I wish I could talk to her about everything that’s happened in the last year. (I’ve done my best to learn Japanese in part to honour her love of languages, but now I’m at the point I can somewhat hold a conversation, it hurts that I can’t actually talk to her in ‘her language’.)

The next few weeks, I kept this up despite everything. We visited the ingeniously grotesque ‘gekimation’ of Ujicha (AN108), visited Mamoru Hosoda twice to more or less charming effect (AN107, AN 113), recreated Studio Ghibli’s one-two punch of 1988 (AN 111), and had a look at some absolutely unique directors like Bill Plympton and Joann Sfar (AN 112, AN 114). I got to show @mogsk‘s original fansub of a film of Croatian animator Milan Blažeković (AN 116). On AN 117 I wrote another love letter to independent/web animation.

Short films would continue to have a presence all throughout - AN109 we checked out the latest Love Death and Robots and nearly every CalArts film of the year, and AN135 we did the same with a fantastic selection of Gobelins films as well as some unique animators like Poul Robertson and Pulpe. AN 141 took us out to China, with the glorious return of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and the brilliant Mee’s Forest by Busifan of Dahufa fame, now with a fresh translation by the writers of Animation Obsessive.

On AN 119, I wrote a post about Richard Williams and The Thief and the Cobbler, telling the story of Williams’ lifelong project to try to live up to his ideal of Disney’s Nine Old Men, no matter the cost. That proved to be one of my post popular posts of the whole year and it’s definitely one of the bits of writing I’m happiest with.

The next week on AN 120 I was in America! We saw something just as technically ambitious in another way: Richard Linklater taking Bob Sabiston’s ‘rotoshop’ software and a great deal of animator sweat to portray the world of dreams, and then Philip K Dick’s tragic scifi version of his experiences at edge of society, caught between exploitative cops and the effects of heavy drug use. It’s a unique style, and an effective one. Another American week took us into the archives of Liquid Television, the incubator of Aeon Flux and Beavis and Butthead, to see what else they had in their vault (AN 121).

On AN 122, we had a look at The Hakkenden, an incredibly ambitious and varied OVA... if one that’s now mostly remembered only by sakuga fans. AN 125 took a look at the rest of Peter Chung’s career besides Aeon Flux, notably the delightfully strange Alexander Senki, which we’d revisit to finish a few weeks later, but also some of his franchise work like Riddick and Tomb Raider.

AN 127 took us to see the three adaptations of the works of ‘Project Itoh’, Hideo Kojima’s best friend and purveyor of sharp near-future scifi. Itoh died tragically young; these posthumous adaptations by three different studios each have a very distinctive style and are powerful films in their own right.

Halloweens are when we go and take a look at horror animation - they’re always memorable. On AN 129 we got to see more of the work of Ujicha, and dive into the baroque, slimy hellish dreamworld of Phil Tippett’s thirty-year magnum opus Mad God.

On AN 130, I got to have another headscratch at the old question of ‘what the hell is up with Hayao Miyazaki’, comparing his old film Porco Rosso against the most recent The Wind Rises, which both approach the tension between his pacifism and his love of old warplanes.

On AN 136 I took another leaf through Animation Obsessive to collate their writing on the Zagreb School into a film night. This unique group of animators put a unique spin on the UPA style, breaking all the supposed rules of animation timing.

Back in the day I wrote a monstrously long post about samurai to introduce an animation night on jidaigeki, Japanese historical stories. AN 137 returned to that subject, with three very different but all excellent films by Production I.G. and Toei.

AN138 was a chance to compare Pinocchios old and new, with del Toro’s new stop-motion interpretation making a hell of a splash. The new one was undeniably beautiful, but could its story hold together..?

On Animation Night 139, I had a look at the mighty realist animator and occasional director Hiroyuki Okiura. Okiura was one of Production I.G.’s secret weapons, renowned for his contributions to films like Ghost in the Shell, but we had a look at some of his more obscure works like Run, Melos. The next week (AN 140) I followed this up with a deep dive into Oshii’s ‘Kerberos Saga’, trying to figure out what Anpo man Mamoru Oshii was doing with all that nazi power armour. Of all the films in that sprawling story, Okiura’s Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade was certainly the most impactful and coherent, but Oshii’s bizarre pixilation film Tatsuguishi-Retsuden was a historical oddity I was glad to discover despite the wonky translation.

On Animation Night 143, I finally gave the Lupin III franchise its due. We took a look at some of the wonkier entries in the long history of Lupin, such as The Mystery of Mamo in which Lupin goes up against a weird blue immortal guy, and the recent attempt to reboot it in C.G. And we had another look at Takashi Koike’s dark, heightened take on Lupin, which is always... an experience.

The next week on AN144, I continued my efforts to get into Gundam by taking a look at Sunrise Studio 1′s overwhelming film duology Gundam Thunderbolt. Jazz and space battles, a nonstop orgy of robot violence, it was a ride.

On Animation Night 146, we commemorated Leiji Matsumoto, one of the most influential artists in the history of sci-fi anime, creator of such immortal characters as Captain Harlock. It was a chance to take a look at his whole career, even the early WWII comics, where we saw his fixation with the figure of a reluctant soldier on the wrong side. The next week (AN147) we saw the time that Daft Punk collaborated with Matsumoto and Toei to make a movie for their album - and some weeks later on AN152 we’d return to Captain Harlock again, with Shinji Aramaki’s odd CG interpretation.

Animation Night 148 was a long overdue return to the world of Korean animation, with a fascinating set of angles, from viciously dark drama to rural nostalgia to... kinda like yugioh? AN149 took things historical, looking at Toei’s adaptations of mythological stories from the earliest days of anime - which hold up really quite well.

Then on Animation Night 150 came the long-awaited day where I got to show everyone Masaaki Yuasa’s incredible film Inu-Oh. A blind monk and a cursed boy join together to tell the stories of the fallen in medieval glam rock. It’s such an expression of the joy of what animation can be, and honestly one of my favourite films, and I’m really glad everyone seemed to enjoy it as well.

After all that, were we running out of steam? Not at all! Animation Night 151 saw the release of Lackadaisy, showing that webcomic dorks on Discord can make animation to rival any big studio; Bani-Chan’s beautiful film for Toby Fox and Itoki Hana, and most of all, Studio Ponoc’s Modest Heroes, the effort of a bunch of former Ghibli staff to bring something new to anime. The third film Invisible, featuring the unbelievably sophisticated animation of Akihiko Yamashita, has to be seen to be believed.

And that almost brings us up to now! Animation Night 153-154 took us into a dive of an early work by the master of chuunibyō, Kinoko Nasu, with year-spanning nonlinear story of wizards and traumagirls and murder - as envisioned by the madly ambitious early Ufotable. And last week, I wrote a monster of a post covering the story of Kunihiko Ikuhara for AN 155 - the man launched from Sailor Moon to create such uniquely powerful works as Utena, Penguindrum, and Sarazanmai. Thanks for reading that, it means a lot that so many people did!

So... phew. Hell of a year.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to bring new material every week for a third year running. I’m kind of amazed that I did - and it’s not like this is the dregs, we’re still finding things that amaze and delight. But that said, I am kinda running out of stuff to show. Animation Night will continue, but I’m going to start introducing more reruns - which I hope isn’t a bad thing because a whole lot of you joined quite recently so it will probably be new to you!

And with that in mind, it’s time to go watch one of the very first things I ever showed on this film night: The Japan Animator Expo.

If I was to write a full writeup on the Animator Expo, it would take so long that we’d have no time to actually watch the films. So with that in mind, here’s the short version.

So. Hideaki Anno (AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!) left the hot organisational mess that was Gainax to run his own studio Khara, their primary mission being to create the four-movie Rebuild of Evangelion series (see: AN 18, AN 66). But this mammoth project was not their only undertaking. In 2014, Anno and Khara organised a series of short films for the Tokyo International Film Festival, designed as a showcase of both new and old animators. The series was called the 日本アニメ（ーター）見本市 Nihon Anime(etā) Mihonichi or Japan Animator Expo. Each week, a new short would be released on the web.

The shorts vary incredibly wildly. Some of them are incredible technical flexes by some of the most experienced in the business; others rougher work by independent animators. Some tie in to existing franchises (mainly Eva), or function as pilots for later works; others are standalone. Some are music videos, some are short films, some blur the lines. Some use a relatively standard anime style, some are CG, some have a unique design aesthetic. It’s an incredibly varied and cool collection.

^a brief clip from the psychic bomb that is Me! Me! Me!

I will write up a full breakdown of every film in the animator expo and what’s interesting about who made each one at a later date. Tonight let’s just watch the thing - it’s not short! So Animation Night 156 will begin pretty much right now; movies will begin in 10-20 minutes once people are in so please get over to twitch.tv/canmom and watch for as long as you like! ^^

See you there!

#animation night

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