#i was in dc this weekend for a funeral

[odinsblog]

The crew of a massive container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday warned of power issues before the collision, which caused the bridge to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River, officials said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the warning from the ship’s crew likely saved lives.

“We’re thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, that we had officials who were able to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge,” Moore said. He called those officials heroes.

Moore noted that the bridge was up to code at the time of the collapse. He said the collapse was a “shocking and heartbreaking” event for the people of Maryland who have used the bridge for 47 years.

(continue reading)

#i was in dc this weekend for a funeral #we bounced over to baltimore to visit some family friends from childhood #i drove over that bridge twice!! #francis scott key bridge #baltimore #bridge collapse #baltimore bridge #glen burnie #i dont think it was an infrastructure problem #but if oversized cargo ships can gain that much momentum #then maybe they should be required to come to a complete stop #prior to going under a commuter bridge #that or maximum ship size requirements by bridge #or maybe use tugboats?? #it seems more like a regulation issue #and yes - even if it was an accident #someone still needs to be held accountable #or it may happen again #a very similar incident happened in my hometown #i think about 4 or 5yrs before i was born #sunshine skyway bridge

[heroesriseandfall]

How Long Tim Drake First Lived at Wayne Manor (+ Drake Manor)

A reference guide and timeline, because I am an incurable nerd.

Gotham Knights #45 [description in alt text]

From what I can figure from Tim’s pre-Flashpoint comics, Tim originally lived at Wayne Manor (after his mom’s death and his dad’s hospitalization) for about 7-9 months until his dad left the hospital. Then the Drakes bought the mansion next-door to Wayne Manor at Alfred’s suggestion, and they lived next-door for less than two years, then had to move downtown after losing money, where they then lived until Jack’s death.

Disclaimer: Due to the annoying nature of comics timelines, this summary will not account for how much time various major Batman storylines take. DC comics tend to take up a lot of time in an apparently small amount of time, which means this technically correct timeline might also make Knightfall, Contagion, and Cataclysm look like they all occured within like, a few months. This is DC’s fault and for the sake of this post I will not bother trying to make that make sense. You can decide how things fit together based on the information here.

Timeline details and references:

When Tim, age 13, first begins training to become Robin (after Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, which is implied to occur during late summer/early fall), he’s mostly living at his boarding school just outside Gotham City while his parents are nearly always away traveling for business (Batman #441, #444-445). At some point, Tim begins staying at the Manor overnight sometimes when he’s not at school, probably over breaks or weekends (Detective Comics #615-616).

In (presumably) December, Tim (age 13) is already staying at Wayne Manor for vacation when his parents are kidnapped. Janet Drake dies, and Jack Drake is hospitalized in a coma (Detective Comics #618-621). Tim continues staying at Wayne Manor after their kidnapping. The kidnapping storyline doesn’t mention what vacation it is, but Janet’s funeral and him becoming Robin occur on Dec 24th, so it’s likely winter break (Batman #455-457).

Soon after his mom’s death, Tim goes abroad for additional training. He’s abroad for at least “a few weeks” (Robin Vol. 1 #1), and at the end of this trip is when Tim first encounters King Snake (Robin Vol. 1 #1-5).

In Batman #469, during which Tim is still living at Wayne Manor while his father is in a coma, Bruce runs into King Snake, who says it has been 6 months since his encounter with Tim in Robin Vol. 1. This means in-text statements now give us at least 6-7 months having passed since Janet died and Jack was hospitalized.

(Note: It’s possible for a while Tim also stayed at his boarding school for the rest of middle school, since he’d been staying there before. We never see him there after Janet died, though, and he was then shown studying in the Manor, so he might’ve stopped boarding early and just stayed at the Manor full time. This part is unclear, and it’s not specified if Tim has started high school in Batman #469. Either way, he was under Bruce and Alfred’s care, and spent a fair amount of time sleeping at the manor.)

Tim turns 14 and starts public high school at Gotham Heights while still living at Wayne Manor (Robin II: Joker’s Wild #1). Tim’s birthday is in July, and in the US, high schools usually start mid Aug/early Sep, so I’d wager that’s at least Dec-mid Aug of living in Wayne Manor (though he was abroad for a few unspecified weeks of that). If we take those date references, that’s at least 7-8 months. Tim’s also probably known the Waynes for around a year now, by my estimate (based on Jason death dates & time mentions in A Lonely Place of Dying).

Relatively soon after Robin II: Joker’s Wild, Jack Drake is released from the hospital and at Alfred’s suggestion they buy the house next door to Wayne Manor (Batman #480-482). Tim is 14 when they move into the new Drake Manor. They eventually hire a live-in maid, Mrs. Mac, to help in the house (Robin III #3). Tim still occasionally stays at Wayne Manor or other family properties (Robin Annual 2 + Robin v2 #3), but for the most part lives at Drake Manor.

While they live at Drake Manor, Tim temporarily runs away from home multiple times (to do Robin stuff, mostly). During the Cataclysm, Aftershocks, and No Man’s Land storylines, where an earthquake turns Gotham into a disaster zone, the Drakes almost sell Drake Manor and they move to Keystone City for a short time (Robin Vol. 2 #62). But after Tim runs away back to Gotham, they end up moving right back into Drake Manor again not long after they left (Robin Vol. 2 #66). The original Wayne Manor also gets destroyed and they rebuild it differently. Tim turns 15 during this time.

Jack Drake sends Tim (age still 15) to boarding school because of all the running away. Tim lives at Brentwood Academy with Alfred for less than a full semester (Robin Vol. 2 #75-100). During this time, Jack marries Dana Winters (Robin 80-Page Giant).

Drake Industries loses money so the Drakes have to sell their mansion, and Tim (15 almost 16) has to leave Brentwood early. They move into their condo in downtown Gotham, near Barbara’s clocktower (Robin Vol. 2 #100). Sometime after they move downtown, Tim turns 16 on July 19th (Robin Vol. 2 #116).

At one point while he lives downtown with his dad & Dana, Tim is interviewed by a social worker investigating Bruce’s parenting. The social worker says, “Tim, you stayed here with Mister Wayne several times for extended periods, correct?” to which Tim responds, “A couple times, yeah. Mostly for a short while after my mom died and my dad was in a coma from his injuries. Bruce and Alfred looked after me until dad got better.” (Gotham Knights #45) “A short while” is vague and subjective so it doesn’t tell us much about whether my timeline is accurate, but this scene does confirm that Tim staying with the Waynes is information that a social worker could find out (though I doubt most of the public knew much about it).

So Tim was 14 already when they moved next door to the Waynes, and 15 almost 16 when they moved out. So it’s less than two years. Tim lived next door to the Waynes barely twice as long as he lived with the Waynes before that. Idk I just find that kind of funny.

Bonus Notes: When Tim was young, the Drakes only stayed at the downtown condo (the one they moved into long-term when Tim was 15) to attend downtown events like the opera or galleries (Robin #100). The Drakes also allegedly owned at least two penthouses (unless the two different names refer to the same one...I'm assuming not). Robinson Park Penthouse is where Jack wanted to move in before Tim convinced him to buy the mansion next door to the Waynes (Batman #480). The Mooney Towers Penthouse “on Diamond Street in Neville,” near Wayne Tower, is where Tim snuck off to stay at a few times during school vacations while Bruce and his dad were gone (Robin Annual 2 & Robin #3).

Additional Note: I’m not sure where Tim regularly lived when he wasn’t at boarding school before his mom died. We see brief glimpses of what is presumably his childhood home(s) in flashbacks but I don’t remember it ever being mentioned in depth. Tim implies that the Drakes didn’t live in one place in Gotham for more than 6 months until he was 14 (Robin v2 #66). They probably didn’t have one permanent residence.

If they did have one, though, presumably it wasn’t in downtown Gotham, since they considered the condo closer to downtown events than their regular home (Robin v2 #100), and it wasn’t in the more country area of Bristol where Wayne Manor is (Crest Hill), because Jack Drake was disturbed by the bats and new to the “countryside” air when they moved there (Batman #480).

#tim drake #batfam #dc comics #bruce wayne #batfamily #dc continuity #jack drake #janet drake #drake parenting #this has been sitting in my drafts for months for some reason. enjoy #wayne family #heroesriseandfall

[dailycass-cain]

The 5G Plan Pertaining to Cassandra Cain

I was reading Bleeding Cool’s “5G” (Five Generations) six-chapter columns on the original plan for the event. Pertaining to the Bat-Family was fascinating... 

So the first chapter dealt with the Batman side of things of what originally what co-publisher Dan DiDio wanted from James Tynion IV when he came onboard to write the Batman ongoing.

The curious things that gets me is the way the phrasing is structured. So at the time period early 2020, we had Batman: Pennyworth #1 (which was the fallout) written by Tynion and Pete Tomasi:

This is probably the closest we got to the 5G plan seen in plain sight. We see “the cracks” mentioned above forming between Bruce, “Ric”, Jason, Damian, and Babs with Alfred’s passing (Cass was making sure Gotham was safe for the night without them along with the others who didn’t mourn). 

Pertaining to Cass though got me thinking about Batman & the Outsiders (by Bryan Edward Hill and mostly Dexter Soy) of that time period. Shiva was clearly pinning for Duke and Cass to be students under her and strike out on their own (though in this issue (#13) the art was by Gleb Melnikov.

It’s got me thinking. 

We know “originally” Cass (and Steph) weren’t going to become Batgirls in “Batman: Joker War”. It was all last minute add-ons. As we know when artist for Batman ongoing (at that time) Jorge Jiménez posted his original pencils for #100:

So it’s got me thinking. I wonder if Cass and Duke at the end of B&O instead chose to go with Shiva? I mean if the story was going to be told as such if Cass found out she be TICKED Bruce disrespecting the bat-symbol as such (even if DC never allowed her). 

Though, as usual with DC it just feels like a “blur” what would become of Cass in 5G. I mean just look at her “history” in the revealed established DC for it (again revealed via Bleeding Cool):

So let’s focus on the Cass portion:

The curious thing about this timeline is Cass is Batgirl from Years 7 to Year 11 (or 12) probably. It’s a bit of a blur as Year 12 is when Babs becomes Batgirl again:

Though if you’re noticing SOMEONE is left out being Batgirl during this period, Stephanie Brown. Yeah, DC was going to sweep her time period of Batgirl under the rug (but keep her time as Robin). 

Coincidentally, we see this in February 2020 with the Robin 80th Anniversary #1 special which has a Steph profile (and story). But it’s noticeable because SOMETHING is left out of it in the profile:

So what becomes of Cass in this 5G event? That is the rub. 

Chapter Five suggests this:

I doubt Cass would be involved given this is DiDio-run DC at this point and he sure LOVED to bury the character. We sure as heck know what 5G wanted to do with Damian.

But we know what truly happens. Dan DiDio gets the ax later that month (ironically of the C2E2 convention weekend).Cass/Steph instead become Batgirls again in Batman: Joker War (we get that revelation in June as Jiménez revealed he drew the Batman #100 page of Cass as Orphan in May):

That and we got another funeral for Alfred in #100 with the “whole family” at that time period (which had Cass in the background this time actively mourning the loss). 

Not to mention probably the best push the character has gotten since Z(at least I feel)-- Batgirl Vol. 1 ongoing was running.

This whole thing is a puzzle and a mystery pertaining to Cass (akin to some of the other things I’ve tried digging for in the past). One I always love to figuring out the missing pieces and getting answers.

#dc comics #batman #cassandra cain #duke thomas #lady shiva #stephanie brown

[retro-rezz-the-est]

greetings all humans (and non-humans as well), and happy new year.

thank you to everyone that’s been reaching out to check in on me these past few weeks; there’s been a lot for me and my family to handle but I’ve been getting better emotionally/mentally, and I cannot thank y’all enough for the love and shoulders y’all sent my way.

all of the funeral proceedings have concluded yesterday (as of me writing this on Jan 4) and we buried my dee-dee’s body; it felt weird to see him like that, so serene and silent when he was so full of life and smiling just a few weeks ago.

but I’m better now, and I’ve come to terms with it all. and I’m sorry about the severe lack of posting throughout all of this; I just wasn’t in the right mindset leading up to everything.

I’m going to the dentist tomorrow and I’m gonna try to be a bit more active on here since I’m going back to DC this weekend fans the spring semester starts back up next week.

peace and love and all that jazz, I’ll see y’all in a bit. take care of each other 🫡

#love y’all ❤️

[betelgeusx3s-badfanfiction]

I was supposed to post something on monday.. but i had such an exciting weekend... qWq i got multiple blum bootlegs.. been watching them after it took me a dogs age to download it.

Did i post this already? Its my own writing... nobody is gonna like it... are they

Just some rambles

Be warned some Inappropriate content ahead. Please read with caution Darker DC beetlejuice references

Lydia - *pulls out an 8 inch copper key from the pocket of her dress*

Beetlejuice - *screams* keep that thing away from me!!

***

Beetlejuice - I miss being alive...

Lydia - it was for like 30 seconds... and you got mad and wanted to murder everyone...

Beetlejuice - But the birds... and I made you kill one to open the book... I think we should do a funeral for the bird...

*** Beetlejuice - you know I wasn't really really afraid of that Dildo Otto. I was just trying to entrap you... and I... I aam.. I amm sor.. sorr

Lydia - you mean Delias guru Otho?  And are you trying to say your sorry?

Beetlejuice - Yup that's the words... well now that we got that out of the way lets go put spiders in the kitchen cupboards *runs off* Lydia - Wait what.. I DON'T FORGIVE YOU

***

Beetlejuice to Charles- Forget what or who I might be but your daughter has truly touched me, and I can assure you that I definitley touched her.

Chuck/Charles/Mr. Deetz - WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!

(Source - Deweys confession)

***

Beetlejuice - *Eats a toaster...* i don't think it should be used for bread its fine on its own.

***

Beetlejuice - ohhh crap... I regret doing cocaine tonight..

Y/N - what????

Lydia - Oh can I have some?

Y/N - NO! What Beetlejuice.. you are a bad influence... wait I already knew that. No lydia you cannot have drugs we have talked about this.

***

Y/N - we are now Banned from the Wild Brazil Safari because he tried to eat all the glowing termite larva.... and when I tried to make him say sorry he just said they tasted nasty but now his insides were glowing...

***

Ai beebleboose

Asked him his jobbies

Oh, yeah! For sure. I love to watch people sleep.  And I like to go in public bathrooms and move the toilet seats up or down.  Just so, you know, when someone uses it, they get that surprise! And the look on their face when they get it... Priceless!  It's the little things, ya know?

#beetlejuice #beetleblum #beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice x reader #rambles #incorrect quote

[callunavulgari]

Year In Life | 2023

Or that annual New Year’s meme where I talk about what the year was like to live through. 2023 features: a wedding (!!!), four (??) different trips (including the ridiculous two week long honeymoon in the PNW), and the death of a loved one.

1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before? Took a trip to DC to see Joe Hisaishi live! Saw the natural history museum! Visited the PNW and saw: Mt Rainier, the redwoods, the most northwestern point of the US, Seattle, the Hoh rainforest including the Hall of Mosses, Lake Crescent, Forks, Crater Lake, Portland, the remnants of wildfires, a little place called Wild Pear with the best butternut squash soup I've had in my entire life, another little place that I can't remember the name of but had a sherpa stew that will warm my soul until death, and San Francisco! Saw the ghoul boys for Ghost Files Live! Went back to Vegas and saw U2 in the sphere! Planned a wedding! Had a bachelorette weekend! Oh, and yeah, GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My resolution for 2023 was to be HAPPY. And you know what? I fucking was. Other than the INTENSE anxiety of planning the wedding, 2023 treated me gently. My wedding day was singlehandedly the most blissful day of my entire life. I thought it was going to be a shit show, but goddamn if it wasn't perfect. So YES, I kept my new years resolution. And yes, I will make more for next year.

Resolutions for 2024 - Be happy and healthy. Eat good food. Doordash less, cook more. Exercise. Go on daily walks, even if they're short. Get dressed (almost) every day. Brush your teeth. Write 50k of sad ghost girl (or another original idea). Attend a pottery class. Also, cough, buy a house?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I don't think so? A couple facebook friends. One of my bridesmaids is due next year though.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandmother passed this year on the last day of our honeymoon. I got the news on a beach in San Francisco. My dad texted me a time of death. I was fine emotionally for the most part at first, she's had dementia for seven years and I'd said my goodbyes the last time that we visited. I was fine. FINE. And then Nick, thirteen days my husband, twelve years my partner, tentatively asked if I wanted to buy some flowers and toss them in the bay.

I cried. Not hard. But it broke something loose, something that saw the beauty of that place- waves lapping against the shores, the golden gate bridge looming in the distance, two little boys making sandcastles while a guy with a saxophone played for tourists closer to the street. I wanted to scream. As loudly as I could. Just to see if it would make a difference. I didn't. I wept quietly, shielded by my sunglasses, Nick holding my hand next to me and stared out at a bay that she'd never seen before, that she never would.

And then I shook my shoulders out and we went to go meet up for the sunset sail on the bay, which I'd booked since it was our last night. Something special. I didn't want to miss it, not on our last night. It was pretty, but bitterly cold because fog moved in when we neared Alcatraz and just wouldn't quit. The sunset was lovely. I was queasy from the rocking of the sailboat. I couldn't stop thinking about her.

I didn't cry again, not at the funeral, not at the small celebration of life afterwards. It hurts in a different way, I think, mourning the death of someone who has been lost to you for so many years while their body lingers on. I looked back at old facebook posts from when she was still her, when she wrote letters on my wall because she didn't understand how messenger worked. She was the third of four sisters, all gone before her. She used to have so many friends and so few people showed to the funeral. It would have made her sad to see, I think.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? No countries. We nearly booked our honeymoon to Portugal, but turns out weddings are expensive and I managed to do two weeks in the PNW for half the cost. I will say though that I have wanted to visit the west coast for years, so I am incredibly glad that we went. My favorite of all of the places that we went is a tie between Mt Rainier and Crater Lake. One- the pull of a mountain is legit. I grew up with the Appalachians, but goddamn, it doesn't prepare you for the sight of something Like Mt Rainier. Two- nobody effing told me that Crater Lake was THAT blue. The water, brilliant blue. The sky, brilliant blue. The air, crisp. The rest of it, PACKED with chipmunks. It was amazing. The whole trip was, but damn.

Some highlights-

6. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023? My answer to this last year was a husband. And like, CHECKMARK there. For 2024, and I know that this is dreaming big, but we are going to try - TRY - to buy a house this year. We will have to see how that goes.

7. What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 26th 2023. ❤️ 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I married my best friend. And I also survived the wedding planning process, christ. I mean don't get me wrong, the day was great, it was beautiful, wouldn't change it for the world. But sometimes I think that I should have saved myself the stress and eloped somewhere.

9. What was your biggest failure? Eh, I mean I didn't lose the weight that I wanted for the wedding, but I'm not going to hold that against me. I bought a dress that I felt pretty in with the size I was at rather than the one I wanted to be and I do not regret that. I did a lot of weightlifting and I'm strong enough to do squats with Nick on my back, so that's progress enough for now. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? We got covid again coming back from our honeymoon, which was less than ideal. Mask up in the giant metal tubes, friends.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I'm honestly blanking on this right now. We bought a ton of stuff for the wedding, so... that? I got some neat stuff at farmers markets. I treated myself to good headphones and a proper stand for my computer. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Honestly? Nick's mom. We had a falling out years and years ago and while we've had a steady truce going since about 2016-2017 or so, I always feel like we're on thin ice. She's a bit of a narcissist, she holds grudges, and honestly, I'm pretty sure that she'd despise anyone that Nick or his brother ended up with. She does not like other women.

But. She behaved herself for the wedding. There were a couple small things- she almost made our bartenders cry because they mixed up our drink packages (they fixed it, it wasn't a big deal, we had NA drinks leftover from the rehearsal the night before and they went to get more) and her dress was a pale enough pink that it showed up in all of the pictures as white, but you know what? It's a win. She seemed genuinely happy during the wedding. She didn't start shit or make a fool of herself. It was just nice.

Who knows what the future has in store on this front, but for now? I'm taking it as a win and moving on. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? So, my mother, stepfather, and both of my brothers didn't show up to the wedding. It... wasn't exactly unexpected and when it comes down to it both my sister and I were relieved that my mom wasn't there. If she had been I guarantee the day wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it did.

But I was upset that my brothers couldn't be there. They had legitimate reasons, but it still hurt. So not appalled so much, but definitely sad.

14. Where did most of your money go? Ha. Ha ha ha. Weddings are fucking expensive. We set a budget that would have been completely and totally reasonable if we'd had the wedding prior to 2020. And then we got to actually do the research and realized that our budget was laughably impossible. We had help from Nick's mom and his grandparents, but goddamn, every time I think of how much money was sunk into one day I want to vomit. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The WEDDING. The HONEYMOON. Mt Rainier! Crater Lake! The redwoods! And then, y'know, on a smaller scale: seeing Joe Hisaishi in concert, seeing the Beatles show in Vegas again, getting to do a spooky little autumn drive to see the ghoul boys live. Books. I got a whimsical little tattoo with a flying whale and a castle in the sky.

16. What song will always remind you of 2023? Stand By Me. Paradise Valley. Hello Stranger. Glasgow Love Theme. The Spiritfarer soundtrack. A million Miley Cyrus (?) songs. Eat Your Young. Green Green Grass.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Happier. So much happier. ii. thinner or fatter? Same size, I think? More muscle, but the scale is the same. iii. richer or poorer? Uh, probably either poorer or around the same. We've recovered a bit from the wedding, but it's been rough. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I genuinely do wish that I'd taken better care of myself. My blood pressure has been up, I've been having more heart palpitations, more brain fog, more headaches. And I mean, I did weight lifting, great. But I do genuinely need to eat better. I need to lose weight not because I hate how I look, but because I have sleep apnea and can't tolerate the CPAP, which means that if I don't lose weight or get my tonsils removed my blood pressure will continue to spike until I die. So. Weight loss IS a legitimate goal this year, because it is necessary.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Being an anxious mess about the wedding? I mean that's easy to say now that it's in the rearview, but the ABSURD spikes of adrenaline that I would get just from thinking about the day could NOT have been healthy.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? For Christmas Eve, we honestly just kind of lounged around. We watched a movie. Made the most mouthwatering slow-cooked beef tenderloin that I splurged on from the local butcher. Opened our one present and proceeded to not read them OR make hot chocolate.

For Christmas Day, we opened our gifts, opened the cat's gifts, then went and had Christmas at Nick's aunt's house. Other than his cousin getting engaged to someone that the entire family hates, it went well. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? We spent it inside. I made a pasta bake while Nick made the pirozki. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough lactaid to counteract the sheer amount of cheese in the pasta so I spent the hours leading up to midnight feeling NOT well, and then we drank sparkling water out of some fancy glasses instead of the wine I bought. 22. Did you fall in love in 2023? Okay, so it sounds trite, but yes? I mean, obviously I've been in love with him since 2012. But I don't know. It's different? I feel more at peace with it. Yes, I love him, but he picked me. We picked each other forever and then swore it in front of all of our favorite people. I didn't expect it to feel much different, and I mean, it's still mostly the same. We sleep in the same bed, we eat the same food, we love the same cats, we kiss each other, we make stupid fart jokes. But it's different. At least a little bit. 23. Best month for you this year? End of August/early September was amazing, mostly because of the trip (and the wedding). <This was my answer last year and the year before, but it still holds true, for obvious reasons.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2022? All right, so, favorites in (mostly) chronological order: Owl House season 3, Lockwood and Co, The Last of Us, Russian Doll season 2, Shadow and Bone season 2, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Vox Machina season 2, The Diplomat, Queer Eye, Wheel of Time season 2, Interview with the Vampire, Fionna and Cake, The Fall of the House of Usher, Scavengers Reign, Loki season 2, Castlevania: Noctourne, Yu Yu Hakusho live action, One Piece live action, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Of those, over all my favorite was Loki, hands down. The ENDING was just some of the best cinema I've seen at Marvel in YEARS. The score! UGH, it was perfection. Owl House season 3 was a close second.

Of just 2023, though? Probably Fionna and Cake. We honestly loved it so much. I think I ended up liking it more than I ever did Adventure Time.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No hate! Well, at least no one that I know. At this point every active politician could get struck down by lightning and I would mourn very few of them.

26. What was the best book you read? Ugh, there were so many bangers this year. Honestly probably a tie between Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tress and the Emerald Sea.

Honorable mentions: Starling House, A Power Unbound, A Day of Fallen Night, and Thistlefoot.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Hozier's new album has been a big part of my top 50. Oh, Epic the Musical has been an effing joy!

28. What did you want and got? A husband? Yeah, I'm gonna go with that. A husband. It's still weird to say.

29. What did you want but didn’t get? Ummmmmmmm, it's hard to say a honeymoon in Portugal because I am over the moon and not unappreciative of what we did do. But. I do REALLY wish that I'd gotten to see Portugal.

And on a more somber note, before we realized that my grandma was getting too bad to attend the wedding, I'd planned a dance with her. She always used to sing My Heart Will Go On to me when I was little, and I just, really wanted to have that. Instead, I played it for her the day that I said my goodbyes and showed her a picture of my dress. It was hard, but it was enough.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I rewatched Lord of the Rings approximately a million times this year. Honestly most of the movies I DID watch were rewatches in some way or another. I loved Across the Spiderverse, the new Persuasion movie, and Nimona. Oh, and I watched Suzume in April and the Boy and the Heron for my birthday. All of those were amazing. Absolute top favorite was probably Suzume. Nimona is VERY close though. Same with Across the Spiderverse.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 34 this year! Which is great because I've had this whole weird thing where I was convinced that I would die at 33 since I was around 7 years old, so turning 34 was very nice. I did splurge a bit this year. We went to the Yuletide Village on Friday, which is basically the grounds for the Renaissance Festival done up in Christmas lights. I got to see Krampus! And Mari Lwyd! And drink hot cocoa! And buy a REALLY cool coat.

And then as if all that wasn't enough, on my actual birthday we booked a room at the bed and breakfast that our wedding was held at because they're selling it soon. We had good cheese and wine, got to revisit the pine chapel and dance all alone to our first dance song, then had dinner and walked around a lit up Granville. And then went back to our room at the B&B and did CENSORED things in my wedding dress (look, we were too tired that night and I had a fractured foot, it was a crazy day - leave me alone) and Nick surprised me with a birthday cake from the baker that we got our wedding cake from. It was nice. The breakfast the next morning was amazing.

And then we went to see The Boy and the Heron and had a relaxing Sunday. So you know, not a big deal at all. Definitely a far cry from last year where I, oh yes, covered for a coworker and then had to go to a company party at a restaurant that I hate.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hm. Still Mal. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? Hahaha, my hybrid job turned into a completely remote job. Which is great in theory, but means that I spent most of 2023 in my pajamas without a bra. When I WASN'T in my pajamas, I tended towards jeans and t-shirts/sweaters. One of our friends got married in July though and I got to wear the COOLEST dress. 34. What kept you sane? Nick, usually. Rigby has been a huge help too. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? It was a good year for Hozier, imo. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? I have had “fuck Donald Trump” as the answer to this question since 2015. And for the first time in half a decade… it’s not him. It’s all the problems he left behind. So I guess it is still at least a LITTLE bit “FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 20156789 2023″

Actual answer to this question though - Gaza. Ukraine. And to a lesser extent- all of the bullshit corporate stooges trying to use AI to replace real workers. Also getting legitimately nervous about next year. Though Ohio DID turn out and voted to: not let the republicans fuck with majority rules, protect abortion rights, and legalized recreational marijuana. So, small wins, I guess.

37. Who did you miss? Mal. My brothers. My grandma. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I met this REALLY cool chick at the place I get my hair done. We bonded over her playing Zelda lofi in the hairwashing room and geeked out over Tears of the Kingdom. She's so freaking cool and I want to be her friend.

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: Other than her... I don't think I made any?

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year: Technically from January 1st 2023 because I'm 90% sure that it was taken after midnight. We went to an INSANE warehouse party to ring in the New Year last year and were out much later than I wanted to be.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year From December 15th - which is apparently just the day that I get my hair done now. Since the wedding is over I finally committed to coloring my hair for the first time since 2020. It was long overdue and am excited to cut it short in the spring, but I actually think this is the first haircut where I miss the long hair?

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Oh my GOD, that sherpa stew. We obviously had a lot of good food on our trip. Piroshky Piroshky was my favorite highlight from Pike's Place and then there was a restaurant in Salem, Oregon that had the BEST butternut squash soup and pulled pork that I have ever had. It was amazing. I would go back to Oregon for this soup alone.

But that sherpa stew. It cups my heart in its soupy little fist.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? Honestly, there were a lot of great moments this year. Obviously the wedding was the highlight, but the rest of it was pretty great too. The night of the Joe Hisaishi concert it stormed as the concert was finishing and since the venue was mostly outdoors, everyone got soaked. It was magical. The honeymoon highlights - the breathtaking awe of Mt Rainier, the beauty of the golden rays of the setting sun in the Hall of Mosses, the SIZE and GRANDNESS of Crater Lake. The drive up to Michigan to see Ghost Files live, how the drive there was this perfect little time capsule of autumn in the midwest, stormclouds on the horizon and corn fields all around us. The day after, when we stopped into Ann Arbor to visit the cherry store that's only in Michigan, how I found the BEST possible boots at a little store. How we found another amazing little independent book store just down the street. The way Nick's mom looked after the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show, where she turned to me and said that it was her best birthday ever. Dancing alone in the pavilion where we had our reception, crooning the song to each other in the dark while the lights from the pine chapel twinkled warmly at us from 20 feet away, beckoning.

And the wedding. Obviously the wedding.

The night before, where we had a private little ceremony at the stroke of midnight, there in the dark, nightsong all around us. Just us, our officiant, his brother, and my sister and her husband. My hair was damp and frizzy from the heat, from the helter skelter of the rehearsal earlier. He was in a t-shirt and slacks that were almost highwaters. But we read our vows to each other, sealed it with a kiss.

August 26th, 12:02am. A secret, just for us. Our siblings sworn to secrecy.

And then the next day, the note that was slipped under our door from our dear friend who officiated the wedding (both public and private), written on a torn bit of notebook paper: "May today be the first chaotic day of joy in a shared life full of chaotic joy." The breakfast: dutch baby with caramelized apples, sausage links, orange juice, earl grey. Watching Annie put together bouquets at the coffee table next to the kitchen. Going to work, putting tables together. Called back to the house, hair and makeup. Granola bars one and two. My girls singing Chapel of Love to me in the bridal suite, the swell of emotion in my heart - these are my people, they love me, they're so happy. First look, Nick's eyes, his smile. So familiar, that first almost wary glint, scared to look, scared he'll mess it up in front of the photographers, the way he smiled when he saw me, wide and real, almost a laugh, then the way it curled, lopsided, a bashful tilt to his mouth as he said my name. A hug. A moment of peace before the storm. A preying mantis on the porch railing, bumblebees buzzing around my skirt. Will I remember them in twenty years? In thirty?

Fast, fast, everything goes so fast afterwards. Separate. First look with dad, with girls, line up for the walk down the aisle, careful of the puddle. Listen for One Summers Day - they didn't get the song right and are playing the orchestral version instead of the piano. Instead of soft and sweet, there's brass in the pines, french horns ushering us to our spots. Wait wait, start walking - wedding party first. My dad is nervous next to me, he keeps fidgeting. Girls and groomsmen gone, glasgow love theme starts. I'm practically dragging my dad down the aisle. Annie warned me that everyone would stand, but it still catches me by surprise. Look up, bouquet tilted just so, don't trip on the roots. I don't even look at our guests, I don't check to see if my side looks lopsided without my family there, my eyes are on him, on Annie. My heart - I feel.

Ceremony goes fast. Seth reads Pablo Neruda. Tanya reads Neil Gaiman. My eyes are wet, I blink the tears back. Handfasting cords tied loosely, begin to get anxious about how I'm going to put the ring on with my hand tied, but Annie's already removing them. I put the ring on the wrong hand, a hot flash of shame gone in seconds, kiss kiss kiss- time for bubbles, walk.

Pictures. So many pictures. Go to bustle dress, granola bar 3. I choke on it. Back to the reception, big entrance. Too queasy to eat much, I picked at the bread, at the salad, at the chicken. Drank a ginger ale, left my martini untouched. Cake cutting, burst of sugar on the tongue, still queasy. Dancing soon - will I get it wrong? First dance- spun me a little too hard, but we laughed. I didn't feel the eyes on us. I fixed his glasses when they slipped down his nose, everyone laughed. Father-daughter dance, was it a mistake? Should have practiced, should have figured out how dads and daughters dance. Swayed. He kept me talking. Kept my mind off my nerves. Looking back on the wedding footage, everyone was crying. Mother-son dance, more tears. The sheer emotional whiplash of going from Baby Mine to Click Click Boom - but it's what his mom wanted, wanted to have the wedding party do the bernie. Cringy, but fine, we'll do it.

Group selfie on the dance floor, first couples dance dedicated to his grandparents - their anniversary was two days previous, so I found out what their song was and had the DJ play it for them. His grandpa cried. His grandma cried. I cried. The photographer cried. Next slow song, it's the song one of our groomsmen got married to - his wife already left, more tears because he's alone at the head table. Pulled away, golden hour photos. A dream. Beautiful. So queasy. Go back to the house to pee, almost vomit into the toilet, nearly black out. More photos. A moment of peace in the pines - they rickrolled everyone without me.

Dancing, how did I dance so much? Photographers leave. They're playing all my favorites now that we're back, too much dancing, need to sit down. Forgot about the bouquet toss, need to do it while I have the energy. So many people have left - make it gender neutral, get people up there. Whoever wants a bouquet. My best friend catches the bouquet. I hurl myself at her and almost take us to the ground. More dancing - where is Nick? Smoking cigars with his brother. More dancing. Someone gives me a martini, but I can only drink a few sips. So tired, my foot hurts, but another two hours to go.

We sing - Bohemian Rhapsody, Take On Me, The Time of My Life. Should we be embarrassed? Too happy. Sit, talk, make the rounds. More dancing.

Winding down. It's time, last two dances. Piano Man, the DJ makes everyone get in a ring around us, it's embarrassing, but god I'm so happy. Last dance, just us. Paradise Valley, crooning quietly to each other in the dark. Tears on my cheeks. On his. A kiss, no one can see, this one is just us.

Goodbyes, see you laters, can't find my phone, someone took it, need to find the phone, need to sit, need to get out of this stupid dress, my foot hurts. Bridesmaids taking charge, have things torn down and presentable in thirty minutes flat. More goodbyes, limp across the field with a groomsmen, still can't find my phone. Find my phone, take off the jewelry, get close to crying. Someone helps me upstairs? Or maybe I did it myself. Realize I can't get the dress off on my own. Think about crying. Foot hurts, why does it hurt so much? Officiant finds me, helps me take off my shoes. Unbuttons my dress for me, leaves it half on so she can figure out what's wrong with my foot. Oh, almost go into shock, oh, it's fractured. Go to the doctor? Honeymoon is in two days. She massages my aching shoulders, my feet. It's embarrassing, but she's an OT, she doesn't want me in pain.

Nick finds us, tired and drooping, but happy. Annie leaves. Sleep now? Yes, sleep. Hurting and more exhausted than we've ever been, but fuck, so happy. Such a good day. We did good.

44. What are you excited for next year? I am incredibly excited to no longer be planning a wedding. May buy a house. May go on a vacation. May quit my job. We'll see.

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023: My valuable life lesson in the year of 2020 was: Life sucks. Keep your head on straight. Mourn your dead and love your living like you’ll never see them again. Live life like you could die tomorrow. And don’t take the little things for granted.

And you know what, I’m going to keep that. I think it’s a good reminder.

46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: puff out your chest, take a deep breath you're gonna be okay if it's loud in your mind, just take your time you're gonna be okay - You're Gonna Be Okay, Ashh Blackwood

2018 me apparently quoted Singing in the Rain. 2019 quoted something sad and pretentious. 2020 me quoted This Year, because she was a dramatic bitch and hurting. 2021 me quoted an assurance that I wasn’t broken. 2022 me was tired and sad and just wanted to feel human again.

2023 me was a weird mess of anxiety, but mostly happy. The anxiety was a bitch, will always be a bitch. But this song kept me going.

#heather says what #year in review #2023 #new year's memes #tw: death #may have written an entirely too long stream of consciousness about the wedding #whoops

[ianmhill]

4.23

It was quite a busy weekend. It started with a curated walk around Georgetown, though to be honest it was a relatively short walk, pretty much just around the area where we live, including a pause on the corner of our own block! I guess we did learn a few things, but the group - approximately 60 people - was way too large for everyone to keep up and hear what the guide was saying. In the afternoon we went to a Q&A session at the MLK library about the DC Jazz scene, which was quite entertaining and informative.

On the Sunday my wife went for another walk in Downtown DC, while I went out to a DIY store, as a result of which I was able to replace the automatic closer on one of the screen doors at the back of the house and I was able to take away an electric light fitting that has been bugging us for a while, but didn't have the step ladders to reach the junction box.

In the late afternoon, we took our first visit to Audi Field, the home of the local football (aka "soccer") team, DC United. The stadium is pretty impressive and the drummers and chanters at one end of the pitch are something else. The team have been having something of a trying season, despite the arrival of Wayne Rooney as manager part way through the season and they are currently bottom of the league. Well, on two occasions, my wife asked me to go and get refreshments during the playing time, and both times DC United scored! However, they still ended up losing the game to Inter Miami 2-3.

Monday was the Queen's funeral. We got up early and watched from when the coffin was being taken to Westminster Abbey through to when it was being driven past the Albert Hall, when I decided I really ought to be going to work! Obviously, it was quite the pageant, albeit with a somewhat sober overtone, but even the NBC coverage we watched before switching to the BBC after the funeral itself didn't interrupt with commentary or advert breaks.

Oh Lordy. On Tuesday we went to a restaurant for an early dinner. This was 'minibar' by Jose Andres, a chef who cut his teeth at El Bulli in Spain many years ago and is now perhaps more famous here for the charity work he does with World Central Kitchen, taking food to disaster areas, including Ukraine.

This is a VERY exclusive and therefore VERY expensive restaurant that I've been trying to book for a few months and leapt at the opportunity to actually book when an email came through, despite the fact that it was a Tuesday. The chance to get a non-school night is almost impossible. The restaurant specialises in small bites. You get a lot of courses (21!), but each one is only 1-4 bites in size, roughly. Man, some of those bites had a super intense taste and looked utterly fabulous and delicate. Basically you sit at a bar (maximum 12 people) with the kitchen in front of you and more staff than guests 'presenting' the food and wine. Fabulous experience, but I'm not sure we can ever afford to go back there!

[63104mom]

2022 travel

not that i stopped traveling in 2020 or 2021, but I did go a lot of places in 2022:

Berlin, Germany - delayed 50th birthday trip

Colorado - summer vacation/kids visit with 2 sets of cousins

Arizona - clean out my uncle’s house

Savannah and Tybee Island Georgia - Easter ; first trip to state of Georgia

Columbia, Missouri - 3 trips (homecoming, wineries and Mizzou/Arkansas game)

Knoxville, Tennesse - work trip

Petersberg, Illinois - funeral 

Fayetteville, Arkansas - mom’s weekend and family weekend

Dallas, Texas - college friends

Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri - work seminar

places i want to go 2023:  Washington DC (never been) , New Mexico to see a friend, Arizona for fun only.  

[thebirdandhersong]

Every single rom com my parents have indirectly or directly forced me to watch has left me 1) in tears, 2) in tears of laughter, or 3) so weak in the knees I need to lie down afterwards, and I love them for cajoling me into watching every single one

#our times (taiwanese movie) was the first. and mom and I have seen it five or six times now #(yes i cried every time i watched it what of it) #my girl (thai movie) was an Experience #i lay in bed dazed and emotionally spent after sleepless in seattle (much to my parents' amusement) #that movie took the breath out of me and i didn't recover for like an hour #and we watched you've got mail over the weekend #and can i just say. my parents have very good taste #songbird again #naturally they were very excited that i liked this one so dad is coming up with Lists for other things sld;jsfdlk;jfdslk #he INSISTS on when harry met sally and mama is all for notting hill #and both of them are stubbornly set on four weddings and a funeral being a must-watch #anyway this has been an interesting journey so far #dad started on the Sci-Fi list long long ago #and so froglet and i have gone through star wars back to the future marvel movies a few dc movies etc etc #and we have cautiously forayed into the drama section (forrest gump also left me speechless for a long while) #but anyhow it's very cute how excited both of them get over rom coms

[a-simple-gaywitch]

Be Still, My Foolish Heart

Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Summary:  After Haley's death, Aaron Hotchner didn't want to move on. But when (Y/N) (L/N), an old friend from college, comes back into his life, he may just start to believe in love again.

Word Count: 1708

Warnings: brief mention of childhood cancer, brief mention of haley’s death, I think that’s it

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

~

Aaron had a rare day off. There were no cases demanding his immediate attention and Jack was staying at a friend’s house. He decided to grab a coffee from the local shop by his apartment. He rarely got to get good coffee, and he wanted to enjoy it.

Unfortunately, the universe was not on his side.

When he turned around, he bumped into the woman behind him while she was reaching for her own drink. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Aaron said, reaching for the napkins. 

The woman sighed, taking the napkins from Aaron and dabbing her blouse. “No, it’s fine. This is just how my day is going.” 

“I just hope it didn’t burn you too badly.”

When the woman looked up at him, a strange kind of smile crossed her face. “Wait a minute,” she said. “You’re Aaron Hotchner, aren’t you?” When she saw his confusion, she said, “I’m (Y/N) (L/N), we went to school together.”

“Oh! Oh, right,” he said. “Wow, it’s been so long. When was the last time we saw each other?”

“Oh, god, it would have to be your and Haley’s wedding,” she said.

“So, um, how long have you been in the city?” Aaron asked. 

“Oh, I transferred here a few months ago. I got a job as a chief marketing officer.” Her phone chimed and she sighed. “Speaking of. It was great to see you, Aaron.”

“Wait.” Aaron pulled his jacket off and handed it to her. “To, uh, to cover up the coffee stain.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks.”

~

Aaron was running in the park, training for the upcoming FBI triathlon. When he reached the end of his lap, a woman jogged up next to him. 

“You know,” she said, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were following me, Agent Hotchner.”

Aaron turned around and smiled when he saw you. “(Y/N)! It’s good to see you again.”

“So, what super secret FBI training is this?” you asked him, grabbing your water bottle. 

Aaron laughed. “It’s the annual triathlon,” he said. “I decided to actually try this year. What about you?” he asked, grabbing his own bottle of water. “Just running to run?”

You laughed. “Oh, hell no. I’m doing a charity run in October.”

“Really? What charity?”

“Oh, um, it’s actually the DC division of St. Jude’s. I, uh, I lost my nephew to leukemia about two years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Aaron said. 

You shrugged. “We all have our losses. Speaking of, I’m really sorry about Haley. I wanted to come to her funeral, but-” 

“(Y/N), relax,” Aaron said. “I got your card. It’s okay.”

“Still, I was friends with her, too. Hell, she was my college roommate.”  You chewed your bottom lip for a moment. “You know, one of my coworkers told me about a trail I should try. Maybe we can try it together next weekend? Catch up a bit more?”

“Oh, um, I’m-I’m not sure,” he said. “My work schedule is kinda unpredictable.”

“Well, if you’re able to,” you said, digging through your bag, “here’s my number. We can meet at the trailhead.” You glanced at your watch. “I gotta get going. It was nice to see you again, Aaron.” 

~

“So, are you going to call her?” Rossi asked Aaron as they stepped out of the elevator. 

“I don’t know, Dave. I mean, you know how our work schedules are-”

“You know what that sounds like to me?” Rossi asked. “That sounds like an excuse. Besides, it’s just a jogging trail.”

“What about a jogging trail?” Reid asked, twisting in his chair in the conference room to look at the two older men. 

“Nothing,” Hotch said. “Garcia, the case?”

“Yes, of course. So, my lovely crime fighters, be prepared for some pretty grim pictures.”

~

The case was fairly open-and-shut, bringing the team home in only four days. While waiting for the rest of the team, Aaron and Rossi sat in the hotel lobby. Aaron was looking at the business card in his hand. 

“You know, if you keep scowling at that cardstock, your face is gonna get stuck like that,” Rossi said. “What’s your hang-up, Aaron?”

“I don’t know. I mean, (Y/N) and I were good friends in college. She was so easy to get along with.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know. I just- I keep thinking about Haley.”

“Well, Aaron, it’s not like you’re dating her. Right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe I will call her.” 

“I think you should.” Rossi stood up and patted Aaron’s shoulder before walking over to talk to Emily, who’d just emerged from the elevator. 

Aaron looked at the card again before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing.

~

Aaron reached the trailhead where you were already waiting, stretching before the run. 

“Hey!” you said, waving him over. “You made it!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Aaron asked, smiling at you.

“Well, I know how unpredictable your work schedule is,” you said, parroting his words from before. “Anyway, let’s do this. What do you think, first person back to the trailhead has to buy the other a coffee?”

“I thought we were running together?” Aaron laughed.

“Come on, Aaron,” you said. “The race is half the fun.”

You took off in a run. Aaron smiled before running after you. There were times where he got ahead of you, and times where you got ahead of him. After circling back, you were neck and neck. At some point during the race, however, Aaron decided to let you win. 

When you crossed the trail’s end, you pumped your fists in the air. “Yes!” you gasped before bending over, hands gripping your thighs. “I beat you,” you panted.

“Guess I owe you a coffee,” Aaron told you with a smile.

“I guess you do.”

“Or, you know, I could always take you out to dinner.”

“Aaron Hotchner, are you asking me out on a date?”

“I’m trying,” he said. When you chuckled, he said, “Hey, cut me some slack, I haven’t asked anyone out in years.” The smile on his face was brighter than the cloudless sky. You’d had a crush on him in school, but nothing came of it. After all, he was with Haley.

You tried to hold back your smile. “I’d love to go to dinner with you, Aaron.”

~

“You know, the triathlon is almost here,” Rossi said after Hotch told him about the race. “You’re gonna have to find another excuse to see her.”

“It’s already taken care of,” Aaron said with a small smile. 

“Good boy.” Rossi clapped his shoulder.

~

Aaron took you to a classy restaurant. You spent most of the night catching up, getting to know each other again. You told Aaron about your job and he told you stories about his teammates at the BAU. He told you about his son Jack, and you told him about your dog Buttons. After dinner, he walked you home, like a perfect gentleman. 

When you reached your apartment, you dug your keys out of your purse. “You wanna come in?” you asked him as you unlocked the door. Aaron followed behind you and a dark mass jumped at him. 

“Buttons, pfui!” you yelled. “Platz!”

Aaron laughed, pushing your giant dog down. “No, no, it’s okay,” he said, ruffling your dog’s head. “He’s sweet.” Buttons was sniffing at Aaron’s shoes, his tail wagging.

You smiled and snapped your fingers, calling Buttons to you. “You want a coffee?” you asked Aaron.

“Oh, uh, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that,” he said. “It’s getting late and I need to get home to put Jack to bed.”

“Next time, then,” you said with a smile. 

“Next time? Are you asking me on a second date?”

“I sure am,” you said. “What do you say?”

~

The team noticed the change in Hotch’s demeanor. Of course they did, they were profilers. Hotch was happier, though he seemed more secretive. The team didn’t realize why until the day of the triathlon, when Hotch called you over to meet Jack. They all exchanged looks of understanding when they saw how he looked at you. 

You were dating Aaron for a few months. You’d gotten to know Jack pretty well, and the boy liked you. One night, you came over for pizza and a movie of Jack’s choice.

“(Y/N), can you build a fort with me?” Jack asked you after you finished dinner. 

“Of course!”

Jack grabbed your hand and dragged you to the living room while Aaron cleaned up the kitchen. He listened to the two of you while he cleared the table, his heart filling with an emotion he hadn’t felt in years.

“So, what movie are we watching tonight, Jack?” he heard you ask. 

“Monsters, Inc!” he said. 

“Well, how about you get comfy in the fort while I set it up? And when your dad comes in we can start it.”

Aaron finished cleaning up the dishes and came into the living room to see you under a blanket fort with Jack. “Is there room for me in there?” he asked.

Jack wiggled over, getting closer to you to make room for Aaron. Not too long into the movie, Jack fell asleep between you and Aaron. After the movie finished, Aaron moved to clean the fort. 

“Oh, no, leave it,” you whispered. “He worked hard on it, Aaron. Plus, I think he’d like waking up in his homemade fort tomorrow morning.” It was then you noticed the way your boyfriend was looking at you. “What?”

“I love you,” he said. 

Your eyes went wide. “What?”

“I love you,” he repeated. “I love your smile, I love how funny you are. I love how much you love Jack. After Haley died, I didn’t think I’d ever move on, I didn’t think I’d ever love someone again. But you showed me just how wrong I could be. I love you, (Y/N) (L/N).”

You smiled. “I love you too, Aaron Hotchner.”

~

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” -Author Paulo Coehlo

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #x reader #criminal minds

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 31 - Sundress

Title: Irreverent Pt. 31 - Sundress Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: R Words: 2108

Irreverent Series Masterlist

You'd woken up extra early the next day, a bundle of nerves. Hotch had said he'd pick you up around eleven after dropping off Jack at Rossi's. The night before, as you tossed and turned in excitement, you had realized that this was your first date since Foyet happened. Between work, making sure Aaron and Jack were alright, and then all the family stuff you'd dealt with, dating had been on the back burner. Then again, you couldn't imagine having dated anyone but Aaron in the intermediate.

Since you'd been up extra early, you had time to prep for dinner later with Rossi and Jack. You'd managed to cut all of the vegetables and marinate the meat, along with actually get ready for the date itself. When the knock finally came at your door - right at eleven - you felt your heartrate increase.

You went to go open the door and there was Aaron Hotchner, holding a small bouquet of dahlias  - who does that anymore? He was dressed in jeans and a dark polo and he smiled and he looked so good.

"Hi," you said, opening the door wider to let him.

"Hello," he responded, his voice low and happy, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks." You looked down at the sundress you'd chosen to wear since you rarely got a chance to wear dresses on the job. He handed you the flowers so you could put them in a vase with water.

Once you'd put the flowers in the center of the kitchen island, you turned back to him, catching him watching you. The two of you had really only kissed the one time in his office so far. But no time like the present.

"You ready to head out?" he asked, as you approached him.

"Mmhm, almost," you smiled as you got to him and went up on your toes to press a light kiss on his lips.  You must've awakened something in him, as he responded immediately his hands finding your waist, and before you knew it he'd picked you up and placed you on the island, his lips still on yours, his tongue peaking out to tease your lower lip. You opened your mouth slightly and granted him access and he took full advantage, exploring your mouth and nipping just barely at your lips. You could feel the warmth pooling in your stomach and couldn't help your legs winding around his waist, your ankles crossed together, holding him to you as your hands found their way into his hair. His hands quickly moved to your thighs, holding them firmly around him as he continued to fervently kiss you. You had to finally break for air with a gasp and you looked at him, his eyes following yours, you felt yourself color at how absolutely beautifully wrecked he looked. Both of you were breathing hard. His hand came around to your face and pulled gently at a curl that had fallen out of place.

"We should probably get going," he said, his tone suggesting that if you two didn't leave right then, things were going to escalate quite a bit more. You nodded, unwinding yourself from around him and reached out to fix his hair, after which he helped you jump down from the counter. He did not, however, let go of your hand.

You allowed him to lead you out the door where he opened the door to his car for you and helped you inside. When he got into the driver's side and started the car, his hand found yours and then didn't let go again until he pulled into the parking lot of a national park.

Once you were both standing outside, he reached into the trunk and grabbed picnic basket and blanket and then reached for your hand again. You grabbed the blanket from him against his protests but fixed him with a look so he relented.

"So, where are we?" you asked as he led you down a small pathway, your hands intertwined together. You were glad you wore wedges instead of real heels but Aaron was still being careful to make sure you could walk easily.

"I used to come here a lot when Haley and I first moved to DC," he explained, as he walked slightly ahead of you, clearing a path. "Our old apartment isn't too far and I'd come here to run, but haven't been back in years since we moved. I thought you might like it." As he said that, the path opened up to a clearing and you had a view of a gorgeous lake with a grass covered lawn surrounding it. As your day off happened to be a weekday, there weren't too many people around, but your could imagine the place would be bustling with families on a weekend.

"Aaron, it's gorgeous," you gushed, squeezing his hand as he led you to a small path of grass under a tree where you'd have a full view of the lake.

He grabbed the blanket from you and the two of you set up underneath the large tree. He'd packed a full spread of food including sandwiches and a bottle of white wine. As the two of you settled in and ate, you couldn't help but feel a little relieved at how easy it felt. You were both trying and you were both a little shy but all in all it was the two of you and now when you wanted to just brush your fingers against his arm, you could.

The sun was warming you and a gentle breeze was picking as you finished eating and moved to lean against the tree, completely stuffed. Good thing I wore a dress.

"Thank you," you murmured to him as he scooched around to come sit perpendicular to you so you two could see each other closer. His lips are slightly upturned and you find yourself cupping his face and gently kissing him. When you move back, his eyes are still closed and he has the absolute longest lashes. You'd never been the person who ever initiated in the past but with him it was so easy and you really couldn't stop yourself if you tried.

He laid down with his head in your lap as the two of you enjoyed the nice weather. Your hand carded through his hair while he held your other in his. You asked him about his family that he never seemed to talk about. You knew he didn't care much for his father but he told you about Sean. About how Sean was the favorite but he still felt a responsibility to keep his baby brother out of trouble. How he hadn't shown up to Haley's funeral and that had really made Aaron take stock of their relationship. His voice hitched when he talked about Haley and you could tell he was feeling a little awkward talking about her with you. You reassured him that Haley would always be a part of his life and Jack's life and you wouldn't ever want to change that. He relaxed a little more at that. Having Aaron Hotchner so relaxed under your touch was something you'd definitely cherish.

The two of you bided the afternoon away at the park just sitting and talking and occasionally kissing. As it drew closer to evening you packed up and made your way back to your place to start preparing dinner. Rossi would be bringing Jack soon and Aaron wanted to be sure that dinner was ready by then. You'd briefly discussed what to tell Jack and had a rough idea but were going to wait until the next time he was over for a playdate to talk to him about it together.

When you got home, you cleaned up as Hotch started getting ready in the kitchen. You'd changed into something comfier for home and grabbed a bottle of water and hopped up on the counter as you watched him grab everything from the fridge. "You need any help?"

"No, I'm alright. You just sit there and look pretty," he joked, resulting in you sticking your tongue out at him. The last time you'd been here before this morning had been when your Mother had dropped by. He noticed your contemplative face as he asked what you were thinking.

"Just that the last time we were here, so was my Mother. Kind of crazy to think how much has changed."

"Mmhm," he agreed. "All changes for the better, though," he said, coming to stand in front of you and quickly kissing you. You smiled into the kiss.  

"Actually," he said, pulling away, a thoughtful expression crossing his face, "speaking of your Mother," he spoke slowly and hesitantly, "I remember that day when she was talking to you about Matthew."

"Uh huh."

He was gauging you carefully as he continued. "She mentioned something about deficiencies and you flinched when she said that, as if she was attacking something directly." He noticed you wince. "If you don't want to talk about it -"

"No," you stopped him, but you weren't quite looking at him either. "No, um…I'm sorry." You took a quick shallow breath. "I - um - I was going to tell you, but I just wasn't sure what the right time was for something like that."

You looked up to see his concerned face as he ran his hands soothingly down side of your thighs.

You continued, "Back when I was in my last year of college - I was already engaged to Matthew."

Aaron was nodding attentively, and you could tell he was bracing himself but keeping the focus on making you comfortable.

"We were coming back from something - a party - and I should've driven, but I didn't, he did."

"He was drunk," he inferred. You saw his jaw tighten.

Your voice was shaking a bit as you spoke, but you really wanted to tell him. "Yeah, he was. We were in an accident and I got hurt pretty badly. They had to operate and well...there is a strong chance I can't have children. " You watched as he looked a bit surprised and he was about to say something, but you chose to continue and just get it out. "My Mother felt I should be grateful that he wanted to be with me still. She was wrong though - he never let me forget how lucky I was that he was still choosing to be with me." The last few words were very quiet and you'd never told anyone that before. How he'd constantly reminded you of your failure. How you should feel grateful that a man would still look at you. Your relationship had been over long before you found out about your father's true nature.

Hotch was very quiet as he continued to touch you soothingly. You felt compelled to fill the silence. "You don't have to say anything, I know it's a lot, and I'd understand if - "

He cut you off with a quick kiss, soft and full of meaning. When he pulled away he looked right at you as he held you in front of him. "I am so sorry, sweetheart."

He was trying very hard to hold it together, knowing that your mother had thrown this obviously very painful event in your face. Hotch was surprised but then he thought back to how easily you'd taken to Jack and how quickly the two of you had bonded. He realized this must be especially painful given how much you loved kids - you'd be an amazing mom. You already were around Jack. He'd never really considered more kids but knew it would be a possibility if he were ever with someone else.

You smiled a bit, letting him know it was okay, that he didn't need to say anything else, but he continued, his voice low and gravelly. "When we decide if we want more kids, we'll figure it out then, but I don't want you to worry about this, not with me, not with us." His face was earnest and kind and this must be what it feels like to have someone love you.

"I know," you whispered, your fingers bunching up in his shirt. "To be honest, I really wasn't worried, I just felt guilty I hadn't told you," you confided, your voice low as your forehead touched his.

"That's alright," he whispered softly. You could feel his warm breath on your face. "And hey, for now, we have Jack, and he keeps us plenty busy."

You laughed, pulling him in to you again.

#criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds reader insert #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner imagine #hotch x you #hotchner imagine #hotchner x reader #hotch x reader #hotchner x you #hotch x y/n #irreverentseries

[aerielz]

come and untangle me one of these days

- a dream. a mistake. company, to make it better.

This is for and because of everyone in the original Flower Shop!AU post notes, specially @claudiasjeancregg and @stars-on-the-cuffs-of-her-jeans. You guys went waaaay too fast and I’m still trying to put Donna in here let alone everyone else, but I do hope everyone enjoys this! Title from Come and Find Me, by Josh Ritter. I feel like everything I’ll ever write for this AU will be somehow based off this song, tbh.

fandom: the west wing pairings: JD, CJ/Toby wc: 2453 rating: gen tag: flowershop au

He wakes up at the crack of dawn, stirred by some weird dream he can’t quite remember — some bittersweet memory. The coffee he takes washes away the sweetness and he’s left with only the bitter of it, stuck to the back of his throat.

He leaves the house, then. The streets are still somewhat deserted, but, much like his hometown, DC never really sleeps. Toby walks the five minutes from his house to the shop, and watches as the sun comes up behind the Capitol dome.

Walking into the storefront proves itself a bigger hazard than his own mood, though, as he is almost run over by a flurry of blonde as soon as he steps through the threshold— “Wow.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!,” Donna is already there, crossing quickly towards a table under the wall-to-wall window with a spray bottle in hand and talking into a phone she holds with her shoulder. “Oh— no, no, don’t worry, that was just Mr. Ziegler. Yes, of course. Yeah. Yeah, I’ll let him know, don’t— tomorrow? That should be hard, how about Saturday? Okay. Okay, thank you so much, Dr. Bartlett.”

“Donna,” he says when she hangs up.

“Shouldn’t we receive a shipment of sunflowers this weekend?” She sprays a mist over an arrangement of daisies.

It's too early for this. Too early for and her energy and her incessant talking, but somehow Toby can never be mad at Donna. Even when she sends congratulatory arrangements to funerals by accident. Even when she turns around still spraying, causing him to find himself inside a cloud.

“Donna—”

“We’ll sure need them, Dr. Bartlett just called saying that Liz will be home for the weekend.”

"How many times I have to tell you to never call me Mr. Ziegler?"

"Should I call you Mr. Grumpy, then?"

"It's Mr. nothing, Donna."

"Oh, c'mon. Don’t be so harsh on yourself,” she jokes. But her quip lacks the bite and the sparkle, and Toby finally notices it — she was here before sunup, too.

He barely has time to register the conversation and that last fact when the bell above the door rings behind him. His heart skips a beat.

Donna looks up to check and her eyes widen, just a little bit. Just enough.

“Oh, God, no, not him,” he mutters to himself.

“Can anyone tell me what magnolias are supposed to stand for?”

Toby sighs, closing his eyes.

“This is a flower shop,” he says, turning around, “can’t say much about trees.”

Josh Lyman, arrogant extraordinaire, flashes a smirk, shrugging apologetically. "Maybe you should start thinking about expanding."

He swagger his way further into the shop, stopping just beside him.

“I—,” she says, putting a strand of hair behind her ear, “Well, actually flowers from magnolias are very common in bridal bouquets. They’re these beautiful, delicate, things, they’re supposed to be all about purity and nobility.”

This is why he keeps her here, Toby thinks. For every fact about flowers that he doesn’t know, Donna knows five he’s pretty sure no one but her knows about. But she looks down to the floor, and Toby thinks she sounds sad, somehow.

“Well, that..." Josh’s smirk quickly turns into a grimace. "That makes sense."

“The more you know,” he says, clapping his hands against his legs. "Well, you got your answer, then."

"Yeah, maybe... maybe we should focus on some other flower," Josh says.

Toby is more than ready to focus on showing Josh the door when—

The bell rings again.

Sam walks in, saying, "Oh. And here I was thinking I was gonna be the first."

Toby runs a hand over his face and takes a glance at his wristwatch. It’s barely seven. "Why are you all even up?"

"No reason," Josh answers. It's way too quick, but he's not about to question him.

"The magnolias, they..." Donna looks up directly at Josh, "Why you ask?"

"I— uh."

"Magnolias!," chimes in Sam, leaving his shoulder bag in a corner and sitting on top of the sales counter, right beside Donna, "Such pretty flowers! We're doing bridal bouquets, now? We should, the marriage stuff really is great business."

"Oh, God, no," Josh mutters.

"It really is!,” Sam continues, “There’s definitely money in the sector, and it’s not like it’s an unpleasant job. Donna here, for example, would love it. Anyone with a knack for romance would, really.”

“You work the afternoon shift,” Toby tells Sam, exasperated and already so, so, tired. “On weekends. What the hell are you doing here?”

“I have no idea, Josh was the one who called me.”

“And you came?”

"Absolutely," says Sam, almost triumphant. “I mean why not?”

“I can think of at least, I don’t know, twenty reasons.”

“Well, I like to help my friends when I can, Toby. For the same reasons I think we should really start doing weddings.”

“Unbelievable,” he cries out, “How did we even get to this point of the conversation, we are not doing weddings, what’s wrong with you?”

“I’m a romantic—”

“Yeah, that explains it.”

“—and you know what, I think you are one, too. I think most, if not all, of us here are. Or you're gonna tell me you wouldn't like the sight of the love of your life, surrounded by blooms and blossoms, walking her way towards you? Or, or— maybe doing that walk yourself, that would probably be quite an experience, right? C’mon, Donna, you look like someone who dreams about a big wedding, tell ‘em."

"I... really rather not."

"God, kill me. Right now," Josh mutters a bit too loud, "Just kill me."

Toby notices, strangely enough, that Donna seems to second that thought, but the impression barely has time to settle in because at that exact moment the door opens again. But instead of the light, almost quiet, chime of the bell, they hear a sharp shrill and a loud thud, from the door connecting violently with the wall.

"Joshua Lyman, I will have you hanged," a familiar voice booms.

"I didn’t mean literally," Josh whispers to no one.

"What the actual f— I mean, really, I am never leaving you in charge of the schedule again. Amy just called me asking for your head and I’m pretty sure Joey wants your nuts served on sterling silver — why the hell did you think it was a good idea to have everyone here at like six in the morning, Joshua?"

“Look—”

“Choose your next words carefully because in order for you to keep your internal organs on the inside of your body this will have to be really good.”

His answer ends up not coming in words at all, but in a pleading look — the wide eyes of a man who needs help.

The room awaits silently for Josh's defense, but Toby is looking at CJ, who, for some reason, seems to have a monopoly on his attention whenever she's in the room. And so he catches the moment when her gazes subtly travel to Donna's face. He follows just as carefully, to find her sniffling quietly, cleaning her eyes with the sleeves of her cardigan.

CJ swallows and tracks her eyes back to Josh. Something passes between the two, some understanding, that Toby is not privy to.

“Well." She sighs, rage completely gone. Everyone looks at her. "Since we’re here... maybe... we could all just have something nice to eat...? My treat.”

Josh is visibly relieved.

"I'll take you up on that," Sam says, "I haven't eaten a thing yet."

"You left home without eating?," Donna asks.

"I'm not used to waking up this early."

"Well, let's put some kind of food inside you then," CJ says.

"And coffee," he completes.

They all walk to the nearest café together, finding Bonnie on her bike on her way to work. She unmounts and joins them. Ginger arrives later, when they're all making a fuss over latte flavours, chipping in too. Seasonal spices are seasonal, that's why they're special!, cries out Donna. Nonsense, says Josh, what if I want pumpkin spice all year round, what's wrong with that?

Toby is equal parts impressed and not at all by Josh having an elaborate coffee order. He's hanging back behind the group, watching them have fun with nothing but their own friendship, when CJ finds him.

"What about you, Tobus, gonna drown yourself in cinnamon and allspice, too?," she asks.

He lets himself laugh, "I don't think I have it in me to drink something that complicated."

"A simple man, huh."

"You could say that," he tries and fails to hide a smile.

"I have just the thing."

She enters the line and comes back two minutes later, shoving a blueberry muffin into his hands.

"You didn't have to."

She's the one smiling, then. "I know."

CJ looks up ahead at the rest of their party and her gaze falls on Donna, going soft when she watches how openly the woman laughs while trying to argue some sense into Josh about something as innocuous as coffee.

“Why do I have the impression you know something about my own employee that I don’t...?," Toby asks, then takes a bite from his muffin. It's a bit too sweet for him, but it tastes good. It feels good, like replenishing something inside him.

“I... might.”

“CJ.”

“I’m not supposed to say anything.”

“Those flower arrangements, you like them a lot, right.”

“You don’t play fair.”

“It’s why I’ll never be a professional baseball player.”

“Could've had a chance with the Red Socks team of nineteen—”

“You don’t know anything about baseball, stop obfuscating.”

She sighs, sagging.

“She was supposed to be getting married today.”

Toby chokes on a piece of his muffin. CJ gives him a slap on the back.

“Married?”, he all but yells, between coughs.

“Keep your voice down!”

“What do you mean married?,” he whisper-yells, “You’re telling me she was supposed to marry that asshole?”

“We all make mistakes.”

“Voice of experience?”

“I’m a tattoo artist, Tobias, I have seen things.”

"Married," he repeats. "Married! She's, what, twenty-five? And she's supposed to be getting married to— to a guy who wanted her to throw her entire life away to—"

"I shouldn't have told you anything."

"—what, pay his bills?!"

He breathes in deeply and takes a big bite out of his muffin, knowing the sugar will help him cool down.

It must be quite a picture, his beard covered in crumbs while he munches angrily, because CJ looks at him like she’s about to burst into laughter.

“What?”

"I swear to god between you and Josh the girl’s got more protection than a mafia daughter.”

"Josh knows?," that explains a lot, he thinks. "You're not very good at keeping secrets are you."

"Listen pal, I am very good at it, I just... She needed help, okay?"

"And you think we’re the right people to help her?"

He's not being skeptical, he really isn't. But Donna’s far away from home, and she’s bound to be missing more substantial support. It is true that CJ has a way of making him feel better by just being there, though, and to be fair it is a general talent of hers. Regardless of his protests both her and Josh, they do this, somehow. They arrive, arguing over something tiny, and he forgets he’s worried about anything.

"Yeah, I mean," she shrugs, "isn’t that what friends are for?"

Toby looks up ahead at the people who came around the shop, and all the way here, too, just to keep each other company.

“I think it might work,” CJ concludes.

Between their party and the sugar in his system, he can’t remember what was it that upset him so much that morning.

They all sit on a big table outside the shop, still discussing seasonal lattes. Sam remembers some of his favorites, recalling one or two that never came back another year. Ginger and Bonnie share hot chocolate recipes, and Donna makes notes.

The sun settles itself in the sky and shines down warmly. The District starts moving faster, getting into the gears of the day.

Their regular opening hour approaches.

CJ rises from her place beside Toby and motions with her head for Josh to follow her.

“It's been nice to be robbed blind by a coffee shop chain for your benefit, but we better get to work.”

“Thanks for coming around,” Donna tells her, “I've been having a couple of rough days and…this helped.”

“You should come up to the shop, if it happens again,” CJ says. “Just to hang around. There's always someone there to keep you company.”

“Come today, even,” Josh completes, “I think Amy might not murder me if there’s witnesses.”

“Today's probably not gonna happen,” Donna answers, “We'll be doing some new arrangements, for a while, Dr. Bartlett called.”

“MD or PhD?”

“It’s a lot of work anyway, so does it really matter?”

Josh smiles, shaking his head, “I guess not.”

Is there someone he didn't call?, Toby thinks.

Josh and CJ bid the rest of the table goodbye and head in the direction of their shop. The conversation around them resumes, but Donna is chewing on her lips instead of jumping in to refute Sam's argumentation over croissants.

She steals a glance to watch their backs retreat on the sidewalk, but, before they can get too far, Donna bolts from her seat and stops Josh with a hand on his forearm.

“Josh.”

He stops and looks back. “Yeah?”

She hesitates. When she speaks, it is just loud enough for him to hear.

"Why did you ask about the magnolias?"

She notices she’s still holding him by his shirt and lets go of it, but Josh slides his hand into hers. "Someone came into the shop yesterday to get them done. They reminded me of you.”

He gives her hand a squeeze, that she returns. They share a smile.

“Maybe I could come around tomorrow?,” she says.

“Yeah,” he nods, “Yeah, I think I’d like that. See you tomorrow, then.”

A few steps behind Josh, CJ is watching them, too.

She finds Toby's gaze, when Josh releases Donna's hand to join her. And gives him a wink.

He laughs at the ridiculousness of it, at how warm it makes him feel. But something in the gesture between him makes him believe that there are better days ahead. For all of them.

He turns back to the table around him and when Donna sits down he finally gives in— “You’re all delusional, black forest is just chocolate and cherry, it tastes the same anywhere.”

—starting another round of protests that leads to laughter and lively conversation that lasts the rest of the day.

#the west wing #took a break from writing this week because life has been a little bit too intense #but this had been on my drafts since aleena made the post #and it was only a couple hundred words short of finished so I thought why not #and now I... #erm. I low key wanna turn this into a script lmao #Ik this is ao3-length stuff but this entire au belongs to Tumblr it just FEEL like tumblr u feel me #can you tell this is me trying to process my own (thankfully) dwindling depression in amore positive and optimistic way #tww fic mine #tww flowershop au #aleena has a tag #Bianca has a tag

[starkatana]

Everything Must Go

Jason Todd x Female Reader // Peter Parker x Female Reader

Yeah, it’s a Marvel cross-over in a DC universe! Because I can.

Summary:

After deciding to leave Gotham, you need to say one last good-bye.

Warning: Light swearing, death (nothing graphic – just mentions)

Before Reading Background:

You and Jason were dating for four years before Joker ‘killed’ him.

Now you are dating Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

Selina is your godmother. You are the child of Selina’s childhood friends. There is no family relationship between you and Jason even though you live in Wayne Manor

You are also a vigilante in the Batfam as Black Cat

Author’s Note:

So, here begins my various one-shots of Jason Todd/Red Hood x Reader//y/n AKA my current obsession. I may compile all of them into chronological order once everything is done. I just really wanted to write and post something. I just have too many WIP’s right now that I need to focus on.

Sorry I didn’t want to put the year of birth and the death year on Jason’s tombstone since I changed all their ages. I’ll deal with it on a different day.

They aren’t exact ages. This is just a world that I made using these characters because I can. In this story, Jason has ‘died’ at 21 and you and peter are visiting his grave a year later. The three of you are 22

This Peter Parker is more based off of the Playstation 4 Spiderman game.

Sorry if it's a little out of character, this is just based on my knowledge that Tumblr has given me.

Also! Thank you for all your likes and reblogs! It really helps my self-esteem in continuing to write and share this story! <3

Enjoy!

After you had decided to leave Gotham, you immediately made the preparations to go back home with your mom. You told Selina and Bruce and as much as they’d miss having you around they understood your choice.

“About your suit.” Bruce brought up.

You shake your head no. You hadn’t even thought about taking it with you. “I don’t need it where I’m going.”

He nods. “You will always have a place here,” Bruce reassured.

“I’m going to miss you, KitKat.” Selina hugged you.

Gotham was about three hours away from home by train. You just knew you didn’t want to come back for a long time.

As for the rest of your ‘family,' they had some choice words for you and refused to let you leave. Damian threw a tantrum and ignored you for a few hours before coming to terms and quietly hanging around you, as Damien does. Cass, Steph, and Babs forced a sleepover with you every night. You went out to eat at your must-have locations with Duke and Tim, rotating with the others. Dick went around with you from place to place, to not only keep an eye on you but so you wouldn’t be alone. Occasionally, trading places with Roy when Dick had to go to work. You knew they were babysitting, but enjoyed your time with each of them anyway. Eventually, everyone came to terms with you leaving and reluctantly supported your decision.

Today was your last day in Gotham. Peter came down from New York to help you pack the finishing touches and spend your last day in Gotham. He had the weekend off and was going to go to your hometown with you. You were going to show him around and introduce him to your mom. After packing your belongings and moving the boxes from your room to the main entrance hall, you went through your list to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

“There’s only one thing left.”

“What’s up?”

You pause and fidget with your fingers before you take a deep breath to respond.

“I want to visit Jason’s grave.”

Peter nods. “When do you want to go?”

You shrug. “Today’s the only day I have. I don’t know when I’ll be in Gotham again. I just know I have to go and I don’t think I can go alone…I haven’t been there since…” your voice trails off. “Is that weird? Asking you to go with me to my dead boyfriend’s grave? It’s a little weird. You can say no.”

Peter lets out a light chuckle and gently grabs your arms to stop you from rambling, “No, it’s not weird. I’m more than happy to go with you.”

You place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Peter.”

You two take a car to the flower shop, buying some of –your favorite flowers-, for Jason’s grave. Next was a train ride to the city suburb, finally following a short walk to the church graveyard. This was where Bruce’s parents are buried, along with Jason. It was all a very somber experience.

The day of Jason’s funeral was not the kind of weather you felt. It was a sunny day in Gotham. Light breeze, mid to lower 80’s, it was good weather. Abnormal for Gotham and abnormal for a funeral.

You hung your head low and cried the entire time at the funeral. Damien held your hand and Cass rested her head on your shoulder. You tried to be strong, but you were shaking. From sadness and anger. It wasn’t fair.

When the funeral ended, you went for a walk through the flower garden and Dick joined you.

When you two were far enough away from any people and crowds. You started bawling like a baby. Dick held you and you cried into his jacket.

“It’s okay.” He reassured.

“No!” you snapped up, “I hate the weather.”

Dick tilts his head slightly confused.

“It’s not fair! It rains any other godforsaken day in Gotham but when it’s Jason’s funeral and I’m sad! And I think the world should be sad! But it’s fucking sunny.” You try wiping away your tears that keep coming. “It’s stupid and it’s not fair!”

Dick nods giving you another hug. “You’re right, it’s not fair.”

“The sun is dumb and this is dumb and Jason should be alive.”

Dick caresses your head as he rocks you back and forth.

“And it’s all my fault!” you sob into Dick’s coat hugging him tightly.

“Y/n.” Dick grabs your shoulders to have you look at him. “It’s not your fault. What happened to Jay is not your fault.”

You hiccup between your sobs. “If I didn’t stop him from being on time, he would’ve been with you.”

Dick pulls you in for another hug. “Shhh.”

“Y/n?”

You came back from your thoughts at the sound of Peter’s voice. You two stood outside of the graveyard gates. You look at Peter, tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize wiping your tears away. “I’m sad.”

He smiles and squeezes your hand, “That’s okay. You’re allowed to be sad.”

You sniffle, holding your tears back, return his hand squeeze, and take a deep breath.

“How long has it been?”

“Its been a little over a year,” You pause, “I still miss him.” You realize what you said. You look at Peter expecting to see some sort of reaction that you had told him you still miss your dead ex. He didn’t have one. He just watched you lovingly and listened contently. “I’m sorry, that was weird.” You hang your head trying to hide your face.

“Y/n.” He steps in front of you and tilts your face up to look at him. Gently he caresses your cheek. You stare into his brown eyes, the warmest brown that glowed like warm honey on a summer’s day. And with the sun shining in eyes, they glowed even more. So warm and kind it’s been a while since you felt like this and you felt a smile grow on your lips. He tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m here to support you. You can miss Jason all you want. I don’t it’s weird. I don’t expect you to just replace him with me either. This is normal. What you’re feeling is normal. You don’t need to apologize for missing someone you love.”

You two share a hug. “Thank you, Peter.”

He places a kiss on the top of your head. “Let's go in.”

You lead him towards the flower field in the graveyard. You stop a few feet away, being able to read his gravestone in the distance.

Jason Peter Todd

Son Brother

“You okay?” Peter asks.

“Yeah.” You two continue forward, stepping up to the gravestone. You crouch down in front of his tombstone wiping off the debris that was collecting on it from the year, but other than that it was in good shape.

“Hi Jaybird.” You greet the grave like an old friend. “Sorry, it’s been so long. This is Peter.” You put the flowers down next to the grave, “He’s the guy I’ve been telling you about. He came out with me because,” You pause to collect your thoughts and find your words. “Because I wasn’t sure I could come out here by myself. I still feel bad and I still feel like this is all my fault.”

Peter puts a hand on your shoulder giving you a small squeeze.

You touch Peter’s hang before continuing. “I’m working through it though. I’ve been seeing a counselor, keeping a journal, talking to family and friends.” You pause and smile at the grave. It felt therapeutic. “I wanted to say good-bye before I left Gotham. I….” You pause feeling Peter’s eyes on you and your mouth gets dry, “miss you.” You turn to face Peter. “This is weird isn’t it?”

“No.” Peter responds crouching next to you, “He was your best friend and first love. Of course, you’d miss him.”

You put on a smile. “I feel like you two would get along in another life. You guys have a lot of the same interests.” You stop again, “Oh, that felt weird.” You cringe.

Peter puts a hand on your knee to reassure you, “It’s not weird. I’m flattered. I heard great things about him.” You smile at him, no matter what you did, and said, Peter, is nothing but supportive of you. This is was what you loved about Peter, always so positive. That and so much more. This entire process was hard, but with Peter by your side supporting you, it made you feel less alone.

“I’d like to think that the night on the balcony, when we met, Jason guided you into my life.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this getting too weird for you yet? Me talking about my dead boyfriend who I’m clearly not over?”

Peter rolls his eyes at you and smiles at you. “Stop it, y/n. No, I don’t think it’s weird. I think it’s normal and I want you to know that I’m here for you through everything. I know you care about me and I know Jason will always have a place in your heart. I don’t want to take his place, I just want to make you happy.” He kisses your forehead. “We both just want you to be happy.”

You lean against Peter with a lighthearted smile.

“Now quit asking me if it’s weird. Cause I think you’re weird.” He playfully bumps into you causing you to lose your balance, but he catches you before you can fall over. “But that’s why I like you.”

You chuckle and lean into him, “I like you too.” You say while he puts his arm around you. “Thank you, Peter, for everything.”

He nods. “Thank you for introducing us.” He faces Jason’s grave, “I promise I’ll take care of her.”

#jason todd imagine #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #red hood #red hood imagine #red hood x reader #red hood x y/n #spider-man #jason peter todd #peter parker imagine #peter parker #peter parker x original character #peter parker x oc #peter parker x reader #peter parker x you #peter parker x y/n #ps4 spiderman #dc jason todd #dc jason todd x reader #marvel spiderman #spiderman x y/n #spiderman x you #spiderman x reader #dc jason todd imagine #dc jason todd x y/n #dc jason todd x you #dc red hood #dc red hood imagine

[dcbbw]

WIP Wednesday 5-13-2020

Thanks for the tags, @ao719​ and @burnsoslow​ (My #GreysAnatomyCrew).

Life has been more hectic than usual for the past two weeks: I have three projects running concurrently that I am managing at work, along with another huge project looming on the horizon; may aunt passed away very recently after a ten year battle with Alzheimer’s; and I am just starting to dig my way into the rabbit hole that is reading and reblogging.

I am working on stuff and hope to begin posting some fics beginning this weekend, but no promises.

Below are some works in progress, including another glimpse into Riam family life (once I birth these babies!!!)

PS--How is a WIP post over 1800 words? (See photo above)

Family Retreat (Riam):

“Hey, you! I thought you were with your brothers and father.”

Frac picked a granny smith apple from a crystal bowl on the kitchen island. “Naw. They’re doing little kid stuff.”

Riley arched a brow as she turned the on the burner so the potatoes could begin to cook; she reached in the refrigerator for a package of bacon.

“Little kid stuff? Need I remind you, you’re only older than your twin by three minutes and your younger brother by two years??

“I’m a whole day older than Fric!” Frac protested.

Riley shook her head with a chuckle. “Of course, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that!” Frac didn’t like being reminded that he was royal; it meant he was different.

His mother pressed her lips to his cheek, giving him a noisy kiss before she went back to preparing dinner. Frac began wandering the kitchen.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Steak, mashed potatoes with sour cream and butter, fried cabbage with bacon,” his mother responded absently; she was debating pepper juice over the cabbage leaves.

“Vinegar for the potatoes?” Frac asked eagerly. He loved the sour potatoes as much as Liam did.

“On the side.”

“Dessert?” her son asked hopefully.

Riley nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen island; at the end, were pans of corn pudding and baklava cooling.

A huge grin split the teenager’s face before he fell silent, chomping loudly on his apple. Finally, he spoke.

“Hey, mom?”

“Yeah?” Riley looked over her shoulder briefly before placing bacon slices in a hot pan.

“Are you and Dad gonna get a divorce?” Frac’s voice was small, scared.

Stairway to Heaven (Riam)

A/N: This fic is inspired by @ao719’s Remember Me; it’s the story Riam’s ending. I may never post this.

Night of Riley’s funeral:

Liam’s nurses helped him into his pajamas and into bed. The once tall, strong, broad shouldered King was now weak, frail, and bent over. His charm and vibrancy had been diminished greatly due to his stroke.  Liam had lost a lot to his stroke: his strength, his speech, his mobility. His dark eyes were clouded and dull. His ready smile had been stilled.

It hadn’t mattered while Riley was with him. Just as she had when they first met, she saw Liam and not what he had become.

And now she was gone.

He lay on his side as covers were drawn over him. Normally he faced his nightstand so he could use his functional arm to sip water through the night. But tonight, he faced Riley’s side. Tears fell from his eyes as he gazed at the empty pillow. The lights turned off and the door shut as the nurses left to allow the King Father to sleep.

Liam lay in the dark, crying as he stared at Riley’s pillow. It was the end of the fifth day without his Riley by his side. Without smelling her perfume, or hearing her soft voice talk to him; talk for both of them. Without feeling her arms wrap around him.

Without hearing her tell him she loved him. Their entire married life, Riley had never been one to say sentimental words; she was one for actions. But once she was diagnosed with cancer; once Liam suffered his stroke … his wife told him constantly how happy Liam made her, how he had changed her life. How much she loved him.

He would ever hear those words again fall from her lips. Today they had sealed the body that once held the life of Riley Brooks inside the family mausoleum.

His tears fell harder. The lump in his throat seemed especially large; perhaps it was his sobs forever entrapped within him that made it seem that way.

Liam smelled her before he saw her; a gentle wafting of rose and vanilla tickled his nostrils. He looked curiously at her side of the bed before his eyes darted around the shadowy room. When they returned to the pillow, she was there.

Riley.

His Queen was laying on her side, smiling at Liam. The brown ringlets he adored so much framed her face; they were glossy in the moonlight. She wore a strapless white velvet gown that hugged her curves. She was young and radiant, the way she looked when they first met and began their journey of life and love. Her lips were painted dark cherry. Elbow length white opera gloves covered her hands and arms.

Liam heard noises: muted laughter, the tinkling of silverware against china, music. He wanted to look around and locate the source of the sounds, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Riley. If he looked away, she might disappear.

Her brown eyes shone with love as she laid her hand against Liam’s cheek. With a silent whimper, Liam leaned into her caress. Riley pressed her lips against his. I love you, so much reverberated throughout Liam’s mind. His eyes searched her face, memorizing every detail. He wasn’t certain how long they lay there, but it was too short.

Riley’s eyes were regretful as she caressed his cheek again. “I have to go now.”

Liam’s eyes grew wide with sadness and panic while he shook his head as quickly as he could.

“Yes.” Her voice was sad but firm. “I love you, my King.” Pressing a kiss to Liam’s forehead, Riley disappeared.

Discontent—Chapter 4

Liam’s kisses on her shoulder made her moan as she arched her back against his chest.

“Good morning, my love,” he murmured against her skin.

“I’m sweaty, and I have morning breath.”

Riley wanted to tell herself she didn’t know why she had said that. Her husband, who she had not been in the same room with for more than five minutes for almost a year, was kissing her good morning and all she could do was say … that.

But she knew why she said it.

Riley needed to be perfect. She was now in competition for her husband’s affections.

“I don’t care. It’s you, Riley. That’s all I care about.”

Silence as Liam’s words hung in the space between them and Riley tried to pluck them from the air to hold in her hands.

Liam shifted, his manhood pressing against her buttocks. “Will you be at the plenary luncheon?” His voice was soft, laced with pleading.

Riley had not thought that far ahead when she boarded the jet. She had not thought that far ahead when Liam claimed her as his last night. She hadn’t thought that far ahead when she opened her eyes.

Baby steps.

“Yes,” she said softly. “You still need to rehearse,” she reminded him.

Liam had a soft smile on his face as he rolled Riley onto her back. He pressed his knee between her legs, opening them up to him. “After breakfast,” he promised before his lips covered hers.

The Commoner’s Wife:

A/N: As mentioned before, I am getting back into this fic now that I have had a brilliant (subjective) idea for the conclusion of the story. We’ll see how that works out …

When Drake opened the study door, he was stunned. He stumbled backwards a few steps, feeling sucker punched at the sight of Liam’s naked ass, and the sounds of the King … his best friend … fucking.

Fucking Drake’s wife.

He wanted to cover his ears to muffle Riley’s moans as her back arched her off the sofa. He wanted to close his eyes so he wouldn’t see the convulsions as his wife’s body entered le petite mort.

Looks, sounds, actions that were supposed to be reserved for Drake because he and Riley had vowed to forsake all others.

He needed to hit something, but instead settled for screaming his disbelief as his fists clenched and unclenched.

He was so angry; it was if someone had painted the room and all its occupants red. Yet, for all his fury, there was a tiny piece of him that was not surprised. That wondered why it took any of them so long to speak the truth they all shared.

Drake knew it was not yet even 10am, but he needed a drink. He needed to numb himself; he needed to stem the tide of answers flooding his brain. As he walked past the sofa, he saw Brooks tighten her hold on Liam, and in the midst of all of his anger, pain pierced his heart.

She’s clinging to him. She doesn’t care that I’m here, that she’s caught in all of her lies. She doesn’t care that she is filling the hole in my heart with salt.

Fuck you, Brooks!

Upcoming DC AU:

While Riley had always pined after and lusted over Liam, she knew she wasn’t his type.

He was always with a short, skinny white woman.

Always.

Which is why she kept them both in the friendzone. He really was her best friend, and one night of nookie was not worth losing his friendship. Because men tended to quit it after they hit it. Until they got horny again.

Which is why she had trouble believing his weekend confession. His alcohol fueled confession. Actions spoke louder than words, and his actions showed Riley Liam liked his women shorter, thinner, and lighter.

Which is why she was now so disappointed and hurt: Liam had lied to her in one of her most vulnerable moments. Telling her how he had been waiting for her, how he wanted to date her.

Lies.

He had used her to escape a sticky situation.

Liam was a dick. A big, fat, dick.

Riley had reached her building; she climbed the front steps and had just entered her lobby when her phone rang. She fumbled in her coat pocket for it.

“Hello?”

She opened her mailbox, sorting through piles of junk mail, tossing the entire pile in the mail basket.

“Hey, babe. What you doing?” Keith The Bootycall’s raspy voice whispered in her ear.

Riley rolled her eyes but answered him honestly. “Just got home.”

“I miss you. I wanna see you.”

Riley climbed the short flight of stairs that led to her apartment door.  Of course you do. “When?”

“Half hour?

Riley pushed her key in the lock.  Why not? At least Keith was an honest dick. “I’ll be here.”

 What are you working on: @sirbeepsalot​ @katedrakeohd​ @glaimtruelovealways​ @choiceslife​ @bobasheebaby​ @jovialyouthmusic​ @blackcatkita​

#long post #dcbbw writes #WIP Wednesday #my wips #WIPs are coming

[starkerisendgame]

this is my cheesy cliché-romantic prompt, please write it if you like this kind of stories, lol: Peter has had a crush on Tony since forever. He has confessed his love to Tony three times, and Peter has been rejected each time. The first one was when he was 10, the second one at 15, and the last one at 20. After so long, Peter decides to give up. He starts dating other people, trying to find love, then one day Tony reappears again into his life.

I’m so sorry this took so long! But I really hope it was worth the wait and that you enjoy it. This is in two parts because it ended up being way longer than I initially planned it. No smut in part one, but 90% of what Anon asked for happens in this chapter.

Prompts are always open

[P. 2 | P. 3]

Peter meets the love of his life aged ten, lounging in the grass of a local park and devouring the Chemistry book that Aunt May got him for Christmas. A pair of glossy combat boots stop right besides his pink lemonade, a figure casting a dark shadow over his book.

Peter looked up slowly, scowling at the interruption. How was he supposed to study hard and become a world famous scientist if people kept interrupting him? The boots give way to skinny black jeans that clung to legs longer than Peter could ever hope for his to grow. The legs faded into a black t-shirt sporting a cat playing the drums, and then to the prettiest face Peter had ever seen.

“Page fifty-eight is wrong, y’know,” the boy commented casually, hands tucked into his jean pockets. Peter’s scowl deepened, and he stared for a moment longer before furiously flicking through the pages. Page 58 turned out to be on metals and their chemical properties. Peter scanned it, before looking up again.

“It’s a professional science book. It can’t be wrong. And even if it was, how would you know?” he asked, reaching for his lemonade and sipping. The boy actually laughed, soft and amused before crouching down, elbows braced on his thighs. One long finger tapped a single paragraph on the page.

“The book claims Tungsten to be the strongest natural metal, and Chromium to be the hardest. Both of those are wrong. The world’s strongest and hardest metal is one in the same: Vibranium.”

Peter frowned a little, reading the paragraph quickly as the boy spoke. Vibranium? That sounded made up. And he’d never heard of it before.

“You’re just making that up,” he pouted, pushing away the boy’s hand.  He chuckled again, low and soft and it made Peter’s tummy feel funny. All flippy, like he was on a rollercoaster.

“Am not,” the boy shot back, teasing and mocking. Peter pouted harder, drawing his book closer. “Vibranium was discovered in the 1800′s, and is pretty much a secret outside of a select few Government organisations and my family; who have a big clump of it sitting in a secure storage facility out in Antarctica,” the boy remarked. It was Peter’s turn to laugh, now.

“You’re a big, fat liar,” he dismissed, then frowned. “Wait. I’m not supposed to be talking to strangers. Go away before Aunt May confiscates my Game Boy again,” he huffed, looking back down at his book. He missed the soft smile the boy gave in response, and missed the scent of aftershave as the boy got up and walked away.

One week later, Peter was back at the park, sprawled out on the grass with several packs of snacks and his chemistry book. He’d brought a notebook this time, jotting down notes and little doodles to help him remember things. There was a science expo next month, and he was determined to be super smart and science to impress the important scientists there.

Something thunked into the grass before him and rolled, all the way through the grass until it bumped into the edge of his chemistry book. Peter eyed it warily. It was a metal ball, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Bright silver and it looked really shiny, like it had been polished. Peter looked up further, and saw the boy from last week strolling towards him.

He walked all the way up and sat down opposite Peter, long legs crossing in the grass. Peter watched him the entire time, hand still paused mid-sentence. The boy was wearing dark grey jeans today, and a white shirt with an AC/DC logo across the chest. His head tipped, and he watched Peter with a soft, curious expression.

“Half a pound of Vibranium. Super-forged and polished into a perfect sphere, just for you,” the boy remarked, pulling a lollipop out of one pocket and peeling off the wrapped. Peter looked down and after a moment he put down his pen, reaching for it. It felt light, for its weight, and the metal was cold, perfectly smooth to the touch.

“This is probably just steel or something,” he pointed out, and the boy shrugged, sucking the lolly with a wet sound.

“You can do whatever you want to that, and it won’t break, scratch or dent. The only thing that can damage Vibranium is more Vibranium,” the boy tossed back, taking the sphere from Peter’s hand and tossing it up and down like a regular ball. “You could take a chainsaw to this thing and all you’d get is sparks.”

He tossed the ball back to Peter and they spent the next two hours going through his chemistry book together. The boy turned out to be called Tony, and he was super smart. He was turning twenty next month. Peter worried a bit about talking to someone that much older, but Tony was sweet and smart and helped him to take notes.

Tony’s phone went off a little while later, and he checked it before pulling a face and looking across at Peter. 

“Well, I gotta go. But try to scratch that thing. Let me know if you succeed,” he grinned, ruffling Peter’s hair and standing. He was already walking away by the time Peter realised he had no way of letting Tony know either way and he watched helplessly as Tony slipped into a sleek, black car on the sidewalk.

That night Peter attacked the ball with several kitchen knives. He threw it down the stairs. He tried to chew it. He tried everything he could within the house to damage it, but nothing worked. 

Eventually he gave up, sitting on his bed and staring in wonder at the still perfectly smooth ball before he snuck an egg cup from the kitchen and put it in pride of place on the middle of his shelf.

He went back to the park on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday of the following week, but Tony didn’t show up.

He was already there the following Tuesday however, sprawled on his back on the grass with his eyes closed and his face tilted up towards the sun. Peter approached slowly, two bottles of cola tucked under his arm, chemistry book tucked under the other. He was almost above Tony when the boy smiled, slow and sweet.

“Sorry I haven’t been around much, Pete,” he murmured. His voice was thick, raspy. It was then that Peter noticed the dark purple bruises under his eyes, and the large, blotchy red patch on one side of his jaw. Peter shuffled nervously in the grass, dropping his head.

“Um… If you’re sick, we don’t gotta study today,” he mumbled in response, shrinking when Tony cracked open one eye to study him. After a moment though, he was smiling again, pushing himself up onto his elbows to pat the grass besides him.

“I’m okay. We can still learn about atoms,” Tony comforted softly, and that’s what they did. For over an hour, until Tony looked up, face falling as a tall, kind of fat man in a suit approached then. He looked like he should be dressed for a funeral.

“Mr. Stark, its time we should be going,” the man greeted quietly. Peter’s pen slipped across the page when he twisted in shock, staring accusingly across at Tony with wide eyes. His best friend wasn’t just Tony, but Tony Stark. Son of Howard Stark, one of the world’s leading inventors and scientists.

Tony glanced across at him with a small, half amused and half sad smile, pushing to his feet. 

“I’ll be back on Thursday, kiddo,” Tony hummed, dusting off his pants and following after the man, who gave Peter a polite nod in goodbye. As they walked, the man held out a tie and a jacket towards Tony, and it occurred to Peter for the first time that Tony had been wearing a smart shirt for once.

The next morning, as Peter sat at the table eating his cereal, the news turned to Tony Stark, dressed in a suit with a pair of deep red sunshades on. What remained of the Stark family announced that Howard and Maria Stark were dead - Victims of a terrible car crash due to bad weather. They had been buried late yesterday afternoon, a quiet and private affair.

Peter’s heart sank. Tony had must’ve gone straight to the funeral with that man. He fretted about it all day, nervously chewing at his pen and bouncing his leg the entire time. He wanted to go to the park, wanted desperately to see Tony, but Tony had said Thursday. 

The day couldn’t come quick enough, and Peter barely breathed as he stuffed his dinner into his mouth, ignoring May’s alarmed looks and almost headbutting her with how quickly he gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek, jacket half-on as he fled through the door.

Tony was waiting for him again, sat cross-legged in their spot. He was wearing the same shades he had been on the news the other morning and wore a large, soft black hoodie. He looked up when Peter came scurrying across the grass, mouth quirking into a friendly smile. 

Peter skid through the greenery, sliding onto his knees and crashing into Tony with almost enough force to knock him over as he wrapped his arms tight around him.

Tony stiffened under his touch, arms hanging hesitantly in the air, but Peter squeezed him a little tighter, tucking his head down and after a moment Tony relaxed, arms coming loosely around Peter’s waist.

They met up every week after that, always in the same spot near the holly bush. They got through Peter’s book pretty quickly and Tony brought more, an endless supply of books on anything Peter could think of. 

He also brought Peter stuff, sometimes. A tiny, tiny 1ml science beaker from the lab at Stark Tower. A weird type of berry from Africa, where Tony went for the weekend while Peter was home with the flu.

Two weeks before his eleventh birthday, Peter looked up from his book on stars, squinting across at Tony, who was doodling a dog wearing sunglasses on his notebook. 

“I love you.” he announced after a moment, confident. He’d asked Aunt May what it meant to love someone, and if it was okay to tell them. She’s told it was when even the thought of someone made you happy. When you wanted them to be in your life for a long time and when you felt comfortable around them.

Tony paused, and then laughed, sharp and short. “No, kid. You love pancakes and your Aunt and sleeping in on a Saturday. You don’t love me.”

Peter frowned and went to argue but then Tony was quizzing him on what gasses stars were made up of, and it was dropped.

Peter lay awake that night, tossing and turning as he thought about it. He was pretty sure he loved Tony. He always looked forwards to seeing him. Tony made him happy and made him smile all the time. He knew Tony’s favourite colour and how he liked his toast and he always felt like he could tell Tony anything. That was love… Right?

Aged fifteen, Peter buried his face in Gwen’s shoulder and whined, shoulders slumping. His phone lay screen-up on the table, depicting an image of Tony stepping out of a fancy restaurant, arm wrapped tight around a pretty blonde girl. It was his second girlfriend of the year, a nice but kind of snooty girl named Alita.

“You’re jailbait anyway, Pete. Find someone your own age,” Gwen advised, voice cool but not unsympathetic as she turned the page to her book. She was right; Peter had known Tony was too old for him the moment he realised that Tony’s smile made his tummy flip in a funny way. The moment Aunt may blew up when she found out just who Peter was always running off to study in the park with.

(Tony had promptly arranged for them both to have dinner at the Tower, and had immediately wooed Aunt May. She had come around to them being study buddies by the end of the night; how could she not? Tony was sweet, charming, quirky. It hadn’t taken Peter a year to fall in love with him, after all.)

“She’s just… I mean she’s obviously… She isn’t…” Peter couldn’t think of anything to say. Alita was actually pretty nice, if you got past her picky, high standards for living. She had been super friendly when Tony had brought her along on one of their study meets, and had been pretty interested in their current topic - physics.

“Not you,” Gwen finished for him, pushing his head up so she could give him one of her Mom looks. Peter scowled and looked away, stabbing his breaded chicken with a little more force than required. Alita and Tony had been dating for three months now, and each morning the heavy, cold feeling in Peter’s stomach grew. He thought back to being ten, to telling Tony he loved him in the middle of the park, to the way Tony laughed, like it was a big, bad joke.

They didn’t go to the park often, these days. Tony was now the big boss at his parents’ company and spent most of his days learning how to run it and making lots of big changes. They still saw each other each week, but school and a big company didn’t leave a lot of time for laying around in the grass.

“Have de-ageing or ageing machines been invented yet?” he questioned aloud, and shrieked when Gwen slapped him with her book. That was a no, then.

Tony was waiting for him at the school gates, leaning against the bonnet of a fancy car that Peter had forgotten the brand name of. He had rich, glossy blue shades on today and was wearing a loose, matching blue silk shirt. Several other kids were hanging around, phones out and obviously trying to engage.

Peter felt rather powerful striding across the grass and towards Tony. Tony straightened when he approached, uncrossing his legs and opening the car door with a flourish for Peter. 

“Your humble ride home, Little Prince,” Tony greeted, voice thick and soft as he mock bowed. Peter snorted, sliding onto the rich, buttery leather and tossing his beg into the footwell.

“You’re so embarrassing,” he grinned, but he didn’t mean it. Not at all. His heart actually felt like it was going to burst. A few months ago for his fifteenth birthday Tony had given him an official internship at Stark Tower, as his personal assistant.

It basically meant Peter could come around whenever Tony was there, and usually ended in them making up crazy things and ordering takeout.

It also meant Tony picking him up from school like this. Peter had lost count of how many times he’d daydreamed of just running over to Tony, jumping into his arms and kissing him. Tony was starting to grow a little facial hair now, a light dusting of stubble that made Peter feel all funny whenever he thought about it.

“So, how was school, Petercakes? That kid still being an ass? What is it…Flake?” Peter snickered, slouching back into the seat and pressing the button for his window as Tony started the car, peeling carelessly out of the parking lot.

“Flash,” he corrected, with a one-shouldered shrug. “It’s okay. I mean, he believes me about the internship now you’ve started picking me up, but. I don’t think anything would shut him up completely.” When Peter glanced across Tony tipped his head, that challenge accepted smirk on his face, and Peter pointed at him.

“Tony, no.”

“Tony, yes,” he shot back gleefully, before reaching across to nudge Peter gently. “Relax, I’ll probably just arrange a field trip to SI or something. Sing your praises in front of everyone. Hey - bet I could get photos of you framed on my walls by the end of the night.”

Peter groaned, sinking lower into his seat.

Today’s Important Science encompassed going to the movies to see the new Fast and Furious film, before eating their weight in ice cream to determine if chocolate chip mint was better than toffee crunch delight. Tony got them two small cones to go, and they parked up at the beach front, watching the lights twinkle off the dark water.

“How was your date with Alita yesterday?” Peter asked in the comfortable silence that fell, cringing immediately afterwards. Great. A perfect, private evening together and he was bringing up his girlfriend. Besides him, Tony cringed in tandem.

“We, uh… Actually broke up. That’s why we went out to dinner. As a break up… Thing,” Tony mumbled in response, turning away and looking out of the window as he crunched the last of his cone. Peter almost dropped his in surprise, blinking across at Tony. But… They had looked so cosy leaving the restaurant.

“She was just… We weren’t right for each other, I guess. Y’know how it is,” Tony shrugged after a brief pause, pulling a wet-wipe from the glove compartment and cleaning off his fingers. Fidgeting, mostly. Peter could relate. He suddenly felt itchy within his skin, too warm. Tony was single again. He bit at his lip, trying to think of what to say.

“Oh. Well… I still love you,” he breathed out, stiffening when he realised what he’d said. Across from him Tony chuckled, reaching out to fluff up his hair and casting a fond look over the rim of his glasses.

“I’m glad me being a lonely old man doesn’t change the way you think of me,” Tony responded, voice light and teasing. Peter shifted his gaze away, out to the illuminated waters. 

He didn’t know if Tony thinking he was joking was worse than Tony realising Peter had meant it. He stuffed the last of his cone into his mouth to avoid saying anything else, and another few moments passed before Tony begun to drive him home.

Peter leaned across the centre console when Tony pulled up, dragging the older man in for their customary hug. Tony was broader than he used to be, shoulders filling out, biceps bigger and rounder. His tummy was different, too. Thick muscle and lean abs in place of where he used to be slim like Peter was now.

His hair was soft, fluffy. A little longer than Tony usually kept it, and his aftershave was musky and heavenly when Peter nuzzled into the crook of his neck, squeezing tightly. 

“I meant it,” he breathed against the warm skin there, closing his eyes tight. “I do love you. I know I do. And you can laugh like you did last time, but that doesn’t change it.”

Tony briefly stiffened against him, before he relaxed, petting gently at Peter’s hair. “You don’t know love, Peter. You’re fifteen. You’ve still got years left to learn and grow and experience things. To learn love and how it feels. To find someone. Now go on, before May shouts at us again.”

Tony let him go, pushing his shades higher to his eyes again, and Peter’s heart broke as he scooped up his bag, fleeing for the safety of his bedroom. He cried that night, tucked up against his pillow, duvet pulled up to his cheeks. 

He knew what love meant. He had since he was ten, looking into Tony’s honey-coloured eyes and wishing he could look at them forever.

He knew he loved Tony. Knew belatedly that he always would. But this was the second confession of his love, and the second rejection of his feelings.

He fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, eyes red and cheeks ruddy. He stayed in bed for most of the day, avoiding his phone and citing illness when Aunt May lingered in the doorway, brows pulled in concern.

Tony picked him up on the Sunday. Neither of them raised what had happened, and neither of them acted differently to before. Peter supposed it was as much as he could hope for.

His twentieth birthday rolled around sooner than he could have expected, frantically finishing his entry exams for MIT and dealing with moving out of Aunt May’s apartment.

His faux internship in his teenage years had developed into an actual job at Tony’s marketing and research department. Tony was thirty these days, a heart-stopper and a bonafide billionaire thanks to his savvy, smart business choices.

Where Peter had remained a baby-faced, slim figure, Tony was tall and broad. He worked out daily and it showed in the expanse of his shoulders, the ripple of his biceps when he wore tank tops in the experimental labs. SI was branching into medical aid these days. Tony had grown his facial hair into artful stubble, thick and accentuating the sharp line of his jaw.

He was jaw-droppingly attractive, and Peter’s harboured love had only grown as he watched Tony go from a lost and uncertain young man into a grown, confident man. 

Other people had seen the change too, and Peter had lost count of Tony’s partners at this point. One-night stands and brief stints at relationships. Time together cut short or cut completely because Tony was whisking away his latest slice to some Malibu getaway.

Peter tried not to be bitter, even when Tony begun a two year relationship with Peter’s manager, Ms. Pepper Potts. He tried to be supportive. Tried to be understanding whenever Tony cancelled their plans. Tried not to let his sadness show at the dark hickeys he often found littering Tony’s throat. His love never waned, not even slightly.

He rejected any advances from anyone else, knowing that he would be unable to stop himself thinking about Tony. Imagining it was Tony taking him to the movies or Tony kissing down his chest. Gwen watched disapprovingly each time he batted away an attempt at flirting, but remained the supportive (if blunt) friend.

He was laying on his bed, frowning at his latest set of study papers when the door flung open and Tony strode in, pausing only briefly to toe off his dress shoes and to flick the door shut behind him. Peter jumped at the sounds, craning across to try and see who was invading. He really didn’t have the energy to fend off a robber at this point in time.

“I’m hosting a party at the Tower, for your birthday,” Tony had announced, kicking Peter aside and taking his warm spot on the large queen that Peter had invested in. They still tried to make time for each other these days, but this was the first time Peter had seen Tony outside of work in over a week.

“Are you?” he asked lazily, frowning down at the now disorganised mess of paper. Tony dipped his glasses down and cast Peter with one of those flat do you dare doubt me looks that Peter had learned early to not to second-guess.

And that was how Peter ended up on the balcony of the Tower’s penthouse, gazing out at the stars and desperately trying to distract himself from the fact that Tony seemed to be flirting with everyone in the room except for him.

It had been an alright party, all things considered. Tony had invited Gwen and a few of their mutual friends from Stark Industries, and apparently several other people he knew but Peter didn’t. They were all nice people, chatty and knowledgeable and all ready to drink until they passed out.

Tony had brought lavish gifts in a pile almost as tall as Peter and the majority of the guests had all brought a gift or two along as well. Peter now had more ties, watches and bottles of alcohol than he had space for but he was delighted at each one, taking a shot each time he opened a present as instructed

Tony had bought him a dorky lab coat, (”in honour of how we met, Petercakes.”) and two soft sweaters. A gorgeous, deep red tie that Peter was sure matched one Tony owned himself. Three bottles of expensive, fruity alcohol and several small baggies of various chocolate covered fruits. A pair of classy, dark shades and a massive bath set filled with fruity scrubs and fizzy bath-bombs.

Peter had no idea ho he was gonna get all of it back to the Tower, and he vaguely mused on just leaving it all here for the night and picking it back up in the morning. He let his head loll against the cooling breeze, grip slackening on his flute of champagne. He’d lost count of how much he’d had to drink.

“What’cha Bruce Wayne-ing for out here, Peter?” came Tony’s slightly slurred, drunk-high voice from behind him, and Peter couldn’t help stiffening a little, gaze lifting from his arms to the city line before them. His stomach twisted with the thought of Tony mingling in the crowd, chatting up girls and flirting with boys.

“I’m not Batmanning,” he pouted, forcing himself to look when Tony came up half-besides him and half-behind him. Tony smelt like expensive whiskey and musky aftershave. His hair was mussed from the sleek style it had been in earlier, and three smudged lipstick prints dotted the line of his jaw.

Peter turned his gaze away.

“Out here alone, gazing moodily at the dark night, while a party in your honour is in full blast behind you,” Tony hummed, leaning against Peter’s shoulder heavily as he joined him in staring out at the twinkling lights of New York.

It took a moment for Peter to hone in on the scent of smoke, and he turned his head in alarm, only to find Tony grinning across at him, holding out a tiny cupcake with a single candle.

“I’ve already done the cake,” Peter mumbled, watching the small flame flickering in the breeze. Tony had custom-ordered a massive cake, with icing and sprinkles and little white chocolate cookies and all other sorts of decoration. It had taken Peter eight breaths to blow out all the candles. Tony met his gaze, eyes dark and pupils blown.

“I know. But… This is special. Just for us,” Tony murmured, still watching him. Peter’s heart immediately begun to race, pounding against his ribs as he met Tony’s stare.

“Make a wish then,” Tony coaxed, a lopsided grin quirking his mouth as he shifted his weight against the balcony. Peter kept his eyes as he listened, putting all of his faith and effort into thinking his wish before he leaned down, blowing the flame out with a short, sharp puff.

“What’da wish for?” Tony asked not even a second later, plucking the candle and tossing it aside to the floor as he offered Peter the cupcake. Peter hesitated, taking it and staring into the icing while he gathered his courage. Should he say it? Didn’t that ruin the magic?

He shifted uneasily, looking back out across the city as he sucked in a breath. “I wish you believed me when I say I love you,” he spat out in a rush, clutching the cupcake so tightly that it crumbled under his grip, icing folding across his knuckles. Tony stiffened besides him, pulling away a step and turning to face Peter, but he continued before Tony could say anything.

“I’m old enough to know love. I have been since I said it the second time. And… And I wish you loved me back. I really do. I know you don’t and I’m not gonna force it but I just… I mean it, Tony. And you know I do. I love you. I always have, and I think I will for a long time. Maybe always. But I just… That’s what I wished for. That you stopped treating it like a joke.”

Part of the cupcake fell away in a sad, dramatic slide and Peter forced himself to drag his gaze up, away from the view and across to Tony. Tony, who looked…Devastated. The expression on his face was enough of an answer for Peter, if the look in his eyes had failed to get the message across.

“Peter…I’m sorry, I…”

Peter let the rest of the cupcake fall, dropping his gaze to his trembling hands as he shook his head, unwilling to hear it. Unwilling to hear another rejection. He spun on his heel, almost stumbling as he fled for the door, pushing through and into the bright, loud warmth of the room. 

He stuck the wall, desperately skirting anyone who noticed him with an apologetic smile as he fumbled for his jacket, forgoing the elevator for the stairs.

He made it down four floors before he sank against the railing, gasping for air. His vision blurred with tears and he dragged himself to the elevator, hitting the button miserably as he stared down at his icing smeared hands, willing the crushing sensation to give him enough time to get home. 

His phone buzzed three times in his pocket, but he ignored it, stepping into the elevator and huddling into the corner as it carried him down to the foyer.

The night security looked surprised to see him, but obligingly ordered a car to be brought around, waiting with him and helping him into the back when it arrived. He wiped at his eyes, faking not feeling too good when the driver (Harry? Henry?) asked if he was alright.

When they arrived outside his house, the driver got out and helped him up, patting his shoulder comfortingly. He caught Peter’s eye, expression almost…Knowing. 

“Whatever he said or did, kid… Don’t hold it against him too much. Tony hasn’t been right in himself since his parents. He’ll make it up to you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to him.”

Peter almost threw up on the spot, mumbling in response and darting for his door. The driver waited until he was inside, safe, before he left. Peter sank back against the door, finally giving into the burning sensation in his throat and howling as the tears begun to pour. Three times, he thought miserably.

He doesn’t love you. Never did. Never will.

A distant memory re-called itself to the front of his mind and through the haze of depression Peter fumbled for his phone, slick fingers sliding on the screen as he took several attempts to log into the Stark employee server. The announcement was still there, and his heart thumped with an icy determination as he scanned it.

Stark Industries was opening a new PR division in Malibu. 121 positions available.

He flipped to his email, thumbing in Pepper Pott’s ID. Despite her and Tony’s break-up she had remained a valued member of the company, double-acting as Tony’s PA and a member of HR.

His heart sank lower and his blood run colder with each word, until he felt numb as he hit send. He let his head fall back against the door, phone sliding to the carpet and he squeezed his eyes shut.

It was for the best.

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