#like jason is my soul hes me as a dog he is hit for hit a perfect match for me

[goldkirk]

Hymn, Ch. 21

Damian is lying flat on the rug, smushed on his stomach and locked in eye contact with the cat.

Teacup stares. Damian stares. They breathe in double and half time. Neither one blinks.

“You’re a little scary sometimes, you know that?” Timothy says, and there’s a loud fwump somewhere behind Damian. He assumes it is his brother rolling over the top of the sofa and landing on its seat.

“Fear is power,” Damian replies automatically. The rug suddenly prickles against his skin everywhere he’s touching it.

“Fear sucks, and we don’t need it,” says Timothy.

“Being hunted by mountain lions,” Damian counters.

“Fair,” concedes Timothy. He rolls over onto his side and props his head on one hand. “I see you decided to bond with Teacup.”

“She is quiet,” Damian grumbles into the rug. “Unlike every other creature in this place.”

On cue, the sounds of rhythmic thumping and incoherent voices drift up again through the old floorboards, along with the faintest hints of a melody.

An amused noise bursts out of Timothy’s nose.

“Where is Nova?” Damian asks.

“Nova? I see. No ‘Hello, Tim’, no ‘Good to see you Tim’, no “you’re my favorite brother, Tim’? Just the dog?”

“Hello, Tim. Where is Nova.”

“Kidnapped. Steph took her out for a run.”

Damian twists around, locking eyes with Timothy. “Again? She went this morning.”

Timothy shrugs. “Bruce was doing his frowny-eyes thing out the window when she left, so I guess he’s on it.”

“What is on it?” Damian asks.

“On top of it. Taking care of a thing. Handling a situation.”

“Ah.”

They lie together in silence perhaps for one minute, perhaps for more.

“What are they singing?” Damian finally asks.

Timothy drops his head off the edge of the sofa cushion, angling one ear towards the floorboards, and screws up his face for a moment as he concentrates.

“Jack Black’s Hanukkah song, I think.” he says. “Jason got into his holiday playlist while baking, and now he and Dick are having a whole concert in the kitchen. Somehow Jason hasn’t burned any cookie batches yet.”

It’s Damian’s turn to roll over. He stares up at the ceiling, laces his fingers together over his stomach.

“Is Jack Black an important historical musician?” he asks.

Timothy bursts out in a laugh.

“There is no need to mock me,” Damian says. He scowls.

“I’m not! I’m not. I just hadn’t ever thought about him that way until now, and you surprised me, is all.” Timothy then seems to consider for a few moments. “Jack Black is. Hm. He’s definitely an American legend, but I’m not sure if he’s a legendary-slash-historic singer or not. I only know a little bit of the stuff he’s done. We should ask Dick, he’ll know.”

“The last time I asked Richard something, he made me watch Sesame Street.”

“Sesame Street is good for the soul. And a developing child’s brain.”

“It was horrible.”

“Did you see Big Bird when you watched it? I used to love Big Bird.”

“I was attempting to block out the experience.”

“What about Elmo?” Tim asks. “Elmo’s fish?”

“It was demeaning ,” says Damian. “It was infantilizing .”

“Did you get to see Snuffleupagus? What did you learn? I remember learning how to count to ten in Spanish. Do they still have Zoe?”

“I came up here for peace.”

“How about Oscar the Grouch? If you practice, I bet we could dress you up as him next Halloween. Bet Dick would laugh.”

“I will end you.”

“I love you too.”

Teacup chooses this moment to step her paw directly onto Damian’s cheekbone, and whatever the boy’s response was going to be is cut off by a shout. Damian jolts, Teacup bolts, and Timothy begins to laugh.

Until Damian hits him with one of the floor cushions, that is. And at that, their on-and-off tactical pillow fight is immediately back on, and they tumble out the door, down the hall, and off into the next winter break adventure that falls into their laps.

---

“Hey,” Jason pipes up, just before the end of the movie. “Has anyone else noticed how much Scrooge looks like Alfred?”

“Yeah,” says Dick. “It’s so weird. The first time we watched this, Bruce and I asked Alfred if he had a secret acting side job we didn’t know about.”

The others are silent for a few moments as the characters sing onscreen.

“And?” says Jason.

“He gave us the look,” Dick finishes. “He said ‘Do you really believe I would not only star in a film but act alongside a cast of mainly inanimate puppets?’ And then he walked away.”

“But it’s a legend!” Steph says. “It’s Dickens! It’s British! It’s got detailed period clothing for everyone. It’s the most historically accurate version of the story to date!”

“Minus the Muppets,” says Tim.

“Minus the Muppets.”

“And the jokes,” Jason adds.

“Did he ever say he didn’t?” Steph demands.

“Well,” says Dick. “No. Not explicitly.”

“Guilty until proven innocent,” Steph concludes grimly, and she locks eyes with Jason. “We’ll get the truth out of him one way or another. Just wait. It’s exactly an Alfred thing to do.”

“Have fun with that,” Dick tells them, flopping back on the couch, and, coincidentally, on top of Damian. “He didn’t give a straight answer to me, he won’t give a straight answer to you. But I will tell you this.” He pushes up off of a still-protesting Damian and leans forward, making sure Jason and Steph are giving their rapt attention. He lowers his voice. “When I looked up the listed actor, I found a whole lot of stage acting credits but not a single other film to his name. The man exists on paper and in records, but somehow isn’t anywhere to be found in any residences he’s on paper as owning. Do with that what you will.”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Jason swears. “I’m going to go corner Alfie with cookies and ask about his thespian adventures. Brown, you in?”

“I’m in,” Steph says immediately. She hops off the armchair she’s been sitting in and heads after Jason as he stalks out the door. “If he has a secret acting career, we’ll know.”

“I doubt it,” Dick mutters. Then, back at normal volume, he asks, “Who wants to finish this and then put on Die Hard?”

Cass waves to catch his eye. Allowed? she asks. Us all? Her mouth twists and face scrunches up, doubtful.

“What Bruce doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Dick says with a grin. “Are you going to tell on us? ‘Cause I won’t.”

She and Tim and Damian all shake their heads no.

“Well then,” Dick days with finality. “It’s settled. We have exactly three hours and nineteen minutes before he’s back from the soup kitchen. Jay and Steph should keep Alfred busy for a while. We’re good to go.”

They watch the rest of the movie’s closing musical number, singing or bobbing (or in Damian’s case, tapping one finger quietly on the cushion) along.

Then, somehow, they end up putting on Jumanji instead of Die Hard, because it’s “good for Damian’s Jack Black education”, and also their souls. With how much they have to pause the movie for laughter even after Bruce makes it home, Dick can’t bring himself to regret it. He can watch Die Hard with Bruce later in secret, anyway. Maybe it can stay just theirs for one more year.

---

Hours later, when they’re all asleep or nearly, and scattered around the lounge, the credits roll on the second Jumanji movie. Alfred’s grandfather clock in the hall begins to toll.

Dick blinks his eyes open for a moment as fingers brush across his forehead. His eyes meet Bruce. Dick goes to speak, but something comes out of his mouth that’s more a garbled mumble than any real word. He frowns.

“Happy Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, chum,” Bruce gently teases. “Still can’t stay awake after all these years, huh?”

“Mean,” Dick slurs. “I’ve been busy. S’not not my fault everyone needs stuff.”

“I know, Dick,” Bruce whispers back. He smooths his hand over Dick’s forehead again, once, twice. Then his hand settles on Dick’s cheek, upside down. “You do so much. You’re amazing. You need rest too, not just the others.”

Dick mumbles something in agreement, then lets his eyes drift back closed. He feels Damian’s weight shift against his leg, followed by a tiny jostle, and he snuggles further into the sofa’s plush back cushion.

The next thing Dick knows, a hand is back on his head. His cheek this time, gently tapping.

“Dickie. Dick. Come on, Dickie. Time to get to bed if you want any energy for presents tomorrow.”

“Always have energy for presents,” Dick mumbles back. He’s immediately hijacked by a jaw splitting yawn.

“Bed,” Bruce repeats softly. “I already got the others up there. Just you left. You’re so tired, bud. Let me help.”

Dick does.

He lets Bruce help him up into something close to sitting straight, then lets Bruce help get his feet back on the floor. Bruce and he both wince at the sound his left knee makes as he uncurls.

“I think we’ll take a trip to Dr. Thompkins soon,” says Bruce. “That can’t be feeling good. Why haven’t you mentioned it earlier?”

“I’ve had worse,” Dick says tiredly. He waves a dismissive hand. “There’s been a lot going on around here. My knee can wait.”

“No,” Bruce chides. He hooks his thumb under Dick’s chin and tilts it up till they’re making eye contact. “No matter what’s going on, you’re important too. We’re teaching Damian to not wait and to ask for help when he’s in pain. What can we say if he asks us ‘Why not you?’?”

“Low blow, B,” Dick says, and sighs. “Point taken.”

“I know you’re independent, and I know you’re more than capable. You’re a strong man and a wonderful brother and son. I just ask that you keep me in the know. No carrying more than you can bear.”

“I’ll remember next time,” Dick offers.

“Sure,” Bruce agrees amiably. “Come on, trooper. Bed.” He hooks an arm under Dick’s, gives him a pull off the sofa. “Let’s get to sleep before the whole night is over. Don’t want to be too tired for Alfred’s breakfast feast.”

“Never,” Dick agrees.

He lets Bruce take a little of his weight—just a little. They make their way down the hall, up the staircase, through the manor, into his room. Bruce deposits him on the toilet, hands him a waiting toothbrush, and leaves.

Dick closes his eyes and brushes tiredly. He leans over to spit and rinse in one of his sinks, then drops the toothbrush with a clatter back into its cup. He looks in the mirror at his eye bags, his wrinkled clothes, his pale face, and he sighs. He runs one hand through his already-messy hair as he steps out of the bathroom, but finds his path blocked by Bruce.

“Hello?” he says.

“Hi,” says Bruce.

“I thought you went to bed.”

Bruce shakes his head and takes Dick’s weight again. “Not yet.”

They make it to the bed, and Bruce carries his shoes to the wall by the door as Dick shucks his pants.

Bruce makes eye contact as he pointedly drops three different knee braces onto the nightstand. “Wear one,” he says. “You don’t need to be in pain because other people are.”

“Okay,” is all Dick can say.

“I’ll say it again when you need. I’ll say I for years. You don’t need to self-sacrifice. You’re already what we love and need. Healthy, happy Dick Grayson. That’s what you’re meant to be. We’ll work on it. Okay?”

“Okay, B.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Get your sleep,” Bruce orders. “And in the morning, leave the kids to me. I’m the adult. Take a breather.”

“I’m an adult too.”

“Yes, and you’re also a kid. My kid.” Bruce pulls him close and drops a quick kiss on the top of his head, then pulls back again and heads for the door. “You’ll always be my kid, Richard John Grayson. Sleep, knee brace, eat. Those are your orders for the morning. Leave the rest to me.”

Dick sighs.

“Sir yes sir,” he tosses out. He sees Bruce’s mouth twitch.

“Good night, Dick. I love you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You too, B,” Dick says through another yawn, and he lets himself tip over onto the pillow, pulling his heap of blankets up around him. “Happy Christmas. See you in the morning.”

Bruce gives one last wave, flicks off the light switch, and shuts the door quietly behind him.

Dick rolls onto his back and settled in, signing long and high. Sleep. Rest. Eat. Okay.

He can do that. He can get some rest. I’m the morning, they’ll all be full of excitement for a two-holiday day and all it includes, eating Kringle and latkes and Christmas cookies and whatever else Alfred and Jason had cooked. They’l be sad and happy and all the other feelings that haunt around the edges of their giant house. It will be wonderful, and it will be messy, and it will be theirs.

  Dick smiles just a bit as he drifts off to sleep. The morning will come with its joy when it’s ready, and when it’s time, he’ll be up, and he’ll be there.

#shutterbug series #batfam #dc

[peyton-warren]

🎶 - Top 5 favorite songs?

🌟 - A wish you’ll wish for?

💃 - Can you dance?

🍴 - Favorite food(s) to eat?

🎶 - Top 5 favorite songs?- Just 5??? ugh Music is such a huge part of me and who I am and everything I do. And you want me to pick just 5????? damnit, Yenn! Ok in no particular order

Love alive by Heart - The lyrics for this resonated with 10 year old Peyton when I first heard it and they still do today.

The Wizard- Black Sabbath- Sabbath was Dad's favorite band and I grew up with them. I knew the words to Iron Man before I knew my alphabet. This song hits me the most of all thier songs.

Cumberland Gap- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- I just discovered Jason in the past 4-5 years. He is an artist that i feel like has written every song just for me. he hits me in the soul with every single one of his songs. His song Anxiety was how i found him and that was almost the song I chose for this list.

Traveler by Chris Stapleton- Everything this man writes and sings is glorious. This though i feel in my soul. This is me in a song.

Bird dog by Shaman's Harvest- The topics in this song, coupled with the singer's voice and the music with the Native American overtones just... i feel it in my toes.

🌟 - A wish you’ll wish for?- World peace. And an end to cancer.

💃 - Can you dance?- Yes yes I can.

🍴 - Favorite food(s) to eat?- I'm a sucker for good smoked brisket, well cooked beef in general, I love sweet and spicy in the same bite no matter what the food. Food filled with love and care. And a good mac and cheese.

Wanna ask me something -👋 Send Me Emojis 👀👌m?? Here’s the post to join in.

#ask games #keep me company #let's play #please do the thing

[thisaintascenereviews]

How Martin Johnson Beat The (Night) Game

Boys Like Girls released their self-titled debut album in 2006, and it was a smash hit of a record, at least depending on who you talk to. A few songs from that record were minor hits, such as “The Great Escape,” “Thunder,” and “My Hero/Heroine,” but the album was mainly big in the emo / scene subcultures. The band was huge at that time, and from 2006 – 2012, they were big in that world. Hell, their second album, 2009’s Love Drunk, included a feature from an up and coming artist by the name of Taylor Swift (who was well on her way to being the biggest artist of all time). Their self-titled debut is an underrated classic of that scene. It’s aged remarkably well, but in a nostalgic way. There’s a kind of fondness for their brand of cheese-laden, corny, and oddly endearing pop-rock, but that record is a masterclass of pop-rock songwriting. Unfortunately, they fell off by the early 2010s, and understandably so, since the emo subculture was starting to wane in popularity, and that type of pop-rock / pop-punk wasn’t very popular in the mainstream anymore, so the band went their separate ways. They never officially broke up, but they hadn’t released music in more than a decade. That changed in May of this year when the band released comeback single “Blood And Sugar,” and that song is an absolute pop-rock banger, showcasing the band’s ability to craft a fantastic and earworm hook that never leaves your head, unless the thing that’s replacing it is another hook from this band.

Another thing that made that song so good (and the other couple of singles they’ve dropped since) is frontman and principle songwriter Martin Johnson. Johnson has had a very fascinating career in music, because after being the frontman of a very popular band for a handful of years, he turned his talents to songwriting for many popular artists over the last decade, such as Ariana Grande, Avril Lavigne, Hannah Montana (yeah, he wrote a song for the Hannah Montana movie), Gavin DeGraw, Daughty, Jason Derulo, and many more, but in addition to that, he also had a solo project of his own – The Night Game. Releasing his self-titled debut album in 2018, The Night Game caught a lot of people by surprise because of how (and how well) the album emulated sounds and ideas of the 1980s. The lead single “The Outfield” is almost like a lost gem from the mid-80s with its new wave sound and larger than life hook. The rest of the album followed suit, and it reminded me of one of those albums that sounds like an unearthed gem from a bygone era. Johnson also released Dog Years in 2021, and I just found out about that record a few weeks prior to writing this piece, as I’ve been heavily listening to Boys Like Girls’ new singles, but I’ve also gotten heavily obsessed with The Night Game. There’s been a real love for 1980s nostalgia, especially music and movies for some reason, over the last decade or so, and Johnson tapped into that nostalgia for this project. I wanted to talk about both records in some capacity for a couple of reasons: one, they’re good and they’re worth hearing if you haven’t listened to them yet, and two, there’s something to be said about a frontman of a once-popular band making music that’s honestly kind of better than his original band. The Night Game is kind of what makes the new Boys Like Girls songs so good, because you can hear that 1980s influence on those new songs. The Night Game is to Martin Johnson like what Soul Punk was to Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump; when Fall Out Boy went on hiatus, Stump released a solo pop record, also weirdly encompassing a lot of ideas and sounds from the 1980s (but instead of going with new wave and alternative music, he went with Michael Jackson and Prince), and when Fall Out Boy got back together a couple of years later, you could hear the influence of Soul Punk on their new material, because they started to get very pop-friendly. Even on their newest album, you can still hear traces of it, especially with the band moving into an amalgamation of soul, rock, pop, R&B, and many other styles of music. It was almost shocking hearing Johnson with The Night Game, because certain people didn’t take him seriously with Boys Like Girls, and to an extent, I get it. They were a very teenage-oriented band with sappy and cheesy lyrics, but The Night Game is much more adult, both in terms of its sound and lyricism. Hell, Johnson himself sounds fantastic on these records, and his voice got a lot better within the handful of years since he released a record with Boys Like Girls. Not only did his voice get a lot better, I really wanted to highlight these records, because this is a great example of a project that really showcases a songwriter’s strengths. If you really enjoyed the pop songwriting of Boys Like Girls, you’ll like The Night Game, but a lot of these songs are genuinely great pop songs that have very slick and catchy hooks. Johnson knows his way around a hook that’ll get stuck in your head, and he’s only gotten better with time, as a lot of these hooks are razor sharp. Dog Years, his sophomore (and seemingly last) album from 2021, is a bit more varied, as it includes elements of R&B, pop, alternative, soul, and more styles than just 1980s new wave and alternative, but the hooks are very strong, nonetheless.

Martin Johnson isn’t quite a household name, but you know his work, whether it’s with Boys Like Girls or with The Night Game. I wanted to talk about these albums in a way that’s less of a review and more so in a way that’s merely promoting them, because these are great albums, and Johnson is a very good songwriter. I don’t have a lot of negatives to say, other than some of the lyrics on these albums aren’t great, but they aren’t bad by any means. A lot of the lyrics on these two albums are about relationships gone awry, but that’s nothing new for Johnson. Fans of 1980s alternative, pop, and rock should really check these out. If you remember Boys Like Girls being cringy, bad, or generic pop-rock, I’d recommend three things – listening to their debut again (and try to look at the record from the perspective of someone that would have loved it back then), listen to The Night Game’s records, and then listen to Boys Like Girls’ new songs, specifically in that order, because you can hear the improvement and the progression from those records to these new songs. These records are catchy, fun, and interesting, even if they aren’t the most innovative or introspective. I can still admire great and catchy songwriting, and that’s exactly what Martin is good at, so if Boys Like Girls drop an album this year, you bet I’m going to be listening to it.

#boys like girls #the great escape #thunder #my hero/my heroine #rock #pop #alternative #emo #scene #martin johnson #the night game #the outfield #dog years #elle king #new wave #1980s #1980s pop #blood and sugar #language #the outside #fearless records

[lunapaper]

Album Review: 'Past // Present // Future' - Meet Me @ The Altar

Part of the current pop punk resurgence that includes WILLOW, pinkshift, Olivia Rodrigo and (ugh) Machine Gun Kelly, Meet Me @ The Altar have fought to defend the genre at all costs, sticking faithfully to the blueprint mapped out by their forebears Paramore and Fall Out Boy on their 2021 EP, Model Citizen. 

Not much has changed on their debut album, Past // Present // Future. The propulsive beats and snarling riffs remain, along with the cliché-riddled angst that has long made pop punk the subject of ridicule.  

It’s rock by committee courtesy of Jonas Brothers producer John Fields, hell bent on watering down each guitar riff and compressing every vocal, hiding it all behind an impenetrably glossy veneer. In other words, it’s more Radio Disney that RIOT! 

‘Say It (To My Face)’ incorporates some drum n’ bass into its emo-lite punk thrash as vocalist Edith Victoria taunts back at the haters ‘You're so irrelevant, almost didn't commit/Almost didn't write you a second verse/Really wish I could stay, gotta fly to LA/Play a show at The Wiltern.’ I guess I’m considered one of them now (Though Australian homes don’t normally have basements).  

‘Try’ is Sum 41-esque, offering high school-level wisdom in the form of ‘I go through all the same things too/It sucks, it’s true.’ ‘Hello in there Mr. I don’t care/I’ve had better conversations with my wall and my dog,’ she later muses on ‘Same Language,’ its chorus eerily reminiscent of Katy Perry’s ‘Waking Up in Vegas,’ while ‘T.M.I.’ is rather Avril-like as Victoria bares her soul over fuzzy guitars and explosive drums. 

And so the clichés go: ‘I think I'm the worst/Criticize everything 'til it hurts’ (from ‘T.M.I’) ‘Still stuck in your mothers basement/Talk trash, but you're like a million miles away’ (from ‘Say It (To My Face’)) ‘Don't be afraid to let go of the pain/Flowers only bloom if you get through the rain’ (from ‘Rocket Science’), each one more vapid than the last. 

Some of this can be attributed to a trio of early twentysomethings still navigating their way through life, love and other anxieties. Most of it, however, reeks of others trying to mould the band into something they’re totally not, namely writer/producer John Ryan, who co-wrote most of the album’s tracks. 

He’s written for such artists as Harry Styles, Maroon 5, Rita Ora, Pitbull, Jason Derulo, DJ Snake, Fifth Harmony and, funnily enough, Katy Perry and Nick Jonas. He also co-wrote some of One Direction’s biggest hits, including ‘Story of My Life,’ ‘Steal My Girl’ and ‘Best Song Ever.’ 

Why some cheesy pop maestro was assigned to work with a queer pop punk trio of colour (the first ever signed to Fueled By Ramen) is anyone’s guess. Rather than make the songs feel like their own in any way, Ryan and the band just churn out a bunch of bland pop punk tunes about makeups and breakups indistinct from their peers. 

Though there are glimmers of what could’ve been: the hazy ‘Kool’ echoes the headiness, thrill and nauseating anxiety you feel when crushing hard on someone. ‘It’s Over for Me’ has a jackhammer-style energy, while standout ‘A Few Tomorrows’ is dream-spun folk pop straight out of the early 2000s, with Victoria’s snarky, razor-sharp wail softened into a soothing coo. It sort of reminds me John Mayer’s ‘Back To You,’ the kind of song that would play during a montage after the inevitable breakup scene of a teen film or in a CW drama (‘Back To You’ was in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!, btw). 

Meet Me @ The Altar’s debut comes just as the pop punk renaissance seemingly reaches its saturation point. Everything here is just so bland: The riffs are repetitive, the writing uninspired and the production squeaky clean and painfully edgeless. 

And it’s a shame, because the band have proven in the past that they can do raw and real on 2019’s Bigger Than Me EP, a true love letter to pop punk that showcases the trio’s deft musicality and knack for punchy hooks, from the math rock-style breakdown on ‘Beyond My Control’ to the post-hardcore urgency on ‘Tyranny.’ Hell, even Model Citizen dabbled in a little nu-metal.  

2018’s Changing States is also worth a listen: The vocals are imperfect and the songs sprawling and loose, lacking any real structure. It sounds like it was recorded in a wardrobe, but that’s what adds to its beauty and charm. I’d even go so far as to compare it to Fall Out Boy’s earlier albums.  

What could’ve been a powerful mission statement for the band, a chance to expand on their scrappy, bratty charm, becomes yet another generic power pop record. Past // Present // Future will probably be an album that Meet Me @ The Altar end up distancing themselves from it once they creatively find their feet again. Hopefully no one linked to the JoBros will be involved in the next one... 

- Bianca B. 

#music #meet me @ the altar #meet me at the altar #past // present // future #past present future #new #reviews #albums #Bianca B

[thedaemonicangel]

I posted 1,651 times in 2022

That's 1,594 more posts than 2021!

30 posts created (2%)

1,621 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ameba-from-space

@neriine

@spectra-bear

@gummy-goat-galaxy

@a-time-traveling-whovian

I tagged 19 of my posts in 2022

#batman - 3 posts

#no - 2 posts

#batfam - 2 posts

#jason todd - 2 posts

#red hood - 2 posts

#do i know why we're kungpowpenising this hoe - 1 post

#william afton - 1 post

#damian wayne - 1 post

#duke thomas - 1 post

#stephanie brown - 1 post

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#but to the day i'll die i hold it in my heart that lilo is a feral goblin who saw ablue dog that broke laws of physics and was like oh worm

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I think a lot about how much emotion plays into all art. Everything from video games to paintings to music. Now, to be good, a piece doesn't need to have any emotions. A fruit bowl painted well is still a good painting. Call of duty clone 18 is still fun. But it's emotions that make all the difference. A piece of art with that ability to convey any emotion, raw and primal makes all the difference. A painting's ability to convey joy. A song's ability to touch your soul with grief. A game's ability to fill you with despair at the plight of some pixels on a screen. A movie's ability to pluck at your very soul and ignite wrath. That's what makes art beautiful. That's what makes art Great.

14 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

#4

This is a direct callout post for @gummy-goat-galaxy who's big ass head is the reason my arm is asleep

21 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#3

My favorite thing about Tumblr is how there's no spam filters. Literally nothing is stopping me from re-blogging a post 30 times

31 notes - Posted September 27, 2022

#2

Was re-watching supernatural when I noticed something

Both Sam and Dean interact with this cashier on different days. When Sam interacts with him he’s wearing some plain button up shirt. When Dean interacts with him he’s wearing THIS

THEY HAD HIM WEAR A RED HOOD SHIRT WHILE TALKING WITH THE VOICE ACTOR FOR RED HOOD

50 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

REALLY want a story with the justice league where the villain has some power that uses their loneliness against them. superman gets fucked up because he’s the last kryptonian man, wonder woman gets hit with the fact that she’s a demigod while all the other themyscarians are normal-ish, GL is the loneliness of space, aquaman the loneliness of a king. It all comes down to batman, Mr. I work alone, Mr. We’re a team, not friends, so they all think the fight is over. then batman just ignores every single attack and beats the stuffing out the dude. everyone is rightfully confused, and he just hits them with “vengeance is never alone.” then vanishes. The whole team is speculating on what kind of cryptid he is, or what his deal is

hard cut to Bruce Wayne hanging out with his dadler and his 14 children and his 6 pets

8,005 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#I don't use tags and I'm not going to start now

[superhero--imagines]

A/N: In particular this is very much inspired by Love is Blind (which I binge watched in a night) - basically the contestants get to know each other through conversations without ever seeing each other in little rooms (pods) and at the end you propose go on a pre-honeymoon and get married, all in less than two months.

Dick Grayson

* They thought about putting him in the bachelor - I mean look at that face

* The entire world would fall in love with that face

* But they really don’t want to start a war

* So instead they put him in ‘love is blind’

* Instantly he is a total hit, everyone on the guy side knows him as “that guy who is always down to work out” or “the one doing acrobatics at midnight”

* And the ladies all know him from the way he says “Hi!”

* Your boy has options, but for whatever reason he keeps coming back to you

* You’re just so kind, and you’re a little shy, but eveytime you’re vulnerable with him he leaves the session with a big grin on his mouth

* “I feel like you’re this beautiful thing, and I know we haven’t seen each other, but I feel like you have the warmest, kindest soul I’ve ever felt.”

Jason Todd

* He’s hot, don’t get me wrong Jason is the hottest

* But, he’s so unhinged

* He’s no bachelor material, and he wouldn’t last a day on The Circle

* The producers are too afraid to put him on “Too Hot to Handle”

* So they put him in “Love is Blind”

* At least they’ll get some good sound bites at the very least

* He’s the first one to get engaged

* He says the most off the cuff crap

* And honestly it’s a little hot

* “So what are your thoughts on capitalism?”

* “I think we should eat the rich, or extort them.”

* “Nice. Religion?”

* “I’ve died before and honestly it was pretty underwhelming so no thoughts.”

* “That’s fair, what was it like?”

* “Honestly? Peaceful, and a little cold.”

* He knew you were his person on the third day

Duke Thomas

* He’s into it, he really wants the experience

* He’s really popular amongst the men, he gives everyone advice and he’s very nice

* He’s one of the guys that doesn’t take it to the next level

* Don’t get me wrong he likes you a lot

* But this is wild

* People are getting married in like thirty days

* Who does that?

* “I just want to take my time to get to know you, and I want you to have the same opportunity, no cameras involved.”

* You nod on your side

* “So would you maybe want to go on a date with me for real?”

Tim Drake

* Omg he’s so exhausted

* He went with this one because first, his brothers all forced him to be on this show, and second he figured since it’s not face to face it would be a little easier on him

* But now he’s going on like four hours worth of dates everyday, and even when you’re back in the lounge you’ve got to talk to everyone and it’s exhausting

* His introvert soul cannot

* “I’m sorry I’m just so tired, and everyone snores so loud I don’t think I’ve slept more than three hours in the last three days, can we just sit in silence for a bit?”

* He’s sure he’s blown it but then he hears a long sigh of relief

* “Yes please, I’m so tired too - talking to people is emotionally exhausting.” He grins

* “I can play some classical music and we can take a nap.”

* “That sounds lovely.”

* Right before he begins to drift off, he manages to ask

* “Hey what’s your name?”

* “(Y/N), what about you?”

* “Tim.” And then after a beat he says “let’s talk for real as soon as we can. I want to get to know you.”

Damian Wayne

* He fucking hates it here

* He hates all these jerks swinging their dicks on this side, he hates having all these vapid conversations

* He’s in a pretty sour mood by the time he meets you

* “So what’s your name?”

* “Damian.”

* ….

* Is he not going to ask for your name?

* “Hi Damian, I’m (Y/N).”

* More silence, you clear your throat

* “So do you have any pets?”

* “I have a dog…and a handful of other animals.”

* “Wow! What kind of dog what’s their name?”

* “He’s a Great Dane, his name is Titus.”

* “Aw that’s such a serious name, I bet he’s so sweet.”

* “He is.”

* You expect more silence

* “He’s five years old but he still acts like a puppy, it’s quite silly but … I find it cute.”

* Naturally the conversation begins to flow past just his dog

* And honestly by the third day Damian’s just hanging out in your pod waiting to talk to you again

* “I just don’t see the point in talking to anyone else when you’re the only one on my mind.”

* He proposes on the ninth day

BONUS:

Bruce Wayne:

* It’s supposed to be like a gag inclusion, like ‘look who you turned down!’

* It’s the equivalent of Bill Gates being on a dating show

* He’s surprisingly not that popular

* He’s comes off as a fun time but not husband material, and this is just for show so he’s not looking for a real connection

* Not until he meets you

* “Hey Bruce, what do you want to talk about today?”

* “Let’s talk about family, what’s yours like?”

* You’re so refreshing, you don’t want anything from him - not even a date

* You just want to get know him

* “What about you?” You ask

* “I have a father figure and about six to eight children depending on the day”

* He’s sure he’s blown it, who wants to raise someone else’s kids?

* “Why is it six to eight? Do you share custody with more than one person?”

* “No most of them are children I’ve adopted, and they’ve all grown up and they’re out of the house now.”

* There’s this prickle one his chest, this gut feeling that says he can trust you

* So he opens up

* “I guess the reason I adopt so many children is because I’m an orphan myself.”

* “Really?”

* “Yes, but truthfully I think I have a beautiful family, even if it is one that I’ve made.”

* He thinks maybe you would be a good part of that family too

#batman imagine #dc comics imagine #dick grayson imagines #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x reader #jason todd imagine #jason todd x y/n #Jason Todd x reader #duke thomas imagine #duke thomas x you #duke thomas x reader #tim drake imagine #tim drake x you #tim drake x reader #older damian wayne imagine #Damian Wayne x reader #damian wayne x y/n #superhero--imagines #bruce wayne imagine #Bruce Wayne x reader #dc comics #superhero—imagines

[remakethestars]

Being Damian Wayne's Twin Sister Would Include:

Headcanons.

❝Exactly. I don't ask my dog to drive, and I don't ask the Justice League to solve my problems.❞

— Damian Wayne, Adventures of the Super Sons #9: Showdown on Hexworld

TRIGGER WARNING: Cursing, (Damian’s) death. Mentions of toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, nightmares, blood, knives.

Headcanon masterlist.

When people ask you, “So, which one of you is the evil twin?” Damian always glowers, and you always motion to him.

You look disturbingly alike when only your eyes are showing; Damian’s got long lashes. Talia taught you a good tactic for tag-teaming in combat as kids was to pull up your hinged balaclavas and make the enemy think there was only one of you, that they’re seeing double.

Or for one of you to hang back while the other attacks as a distraction before the other knocks them out from behind.

Obviously, this won’t work when the two of you start filling out, but it works when you’re kids. It’s the reason why, even off the field, the two of you usually wear a matching outfits with hoods.

You utilize the same methods when she sends you to live with Bruce.

You don the Robin costume just like he does, much to the rest of the Batfam’s confusion (both because they weren’t expecting it and because they can’t tell you apart either), but sticking with the “red” theme, you go by Redstart.

There’s a rumor on the street that Robin V. is a meta that can teleport.

The two of you are freakishly good at mimicking the other’s voice and mannerisms, which makes it even harder for your family.

Jason tells you two about April Fools Day, and you make the most of it. Of course, Damian’s a pain in the a$$ and decides to go around pretending to be you and getting into trouble. You’re banned from the mall, and you still have no idea why. 

The two of you can communicate with just an impassive expression (Dick says it looks like a prime example of twin telepathy to anyone else), but anyone close to you knows sh¡t’s about to hit the fan when the two of you look at each other and smirk.

If it’s something you can’t communicate nonverbally, you use your cryptophasia. 

Cryptophasia is a language developed by twins when they’re learning to talk. Most of them grow out of it, you and Damian decided to keep developing it so it became more of a conlang. No one else has been taught to speak it, and they never will be. It’s for emergencies only.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was your Bible growing up, and the two of you call out verses when you fight together and need the other to understand a tactic (you both inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory, so you’ve got it memorized).

When you get too big to pull off the which-is-which game, you make your own costume and become the true Redstart. 

It’s basically Damian’s Robin uniform (the Super Sons’s version is the only one I’ll accept), but the boots and gloves are black, the biceps have a white stripe, the lining of the cape is white (the lining of the hood is black), the gold accents become white, it has a zipper down the front instead of clasps, and the mask becomes black (including the eyes). The waterline of the eyes is white. Like a painted redstart.

If Damian’s into animals, you’re into plants. The two of you find common ground on the fact that pollution sucks, so when you walk Titus, you take a trash bag and gloves with you to pick up litter as you go.

You did not want to go to Jon’s school. 

Not because you don’t like Jon (because you do), but because you know you could run intellectual circles around every one of those snot-nosed brats. 

School is stupid. Especially because the American education system is subpar; everything about it is.

You hardly pay attention in class. You do all of the homework a week ahead of time incase something comes up. Usually you’re doing next week’s homework in class. You’ve written entire papers on your phone in Google Docs in the middle of class to be printed out later.

If you’ve already done everything, Damian’s usually drawing and you’re daydreaming or you’re working on a case on your phone.

The teachers are always trying to catch you not paying attention, but you little sh¡ts can always answer their questions. 

Damian’s closest with Dick, but you’re closest with Tim. You admire his ability to plan ahead (see the entirety of the Red Robin comics), and you know that he’s better than both your father and your grandfather; you want to be as good as him when you grow up.

It takes a long time to wash the toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny our of your head, to learn that your grandfather’s ideas of “strength” were wrong, that it’s okay to lean on someone besides Damian, that you can be just as strong as your brother and still be feminine, that there are acceptable emotions besides anger.

Actually, your father teaches you that anger is more likely to get you killed. He won’t let you go into the field when he knows your angry.

It’s harder to drill out of you than your instinct to kill.

There’s a Lebanese restaurant called Tarbooshes (Teen Titans Special #1) the two of you go to when you’re feeling homesick. They make ox blood soup the same way your mother did, and it’s the only non-vegetarian thing Damian will eat for that very reason.

It’s nice to have a place to go where they know you by name and know what you want when you tell them “the usual.” It’s nice to have a place where you’re not a Wayne or an Al Ghul, where you’re just [Y/N] and Damian.

You disappear for an hour on your birthday to eat there. Bruce has asked you were you go, but you kept that between the two of you. 

Speaking of birthdays, you’re eleven minutes older than him. He was six pounds and ten ounces (Batman & Robin #0?), and you were a solid seven.

After Damian died, you go to Tarbooshes to feel close to him.

You were doing all right with the no-killing thing until the night Damian died.

Heretic never stood a chance.

He looked so much like Damian it gave you nightmares, though. Nightmares where you killed your twin brother and woke up sobbing.

Damian didn’t give you a speech in his last moments. He just looked over at you and said in your cryptophasia, “I’m sorry.” 

Not “I love you.” Not “Take care of them for me.” You knew that; you’d do that. He didn’t have to tell you, and he didn’t have to ask.

Just “I’m sorry.” Sorry that you were the one that was left behind.

It’s one thing to lose a family member, to lose a friend, or to lose a lover. It’s another to lose half of your soul.

The two of you had always feared you would die apart. It had always been a possibility; you weren’t stupid enough to think, “It’ll never happen to me.” Because it definitely could. 

And it had.

You wanted to run away from everything. Even just for a while. Go to one of your safe houses in London or France or whatever and just — you didn’t know — stare at the wall until you felt better? But you’d made that unspoken promise to Damian — “I’ll take care of them for you; don’t worry.” — to take care of Titus and Catfred and Jerry and Batcow and Goliath, to take care of Alfred and Bruce and Dick and Jason and Cassandra and Tim, to take care of Jon and Colin and Maps.

You avoided the cave. And if you had to go down there for some reason, you refused to look at the Robin suits.

Dick noticed. He asked if you wanted them taken down, even just for a while. You gave him a look like he was nuts and said, “No.”

Jon was a mess. More of a mess than you were, somehow. 

You’d shown up at the Kents’s. Jon was out doing Superboy things with Clark and Conner. Lois was the only one home.

You nearly scared her out of her skin when you materialized behind her and asked, “Is Jon home? It’s important.” 

He had to know first. He deserved to.

For all he put up with from you two, he deserved to be the first to know when one of you was f*cking dead.

Lois, of course, bless her heart, had the mom instincts to know that you were in no way, shape, or form okay even when you were trying so hard to hold yourself together. She asked you what’s wrong, and it’s what made you break. 

Your lip trembled. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Damian,” your voice broke. “He’s dead.” 

Jon came home to find you in his living room in your Robin uniform, covered in Damian’s and Heretic’s blood, snot running down your lip, sobbing in his mothers arms and knew what happened without having to ask. He did anyway.

When you and Jon both finally passed out, your Uncle Clark flew you back to the Batcave. No one was in any condition — not even Alfred — so he carried you up to your room; took your boots, mask, cape, and gloves off; and tucked you in. Then he went to find Bruce because there was no doubt he was losing it too.

Bruce doesn’t tell you anything about trying to find a way to bring him back without the Lazarus pit because he doesn’t want to get your hopes up. 

You walk into your room one day to find Damian sitting there reading the dissertation (the requirement was three pages, not 120, but your teacher would just have to deal with your coping mechanisms) you had been working on for your World History class and left up on your laptop while on patrol. 

He said with the utmost indifference, “You’ve made some good points, Sister,” and, of course, you pulled out a knife and attacked him because this was — was — was some shapeshifting alien or hologram tech or a cruel joke — your twin was dead, this wasn’t funny, whoever did this was going to pay.

He met you blow-for-blow and flipped away from you before saying, “And here I was expecting a warm welcome,” in your cryptophasia. 

“Brother?” 

“Tt. Obviously.” 

Yeah, a college level thesis. You’re smart. You inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory and were raised by assassins.

You learned seven languages and wrote five doctoral theses by the time your teeth came in, wrote your first letter to a newspaper editor when you were two, could’ve had a geology doctorate when you were seven (Super Sons #1), and it only took you a week to learn the language on Takron-Galtos. You’re smart.

You’re also incredibly skilled. You learned to drive when you were five (Super Sons #1), your mother trained you to go for weeks without eating (Adventures of the Super Sons #6), you can micro-sleep for days and converse with half your brain asleep, can use a muscular contraction to move your liver out of the way of a blade (Nightwing #20), and can place yourself in a deep trance to heal damages caused by a hematoma (also #20).

(My dumba$$ didn’t note what Super Sons/Adventure of the Super Sons comic I was reading when I took notes, so I don’t have all of them noted in the two above bullet points. But that’s where they’re from. If I end up rereading them, I’ll edit this and add the comic numbers.)

The first time on patrol you thought Bruce was gonna die, you called him Baba. 

The next evening, when Dick came to visit the cave, he turned to you and Damian and asked, “So, which one of you called him Dad?” 

“How’d you know?” you asked. 

“He’s smiling the way he did the day I called him Tati.”

“He’s not smiling,” Damian pointed out.

“He is on the inside.”

Can we talk about how royally the Arkham Knights game screwed up Tim Drake? (Though, everything seems to screw up Tim one way or another, I guess.) Why does he look like a quidditch player in the gif above the cut?

Visit my headcanon masterlist.

DISCLAIMER ━━━ I’m a dumb white American, and I don’t know much about Arab or Romani culture other than what I’ve learned online. I hope I got it right?? If I didn’t, please drop a comment or P.M. me or something to let me know!

#Damian Wayne #Robin #Damian Wayne x Sister!Reader #Damian Wayne x Twin!Reader #Batsis #Clark Kent #Superman #Jon Kent #Jonathan Kent #Superboy #League of Shadows #League of Assassins #Talia Al Ghul #Lois Lane #Lois Kent #headcanons #headcannons #hcs #dc comics #tw: cursing #tw: death #tw: knives #tw: blood #tw: nightmares #tw: toxic masculinity #tw: internalized misogyny #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Robin x Sister!Reader #Robin x Twin!Reader

[voiceswithoutlips]

Calico - Chapter Two

— pairing: Hybrid ot7 x Human Reader (Female) — genre: hybrid AU , fluff, angst, slow burn (like real slow), eventual smut — word count: 2K — Rating: M — warnings: trauma, mention of past abuse.

Click for Tag List

— chapter summary:

Y/N runs a animal shelter, Calico was built on a simple principle, to help those who were in need. What will Y/N do when her sanctuary is threatened by an unexpected hybrid?

— A/N: This is going to be a series, I’m just getting back to writing, so I’d really appreciate your input and feedback <3

Ch. 1  Ch. 3  Ch. 3.5 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

I stumbled out of bed with a groan, it was almost noon and my hangover was killing me. Last night I was too stressed so I drowned my worries in a bottle of whisky. Why was adulting so annoying, ugh. The house was quiet, Jason had probably already gone to the shelter. I made my way to the kitchen, my zombie brain screaming for coffee. I like my coffee black and bitter, just like my soul. Kidding, I don’t have a soul. 

My phone rang somewhere in the living room. The place looked like a tornado had torn through it. The floor was covered with papers and cushions and clothes and other unidentifiable mess. What the fuck happened last night? By the time I found my phone the ringing had stopped. 28 missed calls from Jason and 2% battery ...great.  

I made my way to the exam room, the most likely place for Jason to be. It was just a five minute walk from the house. I was in my pajamas, my hair sticking out and the coffee cup in my hand. It was Sunday, I was grumpy.

There was a half-naked man sitting on the exam table, no not a man, a hybrid. His white fluffy tail was droopy. Long white ears poked from his long black hair, he desperately needed a haircut. His ears were limp on his back. There was a hole in his left ear, it was properly done but too big for a piercing. My eyes widened with realization, I’d seen that before on cattle, his previous owners must’ve tagged him. 

The hybrid showed no reaction as I went to stand beside Jason, and directly in front of him. His upper body was muscular, he had a thick neck and washboard abs. He was gorgeous. He had a strong jawline, cute eyes and a small nose. The combination of cute and sexy was deadly. His hands were clasped together and he was hunched over, trying to make himself look small, not an easy feat to achieve.  

“Y/N, this is Jungkook,” Jason introduced the hybrid. The bunny stiffened, he didn’t raise his head to look at me. What do I do? I wasn’t good with people, I preferred animals to humans.  

“Hello, I’m Y/N,” I greeted. He was sitting so still that you would think he wasn’t even there. Was he even breathing? He was still looking down. 

I looked at Jason, I didn’t know what to do. “I found him near the hatch this morning so I brought him in for a checkup.” I nodded. 

“Are you hungry? I’m practically starving!” I asked, extending a tentative hand towards the bunny, palm up. He flinched.  I kept my hand where it was. I would stand here for hours if I had to. My stubbornness knew no bounds. Minutes passed slowly, Jason was leaning on the counter perfectly at ease, he was a good actor. 

Slowly Jungkook took my hand. “Let’s go have breakfast,” I whispered, a smile on my face as I slowly led him to the kitchen. Well kitchen was an overstatement, it was a small room with six refrigerators and two freezers, most of them contained medical supplies. A sad, overused coffee machine and a small stove for “Emergency Ramen”, it was our own special recipe. 

I opened the fridge with a “No Science Allowed” poster taped to its door. I pulled out a bunch of greens to make a salad, rabbits need their greens. We always stocked the fridge for humans and the animals. I wasn’t a particularly good cook, I could cook enough to not starve but that was the extent of my cooking skills. A quick chicken salad, eggs and toast and a bunch of pancakes and breakfast was served. 

Jungkook was still standing near the door where I had left him, eyes downcast, ears flopped. I was an idiot, a massive idiot, I assumed he would sit at the table on his own. Bad Y/N! 

“Jungkook, come sit with me,” I mentally hit myself, it sounded like a command, I was terrible at this. I was used to animals, you tell them what to do, you can’t ask a dog if he’d like to sit with you, but Jungkook was a person. I can be an animal therapist but humans? They were beyond me. I didn’t know how to get to him.  

He sat at the table. I pushed the food in front of him, expecting him to eat, another mistake. Hybrids are supposed to obey, they don't do things on their own. I was supposed to tell him what to do. I wanted to pound my head on the table. Stupid Y/N. 

“What would you like to eat?” I asked in the gentlest voice possible, at least I hoped it was gentle. 

 No response.  

“Go on this is all for you,” I tried to be encouraging. 

 Nothing.

 “Tell you what, if you finish your breakfast, I’ll give you a treat,” his ears twitched. He tentatively picked up a fork and started eating. His movements were small, he barely made any noise as he chewed but at least he was eating. 

I was still confuzzled, it is a word, a made up word, but then again all words are made up words. Confused and puzzled. I had no idea how to approach him, do I treat him like a human or a rabbit. The ‘treat’ card worked but will it work every time? He was taking small bites, I wondered if the food tasted bad. Maybe I forgot to add sugar to the pancakes? Did I forget to season the salad? I sighed internally. He needed a proper meal but sadly, Jason and I were terrible cooks. We lived on take-outs and ramen. Maybe it was time to learn how to cook.

I stood up, he froze. I had to get him used to people. I ignored his stiff posture as I walked to one of the freezers and pulled out a container that held my favorite ice cream. It was ‘ice cream for breakfast’ kind of day. I didn’t bother with bowls, two spoons and I was back in my seat. 

“You know this is my absolute favorite ice cream in the entire world. It's called Chocolate Brownie Fudge with Marshmallows. It's like a little piece of heaven in a plastic container,” I offered him a spoon. He looked at it as if it was going to bite him. “Go on, it's your treat!” I encouraged with a grin. It was meant to be a small smile but he was too cute and the ice cream made me happy. 

I dug into the ice cream as if my life depended on it. Jungkook watched me curiously, the spoon still in his hand. He hadn’t finished his breakfast but it was a start. For me, it was Sunday, the day where I threw caution to the wind and ate what I wanted. He hesitantly took a spoonful of ice cream, watching me as if I was going to pull the container away from him and tell him it was a joke. 

As soon as the spoon touched his tongue his eyes lit up like christmas. “Amazing isn’t it?” I asked, taking another bite. He nodded excitedly. Apparently he had a sweet tooth. I pushed the ice cream towards him and watched him devour the whole thing in minutes. God he was adorable!

I settled down on the couch in my office, I desperately needed a shower but that’d have to wait. Jason had taken Jungkook back to our house, he was going to stay in the guest room for the time being. It's not like I was going to put him in the hybrid shelter building, nobody deserved that and he couldn’t stay as a rabbit forever. 

I had a file in front of me, a file on Jungkook. All hybrids are installed with a microchip and registered in the hybrid database as soon as they are born ...or rather created in the labs. Hybrids couldn’t procreate, they were made in labs owned by big corporations. Jason had scanned Jungkooks microchip, the file contained everything about his life.

He was created in Corebear Tech’s lab and sold at the age of six to a wealthy family as a pet for their son. He was sent back to the company when he was twelve because he had grown too big for a rabbit hybrid. Corebear Tech then sold him to Apexi Pharmaceuticals and I guess that’s where Yonu found him.

I felt …I didn’t know what I felt. Maybe a sense of defeat. Jungkook was twenty-three, he was in that lab for eleven years. He was just one year younger than me. I was lost. I couldn’t even imagine what he must’ve gone through. There was no way I was going to let Apexi take him back. I called Song Hwa and gave her the file. After all we had evidence to collect and a case to build.

“Not this again!!” I ran through the front door as soon as I smelled smoke in our kitchen. Jason was standing in front of the stove fanning a pot with a newspaper. 

“I was cooking rice, I don’t know what happened,” he said opening the windows.

I took a peek, the rice was black, utterly totally burnt. “Jason …you’re supposed to add water to cook it…”

“Oh,” Jason loved to cook, the problem was he just couldn’t. I was 200% sure that he was cursed by some evil witch. The moment Jason tries to cook, all hell breaks loose.  

“You’re on clean-up duty,” I grumbled. At least it wasn’t that bad, the cake incident was still fresh in my mind. Once upon a time, when we still lived in our dorm, Jason decided to bake a cake …in a pressure cooker. Needless to say, it was a disaster. The cooker blew up, damaging half the kitchen. Thankfully no one was injured.

I softly knocked on the guestroom door. Jungkook had spent the whole day in his room, not that I blamed him. New place, new people, it was bound to be scary.

“Hey Jungkook, you want to come out for dinner?” I asked. I could deliver him ramen to his room if he wanted but I hoped he’d come out and eat with us. Yes, we were having ramen, Jason and I still lived as we had lived in our dorm, the only difference was our house was nicer and we had a garden.

Jungkook opened the door, he hadn’t locked it. He scrunched his nose as soon as he stepped out. The house was full of burnt smell from Jason’s cooking adventure. The smell must be stronger for him.

“Yeah, Jason tried to cook rice. Pro tip, never eat the food that Jason makes, he’s a terrible cook. Do you want to come eat with us?” I asked. I got a small nod in return.

“Let’s gooooo!! Do you like ramen? We have a really good recipe, well its nothing special, we just throw in some bacon and rice cakes and of course a fuckton of cheese,” I rambled as he followed me to the dining table. “You can never go wrong with cheese, unless you’re Jason,” Jason made protesting noises, I rolled my eyes at him.

Dinner was a bit awkward. Jason and I kept trying to make Jungkook talk but it didn’t work. The poor bunny hadn’t spoken a single word since he’d arrived at Calico. The only thing we got out of him were small nods and silence. I wondered if we should consult a therapist. He was human after all and he needed help.

I heard a sharp gasp from my left. Jungkook’s eyes were huge, he was frozen in his chair. He had accidently knocked the salt shaker off the table.

“I’m so..sorry. Please don’t punish me. I’ll do anything,” his voice was so small, it made my heart ache.

“Oh honey no!” I said as I held his hands. “It was an accident. You remember what I told you? This is a safe space, you’ll never be punished here. I won’t let anyone hurt you, okay?” I was mentally cursing myself for holding his hands on impulse. What if he didn’t like people invading his personal space? My worries were put to rest as he squeezed my hands.

“Okay,” he said in the smallest voice.

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#bts #bts ot7 #bts fluff #bts smut #bts x reader #bts x you #hybridbtsnetwork #bcc #btscreatorscorner #thebtswritersclub #bangtaninn #castlebangtan #hybridts #btsfanfiction #ot7 smut #ot7 fluff #jeon jungkook #kim taehyung #park jimin #kim namjoon #jung hoseok #min yoongi #kim seokjin #sssc #calico

[darkfearsandkittyears]

Y'all, it's Whumptober! I'm super excited!

Okay, uh...funny story [and super embarrassing for me] I am a highly unorganized person, I have a calendar in my room, but it's so much easier to check the date on the huge calendar in the kitchen! So, I calculated the days till October in August, and promptly forgot to write prompts and outlines, [even though I pants most of my works].

Fast forward to today, when I see my mom writing down the October events. I was like, oh, she's just reminding herself for next month.

Then I realized.

I literally forgot that September comes right before October.

I literally thought that I had another month to plan ideas.

One of you come whack me on the head, I really need it.

Anywho, let's get on with the show!!

"Come on, Damian! Reach for it." Jason dangled Damian's bottle, inches from the baby's hands. Damian whined and stretched his arms out as far as they would go, attempting to snatch his bottle.  Jason smiled at the child. "Scoot forward. Like this." He demonstrated, pulling his body along with his arms.  Damian stared at him as if he'd grown a second head, then cooed a little.  "Yeah, it looks whack. But come on." Jason shrugged and put the bottle down, wagging Damian's little toy dog instead. On what planet did this qualify as a dog? It looked more like a deformed elephant.  The woman at the store had insisted it was a dog….he had to get Damian some more toys. All the parenting books said that babies needed good toys for development. "Come on buddy, get your..animal." Jason called. Damian laid his head on the quilt and sucked his thumb. Jason snapped a quick picture as the little boy nodded off, tuckered out by 'tummy time'. "Come on Dames, don't fall asleep just yet." Jason said, grunting as he got to his feet. The wound he'd sustained wasn't helping any, and the painkillers weren't working right, thanks to the pit.  Oh well.  "Come on kid, you can't fall asleep on your stomach." Jason rolled the sleepy baby over on his back. Big blue eyes batted up at him, laced with sleep.  Looked like Bruce, a little.  House of Wayne.  Once upon a time, Jason had wanted to use the kid as leverage...but this was a baby, and his brother. He'd realized that, but realized it a little late. Damian deserved to grow up, shielded from batdad's nonsense and in a world without Joker.  Godamn it, Talia was right.  Having a 'family' around him had cleared his head. And screwed up his plans. Majorly. But he wouldn't trade it for anything.  Besides, he'd nearly had Joker's brains splattered against the wall yesterday, right in front of Bruce's face.  He'd make them watch, make them all watch when he pulled the trigger on Joker. For himself. For Barbara.  For Damian. Maybe then, when Joker was dead, he'd present Damian to Bruce. Let Bruce wage war against the House of al Ghul while he and Damian ran for the hills. Then they'd double back and destroy both families. He couldn't kill Bruce, not until Damian was older. Jason was no Willis Todd, he was far from willing to force his brother into a life with no father. Picking sides would be Damian's choice, when he got older. But for now, it was Damian, Jason and Talia against the Joker and Batdad.  Not a hard fight.  Especially when Jason had the upper hand.  "We're gonna be just fine." Jason smiled down at the sleeping baby. "We're already winning." Damian's eyelashes fluttered, and he let out a tiny snore. Jason picked him up and transferred him to his playpen, then wandered out of the living room and into the bedroom that he'd converted into a gym.  A rumble of thunder burst through the room, and Jason paused, hoping it wouldn't wake Damian up. That was pretty loud, for thunder. The ground seemed to shake with the sound.  The pull up bar he'd installed yesterday clattered to the ground, and he flinched lightly as an image of a crowbar flashed before his eyes. It felt as if something had hit him in the back, but he chalked it up to imagination. He was probably imagining the fog around him too.  Some things Joker gave him, he could never get rid of.  But Damian began to cry, loud, hysterical wails that sent fear up Jason's spine. Another rumble broke through the air as Jason sprinted out of the room. A sickening crack ricocheted through the house, and Jason unwillingly moved to the left as something brushed his right shoulder.  A support beam.  "Damian!" Jason had never moved so fast, weaving past and through the falling drywall and wood. He was only feet away from the playpen when Damian's wails choked to a stop, as if someone had turned them off. Through the fog and falling objects, he reached into the playpen and curled around the child, shielding him with his body as he tried to find an exit.  Damian's body was limp in Jason's arms, not a cry or a coo. Jason risked a

glance at the child's closed eyes and pale, dust covered face. He shoved the blanket up to cover Damian's nose and rushed blindly into the direction of the doors. Behind him, a beam fell and what was left of the house shuddered.  An eerie feeling washed over Jason, settling right in the pit of his stomach. Everything went quiet, but Jason tensed, alert.  A hot burst of air slammed into his back, and he knew he'd been right to keep alert. Jason grunted as he was thrown into what was left of a wall, which crumbled, pinning his legs down. His mind fogged like a static TV, and he could feel warm air.  Fire.  Then realization hit.  Damian was no longer in his arms.  "Damian. Damian!" His throat was raw, coated in drywall dust and dirt. But he yelled on, hoping, needing to hear anything from the rubble.  But there wasn't a sound.  Jason pulled his leg from under the rubble and plowed through it to the best of his abilities, climbing over and under and around piles of garbage that had once been a house. There was an odd feeling in his leg, the only other thought that wasn't an urgent repeat of, "Find Damian!". But he quickly suppressed the feeling, because through the fog and dust and smoke, a tiny hand protruded from under a beam. Jason attempted to lift it, but couldn't. Damian was trapped under an air pocket, but any wrong movement would send it all crashing atop him.  A lever.  Jason searched desperately for a board or pole to use as a lever, but saw nothing. But then his eyes scanned over his own leg, and he had to look back at it.  His foot was quite literally facing the wrong way. The odd feeling vanished and became a sharp pain that nearly took his breath away.  Focus, Jason. The League had trained him as a sniper, and he was good at it. He excelled, even.  But all snipers knew how to do one thing. Hyperfixate. And that skill, with the help of adrenaline, might just save both his and Damian's lives.  Jason looked around the room once again, eyeing the position of the beam that Damian was under. If he could manage to get across the rubble, he could crawl into the air pocket and rescue Damian. Jason pulled his body up and over rubble, ignoring the extreme pain that was now burning through his body. At some point, that white agony would get the best of him, but for now, adrenaline was masking most of it.  "Damian!" Jason called again, nearly falling over a piece of wall. His broken leg slammed into a sheet of metal, which dislodged. The beam began sliding, and Jason screamed, unwillingly. He felt his legs propelling him towards where his brother lay, and he pulled Damian into his arms and cringed as the beam fell down around them.  "Damian...Dames." Jason panted as the dust settled, smoothing the dirt off his brother's pale face. The baby was too pale. He had to get him out of here. The falling rubble was controlling the fire, but smoke inhalation would kill them. And Damian had been unconscious for far too long, but there wasn't a single scratch on the child to evidence any injuries. Jason growled in frustration. "Damn it!" His entire body hurt, his leg most of all. Adrenaline was wearing off...the pain was mixing with the green light of the pit, and together they nearly blinded him.  Rage, and pain. Great combination.  He looked around for a way out. It was like a grave. Tight, and hard to breathe.  No Jason.  No.  His breath caught, and he knew he'd just screwed up. There wasn't enough air in his lungs, and he could breathe it in quickly enough. He clutched Damian to his chest and tried to get in a breath, to no avail.  Whimpers punctuated his breath, and the rational part of him could have laughed at himself.  But he couldn't. Whimpers turned to screams, and nothing made sense anymore. He screamed the only name he knew would come for him. "Bruce! Bruce, please!" He could hear his own screams dying out, feel himself losing a grip on consciousness. "Dad! Dad...Bruce…" His voice rasped into a whisper, and he gritted his teeth. "Batman! Dad! I need you! Please...please dad!"  Not a soul

stirred.  "That's right. He's not coming for you." Joker whispered sadistically.  Jason shook his head desperately, tears mixed with blood running down his face. "Shut up, you stupid clown! Please! Bruce. Bruce! Please!"  Like a miracle on Christmas eve, a ray of light shone into their prison, and a familiar shadow fell across Jason, along with another pound of dust. Damian wailed, and Jason shielded himself and the child against the dust, then spiraled into an exhausted darkness.  Four hours later, he pulled himself out of the pit of unconsciousness. "Dami?" Jason slurred, exhausted.  "He's fine, Jay. With Alfred."  That voice.  Jason made an attempt to bolt upright, only to find that he was secured to the bed.  "You have two broken legs, five ribs, son." Bruce muttered, undoing the restraints.  They must have given him some hefty painkillers, since he could feel nothing. "Call me son again-" Jason snarled, his voice cracked and dry. "How am I your son, if you had the nerve to let him live?! I gave you the choice last night, Bruce. Save me, or save him. You threw a batarang at my throat instead."  "Jason-" Bruce looked wounded, his jaw working with words he didn't know how to say.  "No! You don't get to "Jason" me. Not after what you did. You don't deserve to have your son."  "Jason."  Jason looked up at Bruce. "What?"  "I put a batarang in your throat?"  Disbelief surged through Jason. "You didn't know? All those years of aiming those damn things, and you didn't know?" Bruce's face was as stone cold as ever. "No." Jason had probably imagined the look of sorrow on his father's face. It wasn't like Jason meant anything to him anymore. "It only nicked me, lucky for you. Doesn't even matter, I'm alive. Surprising, isn't it? You wanted me dead and him alive. What, you got a crush on him?" He looked away, unwilling to meet Bruce's eyes.  "I hate him, Jason. I just can't kill him."  "You screwed me over Bruce. All this," Jason gestured to himself, "Is your fault."  "You have a son, Jason." Bruce said softly.  "He's not my son. He's my brother." Jason replied, tone dark. "He's your son."  There was a dead silence that almost resonated. Jason chanced a look at Bruce.  For once in his life, the man looked truly stunned.  Did he break him? "Bruce…?"  "Talia's child?" Bruce whispered.  "Yes." A sudden whim forced him to add, "And you can't have him. You're not going to get him killed too." "I wasn't going to make him a Robin."  "Cut the bullcrap, Bruce!" Jason screamed, startling both himself and Bruce. "Yeah, maybe I almost got us both killed, but I've never put a gun or a batarang in his hand and told him to throw it!"  Bruce hesitated before speaking. "It wasn't your fault. The city was destroying a building, and the explosion shook the foundation of other buildings. I couldn't get to you two as quickly as I should have. I'm sorry, Jaybird." Bruce sighed. Sorry. Sorry doesn't cut it, Bruce, Jason wanted to say. "Whatever, Bruce.", was all that came from his throat. "Not the first time you've forgotten me, anyways."  "If I had known-"  Rage surged through Jason. "Save it! Why the hell is he still alive? That's my only question. Why. Isn't. He. Dead? Don't kill him. Fine. But let me kill him. Look at Barbara! Isn't what he did to me enough?! When will it be enough, Bruce? When he murders Damian?" Hands gripped Jason's shoulders, and he stopped his tirade. "Son…" Bruce began, then stopped. Jason could feel his face crumple, not a word slipping past his dry lips. "I can't kill him, Jason. I can't let myself go off that edge. "You failed me, Bruce. When will it be enough?"  Bruce didn't answer. Jason swallowed against the knot in his throat and spoke roughly. "I just want him dead. All I ever wanted was to make you proud...then you left me with him. That, the abandonment, it doesn't even hurt anymore, but I wanted you to kill him. For me." Jason's face twisted into a scowl that thankfully repressed the tears. "Make him die." He spat. "I can't, Jason. I'm sorry Jason. It's meaningless, but I'm

so sorry." Bruce looked physically pained.  He's acting, Jason told himself. "If you're sorry, don't let him hurt anyone else."  "I can't promise that."  "I know you can't. But I can!" Jason yelled, finally. But instead of his rage getting the best of him, it all just evaporated. He felt nauseated, as if someone had punched him in the gut. But all he vomited up were words, words that he shouldn't say. "All I ever wanted was to make you proud...then you left me with him. I don't care about that...but didn't you care about me?"  Bruce's expression darkened to something that Jason had never seen before. "I put the Joker in a body cast for a year. That permanent limp he has is evidence of it. I couldn't bring myself to murder him, because in his dead eyes, all I saw was myself in him. And it was all too peaceful. He tortured you for months. I'll torture him for the rest of his life." Bruce said the words like a vow, determination lacing his tone. Jason stared straight ahead in shock. Silence settled over the room.  "You-when was Joker dead?" Jason finally asked, almost dreading the answer.  "Dick killed him when he found out what happened. I couldn't let him live with the remorse, so I revived him." "Dick….killed him." Jason repeatedly slowly, almost dumbly. He wanted to feel anger that Bruce had brought the damn clown to life, but he couldn't.  "He always had a temper." Bruce said lamely.  Oh great, both of them were shutting down their emotions and verbalization. "Didn't think he'd go that far." "I did. He loves you, Jason."  "Don't talk to me about Grayson. He managed to do what I've been trying to do." Jason managed a rough laugh. "Isn't it funny, Bruce?" Bruce only stared at him, a near pitiful expression on his face.  It wasn't until Bruce hugged him that Jason realized that there were hot tears streaking down his cheeks. Slowly, Jason hugged back, blinking back the stinging wetness of his eyes.  This, all this 'emotional seminar with the Batman' was a total mistake. So Jason let go of Bruce and pushed him a little to regain personal space.  Bruce unsurprisingly was fine with taking back his boundaries. "You're doing alright, Jaylad. You took in a son that wasn't yours and you're raising him."  "I took him in for all the wrong reasons." Jason bit his tongue. "And what are your reasons now?"  "Touchè."  Parents...and adoptive older brothers make mistakes with kids. They fail them and screw them up. But Jason's mistakes with Damian could be fixed.  Jason couldn't. Not until the clown died. "You can always make the present better than the future." Bruce said.  Dammit, old man. "Whatever." Valid points.  Very valid points. "Who else trained you in manipulation?"  Bruce just looked confused. Either this was more manipulation, or Bruce being bipolar by the days.  Whichever one, Jason would try his luck. It was a mistake, destined for disaster.  But he just couldn't help himself.

#jason todd angst #jason todd #batfam #batdad #baby damian #whumptober 2021 #writers on tumblr #Wrote it in school #Okay Batdad #Batman #batman and robin #bruce wayne #dcu #detective comics #dc comics #batman fandom #red hood angst

[bigskydreaming]

Doing some writing today off and on between errands and work, and jumping around various Kings of the Sky installments, specifically Dick, Jason and Cass stuff, so probably gonna post snippets from a bunch of them as I go. 

(Kings of the Sky is an AU that goes canon divergent from the point of Jason calling Dick for advice for dealing with Bruce after the Garzonas case and where things end up going dramatically different from that point on. Including Jason not dying, being part of his own lineup of Titans between Dick and Tim’s, Dick being adopted not long after the Church of Blood incident, Cass being the third Wayne kid to be taken in and adopted and with Tim and Duke being next and then Damian coming along later once they find out about him. This is basically my ‘the family’s alright’ AU with largely ‘Good Dad Bruce’ except for Dick and then Jason yelling some sense into him about the other, respectively, in the first two installments, just FYI).

Anyway, this bit is from a story called “In Their Shadows Grow Trees Of Good and Evil,” set about a year after Cass has been adopted, when she and Jason are both sixteen and Dick’s twenty-one. Also just FYI, because canon has never been specific about what ways Cass is neurodivergent due to the comic-book style ‘rewiring�� of her brain so that she could learn to speak later in life, I tend to go with her being dyslexic and having aphasia. She sticks exclusively to sign language and being a silent presence in her costumed personas, so that there’s no chance of people connecting the dots between Black Bat and Cassandra Wayne, as she mostly speaks verbally in her civilian persona and doesn’t hide her aphasia. The reason there’s not likely to be any obvious signs of aphasia in the snippets of her I post is because I wait until I complete something to choose words at random to replace with aphasia-born mixups, so its more realistic and I’m not gearing her dialogue towards deliberately placed moments. Just in case you were wondering.

In Their Shadows Grow Trees of Good and Evil

“Hey Todd,” sneered an exquisitely obnoxious voice. “Why’s your sister so fucking weird?”

Jason sighed the sigh of a soul a mere century into its eternity of damnation as he rose from the lunch table he’d been studying at and crammed the rest of his books into his backpack. Then he pasted a cheerfully bland smile on his face and turned around, geared for academia warfare (teenage prep school edition).

“Hey Craig,” he said brightly. “Why’d you come out of the womb so ugly your parents had to tie a piece of steak around your neck just to get the family dog to go near you? Mysteries abound.”

The advancing junior slowed a step, momentarily rocked by his truly impressive return volley. The grimace Craig’s already gargoyle-esque features twisted into made his face even more unpleasant to look at than usual, which was quite the feat. Jason would have applauded if just looking at it hadn’t already turned him to stone.

But the bargain basement basilisk kept on towards him rather than turn tail and skulk off to pop his emotional blisters, so Jason sighed a sequel to his first one. Looked like it was one of those days where Craig felt up to powering through. Guess someone had eaten their self-esteem Wheaties that morning. Joy.

“You think you’re pretty hot shit, don’t you, Todd?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, to be honest I kinda have a one track mind, so right now I’m mostly just thinking about punching you in your mistake.”

“My what?”

“Your face,” Jason elaborated with exaggerated patience.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god, I’m saying your face is a mistake. See, its not as fun when I have to stop and explain it to you. Ugh, you ruin everything.”

He neatly sidestepped the older boy as R2-Dumbass stayed frozen, smoke coming off of his internal CPU while trying to catch up. For a second Jason thought he was home free, but then he remembered the universe fucking hated him so haha, sucks to suck. Also, a small crowd had gathered to witness the verbal jousting match, and nothing invigorated an asshole like Craig more than an audience of like-minded peers. So there was that too.

“Whatever. Laugh it up all you want, you little shit,” the junior rallied. “But just remember, mocking your betters will never change the fact that you were born street trash and you’ll be street trash until the day you die.”

Honestly? Not his best effort. Jason almost felt bad using any of his good material. Seemed like overkill at this point. But he did have a strict Scorched Earth policy to maintain, so.....

“Yeah but my dad could buy out and ruin your dad so that means I still win, right?”

He smirked as the barb landed and Craig’s face set into a sunset vista of strangled purple and furious red. Bam. Direct hit.

“Listen, you - “

“Oh for fuck’s sake, it was rhetorical,” Jason interrupted. “I don’t actually care what you think even a little bit. Nobody does. You don’t matter. Please go be irrelevant elsewhere, you’re fucking dismissed, you loser.”

“Speak for yourself, charity case.” Oh goodie, Craig’s backup singers had finally arrived. Now if only he could remember to care enough to learn their names in the first place. Seriously, who told the extras they could have lines? “All the jokes in the world can’t change who and what you are.”

Jason shrugged and continued nonchalantly up the hill to where his sister was standing with arms crossed, staring down at something on the other side.

“True genius is never appreciated in its own time,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be immortalized in song eventually.”

The mob of morons deigned to let him go without further incident. Though he suspected that had less to do with his scathing wit and more to do with him being headed towards Cass. She was immaculately presented as always, wearing the Gotham Academy uniform like she was born to it despite hating its uncomfortable stiffness every bit as much as he did. But that was just Cass for you. 

For all that she still struggled at times to engage verbally or speak up in social settings, her mastery of body language remained without peer. She could chameleon-camouflage her way into matching poise and posture with anyone - a skill that had allowed her to walk into school on her very first day with her head held high as though she owned everything in her sight. Exuding so much Queen Bee Intimidation Factor even the other hive queens were afraid to approach her  themselves. Sending forth their drones to try and woo her into an alliance, only to see her remain oh-so-casually above it all, a slightly contemptuous smile adorning her lips.

Basically, she scared the shit out of their classmates without them having anywhere close to a true understanding of why, and Jason was outrageously jealous. Rude. Unfair. Why did his siblings always get all the cool toys when all he had was his rakish charm, scintillating intellect and debonair.....nah, who was he kidding. He was fucking awesome. 

“Sup, sis,” he said, cresting the hill to stand beside Cass. “Just FYI, I just took a popularity bullet for you, which means you owe me your dessert tonight. Its a family rule that’s totally a real thing and definitely not something I just made up right now because Alf is making chocolate soufflé.”

She made no acknowledgment and remained stock still, a Colossus at Rhodes peering down into the shifting shadows of the parking lot below.

He peered down as well, though with absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Solidarity, yo.

“So are we staring fixedly at anything in particular, or should I just pick my own spot and commit?”

His humor was totally wasted on her as always. Instead of laughing and telling him what a lovable goof he was, she just inclined her head in the direction of a blonde girl where she was standing next to the driver’s side door of a Mercedes-Benz, dictating final commandments to her peons before departing. Well, probably. Jason was just guessing, based on his own body language reads, and like, general disdain for literally everyone at this school that wasn’t related to him.

He made a face. An extra special one reserved just for this classmate in particular. “Ugh, Madison Dunleavy? She’s the worst.”

Cass raised a cool eyebrow. “I thought Craig Hendricks was the worst.”

“He is. They’re both the worst. Its a hotly contested position here at Gotham Academy.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded back down at the Queen of Air and Darkness. “So. You know her?”

“Nope,” Jason said. “Come to think of it, I’ve actually never seen her in my life. No idea who that is. Can’t help you, sorry. Shall we go home?”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition speared him with clear intent. Who the fuck needed words when you could pack the Encyclopedia Britannica into a single facial expression?

Jason sighed gustily. 

“I had a slight altercation with her freshman year that led to her declaring her undying enmity for me until the end of time. The word nemesis may or may not have been thrown around once or twice. I can’t recall.”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition lowered nary an inch. Ugh, she wanted more? Why did everyone in his family hate privacy, with the obvious exclusion of himself when snooping through Cass and Dick’s rooms for blackmail material, which was actually intel-gathering and thus another matter entirely.

“Okay so basically what happened was my first week here I overheard her talking shit about me and not even twenty minutes later she was pretending to kiss my ass in homeroom, like probably because of Bruce, y’know? So I just busted out laughing and told her to fuck off and die and she has inexplicably loathed me ever since.”

Avoiding further Eyebrow Inquisition-ing, he made a show of peering around aimlessly. When the silence extended and it was clear Cass was absolutely not going to break first, Jason waved a hand in dismissal and took to peering oh so casually at his fingernails. "I suppose I was less tactful back in those days.”

He chanced a look up, finally, and saw his sister’s eyebrow had somehow managed to mighty morphin power ranger its way into a configuration evoking both judgment and disbelief, with the latter perhaps aimed at the idea he was significantly differing in the tact department these days either.

“I don’t love the implications your face is making right now,” he told her.

She ignored him, because of course she did. 

“Does she know Dick?” She asked instead. Jason shrugged.

“I mean, maybe? She’s probably seen him around at one of those stupid galas we have to go to, and actually I think maybe she has an older brother who was either in Dick’s grade or like, one above or below it? I don’t know.”

Now both eyebrows were doing the dance of disbelief. Okay, so maybe that was poor situational awareness on his part, since it wasn’t like Gotham Academy was a big school with a ton of other kids and also he’d only been in the same class as Madison for like over two whole years, but whatever. There were extingent circumstances.

“Look, she’s a total snob who’s always looked down on me and in return I willfully ignore both her existence and that of everyone and everything even tangentially related to her. Its called equality, Cass.”

She pursed her lips and went back to the peering, because of course in the mind of Cass it made total sense that the Grand Inquisition didn’t need to be followed up by any explanation on her part, what the hell. Like was he supposed to have inferred it?

“What’s this all about anyway?”

“I heard her talking about Dick earlier,” she said without peeling her eyes away from her personal recon mission. “I don’t know what she said though, I just heard her say Grayson, and then I was busy looking at what her body was saying. I know it was about Dick because she shut down when she saw me. And I didn’t like the way she....looked....before that happened. The way she was talking. It was.....”

Jason frowned but held back any follow-up questions while he waited - with total patience because he wasn’t an absolute cad, thank you very much - for his sister to find the word she was hunting for. It was a major source of frustration for her, that whatever neural map her brain followed put body language and spoken language in totally different regions of her brain, separated by a fairly great divide. Meaning she usually had to make a conscious choice to focus on body language or conventional languages - whether verbal or sign. But it tended to be one or the other; she’d yet to master taking in and comprehending both forms of ‘language’ at the same time. And none of them had quite figured out how to convince her that she wasn’t actually missing anything when she chose to focus on one specific form of communication - that she was still observing far more than most people ever would.

“Proprietary,” Cass settled on at last. She nodded her satisfaction with her choice of word, and Jason waited a whole two point five seconds before sticking  his whole foot in his mouth.

“Proprietary?” He asked with a scrunched nose as he weighed that for possible context and implications. “You sure?”

She glared. He winced. It was a whole thing.

“Yeah, I know, sorry, sorry, I heard it the second it was out of my mouth. We don’t actually have to experiment with the legitimacy of if looks could kill.”

Cass rolled her eyes, but eh. That could’ve gone worse.

Jason swiftly redirected attention anyway. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.

“So. The Queen of Air and Darkness was talking about our big bro, and her mood was.....proprietary, huh?” He recapped while digesting the info like a boss. “Well. Definitely not loving that, I gotta say. Hold please.”

Pulling out his phone and pulling up his most recent texts, he began typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Cass asked.

“Texting Tom,” he replied, because duh. Hah, now it was his chance to have the answers that should be patently obvious and thus make with the ‘are you kidding me’ when she asked obvious questions she should know the answer to! How do you like them apples, sis?

“Why are you texting your boyfriend right now?”

Jason rolled his eyes, because fair is fair, but never ceased texting for a moment. Time was of the essence here, probably. Well, maybe. Okay probably not. But it’d still been like half an hour since he and Tom had last texted and that’s a very fucking long time in teenage years.

“To be our getaway driver tonight, obviously.”

She stared at him. He didn’t look up, but he could feel it anyway. He was very intuitive like that.

“What?”

Jason heaved another sigh, one keyed to tones of ‘oh my god, do I really have to spell this out,” exasperation. He was just racking up the bonus points here. It was really too bad this wasn’t an actual competition he could actually win and this was all just pettiness taking place wholly in his own head. Lame. 

“Well, clearly we now have to go snoop in Madison’s house aka lair to see if its actually a house or a full on lair. Because she’s either a creeper or like, legit evil, and its important to know which one before we proceed, because obviously we can only bust her for being a weird creeper about our brother as Jason and Cass, whereas if she’s legit evil, that’s gotta go down as Robin and Black Bat. I’ll handle the snooping, you’ll take look-out, but we still need a wheelman and that’s why I’m texting Tom. This is all very mission-oriented, okay. I’m a professional.”

“Right,” she affirmed, while sounding anything but convinced. “Why don’t we just tell Bruce?”

Without looking up or breaking stride, he said: “I’m going to give you til I finish typing this sentence to figure out what was wrong with what you just said. Remember that we are talking about hypothetical danger to our brother, and also Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response to any of his children being in even hypothetical danger. And also our brother’s idea of a proportionate response to Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response. Look, you’re still new so I’m gonna need you to just trust me on this one. Its gonna be a no on telling Bruce without further intel.”

Cass said nothing in response to that, which meant that she was conceding the point and recognized the wisdom of his words. Or maybe that she was just gonna go ahead and do what she wanted anyway and just wasn’t bothering to fight about it, but it was probably that first thing.

“Well you better not just make out with your boyfriend all night,” is what she said at last, and that got his attention reeeeeal quick like.

“Umm. Wow. Okay. So, first off, you’re not the boss of me and who I make out with and when, so jot that down. And second, now I’m definitely going to make out with my boyfriend extra hard, with the exception of when we are actually on our recon mission because as previously established, I am a professional. And also, again, you’re not the boss of me.”

Jason ignored her Eye Roll With Extra Emphasis, and instead just held up his phone to Text With Extra Emphasis, as he read along with what he was typing.

“By the way babe, we have to make out extra hard tonight,” he said, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while he dragged out his dictation with the kind of focus that usually led to Bruce asking why he couldn’t apply as much intensity to training as he did to pettiness. “Cass has suddenly decided she can dictate terms to me and I need to shut that shit down ASAP, so thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter. Smoochies and other gay stuff to the best boyfriend ever.”

Jason frowned as a response pinged back seconds later. 

TheCatsMeow: ....the things I put up with for the sake of your weird family dynamics.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah, yeah. You’re a saint among were-panthers. Must you mock? Why can’t you just tell me I’m pretty instead?

TheCatsMeow: Sorry. Let me try again. OMG you’re so pretty Jase how did I get so lucky xoxo.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: No. Its too late. It feels forced and unbelievable now. You’ve ruined it forever.

TheCatsMeow: Got it. From now on I will only tell you that you’re repulsive and hideous.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: I’m breaking up with you.

TheCatsMeow: But after I help you with your mission tonight.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Obvsly. I’m a professional. Why do people keep forgetting this?

TheCatsMeow: And also the making out to spite your sister.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah we should do that first too. I mean we already penciled it in.

[thaliagrayce]

if u still want prompts too: nico introducing his two puppies to each other, jason and cerberus

for you, ren??? anything. i hope you like this.

Jason was pretty sure he was justified in being nervous about Meet The Parents night. Yes, he lo— He liked Nico a lot, and wanted to meet the people who were important to him, and wanted to support him in every facet of his life. His dad was scary, though.

And also Lord of the Underworld, who refused to come up to the surface to meet his son’s boyfriend. Probably for stupid power reasons. Jason really didn’t want to go to the Underworld before he absolutely had to, but.

It was for Nico.

“Just to be sure—you’re sure he’ll let me come back again?”

Jason couldn’t see Nico’s face, but he could still sense his eye roll as the two of them approached the pile of rocks that was supposedly an entrance to Hades—the domain, not the god.

“If he doesn’t, he’s going to regret it. I can be very annoying when I put my mind to it.” Nico looked back to Jason, his eyes soft around the edges. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.” He held his hand out, and Jason gratefully took it. The warmth was a comfort, but the knowledge that Nico was close, that Nico would stay close no matter what happened down there, was more so. He gave a gentle squeeze.

“I—” Jason cleared his throat. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”

They needed music for this entrance, apparently. Exceptionally good music, maybe. Maybe just exceptionally emotional? Jason didn’t understand it completely, but that was okay, as long as Nico knew what he was doing. He seemed to. After squeezing Jason’s hand in return, he pulled the two of them toward the rocks and glanced back, just for a moment, before he began to sing.

Jason had heard Nico sing a few times before—in the privacy of his own cabin, when he got Loopy tired, and even a few times, very quietly, at the campfire at night—but he always wanted to hear more. Nico’s voice wasn’t the kind of voice that you would hear on the radio, but it carried more emotion than any top 40’s hit Jason had ever heard. It was rough, a little scratchy around the edges, and flitted from place to place with both ease and suddenness—like a butterfly in flight, or maybe a hummingbird. He was a tenor, but usually stayed close to his lower register.

Now, though, he cleared his throat a few times and started into something higher than usual. Jason couldn’t understand all of what he was singing. It was in Italian, and as much as Jason was proud of his progress in the language so far, he wasn’t quite good enough to be able to understand all the words while he was focused on his boyfriend’s voice and the way his face looked while he sang. His eyes were closed, which was probably good—he might have been embarrassed with the intensity of Jason’s gaze.

Oh well. Jason wasn’t about to look away. Nico had something of a smile around his mouth and eyes as he sang, not enough to throw off the vowels, but enough to make the song itself sound happier. It was a lullaby, probably, based on the notes and the basic rhyme scheme that even Jason could pick up. It was soft and comforting and Jason loved—he loved the song. It was very pretty.

He didn’t even see the first rocks shifting, he was so focused on the way Nico turned breath into music. He only broke out of his reverie because Nico nudged him, eyes still closed but eyebrows drawn together.

Right. He wasn’t just here to watch Nico sing all day. There was more on the agenda.

The rocks in front of him shuddered, scraping and grinding across each other as they moved. Darkness peeked out from behind them, and Jason’s grip tightened.

Nico grasped back and continued to sing, slightly louder, slightly fuller. The rocks rolled away to reveal an entrance that was little more than a crack, but Jason would be able to fit through it if he squeezed. Nico wouldn’t have any problem.

The last notes of the lullaby faded out and Nico opened his eyes, zeroing in on the entrance immediately.  He grinned.

Jason couldn’t quite bury the urge to kiss him, but he knew that there was no time to get distracted, so he brought their still-entwined hands to his lips instead. It was enough.

“C’mon, the doors will close soon. Let’s go.”

To say the walk down to the Underworld was dark would be a gross understatement. It was the darkest thing Jason had ever experienced, a darkness that felt physical, felt as if it were pressing in on him more for each step he descended. He knew better than to look back toward the entrance, but he couldn’t feel or sense any light behind him, any hint of sky. Underground was very much not his favorite place.

Nico was still holding his hand, though. His touch was warm and grounding, his fingers thinner than Jason’s, bonier but no less calloused. Their hands, in Jason’s opinion, fit together perfectly. It was enough to make Jason keep walking down these endless stairs.

Eventually, he could see a hint of light ahead of them—or maybe his eyes had just adjusted to the lack of light so much that he had gained the ability to see in the dark. He wasn’t entirely sure which one was more probable.

Either way, as they approached, Jason started to make out individual stairs. He could see Nico’s silhouette in front of him, dark, wavy hair catching what little red-tinged light there was. He would follow that silhouette anywhere.

They finally got to the bottom of the stairs. Jason blinked a few times, adjusting to the light—there really wasn’t much in the Underworld (he was in the Underworld!), but it was still a lot more than Orpheus’ staircase. It left him feeling a little disoriented.

Nico seemed just fine beside him, though. Jason tried to focus on his light smile as he got used to the low light and stale air.

They had come out right next to a grand set of gates, and Jason could see lines of—smudges? Smoke?—extending for as far as he could see on the other end.

He realized with a lurch to his stomach that the smudges were souls, actually. He was looking at souls as they lined up for judgment, and from this angle, they looked no more distinct than the smoke that rose from the campfire on particularly low-energy nights at Camp Half-Blood.

He would end up like that someday.

Nico tightened his grip before Jason could get too into his own head, though. He pulled Jason closer to the gates, and Jason couldn’t resist.

“Oh, I forgot this entrance came out on this side… He should still be close…” Nico started mumbling as they approached the gates, and Jason tried very, very hard not to be distracted at the seemingly endless line of dead people they were getting closer to. This was a natural and necessary part of life, and people had to go somewhere after they died, but Jason hadn’t really thought about it before. Not like this, at least. The dead souls weren’t a bad thing, he told himself. They just were. This was another part of life, one that he would have to deal with someday. These weren’t people that needed his help. These were people in line for the afterlife DMV.

That helped a little. The thought that he was here to meet his wonderful boyfriend’s terrifying father, who could very easily turn him into one of those shades if he made a bad impression, also helped.

“Ah! There he is!”

Jason whipped around to where Nico was looking, eyes wide, terrified at the thought that Lord Hades himself was right there at the gates, passing judgment on the shades.

It was not Hades. Nico was smiling one of Jason’s favorite smiles, the one that Nico wore around Mrs. O’Leary and the campers who were probably too young to be there, but were there and needed role models anyway. He not only looked happy, but also genuinely excited—he actually wanted to spend time with whatever he was smiling at, and he wasn’t afraid that whatever it was would end up rejecting him. It was a good smile, wide and open, showing his crooked teeth without self-consciousness.

Jason followed Nico’s smile and found himself looking at the biggest Rottweiler he’d ever seen in his life. It was maybe thirty feet tall, its barrel chest solid muscle, its leather collar generously spiked. It also had three heads.

“Cerberus!” Nico sounded more excited to see the dog than he was to see most people aboveground. The dog was a little scary, yeah, but that fact alone was pretty cute. If Nico loved the gigantic three-headed guard dog of the Underworld this much, Jason figured it was alright.

Nico looked back at him, the skin around his eyes still wrinkled in his smile. “This is my dog. He’s kind of big, but don’t let that fool you. He’s a big softie.”

Jason felt his mouth turn up at the corners. He’d never heard Cerberus described as a softie before, but he’d never heard about Cerberus from someone who actually knew him, either. If Nico wasn’t worried, he wouldn’t be, either.

He looked at the dog, who had two heads turned toward the two of them. Both of them were cocked, sniffing at the newcomers. Its stump of a tail was wiggling a bit—he must have caught scent of Nico, but he couldn’t have identified Jason yet. Jason held out his hand, suddenly wishing he had thought to pack dog treats or a gigantic rope toy or something into his backpack alongside the “thank you for having me please don’t smite me on the spot” gifts he’d brought for Hades and Persephone.

One of Cerberus’ heads lowered enough to sniff at his hand curiously, his breath strong enough to wash over all of Jason. It was, frankly, a little gross.

He liked dogs, though. He’d been through this before.

After a sniff or two, the second head was right there, vying for space close to Jason. He pulled Nico in close, to make sure that he smelled at least a little familiar to Cerberus. He made a loud sniffing noise right back, even though it was almost useless to him and he could hear Nico trying to muffle a snicker next to him. It was important, okay? Cerberus had to know that Jason was investigating him just as much as he was investigating Jason.

Something about Jason must have come across as good, because the two heads closest to him lowered and he bowed a bit, more like a puppy ready to play than anything respectful. When Jason glanced toward the rest of his body, Cerberus’ tail was going hard enough to make his entire backside wag back and forth. The third head, which had been staunchly looking over the shades awaiting judgement, looked a lot more interested in the proceedings between its other heads and Jason than its sworn duty.

That was a good sign, probably. Jason lifted his hand a bit more, letting what little air currents he could find down here boost him taller in order to scratch under the nearest chin he could reach.

He didn’t go so high as to drop Nico’s hand, though. He made sure of that.

Cerberus gave two more heavy snuffs at him—one from each head paying attention to him—before the leftmost head lolled out its tongue and lunged in to lick Jason’s face. It accidentally got the rest of his body, too. An understandable mistake. Its tongue was about the same size as Jason.

The first indicator he had of Nico laughing at him wasn’t sound, but instead was a slight trembling from where their hands were still connected. He looked back to see Nico hiding the lower half of his face behind his free hand, but he couldn’t hide his eyes. They curled into crescent moons, and the corners of them cut deep into the surrounding skin. The laugh was silent, but obvious.

It was a comfort. Jason let himself smile.

“Something funny to you, di Angelo?”

Nico moved his hand to the back of his neck absentmindedly, pausing here and there along the way. His smile hadn’t left his face.

“You’re good with dogs.”

Jason snorted and turned back to Cerberus, moving his hand to scritch the other head’s chin. The third head was looking a lot more interested in the proceedings at this point, giving Jason the sad eyes.

“I would hope so. Lupa would be pretty disappointed in me if I’d forgotten how to speak wolf.”

The head that he’d focused his attention on closed its eyes in contentment, leaning onto Jason’s hand hard enough to push him back to the ground. He had to brace himself against the floor in order to not be knocked over by the enthusiasm of the dog’s happiness. The third head finally gave up watching the lines of souls and inched closer to Jason, giving a few cursory sniffs of its own.

This felt easy. It felt comfortable. Jason knew how to interact with dogs, he knew how to act and what to do. Dogs were a lot more straightforward than humans, let alone gods.

“Well then.” Something about Nico’s voice made Jason turn to meet his eye, though his hand still worked where it was. Cerberus let out a low whine of happiness.

“You’ve passed the test. My favorite family member already likes you.”

Jason paused his motions for a moment to stare at Nico, his mischievous smile, the deep lines around his eyes, the faint dimples in his cheeks. He was the brightest point in their dark surroundings, and here he was, still trying to calm Jason’s nerves.

Jason loved—

He loved that smile. It meant Nico was happy, relaxed, comfortable enough to tease Jason. It was a good smile. Jason loved it when Nico was comfortable. He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

Cerberus nudged his hand with its nose—he wasn’t entirely sure which one—and it was enough to make him resume his scritches, though he didn’t look away from his boyfriend. Nico had already promised that this trip was going to turn out alright.

Jason believed him.

#mj talks #jasico #ariihen #me: oh i just wanna write short drabbles it's gonna be fun!! #me almost 2.5k later: perhaps i should rethink my definition of a drabble #ANYWAY #i hope u liked it ren #i was v happy to write it :) #also No they have not said 'i love you' to each other and Yes jason had to hold himself back from saying multiple times here #lmao forgot that i had a tag for writing #my writing

[caught-in-a-seesaw-stigma]

Map of the Soul, Drabble #1

Drabble #1 - The Legendary Virginity Incident

Pairing: Taehyung x reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

Word Count: 8K+

Warnings: NSFW 18+ cursing, fingering, hair pulling, hand job, oral sex (m/f giving & receiving), unprotected sex (please be safe), loss of virginity, consensual sex, biting, scratching, soulmate shenanigans, and just a healthy dose of derpyness from these two

-----------------------------------------------------

10 years may not seem like a long time from some perspectives, but when you're 15 and you've known your soulmate for more than a full decade, it's an epic feeling.

You and Kim "Elizabeth" Taehyung were attached at the hip ever since you met in kindergarten, and the two of you ran into a little trouble when his family had to move away the summer before you started high school. Luckily, you’d been able to convince both your parents and his that he should come visit for a week during the summer. A year may not sound like a long time, but it felt like a lifetime to you and Taehyung.

Once he arrived, you dragged him out of the house as soon as he dropped his bags on your bedroom floor. The week wasn’t going to last forever, and you had a lot of catching up to do. You were both walking around downtown looking for something to do and trying to make the best of this short time you had together.

"We should go to the beach," you exclaimed. "We haven’t gone in forever."

"Beach?" Taehyung replied. "Really? Sand and saltwater? That's how you want me to spend my time here?"

"I want fun in the sun, Tae-bear," you whined. "Let's go out and do something, yeah?"

Taehyung pondered your request and made a big show of propping up tilting his head and holding his chin up. Once his gaze landed on your pouty lips, he grinned and pulled you into his arms.

"Ugh, why are you so freaking adorable, babe?" Taehyung cooed. "I can't resist you when your lips get all pouty and your forehead creases up like that."

“Stop picking on me,” you pouted. “It’s summertime and there is no school. We can finally go and do stuff without worrying about any of our usual responsibilities.”

“Ok, ok,” Taehyung relented. “What can we do that doesn’t involve sand or saltwater?”

“Well, I want something outdoorsy,” you explained. “I want to become one with nature.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes at you and his smile settled into a sweet rectangular shape. Lately, you were obsessed with nature and animals and plants and flowers because you were reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Taehyung just knew you were determined to follow Thoreau’s philosophical teachings of getting back to the simple pleasures of nature.

“Why don’t we go camping?” Taehyung offered. “There’s that awesome clearing near your house. We always said we were going to camp out there, but we never did.”

“Yeah, let’s do that!” you heartily agreed. “Want to go shopping for gear? I just got all that money for my birthday.”

“Absolutely!” Taehyung grinned. “Let’s go spend that bread, baby.”

Taehyung grabbed your hand and pulled you in the direction of the nearest sporting goods store and you started compiling a collection of camping gear for your upcoming adventure. Once you arrived home, your parents just blinked in confusion as you and Taehyung hauled several shopping bags and a large tent up the stairs to your room.

------------------------------

Once you’d organized everything into a corner of your room, you collapsed onto the bed and Taehyung joined you. You turned your body toward his and he tucked you into his chest by wrapping his arm around you. You played with the frayed patches on his shirt as he hummed a random tune.

“It feels so nice to be in your room again, ttalgi” Taehyung admitted. “There’s just something comforting about it.”

“Oh yeah?” you giggled. “Do all my collectibles and books lull you into a safe space?”

“Something like that,” Taehyung sighed. “You know, I thought all girls’ rooms would be the same, but yours is something different and I love it.”

“Just how many girls’ rooms have you seen, Tae-bear?” you probed. “You certainly never mentioned anything like that to me. Are you hiding things from your soulmate?”

“What? No!” Taehyung blurted out defensively. “Not really.”

You pushed off of Taehyung’s chest and narrowed your eyes at him. He couldn’t look you directly in the eye and you knew something was up.

“Ok, Elizabeth,” you spat. “Out with it. Why were you in another girl’s room and why didn’t I know about this? I thought we told each other everything.”

“We do, it’s just…” Taehyung trailed off. “It’s just something that happened before I came to see you and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

You gawked at the flush of pink spreading across his cheeks and you sat up, crossing your legs and bracing yourself against the headboard.

“What is it, Tae?” you prompted. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Taehyung sat up and mirrored your sitting position. He fiddled with his thumbs for a moment before taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly.

“Do you remember our last phone conversation?” Taehyung began. “The one after your Spring Break?”

“Yeah,” you said. “I told you about that asshole Jason who tried to force himself on me at the beach bonfire and how I broke his nose. Why?”

“Well, I didn’t break anyone’s nose,” Taehyung continued. “But something happened.”

“With who?” you demanded. “Was it with the girl you were talking to? What’s her name again? Madelyn?”

“Sadly, no,” Taehyung groaned. “Madelyn is 100% pure lesbian and she made that blatantly clear at our End of the Year Band Banquet. But I was a little bummed when she turned me down and her friend Ayla tried to cheer me up.”

“Cheer you up how, exactly?” you inquired venomously. “What did she do, Elizabeth?”

“She snuck me into her bedroom,” Taehyung admitted sheepishly. “Her parents were having a party in the backyard, so no one noticed. I only stayed for an hour.”

“A lot can happen in an hour, Taehyung,” you shot back. “Did you have sex with her?!”

“No, I promise,” Taehyung exclaimed. “No sex, just some hand stuff. It was my first time doing anything like that, so I was afraid to go any further.”

You sank into a deeply troubled pout at his words. Taehyung reached for your hand, but you pulled your hand back into your lap. Taehyung looked up to see tears brimming in your eyes.

“Please don’t cry,” he pleaded. “It didn’t mean anything, babe-”

“It’s not that,” you interrupted. “As long as we’re sharing, I have something I haven’t told you either.”

Taehyung’s frown deepened and he allowed you to collect your thoughts. Each passing second, he prayed that your tears would recede. He hated making you cry.

“I wasn’t completely honest about the incident with Jason,” you blurted out. “I wanted him to touch me, but he wanted more than I was willing to give. I only broke his nose because he was getting too aggressive, but I did consent initially. It wasn’t a random attack.”

“He still deserved to get hit,” Taehyung grunted. “No means no. Everybody should know that.”

“I know, Tae,” you sniffled as the floodgates opened on your face. “I just feel like I lied to you. I know we promised to always be each other’s first for everything, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Hey, hey,” Taehyung cooed while pulling you into his lap. “It’s ok, babe. It doesn’t matter. I think we can both admit that making that promise in the 5th grade was kinda stupid. I mean, we’re teenagers and we’re half drunk on hormones. Shit happens, right?”

“So you don’t hate me?” you mumbled into his neck. “We’re ok?”

“Of course,” Taehyung chuckled. “We’re always ok, my beautiful soulmate, no matter what happens.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and leaned your forehead against his cheek. You had been worried about telling him the truth about Jason for months, but he seemed to take the whole thing pretty well. You could hear your mother calling the two of you down for dinner and you jumped off Taehyung’s lap to open the door to respond. Taehyung’s eyes were harboring hints of disappointment, but they quickly dissipated before you turned around to face him.

“Shall we head down?” you asked him. “I think she made Korean fried chicken.”

Taehyung stepped forward and offered his bent elbow to you.

“Well then, grab a wing,” he jested.

You rolled your eyes at his terrible joke, but still giggled as the two of you walked downstairs together.

-----------------------------------

“Tae-bear,” you called from your backyard. “Are you coming or not? We’re losing daylight.”

Taehyung bounded out the back door with a large ice chest and your mother waved as he joined you.

“Be careful, you two,” she smiled. “We aren’t too far away if you need anything.”

After she disappeared back inside, you gave Taehyung a questioning look and gestured at the ice chest.

“What?” he grinned. “She wanted to make sure we had enough snacks.”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed the handle of the fully stocked wagon. Without a word, you turned toward the wooded area behind your house and started walking away from his smug expression.

Ugh, why are you like this, Mom?

Once the two of you reached the clearing, you both started setting up the tent and organizing all of your supplies. Taehyung set up the lanterns around the campsite and started up the small BBQ pit your father had pulled out of the garage. It wasn’t enough to BBQ anything bigger than hot dog wieners or hamburgers, but it would make a great firepit for the two of you.

As you were arranging your snacks on the folding table, you opened the ice chest and gaped at the homemade sandwiches, bowl of pasta salad, and veggie and fruit trays inside.

Seriously, Mom? You never do stuff like this for me!

You spent the rest of the day snacking, exploring the woods, and playing games. You relished the purity of the woods and took a moment to absorb the peace and quiet and magic of nature. Taehyung trailed behind you picking up stray feathers, pebbles, leaves, and pinecones.

When you returned to the campsite, Taehyung decorated the ring around the BBQ pit with his treasures, and you sighed at how amazing and artistic your soulmate could be. The boy was an artist through and through, and part of you wondered whether anyone would be able to appreciate how incredible he was.

“Ready for dinner, ttalgi,” Taehyung called out after placing one last pinecone in his creation. “I’m thinking we should start the fire, roast some hot dogs and maybe some marshmallows? I bought stuff for S’Mores.”

“That sounds good, Tae-bear,” you agreed. “I’ll start the fire since I’m the Girl Scout. You get the food ready for roasting.”

“Hey,” pouted Taehyung. “I wanted to be a Boy Scout. I just couldn’t fit it into my schedule.”

“I know, baby,” you cooed while pinching his cheek. “My Tae-bear was too busy with his art and music lessons to be a Boy Scout.”

You kissed his pouty lips until they morphed into a cute little rectangle shape, and he giggled when you refused to accept his surrender. You continued to assault him with your lips while he pretended that your kisses were fatal. You both crumpled into a heap near the tent and your playful kisses started progressing into a heated makeout session. Soon, you were straddling Taehyung’s lap and slowly grinding your hips back and forth.

“Mmmm, you’re such a tease, ttalgi,” Taehyung chuckled. “Are you always this eager?”

“Just for you, Tae,” you murmured against his lips. “Your kisses make me crazy.”

Taehyung cupped your cheeks and smiled sweetly at your words. He knew you meant them, but there was still something gnawing at the back of his mind that wouldn’t go away.

It won’t always be me. There will be others.

Before the stray negative thought could coalesce, Taehyung pressed one last kiss on your forehead and patted your butt.

“Come on, babe,” Taehyung purred. “Food first, play later.”

You flashed him your signature Cheshire Cat grin and got off his lap to help him off the ground. Once you were both vertical, you began preparing things for dinner. Several hot dogs and S’Mores later, you both settled into your folding chairs and watched the cooking fire burn out slowly.

With twilight enveloping the campsite, the two of you snuggled closer together and just watched the small fire flicker against the imposing darkness around you. Only one lantern was left on inside the tent, and the rest of the campsite was enveloped in the coolness of the night. The sky was clear and full of twinkling stars and you released an exhale of pure joy.

“Penny for your thoughts, Tae-bear,” you murmured cutely.

He snapped out of whatever thought had possessed him and gave you a tight smile.

“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just thinking about our conversation yesterday.”

You sat up in your chair and bit your lip nervously. You and Taehyung shared many firsts since your first kiss, but there had always been a hope deep in your heart that he would be the one to whom you would give your virginity. You were both already giving in to your growing sexual desires and it was a natural thing given your age. The hormones were weighing heavily on your brain, and it was difficult to differentiate that from what your heart desired.

The more you thought about it, the more you realized that this whole fantasy loss of virginity thing was just a childish notion. Real life wasn’t like that, not even close. In real life, you were just a girl who was attracted to all kinds of people, including Taehyung. In real life, Taehyung was just a boy who sometimes let his dick do the thinking for him, and that wasn’t his fault.

You’d played out the fictional scenario in your mind over and over again and the elements of the fantasy were just unrealistic. There was no way you could afford a fancy hotel suite with a massive tub and flower petals and bubbles surrounding your naked bodies while you entwined your hearts and souls together.

Real life is never like that.

As much as you wanted to wait until that fantasy could become a reality, you had to face facts and so did Taehyung. It was time to move forward, consequences be damned.

“Tae, listen,” you began. “I know we said we would wait until we were both ready, but I don’t think that’s realistic anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung gasped. “You don’t think I can wait?”

“It’s not that,” you sighed while looking down at your clasped hands. “I know you can wait. I would never question that.”

“Then what is it?” Taehyung probed. “Do you not want to wait for me anymore?”

“No,” you admitted. “I don’t.”

Taehyung inhaled shakily and you could see the hurt blossoming in his eyes. Before the first tear could fall, you quickly got up and kneeled in front of your crumbling soulmate.

“Tae-bear,” you cooed while cupping his cheeks between your hands. “I don’t want to wait because I want to do this now...with you.”

Taehyung’s breath stopped and his glazed eyes raked over your own. He could see the resolve in your pupils as they dilated and he felt a twitch in his cargo pants.

No, not yet…

Taehyung pulled you into his lap and wrapped his arms around your waist. The torrent of desire building at his center was kept a bay as he confirmed your proposal.

“Ttalgi,” he murmured against your cheek. “Are you sure this is what you want? I don’t want you to do anything that you might regret later.”

“Why would I regret this?” you asked. “This is you and me we’re talking about. I know we’re still young, but I don’t want to wander through the rest of high school worrying about who might or might not get into our pants first. I know I talk a big game, Tae, but let’s be honest. I’m dumb as hell when I’m attracted to someone, and so are you. I just want to make sure that I remember this as something momentous and not regret that it happened. I want to remember it as special. Who’s more special than my soulmate?”

Damn. She played the soulmate card.

Taehyung sagged back against the backing of the chair and tried to rub the broiling lust out of his eyes. Unfortunately, you saw the motion and thought it was linked to rejection and you quickly got up from his lap.

“Look, Tae,” you pouted. “If you don’t want to do this, that’s fine. I just thought that maybe we could share this experience together, just like we do with everything else.”

Taehyung groaned at your pouty face and hopped up from the chair to pull you back into his arms. You tried to resist, but you were no match for the bear hug Taehyung pulled you into. You burrowed your reddened face into his soft chest and whimpered, which pulled at Taehyung’s last heartstring. He really tried to convince himself that this was too soon, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that you were right.

You always were.

There was no telling what could happen over the next few years, especially since you no longer lived in the same town or went to the same school. You were miles and miles apart from one another and that distance was affecting your relationship, whether you both wanted to admit it or not.

How can I say no to my soulmate?

Taehyung reached up and pulled the scrunchie out of your hair and hummed at the silken tresses that cascaded across your shoulders. He slid his fingers into the luscious waves and leaned in to kiss your forehead. The scent of green apples assaulted his nostrils and he moaned quietly at the intoxicating scent of your shampoo.

“Why do you always smell so good?” Taehyung breathed out. “I swear whenever I smell something fruity, I think of you, ttalgi.”

“It’s apple scented, not strawberry, Tae,” you giggled. “Remember, I’m the apple of my parents’ eyes? That’s why my middle name is Eris, the bearer of the golden apple and Greek goddess of chaos and discord.”

“Enough mythology, babe,” Taehyung chuckled. “If we’re really going to do this, let’s get more comfortable.”

Taehyung pulled you in the direction of the tent and you both removed your shoes before getting inside. The stacks of blankets and sleeping bags made for a comfortable bed, and Taehyung was thoughtful enough to bring extra pillows for added comfort. You reached over and turned down the lantern to a dim glow as Taehyung zipped the tent shut. He shuffled back next to you and you both cuddled up in the middle of your makeshift bed.

“Hello, beautiful,” Taehyung smiled brightly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t stop the grin spreading across your lips. You took in the boyish features on Taehyung’s face and your breath caught when you saw him lick his lips. Taehyung’s eyes locked with your own and the sexual tension inside the tent escalated quickly.

He may look like a boy, but he certainly doesn’t act like one.

Encouraged by the hungry look in his eyes, you decided to break the tension by pressing your lips against his. What started out as a simple touching of lips quickly transfigured into a messy tangle of lips and teeth. You each tried to devour the other, and within a few moments, you found yourself straddling Taehyung’s hips and grinding your clothed center along his growing erection.

“Fuck, babe, slow down,” Taehyung whimpered. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to cum in my pants.”

“Can’t stop,” you mewled desperately. “Feels too good.”

You increased the friction along your clit and Taehyung gripped your hips in an attempt to slow your ministrations. When he realized that you were on a mission, he did some quick thinking and rolled you over onto your back. Before you could protest the change in position, you felt his fingers dipping into your shorts in search of your throbbing core.

“Oh my gods, yes, Tae,” you moaned. “Please touch me.”

“Holy shit, babe,” Taehyung exclaimed. “You’re so fucking wet. Is this all for me?”

“Mmm hmm,” you hummed while bucking your hips against his exploring fingers. “All for you.”

“Then I better not let it go to waste,” Taehyung mused while shifting onto his knees. “Mind if I take these off?”

Taehyung’s other hand was tugging lightly on the band of your shorts and underwear, and you quickly lifted your hips so he could slide them down your legs. He tossed them into the corner of the tent and made space for himself between your legs. You tried to slow your labored breaths, but watching Taehyung hover over your glistening folds with a hungry look in his eyes was absolutely breathtaking.

“Babe, can I go down on you?” Taehyung asked sweetly. “I’ve never tried it before, and your scent is driving me crazy. I need to know what you taste like.”

You nearly lost all of the breath in your lungs at Taehyung’s words, and all you could do was nod dumbly and spread your legs even wider. The sight of your dripping center was unbelievably enticing and Taehyung carefully lowered himself closer to get a better look. After inhaling the musky scent, Taehyung growled softly and gave your clit a tentative kitten lick.

“Fuck,” you squeaked. “That feels so weird.”

“Good weird or bad weird?” Taehyung asked. “I can stop if you want.”

“Good weird,” you confirmed. “Definitely good weird. Please don’t stop.”

“Ok, because I really don’t want to,” Taehyung admitted. “You taste incredible. Like it’s sweet but also not. I can’t really explain it, but I know I want more of it.”

“Then what are you waiting for, Tae-bear?” you giggled. “Get to work.”

Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows at you and leaned in to kiss your nether lips. You gasped when you felt his tongue sneak forward and start lapping up the essence gathered around your center. You tried your best to writhe with each delicious pass of his tongue over your aching clit, but he was cleverly holding you in place with his upper body and giving you no room to escape.

“Ah, Tae,” you moaned. “That feels amazing.”

“Mmmmm,” Taehyung hummed against your clit, causing you to squeak. “Does it really, babe? Are you going to cum for me?”

“I don’t know,” you breathed out. “Keep doing that and I probably will.”

“Challenge accepted, babe,” Taehyung teased. “Don’t scream too loud though. Your parents might hear you.”

With renewed vigor, Taehyung dove into your center, licking and slurping and dipping his fingers into you with surprising precision and skill. Taehyung was always a fast learner and apparently that applied to everything in his life, including sex.

Taehyung’s fingers began curling as they reached new depths inside you and the sensation of them grazing against your vaginal walls caused you to clench with a mixture of discomfort and delight. Taehyung picked up on your body cues and began twisting his wrist slightly to create more friction as he pulled his fingers in and out. You felt a sharp twinge inside your vagina and a tightening in your clit and you gripped Taehyung’s wavy locks and pulled harshly. The pleasure was definitely overpowering the pain, so you decided to just go with it.

“Right there, Tae,” you whined. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing that.”

Taehyung moaned out loudly against your clit as you continued to pull on his hair and the vibrating sensation pushed you over the edge. You bit down on your lip to keep your screams from escaping as the most intense orgasm you’d ever felt broke out across your skin. You’d masturbated before, but the outcome had never been this intense. You turned your face into a nearby pillow and cried out as Taehyung helped you ride out the waves of your climax.

When you stopped twitching and started pushing his fingers away, Taehyung finally relented. You released your ironclad grip on his hair and he shivered as you extracted your fingers from his scalp. He shook the sensation out of his roots and gaped at you.

“I’ve never had anyone pull my hair like that before,” he admitted. “I think I liked it. I almost came in my pants, babe.”

You both started giggling at his newfound discovery. He collapsed next to you and tried to cuddle you, but your mind was swimming with lust and you switched positions so you could now hover over his crotch. The outline of his hardened cock was twisted across his thigh uncomfortably, and not even his loose cargo pants could hide his impressive size.

Taehyung shifted his hips nervously as you continued to gawk at him, and he had a sneaking suspicion that you were trying to reciprocate out of some type of misplaced duty. He quickly decided that maybe he should let you off the hook before he embarrassed himself.

“Babe,” Taehyung began. “You don’t have to. It’s ok.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Elizabeth?” you retorted. “After what I just experienced, I have to know if I can do the same thing for you.”

Taehyung widened his eyes and snorted with laughter. He sat up to pull you into a sweet kiss and savored each brush of your lips across his own. You made little humming noises as he cupped your cheeks, but he chuckled and pulled away when you tried slipping your tongue into his mouth.

“If you really want to do this, babe, I won’t stop you,” Taehyung assured you. “Just go slow. I’ve never had anyone do this before, and I’m afraid that I won’t last very long.”

“Don’t worry, Tae-bear,” you sighed. “Just let me take care of you.”

You pushed at his chest until he laid back down against the sleeping bags. As you settled between his legs, you ran your fingers up his thighs and curled your fingers around the button holding his cargo pants together. You were gentle as you popped it open and pulled down the zipper. Taehyung’s bulging erection was poking at the top of his underwear waistband, and you nearly hiccupped at the sight of it.

Where the hell has he been hiding this monster?

Not being able to wait any longer, you leaned forward and started kissing and licking at his turgid length over his underwear. Taehyung hissed and pulled a pillow over his face to release a few shaky whines. You tugged his waistband down and wrapped your fingers around his stiffened shaft. The velvety texture and warmth felt wonderful as you squeezed it with your palm. The moan Taehyung released at your touch was music to your ears and you decided to test out a few things.

If he can learn on the job, then so can I.

After a few experimental strokes, you narrowed down the motion that brought the most delightful sounds out of Taehyung’s mouth. They were slightly muffled because of the pillow, but you could hear them nonetheless. You were about to try something else, but you noticed Taehyung clench uncomfortably and you realized that things were probably a little too dry for him.

He needs lubrication.

You licked your lips and smirked. You had all the lubrication he needed.

Brace yourself, Elizabeth.

You slowed your strokes and leaned in to sniff at the smears of precum spread across his bulbous head. The heady scent was certainly strange, but your curiosity got the better of you and you gave his slit a small lick.

“Oh, fuck,” Taehyung moaned loudly. “What are you doing, babe?”

Taehyung removed the pillow from his face and looked down between his legs to see your half naked form gripping his hard cock with your lips centimeters away from the tip. Your eyes met and he inhaled sharply when you winked at him. Before he could ask you anything, you pulled the head of his penis into your mouth and all sense of reality went out the metaphorical window.

“Holy shit,” Taehyung gasped. “It’s s-s-so w-warm...and w--wet.”

You continued to dip further down onto his solid length, stretching your lips, keeping your teeth hidden, and hollowing your cheeks, listening to each whimper and whine, figuring out the right combination of movements to bring Taehyung the most amount of pleasure.

“B-babe, s-slow down,” Taehyung begged helplessly. “I-I’m so close.”

Taehyung was so wound up from everything that he couldn’t hold himself together for much longer. His thighs were trembling and his fingers were clutching the sleeping bag beneath him. He wasn’t going to last if you kept up your current pace.

I've got him right where I want him. Let's see what pushes him over the edge.

In the spirit of exploration, each time you bobbed your head, you tried swirling your tongue around Taehyung’s shaft. After a few of those motions, Taehyung was clutching at your hair, trying to pull you off of his dick.

“Babe, wait,” Taehyung pleaded. “I’m gonna, I’m gonna-”

You grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away from your head. As soon as he was distracted by that, you took him in as deep as you could. Taehyung released a deep throaty moan and warm spurts erupted into your mouth. You sucked and swallowed on instinct because, let’s face it, no one likes a mess (especially in a tent). When he started whimpering from overstimulation, you pulled back and wiped your mouth with your shirt.

Taehyung was gasping for breath, his glassy eyes wildly scanning the tent and his fingers reaching out for you. You nuzzled into his side and sighed happily.

“I can’t believe you just did that, babe,” Taehyung huffed out. “Not only did you give me the orgasm of my life, but you swallowed everything I gave you. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Are you kidding me, Tae?” you scoffed. “You know how much I hate messes. It just made sense to swallow.”

You allowed the temperature in the tent to cool, but the smell of sex in the air was intoxicating, as was Taehyung’s gentle strokes along your side and the sweet nuzzles along your forehead. Entranced by his affection, you allowed your own fingers to wander freely across his chest until hardened pebbles were poking through his thin shirt. Your hand slipped lower and you felt Taehyung’s dick twitch against your wrist.

“You’re hard again, Tae-bear,” you teased. “Haven’t had enough of me yet?”

“Not even close, ttalgi,” Taehyung chuckled. “There is so much I want to do to you.”

“So what’s stopping you?” you boldly challenged. “Show me what you got, Elizabeth.”

“First of all, don’t call me Elizabeth when we’re like this,” Taehyung admonished you as he nipped at your ear. “It kinda kills the mood. Second, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“How would you hurt me, Tae?” you asked. “You trying to get rough with me?”

“Not intentionally,” Taehyung affirmed. "But after fingering you, I'm not sure you can take me. You're so tight."

You stopped caressing him abruptly and sat up. Before Taehyung could utter a word of protest, you stripped off your shirt and straddled his hips. You had just enough time to unhook your bra before Taehyung sat up and stopped you. With the bra trapped helplessly between your bodies, you met Taehyung's concerned face with fiery resolve.

"You don't get to tell me what I can or cannot do, Taehyung Elizabeth," you stated firmly. "You learned that lesson when we were kids, or have you forgotten about the seesaw?"

Taehyung rolled his eyes at your reminder about an incident from elementary school and he began stroking your bare back in an attempt to soothe your anger.

"Babe, I'm not trying to tell you what to do," Taehyung claimed. "I'm just worried about hurting you."

"My body, my choice, Tae," you retorted. "I decide what I can handle, not you."

Taehyung opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal, but you shut him up with a kiss, slowly working your tongue past his lips. His self control crumbled when you reached up and tugged at his messy locks.

"Oh, shit," Taehyung whined. "I gave you a fucking weapon, didn't I?"

"Damn right, you did," you smirked while grinding your messy center against his throbbing cock. "You like it rough, huh, Tae?"

"Mmmmm, yeah," Taehyung groaned. "I'm as surprised as you are."

Taehyung's fingers found their way back to your creamy folds, and you moaned lasciviously as he plunged one and then two fingers into your swollen cunt.

The sharp lick of pain from earlier reappeared, but it couldn't compete with the waves of pleasure crashing and spreading across your nerve endings. You pushed back at his intrusive fingers, and your impatience was growing exponentially.

You reached down and wrapped one hand around Taehyung's fat cock and smeared the accumulated precum over the head and down the shaft. He felt so solid in your hand and you couldn't stop wondering about what it would feel like inside you.

It's time.

Without warning, you lifted your hips and brought one knee up. Taehyung was so focused on his own fingers that he didn't realize what you were doing until it was too late. You quickly angled his dick toward your clit and gathered up as much slick as you could. You slipped the head of his penis into your soaking entrance and immediately regretted your hasty decision.

What the actual fuck?! Oh, the pain…

In a slight panic, you tried to retreat, but it was too late. The warmth and wetness registered in Taehyung's brain and he bucked another couple of centimeters into you. You couldn't form any words, so you released a pained squeak at the intrusion and leaned in to sink your teeth into his exposed neck. Taehyung preened at your unexpected bite, relishing the sweet pain you inflicted upon him.

"Fuuuuuuck," Taehyung moaned loudly. "Oh, baby, you feel incredible."

Mistaking your squeak for enjoyment, Taehyung lifted your hips a bit and then pushed back in even further than before. You blindly clawed at his back and Taehyung reached down and tried to pull his shirt off, thinking that you wanted him more naked. In his haste, his limbs became tangled in the shirt and he began thrashing slightly to untangle himself.

Unfortunately, that just added to the assault his cock was launching on your swollen cunt. The stinging between your legs spread across your abdomen, and you clenched, clawed, and contorted your body, desperately trying to extract yourself from his clutches, but his dick was inescapable.

Somehow, you overcorrected your position and tipped sideways, drawing his thick cock out of you and earning a reprieve from the sharp pain ebbing from your dripping slit. You noted that although the pain was slowly subsiding, you felt an overwhelming emptiness inside.

Taehyung was still struggling to get the shirt off of his torso and head, so you reached over to help him. Much to your dismay, he was sharing your thoughts and leaned in at the same time, your skulls colliding harshly and drawing yelps out of both of you.

You both fell back against the soft pile of bedding and groaned with displeasure, your heavy breathing filling the atmosphere of the tent. The impact of his forehead against your own was reverberating through your brain, adding to soreness growing at your center. The entire situation was so epically ridiculous that you couldn’t even fathom your initial thought process.

Why did I think this would be easy and painless?

You huffed out in exasperation and considered posing the question to your soulmate. However, when you shifted your gaze in his direction, you realized that your adorable dork was still trapped in his shirt/straight jacket and he’d surrendered to its cottony grip. His soft belly was exposed, his chest was heaving with exertion and his erection was deflated in the aftermath of the heavy head butt you’d accidentally delivered. The bite on his neck was red and very noticeable and your ego inflated at the thought of leaving your mark on his perfect skin.

“Tae,” you giggled. “Would you like some help?”

Taehyung made one last attempt to disentangle his arms from his shirt, but ultimately gave up the fight.

“Please?” he begged. “My elbows are stupid and they won’t come out of the sleeves.”

“Well, you keep buying these tighter shirts,” you admonished him while pulling on the soft fabric. “Maybe you should go for a baggier look, babe.”

Once you pulled his shirt over his head and got his “stupid” elbows sorted out, Taehyung pouted at the mess you two made of your first sexual encounter. It was going so well until his shirt decided to betray him.

“Sorry about that,” Taehyung sighed. “I guess I ruined everything, huh? You were totally getting into it and I just had to play Houdini with my shirt.”

“Ummm, you may want to rethink that assessment, Tae-bear,” you replied. “I wasn’t getting into anything. I was trying to get away from you. I was in some serious pain and your shenanigans weren’t helping.”

Taehyung gaped at your confession and his frustration was quickly replaced by concern. He reached over and coaxed you into his bare chest.

"I was hurting you, ttalgi?" Taehyung murmured into your hair. "I'm so sorry. That was the last thing I wanted to do."

"You're not completely to blame," you admitted. "I thought I could take it, but obviously, I was wrong."

"Are you ok?" Taehyung asked sweetly. "Want me to check for any permanent damage?"

You giggled and slapped his chest playfully, and Taehyung only snuggled into your body even more.

"There's no permanent damage, you dork," you retorted. "I'm just sore. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Taehyung sighed with relief and proceeded to trace little swirls onto your exposed skin. He began humming some unknown tune and the soothing baritone notes soon lulled you into a light slumber. You cracked an eyelid when Taehyung pulled away from you, but he was just gathering the fluffy comforter over your bodies to brace against the chill of the evening.

You sat up and turned out the dim lantern. When you rejoined Taehyung underneath the comforter, you both entwined your naked bodies together without hesitation.

Why does this feel so right?

The natural sounds of the forest and Taehyung's gentle snores coerced you to sleep, and visions of Taehyung's face contorted with pleasure wracked your dreams. You could almost hear the melodic moans and whimpers he'd released earlier, and you could almost feel his stiff rod probing against your sopping entrance.

Tae…

You gasped as you felt a hand at your breast, gently kneading and searching out your hardened nipple. You arched your back in response and a small moan escaped from your lips.

Such a good sex dream…

Or is it?!

The thought possessed your mind completely, and you tried to shake the slumber out of your mind in order to wake up.

Upon your exit from Dreamland, you found that Taehyung's hand was in fact on your breast, but he wasn't groping you. In fact, you could still hear the steady breaths behind you as the big spoon called Taehyung curled his smooth body around you. Your ass was sitting against his crotch and you could feel the heat and throb of a partial erection against you.

Still floating in an ocean of dream-induced lust, you unconsciously pressed your ass back into his crotch, grinding your growing wetness along his hardening shaft.

Fuck, that feels good. I'm still a little sore, but I seriously want his dick inside me again. Should I wake him up? Maybe we can try again? Maybe it won't hurt this time?

You tried rationalizing every possible scenario that would lead his penis into your vagina, but they all felt wrong. How could you even consider doing something while Taehyung was asleep and couldn't consent?

I can't.

You steeled your resolve and started to pull away from Taehyung, but the grip on your breast tightened and then pulled you back in. Taehyung's breath had increased in pace and it was husky and deep as he whispered into your ear.

"Why'd you stop, baby?" Taehyung grunted. "I was just about to get to the good part."

You released a throaty gasp as Taehyung's fingers slipped lower to circle your clit. The slick deluge he found only had his hips rutting against you with more enthusiasm.

"I can't stop thinking about your perfect little pussy, ttalgi," Taehyung hissed. "So perfect. So wet. So mine."

Two fingers found their way into your slippery folds and Taehyung was soon dipping both of them into your dripping cavern.

"Fuck, Tae," you whined. "That feels so good, don't stop."

"Wouldn't dream of it, babe," he chuckled. "Are you ready to try again? I'll be as gentle as I can, and this time, no failed magic tricks."

Taehyung moved his arm behind you so he could plunge his fingers back into you from behind. He drove them deeper and deeper, drawing out moan after delicious moan from your throat. The soreness was a distant memory now, and all you could think about was getting that fat dick back inside of you.

"Tae, please," you shamelessly begged. "I need you inside me."

"Ok, babe," Taehyung assented. "But you have to let me know if I'm hurting you, ok? I promise to stop and wait for you to be ready. There's no need to rush."

You looked back at his dilated pupils and pulled him into a smoldering kiss. After a few moments of stealing each other's breath away, you lifted your leg and gave him full access to the swollen sight between your legs.

"Ok, baby," Taehyung muttered while maneuvering his stiff cock to your entrance. "Here I go."

The head of his penis slipped in and you waited for the sharp twinge to return. There was a definite increase in pressure, but no overwhelming pain. Taehyung grunted against your shoulder and released a soft whine. You rolled your hips back against him and he slipped in a little further with an even louder whine.

"Fuck, babe," Taehyung whimpered. "You can't even begin to comprehend how amazing you feel. So tight and so warm and so fucking wet. I could do this all day every day and die a happy man."

"You're so big, Tae," you replied. "Give me a moment to adjust."

Taehyung nodded against your shoulder and waited. You pushed back against his hips and he slipped in a little more. After a few experimental attempts, you were getting restless. Taehyung's large slender fingers began circling your clit once more, enticing more arousal to seep forth and provide the necessary lubrication. You writhed in his grasp, and slowly but surely, Taehyung slid his dick in all the way to the hilt.

"That's it, baby," Taehyung coaxed. "Now, you're full of my cock. How does it feel?"

That was a damn good question.

How does it feel? I feel full and hot, but something's missing. What else could there be?

You leaned forward, pulling off of his lap slightly, and then ground your hips back against his. The tingle of pleasure that licked up your spine was all the answer you needed. Taehyung's throaty groan at your movement was so encouraging that you reached back and pulled at his hips.

"I think I'm ready, Tae," you cooed. "Go ahead and try moving. It doesn't hurt, I promise."

Taehyung pulled your chin over and placed a chaste kiss on your lips. You melted against his lips, but yelped when he pulled his hips back and thrust forward unexpectedly. The sensation was raw and unlike anything you'd ever experienced before. You both moaned out together and stilled your movements.

"Oh shit," you gasped. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Neither was I," admitted Taehyung. "I didn't think this could feel any better, but it does. I just want to keep doing this over and over again."

"Keep going, Tae," you pleaded. "Let's finish what we started."

The two of you proceeded to test out the waters of your sexual appetite. Taehyung discovered a fountain of stamina, you discovered new ways to bend your body, and you took turns exerting dominance over one another.

In the end, entwined in a sweaty heap of satisfaction, you and Taehyung sought out each other's lips, bringing the whole messy ordeal to a close.

"Well, we had a rough start," you giggled against his lips. "But I think we worked out the kinks."

"Speak for yourself," Taehyung grumbled. "I know there's more to me than hair pulling."

"Of course there is, Tae-bear," you confirmed. "You also liked it when I scratched your back and bit your neck."

"I guess I'm just a pain slut," he chuckled. "I can live with that."

You both settled into a comfortable position and pulled the comforter back over your bodies. The chilly night air was causing your glistening skin to erupt into goosebumps, so you snuggled together and drifted off to Dreamland with your arms wrapped around each other.

Perfect. -------------- "Babe, have you seen my laptop?" Taehyung yelled from downstairs. "I can't find it."

You unplugged the laptop and gathered all of Taehyung's accessories from the floor. Once you'd returned from your camping trip, you'd hunkered down in your room to chill and enjoy the last few days you had with Taehyung. You read your books, Taehyung drew on his laptop, and random episodes of your favorite anime shows played on your TV. It was absolute bliss.

Speaking of bliss, both you and Taehyung had a serious talk about your camping shenanigans before you made your way home. You agreed that although the whole experience was beyond amazing, certain rules needed to be set.

You both agreed that you were reckless by not worrying about protection. Sure, you were both virgins with almost no experience, but there were still precautions that should be taken. You decided not to engage in intercourse again until you had condoms and you were able to secure some type of birth control.

Teenagers can be so irresponsible.

That didn't mean you weren't engaging in other sexual activities behind closed doors. You both learned the value of pillows as a method of muffling moans and groans. You'd both experimented in your bed, and your parents were none the wiser. Things never escalated into the realms of intercourse, but neither of you cared. Pleasure was bountiful in other areas besides intercourse.

You also agreed that you needed to be completely honest with one another from now on. There would be no ill will if he or you decided to explore your desires elsewhere. There just needed to be open communication and no jealousy.

I am my own person and so are you.

The only other agreement you made was to continue your intimate relationship until one of you entered into some type of relationship. In the event of a relationship forming, all sexual shenanigans would immediately halt.

Soulmates just want each other to be happy. It's that simple.

You placed all of Taehyung's drafting tools and laptop back into his backpack and carried it downstairs. Your mom was lavishing Taehyung with homemade cookies fresh from the oven and a large glass of milk.

Ugh, spoiled brat.

You handed over the bag and he leaned over to place a small peck on your forehead. Your mother gushed at the small display of affection and made heart eyes at you when Taehyung walked away to place his backpack among his other belongings. You just rolled your eyes and grabbed a cookie from the plate.

Taehyung was going home today, but a part of him would never leave you. You became soulmates at the age of 5, but your actions at the age of 15 solidified your universal connection for eternity.

Whatever the Universe throws at me, at least I know I'll have my eternal connection to Taehyung to help me see it through.

#soulmates4life

Author’s Note: I really missed these characters. MOTS’ Kim Elizabeth Taehyung is one of my favorite self-created characters. I just adore him. I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I did. Thank you to @xxxille-girlxxx​, my lovely Goguma, for Beta reading this for me. Borahae, soulmate!

MAP OF THE SOUL MASTERLIST

@caught-in-a-seesaw-stigma​‘s MASTERLIST

#Map of the soul #bts drabble #kim taehyung #taehyung #v taehyung #bts smut #virginity #legendary bts #camping #soulmate

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 3 - Zombie Apocalypse

The story continues. At least one more part in the zombie world before moving on to the next one. 

Part 1 / Part 2 Linked here. (If I get to 5 pts or so I’ll make a master post)

Enjoy!

_____________________________

“Why’d they let YOU in?”

An angry shout stopped us in our tracks as we reached the center of the camp.

I paused, smiling. Ah, the nostalgic smell of unnecessary internal strife. NOW it feels like a proper post apocalyptic story.  I raised a hand in greeting. “Hey there, kind and pleasant person, I’m Blaire!”

“Don’t pretend like we’re friends! You shouldn’t be here!”  The angry young man stepped closer, allowing me to get a better look at his face. His copper colored hair framed sharp, angular features, his brown eyes practically burning with rage as he tried his best to stare a hole through me. 

He seems familiar. 

Searching my character’s memories, I was finally able to place him.  Jason, the hero’s best friend, who had gone to high school with my character. Before I could celebrate placing his identity, however,  I felt a surge of deep terror flood through me. My heart beat wildly in my chest, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. I frowned, pushing back the feeling that weren’t my own, but those from my character.

It’s rare for emotions from the character to be this strong, even in the last world I was able to easily put away any feelings of the character I’ve taken over. Why is she so scared? I don’t see anything in her memories that would warrant her being frightened of Jason. And why is he so antagonistic towards me?

As I stood there, trying to comb through what information my character knew about him, he had continued to rant. “Eric, what were you thinking accepting people like her?!”

Eric sent Hannah away with a smile, before turning towards his friend with a tired expression. “They have extra supplies and skills, both of which we’re in desperate need of.”

“We don’t need HER!”

As they argued, Liam walked up to me, pulling an apple from his bag. “Want a snack?”

“Sure, these idiots might take a while, I’d hate to get hypoglycemic while they argue.” Before I could say anything further, he pulled out a knife and silently started cutting the peel off.

“What are you doing?”

“Peeling the apple for you.”

“Why?”

“…” He paused, looking honestly confused. “I’m not sure, but I feel like this would make you happy.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head in amazement. “I love apples, but I can’t stand the peel. How did you know?”

“Really?” He grinned, continuing to peel. “My support husband instincts must be kicking in.”

“You’re very… optimistic.”

“Thanks!”

I sighed. “Don’t get attached, Liam. It won’t end well.” I thought of the heart wrenching pain I had felt when pressing “No”  in the last world. That was just after 4 weeks. If I have to stay here years…

“It’s okay. I already count myself fortunate being your lackey.” His smile was bright, but his attention to the apple never wavered. “As long as you live well. I think I could die happy.”

I shuddered. The habit was just too strong. A character casually mentioning dying in a story…such a red flag. “Try not to die. Happy or otherwise.”

“Yes ma’am.” He saluted, his silly expression making me feel less tense. 

“Blaire! I’m talking to you!” Jason had finished arguing with Eric while Liam and I chatted and was obviously still furious.

I felt the same edge of fear from the character at the sight of him again, and pushed it back down with irritation.

“That must be so exhausting to be so angry all the time.”  I muttered quietly as I watched him approach.

Liam nodded. “No kidding. I think I’ll need a nap just from watching him perform.”

Jason stopped just a few feet away, sneering. “I don’t know what lies you sold Eric earlier, but don’t’ forget, I know the real you! You’re a rich brat without any skills! You’re deadweight to any group, just a worthless bit….ARGH!” He flew backwards as a mostly-peeled apple struck him in the mouth, splitting his lip.

“Oops. Sorry did that hit you?” Liam watched him coldly, not sounding sorry at all. “My hands get slippery when I hear pure stupid.”

“Is that why people around you tend to get hit with flying projectiles often?

“It’s a curse…” He paused, then looked mortified. “THAT WAS MY LAST APPLE!”

“It’s okay.”

“WHY DIDN’T I USE A STONE?” He groaned into his hands. “That idiot wasn’t worth losing your snack! Now you’re going to go hungry!”

“I’m fine…” I tried to comfort him, but he had already pulled out a walkie-talkie and was growling instructions in some sort of code.

Jason, on the other hand, was now pointing in shock at Liam. “You! You’re William the destroyer!”

“…” I glanced over at the man who was still panicking over his lack of snack options to offer me.

“What’s the leader of the Blood Wolves doing here?” Jason was now looking nervous, clambering to his feet and keeping a good distance from us both

Liam ignored him, continuing to talk on his walkie talkie. Shaking my head, I stepped in between him. “He’s with me. Do you really want to argue now about whether or not we should be here?”

“But… but…”

“Jason!” Eric had returned, a grim look on his face. “I told you to leave them alone. We’ll go out hunting for supplies tomorrow, they can prove their worth then.”

Jason’s expression showed his clear unwillingness, but he slowly nodded. “Sure.” Glancing towards me, he sneered. “Then I guess tomorrow we’ll see just how useless you are.”

“Did I step on your dog or something? Seriously, try to reign in the hostility there, buddy.”  With that, I turned and walked towards the empty tent Eric had pointed out earlier. 

Despite my casual tone and outer appearance, my hands were clenched at my sides, the fingernails digging into my palms to keep my hands from shaking. My back was soaked with sweat, an uncontrollable reaction from the character I had become.

What is going on? It had been a long timesince I had been unable to fully control my character’s emotions like this. I swallowed uncomfortably. The sensation  was unpleasant, a sense of incongruity between body and soul that I couldn’t quite overcome. It reminded me too much of the first mission I had undergone, the worst time of my life that I could still remember.

Waking up without memories, with no idea of who I was or why I was there, thrust into a romantic drama where my mission was to fulfill the role of a foolish, calculating villainous side character. Overwhelmed by intense love for the male lead and mind-numbing hatred for his heroine, I lost myself in despair. Later, I would learn to maintain my sense of identity. Even if I didn’t know who I was, I at least knew who I wasn’t.

And I wasn’t this character. A spoiled, angry young woman who thought the world revolved around her.

So why can’t I remember clearly? Not just Jason, even the events surrounding my character’s kidnapping and death were vague.

Something’s wrong with this world.

Sitting down with a sigh, I pulled out my phone.

“Let’s see how helpful this new ‘character description’ function is.” I typed in Jason’s name. After a moment to process, the phone’s screen filled with text.

Jason, the hero’s best friend and this world’s hopeless secondary male lead. In the story, he is shown to be in love with Hannah, but hides his feelings for fear of hurting his friends. He often supports her from behind, helping the hero rescue her during her frequent misadventures and kidnappings. Despite his devoted acts, Hannah remains blissfully unaware of his feelings, and treats him as a friend.

Nothing to explain why my character is scared of him. I grinned maliciously as I re-read the part about his unrequited love. “No wonder he’s so high strung. If he were nicer I might even feel sorry for him.”

Unable to control my curiosity, I typed in a second name.

“William.”

Character unknown.

“Hmm. Let’s try ‘Liam.’”

Character unknown.

“Blood Wolves.”

The most notorious and highly skilled gang in this story’s world, they often sell their services as mercenaries, and are considered a major power in the post-apocalyptic society.

I stared at the screen, even more confused. Such an important group, but the leader isn’t mentioned? Who is Liam?

But no matter how much I searched, there were no answers.

_____________________________

Shortly later, Liam called me out.  The smell of freshly cooked food hastened my steps, and I sat at a table across from Hannah, ignoring her wide-eyed look of fear at my approach.

“The others are checking the perimeter. Here, I made you dinner!” Liam placed a bowl in front of both of us with a proud grin. It was filled with a stew, with vegetables and chicken. Hannah stared at the food suspiciously, although I didn’t see anything wrong with the food. Carefully, I lifted a spoonful up to my mouth, my eyes widening with shock.

“It’s delicious!”  I took another few bites before pausing. “Where did you get the ingredients?”

Liam sat down next to me, peeling an apple with an affectionate grin. “My friends happened to have gathered some extra supplies and brought them over.”

“… You sent the Blood Wolves on a snack run?”

“What were they supposed to do? Let you go hungry?” He raised an eyebrow.  “They wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I don’t know how you manage to sound so supportive and yet so… ominous at the same time.”

“It’s one of my many talents, I’m so glad you noticed!”

Hannah watched our exchange back and forth, before looking down at the food once more. She seemed very hungry, but she still hadn’t made any moves towards eating.

“You should try it, it tastes really good!” As I coaxed the girl sitting across from me, I saw Liam beaming with pride.

“…” She stared silently at us both for a long few moments before nodding and taking a bite, her hands shaking and almost spilling the stew from her spoon. As she swallowed the food however, her eyes filled with tears.

Why do all the heroine’s I meet cry so easily? Maybe the problem is with me? Do I just not cry enough?

“It tastes so good!” She ate quickly, blinking to keep back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

Oh… so… happy tears? That’s refreshing. I patted her on the shoulder gently. “Not had a lot of hot meals lately, huh?”

Hannah nodded at my sympathetic words. “Yeah, Eric and James are too busy with security and supply runs. And I…” Her words trailed off.

Why hello there, mission opportunity!I rejoiced inwardly but kept a gentle look on my face.  “You what?”

“I’m weak… I can’t fight. I can’t even cook.” She looked up at me her eyes still wet with unshed tears. “I wish I could be scary like you…”

… Scary?

Liam laughed at my dumbfounded expression, quickly silencing himself as I turned to glare at him. Looking back over at Hannah, I tried to smile comfortingly, the expression stiffening as a look of terror flashed across her face.

“You want to be a well-rounded useful person? I can help you.” Not like I have a choice.

“Really?” Hannah clasped her hands together in front of her. She still looked frightened, but excitement was clearly pushing back her fear. “I really want to be helpful!”

“Really. Just come watch me tomorrow during the outing. I’ll show you what I can do. From there, we’ll come up with a plan.”

She now was smiling brightly, giving off the impression of a small, adorable animal that should be protected. “I promise I’ll work hard, Boss!”

She trusts me so quickly… no wonder she kept getting kidnapped. 

“Wait... Did you just call me Boss…?”

“One day, I pray I can be just as terrifying as you!” Hannah cheered excitedly. 

“…”

I feel like her motivation has gone in a weird direction.

As I struggled on how to answer her, Liam nodded solemnly. “It’s good to have goals, but you shouldn’t aim too high.” He handed me the freshly peeled apple, and continued. “No one’s as terrifying as your Boss. But with hard work and effort, one day, you can reach ‘lackey status’ like me!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” The two high-fived as I watched on silently, feeling tired.

“… I’m going to bed.”

_____________________________

The next morning, we all headed out, running into a group of zombies, almost immediately.  We halted a good distance away to discuss a plan.

“Will it be okay?” Hannah’s face looked extremely nervous as she looked at the zombies in the distance.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Jason smiled at Hannah, his eyes full of tender emotion.  “I promise, as long as I have breath in my body, no zombie will get near you.”

I still felt a small thread of fear running through me as I looked at him, but fortunately, it was much easier to control now. I rolled my eyes at his words. Didn’t the character summary say hehides his feelings? How is this subtle at all?

Eric stared at his friend silently for a moment, and then patted Hannah’s head with a sigh. “Make sure to stay away from the fight.” Loading up a handgun, he glanced over at me. “Are you coming?”

“Ha, bet you’re gonna run and hide, huh?” Jason glared at me, his face looking extremely punchable, forcing me to hold back.  

I sighed, admiring my self –restraint. “I’ll take the ten on the right.”

“There’s only fifteen!”

“Yeah, so we’ll split it by skill.” I turned back and grinned. “Ten for me, four for Eric and one for you.”

Pulling out my sword, I headed over, ignoring his stuttered complaints.

GRRRR.

The closest of the zombies was reaching out towards my head, several fingers missing from its hands, its half rotten jaw open, ready to bite.

I lopped it head off, knocking the body away from me.

IT SMELLS SO BAD!!! I had only been able to wash in cold water from a basin. I still desperately missed hot showers.

“Go Boss!”

“Yeah! Kill the zombies! You’re the best!”

Shouts from behind me caught my attention. After killing several more zombies I glanced over, giving out a loud sigh at the sight.

Liam and Hannah cheered off to the side, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Zombies don’t stand a chance against her!”

“Yeah! They’re toast!”

… I’m just going to ignore them for now.

In the corner of my eye I saw Jason struggling to defeat his first zombie, waving a metal bat but missing several passes. He backed up, putting some distance between him and his foe, and turned to stare longingly at Hannah for a few moments, before looking over to glare at me as he realized who she was cheering for. I smiled and winked, watching with interest as his face turned even redder with rage.

Feeling an undeniable urge to taunt, I called out to him as I continued to decapitate zombies.

“Don’t lose focus, little Jason! Or do you need me to help you with your one zombie too?”

“SHUT UP!”

“Try not to bully him, please.” Eric called out as he calmly dodged attacks, occasional shots ringing out. Each was a perfect headshot, as expected of the hero of an action novel. “Jason is sensitive to criticism.”

I nodded, kicking a zombie head into the air and batting it away with my sword, watching it sail away with interest. “Sorry, I’ll try harder to support his emotional well being.”

“Thanks!”

Having finished off our respective zombies, Eric and I high fived before heading back towards the rest of the group.

“Guys… I’m still fighting here!” Jason’s helpless cries caused me to pause.

I glanced at Eric “Will he be okay?”

“Yeah, he’s just milking it so Hannah will pay more attention to him.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Eric shrugged. “Not really, but he doesn’t step over the line and extra hands are necessary, so I just ignore it.”

Is this a… reasonable male lead? Could it be possible?

“Okay, then.” I raised a hand, not turning around. “Good luck Jason, we believe in you!”

Eric grinned and called out behind him. “See you back in camp, buddy!”

“Boss!” Hannah ran up with a grin. “That was amazing!”

Liam stepped closer, handing me a thermos with hot tea. “I told you she was awesome! She saved my life, you know.”

I ignored him, turning my attention to Hannah. Time to make some progress on this mission. “Did what you see today inspire you?”

“Yeah!”

“Do you want to be helpful?”

“Yeah!”

Getting excited, I pumped a fist into the air. “You want to be strong and fight along side me?!”

“…” Hannah stared at me in shock. “What? No. Fight zombies? It’s scary… and kind of gross.”

I looked at her silently. “I… thought you were inspired?”

“Yeah! But not like that.” She nodded firmly. “I realized I was too eager when I wanted to be as terrifying as you…”

“HEY!”

“So I’ve decided.” She grinned. “I’m going to be a professional lackey, just like Liam!”

“…”

“…”

Eric and I sighed in unison.

Liam smiled, patting Hannah on the shoulder. “Now don’t look down on us weak and vulnerable support spouses!”

“You’re not even weak…and we’re not married...”

“We may depend on our stronger counterparts to protect our lives, but we can keep everything running smoothly so you don’t have to worry about anything else.” He looked at me expectantly. “How is your tea?”

Giving up on arguing, I sipped it, and paused, shocked. “It’s… amazing. How did you even make hot tea out here?”

“It’s a trade secret.” Hannah and Liam gave each other a thumbs up, as Hannah handed Liam a thermos, which he drank from silently.

We headed back to camp.

“I feel like we’re forgetting something.” I muttered as I sipped my tea.

“GUYS? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!! I’m STILL FIGHTING!” Jason’s angry shriek pierced the air, but no one turned around.

“I know what it is!” Liam grinned, cleaning one of my hands with a warm towel before handing me a freshly peeled apple. “Here, snack!”

“HANNAH? ERIC? ANYONE?”

I nodded, taking a bite. “That must have been it.”

_____________________________

A few days passed.

I tried again to convince Hannah to train to fight, thinking that combat skills would be the fastest way to  change her status as kidnappable dead weight.  After much convincing, she agreed to start training with me.

Unfortunately, the results were not what I had hoped for.

“OWW!” Hannah laid on the ground, staring up at me sadly. “I’m dying.”

“All I did was have you hold my sword. We haven’t even started fighting yet.”

“It hurts.”

“How did you even hurt yourself?” I stared at the small cut on her leg in consternation. “You only had the sword for fifteen seconds?”

Needless to say, the sword was confiscated. Strengthening exercises were meant with similar outcomes.

“How’s it going?” Liam brought me a bowl of hot soup, as I stared in disbelief at the figure attempting to do a pushup in front of me.

I pulled out my phone, glancing at the mission screen. The first completion bar for Hannah’s mission had been stuck at 10% since we started. “Not good. This is still her first push up.”

“Well, everyone takes a different amount of time…”

“We’ve been out here four hours.”

“Oh… how’s the soup?”

I sighed, taking time to try it. “It’s amazing. I’m still convinced you might be magic to be able to cook like this in the apocalypse.”

“This is just the beginning of my skills!”

I drank the soup quietly, staring at Liam while thinking.

“What is it?” He grinned. “You think I’m handsome and finally want to upgrade me from lackey to support spouse?”

“Who are you?”

My question was whispered, but he still heard it, a look of helplessness spreading across his face. This wasn’t the first time I had asked him this.

“I’ve told you everything, Blaire. I swear I’m not hiding anything from you.”

“You’ve told me everything you’ve remembered.” I corrected him quietly, turning away. Focusing my attention back on Hannah, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged. “This isn’t going to work.”

“You said you’re trying to make her a well-rounded, useful person, right?” Liam finally spoke up, his expression thoughtful. “You might be pushing her in the wrong direction. There are many different ways to help out, fighting is just one of them.”

“Yeah… but that’s what I’m good at.” I rubbed my head. “If I have to teach her other skills, I might not be able to.”

I had memories from multiple story worlds, but most of them required me to act as a brain dead villain, not staying long. Only a few provided practical skills such as the assassin guild story.  A sense of frustration filled me.  

“I can teach her cooking, supply management, and basic book-keeping.”  Liam watched me, seemingly worried. “And you can teach her your special skill.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Negotiation.” He grinned. “It’s amazing to watch you reduce that idiot Jason to an apoplectic fit every time you argue.”

I thought it over, a small return smile forming on my face. “I guess I have developed some good interpersonal skills. I once helped my brother overcome an obsession with behavior modification training.”

“You have a brother?” He asked, his eyes widening.

“In a different life.” I felt a pang of loneliness for the time I had spent in the previous world. I wondered if Adam was doing well. Looking back at Liam, I reached over and patted him on the head.

“I’m glad you’re here.” That I got to see you again. Even if you look different. Even if you don’t remember me.

Liam froze with shock at my touch for a few moments, before his face lit up with delight. “I’m glad I’m here too!”

I looked back down at Hannah, who still hadn’t completed her first push up. “Let’s go with your plan.”

Scratching the plan to make the heroine a one woman army, it was time to make her into an overpowered support character.

#writing #pt 3 #PFTS #rebirth #multiple worlds #zombies #action

[kingburu]

[FIC] Birb Funeral

Someone asked me a long time ago what would happen if in the Dearly Departed universe (where Jason is a Son of Hades and Nico is a Son of Jupiter, and everyone is conveniently where I wanted to place them) what would happen if Bianca ended up in Camp Jupiter and Nico ended up in Camp Halfblood. I wrote this a while back for funsies and probably won’t expand, but take an au of an au!

tl;dr: Godswap AU where Jason is a Son of Hades, Nico is a Son of Zeus, and they grew up as childhood friends!

A storm hits first. In twelve-year-old Jason’s ten years at Camp Halfblood, he’s never seen anything as abrasive and harsh as the dark clouds that consumes all winter sunlight, dimming the heavens as though he’s staring at his father’s domain itself. Thunder and lightning boom like a commandeering force, and the rain rattles against the magical barrier around Camp Halfblood, like pelting against hollow tin, but falls on campgrounds like a soft shower.

It rains for three days straight, weakening Hestia’s hearth, cancelling Capture the Flag, and irritating all of the Apollo Cabin, who grow antsy without the sun. Jason is nonplussed by the storm, comforted by the additional shadows that linger—but he’s never quite liked the silence it forced in Cabin Eleven. The silence that used to be comforting, but now hurts as he has to look at the empty bed—the one that reminds him his own chest feels empty, too.

 On the third day, the eagles appear.

 Jason’s already awake, inspecting the other demigods without cabins of their own as he hears the righteous call of three bald eagles flying through the forest. Other campers wake to their squawk, if not the thunderous storm as it seems to boom louder and demand their attention.

 Then, a little boy appears through the forest, sopping wet and looking meager and small as he wobbles through the trees, with a nest of dark hair and bright blue eyes that reminds Jason of the days before the storm. He’s dressed in a ratty pair of jeans, caked in monster blood and—other blood, that immediately worries Jason—and a bright shirt with a lotus symbol on it. The eagles cry out again, encircling the little boy, and flank to either side of him like royal guards.

 Jason jumps as those blue eyes scan their small crowd—widening as they make contact with Chiron—but then turns to him.

 One of the eagles nudges the little boy, who stumbles forward.

 “This,” the little boy says curiously, “is Camp Halfbird, right?”

Halfbird, Jason thinks, puzzled, and he swears he sees both eagles puff their chests out with pride. He doesn’t get to contemplate long—of all the people that are surrounding this little boy, those blue eyes are fixated on him, waiting for an answer. “It’s actually Camp Halfblood—but, yeah, welcome.”

 “Oh,” the little boy says, and his shoulders heave. “Finally.”

 And he collapses forward. There’s a cry in surprise—and out of reflex, Jason steps forward and catches him. His eyes trail over to the may stains on this boy’s shirt—the monster blood, the human blood—and he hears Lee Fletcher crying out for someone to get ambrosia, nectar, and all the works.

 “Wait,” Jason hears himself saying, and the older son of Apollo stares at him in disbelief.

 “Why would we wait, Grace?” Lee demands.

 Jason props the boy up on his arm, the nest of dark hair bobbing as they move. “Because he’s snoring.”

 *

 Upon carrying the little boy to the infirmary, they all discover their newest camper has a vice grip and refuses to let go of Jason. Beckendorf, a much older camper, tries once while Jason takes this boy who can’t be older than nine or ten, and Jason’s head almost comes off with it. They stop trying when they hear a little sob. Jason thinks he hears a name—Bianca?—and confines himself to carry the boy to one of the cots.

 Jason has to rock on his feet and stand to the tips of his toes—and practically falls over as he sets the boy down, arms still bound around him, but eventually manages to wriggle out of the grip. He stares at the boy, puzzled, as this new demigod just rolls into a ball, expression unseen.

 The eagles caw outside—and from the window, Jason sees them soar past the window, evidently deciding to remain close.

 “Jace,” Lee says, which startles him, “why don’t you get him some new clothes?”

 Lee’s already washed his hands, rubber gloves on, and is picking up an arm to inspect this boy. He wrinkles his nose as his hand stains with mud.

 “Oh—okay,” Jason says—and he stays just long enough for Lee’s apprentice and little brother, Will, pull a twig out of dark hair.

 Jason sprints to the Big House. On his way back to the infirmary, he watches as both eagles spread their wings and shriek, glowering at him. Jason cringes, staring at them with hesitation.

 The door opens, and Will pokes his head out curiously. He stares up at the rooftop and mimics Jason’s expression. “You think they’re going to stay long?”

 “Hard to say,” Jason mumbles uncomfortably. He takes a thoughtful step towards the infirmary and the eagles make another sound of displeasure. A loud moan comes from the infirmary—childish and feeble, and the eagles suddenly cock their heads to that instead. Jason takes the distraction to climb the porch steps and sighs with relief. “Guess it depends on how long this kid wants to stay.”

 Will pats his shoulder sympathetically. “We’ll find an animal that likes you eventually.”

 *

 New campers, of course, fall under the jurisdiction of Cabin Eleven, and Connor and Travis insist that this new kid already imprinted on Jason, despite not being the head counselor. Jason knows that this kid is recovering from whatever journey brought him to Long Island and the last thing he needs is to be at the mercy of the Stoll Brothers’ pranks, so he halfheartedly agrees.

 The storm subsides pretty quickly after the kid arrives, and business seems to resume as usual. People are already placing bets on what cabin this kid belongs to—if he belongs to any cabin, and Jason tries very hard not to hope that this kid belongs in the cabin that the eagles and the obnoxious storm suggest.

 He spends most of the time in the infirmary, passing on his sword-training classes to Clarisse—and the boy wakes up just long enough to be spoonfed ambrosia and change into a clean shirt and pants. Every day, they find at least one twig in his hair while they’re not looking. He doesn’t speak very much at first—eventually Will and Lee decide to just let Jason handle this kid on his own to tend to other campers who are at the mercy of Clarisse’s sword training.

 On the third day of this kid’s arrival, Jason walks up the porch of the med bay and the eagles squawk angrily, per usual. Jason opens the door and notices the kid perk at his arrival, in contrast to the screaming eagles.

 “You feeling any better?” Jason asks.

 The blue eyes stare at him carefully, then nod. He squints thoughtfully at Jason, then speaks for the first time since arriving during the storm the other day. “They keep screaming death when you walk by.”

 Jason blinks. “They?”

 The boy gestures to the roof. “Lark and Sparrow.”

 Blond eyebrows furrow together. “Who?”

 “Lark and Sparrow,” the boy repeats.

 It takes a moment, but Jason’s eyebrows raise, puzzled. “You mean the eagles?”

 “Yeah.” The boy nods, then pauses. “They had an older sister—Cloud, but—well, she…” The boy’s eyes moisten and his gaze falls to his hands sadly. “She didn’t make it.”

 Oh. Jason doesn’t quite consider it a superpower, but he can pick up on the tone of a mourning soul, even if it’s for an eagle. Lark and Sparrow, the eagles (Jason doesn’t think he’ll ever get his mind wrapped around that) clearly love this little boy very much. Unfortunately, no one at camp speaks bird, and they’ve gone almost a week now not knowing this boy’s story—even if he wants to tell it.

 Jason retrieves a stool, setting aside the ambrosia sundae. “Do you…want to tell me about Cloud?”

 The boy raises his head curiously, evidently surprised to be encouraged, and then nods. “Cloud was their leader. She’s the one that found me first in—in the accident. And then she promised me that the four of them would get to camp. She—” His voice cracks. “—she couldn’t keep that promise.”

 Jason flashes a look of concern. After a few meals of ambrosia and clean clothes, the boy looks better, but feeling better is another story entirely.

 “Lark’s a good listener though, I think she makes Sparrow feel better,” the boy continues.

 The edge of Jason’s lip curls.

 “What?” the boy asks, and he blinks.

 “Nothing—I’m glad they got you here safe. I’m sure Cloud is proud,” Jason reassures. He reaches for the ambrosia sundae and at this point, the boy knows it’s for him. “I’ve never met birds that were named after other birds.”

 The boy shrugs nonchalantly. “Names are names. Did you know that Hades named his dog Spot?”

 Jason makes a face, watching as this boy pluck a cherry off the sundae and plop it in his mouth. Of all the deities the boy could have chosen (before they checked to see if he actually understands what’s going on—the death of Cloud the Eagle seems to suggest he does.) “I’ve—actually never thought about it that way.”

 “It just sounds cooler because it’s Greek,” the boy says. “Like your name. Otherwise, people would be walking around calling you Healer.”

 “I’m. Sorry, what?”

 “Your name,” the boy repeats, and it’s impossible not to stare at the bits of whipped cream at the corner of his lip. “Jason.”

 “You know my name,” Jason says slowly, on eyebrow arched in the air. This boy has been silent for the last two days, taking in his environment with wide, curious eyes. Jason had seen the boy’s mouth drop when Grover had come to check on him.

 The boy’s cheeks flush, and he quickly nods. “I heard the other two say it.”

 The other two, the boy said. Not Lee and Will. Jason blinks once again. “You know my name and you know the meaning behind my name.”

 “It was in the Argonaut Expansion pack,” the boy continues. “The trivia in the wrapper.”

 Much like Lark and Sparrow, Jason tries to connect the dots in his head. “You mean Mythomagic?”

 The sundae falls from the boy’s hands, and to Jason’s surprise, those blue eyes suddenly glitter with excitement. “You know Mythomagic? Do you play? Do you have a favorite character?”

 He’s vibrating in his seat, and Jason actually leans back to keep ice cream from falling on him. Jason reaches over and dabs the melted ice cream with a tissue. “I’ve dabbled. You’ll see some of the other kids playing Mythomagic here. It helps them understand our world better. Our—hey. So. Do you…understand how you got here? What’s going on?”

 The boy stares at him, puzzled, evidently confused.

 “So you and I—this entire camp,” Jason says slowly, “we’re halfbloods.”

 “Halfbirds?”

 “Halfbloods,” Jason corrects. “Demigods. It means that we’re half human, half—”

 “Half god,” the boy finishes with an excited whisper. His eyes glitter again. “Like Mythomagic.”

 “Yeah, exactly like Mythomagic—”

 “Oh my god,” the boy says again—and the way he vibrates in the bed would make Jason think he was never healing in the first place. “My dad was a god? Oh my dad!”

 Jason stares at the boy in surprise. For a kid that had emerged from the forest covered in blood and spoils, this is the quickest he’s ever seen a demigod recover from learning about their parentage. This kid is acting just like he sounds—a kid—and is now grinning from ear-to-ear.

 “Who’s your parent? Apollo? Aphrodite?” The boy claps his hand on the mattress, then leans close to Jason with a gasp. “It’s Thanatos, isn’t it? That’s why Lark and Sparrow keep screaming death!”

 “Um, Hades, actually—” Jason peels the ice cream sundae away from the bed before it can spill, unable to hide his surprise. Most people didn’t list gods outside the main twelve, let alone mention his dad’s lieutenant of all people. He expects the boy to gulp and shirk away at first—like other kids did when they realized they were suddenly standing with the child of the King of the Dead, but the boy’s hand fall and he stares at Jason with even more fascination.

 “He has 4000 attack power,” the boy whispers in amazement. “5000 if someone else attacks first.”

 Jason blinks, yet again confounded by this boy’s enthusiasm. “Yeah—I think I heard that. You’re not…scared?”

 The boy doesn’t hear him. Instead, he’s mumbling again, evidently still stuck on Jason’s parentage with utter amazement. He falls silent, then looks back up to Jason with hopeful eyes. “Can we hold a funeral for Cloud?”

 This time, Jason’s lips fold into the familiar shape, aching almost, into the first smile that he’s had in a long time. “Is that what you want?”

 The boy nods up and down. “A funeral for Lark and Sparrow’s sister, and maybe a funeral for my—” The boy cuts himself off, the excitement suddenly waning. Jason can see it in the boy’s expression, something hitting him like a freight train, and it looks more solemn and more mournful than it did for Cloud.

 Oh. This boy has seen death recently—and not just for the sister of someone else.

 Jason reaches out and places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Blue eyes look back up to him, sadder than the bouncing boy from before.

 “We’ll give Cloud a Grecian funeral, just like in Mythomagic,” Jason says quietly. At the M word, the boy cocks his head back up, eyebrows furrowed. “And another for whoever else needs one. Whenever you’re ready.”

 The boy sniffles, his eyes swelling with tears once more.

 “Whenever you’re ready,” Jason repeats.

 “Okay.” To his surprise, the boy throws his arms around Jason like the first day, vice grip and all.

 Jason hesitates—but then folds his arms around the other boy, patting sympathetically as he hears the sniffles grow louder.

 *

 After Will and Lee give the okay, Jason plans a funeral in the woods for Cloud the Eagle—which quickly goes awry from the Grecian traditions that he had planned when Nico explains Lark and Sparrow’s constructive notes. Two of the notes include burying part of their sister “like humans do”—with things that she held dear. Nico whips a feather out of his hair, insistent that it came from the late bird, and explains that Cloud’s favorite items included bird seed and bottle caps.

 Thus, Jason instructs Nico to fill a lunch box with bird seed and bottle caps (there’s a small intermission where Jason watches Nico lecture Lark and Sparrow about eating their sister’s afterlife food) before placing the eagle feather gingerly on top, then listens to Nico and the birds deliver a eulogy for their fallen comrade.

 Grover plays the reedpipes as they lower the lunch box into the ground, and daffodils sprout over the mound. He’s touched, of course, that someone would care enough to want to hold a funeral for an animal of nature.

 “Will Charon accept bird seeds?” Nico asks worriedly.

 Jason doesn’t miss the way Grover suddenly squawks on the reed pipes, evidently amused by the question. He places a hand on Nico’s shoulder, not missing the way that Nico inches closer into his bubble. “Um, animals are out of Charon’s jurisdiction.”

 Nico frowns, clearly upset.

 “They usually get reincarnated. Sometimes as plants, or as new animals,” Grover explains. Jason has to hold back a sigh of relief—he doesn’t know how much more he can talk about death, but Grover is charmed enough. He gestures to the eagles. “Maybe a lark. Or a sparrow. Or—”

 “Or a raven?” Nico asks.

 Grover nods sagely, flashing a look that Jason has always received growing up. Then he ruffles Nico’s hair. “You sure know your birds, Nico.”

 Nico shrugs, the worry about Cloud not reaching the Underworld dissipating. Then, he notices what Jason has been wary of since the young demigod’s arrival. Nico gestures to Lark and Sparrow, who’d given Jason the stink eye since arriving at camp. “Why don’t they like you? They keep calling you the Deathbringer.”

 Jason cringes, and he notices Grover do it too. “Yeah—well, animals aren’t fond of me. They sense death.”

 Another frown curls against Nico’s lips, and the next look that the flashes his birds causes them to behave and stand erect. “But you just helped them bury their sister.”

 “Yeah, tell them that,” Grover mutters, and he nudges Jason affectionately.

 “I am,” Nico assures, and he climbs to his feet. The eagles squawk nervously—and then Nico turns around, his blue eyes fully on Jason. “And you’re so cool.”

 Grover spills into a grin, and Jason’s eyebrows raise in confusion. He can hardly call spending the afternoon filling a lunch box with bird seed and fending off grouchy birds cool. “You think I’m cool?”

 Unabashed, this boy stares at Jason with the same intrigue as he did when Jason started comparing Mythomagic to their lives. “The coolest.”

 Red flourishes in Jason’s cheeks, and Grover is elbowing him again. Before he can open his mouth, Nico turns to his pet eagles, hands on his hips like a doting mother.

 “If you two can’t respect Jason for holding a funeral for Cloud,” Nico says in his best parenting tone, “then scram.”

 Both birds make a sound, evidently shocked, but Nico places a hand in front of him, halting their speech.

 “No,” Nico says, “I’ll be okay here. Please go home.”

 Jason watches in utter disbelief as both birds pick themselves up, glaring at him, before flying away.

 Grover pats him on the shoulder. “You don’t want to know what they said.”

 Nico falls to his knees again and pets the daffodils over Cloud’s makeshift grave. His eyebrows furrow together, evidently troubled at the departure of their friends, but seems set on his decision.

 When he gets over his stupor, Jason clears his throat and walks up behind Nico, finally able to get close to this little grave that he helped make without prying eagle eyes. He kneels to the ground and pats a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s get you settled in at Cabin Eleven.”

#jasico #jason grace #nico di angelo #fic #dearly departed #au of an au #trying to find that writing bug while life is hectic

[croesow]

@flock-keeper​ asked: i’d like to know where you came from, what your life was.

                ❝  I was in Rocket for a little under six years. Not out of any love for the cause, but ‘cause they already had all of Kanto under their thumb anyway. What’s the point of fightin’ if you’re only going to get wrestled into submission anyway, right? I didn’t need that humiliation on top of everything else. So I sought them out, joined willingly.  ❞

A deep sigh rattles out from his chest, weary and resigned. His past was something he never even liked thinking about, so forcing himself to vocalise these thoughts now was more of a challenge than he’d first expected. But... It would be better this way. He couldn’t, no- he didn’t want to maintain a friendship founded on deception or secrecy.

                ❝  It was fuckin’ terrible, of course. Just a lotta sadists running a circus of kids who have nothing better waiting for them outside. After a point you start to get used to seeing people roughed up, coming into the dorms with some new bruises or a poorly-bandaged cut. You don’t get involved: their problems ain’t your business. You have to learn to get used to violence and pray you’re not the one on the receiving end tomorrow.  ❞

                ❝  The only person I had watching my back was this other kid, Jason. He came from a town near me, dropped out of school just like I did, and joined around the same time too. Birds of a feather, we were.  ❞

Argo allows a soft smile to slip onto his face, the edges weighed down with the knowledge of what’s still to come. Talking like this made him miss his old friend all the more.

                ❝  We were great together. Got all the work done on time, kept our heads down enough to stay outta trouble, and eventually we got to the point we could start plannin’ our futures. We weren’t kids anymore: we could actually do something more useful than menial grunt work, earn some better money, maybe even catch a job international. There were rumours flyin’ around that I’d be getting a promotion soon, and he wanted to go into mechanics, start messing about with machinery.  ❞

                ❝  He... He didn’t get to, though. They killed him. I don’t even know what for-  ❞

Argo’s voice cracks, the end of his sentence swallowed up by a tiny, pained wail. A thick swallow chokes down the rest of the noises he wants to make, while the back of his hand rises to scrub roughly at his eyes. Tears are nothing to be ashamed of, but he’s not used to feeling so vulnerable.

                ❝  It’s stupid to feel betrayed, I know. Rocket were never my friends, they’d’ve just as happily come for my life the second it was convenient, but... Jason didn’t deserve that. Shot down like a dog- and after they dared talk about promoting me-  ❞

This time when his voice breaks, Argo surrenders to his feelings and finally lets the tears fall. His body shakes with repressed cries, his teeth digging firmly into his bottom lip as he fights to stay as silent as possible. This isn’t the first time he’s told this story, and yet this is the most affected he’d ever gotten. Usually these overwhelming waves of helplessness don’t hit until he’s alone, when it’s finally safe to expose his vulnerabilities and soothe his wounded soul.

It takes a long while, but eventually Argo straightens up again, all sides of sadness gone.

                ❝  Circumstances lead me here eventually. Finished the League, earned my Trainer License, and decided to stay on as a staff member. That’s the Story of Argo, tragedy ‘n all. ❞

#↪ answered asks. #↪ you ain't seen the best of me yet; give me time and I'll make you forget the rest | gym leader argo. #death tw #flock-keeper

[redhoodssweetheart]

Goodbye Damian

Genre: Angst

Relationship: Older!Damian x Gender Neutral!Reader

Requested: Yes (REQUESTS ARE CLOSED)

Word Count: 1.3K

Warnings: Angst

Description:  Damian’s mother plans to kill you in order to eliminate what she considers a distraction for him.  You are forced to fake your death and leave Damian behind for yours and his safety.

A/N: I may do a part two to this. 

BEFORE

Damian scooped you up into his arms as you tried to escape.  Your laughter echoed across the open space of the yard.  Damian was smiling as he held you closer to his body, his face buried in your neck as he placed soft kisses there.  Both of you felt happy at that moment.  It seemed like nothing could bring the two of you down.

Bruce watched from the window, a sad smile on his face.  Selina came up beside him and looped her arms around him.  “How are we going to play this?”  She asked as she looked up at him.

Bruce’s eyes drifted closed and he let out a sigh, “I don’t want to do this.  I can’t take away his happiness.”

“If you don’t then his mother will.  The intel is clear, she wants to hurt Y/N.  She thinks that they’ve become a distraction to Damian, and will do everything she can to eliminate the threat.”  Selina didn’t want to do this either, but it was protecting you and Damian or having Damian’s mother destroy her son’s happiness and turn him into a monster.

“I know, but he’s just so happy, how can I be the reason that it’s taken from him?”

“But you’re not,” Selina insisted.  “Talia is.  She’s the reason that Damian is going to have to go through this.”

Jason entered the room, “I’ll keep Y/N safe, Bruce.”  Both Selina and Bruce turned to the second oldest son of Bruce’s.  He had a grim look on his face, he liked this plan just as much as the others did.  “I want to keep Damian and Y/N safe, and as long as Talia is a threat then I’ll protect Y/N.”

Bruce nodded his head, “I know you will.  I’ll give them today to be happy, it’s the least I can do.  But then tomorrow I’ll tell Y/N what needs to be done.”

A heavy silence hung over the room as they watched you and Damian interact, two people in love and happy, but that was all about to change.

The next day Bruce called you into his office.  You wondered what he could want and worried that something serious was going on.  You knew the life that Damian and his family led, you knew how dangerous it was.  It had never stopped you from loving Damian, and you had never told a single soul who your boyfriend was.

Bruce was facing the windows of his office when you entered, “Alfred said that you wished to speak with me.”  You glanced at Selina who was sitting on the corner of Bruce’s desk as well as Jason who was leaning against the bookshelves.

Bruce turned and motioned for you to take a seat across from him.  You sat and fidgeted nervously.  “There’s no easy way to say this,” Bruce was standing in front of you now, his hands in his pockets so that you couldn’t see the way that he was shaking.  “Talia al Ghul wants you dead.”

You swallowed thickly and you felt like it was hard to breathe.  Damian’s mother wanted you dead.  That was not the news that you thought you were going to hear.  “Why?”

“She views you as a distraction,” Jason said.  “And she thinks you’re hindering Damian.”

You frowned, “Hindering him?  From what?”

“Taking his place as the next Ra’s,” Selina supplied.  “Damian was meant to become the next leader of the League, then he came here and look at where he is.”

You shook your head trying to wrap your head around what this meant, “Then why doesn’t he go after the rest of you?”

“She would incite a war with the Justice League,” Bruce said.  “Something she doesn’t want.  She doesn’t need that type of attention on her.”

“But I’m fair game because I’m a simple civilian, but she has to know that Damian would come for her,” you pointed out.  “He wouldn’t let it slide that his mother killed the love of his life.”

“That’s why she would make it look like an accident,” Jason told you.  “So we just have to beat her to the punch.”

The realization sank in of what they were asking you, “You want me to fake my death, don’t you?”

They all nodded their heads solemnly.  Bruce was the one that hit you with the hardest news of it all.  “Y/N, you won’t be able to tell Damian that you’re alive.  He can’t know.  His reactions have to be genuine.”

Your heart dropped, “No.”

“Y/N, we’re sorry,” Selina began.

“No you can’t ask that of me!”  You screamed, not caring if you made a scene.

Bruce knelt in front of you, pain clearly written on his face, “I’m sorry, Y/N.  If there was any other way I would do it, but I can’t.  This is how it has to be.  I can’t imagine the pain it will bring both of you, but just know I’m going to try and stop Talia, I’ll make it so that you can come back.  I promise.” 

Jason put a hand on your shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Y/N.  I’ll be with you, I can tell you how Damian is doing.  I’ll make sure that you’ll be okay.”

You sat there letting it all sink in.  You looked at each of them and said, “All right.  How does this need to happen?”

AFTER

Damian stood beside your grave and just stared down at your headstone.  The funeral had been weeks ago, but he had been here every day.  Some days he would talk to you, some days he would just stand silently.  Today was one of the days when he let himself cry, when he let out the emotions that he had been holding in since Bruce had told him that you had passed in a car crash.

It didn’t make any sense to him.  How could you just be gone?  You had been in his arms in his room as the two of you discussed the future.  You were going to move out into an apartment together, maybe get another dog.  There was even talk of maybe adopting kids like his father had and raising a new generation of vigilantes for Gotham.

Now that was just gone.

And all that was left was a void in Damian’s soul.  A void that you used to fill.

He still found himself talking as if you were still alive.  He would pause mid sentence and backtrack.  The others tried to say it was okay if he talked about you as if you were still alive, but he would shake his head and continue on with his thought.  He couldn’t pretend that you were still alive.  He couldn’t give himself that false hope.

He screamed and dropped to his knees, resting his head against your gravestone.  “Why?!”  He screamed.  “Why you?!”

On a hill hidden by some trees you and Jason stood together.  You swiped at your tears with the back of your hand.  “I wish I could say something to him,” you whispered.  “I wish I could tell him things were going to be okay.”

Jason rested a gentle hand on your shoulder, “He’ll heal, and when he learns the truth then he’ll understand that we did this to protect you.  Damian would agree that your safety comes first.”  He let his hand drop, “I’m heading back to my bike.  I’ll give you a few minutes alone with him, just don’t do anything stupid okay?”

You simply nodded and Jason’s presence disappeared from beside you.  Damian had gotten back up and was heading to his bike.  He looked toward where you were standing as if sensing your eyes on him.  He took a step toward the hill and you quickly retreated.  This was for his own good.

Damian narrowed his eyes, had he been imagining things or were you actually there?  He sighed and made his way back to his bike.  Someday he would see you again.  Someday his pain would stop.  He just wished he knew if you were safe and happy wherever you were.

#Damian Wayne x Reader #Damian Wayne x Reader angst #Damian Wayne #Damian Wayne fanfic #Damian Wayne fanfiction #Damian Wayne angst #DC Comics #DC Comics fanfic #DC Comics fanfiction #DC Comics angst #Requested