#if they INSIST of having Jack as a donor

[phantomrose96]

Familiar Corpse

Vlad Masters’ housephone rang for the first time in 20 years.

Vlad jolted. It was a noise so starkly unfamiliar that he looked to his cellphone first, then the shut off television, both black and wholly silent. Quiet followed, and Vlad sat in his muddy confusion, eyes roving across the empty study, until the second ring of the phone clicked into memory, and he recognized the sound.

Vlad smiled.

He placed his heady romance novel pages-down. He adjusted both his glass of wine and Maddie the cat so that he could disentangle himself from the armchair. He stood, and followed the phone’s offbeat tittering, its imitation of clambering metal, and snagged it from the line just before the third ring died.

“Hello?” Vlad said, cradling the receiver to his ear, cushioned in the fringes of his bathrobe.

“Vlad, hello,” that lovely lovely voice answered. “It’s Maddie.” As if it could have been anyone else.

“Oh, Maddie! This is a pleasant surprise, my dear.”

This phone line was not Vlad’s business line. This was the line reserved for friends and family only—which was to say, for Maddie only. Sure, she’d shared the number with Jack, though he insisted purely on texting Vlad’s cell. To stay “hip.” To “trend with the kids.” Jack had not texted him in a long while.

“Sorry to be bothering you so late, Vlad. It’s just—"

“Oh no bother at all!” Vlad traded the phone between hands. “I feel like it’s been ages since we’ve last spoken. How are you? Wonderful as always, I imagine.”

“I’m… not so great, actually, Vlad.” Maddie answered, and Vlad could have scoffed. A remarkable understatement, given what Vlad knew, and what Maddie did not know he knew. “It’s… I’d like your opinion—your expertise—on something. It’s… it’s important. Jack and I don’t know who else to turn to.”

“Ohhhhh,” Vlad sucked air through his teeth, “now I am quite busy. The McGovern merger is going through by end of the month and with the re-election campaign and everything--”

“Lunch? Just.. lunch? An hour or two of your time. Really. I can make it fast.”

“My dear I would so love for all of us to meet up like old times but I really cannot overstate how busy I am with--.”

“I won’t bring Jack.”

Vlad fell quiet, smile cracking unseen on his lips. He wasn’t even here to play this game, but he was a man who so loved being handed a victory.

“Just us. Just us two, Vlad. You can pick the place.”

“Oh now that does make things a touch more convenient. You see I already have a reservation for two set up at a nice little spot near the campaign office tomorrow,” Vlad lied. “It was going to be a quick little affair with one of my donors, but, I am sure they can reschedule.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Just tell me the place and time, I’ll be there.”

“Oh don’t even fret. I’ll send a driver to pick you up. Expect him around 11:30. Anything I should know before our… consultation?”

Maddie fell silent.

“…No. No, I don’t think so. I don’t want to give you anything that might… make you jump to any conclusions. I think I need to explain it all at once.”

“I understand completely, my dear. Wear something red, won’t you? It’s a stunning color on you.”

“Sure. I’ll—11:30? I’ll keep an eye out. Here. For the driver.”

“Yes, 11:30. Until then~”

Vlad hung up, and he ruminated on what he’d agreed to—or perhaps instigated.

This was a matter of clinical curiosity. After all, he was tabling his pursual of Maddie for the time being. A project on hold—cooled, but not soured, he assured himself, as he did not care enough about what happened to feel truly sour.

Vlad suppressed a small laugh. It was funny almost, powerfully ironic, how ideal this situation would have been to him 2 weeks earlier. But it was tainted by the knowledge of what Maddie wanted to discuss.

Vlad knew, and the swaths of blood stains on the carpet knew, which neither bleach nor vinegar had been able to fully lift from its fibers.

…

Sunlight fell like waterfalls through the second-story bay windows of Le Petit Capot. The tables were well-spaced, private despite the vastly open floors. Each was decorated with a satin white table cloth, napkins folded into roses, candles brand new and unlit. A string quartet played near the fountain, a dash of ambient background noise and mindfully polite chatter from the tables already seated. Vlad sat, confident and eager, perusing the wine menu and wondered whether Maddie might be jealous of everything she’d missed out on when Vlad ordered the most expensive bottle on the list.

“Sir.”

Vlad raised his eyes. The host approached, pulling out the second chair from Vlad’s table and gesturing to it. He watched Maddie enter from behind, clad in a stunning red dress whose creases suggested it had lived in her closet for the better part of many years. Vlad took another small victory in how so very out of place Maddie was here. Stunning, beautiful, yes. But she could not carry herself well. She shifted visibly in her dress. They were different creatures, clearly, she and Vlad.

“Thank you,” Maddie took her seat, and the host bowed and exited.

“Wine menu, my dear,” Vlad handed over the menu as though offering a business contract. “I am already intending to order this cabernet,” Vlad said, tapping the priciest item on the list. “We can order a second bottle of course, if anything else catches your eye.”

The wine list did not catch her eye. They were too tired and dull and lifeless for much at all to catch their attention.

“No thank you.”

“Appetizers, then? I know escargot can be a bit cliché in this kind of establishment, but if you’ve never had truly superb—”

“I think I should just. Get started.” Maddie’s hands had vanished beneath the tablecloth, but Vlad could tell she was wringing them out of sight from the uncomfortable shift and shuffle of her arms. Her eyes darted about. Her voice dropped. “Since you’re… busy. I don’t want to waste time.”

“Just the cabernet then. And the escargot, for the table.” Vlad flagged the waiter over. Maddie avoided looking at either of them as Vlad ordered.

“Now then—” Vlad leaned forward, one arm out and palm up, inviting conversation. “You seem quite bothered. What is it you’d like to tell me?”

“Danny’s dead.”

Maddie’s eyes refused to find his as she spoke. Vlad arched an eyebrow, less surprised by the statement as much as he was by its bluntness, by its phrasing. Not “a ghost.” Not “Phantom.” Dead.

“My… my goodness,” Vlad said, constructing whatever kind of faux reaction an uninvolved, non-half-ghost billionaire may have. One who did not already know every detail of what Maddie intended to divulge today. “Oh my sweet dear. I’m devastated. I saw him just a few days ago it feels like.” Vlad reached a hand out, and he pulled Maddie’s right arm up above the table, cradling her hand in his. “When did this happen?”

“Last week. Sometime. I don’t know precisely.”

And Vlad faltered. He was not usually one to falter, but he’d come to this meeting knowing everything, and the everything he knew would not have included an answer like that. “A year ago,” she should have said. “When Jack and I built the portal,” she should have said.

So she was lying to him then, maybe, Vlad thought, a bit colder. An odd choice for a woman who’d come absolutely begging to him for help.

He let none of this show on his face.

“My god. Did he go missing? My Dear you should have told me sooner. I could have had the whole town’s forces out searching for him. I’d have dropped my re-election responsibilities in a second if—”

“Can I… explain please? Can I just explain?” Maddie whispered. Vlad nodded, and rubbed his thumb in circles along her hand, still grasped in his.

“Last week—a week ago today—Jack and I captured Phantom. We brought him back to the lab and dissected him. To study him.”

The rhythm of Vlad’s thumb faltered. He kept it off his face, but it soured something in him, deeper and worse, to hear how few words it took her to say it. How clinical it was, the way she said it.

Vlad remembered it differently.

The desperate slamming pounding on his front door from a boy too weak to phase through. Arms hugged deathly tight around midsection as the only pressure holding organs inside. The whole front of his suit torn away, skin peeled and the whites of his clothing dyed black with rusted crimson and crusted ectoplasm. And the noise—the attempt at speaking—the look in his eyes which was so far gone—the elements which Vlad could not remember without the memories clamping like a fist around his entrails.

Vlad swallowed it all down. His heart rate was rising, and that was silly, as he had nothing to be worked up about.

“Phantom escaped. Jack and I were taking a break, and a cuff was loose—Jack had meant to fix it before, but must have forgot—and it. When we came back down into the lab, Phantom was gone.”

Vlad nodded, staring with an expression he was making sure looked rapt. He was studying her face. He was finding she hadn’t aged quite as well as he’d always thought. That rapturous beauty that had held him throughout college had gone somewhere.

“That—by itself, missing a subject. It wasn’t a problem. Ghosts have escaped before. It happens. Jack and I didn’t think too deeply about it.” Maddie glanced to the right. The waiter hovered against the other wall, wine bottle in hand. He’d read the atmosphere of the table and tried to tuck himself away until a good moment. Maddie sighed. She pulled her hand from Vlad’s. She stared down as she spoke, quieter. “I never… thought Phantom was a vengeful spirit. …I was wrong. God. I was wrong. If I could have just destroyed him on the table. …If Jack and I had never captured him.”

Vlad was glad, in the moment, that Maddie would not meet his eyes. There was emotion bleeding through on his own face which he could not wipe away.

(“I have to tell them, right…? That it’s me…?” Danny, stitched back together to the best of Vlad’s ability, kept alive with the entanglement of machines Vlad had once used to incubate Danny’s clones. He could only speak when the machine breathed for him. A rasp instead of a voice. Eyes too dry to cry, dehydrated and spent from all the screaming and sobbing Vlad had not been around to witness, and could only imagine. “I can’t hide this. They’re gonna know…”)

“Maddie… my dear… I’m—perhaps not quite following—it sounds like you mean—”

“Phantom killed Danny,” Maddie said, and she said it with no emotion in her voice, because the alternative was to fall completely apart.

“That’s—”

“It’s worse,” Maddie said, her voice wavering. “He took Danny’s body. And he told Jazz—told all of us—that Jack and I did this to him. To Danny. He’s still walking around. In Danny’s body. Pretending to be Danny. Jack and I know the truth of course but he has Jazz convinced. Jazz believes it. She thinks Phantom was Danny, that it’s been him all along, and she doesn’t know that Danny—and she thinks that we—Jack and I—thinks that we—”

Maddie’s breath hitched. She was pale now, so starkly pale against the sequin red of her dress and breathing all too quickly. The waiter with the wine retreated. Despite the open air, Vlad felt a pressure closing in around his chest.

(“It’s…………….. going okay.” Danny flinched as Vlad threaded another stitch. It took too much effort on Vlad’s part to align the needle with how badly Danny’s body trembled. It wasn’t because of the stitches. Danny’s body trembled on its own, perpetually, for the last four days. As if it had forgotten how not to, as if those untold hours on the dissection table had broken him into this state. “It was scary when I—thought I couldn’t actually convince Mom and Dad but… Jazz convinced them. They get it, I think. That it’s me. …They haven’t attacked me, you know, haha? …..It’s awkward. I think they’re sorry. It’s weird. ….I think it’s okay.”)

“This is Phantom’s revenge for what we did to him. He killed our son. And no one knows but Jack and me… and you, now. Danny’s dead and I can’t even bury my son… It’s Phantom, now. Reminding us every single moment of what we did to him. And we have to pretend like—because Jazz is there. He turned Jazz against us. She believes Jack and I did this to Danny. We tried to explain but she just thinks we’re trying to avoid the blame. Like it’s denial.” Maddie dropped her forehead to her palm, elbow on the table, holding herself up. “I can’t tell Jazz that her baby brother’s dead. She won’t believe me anyway. I can’t have a funeral for my baby boy. I have to look at his corpse every single day and pretend it’s him, and not the monster that killed him.”

Maddie’s body trembled, and the sight of it was all too familiar to Vlad.

“Jack and I don’t sleep. We don’t eat. That thing lives in our house and our baby boy is dead. And I’m begging you, Vlad, to please tell me what to do.”

Maddie looked up, and the disquiet on Vlad’s face was hopefully not out of place with whatever she expected of him.

“Surely,” Vlad said, mouth dry, “there are ways to prove if it is or isn’t Danny. There must be… a million things Danny would know, which Phantom would not.”

“He’s in Danny’s body, Vlad. He has access to all of Danny’s memories right there. He can read any memory he needs right from Danny’s own brain…” Maddie’s voice caught. “And he can overwrite other people’s memories with possession. Physically, he has Danny’s body. Mentally, he has Danny’s mind. And there is absolutely nothing Jack and I can do to prove he’s not Danny.” Maddie fell quiet a moment, eyes dropping. “And if we go after him the only way we can—as a ghost—Jazz will think we killed our little boy. His friends, too. Do we do that…? Do we just do that, and destroy him, and lose Jazz right after we lost Danny…? Or do we live with the monster. Forever.”

(“It’s… I can’t really tell what they think. It’s maybe more awkward now but, it’s getting better in some ways, maybe, I think. I don’t really spend any time alone with them… or talk about the—haha—the uh—” Danny let out a stressed laugh, blinking away tears as he ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t really talk about the—not yet. Maybe eventually. Maybe we’re—I think we’re healing. Slowly, I think. It’s okay. I’m gonna figure out how to forgive them and it’ll be okay.”)

Vlad wasn’t speaking.

Vlad needed to speak.

“Maddie, I… My dear I hear what you’re saying. But what if—well—if he is so physically and mentally indistinguishable from Danny, what if he simply is Danny? It’s—what would this be—a half-human half-ghost hybrid of sorts? From my research I feel that could be distinctly possible—”

Vlad met Maddie’s eyes, and the pain in them silenced him immediately.

“…Not you too,” Maddie breathed. “Did he get to you already? Overshadow you already?”

“Maddie my love I am not overshadowed.”

“But he’s gotten to you first somehow, hasn’t he…?”

Vlad did not speak. He did not speak, and he thought of the blood lingering in his mansion carpet and the gore he’d seen inside his laboratory walls and the dead dead dead eyes of the boy coming back, day after day, clinging to the same exhausted hopefuls of “It’s getting better...” “It’s getting better...” “It’s getting better...”

The waiter set down the wine bottle, hurrying through a speech about its origin before Vlad raised a hand to dismiss him, and with clear shining relief the waiter bowed out. Vlad had not so much as looked at him. He was staring at Maddie. And she was staring back.

Maddie pushed her seat back, and she set her napkin on the table.

“Sorry to bother you about this, Vlad. You’re much too busy. Forget you ever heard any of this.”

She went quietly. Vlad watched her back disappear without so much as a word.

There was proof, surely, for the existence of half ghosts. There was proof directly within his reach, inside him, which could be shown at a moment’s notice.

But the crimes of Vlad Plasmius ran numerous and deep. It was not a decision to make lightly. It was not a decision to make at all for the broken shards of a family Vlad was no longer interested in pursuing—for a broken woman who’d lost her charm and a son too fractured for Vlad to ever proudly call his own.

Besides, what might it mean to Maddie to see Vlad become such a creature before her eyes? What might that make Vlad to her, if not simply another vengeful ghost in another familiar corpse?

#danny phantom #dp fanfiction #had an idea (evil) #gore tw #horror tw

[ladyredmoon13]

DCxDP promt

The Baby Bank

- I think I'm watching to much paternity court. Can be written as a female Danny fic.

A world-renowned fertility clinic and sperm bank have made headlines worldwide for all of the wrong reasons. Apparently, they had been stealing samples from men for almost two decades, and it wasn’t just any men they were collecting from. Wealthy men of power such as actors, senators, and billionaires were all targeted specifically by the facility.

Billionaires like Bruce Wayne, who's name had been leaked to the media just after the story went global. His kids were on the verge of having an emergency family meeting about Bruce's lack of proper protection before the clinics 'methods' of 'sample gathering' came to light.

So they decided to just leave it be after that. Still, they decide to help B find any possible Waynes out there. After all if they were family, then they were family.

To start, Tim hacked into the clinic's systems and tracks down Bruce's files. It takes longer than expected, as it turned out the unwilling/unknowing donors were all hidden in amongst the fertility files.

With a bit of reading they find out that Bruce's sample was only used a handful of times. But due to outside circumstances out of the clinic's control only one child was alive and well at that time.

The only problem was that B was not the only unknowing donor for that child. Reading the patient file showed that the samples were experimentally mixed before fertilizing the patients egg. Who the hell would think that was a good idea was still up in the air but it still didn't change the fact that it was still a 50/50 chance of them being Lex Luthors child.

Cue Danny Fenton just a couple of months after losing his/her friends and family finding out that she was one of those donor babies everyone was talking about. Vlad is shocked but reassured that everything was going to be ok.

They send Danny’s DNA for testing but insisted that it be done by one of his labs to prevent tampering. (and to keep Danny’s halfa status under the table.) Of course Vlad being Vlad gets the courts involved because even though he was appointed Danny’s legal guardian.

If either man can prove that Danny is, in fact, their child. Then Vlad will have no power to stop them from taking him/her away from him.

So the court day comes and Danny is just a mess. He/She feels that everything is just stacking up higher and higher to just fall right on top of him/her.

The results were in and confirmed Danny’s fears. Jack Fenton, the man who raised him/her; was not the father. Danny is devastated and Vlad comforts Danny the best he can, but knows that it was going to get worse before it ever got better.

The judge handling the proceedings was nice enough to pause the hearing to let Danny cry. Bruce wants nothing more than to comfort the teen and his maybe child. One glance over in Luthors direction confirmed the same.

No matter the outcome of today's ruling Danny's life will be forever charged. Danny just wants to wake up from this horrible dream but knows that's not an option.

So with a heavy heart, he/she composes themselves and chooses to continue with the proceedings. With a nod, the judge continues." The envelopes in my hands contain the result of the paternity tests done by DALV Co. and they read as follows..."

- I'm just going to leave the ending to you guys. However you want it to end is how it will end. But personally, I'm all for Bruce. Even though Danny being a Luthor would be interesting to say the least.

#dc x dp crossover #bruce wayne #bat family #lex luthor #paternity #court proceedings #danny fenton

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Former President Donald Trump loves calling for other people to be charged with crimes. Instead, today, he’ll be formally accused of committing a few himself.

Trump told his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, she’d “be in jail” if he won the election, in the middle of a presidential debate. He accused former President Barack Obama of committing “treason.” He slammed President Joe Biden’s “crime family.” He called a journalist a “criminal” for failing to report news Trump wanted to hear.

But today, Trump will be arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom shortly after 2:00 p.m. EST, on charges widely expected to arise from a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Now that Trump is the one being charged with a crime, Trump and his allies are blasting the move as an unacceptable politicization of the criminal justice system, overlooking the many times Trump lobbied, inside and outside the White House, for his political opponents to be investigated and criminally charged.

They’re also glossing over the fact that Trump is hardly alone among his friends: A truly staggering number of people Trump likes to pal around with—including his advisors, lawyers and top supporters—have also been found guilty of committing a wide variety of crimes, from financial fraud to lying under oath and more.

Viewed in that light, Trump is just the latest of his friend group to catch a case.

Trump’s longtime Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg, is currently wrapping up a five-month sentence in the notorious Rikers Island prison complex after entering a guilty plea on 15 criminal counts ranging from grand larceny to tax fraud.

Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen is now expected to be a prime witness against Trump at the former president’s upcoming criminal trial. Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax evasion and orchestrating unlawful contributions to Trump’s presidential campaign. Cohen said he was directed by Trump to set up hush money payments to women who said they slept with Trump before the 2016 election. (Trump denies all charges, and has repeatedly insisted he did nothing wrong.)

Trump’s former campaign and White House advisor, Steve Bannon, was convicted of contempt of Congress last summer, and is now defending himself from a new round of criminal fraud charges related to a private non-profit group that aimed to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. New York prosecutors accuse Bannon of defrauding donors to a charity We Build The Wall. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.

Then there’s Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, who was sentenced to seven years following his convictions for financial crimes, only to be pardoned by Trump. Trump also pardoned his longtime political advisor Roger Stone, who’d been convicted at a jury trial on charges of obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering relating to the Congressional investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Even Trump’s business has been found guilty of committing crimes.

Trump’s company was convicted of all 17 criminal counts against it during a trial in late 2022, which took place in the very same courtroom where Trump’s personal criminal case is now set to play out. He’ll even have the same New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan overseeing his personal case.

Trump’s criminal drama in Manhattan, of course, isn’t the only legal jeopardy he’s facing.

He’s also being investigated by an Atlanta-area prosecutor for his attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. And a federal special counsel named Jack Smith is overseeing two investigations. One concerns whether Trump broke the law by stashing secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida; and the other concerns whether Trump committed crimes while trying to stay in power despite losing the 2020 election.

#us politics #news #vice news #2023 #donald trump #republicans #conservatives #gop #manhattan grand jury #indicted #hush money #Stormy Daniels #michael cohen #Allen Weisselberg #trump organization scandal #trump organization #Steve Bannon #Paul Manafort #Roger Stone #Judge Juan Merchan #new york #georgia election investigation #classified documents probe #YouTube #videos

[adrianasunderworld]

i'm surprised that malleus hasn't pimped slapped riddle's egg donor for messing with yuu, or the really influencial students (kalim, idia, and leona) throwing money to solve their problems (aka fire or assassinate her, whichever deals with her the quickest)

I mean in these scenarios, we have to think of reasons why these characters can't solve problem A by doing B. That would be too easy, would have no conflict ever if that were the case. Nevermind that I don't think most of them would jump to murder as a solutions right off the bat. Especially since this is still someone's mother we're talking about. For all his mommy issues, I don't think Riddle would ever want her dead.

Money and influence may solve a lot of problems but something has to hold him back. For Malleus a big thing would be not wanting to get Yuu in trouble. For how much he is willing to go to bat for them, if he steps out of line, Yuu will ultimately suffer. Yuu want's to go home, if they get kicked out of the school, away from the dark mirror, the only clue they have, Yuu can kiss their world goodbye for good. Malleus doesn't want to crush Yuus spirit like that. Maybe Yuu directly asks him not to interfere because of this, so Malleus bites his tongue.

If Idia speaks out, she may revoke his permission to have Ortho on school grounds. Maybe Kalims parents insist he stick it out because it will be bad for their families reputation if he drops out. Nevermind what Jamil will have to deal with. Leona, even if he doesn't want to admit it, does care about others. If he just bails, where will that leave Ruggie and Jack? Plus Leona likes to use cunning to solve his problems, he very vocally detest using brute force to solve problems. He knows they have to play by her rules if they want out of this scot free. Like one big game of chess.

#twisted wonderland #malleus draconia #idia shroud #kalim al asim #leona kingscholar

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

can I maybe have some trans ftm leopardstar x sasha hypokits?? :o

Warriors Ship Hypokits: FTM!LeopardstarxSasha Edition

In this AU, Tigerstar kidnaps Sasha after she tries to leave him after she discovers how awful he is and imprisons her in the ShadowClan camp. Around this time, he also begins threatening RiverClan, which was much more heavily affected by the flood than in canon and has been left incredibly vulnerable. When Tigerstar approaches RiverClan with an offer to combine their forces, he makes it clear that RiverClan has no choice in the matter and if they do not willing join him he will take them by force. When Tigerstar takes Leopardstar to the ShadowClan camp to further threaten him into complying discuss their new alliance, Leopardstar is horrified when Tigerstar introduces him to his captive "mate". Leopardstar begins trying to help Sasha as best he can while trying to undermine Tigerstar and free his clan from his influence. This all comes to a head when Tigerstar tells Blackfoot to kill Stonefur. Leopardstar gives a special signal and the entirety of RiverClan attacks. Due to the surprise nature of the attack, they win. Stonefur and Leopardstar gang up on Tigerstar and kill him nine times until he finally dies for good. Sasha is freed and understandably wants to leave after all the stuff that has happened to her but is too heavily pregnant to do so. Leopardstar lets her stay in RiverClan to birth her kits. She gives birth to and raises Hawk, Moth, and Tadpole in RiverClan. Unlike in canon, Leopardstar doesn't let anyone talk badly of her and her kits and is very protective of them. While he has developed feelings for her, he doesn't impose because she just got out of an abusive relationship. Sasha appreciates it. While she originally planned to leave after her kits were ready to be on their own, she ends up staying after catching feelings for Leopardstar. The two eventually get together after a long process. Mothwing, Hawkfrost, and Tadpolesplash are especially enthusiastic in their celebration of the relationship.

Leopardstar and Sasha have three kits together via a donor. Sasha carries the kits:

Mudlight- shaggy-furred brown point tom with amber eyes. Cis tom, gay. Named after Leopardstar's loving father Mudfur, who passed sometime before the birth of Mudlight and his siblings. Mudlight is a quiet and contemplative cat who is most often found staring off into space, completely lost in his thoughts. When he was a kit, his parents thought that something was medically wrong with him or he was experiencing visions from StarClan, but it turns out he’s only a chronic daydreamer. He makes entire worlds up in his mind and imagines how things would be in those places. Sometimes Mudlight gets a bit too-engrossed in his daydreams and walks into things or falls into nearby bodies of water, but he always picks himself right back up and starts back where he left off. He is an excellent storyteller due to his impressive imagination and his stories are enjoyed by many cats. He is a Lake-Watcher.

Brighttongue- sleek blue-gray point tolly with blue eyes. AMAB nonbinary, toric (nblm). She uses she/her pronouns. Named after Leopardstar's mother Brightsky. Brighttongue is a chatty, friendly cat with a bit of a mean streak towards the few cats she dislikes. She prefers to spend her time gossiping, and loves going to Gatherings for that reason alone. She loves learning new things and skills and is a jack-of-all trades despite technically being just a Scout. She has a lot of friends in both RiverClan and beyond who she talks to about everything under the sun. She knows the gossip in literally every Clan and will happily discuss it with anyone with no regards to consequences. She probably has a half-clan relationship (or several) during her life. Brighttongue is a Senior Warrior by the time Mediators are implemented, but she insists on becoming one until her retirement. She is a Scout, then a Mediator.

Jaguarpelt- brown spotted tabby demi-tom with blue-gray eyes. AMAB Demi-tom, asexual. He uses he/they/ae pronouns. Jaguarpelt's resemblance to Leopardstar was quite the surprise to both his parents, but was a very welcome one. Ae are a lazy cat who spends most of aer time either napping or nodding off. They often shirk their duties to nap, asking apprentices to do their work in exchange for a favor later (which is most often Jaguarpelt letting them get away with something that would get them in trouble otherwise). Leopardstar tries his best to keep his child engaged- and it works sometimes. While Jaguarpelt is basically a bum, he enjoys swimming and does it for fun when he isn’t asleep, making him surprisingly muscular and strong from the exercise. Ae are also a startlingly good climber and jumper, although ae reserve that behavior as a party trick to impress cats and startle those who think ae does nothing but sleep. They are a Diver Hunter.

#warrior cats #not rewrite related #hypokits #leopardstar x sasha

[college-girl199328]

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has told the former president he has until next week to testify in the investigation of $130,000 in "hush money" paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The Times report said that Bragg's offer was a near-certain indication that "an indictment is close." As the former president is currently campaigning for the GOP nomination in 2024, an indictment could have a significant impact on his political future, although it might not legally prevent him from seeking office.

The state of Georgia is still investigating Trump's activities following his election loss to President Joe Biden, while Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe of allegations related to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the discovery of classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida could bring federal indictments.

Although he did not mention the Times report specifically, the former leader responded to his potential indictment in a lengthy statement insisting that a plot to "take down the leading candidate" in 2024 had been hatched.

Trump, who lost to Biden by more than 7 million votes in 2020 and was nearly 3 million popular votes shy of Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite winning in the Electoral College, suggested that an indictment could be coming because Democrats "cannot win at the voter booth."

The former president then referred to Bragg while invoking the name of Democratic mega-donor George Soros, a Jewish billionaire who frequently features in far-right conspiracy theories.

"It is a weaponization of our judicial system, and I am shocked that this Soros-backed radical left prosecutor, who has allowed violent crime to reach new heights in New York without any retribution, would consider bringing such a charge against the undisputed frontrunner of one of the two major political parties in our nation," said Trump.

While Trump is the frontrunner among declared candidates, the former president's claim of being 2024's leading candidate "by far" is arguable.

GOP primary polls have been mixed when including possible challenger Ron DeSantis. However, a recent average of polls from RealClearPolitics has Biden slightly ahead of Trump in a general election rematch.

[closetednobody]

Idiot's Guide on how to : Respectfully introduce Jack as a donor (or not) with the same amount of screentime

Scene #1 (5x10) :

Carina : "...finding the right donor, doing the insemination- part of me is always afraid that if everything doesn't line up perfectly before she gets her captaincy back, it won't happen at all."

Jack : "Carina, the Maya I knew would've never even wanted to settle down for someone with the risk of losing her focus on her career. It's a miracle to see how much she wants it so badly with you. You should talk to her and hear it from her but all i can see, there is nothing that could stop the both of you."

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

Scene #2 (5x12) :

Carina : "...watch you become the man you really are. What I'm saying."

Jack : "You kinda liked me?"

Carina : "No i did not say that."

Jack : "I'm so thankful for you, Carina. Even though the tiny part of you always hate me, but you are kind and matured to even be around me and not judge me for what has happened.

I really thank you for that. And i can't wait for you and Maya to have that beautiful baby together because i am always excited to be a firefighter uncle! I'll teach them about survival, and fire safety, and -"

Carina : *looks at him while he is throwing his awkward gestures around excitedly*

Jack : *clears throat* "All I'm saying is, you are my friend, Carina and Maya is my family. I would love to be a part of your journey if you let me."

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

Scene #3 :

*Maya and Carina sit down together in the brainstorming session as mentioned in 5x11 and Carina listed Jack as one of the potential donor and THEY FCKIN TALK ABOUT IT TOGETHER!*

#maya x carina #station19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #jack gibson #i wouldn't have been so mad #and it's minimal #MINIMAL #tell me this is NOT a better way #if they INSIST of having Jack as a donor

[garciaasfluffypen]

how the bau would react to your pregnancy

pairing: jjxfem!reader  warnings: fluff. lots of it. also throw up mentions

gif credit: google

you and jj had been mutually crushing on each other for years, and finally bit the bullet and got together after she broke up with will

(you never liked will anyway, tbh)

the team most definitely had bets on when you two would take the next step, thanks to derek

it was about four years into your relationship that jj bought up that she wanted kids, and of course you did too

so without telling the team, you got to work

you found a sperm donor, went through the whole testing, and got started

jj offered to carry the baby, mainly because you were terrified at the thought of it 

“i’m a lesbian for a reason, jennifer!” 

it took about six months, but you finally got a positive test 

you were overjoyed, and broke out the bottle of sparking grape juice you had been saving to celebrate 

the team still had no idea what was going on, until about three months in

the jet ride happened to be very bumpy, and even though jj was able to hold it most of the ride back to the bureau, emily had to pull the car over to let her throw up on the side of the road 

that was exactly the reason you kept a stash of saltine crackers on you at all times

so you sneakily slipped her some as you parked in the bureau parking lot, squeezing her hand in support

a few hours passed before she rushed to the bathroom again, and this time you didn’t even hide the fact that you put the crackers on her desk

when she came back you went straight to hotch’s office to tell him personally, letting the team try and figure out what was going on

garcia was the first person to put it together

and she insisted on throwing a baby reveal party ( “i don’t say gender reveal because what if the baby doesn’t like their gender??” ) 

spencer was the last to put two and two together

and only found out because derek had to tell him jj was pregnant

hotch, as stoic as he is, gave you a lot of hand me downs from jack’s book and toy stash, and even some old bottles that he made sure he sanitized before he gave them to you 

garcia showered you with baby clothes, getting a whole array of them because she “didn’t know what color the baby was going to like, so why not get all of them?” 

derek offered to help set up the crib and everything, and even refurbish the room the baby was going to be in if needed

spencer and rossi were mainly there for moral support

emily called being the fun aunt, which she and garcia fought over for at least three hours before they both decided to be the fun aunts

you ended up having enough toys and books to last the next four years

which was good, because you definitely planned on having more kids with her

but maybe you should get married first

#jennifer jareau x reader #jennifer jareau imagine #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds x reader #an i (queue) of 187

[minim236]

Jack experiencing the occasionally lovely but mostly mortifying experience of introducing his mate to his uh, interesting, extended family.

(Who meets them first? Was it on purpose or by coincidence? One of the terror trio crashing Jacks date Who’s most welcoming, and why is it Diana? Who plays the intimidating over-protector, and is it sincere or just to torture Jack for fun?)

Jack was having a great time at university, improved by his girlfriend Sabina. She too was an Art History student who loved sketching and drawing. He had sketched her for weeks in lectures and seminars until she walked up to him and asked if she could see them.

"I had fun tonight," Sabina said with a smile, as their joined hands swung, "I cannot believe you had never been to a planetarium."

"Well, I hope we can go all the time." Jack replied, pressing a kiss to her hand. When he had told her of the sheltered years he had lived, she made it her mission to brighten him up.

"Deal. Can I stay at yours tonight?" Sabina asked. He had a flat off-campus for obvious reasons and he liked having her over, despite the fact he didn't sleep. She kept him out of his own head.

"I would like that," Jack said, then remembered something, "I don't have any food in."

"Can we go to the supermarket?" Sabina asked and Jack looked confused. She grinned, "Come, it will be fun!"

There was something peaceful about Tesco at night. He had never been, not until he found his girlfriend enjoyed it.

"You can eat nuts, right?" Sabina asked, showing him a big bag of peanuts. She was always so considerate of his diet and needs. Even the part where he needed blood.

"We're supposed to be getting food for you." Jack would pay, even when she insisted.

"Jack?" They turned to the person calling his name. It was Marcus, who had obviously come from a shift at the hospital. Jack could smell it and tensed up.

"This is Marcus. My older brother." Jack introduced nervously.

"Who is this lovely young lady?" Marcus asked, his charming grin on his face. Sabina smiled shyly at him.

"Sabina. My, um, girlfriend." Jack introduced and Marcus looked impressed.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"Phoebe - or the baby as she would say - wanted ice cream. I indulge her every whim." Marcus said, holding up a tub before placing it in the basket. Sabina looked confused. She knew his entire family were vampires.

"Donor. They wanted to have a baby before Phoebe was turned." Jack explained, "How is she? Sorry, I didn't come to dinner last week. Sabina was sick."

"I kept you from family dinner?" Sabina asked, worried. She didn't want to keep him from his family, especially knowing how much it meant to him.

"It is fine. Next time, bring your girlfriend." Marcus waved off with a smirk before walking away, "Goodnight lovebirds. Don't do anything I would."

.....

Resting under the shade of an oak tree, reading with Sabina in his arms was the perfect Saturday. It's a shame Jack was in a family of people who took pleasure in ruining other people's days.

"Jack!"

Jack's face fell as he heard the voice of Miyako de Clermont. Why on earth was she here? Sabina looked up from where she was resting in between his legs, confused at his deep sigh.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He shook his head, before kissing her cheek.

"Miyako." The woman in question appeared and smiled down at the couple.

"Hello, cousin." She smirked, "My, my. Marcus wasn't pulling a prank."

"My cousin, Miyako." Jack introduced, "This is Sabina."

"Jack!" A rough Scottish voice said from the other side, effectively trapping the couple. Gallowglass appeared, friendlier than his younger cousin.

"My other cousin, Gallowglass." It was getting harder and harder to keep the smile on his face as his girlfriend tried very hard not to laugh.

"And who is this fine little lass?" Gallowglass asked. But they knew exactly who she was. Marcus sent a text and they flew to London.

"I'm Sabina." Gallowglass kissed her hand teasingly. It was a testament to Fernando and Matthew's training that Jack didn't try to tear his head off.

"So," Miyako took the young girl by the arm, "Has Jackie here told you about us?"

"Please don't call me that-"

"A little. Though I suppose all of you are immortal, there is a lot more to tell," Sabina said.

"Good diplomatic answer." Gallowglass praised, "She'll do well against the elders."

"She isn't meeting uncle Baldwin yet." Jack insisted.

"He's right. Poor thing will be terrified." Miyako agreed, "But I told uncle Matthew, so expect a panicked phone call. Eric, I want to shop. Ciao!" She turned on her heels and walked away.

"It was more of a taunting, so expect a panicked email as well." Gallowglass added and nodded, "See you two!"

Sabina looked up at her boyfriend, "I can't tell if your cousins like you or not."

"It's a strange mixture of both. It's the only way we show affection," Jack replied.

.....

A few weeks later, Jack took Sabina home to meet his parents.

"Jack! Jack! Jack!" The twins chanted and pulled on his free arm, "Jack can we draw? We want to draw!"

"Who is this? She's pretty." Rebecca clung to the surprised young woman who hugged her back, cooing at how cute she was.

"Later." Diana gently pried them away, "Bed, babies, bed."

Sabina smiled, "It's really nice to meet you. Jack always talks about you guys."

"Well, I can see why he's kept you to himself. I understand you have had a few run-ins with other members of this family." Diana smirked.

"I like them!" Sabina said, surprising Matthew, "They all seem to care about Jack. Also, I'm a younger sibling. I understand the protectiveness."

Diana was warm and welcoming, interested in how they were both doing separately and as a couple.

On the other hand, Matthew had a more evaluative expression on his face, as if figuring out what she wanted with his son. Human, knew of Jack's blood rage and loved him anyway. He was intrigued.

"She is so sweet!" Diana squealed as soon as Sabina left the room to use the bathroom and she hugged Jack tightly, "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, mum," Jack replied, happy that Diana liked her.

They looked at Matthew, who eventually smiled reluctantly, "She's lovely. Well done."

"Now, was that so difficult? She's nicer than your other daughter in law to you." Diana teased her husband who fondly rolled his

"I am so sorry about..." They both laughed and she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning up to kiss him.

"What was that for?"

"You are cute. And your family is hilarious, if not strange. I like them," Sabina replied, "Besides, I have been putting you off meeting my mother and sister. They will not care that you are a vampire."

"I think I might prefer that," Jack replied.

#adow fic #all souls trilogy #jack blackfriars #jack blackfriars x oc #marcus whitmore #diana bishop #matthew clairmont #gallowglass de clermont #miyako de clermont

[englishstrawbie]

I don’t understand how one day Maya is saying she wants a mini Carina and the next she’s complaining that the baby will be “all Deluca and no Bishop”. Don’t the writers remember what they’ve written before? Like, make it make sense!!!!!! Anyways, I can’t wait to see how you make sense of it in Serendipity! Big love.

Haha, I feel like "make it make sense!" is turning into a popular phrase in the fandom!

I don't believe that Maya's comment about the baby being "100% Deluca and no Bishop" was about its genetics - like I said in my episode rambles, it's about control. So far, the baby stuff has all been about Carina - her desire to have a baby, her body, her egg. And I'm not suggesting that Maya has been forced into this, it took a bit of time but she is on board with the whole thing. (Yes, I know that there's the whole her-career-is-her-priority issue but she's reassured Carina every chance she's had that she's all in.) She's said several times that she is happy for Carina to use her egg and carry the baby - to Carina and to Travis & Andy. She also made it clear to Carina that it's not about the baby having her family's genes.

But Maya is someone who likes to be in control, we know that about her. So far, this whole process has been outside of her control. And when she tried to assert herself over who the egg donor should be, Carina pushed back and insisted on her choice. It was very telling that when Travis said "it's not just your baby", Maya said "it's not just hers". She wants to have some control over who this baby is going to be and choosing an anonymous sperm donor means she's loosing another element of that control, whereas using a sperm donor they know means that they go into this knowing the genetic background of both sides of where their baby comes from.

I'm not saying it's good storytelling, I've been criticising the writers all season. As I've said before, they write the characters to fit the storyline, not the storyline to fit the characters. But at least this week I understand why Maya feels like that, because they've taken the time to explain it, whereas the more frustrating part to me is that they're not giving Carina the same opportunity to explain how she's feeling. So right now we're seeing a different balance between the two of them, because Maya is the one who is being honest and open, while Carina is the one holding her feelings back - which I find quite interesting.

Let's face it, this whole episode was engineered to get Marina to the point of having the conversation about using a donor that they know - becuase that's the story that the writers want to tell. Whether they want that story to be endearing or messy, who knows - since this is Shondaland, I'm always going to suspect that they're doing it to be messy because drama and thrills. Hence why already there is a lot of annoyance at the prospect of Jack being the sperm donor, even though it hasn't happened (yet?!), because that seed has already been planted by Jack offering his sperm [no pun intended!] and no-one trusts the writers!

Serendipity is actually going to end with the wedding. I made the decision a while ago that I'm not going to continue it into season 5, for several reasons. It's already the longest fic I've ever written and the longer the fic goes on, the greater the chance that I won't complete it - especially with the way the writers are really testing my loyalty to the show and the ship. Fortunately, when I go back to season 4, I'm reminded why I love Marina so I'm still enjoying writing it and delving into the aftermath of season 3 and the start of their Covid separation. I'm also not enjoying season 5 enough to want to explore it, the whole baby stuff is just not my cuppa tea. To be honest, I don't think I could make sense of it if I tried! There have been so many episodes already this season where I'm left wondering who these characters are and whether I truly understand them.

#station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #i apparently have a lot of thoughts about this! #anon #my rambles

[oonajaeadira]

Can I be greedy and ask for another one? I thought that makeovers and in vino veritas could make for a very funny pairing. Feel free to ignore this since you already wrote for my earlier suggestion.

Hells yes. This is fun and y'all are keeping me entertained and stimulated tonight.

I'm leaning on Whiskey again for this one.

It's time for the Statesman's annual donors gala for the North Branch and Champ insists that you're flying up there with him. As the brewmistress that came up with the brand's popular new line, he's going to show you off and get you talking to the donors.

You...really don't want this. It would be bad enough to attend a gala here in Kentucky--you spend your days in lab shambles, not in business gear--but New York City is money. You can't fake it anywhere, but you feel especially ill-equipped to fake it around those rollers.

But Champ and Whiskey brush off your anxiety. Champ lays down good company dollars to get you a stylist and Whiskey asks his personal tailor to find you the best in the biz. He insists on taking you there himself and watching the process.

And you clean up pretty. Very, very pretty. Jack's always been kind to you when you've had reason to speak with him, but every stop on the way today ramps up that kindness. The hairstylist, the cosmetologist, the manicurist, the dresser. He makes sure to compliment you at every turn, and when you can't seem to take the compliment, he reminds you that he's giving it to you and it's there for you if you want it or not, call on it later if you need it. He even pulls out the stops to get you a rented statement jeweled necklace from a gallery house--one you recognize from some famous Met Gala attendee in years past, something you might have gushed about once. (He knows, he's listened.)

By the time you're assembled and ready to go standing in the stylists's studio, you're a little shaken. You thought you'd feel more confident, but you feel like everyone's going to see through you.

When Jack steps up to you, undoing his belt, that is enough to pull you out of your own worries and shock you into a wtf is going on here. But at second glance, he's not undoing his belt. He's just going for his mini-flask.

A little liquid courage. Take the whole thing, darlin'.

He's with you the whole way. Limo, stepping out, then into the gala ballroom. Whatever was in that flask was strong and you're happy and floating.

If Jack can't be with you, Champ steps in and chaperones you along, setting you up to be especially charming to the donors and prodding you to talk about the more fascinating parts of brew science, saving you anytime you might go down the nerdhole on it.

By the end of the night, Jack's back at your side and helping you home. In the limo you just laugh your ass off, still tipsy, completely relieved, surprised at how stressful it was but then really how easy they made it for you, gossiping about a few of the more eccentric donors.

And Jack just smiles at you, and tells you how supremely captivating you were, even from across the room.

You chastise him for flirting. He feigns innocence. You admit to him that he's got enough of a reputation that when he offered you his flask, your first thought was that he was removing his belt for some reason. That's what you think of when you think of Jack Daniels. Pretty girl, off with the pants.

Aaaaand...then you realize you've said too much. Oh, shit, the drink made you mouthy. Is he mad?

Surprisingly, he's not. He just laughs.

The next morning there's a delivery at your hotel room.

It's a note from Jack, telling you that the necklace is bought and paid for. It's yours. A thank you from the company for doing so well.

And a reverse IOU. "Next time I'm Kentucky, I'd like you to take me out for a makeover, find me a damn good pair of denim. Seems I keep losing them around pretty girls. Maybe you can be the one to fix that."

Trope mashup asks

#ask games #THIS ONE GOT LONG

[swanlake1998]

Article: The Paris Opéra's Diversity Report Proposes Steps Towards a More Inclusive Company

Date: February 9, 2021

By: Laura Cappelle

Five years after Benjamin Millepied was met with fierce resistance for bringing up racist practices within the Paris Opéra Ballet, the French company is finally acknowledging its lack of diversity. This week, the Paris Opéra released an official report with recommendations, commissioned in the wake of last summer's racial reckoning and increased support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

At the time, the worldwide push for social justice encouraged a group of Black and Asian employees, led by the Paris Opéra Ballet's five Black dancers [Isaac Lopes Gomes, Awa Joannais, Guillaume Diop, Letizia Galloni, and Jack Gasztowtt], to write a manifesto demanding change. Among the issues they raised were the continued use of the French n-word, a lack of tights and cosmetics for darker skin tones, and the absence of an effective anti-discrimination policy. The Paris Opéra's new general director, Alexander Neef, who arrived in September from the Canadian Opera Company, lost no time in offering support, and appointed the historian Pap Ndiaye and the civil servant Constance Rivière to lead an independent audit.

Their 66-page report, based on interviews with nearly 100 people both inside and outside the Paris Opéra, is at once measured and unequivocal. In the report, the Paris Opéra is described as "mostly a white world far removed from contemporary French society," with artists, management, board members and donors who remain overwhelmingly un-diverse. (No actual data is available, as racial statistics are strongly discouraged in France.)

Some of the report's 19 recommendations will strike observers outside France as common sense in 2021. Eliminating blackface, brownface and yellowface from the repertoire, or "opening choreographic commissions to diverse choreographers," are hardly radical moves at this point, and the Paris Opéra Ballet should arguably have committed to them a long time ago. Ndiaye and Rivière do insist on the need for more creations rooted in the classical technique, a longtime gripe of many POB aficionados, as the company tends to look to contemporary and hip-hop dancemakers to signal its openness.

POB also took action on some basic demands before the report was even released: A wider range of makeup and hair products was recently introduced (in the past Black dancers had to bring their own products), and in late January, for the first time, Black corps members wore tights that matched their skin tones during a livestream of the annual Défilé.

Other recommendations go much further. The suggestion that POB "reach out to high-level non-white artists in France and abroad to hire them into the corps de ballet," in order to "create role models," will likely be controversial within the company, as it has consistently refused to change its entrance competition system and allow for direct recruitment. Additionally, Ndiaye and Rivière focus much of their attention on the Paris Opéra Ballet School, described as "very homogeneous," with regards to its teaching staff and the very few minority children. They advocate for reform of the admittance process.

At present, the school essentially waits for students to come to it; instead, the report's authors say that it should be "more open to the outside world," step up outreach efforts, rethink its stringent physical criteria and organize auditions all around the country as well as in French overseas territories. A clash looks inevitable with the current school director, Élisabeth Platel. She has long insisted that the school is doing enough and isn't elitist because tuition is free, and recently defended the use of white face powder on Black dancers.

Platel isn't alone in France: The Paris Opéra's newfound interest in becoming an inclusive workplace has already sparked a political war of words. Renewed demands for antiracist action in the country since last summer have been derided by conservative thinkers as American-style divisiveness, and incompatible with France's universalist model, which hinges on a colorblind ideal. In December, the far-right politician Marine Le Pen seized on the Paris Opéra's efforts to accuse Neef of "antiracism gone crazy" and "obscurantism." (POB étoile Germain Louvet rightly pointed out that the Swan Lake video Le Pen tweeted wasn't even a company production. It actually starred the Bolshoi's Svetlana Zakharova and La Scala's Roberto Bolle in Milan.)

Even within the Paris Opéra, proactive, long-term support for this diversity drive is far from guaranteed. According to the newspaper Le Monde, less than 300 Paris Opéra employees, out of roughly 1,500, signed the manifesto last summer; some have even made their reluctance clear on social media.

Many of the recommendations—which include employee training, the appointment of a diversity officer, the creation of a committee of experts and greater contextualization of the repertoire for the audience—will also require significant financial investment, at the worst possible time. Despite a €61 million pandemic rescue package from the French state, the Paris Opéra anticipates additional losses of €29 million through the end of the 2022 fiscal year, as theaters are currently shut for the foreseeable future.

Millepied found out during his tenure just how slow POB can be to change. His successor as ballet director, Aurélie Dupont, expressed support, but Neef is clearly taking the lead and has remained steadfast in the face of criticism. Now the hard work begins: changing minds and ingrained habits, day by day, even as the news cycle moves on.

#article #ballet #racism #pointe magazine

[herpronuonsarefemslash]

Blood and Treasure - Teaser 3 of 3

Full story here: https://www.patreon.com/alephthirteen/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=Blood%20and%20Treasure 

 Chapters here after a delay:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/33838411 

=====

A long, sharp-nailed finger drags down the back of his neck. Dark energy lashes across his skin like a tempest. 

“Jack.” 

He opens his eyes to a dark bedroom, Yassai’s intricately tattooed face, and the blinking of his wall chrono indicating a high-priority QEC message. 

Starcharts in eezo-illuminated gold, silver, red, blue, and green crisscross her skin, laying out the entire history of asari spaceflight. 

Hers is a mind skilled beyond human description–a thousand years–but it was beginning to fail. Death is mind over matter, like most things for the asari: The mind flickering while the flesh remained resplendent. So she laid her mind over the ashes of another far younger. All indications are that the young maiden-stage criminal was no loss to the asari species but…something deep and old in him–probably as old as rubbing sticks together–hasn’t adapted to the switch between the disrespectful, gleefully violent captive, and the composed asari he knew and loved. Loves. 

After slipping into the body, she took less than six weeks to get her biotics up to speed–she insists on sending Operative Lawson a bonus for the modifications her designs enabled them to make to the donor body–and here he is at six months and not quite settled. 

It scares him when he wakes up and that body, however similar in scale color and spots, is in his bed. God forgive him, it’s strange seeing her in that body.

 Each species’ perception varies, Jack reminds himself. The snake, the mouse, the hawk and the scorpion do not see the same desert. 

“Thank you,” he mumbles.

=====

Jack lifts the picture frame next to the QEC transmitter in the closet-sized office next to the bedroom, glances at the young woman there. 

“Cost of the work,” he mutters, dragging a thumb across the controls to scroll through the archived portraits of the platinum blonde to find his favorite–age thirteen, in this one–grinning as she flares her biotics. He lays it flat again. 

He clicks open his cigarette case and tiptoes through it before selecting a blunt. Should help him sleep. He likes to think it’d piss off his dad, even from beyond the grave. 

“Computer, accept incoming call. Authorization Tango-Indigo-Mike, Zero-Five-Eight.” 

“Stand by. Confirmed…TIM has authenticated. Opening channel.” 

“Dr. Solus.”

“Illusive Man, greetings. Ah, excellent. You alternate plants. Cannabis, others, far less harmful than tobacco.” 

Jack pinches the bridge of his nose. “Your reasons for calling, doctor? It’s night-cycle here on the station. Middle of the night cycle.” 

“Ah, yes. Human sleep needs. Will be brief. Preparations for evacuations nearly complete. Weakened the troop strength of local Blood Pack using short-burn virus. Vorcha adapted after sixty percent fatalities. Unsure what effect autoimmune portion will have on lifespan. Or what effect phantom pain will have on aggression. If that gene pool becomes dominant and vorcha behave more calmly or lifespan quadruples…apologies.” 

This is what Ben and Rachel don’t understand, Jack thinks. Exemplars are exemplars, not humans or salarians, and good goals can be sold to anyone. This crazy son of a bitch might’ve accidentally uplifted a species as collateral damage while engaging with a secondary objective. Miranda might’ve found synthetic neurotransmitters that make asari practically immortal as a favor to me and tossed in massive advances in minimal-trauma blueware cybernetics.

“Jane Doe is the priority, Doctor. Keep her alive. If she wakes up, see what she knows. It’s not clear what the other heads were up to in creating her and the other two, but I don’t like the implications. DRAG Zero and Cerberus are dangerous enough without collaboration.” 

“Hypothesis: Memetic flaw in naming human promotion, ascendancy-slash-supremacy organization after mythological three-headed canine. Subtly encourages dissent.” 

Jack chuckles. 

“Might be, doctor. Good night.

=====

Shepard flops back in her chair.

“Tall ask, madam councilor.”

Tevos tilts her head for a moment–even when stumped, she seems composed–and Shepard opens her mouth to explain, but Tevos beats her to it.

“Tall ask, as in large, as in difficult, yes? You seem capable, more than enough for this. And now that the batarians know who Liara is, they won’t be able to resist trying to collar her. Not even Prothean technology would be worth as much as a maiden of her stature in a slave pen.”

“Yes. Tall as in difficult. And I agree on that, I don’t like the visual. So you want me to infiltrate batarian space, locate some asari princess who at present is snug as a bug in a ru-”

Shepard laughs.

“Sorry. It means that she’s secure at the moment. Guards are there to protect her, not the other way around.”

The tip of Tevos’s etching-glass stylus dances at the lower edge of the screen. At this rate, Shepard will give away every stupid idiom’s meaning and humans will have no mystery at all.

=====

Liara smooths the sleeve of her lab coat. Because of Tevos’ warning, she had de-framed and rolled up her etching glass, put the workstation from the Project back in its canister, and strapped on every tool she could reasonably conceal without looking like she’s aware of the problem. A paper-thin layer of nanocrystalline armor painted with her omnitool covers her neck folds–the typical entry point for a slave collar’s probe on an asari–which dulls her senses more than she’d like. It’s like slapping oil on a camera lens: Every shape too soft, every hue and hum too gentle; too even. She can’t pick out the particulars. 

Brute-force biotics it will have to be.

She didn’t button her jacket. Anyone who worked with her before would find that odd–Dr. Liara, less than rigid and boring?–so she programmed the armor Saren brought her to project the image of her cleavage on the circuitry. Hopefully the ruse explains her leaving the labcoat open. She ran through the sims for no-fire target practice–Shiala coded it, thank the Goddess–and drilled herself until she could have the pistols pulled from the clips in the small of her back, booted and trained on a target in less than a second.

She always clips both of her omnitool boosters on anyway–old habit as a quick way to replace shovels or flash forge a more delicate trowel–so that was merely a matter of keying in the codes for the Valyhawk combat software and boosters built into the tools. Her shark-staff would seem odd–she prefers its versatility and the fact that it can do things besides kill–but the plate-ripper warpsword a krogan shaman gave her on a dig is just as lethal and just short enough that with her lab coat open and trailing behind her, blade with a right-angle hook isn’t obvious across her back.

=====

Shepard looks up at the thing. The metal is shiny black, decorated with ever-shifting circuits in glittery, mint green. 

The shape emerging from the glacier is nothing more than a solid rod from floor to ceiling–from ice to more ice– with a series of smaller cylinders jutting out forty-five degree angles, with tips chopped again and each mounted a little higher as they wrap around, each tip crackling with static electricity. It’s like some sadistic lunatic’s idea of a grand spiral staircase. Three stories of things to slip on, fall off of and break your neck on. There are no controls, no plugs or power inlets or obvious sockets that she can see, even with Amaterasu’s help. 

The entire device screams: I am better than you. I am fancier than you. I do not need primitive things like interfaces, or panels or power supplies…or stairs.

“Well, that’s… Whoever built that was a smug bastard,” she quips. “Prefer mine pastel. Maybe a rocking chair…” 

The young batarian soldier she was talking to doesn’t react. His face is smooth. No jowl-fat. Fifteen, sixteen. He’s a fucking baby, and I’m going to have to kill him. 

“Tough crowd. Definitely bringing the unicycle next time.”

She looks over her shoulder at the squad leader–still spattered in the guts of his biotics and his sniper–and ‘winces’ when the electric shock signal reaches the collar and is ignored. 

“So I just go over there and lick it, or what?” 

“You wait for the fucking doctor to get here, that’s what.” 

He cuffs her on the back of the head and dangles the collar’s remote detonator in her face. 

“Move, and I take your head off.” 

“What, I just wait here? With no chair?” 

“Fucking humans.”

=====

Liara notices that the prisoner on the deck below is human. She’s naked and bloodied, but much of it is orange, not red, meaning it’s not hers, and one of the soldiers with his rifle trained on her has a broken arm. Another is losing a slow drip of blood. Watching the patrols while eating in the mess means that Liara knows that is their elite squad–fanatics, two forced biotics, other cyborgs–and it should be more than three strong. 

It should be ten. 

The gore on her and the number of shock-stick burns on her suggest that subduing her had cost them the other seven. 

Her back is straight. Her arms are relaxed, despite the weight of the shackles. Her eyes are on the device, not the batarians. She knows that touching it is a threat, and perhaps she thinks that they are not. A soldier. Her frame is large, her skin the brown of wet sand in the summer and dusted with tiny spots–humans call them freckles, her friend said, jabbering endlessly about her lover–and her short hair is dyed a different color at the tips. It’s the same blue as eezo under voltage. Not a natural human hair color. Perhaps she is a biotic? 

Liara sends a slight pulse toward her and tunes her senses on the stranger, who grunts in discomfort and looks over her shoulder. 

She sensed that…how…for a human to be able to feel anything from a pulse that light…how much does she have in her? Goddess! 

The human smirks, winks, and flexes her own biotics, flashing back at Liara like an insect signaling a mate, letting Liara see inside her body. Inside the human is enough eezo to poison five humans. Amps in every limb. Two in each arm, one in each leg, the central amp laid across the bone joining her ribs in the front. Metal bars spanning the gaps to reinforce ribs and pelvis front to back, hard armored plates behind her ribs, her bones wrapped in something too hard for Liara to probe, as if it was the hull armor of a warship. Helixes of energized metal in her muscles let Liara see every single bundle–and she is thick with muscle, in long ropes and planes–and the crisscross of wire under her skin, like a kinetic weave. Three bumps on the back of her skull. No way they’re natural. Brain implants, perhaps, under another layer of artificial bone. Wires and wires and wires–tiny, draping across her nerves, not replacing them–implants in ten organs she doesn’t know the purpose of in humans, rings of energized eezo in her hands and feet, probably mass effect generators.

=====

“Step back from her, please.” 

“Doctor, there are security concerns.” 

“Doctor T’Soni, I presume?” Liara huffs. If the batarians didn’t know her last name, now they do. 

“Step back from her. It’s important I catalog her health before she touches the beacon. Before and after. I want more details on before than ‘was not dead’. My authority in this research comes from the sub-Hegemon for Supremacy. Put more guns on her if you like, but I need to examine her.” 

“Get Ehik squad in here,” one of them commands. 

She steps close. 

“Is this the part where I show you mine and you show me yours?” the human jokes. 

“You’re not funny.” She chuckles and rolls her shoulders, hissing at some ache she is trying to expunge. Mountains and canyons are born as the sinew in her back flexes, only to fade away as she relaxes. 

Goddess, she’s built like a malyk. 

“Not used to such a classy audience. Don’t get to meet nice asari like you. Not…” 

She chuckles. 

“The other asari I’ve met aren’t ones I’d take home to my parents. And I say that as an orphan.” 

She’s trying to connect, make me trust her. 

“Hmm. Perhaps this is not the ideal time to discuss your childhood?” 

More boots thump into the space behind her. Weapons whine as they are powered up. 

“Go ahead, doc.” 

Liara steps forward and presses her hands under the human’s jaw, like she’s checking her glands.

Who sent you? Tevos. 

She says you’re part of the Project, whatever that is.

=====

The lights go off and her barrier shatters, but not in the direction of fire. Shepard pushed out of it. The tell-tale beeping of a slave collar begins, peaks, and just keeps going until a crunch of metal, a bellow of pain and a faint warbling tell Liara she ripped it off. She sees flashes: The warp sword igniting, dim light around it as it swings, a death gurgle, and darkness. Flickers of light as she fast-steps between targets, ducking under and around their arcs of fire faster than the bullets fly. A human who can fast-step. Over and over. Liara loses count of slashes after a dozen and she has no doubt each was a kill, with a sword like that swung by someone like Shepard. 

A bellow, a smear of light and the exit-blast of a long-step charge. Shepard stands in the center of the sphere of energy, illuminated by rippling wisps of pitiless silver. Every human’s Art is different in color, someone once told her, and Shepard’s looks cold. Deadly. Absent of color, just like people say she is absent of mercy. She has one fist to the ground, prolonging the exit-blast that suspends five batarians. Her teeth are bared. The others see her and turn and fire. Her barrier bends, and dozens of jagged flecks of metal pass through, scratching her arms, her face, her breasts. Robbed of nearly all their speed and power, they scratch, but nothing more. How can she take the pain? Why isn’t she keeping her barrier hard? Shepard pushes warpfire down her own skin–it must be excruciating–and detonates the edges of the field around her. 

Meat spatters across half of Liara’s dome and half a head lands just in front of her. She retches and loses the field. 

Shepard whips her head around at the sound, pulls the head off a batarian, and charges over to Liara. She grabs her, and before Liara can protest that it is suicide for a human to try it, charges again, carrying her, and she is in a corner and plunked behind a heavy console. 

“How did you…” 

Shepard pats her cheek fondly. “Gotta let a girl have some secrets, cutie.”

#my fics #teasers #mass effect #saren #benezia #liara x femshep #femshep x liara #shiara #liara being thirsty

[justlookfrightened]

How hard could it be? Part 28

Start from the beginning

Part 27

“Dicky! Dicky, wake up!”

Bitty sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was morning for sure, but at least a couple of hours earlier than he planned to get up. 

But there was MooMaw in the bedroom doorway, calling his name.

“MooMaw? You okay?”

His voice was still raspy, eyes still bleary, but she looked fine. Wasn’t having any trouble talking, either.

“You’ve got to come see this!” MooMaw said. “Oh, I have to call your mother!”

She seemed more excited than alarmed, but something had riled her up.

“Wait, come see what?” Bitty asked, leaning down with the covers around his waist to grab his shorts off the floor. MooMaw took that as her cue to head back towards the living room.

He pulled on his shorts, grabbed a T-shirt from the basket near the door, and tugged it over his head as he followed her. The front door was standing open, and MooMaw was already on the porch … which was festooned with an arch of red and white balloons. Mylar balloons reading “2020” floated in front.

MooMaw had the handset for her old cordless landline phone in her hand, talking a mile a minute.

“The balloons are beautiful, Suzanne. You really outdid yourself,” MooMaw was saying. “Now I see why you insisted on waiting and celebrating Dicky finishing college on his birthday. This is just lovely!”

MooMaw stopped talking, looked at Bitty, looked back at the balloons.

“What do you mean you didn’t do it?” she said. “Who else could have? Well, it is something else. You and Rick will have to come see it.”

Bitty’s eyes had gravitated to the large cardboard box that sat in the middle of the top step.

A card taped to the top said, “Eric Bittle.”

“It’s that man of yours, isn’t it?” MooMaw said, the phone (hopefully off) tucked under her arm.

“I don’t know for sure,” Bitty said, still staring at the unopened card, even though he was almost certain who had made all this fuss over him. “And he’s not my man.”

“Pshaw,” MooMaw said. “You spend more time talking to him than you do to me, and he’s a thousand miles away. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. You talk to me plenty. But you still manage to talk to him more.”

“I told you, MooMaw, we’ve been arranging the Falconers’ bake off,” Bitty said. “If it goes right, this could be a huge thing for me, and we’ve had to figure out how to do it. And Jack is still working on perfecting his own pies.”

Jack had come amazingly far as a baker in the past three weeks, Bitty thought. He’d like to take credit for it, but he thought most of it was due to Jack’s diligence and commitment to learning the craft. If the dough for a crust didn’t work out, he’d start over instead of forcing it and winding up with a cardboard crust or abandoning it all together. He took Bitty’s advice well, but wasn’t afraid to experiment a bit. He had indeed acquired a pastry blender and a scraper, and learned how to use them. His kitchen now also had muffin tins, cookie sheets and non-stick silicone baking mats.

Bitty had come to understand that Jack liked simple, classic flavors, sweet with a bit of spice or just a hint of tartness, and tailored recipes to his taste. 

They had also worked out a three-video series for the Falcs bake-off, in which Bitty would both give advice and judge, and Jack would be a sort of assistant and color commentator. Georgia Martin (who may have already gotten a pie in the mail) was over the moon at Jack��s willingness to participate.

Bitty might not be sure exactly what he and Jack were doing -- Long-distance dating, despite never having set eyes on one another? Developing a supportive friendship as two queer athletes in a homophobic sport? -- but it was fun. Bitty suspected it would be more fun in person, but the situation was what it was.

And there was a big box with a card on top.

Bitty opened it and saw “Congrats to the grad” printed on top. Inside, the cramped handwriting said,

Dear Bittle,

I wasn’t sure whether to get a birthday card or a graduation card. I went with graduation because you did give me permission to send a card for that. Also, you won’t graduate from college again, but you will have more birthdays we can celebrate together.

The box has everything you need for a graduation party, from a Samwell backdrop for a Zoom call to champagne and glasses. There’s a recording of my dad giving graduation speeches, too.

The food is up to you, though.

Don’t think of those as gifts for you -- all the seniors on your team got the same things. We figured you might want to celebrate together. But there are a couple of gifts for you that no one else got.

Congrats, and happy birthday!

Jack

“This boy,” Bitty whispered to himself, tearing open the box. There was a Samwell flag to use as a backdrop, and graduation-themed plates and napkins, a bottle of champagne and four plastic champagne flutes, and a small mp3 player.

Nestled in the bottom were a briefcase with ERB engraved on the clasp, and a pen set.

Bitty was dialing before he even got everything out.

“Jack!” he said. “You didn’t have to do that! It must have cost you an arm and a leg! What possessed you --”

“You deserve to be celebrated,’ Jack cut in. “You accomplished a lot over the past four years, and especially this year, and that shoudn’t be pushed aside. And last I looked, all my limbs are present and accounted for.”

“But all the seniors --”

“They didn’t all get the balloons, or the gifts,” Jack said. “Just the box and the suggestion that they touch base with you to set a time to meet online.”

“But how did you even -- I mean, everyone’s name is on the website, but --”

“You know my mother went to Samwell? She’s a very generous donor,” Jack said. “And when a generous donor -- who is married to a hockey Hall of Famer -- calls the hockey coach and says they’d like to send graduation boxes to the graduating seniors on the team, addresses are not a problem.”

“I guess not,” Bitty said faintly. “Wait -- my phone’s buzzing. It’s Wicks. He wants to know where the box came from, and when we’re all gonna be online.”

“You were the only one to get a card, too,” Jack said.

“I swear you’re going to be the death of me,” Bitty said. “You know my mama’s gonna want me to dress up in my cap and gown now?”

“Send me a picture,” Jack said.

Part 29

Now posting on AO3

#omgcheckplease #omg check please #zimbits #my fic

[13dead-ends]

Chapter Five Bandaids

Chapter Five of Blood Bound

Henry Cavill x Named OC

Summary: When a night out ends with a few scrapes, Henry takes care of Nina.

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: drinking, crowded club, scrapes, blood, pushing, grabbing violently?, (please tell me if I missed something)

A/N: This came from wanting Henry to spoil me and pick out clothes for me. That’s the dream. As always thank you to @hellcaster901 if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have finished this!

Enjoy! :)

“Nina are you busy?” Henry asked. My phone was on speaker on the counter while I was jamming a knife into a pumpkin.

“Uh,” I grunted as I pushed the blade the rest of the way through. “I’m carving a pumpkin, actually. But what’s up?”

“Seriously? September’s not even over yet.”

“This is the first of many.” I loved Halloween. I couldn’t wait to decorate so I wanted to carve a jack o lantern.

“Many?” Henry chuckled.

“I’m just excited.” I carved a hole in the top, pulling the piece out by the stem. “But what did you need?”

“I was wondering if you were busy tonight?” I chewed on my lip. I was really about to throw my evening plans out the window for this man.

“Uh, yeah actually.” I looked for my pen to trace my face onto the pumpkin. “I’m going out with Abbey.” When I told her I liked going out to clubs she immediately planned a night to go.

“Aw, okay.” I pressed my lips together. “I was gonna see if you wanted to come over for a little while.” I sighed. Damn it. Of course the one night I’m actually busy he invites me to his house. I hadn’t been there yet, but he had come here quite a lot.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is there another time I could?” His schedule was erratic at best. On days when I expect to see him I don’t and days I expect not to see him, he shows up out of nowhere. It seemed like the littlest thing effected filming. He sighed.

“Maybe tomorrow night? If I’m not too tired. I was thinking of showing you some video games.” I had told him I liked one video game and he had insisted on showing me some of his own.

“Okay! Just let me know.” I gave up on the pen and picked up my phone. “I’m letting you know now that I won’t be any good.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” I laughed. “Where are you going tonight?”

“I have no idea. Abbey’s picking me up and I’m letting her pick the places.” I leaned on my elbows.

“Well, be safe, okay?” My heart skipped a beat.

“I will.”

“Call me if you need a ride?” I couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t know if you’re ready for drunk Nina yet, but I’ll keep that in mind.” He chuckled.

“That’s a sight I’d like to see.” I laughed. “I’ll leave you to your pumpkin, have fun tonight.”

“Thanks Henry. I will.” I hung up and went back to carving. I just went with a classic face with pointy teeth and triangle eyes. I set it in my windowsill and smiled. I decided to get ready after that and soon enough I was fixing my hair in the mirror, abbey on the phone with me.

“Okay, I’m here!”

“Great! I’ll just come outside now.” I ran out, the crisp air hitting me as I made it outside. It was really feeling like fall now and next week it would be October. I loved it so much. I got in Abbeys Uber with her and grinned.

“Are you excited?” She grabbed my arm as the driver pulled away from my building.

“Yes! I haven’t been out since I was in LA.” She clapped.

“Yay! You’ll have to bring to the clubs you like in LA.” I nodded.

“You’ll have to meet my friend, Irene.” We spoke the whole way to the first bar. It was a cute pub, cozy and warm.

“Now, I just love this place for its food and it’s a good place to meet up before you really get wasted.” I laughed. “And you better be getting wasted with me. We’ll walk around this area for the most part, and just Uber home.” I thought of calling Henry, but it made my heart beat faster.

“Alright, wasted it is.” She linked our arms and took us to the bar. She ordered me a fruity drink and a shot. We did the shot together and I winced at the hard taste.

“Yes, I love a girl who can take a shot.” Abbey giggled. “James is gonna meet up with us here. Let’s find a table.” We moved through the pub until finding a table for us, with enough room for James.

“I heard Henry didn’t take any new donors.” Abbey wiggled her eyebrows

“Did you?” I couldn’t help the grin spreading on my face.

“Yeah, I was at the lab yesterday and over heard Lila say Henry didn’t take her.” She smiled. “She’s pissed, but will just have to get over it.”

“Didn’t Kari day something about losing two donors because of her though?” Abbey sighed.

“Yeah, but I think you’ll be fine. She barely knows either of you. Is she gonna stalk you or something?” I laughed.

“Fuck, she hated me the second she saw me with Henry. She doesn’t need much to set her off.” I took a big drink. “I hope she doesn’t stalk me.” Abbey rolled her eyes.

“Look if she tries anything let the office know. They’re itching for another reason to fire her.” I huffed.

“Maybe they should just fire her now.” Abbey nodded.

“They should what?” James suddenly sat next to me.

“Get rid of Lila.” James rolled his eyes.

“Yes please.” We chatted for a bit, and I got a nice buzz. Soon Abbey wanted to show me another bar and they dragged me down the street. By the third bar, I was really drunk. I stumbled as James pulled me off the dance floor.

“Where’s Abbey?” I yelled over the music as we reached the bar.

“She’s over here somewhere.” James and I searched the bar a found her at the end. She was already ordering drinks.

“What do you guys want?”

“Water.” I couldn’t drink anymore or I’d be sick. She nodded and we got our drinks.

“So I’m thinking we stay here until they close? And then go home.” James nodded smiling. I smiled too, but my feet hurt and I was too drunk already.

“Guys, I’m gonna go to bathroom okay?” I tried walking properly to the bathroom but the room was spinning a little. I made it into a stall okay and just leaned on the wall, it was too hard to stand on my own right now. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw a text from Henry. My drunk brain couldn’t process the words so my fingers hit the call button before I could tell them not too.

“Nina?”

“Henry, hi.” He actually picked up. I grinned into the speaker.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“I’m at some bar, with Abbey.” I accidentally let out a hiccup, and Henry laughed.

“How’s that?”

“Fun, really fun.” I sighed.

“But?”

“I’m tired and she wants to stay out.” I sounded whiny, and I would probably cringe at that later.

“Are you saying you need a ride?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Where am I going?” I heard shuffling on his end.

“Yay,” I mumbled. “I can’t remember the name of the bar but I’ll send you my location.” I stood up straight and lost my balance, hitting my head on the stall. “Ow.” I rubbed my head.

“What was that? Are you okay?”

“I just lost my balance. Let me go find Abbey and tell them you’re coming.”

“Nina, how drunk are you?” I giggled.

“I’m fine. I’m switching to water now. I’ll send my location. Call me when you’re here!”

“Nina, wait-“ I hung up and went out of this bathroom. I sent my location to Henry. Abbey and James weren’t at the bar anymore so I stood on my tip toes to look for them on the dance floor. It was definitely too crowded to see them so I filtered through the people, trying not to stumble as people pushed me around. I suddenly felt a grip on my wrist. I turned around, hoping it was Abbey, but was meet with a guy I didn’t know. I flinched back and tried pulling my arm away.

“Hey do you wanna dance?” He grinned at me, but I had no desire to dance with him.

“No, thanks.” I yelled back and tried walking away but he kept his hand on my arm.

“Oh come on, it’s just dancing.”

“I said no.” He pulled me to him and it was taller than me by a lot and bigger too. “Let me go,” I tried prying his hand off with my other one.

“Don’t be like –“ I was yanked away by hands on my shoulders. I gasped and turned around, his hands no longer on me. Abbey and James looked at me with the same scrunched brow.

“Are you okay?” Abbey looked at my arms. “He was grabbing you and I didn’t think you knew him.” I shook my head.

“I’m fine and no I didn’t know him.” I looked over my shoulder and he was gone. I sighed. “Thank you guys.”

“You’re welcome, Nina.” James rubbed my shoulder.

“Hey, I called someone,” I told them. “ I’m getting a ride home.”

“You don’t wanna stay?”

“My feet are killing me and I can’t drink anymore.” Plus that guy put me off the whole crowded club anyway.

“Okay,” Abbey brought me into a hug. “Thanks for coming. Text me when you get home.”

“Thank you for showing me around. I’ll text you. You both text me okay?” They both nodded and I pushed through the rest of the crowd to the door.

Henry hadn’t gotten there yet when I stepped outside. It was cool and the street lamps casted a warm glow on the street. I leaned on the wall and waited for him. It wasn’t long before I heard the door open again, the music getting louder and going quiet again as it shut. I looked up and saw that stupid guy from inside. I rolled my eyes, but my heart beat got faster. I reached for my phone to call Henry.

“Hey, you’re the girl from inside.” He stopped right in front of me.

“Yeah,” I swallowed.

“Why didn’t you want to dance?” He raised his eyebrow.

“I was leaving, obviously.” I gestured to the sidewalk.

“It was just one dance.” He stepped closer.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of girls in there who wants to dance with you.” I mumbled.

“But I wanted to dance with you.” He came closer.

“Well, my rides almost here, sorry.” I started to walk off, before he got closer, but he caught my wrist. “Just leave me alone.”

“Stop being a bitch.” He pulled me back, but his hand slipped and I lost my balance completely, falling on my hands and knees, my phone flying out of my hand so I could catch myself. My already fuzzy brain was spinning and so was the concrete beneath me. I barely noticed the car pulling up to the curb beside us. A car door slammed and I dropped my elbows, the spinning was too much.

“You better be gone by the time I help her.” I heard quick footsteps going in the opposite way. “Nina? Are you okay?” It was Henry, thank god.

“I’m dizzy.” I mumbled into my arms.

“Come on, love.” He hooked his arm through mine and lifted me to my feet, grabbing my phone at as he did. “Are you alright?” He turned my chin to look at my face.

“I think so,” I suddenly felt the palms of my hands sting, my knees feeling similar. “My hands,” I lifted them up and saw blood and gravel in them. They were scraped up from the sidewalk.

“What happened? Do I need to find that guy?” I shook my head.

“He tried grabbing me but his hand slipped and I fell.” Henry lead me to the car door, and my knees hurt worse as I walked.

“Why was he putting his hands on you?” He opened the door for me and helped me inside.

“He wanted to dance, but I said no.” I sighed leaning my head back on the seat. Henry even buckled my seat belt before shutting my door. He got in and took no time to get the car on the road.

“Fucking prick.” I nodded. “I’ll just take you to mine. I can clean you up there.” His hands gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles and his jaw clenched and unclenched.

“Thanks for coming to get me.” I leaned my head on the window.

“Of course, Nina.” He sighed. “I don’t like you stumbling around like that alone.”

“I was literally about to call you.” My palms were face up on my thighs, the gravel feeling like little pin pricks. “I just needed to get out of the club for fresh air.” Henry’s grip loosened and his shoulders relaxed.

“It’s okay, I just got worried.” My stomach erupted into butterflies, well more like bats. I smiled. “Did you have fun though?”

“Yes, it was so fun.”

“Are you tired?”

“Yeah, there was a lot of dancing.” He chuckled.

“I’m glad you had fun at least.” My eyes shut for just a second and then I opened them to find I was in Henry’s arms being carried to his house.

“Hey, there she is.” Henry smiled down at me and my heart skipped. I took a breath and patted his shoulder.

“Put me down,” I mumbled, I was too drunk to handle that right now. He set my feet down, but kept his hand on my waist. I leaned on him as he unlocked his door.

“You’ll get to sleep soon okay? I just wanna get bandages on you.” I just nodded and he opened the door. Waiting for us in the doorway was Kal. I smiled.

“Kal! Hi cutie pie.” I couldn’t pet him with my hands so I settled for a kiss on the head. He looked up at me with bright eyes. Henry laughed and patted his head.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Henry lead me to the bathroom, there was only a small kitchen light on so I couldn’t see a lot of the house. The one time I’m at his place and it’s dark.

“I gotta text Abbey and James.” I remembered as we got to the bathroom. He turned the light on and sat me on the toilet.

“Here’s your phone,” He handed me my now cracked phone. “I’m going get the first aid kit and some clothes.” I nodded and sent the Im home text to my friends, I slowly tapped the screen with one finger so I wouldnt have to flex my hand as much. The cuts weren’t very bad, they just hurt. Henry came back, setting a pair of his shorts and a t-shirt on the counter. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I hope you don’t mind my clothes.” I shook my head. “Get changed, I’ll be back in a minute.” He shut the door and I slowly changed. My knees felt tender as I stepped into the shorts that were too big for me. I pulled the draw string tight and tied it. Then pulled the shirt over my head.

“Can I come in?” I pushed my arms through the sleeves.

“Yeah,” I pulled my hair out of the collar as Henry stepped in. He paused for a second, then set the kit on the counter.

“Sit,” I sat back down and he wet a cloth with warm water. He kneeled in front of me and took my hand gently. He wiped away the blood and gravel from my hand. It stung, but after it was cleaned it looked a lot better than before. “Did you text your friends?”

“Yeah,” he moved to my other hand.

“Good.” I sucked in a breath as he hit a deeper scrape, making it begin to bleed again.

“Does it bother you?” I whispered. He looked up at me.

“No,” he looked back down at my hand. “Your vampire movies have a lot of inaccuracies.”

“I bet vampires made a lot of people embarrassed when they came out.” He chuckled.

“It’s always tempting, of course, but once you get the hang of it you have control. You don’t go crazy when you see a cheeseburger, do you?” He smoothed a square bandage over my entire palm. “Plus by the way your blood smells, if I drank now I’d be as drunk as you.” I busted out laughing.

“Seriously?” He moved onto my knees.

“Well, I think I can hold my liquor better than you, but I do get effected by the alcohol in your system.” I kept giggling.

“That’s crazy, but makes sense.” He cleaned my knees up and put bandages on them. “Thank you.” I smiled at him.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled back. “I’m just pleased with the fact that I know you’re a giggle drunk now.” I covered my mouth to hide more giggles and my face warmed up. “Come on, you need to go to bed.” He grabbed my hand, but not holding it too tightly. He lead me to his bedroom instead of the living room. Kal sat on the corner of the bed.

“Oh I don’t have to sleep in here. The couch –“

“No, I’m not tired. You get the bed.” He pushed me forward. I took a deep breath. I was already in his clothes, now he wants me to sleep in his bed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, go to bed. I’ll be out here if you need anything.” He rubbed my back. “Goodnight, Nina.”

“Goodnight Henry.” He shut the door as he left and I got into the gray sheets. He had a huge comforter as well. I pulled everything up to my chin and my eyes stayed open. Everything smelled like him and it was overwhelming. An image of Henry climbing into bed with me flooded my brain. I shut my eyes, all the possibilities… I shook my head. God don’t be creepy, you’re in his house. But if he just came into cuddle, that would be nice.

Unfortunately drunk Nina’s fantasy didn’t come true. I woke up to the moon shining on my pillow and the space next to me empty. I let out a big sigh, feeling an ache in my head settle in. My hands and knees had a dull throb as well. I rolled onto my side and jumped back when I saw Kal wagging his tail next to me. He licked my face and I scratched his ears. “Hi buddy.” I saw my phone on the bedside table and checked it. I had only been asleep for a few hours. I looked back at Kal and he looked at me with bright eyes. He walked out eventually and I rolled back onto my back. I felt goosebumps raise on my skin as I realized how cold it felt in here. I pulled the blankets up, but didn’t feel any warmer. I huffed and sat up. I heard sounds of fighting and swords coming from the open door. I wrapped the blanket around me and got up, following the sounds. Henry was playing a video game in the living room. It looked like some sort of fantasy game. I sat down next to him and he looked over at me.

“Can’t sleep?” I shook my head.

“I don’t know why I can’t. Especially since I think I’m still a little buzzed.” He paused his game, chuckling.

“How are your scrapes?” I pulled one hand out of my blanket and looked at it.

“Good I think. Still hurts a little.” He took my hand in his and looked over his handiwork. He brushed his fingers over the bandage and then just barely over my bare fingers. His skin tickled mine. “Thanks for patching me up.” I met his eyes, hoping he knew how much I meant it.

“Of course.” He smiled, tucking my hand back in my blanket and pulling it tighter around me.

“What are you playing?” He told me the premise of the game and what he was trying to do, then started playing again. I was interested in the game, but I just liked watching Henry play it.

I don’t remember falling asleep, but I woke up still on the couch, this time my cheek was smashed against Henry. I lifted my head up, eyes wide. We were both stretched out, but I was on top of him, his arms looped over my back; the blanket over both of us now. He was breathing deeply, eyes shut. He was asleep. I had my head on his chest and one hand too. My other hand was hanging off the couch completely. I couldn’t help but relax. He was very comfy. I shut my eyes, enjoying the cuddle. Then I heard Henry take a big breath. His arms tightened around me for a second, then he moved one to his hair. I looked up at him.

“Nina, you’re awake.” Seeing his eyes so close made me panic and I pushed myself up off him.

“Yeah, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that.” He cleared his throat, helping me get our legs apart.

“It’s - it’s fine.” He chuckled nervously. I sighed when I was sitting up right. Sun light peaked through the window in front of us. “Good morning.” I held my warm cheeks.

“Good morning, Henry.” I rubbed my eyes. There was a headache creeping up on me now that I wasn’t sleeping with Henry.

“How are you feeling?” He looked over my face.

“Like I’m about to get a headache.” I muttered.

“I guess the buzz is gone, then?” I nodded. “How about I make some breakfast?”

“Yes please.” I grinned up at him as he stood.

“Alright, I’ll be in the kitchen.” I leaned on my elbows, rubbing my face. He was killing me, I swear. I got up and went to the bedroom to find my phone. I went back out to the kitchen to see Henry heating up a pan. I saw a kettle on his stove as well.

“Where’s your tea?” I asked. He turned and pointed to a cabinet.

“Mugs are in the one next to it.” He added. I pulled out two and put bags in. “Did you sleep okay?” I filled the kettle and set it on the stove. I turned it on and sat on the counter next to it, swinging my legs.

“Yeah, I think so.” He looked over at me, smirk on his face. “You might wanna work on your pecks though, they’re feeling a little soft.” He scoffed, pausing his hands.

“Hush, at least I wasn’t snoring all night.” My jaw dropped.

“I wasn’t, was I?” He nodded laughing at me. I smacked his shoulder.

“It’s fine, a lot of people snore.” He continued cooking putting some sausage on the pan, it sizzling instantly.

“No filming today?” I stared at my left knee, a bruise already forming at the edges of the bandage.

“Nope, I get a real weekend for once.” I smiled.

“Good, I’m glad you do.” I hopped down as the kettle started to steam, the whistle hurting my head. “Damn,” I mumbled, pulling it off the stove. I poured our tea and we added in our milk and sugar together, our elbows brushing. I sat down at the table and watched Henry cook. We talked a little bit but it was a quiet morning. I was too tired to do much else.

“Do you have any plans today?” Henry asked me as he set a full plate of food in front of me.

“Not really. I was pretty much planning on being hungover so I didn’t make any plans.”

“Do you want to come run some errands with me?” I smiled at him.

“Sure, I probably need to go home to get clothes, though.” I was still in his t-shirt. The collar was lopsided so my collar bone was showing, his shorts had been falling down all morning.

“That’s fine. We’ll stop on the way.” We finished eating and I sadly changed back into my clothes from last night. He drove us to my place, and I had to quickly get ready. I got dressed in my room while Henry waited outside. I looked in the mirror and my hair was a mess and I did look a little hungover. I huffed, I looked like this all morning? I adjusted the flannel I put on and threw my hair up. I went to my bathroom and washed my face quickly and that helped a little.

“You ready, dear?” My knees wobbled at the nickname. I leaned on the counter.

“Almost.” I checked my face one more time in the mirror and walked out. Henry stood in my living room looking at my pumpkin still in the windowsill.

“I like it.” He tapped the pumpkin.

“Thanks!” I grinned. “Shall we?” He nodded and we walked back out to his car. “Where are we going?”

“I just need to get a few things at some shops.” I nodded. Maybe I could look for a few things, I hadn’t been shopping in a while. I wasn’t paying attention to where we were going, Henry’s hand had made its way in my knee during the ride and I didn’t want to miss a second of that. As we stopped I looked out the window. It was large street, shops and stores up and down it. He turned the engine off and we got out. I stepped onto the side walk next to him.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we began walking.

“I need some new shoes, and I ordered some parts for my PC.” He explained where some of the stores were. “But I figured you’d want to do some shopping as well.”

“Sure!” I let him lead me down the sidewalk, our arm brushing every now and then.

It wasn’t long before I slowed in front of a shop, seeing a cute pair of boots in the window. “Go on inside, I need in thing in the shop over. I’ll meet you in there.” He nudged me to the door and walked off. I shrugged and went in, a bell jingling overhead. I wanted to find the shoes, but got distracted by some sweaters and then jeans. Let’s just say it took me longer to get to the shoes than normal. When Henry came back I was slipping a pair in my size on. He had a small bag from wherever he went.

“I like those.” He smiled at me. I stood from the bench, the boots had a bit of height and I didn’t have to tilt my head back as far to look at Henry as I stood in front of him.

“Me too.” I rocked in them and then took a few steps along the shelf. I saw myself in a mirror and they looked good. “I’m gonna get them.” I grinned. I sat back down and slipped them off.

“I’ll get them.” Henry placed them back in the box for me. I put my shoes back on.

“Oh you don’t have to.”

“I said I wanted to buy you things.” He looked at me as he shut the box.

“But you paid me, so technically I’m buying them with your money.” It was sweet, but I always felt weird about taking other peoples money. He shook his head.

“You did sign a contract.” His eyebrow raised and he took the box to the registers. “Was there anything else you wanted?” I shook my head and followed him. He paid, the mention of the contract made me feel less weird, but it still was. He really wanted me to shop around, though. He took me inside a clothes shop and I ended up getting a fitting room try things on. I picked a few things out and tried them on inside the stall.

I wore a pair of jeans and a cute sweater, just a little too big. I wanted a different size in the jeans though, I opened the door and peaked out to see if I could ask that employee to grab me another pair, but instead I saw a few tops and a dress hanging on the hook by my door. I furrowed my brow, I didn’t put those there. The dress was cute though. I turned it around to see more of it. The girl in the uniform came around and I called her over.

“Did you put these here?” I asked, forgetting about the jeans.

“No, your friend did.” I looked over her shoulder to see Henry leaning against the wall outside the fitting rooms, back to me.

“Oh thank you.” She took some things I didn’t want for me and I replaced them with what Henry choose. Somehow the dress fit perfectly. It hung off my hips at just the right angle and showed off just enough cleavage. I blushed at myself in the mirror. He picked this for me. I grinned. I slowly stepped out and cleared my throat. He turned around and smiled. Eyes dragging up my body.

“I knew you’d look good in that.” He smirked. “Do you like it?”

“I do.” I turned around once. “Nice choice.” I winked at him and stepped back inside. I tried a few more things on, showing him everything after the dress. He got me the dress, and pretty much anything I showed interest in. I couldn’t handle much more than that but we looked around a bit more, he got his things. Then he took me back home. Giving me a kiss on the cheek before he left.

—————

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[bigskydreaming]

How do you think the major DC/Batfam events would of happened if editorial hadn't stopped the DicKory wedding and they've just been a couple this whole time?

Oh god.

I don’t even know. But now I desperately WANT to know, and like, why has nobody ever written this story lmao nm we all know why.

But for starters, none of the stuff with Blockbuster, Tarantula, etc would have played out at ALL the same...assuming Dick was ever even IN Bludhaven, like, if he and Kory had married, why would they have left the Titans and not still been in New York, y’know? (Bonus! Dick never ever ever ever ever became a cop!)

But then too there’s the stuff that happened with Kory’s homeworld and her responsibilities to her people when they were refugees......no matter how much Dick had tying him to Earth at the time, this is not even just his girlfriend anymore, this is his WIFE, dealing with the potential end of her entire people....there’s NO way he’s gonna wait at home and expect her to go off and deal with that all on her own, he’s like no, I’m going with you, this is our ‘in sickness and health,’ let’s not argue about this when we could be using that time to travel instead, your people need us.

Jason’s return would have played out dramatically differently IMO, because as long as Dick was around and present in any capacity at the time, I think Dick would be in a LOT better place, a lot more centered here....and no matter how paranoid or pessimistic Bruce might have been about Jason at times, Dick would have had Kory there to counter that, and point out and remind him of all the things he loved about Jason, all the ways he KNEW Jason, no matter how much they both had changed....because Kory would remember that sweet kid who was so eager to go help the Titans save his big brother and she’d have just enough emotional distance and objectivity from her in-laws’ issues to be able to keep THAT image of him front and center and make sure to remind Dick of it too.

Ma’ri would likely have been born by the time Damian came along, assuming her birth happened around the same time most of the other OG Titans became parents, with Cerdian and the twins as well, and Lian already being a toddler....maybe even Jake might have been born by now too....

Which would have created a whole different dynamic as Damian would have been raised that year Bruce was gone by both Dick AND Kory, had a father figure AND a mother figure to compare not just his later relationship to Bruce to, but his relationship with Talia too as well.....not feeling as lacking or insecure by whatever choices Talia made in regards to him, assuming that most of the rest of DC events and choices other than Dick and Kory stay relatively the same and DC sucks at writing her. Its likely Damian never dies.

Before that point, again during the year Bruce was gone....things could have gone dramatically differently, smoother for the entire family just by virtue of Dick having Kory’s support and could bounce things off her as a sounding board the way he didn’t have anyone at the time.....the transition of Robin to Red Robin could have gone a lot smoother and with less resentment, Dick might have had the mental and emotional SPACE and presence of mind to be a lot more understanding of Tim’s insistence Bruce was alive instead of just focused on the pain he’d feel if he gave into temptation and believed Tim only to have those hopes crushed later down the line. Again, in this AU I’d posit that due to Dick and Kory never breaking up, Dick never grows distant from the Titans period, which makes it all the more likely they’d have remained a constant presence in his life at this time and he’d have been more willing and trusting about relying on them to help out in Gotham, because the way he did things wasn’t the way Bruce did things and that was always a strength in the past, they’re different men, they have different approaches and trying to do things the way the other did was NEVER going to work for Dick or be to his advantage.

All of which means Dick had help and OPTIONS for dealing with Jason and getting through to him, that is, if he wasn’t already closer because of how differently his initial return had gone down. Cass likely wouldn’t be in Hong Kong, because she’d have more reason to be around if it wasn’t just her and her brothers and Babs (who wasn’t even IN Gotham by that point). I’ve always headcanoned though that Cass and Kory would get along GREAT, and be really close, and again, if Ma’ri and potentially Jake are already born by that point, no way Aunt Cass is leaving her niece and nephew behind in this trying time in particular.

And then again, maybe Steph never died or was believed dead either, because War Games didn’t play out the same with Dick not in Bludhaven and with Kory’s potential intervention.

(Of course, by that line of thinking, its possible Tim was never fired as Robin and Jack Drake was never murdered and we’re just gonna gloss right over this here, see, because despite my frequent Tim Ire, he IS a part of this family, dammit, and no second rate sperm donor is gonna stand in the way of that, so whoops, in this AU Jack Drake tripped and fell down the stairs and like. He still died. Oh no, very sad, much regrets, Siri plz send flowers, end tweet.)

And then of course, eventually you get the next generation old enough that Ma’ri, Jake, Cerdian, Lian, the twins and a Robert Long from a parallel Earth who just dropped out of the sky one day because Who Cares and never left, like....are all bursting at the seams to start their own team and go out and have their own adventures, and Ma’ri turns on the Grayson charm to be like “Pleeeeease, Uncle Dami, enable us, please, it’ll piss off Grandpa Batty, and you know you love making him do the scrunchy face of doom, c’mooooooon, we just wanna borrow the Batplane for a little trip and we’ll bring it right back and wash it and everything, NOBODY HAS TO KNOW.” 

Kory, from the other room: I already know.

Ma’ri: Curses! Foiled by my lack of an indoor voice yet again.

Uncle Dami just winks at his niece though, in that way of his that isn’t actually a wink cuz he’s still Damian, and he doesn’t Do That, but he does twitch his eyebrow in a downward direction at least, and that’s basically the same thing, it totally counts: Don’t worry, Little Star. You had me at enable.

And just. Yeah. More of that. All of that. Selina and Bruce probably actually walk down the aisle at some point too, by the power invested in me Cuz I Said So.

In conclusion:

This would be amazing and excellent and DC sucketh for denying us it, The End, roll credits, and SCENE.