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wosoamazing · 2 months

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Periods

Summary: you get your third period and it’s bad but Lia and Leah take care of you.

Warnings: Bad period, vomit, hints at Leah’s endometriosis (but not actually mentioned)

A/N: I understand that Lia and Leah are not together, but this is purely fiction so…. Hope you like it, also as always requests are welcome, and I am working on the current requests I have.

“Hey Y/N/N, why aren’t you up yet? The girls are coming over soon.” Beth asked, you had stayed at Beth and Viv's for the night as Leah was going out with some friends and you didn't want to be left alone.

“My stomach hurts Beth, it’s like cramping,” she furrows her eyebrows and pulls back your covers, to see a red patch underneath you.

“Oh, I think you’ve got your period, don’t worry it’s okay, it happens to all of us, there are some products in the bottom draw of the bathroom, have a shower and I’ll change the sheets for you,” she left you in the spare room, you quickly grabbed some clothes for the day and made your way to the bathroom, passing Beth in the hall.

You spent quite some time in the shower the warm water felt really nice, once you got out you put a tampon in and a pad on, you didn’t want to leak, you have only had 2 previous periods, but hadn’t leaked onto the sheets even the first time you got one, so you were more concerned than usual, after getting dressed you headed downstairs.

You had barely made it down the stairs, each step was accompanied by a stab in your lower abdomen. With each step the number of tears leaking out of your eyes increased. You walked into the living room where you could hear voices coming from, as you rounded the corner Lia saw you and her face dropped. “Oh Bug, come here” she said as she gestured for you to come sit with her, she was sat in the corner seat of the couch with her legs crossed, Steph was sat next to her, normally you would’ve resisted her offer, you didn’t like to have to have people take care of you, but in this moment you just wanted comfort preferably from your sister but Lia was the next best thing, you had seen her take care of Leah many times and sometimes Leah even asked Lia for help, especially when she had her period, and she was very good at it. So, you went over at sat in her lap. You sat horizontally to her, leaning your side into her, and placing your head into the crook of her neck, you brought your knees up to your chest and curled yourself up in hopes of reducing the pain you were experiencing.

Shortly after Beth had entered the room, holding some pains meds and your Arsenal water bottle in one hand and a hot water bottle and some sick bags in the other, you were slightly confused as to why she had those but didn’t bother to question, the girls had dealt with Leah’s periods a few times so maybe they were preparing just encase. “Here,” you sat up slightly as Beth handed you the pains meds and water bottle, she placed the sick bags next to Lia. After you swallow the pain meds, she gave you the hot water bottle which you put on your stomach before collapsing back into Lia as you let out a whimper.

“Where is Le?”

“She’ll be here soon, was just picking some things up. It’s okay, I’m here for you, anything you need at all, I know they haven’t been this bad before, but its okay” Lia told you. She practically knew everything about you, she was essentially living in your house now so it was expected.

“Do you want something to eat?” Beth asked you, you shook your head.

“You should try and eat something Kleintje, what about just a piece of toast” Viv asked

You didn't nod but you didn't shake your head either, so Viv decided to go make you a piece of toast, she lightly buttered it for you and brought it back. You managed to get through half of it before you started to feel sick, you gave it back to Viv and tried to take your mind of the sick feeling, however it only increased, you were very similar to your sister when you were sick or in pain so Lia noticed almost immediately, she got herself prepared with a sick bag trying to be as discrete as possible. You released from your ball as you gagged, Lia held the sick bag for you, and Steph rubbed your back. Once you finished you leaned back into Lia as Viv took the bag from her and said, “I’m going to call Leah,” to which everyone nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, starting to cry, you try and burry yourself into Lia further, she pulls you closer and just wraps her arms around you once again, whispering “It’s okay Bug, we’ve got you” in your ear. You drift off to sleep, shortly after.

_____

You wake up in a different place, you were still lying on Lia, but in different surroundings much more familiar surrounds. You were in your own house, Lia was sitting on your couch. Lia had noticed your stir “Hey Bug, Leah is just having a quick shower, then she will be out, how are you feeling?”

“B-bad” you said as tears leaked out of your eyes.

Lia noticed you were trying to move “Where do you want to go?” “Toilet” “Okay, do you want help up?” you shake your head. You try and manoeuvre yourself out of Lia’s lap, however it was unsuccessful and your movement caused a wave of stabbing pains to course through your abdomen, your breath hitched, you felt sick, like you were going to be sick, but you couldn’t be. Lia had noticed this, the bathroom wasn’t an option, and with your pain so bad, she didn’t want to move at all, every time she breathed you whimpered ever so slightly so she knew moving to reach the bowl would be all too much, she was just glad her and Leah had the idea to put towels down on the couch. You gagged, cupping your hand to your mouth, not knowing what you were trying to achieve as there wasn’t really another option other than the one you really didn’t want to face

“It’s okay, just let it out, we can just clean it up” she said in a soft, kind and reassuring tone. You gaged again, the only difference was this time something came up, and it went on you and Lia, “It’s okay, don’t worry, I’m here” Lia said as she rubbed your back. “Oh Bug,” Leah said as she walked out just catching a glimpse of the end of the what had just unfolded, she quickly walked over and grabbed the bowl placing it front of you, you gag again and loose more of your stomach contents, thankfully this time none of it was going on you though, Lia rubbed your back while Leah spoke encouraging words in your ear. “I’m sorry” you said shaking once you were done.

“It’s okay Bug, come on let’s get you showered” she picked you up, and took you to the bathroom, once you had gotten all cleaned up and changed, Leah directed you to her room as she helped you walk, Lia was already there sitting on ‘her’ side of the bed, she had also gotten prepared, there was water, pain meds, hydrolyte, sick bags and cloths on either side of the bed. You got onto the bed and Leah followed, leaving you positioned in the middle of the two women. Lia handed you some pain meds and water which you took before curling up with the hot water bottle on your stomach. Leah was rubbing your back, hoping that eventually it might soothe you to sleep, but it didn’t, only your whimpers got worse. You let out a little cry as Leah repositioned herself on the bed, she positioned the pillows so that her upper body was just slightly propped up. “Bug, I’m going to try something, it might hurt at first, but it should help, okay?” You nod slightly, so she gently slides you so that you are resting on top of her, she pulled you up slightly too so that your head on her shoulder, the movement cause you to cry, “Oh Bug, I know I’m sorry, I love you” she kissed you on the temple before continuing “I’m going to place my hands on your stomach okay, I’ll start ever so gentle and then slowly and slightly increase the pressure, but if at anytime you want me to stop just tell me and I will,” you nod. She places her hands on your stomach just below your waistband, you can feel the warmth of her hands and your body relaxes slightly, and with that Leah starts to apply a small amount of pressure, you wince and reach out for Lia’s hand seeking comfort, she slides over from where she is on the bed to be right next to Leah, you felt her at Leah’s side and slightly moved your head, so it was resting on her shoulder. Having relaxed into the initial pressure Leah increased, you whined and tried to pull back, Leah immediately moved her hands away “Sorry Bug, do you want me to stop?” “No, it does help, but also hurts a little, but not too much, better than the other pain” “Okay, but again tell me to stop if you need” you nodded your head and she continued, she felt you relax completely when you eventually fell asleep, but she kept massaging for a few minutes just to be sure you were in a deep sleep, your hand loosened on Lia’s and that’s when she stopped knowing you were definitely asleep.

“You’re a really good sister to her you know that right?” “Yeah, I suppose, I really don’t want her to leave, but she needs to, she needs to keep developing and as much as it pains me to say it, she isn’t going to improve at arsenal, she has just been playing with us for too long now, she knows the ins and outs of us, and even every defender on other teams, she needs new competition, new play style. I just, I don’t, in a few weeks everything is going to be so different” Leah broke at the final sentence, Lia wrapped her arm around her and kissed her on the temple, before Leah rested her head in the crook of Lia’s neck, her tears slid down her face, making Lia’s neck wet as she tried to hide her emotions, this was the first time Leah had actually expressed how she felt about your move, Lia knew how she felt but Leah hadn't actually spoken to anyone about it yet. “You know its okay to cry right, you both have such a special bond, she has lived with you for the past 6 years and you lived with her for like the first 8 years of here life-” “something like that yeah” “I know it will be different, I’ll miss her too, I spend so much time with her and I basically live here now, it’s like she is my little sister. But we have each other we will get through this together okay, I love you so much Le” “I love you too Wally, and if it helps, she definitely thinks of you as a big sister, I don’t think she would’ve let any of the other girls look after her today the way she let you do willingly, and did you see her reach for your hand and relax slightly when you came closer, she loves you too Wally, and also thank you so much for taking such amazing care of her today, while I wasn’t there. Sorry you got sick on you”.

Lia made a gross face at the reminder of that “I don’t think I would willingly let anyone other than my two Williamson’s vomit on me, ever. I just feel so bad for her, do you think we should take her to the doctor? Like I know with you and all there are the chances and stuff but what if something is wrong.”

“Oh don’t worry Mum has her booked in for an ultrasound already, somehow she managed to get one for tomorrow which in hindsight isn’t going to be fun to get her to but oh well” your sister looked down to your face a small frown was appearing she moved one of her hands back onto your stomach and the frown slightly lessened, she lightly started massaging again and the frown disappeared, so she kept going, hoping that you could sleep, as clearly even in your sleep you were in pain. “I do hope though that this is just a one off, I don’t want her to have to go through it, deal with this or worse every month.”

“I know, I hope so too, but we will be here for her and Lucy and Kie will look after her, and the girls at Barca, they all seem lovely”

“Yeah, it, just, I don’t know,” Leah sighed, they laid in silence for a bit before Lia spoke.

“Babe, I might try and sleep, if that’s okay, because it’s not like we are going anywhere soon and I’m slightly exhausted, after last night and then today”.

“Yeah, I might sleep too, love you,” they kissed briefly before Leah placed her head in the crook of Lia’s neck again and Lia rested her head on hers.

____

“Oh, Cait, I found them, shhh” Katie said, Caitlin came in and took a picture, Leah and Lia held hands over you, as you hand your hand was still placed in Lia’s and Leah’s other arm was wrapped around you.

“They are so cute, let’s just leave them be, leave the stuff on the bench I’ll send them a message”.

____

Leah woke up first and grabbed her phone, seeing a message from Caitlin.

Caitlin: We came to drop of a few things, you didn’t answer so we let ourselves in, we found all 3 of you asleep, so let you be, the items are just on the bench.

Caitlin: *sent a photo*

Leah: Thank you so much, and could you not tell people straight away….. I mean I know the team probably assumes but we haven’t told Bug yet, were going to tell her today but…

Caitlin: Yeah sure, hope she feels better.

____

You blinked your eyes open, and Leah looked down at you, “Feeling better Bug?”

“A little I guess,” you paused for a little moment, “Le?” “Yeah Bug,” “Are you and Lia together?” “Well Bug, in a way I suppose yes, we were going to ask you if you were okay with us being together today, but we decided not too because you weren’t well”.

“Okay, I don’t mind, can Lia move in now? Well like does it mean she will move in?”

“If you’re okay with that bug.”

“I would like that, I love Lia, she is really nice and fun, and she takes care of me and doesn’t complain when I throw up on her, and she makes you happy, and she is always the first one to check you’re okay and she really cares for you and helps you, even when you push her away. Don’t mess this one up Le, but maybe before she moves in just check, she wants kids…. And maybe marriage.”

“I’m glad you like her bug, because I do really like her, and I promise I wont mess this one up.” “I’m just going to go to the toilet” you say as you get up and head for the toilet shutting the door.

“Having little mini me’s wandering around the house one day could be cute, and I reckon she would make a great wedding planner, that way she wouldn't have to choose between us, for bride's maid”

“You were awake? You heard all that?” Lia nodded and smiled, which caused Leah to smirk before they kissed.

#woso #woso community #woso fanfics #woso x reader #woso imagine #arsenal wfc #awfc #awfc x reader

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jongseonvs · 2 years

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texts w/ bf! keeho ft. piwon/ brother! theo (reader is fm)

warnings: none!!

- key -

lover - keeho

theyoh - theo

souleater - soul

Morelos - a fake restaurant name that i came up w LOL

October 5 at 10:35 pm

lover: hey did i leave my jacket at your house

me : umm no, you put it in your bag before u left

lover: oh so we’re lying now ☺️?

me : 😭😭 you literally folded it and put it up, i think i would know

lover: my bag isn’t a luggage ….. stop gaslighting

*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•

October 7 at 2:35 pm

lover: do you wanna go shopping

me: duhh pull up ho

lover: okay I’m outside hurry

me: why didn’t you tell me you were already here, i have 2 get ready 😭!

lover: why do you have to get ready it’s just the mall

me: exactly??? what if evan peters or zendaya is there

*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•

{ lover , intak, +4 others }

October 10

intak: LMAO IKR…

Today at 12:55 pm

lover : some girl gave me a free t-shirt for her business promotion at the mall who wants it

intak: send pic

theyoh: who would do that for promotions

theyoh: if that was me, you’d be PAYING me to wear MY shii 🤣

you : literally shut up theo

soul eater: 😲

jongseob : oh my 😀😀

theyoh: girl no one’s talking to you why are you even in this gc

jiung: cs she’s keehos gf

theyoh: ok??? she’s my sister before his gf and i say kick her out who’s with me!!? ✊

lover has removed theyoh

jiung: LNFAOOOOAO

you : 😭😭😭

jongseob: brooo 😭

soul eater: “ψ (｀∇´) ψ

lover: LOL! 😆

intak: …..

intak: soooo are u gonna send the shirt pic????

*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•

lover: what are you wearing for pink out day at the studio

me: idk….maybe….something….. pink!

lover: 😐

lover: send me a pic before you leave, i want us to match

me: ohhh why didn’t you just say that silly 😝

lover: shut the hell up.

*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•

lover: let’s go out tonight

lover: i want to dance with you

me: aww where attt

lover: it’s a surprise!!

me: if its at morelos…..im not going.

lover: ……

lover: what’s wrong w morelos??!?!

me: all the waiters hit on you and give you their numbers

me: and pretend as if your beautiful amazing girlfriend isn’t next to you

lover: umm yeah i know you’re amazing and beautiful that’s why i purposely give their numbers to random people in the restaurant🤭

me: YOU WHAT

me: STEPH 😭😭😭😭

*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•°.*°.•*•

[a/n] this is my first time writing something like this so let me know what you guys think!! ty for reading! <33 feedback is always appreciated and I love reading your comments!

#p1h keeho #p1h imagines #keeho x reader #kpop imagines #keeho imagines #keeho scenarios #keeho fluff #keeho x female reader #kpop scenarios #kpop fanfic #p1harmony fanfic #p1h x reader #piwon fanfics

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002yb · 7 months

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reading your spicy jaydick headcanons like oomphhh

omega!jason is where its at!! especially jason with a big chest. its your average hard chest until dick starts fucking him and massaging it, and then it becomes softer and softer until he has to wear a during his heat because milk keeps coming through

if you cant tell, i love jason and his toddies

Dick is in the middle of his shift when he gets Jason's text: a pin of Jason's location alongside a series of messages that devolve from suggestive to concerning because Jason refuses to give context and tell Dick what's wrong. 'need u' becomes 'hurry’ becomes 'come alone’ becomes 'when i die again im coming back to haunt your alpha ass where are you'

Considering their pillow talk consists of casework, of course Dick's thoughts make an immediate leap to worst case scenarios. Just a few nights ago when Jason was coming down from his heat, the omega had been running through any number of pending caseloads he had, getting himself back on track from time lost and brushing off Dick's offers to assist because, 'you're welcome in my nest, not my territory, alpha.'

The pin is very much in Jason's territory, but the text is invitation enough, right?

Not that it matters. With little more than a mumble to his partner about how Dick needs to leave, he's grabbing his jacket and keys and jogging, running to get to his bike - to get to Gotham, to get to the Alley and to Jason. Dodging his coworkers as he texts Jason back because 'are you okay?' and 'on my way.’

A part of him wants to send one of their siblings despite Jason’s insistence it can only be Dick. If it's an emergency, if Jason is in danger, any of their siblings could be there faster to help until Dick can get there, himself. If not Tim, then Steph. If not Steph, Duke. Hell, Damian would burn the city down if need be. It's not like they don't have options.

All Dick gets in reply is a cryptic: 'death would be kinder than the mess i'm in rn'

Even through text, Dick picks up on Jason's usual brand of dark, dry humor and sarcasm. It doesn't speak much to Jason's safety or his condition, but whatever the mess is can't be too bad if Jason is texting and being ornery about it all.

Regardless of that assurance, Dick makes a forty minute drive in twenty and tracks Jason to a discreet alley off the main road. The omega has tucked himself away behind a dumpster and with how Jason curls in on himself, arms clutching his front, Dick's heart sinks in fear that Jason has been shot or something equally as terrible.

Dirt and grime be damned, Dick rushes to Jason and kneels in front of him - hands already running over him in a clinically concise check to look for any hurts.

It takes some coaxing, but when Jason lifts his head from his knees Dick startles because oh. Jason's face is flushed. There are actual tears welled up in his eyes, arms drawn around his chest and body curled forward as if to hide himself. It reminds Dick so much of when Jason was younger and despite the circumstances he feels charmed and endeared by the show of vulnerability and how Jason trusts him with it.

"It's okay, I've got you." Dick promises. "Tell me what's wrong."

Jason's upper lip lifts in a snarl and that sweet Robin Dick remembers from a lifetime ago falls away to the omega Dick falls in love with time and again. The vicious snarl wobbles soon enough though, wrought with whatever emotion it is Jason is feeling and then Jason keens with…mortification?

It startles Dick to attention, but what's more surprising is how Jason lowers his hands and - and - and-

Jason's top is soaked through. Wet with...

Dick swallows thickly. He can't stop staring. There's not a thought in his alpha brain besides how his omega is milking.

He starts to smile despite the circumstances and Jason smacks him for it, bemoaning Dick and his incessant kneading of Jason's tits and how this is all Dick's fucking fault. Fucking knothead alpha!

'It's natural!' Dick defends while shrugging off his jacket to wrap over Jason's shoulders and give the omega a sense of modesty and security.

But Dick really is a fucking knothead alpha. Discreet as he tries to be, he tries to smell the milk and Jason growls at him, too embarrassed to deal with Dick's antics in that moment because this has never happened before.

And Dick can't help himself again, he preens a bit. Taking pride in himself as an alpha and laughing when Jason slaps at him.

"Sorry, sorry," Dick apologizes, pulling Jason in for a hug to comfort him. The omega settles against him, but grumbles all the while, a constant rumble of displeasure over the inconvenience. Dick rubs his hand along Jason's back and kisses the side of his head, smiling brightly as he heaves a sigh, "Fuck, I was scared you were hurt."

"My pride is hurt." Jason complains and as an afterthought whines, "And my tits are so fucking tender."

"I can - " Dick starts.

Jason nips him and growls, "Not a fucking chance. You've had your fun, alpha."

"Fun's just starting, omega." Dick promises, nipping Jason's ear back in retaliation before pressing a kiss to Jason's cheek and resting their foreheads together. Nuzzling gently to soothe Jason's riled nerves. "Let's get you back to your nest first though, huh?"

#dickjay #jaydick #omegaverse #anon you've got fine taste #nothing better than some hot toddies

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skulduggery-pleasant-bp9 · 6 months

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Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe

WARNING!: Mention of murder, slightly insecure Reader, cursing, mention of name calling AND MORE ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!

Part 5 – Tailor Bespoke

M/n paid for the repairs and drove home a few hours ago. His Mom called him, a bit angered, that he left Stephanie all alone in the house, until M/n explained that he had to pick up is car from repairs, and that it could have taken him hours, if he wouldn’t have left. That was enough reason for Melissa to stop and apologize to him.

She didn’t know that he had vacation from his work already. He always kept that a secret. He never said anything when he had vacation from his work, because then he worked on other things.

Soon enough, a bit into Midday, Stephanie wrote M/n, while he was in his secret little workshop, that his Uncle Gordon made for him in Grimwood, that she and Skulduggery were coming to pick him up.

M/n: Okay, but be careful and tell him to use the door, like any normal one, this time. I bought a new hinge and set the door back in. I left a key under the welcome mat. Just take it and unlock it. I am in my study, doing some research about something. I will come out as soon as I am finished.

Sassy Sissy: Okay, noted.

With that M/n put away his phone and then continued to tinker in his secret workshop. After a few minutes he heard the door being unlocked and M/n rushed to his study, changed his clothes, took his own car and house keys and then he came out of his study.

He went down the stairs and into the living room, seeing Skulduggery and Stephanie.

“Hey, Steph.”, M/n greeted.

“Hi. You have to stand in front of a full body mirror.”, she said.

“Huh ?”, M/n asked confused.

“Skulduggery pretty much used a spell to make me have a reflection of myself, that will replace me, while I am gone and with him. When I return it goes back into the mirror, I touch it and all its memories get transferred to me. It will act like you and take your place, while you have other things to do.”, she explained.

“Ah...Okay....”

M/n then went to Gordon’s old study and they followed. Skulduggery drew with chalk on it, said a few words and then told M/n to wipe it off and touch the mirror. He did so and jumped back as his reflection stepped out of it.

“Oh fuck me...”, M/n wheezed in shock.

Stephanie snorted.

“What is it ?”, she asked.

M/n pointed at the reflection.

“It looks fucking ugly ! I know for a fact that MY hair isn’t that ugly !”

She frowned and looked at him.

“What do you see ?”, Skulduggery asked worried.

“I see some dark aura around it and it doesn’t look ANYTHING like me !”

“Ah...”

She turned to the Detective.

“What is ‘Ah’ ?”

“He can’t be fooled by reflections. He can see through their façade. Don’t worry, M/n, it looks just like you. You can see through its façade.”

“So he can do magic ?”, Stephanie asked.

“A little bit. He can tell what is a reflection and what is a real person.”, Skulduggery answered.

“Huh...okay then.”, M/n replied hesitantly.

“What do you expect me to do ?”, the reflection of him asked.

“Don’t answer the house phone, besides it is a certain number. And don’t leave the house. Don’t touch my stuff either.”

“Understood.”, it replied.

“Good. Now...can I use my own car to follow ? I don’t want to be in the Bentley again.”, he pouted.

“Believe me, you really don’t want to. He came and picked me up with it, damaged. He said he got ambushed in his car. Everyone stared !”

M/n laughed his ass off at that.

“Okay ! We are taking MY car then and I will look at the Bentley, see what I can fix.”, M/n said with a smile.

“Hah ?! You can fix cars ?!”, Stephanie yelled in shock.

“Well...most of it I can. I am still working on getting parts for certain areas, so I can fix my own car, in the future, myself.”

“You could have fixed Mom’s car ?!”

“No. She said the engine didn’t work and I don’t have any replacement parts for it. Also, she is not allowed to ever know, that I studied for other, more dangerous, things, than marketing.”, M/n replied to his little sister, as they went to his garage.

“And who agreed that we are leaving MY Bentley here ?”, Skulduggery protested.

“Me and Steph, which means that you are outnumbered. I am not going to drive inside a damaged, suffering car, nor will I drive after it. We are taking my Pontiac Firebird. Suck it up, loser.”, M/n said.

Then they entered the garage and Skulduggery stopped still as he saw the Pontiac Firebird.

“Wow. It looks beautiful and very well taken care of.”, Skulduggery said and caressed the cowling.

(Design)

“Who told you, you can touch it ?”, M/n scolded and smacked his gloved hand off of his car, playfully.

Skulduggery chuckled and pulled it away. Just then he saw that M/n wore a black jacket over his other clothes, with a hood on the back of it.

“Now hop in losers. Sis, you are allowed to sit in the passenger seat. But on the way back you have to switch.”

She pouted.

“Fine...”

“Can I have the keys then ?”, Skulduggery asked, stretching his hand out.

“Who said YOU can drive MY car ? NEVER. You will navigate me. My car, my rules.”

Skulduggery was stunned at that.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to let me sit in the front then ?”, he asked M/n.

“Ask my Sister, for permission, not me. She always calls dibs on the front.”, M/n replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The Detective looked at her, with his sunglasses. She grinned mockingly.

“Now...I just want to know some things.”, she started.

“Oh dear...”, Skulduggery sighed.

“When did you two plan to tell me that Gordon was murdered ?”, Stephanie asked the two males darkly.

M/n froze up at that and he looked at her with wide eyes, while Skulduggery tensed up.

“Oh, you found out ?”, M/n asked nervously.

“Yes. And I know that you knew the instant, it was mentioned, that, he had to die for something, someone wanted. Why didn’t you tell me ?”

“Because I am a Coroner and usually I am not allowed to talk about it to anyone, not even family relatives. It is beat into my system. Sorry, little Sis.”, M/n apologized.

“Fine, you are forgiven. And why did YOU not tell me ?”, she asked Skulduggery.

“This is a very dangerous thing. This is a very dangerous world, I live in.”, Skulduggery explained.

The two siblings stared and M/n cursed under his breath, annoyed.

“Listen here, numbskull, we don’t give a flying fuck. We can handle it, we proved that much to you yesterday. This is OUR Uncle, who got murdered. Not just YOUR friend, but OUR Uncle ! This is FAMILY and whoever killed him, found it funny to do so. This is OUR business, now, just as much as it is yours. Family sticks together and you DON’T EVER mess with Family. You mess with one member, you have the whole Family on your ass next.”, M/n started, annoyed.

Skulduggery wanted to open his jaw, but M/n beat him to it.

“To make matters even worse, that person sent some Psycho to my home and was even ready to kill US, which means that we got involved in the most serious way already. We are NOT backing out now. This is a Family matter and I will turn deaf ears on anything else you will try to tell us. Now get in the fucking car and let’s go.”

“Can I at least say something ?”, Skulduggery asked.

“Make it quick. I am annoyed and my mood is soured. Doesn’t help that I didn’t sleep.”

“I only didn’t want you too deep in this, because Gordon was my friend and I felt like I owed him, to not pull his favorite Nephew and Niece into the Danger zone.”, Skulduggery explained.

“We are already inside it. Thanks to someone who was ready to murder us.”, Stephanie told him.

“The decision is not yours, anymore, to make.”, M/n added, voice tired.

“As it seems.”, Skulduggery agreed.

“So, you won’t keep any secrets, from us, in the future ?”, M/n’s sister asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to die. I swear by my life.”, Skulduggery said as he put his hand over his dressed ribcage.

“Okay.”, she replied.

“Great.”, M/n answered.

“Even though you don’t have a heart anymore.”, she said.

“I know.”, Skulduggery replied dryly.

“And technically you also don’t have a life anymore.”, M/n added.

“I know that too.”

“Then we understand each other.”, the siblings replied, satisfied.

“Get in the front seat, Loser. But I will sit in the front, on the way back home.”, Stephanie said.

“Understood.”, Skulduggery answered and got in by the passenger seat.

M/n jumped into the driver’s seat and Stephanie into the back, then M/n started the engine, the garage opened and he drove out. Before they sped off, he halted next to the Bentley.

“Get your car into the garage.”, M/n said.

Skulduggery did as he was told and then they drove off, Skulduggery navigating M/n, where to drive to.

After they were on a very long and straight road, Stephanie asked him stuff.

“What’s he like ?”

“What’s who like ?”, Skulduggery asked.

“The guy we are going to meet. What’s even his name ?”, she asked.

“Ghastly Bespoke.”, the Detective answered.

M/n choked on his own spit and tried not to laugh, thinking it was a joke. Stephanie stared at Skulduggery, trying to see that he was joking, but he wasn’t and when M/n realized he was serious, too, he was shocked.

“Wait, you were serious ? Why would anyone call themselves ‘Ghastly’ ?”, M/n asked in surprise.

“Different names fit the most different people. Ghastly is my tailor and at the same time one of my best friends. He taught me how to box.”

“And what’s he like ?”

“Proper. Honorable. Honest. And most definitely funnier, as it sounds right now. Also he is not a very big Fan of Sorcery.”

“He doesn’t like Sorcery ? Why ?”, Stephanie asked confused.

“It just doesn’t interest him.”, Skulduggery said and looked at M/n.

He seemed to have a face of understanding.

“He probably grew up with Magic and it just...became his normal life. It is not uncommon, to wish for another life and another world, when you grew up in one that is, to many, unusual and to you normal. But honestly...he should be thankful, that he is a Mage instead of a Mortal... I could give him a hundred reasons as to why he should be happy about it.”, M/n admitted.

“Why would he not be interested in Magic ? It can’t only be, because he grew up with it.”, Stephanie asked.

“The world, he reads about in books and that he sees in TV, he likes more, the world with Policemen and Robbers and human dramas and sport. If he could have decided, where he wanted to live, he would have chosen the world without Magic. Then he could have gone to school and learned a job and...he could have been normal. But he never had that Chance, of course. And he might never get one either.”

“Why not ?”, the siblings asked.

Stephanie was confused, while M/n was concerned.

Skulduggery hesitated, as if he thought about, how he should tell them this the best way, then he explained, that Ghastly was hideous since he was a Baby. M/n grew concerned and slightly defensive for the poor man, who wasn’t even present. Was the tailor alright with Skulduggery talking about him like this ?

“Not just ugly”, he said, “not just unflattering looking, but really and truly hideous. His Mother was cursed, as she was pregnant with him, and now his whole face is covered in scars. They tried everything, to undo it – counter spells, miracle cures, incantations, magical formulas, but nothing helped.”

M/n scoffed at Skulduggery and his stare, on the road, turned into a glare.

“Are you fucking serious, Pleasant ?! I thought worse, since you overreacted like this, about Ghastly ! Just some silly scars ?! That’s all ?! God damn ! You made it sound worse than it is ! I thought he was born with half of his face missing, or half rotten meat and the other was normal ! Holy shit, man ! From now on stop exaggerating everything !”, M/n yelled at him in the car.

Skulduggery was a bit taken aback at that information. Stephanie was surprised that M/n had such horrible images in his head, but then again, he was a Coroner. He must have seen stuff like that already.

After that Skulduggery explained that Ghastly always switched the roles of his parents’ jobs, to his class comrades. That he had his love for boxing from his Father and his love for sewing from his Mother. Even though it was the other way around.

He talked more and more about him and at that M/n could see that he was actually friends with the tailor and that he cared about him dearly. He was even glad that he chose clothes making, over boxing, because he made awesome suits.

Stephanie asked him if they were just going there for him to get a new suit, which he replied to with a no. His Family had a lot of historical things, art pieces and literature about the Ancients and the Sceptre. He wanted to talk to him, so they can get his permission to take a look at everything and find out how to protect themselves from it, what there was to know about the Scepter and the Ancients and more.

“I thought you don’t believe in it.”, M/n mocked.

“It doesn’t hurt to do some research about it either.”, Skulduggery only replied.

Then they arrived inside a small town and after a bit, Skulduggery made M/n stop the car.

“We are here.”, he told the siblings.

They got out, M/n locked up his car and then they followed Skulduggery to a certain building.

All the buildings looked terrible and the people hurried past them, without paying them much attention. An elderly Lady nodded at Skulduggery, as she walked past him.

“Is this one of these secret communities, you talked about ?”, Stephanie asked.

“That’s right. We tried, to make the environment as little welcoming as possible. So no one has the urge to snoop around.”

“In that you definitely succeeded.”, she muttered.

“Not really. These buildings look shabby to you, but there are people that love to spray graffiti on the walls, taint it all and then break into houses. It was a dumb idea. No matter what you do, there are always Humans that will do the exact opposite of what you tried to achieve.”, M/n countered.

“From where would you know that ?”, Stephanie asked.

“Little Sister, I had my rebel years as I was 12 years old and the behavior lasted until I was almost 14 years old. I sprayed Graffiti on buildings and walls, I disgraced ugly nowadays cars, I broke into houses, I entered buildings that were close to collapsing, I invaded property, just to steal fruit and vegetables from their backyards...I did a lot of shit a few years ago. The more dangerous it was, the more I wanted to do it. It just gave me the adrenaline I needed from time to time, to feel SOMETHING. It was wrong, but I still did it.”, M/n deadpanned.

“Did Uncle G know ?”, she asked.

“He did. He tried to stop me and at some point he threatened me that he will turn me in by his friend, for a few weeks. To teach me a lesson. I think he meant Skulduggery with that. I got out of my rebel years after I almost got Uncle G in deep trouble. I have no idea how he got out of them, but let’s just say...it gave me a huge scare.”

She stared at her Brother in shock. He chuckled.

“What ? I know I was bad, but you never saw anything, so I wasn’t a bad influence.”

“You are so sweet and caring ! How did I miss that ?!”, she yelled.

M/n laughed and ruffled her hair.

“You missed it, because I hid it well.”, he said.

“That is so NOT fair !”, she complained.

M/n shook his head.

“So, rule number one, don’t judge the outside of the buildings. They are supposed to look like crap. That doesn’t mean that the inside is just as crap. Noted.”, M/n said.

“Very good.”, Skulduggery praised.

Then he started to pull Stephanie’s leg about Octopus humans, which M/n found utterly ridiculous. He laughed as Skulduggery told her that they don’t exist, that would be a nightmare to deal with, which she only glared at the Skeleton.

Before they knew it, they entered through a door and it was warm, smelled nice and it looked cozy. M/n was already feeling like home in there. He thought that the puppets, that stood there, for a second, will act like security, but they stayed puppets and did what puppets did.

Then a man with his face covered in scars, come out from the back room. Ghastly Bespoke. M/n was in awe at all the scars. After two seconds, he looked away, not wanting to seem disrespectful. He smiled at them and shook Skulduggery’s hand, welcomingly. He had broad shoulders too. M/n looked at his Sister, who intensely stared at Ghastly, so he smacked her over the back of her head.

“Ow !”, she yelled and glared at M/n.

“Take a picture, it will last longer. Staring at people is rude.”, M/n scolded.

“I’m used to it.”, Ghastly replied.

M/n looked at the tailor.

“It doesn’t make it right.”, he argued back and then glared at his Sister again.

Ghastly still smiled and looked at Stephanie. M/n felt slightly protective, but for now he suppressed the urge to jump into action. He was nice until now. Stay...calm...

“Do you want to shake my hand or do you want to start with something easier, like wave ?”, the tailor asked, with no malice in his voice.

She suddenly blushed from embarrassment and stretched out her hand quickly. It almost made M/n laugh. He grinned and tried badly to hide his snort with his hand. He never saw her, this shy before. It was so funny.

His hand had no scars. So it was really just the face and head. Poor guy.

“Do you have a name ?”, he asked her.

“Not yet.”, she replied softly.

“Think very carefully, if you really want to have one, before you continue to think about it. This life is not for everyone.”

She nodded slowly. Then he looked at M/n and he stretched his hand out to him. M/n took it and he felt how strong his hand was and how firm his hold was on his hand.

“How about you, hm ?”, Ghastly asked kindly.

“Well, I do have, what you call, a Taken name, but it wasn’t originally for the world of Mages. My Uncle thought it best to use a Taken name, for the work I am doing.”

“May I know your name then ?”, he asked.

“It’s Corrupted. I am still working on the last name...”, M/n answered.

He nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Corrupted.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Bespoke. Skulduggery talked a lot about you while I drove US here.”, M/n said mocking Skulduggery playfully.

Skulduggery muttered under his breath. Ghastly raised an eyebrow at that, his smile turning into a teasing grin.

“Is that so ?”

“You should ask your best friend. By the way, you should punch him in the jaw as hard as you can. He exaggerated about your condition, if you know what I mean. He made me believe that you lost half of your face or something, while you just have scars. He is an asshat.”, M/n snitched on Skulduggery.

Ghastly laughed.

“That bad ?”, he asked M/n and stepped away.

“ ‘He is very hideous. Was born like that as a baby and it was a curse.’ Like...when I hear hideous, I think about crippled people, people that lost their faces or worse. And then he dropped the secret why you are apparently hideous...it was scars... I was ready to punch him, but I was driving, so I just yelled at him.”

Ghastly looked at Skulduggery, who lifted his arms up in the air.

“Now, now, Ghastly ! We can talk about this !”, Skulduggery said.

Not a second later, did the tailor box Skulduggery in the shoulder.

“Ow...”, the Detective said.

“That’s what you get for scaring them so much. Dramatic Skeleton.”

“That’s fair, I suppose.”

Then Ghastly inspected both the siblings and looked at his friend again.

“Where there any problems ?”, he asked.

“A few.”, answered Skulduggery.

“Then I suppose it is time for the right garments.”, the tailor said and got out a small pad, from his pocket, taking notes.

He looked at Stephanie.

“Do you have any favorite colors ?”, he asked her, while he started to write in his pad.

“Pardon ?”, she asked.

M/n face palmed.

“Your clothes. Any preferences ?”

“I don’t really understand...”

“Not all clothes, I am making, are just examples of exquisite tailoring. Occasionally, if the situation demands of it, there have to be special needs taken into account.”

M/n nodded with wide eyes of understanding.

“Ah ! I get where this is going !”, he said happily.

“Ghastly is planning to make you clothes, that will protect you, until this whole thing is over and done with.”, Skulduggery explained, “Ghastly can make you a suit, nothing formal, that can save your life.”

“Fashion.”, Ghastly said, shrugging his shoulders.

“This is about life and death.”, he added after a short silence.

His pencil flew over the paper.

“So now again: Do you have a favorite color for your clothes ?”

“I...I don’t know, if we can afford it...”, she said softly.

Ghastly shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ll put it on Skulduggery’s bill. Go crazy.”

M/n smirked and chuckled.

“I like him.”, he said and looked at his Sister.

She only blinked. She wasn’t prepared for this. She only went shopping with her Mom and Brother before.

“I don’t really know...black ?”

Ghastly nodded and wrote something into his notebook.

“With black you can’t go wrong.”, he said.

“Black and white are THE fashion colors. Almost every color suits them.”, M/n agreed.

Ghastly smiled and looked at him, nodding.

“Exactly.”, he confirmed.

Then he looked at him and started to draw into his notebook again.

“What about you ? Any favorite color ?”

“Oof...My good man...you are asking too much of me.”, M/n chuckled.

“He almost loves every color.”, Stephanie joked.

He glared at her.

“Do NOT ! But I can never decide.”

“Name some.”, Ghastly offered.

“Okay...Sapphire blue, night black, cyan, ruby red, blood red, forest green, emerald green, gold, silver, amethyst purple, dark blue, Zaffre, Smalt and Vantablack. I guess, surprise me. I have no idea what would look best on me with clothes in these colors.”

“I might have a few ideas already. Anything else ?”, Ghastly asked.

M/n blushed in shame.

“Was I that obvious that I wanted to ask something ?”, he asked the tailor.

Ghastly chuckled and nodded.

“Well...sometimes, clothes make me sweat, long or short sleeved doesn’t even matter, even though I am always very cold. Can you do ANYTHING about that, so I don’t have to wash my clothes every HOUR ? It tends to get really bad sometimes...And nothing helps either. Deo wears off quickly and the perfume is too much and too little at the same time, no matter the brand.”, M/n asked shyly.

He seemed stressed about it, which he was. He was always cold, but still, his armpits, back and chest sweat a lot, no matter what he did, nothing helped and his scent overthrows everything, which, is supposed to hide it away. Even stuff, that is supposed to stay strong for DAYS, has no chance to cover it up for longer than two hours.

“Hmmm...I think I have a few tricks up my sleeve, to help with that.”, Ghastly replied and noted it down.

“Anything else ? What design should they be ? Suit or something more normal ?”, Ghastly asked.

“Uhmm...Let me think....I think, about any other problems, I am clear. Just the sweating issue. I am unsure, I like wearing suits from time to time, but I also like to wear long sleeved sweatshirts, normal pair of jeans and a jacket. As long as I have a hood on my jacket, I walk around with these.”

“Because you wanna feel cool.”, Stephanie muttered.

M/n looked at her, then away.

“No, it’s because sometimes, I feel insecure and wanna hide away, Sissy. Believe it or not, even smart people, like me, feel unsure of themselves, sometimes. The hood helps me to hide away, but I also have moments where I wear a suit and aren’t afraid to show off. So honestly, whatever ya think is best, Mr. Bespoke. I have no issues with anything.”

“You still hate zoning people in.”, M/n’s sister accused.

“He looks clever and creative. I want him to be creative. He can surely come up with something cool and whatever it will look like, I will like it. I never had issues with clothes. As long as they fit, I will take them.”, M/n argued back to her.

She looked at him skeptical.

“Heck, he could make a potato sack for me to wear and, as long as it would fit me, I would wear it. Clothes are clothes. I never had a certain taste in them.”

Ghastly was surprised at that and looked at his best friend, who seemed a bit saddened. The tailor was determined to make something that will fit M/n perfectly. Stephanie looked at Ghastly.

“My Brother also loves pockets. A LOT of pockets and they have to be deep. The pants and jackets, he likes, have very flat and small pockets, which, not even his phone would fit into. It would always fall out, just like his keys. He also needs belts sometimes, because the rubbers in the waistbands of his pants, tend to not do their job properly. Maybe he also needs an extra large pocket on his pants, because he will need to carry around a knife all day, thanks to his job.”, she added to the list.

M/n looked away and sighed. Why did his Sister know him so well ?

“What is he doing, that he needs to carry around a weapon ?”, Ghastly asked concerned, noting down the infos.

“He works as a Coroner for humans, but he gets ‘special’ victims recently. People, that died from things, which, came from our world. No one wants to investigate it, or seems to find it, but he does. He sent me a few things and gave me the report of someone already, to go over it. We will be working together from time to time, because of this. Better him, Gordon’s Nephew, than anyone else. He can keep this a secret, someone else, probably won’t.”, Skulduggery answered.

“But being a very successful, observant and smart Coroner, like me, draws a lot of attention to you and that is why I always have to be armed. One downside of my job, people trying to murder you and make you shut up. But I wanted to do it and Uncle supported my paths. That is also why I already have a Taken name. I work with the name ‘Corrupted’ as the Coroner, so my Family stays safe. If anyone would look up anything about me or my Given name, they would find nothing that connects us. So my Family is safe.”, M/n explained softly.

Ghastly stared at M/n in shock.

“How old are you again ?”, he asked.

“Sixteen, but I feel way older than I am, thanks to my past. I was very smart too, so I was sent from the first grade, to the tenth in less than 6 months and as I succeeded in all the difficult tests, that, I never really learned in school, but still could answer correctly, they let me graduate earlier and I was instantly in university, then I started scholarships. I raced through College, as Uncle G stated. I was too smart apparently. I started my job as Coroner with 13 years of age.”

Ghastly stared at M/n in utter shock.

“When were you taken into school ?”

“I was adopted with six years of age, by my Sister’s Family and Uncle G instantly suggested, to put, me into a school, because I seemed very smart. I read one of his books and told him that he had a lot of typos, which he never saw. When he asked me math questions, I always had the answers. He saw potential in me and that’s how I enrolled. After two months of me being, very intelligent, they tested my knowledge and made me race through all the other grades. I always came out with the mark one. In every subject. Then I was in tenth grade and I raced through it just as quick with everything. Then I had University, which I finished in a year and then I was supposed to figure out what scholarships I wanted to make. Uncle G helped me and with that I started my three years of learning. After I was finished I started to write applications to different places and nailed an apprenticeship as a Coroner. I got the job two months later.”

Ghastly was impressed and shocked.

“Gordon really wasn’t bluffing then. He talked a lot about you. I am surprised, really. I thought he made that up, to mock people that weren’t really smart.”, the tailor said sheepishly.

“It’s fine. You don’t meet someone, like me, everyday. I am...an abomination. Not normal.”

“Who called you an abomination ?”, Stephanie asked a bit angered.

“School kids, University people, scholar people and even some of my colleagues at work. I am a freak for being so smart and observant. I never leave a stone unturned. I get all of the work, because they all don’t like me very much. Only my Boss does.”

After M/n finished answering his Sister, he pulled his hood over his head, hiding away. They all felt sympathy for him. But Ghastly knew how that felt best.

“I am sorry, that you were treated like this and it goes on. I can relate.”, Ghastly said softly.

“I know you can. I am sorry for you too, that nothing worked out for you. But let us be honest, if you would have been a human and not a Mage, you would have never met some people that are either your friends now or even people you can just turn to, for help. Believe me...the Mortal realm isn’t all that great either. What you read in books and see on the TV, is not reality. The reality is way darker and depressing than what you would expect.”, M/n told Ghastly, with a soft voice.

Ghastly stared at M/n in surprise and confusion.

“It is like the books we Mortals read about Magic. It sounds awesome and all, but it is also very dangerous. We read books and watch TV shows about magical worlds and wish to be there, anywhere, but in the reality, we live in. You do the very same, just reversed. You have no clue what is really going on in our reality.”, M/n explained and then looked away.

“And you do ?”, Stephanie asked.

“Sis, I am a very intelligent kid, with a dangerous job. I help solving a lot of cases and I keep improving with my knowledge about everything. Because I am so young and very smart, I get a lot of requests to work for other people. A few times I was interested and decided to risk a small peak into what I would have to do. You don’t want to know what I’ve seen. It was scarring. I started to ignore such requests and stayed with my job instead. It...was for the better.”

Ghastly grew concerned.

“What did you see ?”, he asked.

M/n turned to him with a small smile.

“Maybe another time, if there ever will be another one. I...don’t want to talk about it.”

They decided to shut up about it. Ghastly left and went for the back room again.

“Does he not have to take measures to make our clothes ?”, Stephanie asked.

“A look is enough to him.”, Skulduggery told her.

“I suppose experience and stuff.”, M/n stated.

“Something like that.”

Skulduggery lead them through a door that was a bit further in the back, it lead to a small living room and it didn’t take long for Ghastly to arrive again. Stephanie and Skulduggery sat down on the small couch, while M/n stayed up, standing straight.

Stephanie looked at her big Brother in concern.

“Do you want to sit down and I sit on your lap ?”, she asked.

She blushed slightly in embarrassment, but she was willing to be a bit embarrassed. Her Brother could never stand for very long. He would start pacing soon enough and not stop for hours to pace. He said, he did that, because his legs otherwise started to either hurt or he wouldn’t feel his blood flow after a while. He bounced his legs a lot too, for the exact same reasons.

“You sure you want that, little Sister ?”, M/n asked.

“Yeah. I know how you get otherwise.”, she answered and got up.

M/n sighed and sat down in her spot and Stephanie sat down on her big Brother’s lap after that. He held her close and looked at Ghastly.

He sat on the armchair that stood in front of them. He had his fingertips laid on top of each other, that his hands formed an A.

“And now I would like to know, what is going on.”, Ghastly said.

Masterlist HERE !

#Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe #Part 5 – Tailor Bespoke #skulduggery pleasant #derek landy #male!reader #not the canon au #read warnings above #my au #skulduggery pleasant x reader universe #ghastly bespoke #Stephanie Edgley

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zahri-melitor · 3 months

Text

Batman Eternal

I think for a weekly, event comic that was promising to deliver the Bat Family, it underperformed. Some people had a good event, some people had a mediocre event and were underused, and there were a few absolute shockers.

The Good:

In terms of a 'push Bruce to the limit' event, it was interesting in that this one pushed Batman, the Bat Family AND Bruce, separately, to their limits. I'm used to events being 'pick two of the three'. That said, it still underestimated the effectiveness of its supporting cast.

Bruce had a solid event, in that it was focused on him and broke him down to build him back up by running him ragged and keeping him guessing on 'who caused this'. Honestly I don't have a lot to say about Bruce's plot, sorry. It was an okay mystery running through various rogues? I think making Cluemaster Who Dunnit was not the right choice (Arthur should always be a bit pathetic), but I can see why they picked him in the story that's returning Steph and after making Riddler the big bad for Zero Year.

Selina actually had a reasonable event. She got her entire backstory rewritten and ended up controlling crime in Gotham at the end of it, but eh, the former happened to a lot of people during n52 and the latter is something Selina ends up doing every now and then. Her plotline involved organised crime and Carmine Falcone, so it was even something associated with her long term story arcs.

Jim Gordon: look, once we get past the incredible miscarriage of justice that was Jim being arrested and convicted for manslaughter (please, please, explain to me how Jim shooting the signal box input was what caused the trains to crash, rather than the railway routing that meant there was timetabling and no fallback override for two trains SHARING TRACK while running in opposite directions), it was essentially just an excuse to put Jim in Blackgate and start up the plots there. Which you know, went pretty well. Jim got to be the strong man, show off his personality, and presumably this all sets up the Superheavy plotline (sigh).

Julia Pennyworth. Look, I don't hate the idea of Julia, so much as am confused by the very tight timeline constraints required for her existence (post about this coming), and I resent that DC let the team basically invent a new Oracle without being allowed to acknowledge that Oracle is Barbara Gordon. It's like it's an important role in Gotham! Anyway. In terms of what Julia brought to the page, I did appreciate that the writing team seemed committed to increasing the number of women characters populating Gotham, I am happy to have someone not Alfred running comms for the Bats, and I can see several ways she'd be an interesting character to have around, long term, for storytelling. I could grow to like her. But man. I had a really hard time swallowing her existence while Barbara's in the same event having her character destroyed.

Harper Row is so clearly Scott Snyder's pet. Honestly, I really enjoyed her design and the general arc of her story; adding an electrical engineer to the group is actually a relatively unoccupied niche and gives her points of differentiation, but by handing her such a major part of the plot while other, fan favourite characters were appearing and getting not much at all was setting her up to fail in the eyes of the audience.

Steph ranks up in the 'had a good event' category. She essentially reran her origin story combined with aspects of her War Games plot (before everyone yells at me, I particularly noted the correlation with the part of the story where Selina hid her with Holly coming through here with Steph hiding from Arthur and her getting dumped at the Rows for protection. Go actually read War Games). I liked the concept of the Spoiler blog being what she used as her name inspiration here. I again wouldn't have minded if she had actually interacted more with other Bat characters (everyone got very siloed here) but you know what? The story brought her back and set her back up in her default sort of background state. Seriously, they picked from Steph's biggest stories here (her origin, War Games, and actually parts were in conversation with War Crimes, which is a phrase I never thought I would say), and that was a reasonable decision imo.

The Mediocre:

Luke Fox got an interesting plotline with Jim Corrigan and the Spectre. Unfortunately it rarely interacted with the rest of the story (apart from leading to Arkham blowing up). This could have been a separate mini.

Tim got to appear in actual Bat titles, doing actual Bat things, and while being abrasive I could squint at him and see his original characterisation. Tragically despite this he basically didn't get to interact with existing characters he knew for most of the plot. Got handed the idiot ball on occasion to show off Harper. I wish he'd had more opportunities to spend time with characters I know and enjoy him with.

Kate Kane was there, for this event. She got to spend some time with Barbara and Jason. She also really didn't do much of anything. It felt like an obligatory 'you currently have a solo' appearance.

Jason Bard: look this is where I'm conflicted. If this was simply Random Cop #34, I'd have probably bumped it up to good but unrealistic (in terms of the speed run to Commissioner), but as a Jason Bard story? About all they kept or knew of Jason was that he's a cop, he was mentored by Jim Gordon, and that he Has A Limp. I am still outraged they made Babs give him the limp, I think making him a minor antagonist of this was a waste of bringing back Jason Bard, and the endpoint left him in a position where he's moderately unusable by other writers (there was a slight set up for 'transition him over to a detective agency' but there was no resolution on why anyone in Gotham either among the GCPD or the Bats would trust him after this).

The Bad:

Hush. No, not so much in his story (it was boring, it was Tommy being Tommy, yawn), but in the fact for no apparent reason Tommy is running around with his head bandaged. WHY? No reason was given. Using the bandages as his 'costume' is actually painfully irritating, because he wore the bandages during the original Hush as he was healing from facial reconstruction surgery. Here, he was imported into New 52, with his face wrapped in bandages, and no reason given. He wasn't trying to become Bruce and steal his identity. He was just...in bandages. Because that's how he looked in Hush and the fanboys think of him, despite the fact he basically never appeared in bandages again AFTER the initial Hush storyline. I'm infuriated in the pointless iconography that misses the original intent that this is.

Barbara had a terrible event. Even if I excuse everything as she was still grieving over Dick's 'death' and Jim being in jail, and the fact she was undergoing personality surgery in her own title (Batgirl #35 sigggghh), a complete random 'ship Barbara and Jason together' plotline came out of nowhere premised on the fact Barbara was missing Dick? Or something? And their age gap in n52 nonsense is only a couple of years, rather than Babs being ABOUT TEN YEARS OLDER and having babysat Jason. Ugh.

Speaking of: Jason Todd did somewhat better than some of the others in that he got to actually hang out with Barbara and Kate for a storyline, and honestly pairing him up with Kate is a route DC should look at more often in terms of character mediation, but lost 1000 points for the Jason/Barbara stuff. Also had a terrible costume (but what's new there).

Crystal Brown I am so sorry. Not only did you get yet another completely new look and personality, you lost all the few characterisation elements we had for you, you collaborated with your ex-husband, and you betrayed Steph at one point. You should be awarded damages for pain and suffering.

Lincoln March/Owlman: you were in this event SOLELY to confuse Steph and delay her cooperation with everyone else. I resent your entire existence in this timeline and it irritates me that Scott Snyder set up an entire previous event essentially to introduce you to the main universe and then waited going 'did you get it?' You are not Thomas Wayne Jnr sorry.

#z canon read throughs #reading new 52 #this was certainly an event #things happened #I wish the plots had interacted more often #batman eternal

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maccreadysbaby · 5 months

Text

A Hundred Ways to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

this chapters kinda short but I wanted the ANGST to have its own moment lmao, loved leaning into damian’s insecurity for this one

also thank you dami for refueling bentley’s incredibly irrational and borderline stupid idea making tendencies

part nine

❝ PITY ❞

THURSDAY — AUGUST 6 — 5:11PM

BENTLEY DIDN’T SLEEP AGAIN AFTER HIS NIGHTMARE, AND NEITHER DID BRUCE. Instead, they went back to the cave after a while and sat with Dick. All of Alfred’s swabs and tests came back clear, which meant he hadn’t been injected with, inhaled, or even misted with any kind of toxic chemical that could do this to him. (Bruce had told Bentley about fear toxin, an inhalable chemical one of their past villains used that made a person live through their worst fears in their head.) A quick comparison of current Dick’s vital charts and past-Dick-on-fear-toxin’s charts looked freakishly similar, despite one major change: he didn’t have any fear toxin in him.

Which meant, if it wasn’t chemical, he was being attacked psychologically. Somehow.

All signs pointed to it being the Secret Keeper, but she hadn’t done anything to anyone besides plaguing them in bad dreams, much less knocking them out without touching them and wreaking havoc on their brains for six hours. (Which was how long Dick had thrashed and cried and whined for in his unconscious state.) On hour seven, he went limp and still, which probably meant he’d tired himself out.

Bentley didn’t go to school on Wednesday or Thursday, and he didn’t sleep Wednesday night, either. Bruce didn’t seem to mind (he actually seemed a little relieved) and Bentley didn’t want to risk seeing the Secret Keeper out and about. His teachers posted his classwork online, anyhow, so he wouldn’t miss any schoolwork. He spent the better of the two days switching between using Tim’s old computer to do his schoolwork, playing red light green light around the Manor to avoid Damian, drifting down to the cave to check on Dick, and attempting to take power naps that never lasted that long.

Not to mention being texted… like a lot. Ot started when Nico texted early Wednesday morning to ask if he was okay, and why he wasn’t at school. Bentley simply told him he had been sick the night before. (Technically not a lie.) Then Nico took it upon himself to text Bentley all about their environmental science class, even including pictures of their worksheets, and had also taken it upon himself to ask how Bentley was feeling just about every hour. (He always just said better than last night.) Then, Bentley got a text from a random number at lunchtime on Wednesday about how Damian was, quote-on-quote, so creepy. And only ten minutes later and lots of confusion from Bentley did that number come back and say, oh yeah, it’s asten, got your number from nico. heard you were sick. sucks dude.

While Asten wasn’t as incessant about asking how Bentley was doing as Nico was, he did tell him about Spanish class and rant about Ms. Venetstantos making him speak Portuguese every day. And he decided Bentley was a good outlet for all things conspiracy and detective-y, because he kept sending him random articles about metahumans and missing people and Secret Keeper sightings and typing long, drawn out theories about what was going on that ranged from plausible to outright impossible. (Bentley only pretended he read the ones about the Secret Keeper.)

He didn’t remember until those texts that he and Asten had both put detective as their dream job on their get to know me sheets. (Nico had pointed it out on the second day of school when the teacher put those up in the hallway.) He was obviously getting started early. The amount of recon and web-surfing and conclusion drawing he did reminded Bentley of Tim.

Speaking of, Tim and Jason and Steph and Cass had all shown up at the Manor Wednesday and Thursday. Which was strange, considering they’d all been avoiding Damian like the plague. But he didn’t mind — he liked having everybody home.

Bentley started to get really worried about Dick when, on Thursday at five in the evening, (42 hours after Dick had collapsed on Patrol.) he was still laying in that same bed, not thrashing like before, but tossing and turning, still visibly distressed.

He’d been long since changed out of his Nightwing uniform and into some loose sweats, and was connected to drips and other things to keep him hydrated and nourished in his unconscious state. Bentley had finished another color-the-map geography paper about an hour ago and made his way back to the rolling chair stationed next to Dick’s bed.

He had no earthly idea what was wrong with him, but he wished it would all stop. It'd been hard enough seeing Dick during a nightmare he could wake up from — but now, when he was trapped in his own head and no amount of yelling or shaking could snap him out of it, it was practically a form of secondary torture for the entire family. Tim had retired to the Batcomputer, trying so hard to find some kind of solution, or at least a case of something similar, and Bentley didn’t think he’d been upstairs since Dick collapsed.

As of now, five in the evening on Thursday, he, Bentley and Dick were the only three in the cave. Alfred popped in and out often, and Bruce a little less often.

Bentley was sitting next to Dick’s bed, telling him about all the texts he’d been receiving. (Alfred said talking to him would help, so Bentley was trying his best.) He’d taken to telling him about Asten’s conspiracy theories and the new group chat he’d been added to not three minutes ago, with Nico and Asten, in which they were arguing about the possibility of said conspiracies and asking for Bentley’s input. (Asten’s conspiracy about aliens swapping a human’s brain for an alien brain via something he called ‘materialization tech’ and endowing them with the power of the stars being the origin of metahumans was the one on the table now. It was already segwaying into metahuman world domination.)

But eventually, even with the group chat blowing up his phone with the probabilities of metahumans turning the country into a dictatorship, he fell quiet and just took to holding Dick’s hand. He didn’t scream when he grabbed it, at least. But it didn’t seem to make anything better, either.

He was just debating on whether or not he should try to wake him up again when a voice sounded from the doorway of the medbay:

“Hey, Bentley,”

He glanced over, brown eyes locking onto Tim’s icy blue ones. He looked exhausted. Bentley knew he’d been working hard on the missing person and metahuman cases before this happened to Dick. But now? Bentley wasn’t sure if self-preservation was even on his radar anymore. He hadn’t seen him ingest anything other than coffee in a solid two days (given he very well could have when Bentley wasn’t around.) and he was pretty sure sleep wasn’t even a thing he thought about anymore. Though he looked like he needed it.

“Hey,” Bentley replied quietly, slipping his hand out of Dick’s and pulling it back to his lap.

“Doing okay?” Was Tim’s next question, and he moved forward just enough to rest a hand on the top of Bentley’s head.

He shrugged. “Have you found anything to help Dick?”

The weakly plastered-on content expression fell off of Tim’s face. “No. I haven’t been able to find anything.”

Bentley said nothing, but looked back at Dick, who was moving his head back and forth with soft whines.

“Is he going to die?”

It was a heavy question, yeah, but a question that had undoubtedly been floating around in all of their minds since his unfortunate patrol. With all the metahuman stuff out of the way, Dick would technically be classified as in a coma. And lots of people who went into comas didn’t come out of them.

Bentley heard Tim let out a puff of air.

“I don’t know,” He said, hardly a whisper, letting his hand move down Bentley’s head and rest on the back of his neck. “He’s stable, even if it looks like he’s in pain. It’s not ideal, but it’s… better than anything getting worse, I guess.”

Bentley nodded slightly, and hoped that Dick would get better soon.

He heard someone walk across the room on the other side of the cave, and both he and Tim glanced over just in time to see Damian disappear back up the stairs to the Manor. When had he come down there? He wasn’t down there five minutes ago.

“Maybe you should talk to him,” Tim suggested after a quiet moment. “He might actually open up to you.”

Bentley glanced over at him skeptically. “Damian? No he won’t.”

Tim snickered. “That kid would never in a million years cuddle up next to anybody sick like he did you. And he definitely wouldn’t get up in a hospital bed with any of us except, maybe Dick.”

Bentley said nothing. He did kind of miss Damian. Like, the old, not-angry Damian, that took him around the Manor to do things and actually talked to him.

Bentley shrugged. “I’m afraid he’s gonna stab me.”

“Aren’t we all?” Tim snickered. “Seriously, though, he cares about you. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“I know, but…” Bentley trailed off, glancing down at his hands.

“There’s still a chance,” Tim finished his thought. “Yeah, I know.”

Bentley said nothing.

“It might be good for you to go upstairs for a while,” He continued, and Bentley glanced back up at Dick, who was still shifting uncomfortably in the bed. “I’ll sit with him.”

Bentley nodded. He wasn’t really in the mood to argue, and he needed to finish his schoolwork anyway.

He pushed himself out of the chair and bid goodbye to Tim, heading back up to the Manor. He took to reading the group chat messages he’d missed on the way through the house and up the stairs. Nico was currently trying to explain to Asten that aliens couldn’t use technology he’d made up, and he was arguing that they could because they could read everyone’s minds.

Bentley had nearly made it into his room when he bumped right into someone.

“Sorry-“ He muttered, glancing up from his screen to meet Damian’s ice cold blue-green eyes. The assassin’s glare alone shut Bentley up.

Damian walked past him with nothing more than a faint scowl, heading for the stairs.

He wasn’t planning on talking to him, but it was a better opportunity than seeking the angry assassin out.

“… hey, Damian?”

Bentley turned on his heel, and Damian did, too, shooting him another dagger-like-glance.

Bentley wanted to recoil and say nevermind, but that wouldn’t be very helpful. “What’s wrong?” He asked instead, really focusing on the fact that Tim said Damian wouldn’t hurt him.

“You should know well enough, Whittaker,”

Bentley nearly flinched when Damian used his last name instead of Bentley like he always did. Why in the world would he know what was going on when Damian wouldn’t tell anyone?

“I don’t…” Bentley blinked, searching Damian’s face and then looking at the floor when the unpleasant expression got too reminiscent of his father’s. He knew what that expression meant. And coming from Damian, it made him want to cry.

A moment of silence passed, and when it was clear Damian didn’t intend on speaking, Bentley muttered in a tiny voice: “You’re mad at me?”

Silence.

Bentley thought and thought and thought about all the interactions he’d had with Damian before he started getting upset, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember doing anything wrong. He’d asked Damian to teach him about throwing knives, but he’d told him yes. (He hadn’t done it yet. Was it maybe Bentley’s fault for never asking again?) He didn’t think that was enough to make Damian so upset for so long.

Bentley wished he could bring his knees up, but he was standing, so he wrapped his arms around himself instead. He hoped Damian couldn’t see the slight wetness brimming in his eyes at the very prospect he’d done something so bad the assassin didn’t even want to talk to him anymore and he didn’t know what it was.

He looked at the floor in a vague attempt to hide it. “What did I do?”

“Exactly what you’re doing right now,” Damian replied bitterly, in a tone that literally made Bentley want to start crying. “You weaseled your way into this family with nothing more than pity. All you have to do is shed a few tears and you have the whole household at your feet — the only reason you’re here is because my father and brothers feel bad for you. Because you’re exactly what your father trained you to be. A manipulator.”

Bentley did flinch, that time, like he was dodging knives made of words. It wouldn’t be any use — Damian never missed.

“Your relationships are built on pity, your place in this family is built on pity. Even Drake has contributed more than you, and I’m not shy about discussing his obvious inferiority,” Damian spat. “I am a Wayne by blood and I have to work to be part of this. If I had even considered doing anything like you did with your father, considered betraying this family like you did, they would…”

Damian trailed off.

“You don’t deserve to be here. It’s pity that’s keeping you in this house, pity that’s holding your relationships together, and once that pity is gone, what’s going to be left? Nothing. Because pity is all you are. Pity is what you’re built for, and once it’s gone, you’re going to be left with nothing, useless, just like your father created you to be.”

Bentley watched through blurry eyes as Damian turned and continued down the stairs like he hadn’t just dispatched a carefully-sharpened killshot right through Bentley’s chest.

Damian didn’t want him there.

Thank goodness he was right next to his bedroom, because he hardly had time to get inside and close the door before he started crying.

Everything Damian said was right — he was in this family out of pity. If it weren’t for pity, none of this would’ve happened.

And Damian didn’t want him there. This was his worst nightmare. Tim was wrong, Damian had hurt him.

He walked over to his bed in the dark — the lights were off but the sun was still somewhat out — and curled up in a tiny ball in it, covered his head with the blankets, and cried.

Dick had been taken in when he had nothing, and became Robin to help Bruce fight crime. Jason got taken in off the streets and became Robin. Tim got taken out of a neglectful household and became Robin. Damian got shipped here from overseas to be Robin. Cass, Duke, Steph, Barbara, they were all superheroes, crime fighters, vigilantes.

What the hell did Bentley have to do to make himself deserve being a Wayne?

Become a superhero?

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💚

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @cademygod

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silent-wolf · 7 months

Text

ranking the batfamily on whether i would be friends with them irl 😁: (ps this is all just a jokey joke so pls dont take this seriously 😇)

7. damian

guys im sorry

love the little demon but he would probably kill me for making ur mom jokes

hes got spunk if u consider it being mildly homicidal thoughts at every constant minute

probably the friend i would not consider going for lunch with cuz he’ll give me a dirty look for eating like a pig

he would be a good tutor tho, my saving grace in calculus

but he would make me cry by the end of that session cuz i cant divide to save my life 💔 6. jason

he’s a fucking theatre kid

AND an english nerd, like pick a struggle man 😭

it might be residual high school eng trauma but i cant be friends with someone who genuinely likes english

honestly tho, i wouldn't mind hanging out with him outside of school

i just dont know what we would have in common to talk abt

gym classes with him has to be fun tho

he would probably kick my ass at every game, but thats besides the point 5. cass

shes scary asf, but shes hot so its okay

i would probably have a hallway crush on her

shes probably in the friend grp, but has other friends shes closer with

rlly fucking good at pe and doesnt hesitate to show off

probably skips a bunch of classes but no one says anything

would probably hang out more as a grp than one on one

the only person i would consider giving my house keys to 4. dick

the sweetest guy in the grp

i would assume he was just a nice guy at first but he is just rlly genuine

would be the subject of ridicule because of his god awful fashion sense

is a senior but hides in the junior classes cuz girls always chase him around asking for his number

is the mom of the friend grp and always carries around protein bars, tissues, and basic first aid

always does wellness checks and picks up on the first ring if u need anything. bless him <3

my emergency contact 3. duke

would be one of my closer friends

the perfect balance of obliviously unaware and stupidly concerned

i would ask him for hw answers only for him to text back with a question mark

he was the sacrificial lamb who was made to sit in the first row in class

ends up falling asleep and gets detention 😔 if anyone asks tho, its because he did smthin super scandalous and totally not school appropriate 👍

we became chem lab partners, but fucked up freshman level titrations so many times, that the teacher kicked us out

has the best packed lunches (thank u alfred)

i steal his lunch and he ends up eating shitty cafeteria food 👍 2. steph

MY LITERAL 4LYFER 🤞

her fashion sense>>. but dont be fooled, most days she throws on a ragged hoodie that way too soft to be legal

has a billionare on her side, but still steals MY mcdonalds fries

always carries around extra hair ties

comes over so often that there is a steph size dent on my bed, where she would flop down

has the prettiest notes which are a life saver for last minute cramming

the friend you would go to experiment different makeup styles on

my partner in crime for any tom-foolery

would make me snort during class which sends us to detention

tim

i would fucking hate him at first glance

but somehow we would bond through our shared trauma of high school calculus

the type of friendship where u would go on spontaneous road trips a week before finals, only to end up stranded in a random petrol bunk

a responsible adult (read: alfred) would then come to pick us up after we call them in literal tears

a weekly tradition of trying the most grotesque slushy concoctions

cannot for the life of him memorise shakespeare, but can recite word for word every iconic vine in existence

would tutor me in chemistry, only to end up in tears at my incompetence 😭

extremely introverted but suddenly becomes the loudest person ever when it comes to embarrassing someone

#there is just something abt batkids and school that can be so personal #jason todd #dick grayson #cassandra cain #damian wayne #duke thomas #tim drake #stephanie brown #black bat #batman #robin #red robin #batfam

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thatblondeperson · 2 years

Note

Do you think Tim can be considered a victim of sexual harrasment/assault as a lot of girls did surprise kiss him like Steph with the CPR thing, Cissie, and Tam or are people just exagerrating.

To an extent, yes.

Tim has been kissed without being asked by a number of girls and there are more than what I'm about to list.

Darla:

Cissie:

Tam:

And yes, Steph as well, but I'll give a small chronology of their kisses because it irks me to no end that the fandom picked one side in this "toxic ship" debate, negating that Tim and Steph are both perpetrators in the toxicity in their relationship.

Tim kissed Steph first, to her surprise, in Robin #5.

This is what sets off the flirting. Before, Steph does seem to understand that it's a one-sided crush, until Tim kisses her. he does not ask, he does it impulsively.

She then kisses him in Robin #16 to his surprise.

He's not thrilled and she does not ask first before doing this.

Then yes, there's the CPR stunt in Robin #35.

This is fully not okay. But she does make a solid point that no one brings up, in her saying "So it was okay to kiss me". Why don't fans mention that? That this is a toxicity give and take? imo it's the misogyny, but regardless, neither of their actions are okay. No, it was not okay for Tim to kiss Steph, and no, it was not okay for her to kiss him. It's a 2-way street they're both driving recklessly on. They don't discuss their relationship, Tim has a girlfriend, Steph knows he's spoken for, it's clunky and messy and not well written for a while. It gets better when Tim actually gets introspective about his feelings and when they kiss in Robin #44 it's consensual.

And they don't kiss again until Robin #56, one issue before their date, and in this issue Tim does break up with Ari because his feelings for Steph are realized and he wants to be with her.

To try to pick a side in this "who made it toxic?" debate is silly. Tim started it, Steph pursued it, Tim then pursued it back until they got together. Messy.

It's an ugly old trope for girls to just jump kiss the protag/hottie/boycrush in every piece of media. It was very big at the time these comics were published, right in its heyday really. The 80s through the 2000s were rough and we have to look back on it as a problematic product of it's time. Is it sexual assault? Yes. Do I consider these characters to be problematic and toxic and would I call any of them sexual assaulters? No. The writers are being gross and weird here and playing into that teen boy "every girl wants me" (chicks dig the cape...) trope and the girls in question are just tools to remind you that Tim's a Hottie McDreamboat that every girl wants some lip action with. Ugh...

Some more advanced sexual assault? We have to talk about Rose Wilson. Again...writers being gross and creepy, but YIKES.

This is right after Bar5t dies, (can't remember issue, sorry...) and Tim goes back to his room to mourn where Rose is waiting naked in his bed to drunkenly jump him. By being drunk she's not fully consenting either, but Tim has to literally fight her off and cuff her to get her to stop.

The fandom used to pass these panels around as a "teehee Timmy's afraid of boobies!!" joke but like...that's super disgusting and I hope those people understand that this was almost fucking r*pe.

And later when she comes back (again, can't remember issue, sorry...) she's wearing a Robin thong and he ends up shoving her out of his bed which, imo is slightly reasonable given the way she previously acted with him. Why is she trying to fuck his sadness away DC? idfk. But then he takes the fall for it and gets yelled at for hurting Rose and like..I'm over it.

What was their relationship supposed to be????

And then of course there's the whole League of Assassins thing with Timmy ready to produce the next heir.

That "next time on Red Robin" quip makes me gag...

Hey remember that ship that people like? RasTim? The ship where Tim, a 17 year old, is shipped with a grown ass crusty old man who wanted his daughter to r*pe him to produce an heir to the LOA? Remember what a cute and quirky thing that was? Wow, so adorbs. Love wins.

I'm bitter, can you tell?

Tim has definitely been on the short end of the stick when it comes to non-consensual advances, and it's...not good anon. There's not really a way to redeem the creepiness of male comic writers, and I would just love to be a fly on the wall for all these decisions to see why they were made. At the end of the day, it's the whole "sex sells" angle, and for any hetero teen boy who related to Tim, it was to fulfill the fantasy of being Robin, the super cool crimefighter thqat got all the girls I guess...

Just...ew.

Thanks for the ask anon!

#tim drake #stephanie brown #darla aquista #cissie king jones #tam fox #rose wilson #timsteph #tw assualt #cw assault #personal #ask tbp

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criticallyacclaimedstranger · 2 years

Note

Hello yes hi, I would pretty please like Mr Frankie Morales with "I can't get enough of you" (I forgot the number in the five seconds between seeing the post and opening this ask, clearly a Good Memory Day over here...) thank you very much :)

Haha, it doesn't matter what number it was, the line is more than enough! Thanks for the request! Oh Frankie my beloved! I mulled this over for a couple of days because that line is hot as hell and there are so many directions to take it. I eventually wrote something a little silly because Frankie is, above all else, a silly lil shit <3

Warnings: Mention of PiV sex, fantasies of getting dicked down but nothing too graphic, public boner.

Summary: You and Frankie are at a BBQ and the sight of you in a sundress puts Frankie in a state.

The late afternoon sun lays its heat over Will's backyard and the people there, enjoying the summer's first cookout. The setting is as old as time: the men are gathered around the grill, holding bottles of beer while looking important, and the women are helping Will's girlfriend to lay the tables and keep the side dishes filled.

Then there are men like Frankie, who doesn't care about traditional gender roles but gives a hand where it's needed, if for nothing else then just to be close to you. It's not a surprise to you: you barely made it to Will and Steph's place at all, what with Frankie going so crazy at the sight of you in a sundress. The man knows what he likes, and he really likes his woman in a sundress. As if your day hadn't started with morning sex, then a quickie at lunch, he still found the juice to bend you over the bathroom sink and hitch up the skirt of your dress, pull your panties to the side, and take you five minutes before you were supposed to be out the door. You arrived late to the cookout, of course, but nobody noticed, or at least nobody cared. It was a day of not caring about anything except grilled ribs, coleslaw, and getting tipsy in good company.

You're at the table, talking to one of Steph's friends, sitting astride the bench so that you can face her without having to twist your neck, and you're putting away watermelon slices like they're the air that you breathe. Your fingers and lips are sweet and sticky with the juice, and just as you're reaching for a napkin, Frankie appears next to you. You smile up at him, gloriously backlit by the sun like a ragged, slightly pudgy Greek god in a baseball cap, shorts, and Hawaiian shirt.

"Hi baby. You okay?"

He sits down behind you, fitting himself to your back, arms going around you as he presses a kiss to your neck, his face angled so that the bill of his hat won't bump into your head.

"I'm perfect."

You go on talking to Steph's friend, now a little self-conscious about Frankie's embrace - public displays of affection like this when you're trying to carry on a conversation with someone else isn't really your cup of tea. Still, it's hard to tell Frankie not to be Frankie. The man will literally glue himself to you every chance he gets, for some reason.

Finally, your company excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and you lean back against Frankie.

"What's up?"

"Saw you eating watermelon and I thought, I gotta get into that," he tells you in a low voice as he catches your hand and raises it to your shoulder where he can reach it, and starts to suck on your fingers. Your gut drops immediately and you grow wet.

"Frankie," you whisper, "not here."

"I know," he murmurs back, his low baritone running down your spine, right to your clenching ass cheeks. "I just had to. You taste so sweet, querida."

"You're insatiable," you smile, drinking in his praise as the heat rises in your cheeks. "Three times wasn't enough?"

"Never," he vows, hugging you tighter to him. "I can't get enough of you. You're so fucking gorgeous, I can't believe my luck."

"I'm the lucky one," you assure him just as a whistle echoes over the yard.

"Burgers are ready!" Will calls out, and you pat Frankie's knee.

"Come on, you'll want a burger, right?"

"Not yet." Frankie puts his hands on your waist, keeping you where you are. You're getting hungry for a burger yourself, but he just shakes his head at you.

"Let me at least sit facing you - "

"No can do."

You glare at him over your shoulder, asking him with one look what he's playing at. He has the decency to look ashamed.

"I'm in a predicament," he admits, a little blush creeping up on his cheekbones. "And I need you to sit there until I'm... no longer in one."

"Oh. Oh." You now become aware of the predicament against your ass. It's not a full-on predicament just yet, but you know how fast this kind of thing can escalate. "Maybe not keep your hands on me?"

"It would look weird if we sat like this and I wasn't touching you," Frankie protests, dropping his hands from your waist to your thighs, just where the fabric of your dress ends and your soft flesh begins. Yeah, that's going to make things better.

"Not there!" you whisper, shifting to get his hands off you.

"Don't move like that, you're making it worse!" he groans, making fists with his hands on your thighs. You sigh and try to think, your own arousal making it hard to focus. The situation would be funny if you didn't feel the very physical and acute need to be bent over again, right over this bench, and have this darling, easily excited man push into your throbbing pussy and fucking nail you to the wood underneath you...

You're alone at your table now as everyone else is flocking to the grill to get their burgers. You look around and realize that the coast is somewhat clear.

"Okay, I'm gonna get up, and you can turn towards the table and hide it. I'll get food for both of us and you can just sit there and... calm down."

"Thanks," Frankie sighs in relief, yet his face conveys doubt. "You don't think anyone will be suspicious?"

"What are they going to do, dive under the table and stare at your crotch?" you huff, and that makes him laugh. You take the opportunity to stand up and shield him from the others with your body as he shifts. You take off his hat, press a kiss to his forehead before putting the hat back on and loudly proclaiming that you'll get him a plate as well.

"Save my seat!"

"I'll have something for you to sit on when we get home tonight," he mutters as he rests his forearms on the table, back bent to hide his embarrassment. You laugh and swat him playfully over the head.

"That's not going to help," you remind him helpfully before joining the other guests at the grill.

#asks #rambling-in-purple #my fic #francisco catfish morales #francisco frankie morales #frankie morales #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader

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parentingtheoryandpractice · 5 months

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Violet's birth story

So, fair warning—this is going to be a drawn out, high context version of what ultimately could be a very short birth story. And if you want to really understand the progression of how I have related to labor and birth over the years, I’ll link my previous four birth stories below.

Lydia’s birth story

Zeke’s Birth Story

Maya’s birth story (and reflections on previous births)

Alexander’s birth story

This pregnancy was not an easy one for me. Will and I decided to have our (almost certainly) final baby closer to our next youngest than we have ever spaced before, since we were pretty eager as a family unit to move to a different life phase that was less pregnancy, baby, and toddler focused, in large part because we wanted to have a different type of focus and energy for our older kids while they were still kids. We knew it would be more work in the short term, and I would be leaning on Will a lot for a while, which has proven true.

We also moved while I was pregnant, which I overall very much stand by as a decision, but that was pretty brutal. We tried to time it so that we’d be moving when I was in the second trimester, since that seemed like it would at least be easier than the alternatives, and that almost/mostly worked out, but of course the timeline got pushed back some.

And then the second trimester was also a bit less of a smooth period than I had expected, since I had three episodes of nerve pain that meant I was pretty out of commission for a few days, which was itself inconvenient, but also led to a bunch of uncertainty on my part, since I didn’t know what was going on, or that it was only going to be three times. (All that could be a full-length post of its own, which I may try to write up at some point. As far as I can tell, not only did it all fully resolve, but maybe my body map and body mechanics are actually improved relative to my previous baseline, and I am better at something like Focusing in a body way, thanks to my friend James who explained to me how to do that.)

That said, compared to how things can go, I would still call my pregnancy pretty uncomplicated. I thought I had some blood sugar issues (which could again be its own whole post), but I got a cgm, tried some other blood sugar monitors, paused my Vitamin C since it turns out that can make glucose monitors read a little higher, and my eventual conclusion there was that my first blood sugar monitor was reading too high. I did somewhat limit my carb intake, but after an initial period of lots of tracking decided (in consultation with my midwife and the doctor she works with) to treat it as non-clinical, and I stopped taking measurements.

I also had some iron-deficiency anemia, as I have had every pregnancy, and taking a bunch of iron pills didn’t seem to be working at first, but just as I scheduled some appointments to pursue an iron infusion, my numbers came back up.

And for most of this pregnancy, especially as I was approaching the end, I had a lot of anxiety about birth. With that too, there’s a lot I could say, but I think the high bit is that, while I didn’t anticipate any bad concrete outcomes—I never seriously worried that the baby wouldn’t be born healthy, or that I would be physically at risk—I did have a visceral sense that it wasn’t going to “be okay”, and that the experience would be a bad one for me. And “bad” not just in a fleeting sense, but in a way that would leave my mental structures worse off than they were before.

I never found a concise way to verbalize exactly what I was worried about, but I’m very grateful for all the people (especially Will, Kenzi, Anna, Steph, and James) who listened to me talk at length in repetitive inarticulate ways about what my issue was. And for all the people who wrote up and published their birth stories, since (as has been my habit), I read a ton of them in the weeks leading up to my birth. And at the end of the day, I think the anxiety eventually worked as intended. I processed enough and set the right sort of intentions that it was pretty much gone. I remember a conversation with Anna right around my due date where I expressed that I figured birth would be unpleasant, but in an accepting way, and my desire to keep talking about it was largely gone.

Some of the more legible takeaways I had from all my birth processing were:

-I was pretty willing to let go of some things I had previously been (mostly implicitly) aiming for in service of having an easier birth.

-One such thing was accurately tracking what the experience was like for me. (So… I expect my written recollections to involve mostly the right amount of error bars anyway, but that’s part of the epistemic status of all of this.)

-Another one, somewhat to my surprise, was caring about the timeline. Talking it through, it became clear to me that I had few to no concerns about having a long labor per se, as long as the intense and overwhelming part wasn’t long. (My understanding of Kenzi’s later summary of this, which I liked quite a bit, was to think of early labor as for positioning, not dilating, and that moving to dilating before the position was good often wasn’t desirable.)

-Related to that, one of my conclusions was that during my labor with Xander in particular, after having gained a more explicit model of how my muscles worked during labor over the course of my previous labors, I was expending a lot of wasted effort trying to make things go faster, and my guess was that it didn’t speed things up and probably did lead to it feeling harder. So my plan was to not do that.

-I can’t remember if this was explicit, but I think another constraint I let go of was having other people be able to track much of what was going on for me in realtime during labor, which iirc I’ve written about mattering to me in the past.

-And, somewhat presciently (spoilers), partly since I found a great collection of unassisted birth stories to read, I made my peace with the idea of a delivery that was fast enough that the midwife wouldn’t make it, and talked Will about that some too.

-I also tried to consider which of the painful sensations it would be helpful for me to be especially aware of during labor, and which I could essentially safely tune out. My conclusion there was that anything that was telling me how to move my body seemed important, and that it was probably good to be pretty aware of any potential tissue damage from tearing during the pushing stage, but that microtears that were happening because of muscle exertion, and general muscle fatigue type sensations probably weren’t that actionable or important to pay attention to.

The one concrete and mundane-feeling anxiety that remained was that we would all get sick. We had all been sick multiple times recently, and then Xander had gotten sick shortly before my due date, and right around when I did give birth, Zeke was also just getting sick, which was not a surprise to us given all of our sick friends and his recent exposure.

But I am very grateful to report that (per my questionably effective request to my immune system) I didn’t get either of those sicknesses!

For a while, I had been saying that I didn’t want to make any plans at all for Thanksgiving, since it was two days after my due date, but as that week got closer, my sense was that I wasn’t having a baby anytime soon. And my midwife’s sense was similar. She said the thing she mostly goes off for her brith timing predictions is amniotic fluid levels, and that mine were high for someone who was going to give birth soon. So we decided to host Thanksgiving after all (with a backup plan in place for if I was in labor or if I had a baby by then).

And indeed, my due date came and went, Thanksgiving happened, and I continued to have the impression that I wasn’t very close to having the baby. It wasn’t that I was never experiencing contractions, but I’d been having intermittent regular contractions (which I suppose ought to be called Braxton Hicks, but I don’t tend to experience them as painless…) for months, and the ones I was having didn’t feel different. My energy was pretty good, and I started talking more walks. And I stopped taking my iron pills, since it takes a few weeks to make red blood cells from iron anyway, and I wanted to give my digestive system a break.

And then Saturday night, I felt something happen with my bag of waters. I’m still not totally sure what it was, and I didn’t find the ph strip my midwife had given me in the middle of the night to check whether it was for sure amniotic fluid (all the plausible alternatives are acidic instead of basic), but I think it must have been. That said, it wasn’t a huge amount—I’ve always had my bag of waters break near the end of labor before, and I know it was nowhere near that amount of fluid. Maybe more like a cup’s worth, most of it all at once, and then with a little more leaking out after that throughout the night. My midwife’s guess when I texted her about it was that it was only my forewaters, which wasn’t a term I had known until she mentioned it. In any case, her conclusion was that it didn’t sound like a “frank rupture”.

But I do think it kicked off something, and at that point at least I no longer had the subjective sense that the labor didn’t feel close!

At 9:46am I told my midwife there was “not much happening in terms of contractions since I got up”, and whenever Will got up I told him about the same thing, but he took over with the kids anyway, and I proceeded to spend most of the day resting, relaxing, working on a jigsaw puzzle, hanging out in the bath, and intermittently experiencing contractions that felt “real” enough, but weren’t in any sort of consistent pattern. For example, I’d have a few in a row that were about 7 min apart, and very noticeable but not at all overwhelming, but then I’d change positions and go 20min without feeling much of anything. This went on for most of the day, and I made sure to keep eating and drinking, and resting, though I am pretty sure I didn’t end up sleeping at all.

A little after midnight, I sent a message to our friends that were going to take Xander if we needed that during labor saying “I think Will has already given you an update, but I think I’m in early labor? […] I think there’s some chance things speed up and it’s tonight, but also easily could slow down and then speed up again at some point tomorrow. I think given what I’ve been feeling labor will not totally stop until I’ve given birth though”.

At that point I’d been timing my contractions for about an hour, and they were pretty variable. Most of them around a minute, but some shorter or longer, and a few that were under five minutes together but a bunch that were longer too.

By then, I had been back in the bathtub for a while, after being in and out all day, and I think it was around then that Will set up shop in there with a backjack and joined me. I mostly had my eyes closed, and I remember not noticing that he had come in, in part because I had put Fauré’s Après un Rêve on repeat—which I think was the only time during labor I had music on. I think I picked that song because my midwife had mentioned a few times that the way she thinks of labor is (my words not hers), was kind of like that I had to go to a journey to a different dimension to go get my baby. At some point a few keep earlier I’d made a playlist of some music I’d felt somewhat inspired by (this song was on it), and I’d been enjoying music a lot in the past few weeks, but once I realized Will was there, that seemed both better than music and like I was no longer inclined to have the music on.

And some more about my headspace around then… Until around that point in labor, I hadn’t been very focused on labor between contractions, and had been watching little bits of reality TV on my phone, but after about midnight that changed. I got the idea a couple of labors ago, I think from The Pink Kit, that it was good to use coping strategies even during early labor so that reaching for them became more automatic when I needed them more later on, which I was doing, but this time (for the first time, I think) I basically found it helpful to use my coping techniques between contractions too, starting around midnight (which, having discussed it afterwards with my midwife, is what we decided to call the start of my active labor).

My main coping techniques were deep breathing (in part because I figured oxygenating my muscles was going to make everything work better and hurt less), trying to tune in to exactly how my body wanted to be positioned (leaning on the sort of body type focusing I had practiced during my episodes of nerve pain), and reciting words to myself m. The main words I was relying on almost the whole time, as I have in the past, were The Litany Against Fear, but I’d decided when I was making the music playlist to also include this Irish blessing, which I first heard of because the head of school I attended used to say it to graduating seniors. It had more of a gentle, relaxed vibe—more about things being easier for me instead of me coping with something hard—and I wanted that to be in the mix.

Overall, it became increasingly clear to me as I was laboring that I was aiming for as little sympathetic nervous system activation as possible, and with that goal in mind, a bunch of my cognition seemed pretty counterproductive, in much the way that meditators I have known often talk about it. Basically all of my thought about the future seemed notably tinged with anxiety, in a way where I wanted to let go of them. And the same was true of a bunch of my self-referential thoughts, even about what was happening right then. Same with analysis. I had some pleasant hypnogogic type thoughts about the different patterns from the jigsaw puzzle I had been working on earlier that day, and some other ones about the reality show I had been watching between contractions earlier. I also remembered something Steph had told me about seeing each contraction as a spiritual journey, and I tried to learn into that way of relating to it some, which seemed good too.

I also started doing a pulling down type thing on the side of the bathtub that felt right, and I think I was mostly squatting at that point. The house we moved into recently has a wonderfully massive bathtub, and while I had also borrowed our midwife’s birth tub, in large part because I found the birth tub I used for Xander’s birth really helpful (it was bigger, softer, had lovely handles), I hadn’t asked Will to blow it up. The place to blow it up would have been the bedroom, but Xander was asleep in there. And while we did have friends who would watch him, not only did him sleeping as much as possible seem even better, those friends (and also a bunch of our backup options) were all sick, so I was somewhat invested in him sleeping through the whole birth if possible.

And partly to that end, partly because it felt right overall, unlike with my other births, I was pretty much not vocalizing at all. If that had seemed like it was making labor harder to cope with, I think I would have made whatever noises seemed good to make, but the way I was relating to it was more that noises would have been wasted effort, so it worked out.

The main thing my more logistical brain was still doing at that point was trying to track where labor was enough to figure out when to call the midwife. I had texted her a log of my contractions around midnight, but since she hadn’t responded to that I (correctly) assumed she was asleep and I’d have to call to reach her. So I got out of the bath, had a contraction or two on the birth ball (that I had ordered at the last minute), and called her at 1:25. I told her the contractions seemed to be about five minutes apart at that point. She asked how long they had been like that and I said I wasn’t sure. Then she asked if they had a clear peak, and I said they did. She said didn’t I think she should come since she was an hour away, and I remember saying something about how I wanted to defer to her about that. She told me she was coming, and to tell Will to make up the bed with the waterproof liner and extra sheet and fill the birth tub. I knew I wasn’t going to ask Will to do either of those things just then, but I was in a pretty internal place, it didn’t seem worth saying that out loud.

I got right back in the bath after that, and at that point my conclusions was that there was nothing more to plan, and I could more fully relax into wherever labor wanted me to do. I think Will had mostly been with me pretty continuously for a while, but at some point I think he left to go pack a bag for Xander in case he needed to go to our friends’ house. At a different point, I remember telling him not to go anywhere. I don’t remember whether he was even thinking of going anywhere at that point, but I think I must have had an intuition that things were getting close.

Almost everything from here is increasingly hazy in my memory, but I do remember things getting more intense, though still not exactly overwhelming—more like reaching the edge of it during the peak of the contractions. I also felt some nausea, though not enough that I was close to throwing up, and did have a “hmm could this be transition” type of thought in response to the nausea that I didn’t focus on much.

I was intermittently checking my cervix, as I had been all day, and I felt pretty dilated by then—definitely active labor—but I couldn’t have quantified it. I could feel the head very distinctly though! I’m still not sure when the rest of my waters broke. I think there was one moment where I thought it might have happened, and since that was the only one I registered I assume it did happen then, but since I was in the bath it wasn’t an obvious dramatic thing.

But at some point I do remember feeling a different sort of pain, more like a potential tissue damage type, and one where I was inclined to vocalize. I picked up the washcloth in front of me and bit down on it, which felt right, and around then it became obvious that the baby was moving downwards. I can’t quite remember what if anything I managed to communicate to Will, and I’ll have to find out from him exactly when he realized what about what was going on, but from there things happened very quickly.

I couldn’t have said how long between that first pushing sensation and when I could clearly tell that the head was coming out, but it wasn’t long. I did try to pause a little with the head somewhat out, and not rush that part, so as to prevent tearing, but I think the pause was maybe on the order of seconds.

And by then I’m pretty sure the midwife was on speakerphone. I think what happened was that she had called on her own for an update, but maybe Will had called her? Maybe even I had asked him to call, though I don’t remember doing that, and I don’t think I did. In any case, having her there on speaker was exactly what I wanted, so I was very happy about that part, and also in a quite nonverbal place. I remember her asking some question about what was going on with the head, and me thinking “well, right now it’s not out, but I can distinctly feel her ear”, but it was totally beyond me to actually say that part out loud. I did have in mind what she had reminded me, which was to make sure the baby’s head stayed under water until she was all the way out, since once the baby is exposed to the air and likely starts breathing, at that point it’s not safe for her head to go under the water again.

Once her head was fully out, I may or may not have said anything, but I was very much remembering Xander’s birth, where it seemed to take forever to then push the rest of his body out. (It didn’t actually take long at all with him—but I do think I didn’t do it until I waited at minute or two until the next contraction.) This was faster though—basically once her head was out there was a brief pause, and then I kept pushing and her body was too, which was a massive relief. A massive relief, but then I also wanted to make sure she was breathing as she was supposed to. She seemed to me like she was breathing right away, but also like she was pretty much asleep, so I didn’t feel totally sure. I did some amount of rubbing her, blowing on her face, and talking to the midwife. Before too long I remember her producing at least one cry, and me asking if that meant she was for sure breathing now. I remember our midwife saying that if her muscle tone was good, that was what I should pay attention to. And it did seem like her muscles were working fine, and I remember noticing her hands opening and closing, but also in general newborns are so floppy at first!

In any case, I would say that I pretty quickly felt settled about her breathing, in part because the midwife didn’t seem concerned at all based on what we were saying. And the part after that is also somewhat of a blur, though I think I was already in a quite different and clearer headspace than I had been during labor, and was communicating with Will in a more straightforward way. He was getting me towels, and I was mostly keeping Violet out of the water so she didn’t get cold, but I wasn’t quite ready to move out of the bath yet. I also didn’t want to drain the water yet, since I figured it might be good to let the midwife’s look and see how much blood I had lost. I think I had Will take a picture of that. (I could tell by looking myself that it wasn’t much though, so I didn’t feel worried about postpartum hemorrhage.) Violet also pooped some meconium around then, but it wasn’t too messy—it was mostly on the towel I think. Though later there was a bunch of it on the floor of the bath, and I’m not sure if that was the same poop, or whether it came in stages.

I had been trying to get Violet to latch ever since she came out, but it took a while for her to do that. She was pretty sleepy! But at some point before the midwives arrived, she did end up latching, which seemed to me like a good sign that I could probably get the placenta out soon.

I also asked Will to bring me the large metal bowl we had set aside for the placenta, since I felt some urgency about getting it out. And I think it was around then that Will left to go let the dogs out and the midwives in. I think since he had already taken the picture, I did drain the tub a bunch, and once there wasn’t much water left I decided to try pushing the placenta out. I used some gentle traction on the cord, since in the past I had had midwives tell me it was okay to do that, and tried seeing if i could push on purpose, and I felt it move! That part was definitely easier and more straightforward than I had remembered it being with my past two labors, which was neat. But then it got a little stuck once it seemed like it was out, and I was pretty sure that was just the bag of waters, but not sure enough to want to pull on it. Once the midwives came, a few minutes later, they confirmed that the placenta looked complete, that was just the bag of waters, and it was totally safe to pull the rest of it out, which I did.

And that was the birth! We put the time down as 2:20, and the midwives arrived around 20 minutes after that, shortly after I had pushed my placenta out too. We took around another two hours to do a bunch of post birth stuff, like getting the baby’s blood type from the placenta (negative, so I didn’t do a rhogam shot), checking me for tears (just a very small one that didn’t require stitches), weighing and measuring the baby (I thought she looked like she was about eight and a half pounds, and she came it at 8 lbs 6oz after she had pooped, and 20inches, which the midwife said was maybe a bit of an underestimate), and assorted other logistics, like me getting out of the bath, putting on a postpartum pad and some clothes, me taking some ibuprofen per my plan so the afterpains wouldn’t hurt so much, me peeing, oiling up the baby before putting a diaper on her so the next meconium poop wouldn’t get stuck on her as much, etc. The midwives also went though a chart with me that shows typical development and gestational age, and while my placenta was a little calcified, as is typical for an almost 41 week baby, some of Violet’s markers were closer to 39 weeks. So maybe that’s why she took her time coming out.

(As an aside, given Violet’s actual stats, which seemed fine and similar to all my other babies, I feel good in hindsight about the way I related to my blood sugars during late pregnancy. Her head was also a little bigger than her chest circumference, so that wasn't an issue either.)

Once the midwives left, we got Lydia and Zeke to meet the baby, Will managed to take Xander into his office to sleep with him there, and I had the bed for me and Violet. I didn’t sleep much that night, but I was very happy :-).

Will and I are overall almost certain Violet will be our last baby, and I feel extremely grateful to have gone out on such a positive note with birth—this one was my clear favorite, though I also remember Maya’s birth quite fondly, and I believe I learned things and took away important insights from each of my births. Overall, before I had this last birth I would have said, as a summary, that overall I didn’t really like birth, and now I don’t think I can say that anymore. It’s probably worth anyone reading this taking that with a grain of salt, since I did explicitly let go of my desire to remember things in a precise way, but I think it captures something very real and quite important to me anyway.

And aside from being a very cool experience, I like to think that this time I learned something that I can take with me about anxiety. Both from how helpful I think my pre-birth anxiety ultimately was in guiding my processing in productive ways, and from how helpful it was to relax and fully let go of even subtly anxious thoughts during labor itself.

I used to be sort of baffled by some of the birth stories I would read or hear from people I knew by how easy they seemed, even though Maya’s birth had some aspects in common with them, but now that I had this last experience, I no longer do, and the range of labor experiences that seem intuitively plausible to me has expanded. I also remember after my first birth talking to the instructor of the birth class Will and I had taken somewhat incredulously about this video she had shown us of a Russian woman giving birth in a bathtub very peacefully, since it seemed so different not just from my experience, but from the experiences of pretty much everyone in the class. And the instructor had said, somewhat apologetically, “well, it was probably her fifth baby”. So now maybe I’ve come full circle by having a very peaceful labor with my fifth baby too.

A cool thing about this birth that feels like a bonus to me is that because I think I succeeded at my plan to not expend a lot of wasted effort, partly due to my intentions, but maybe even more because it was my fifth time, and my body had a more targeted sense of which muscles were involved and not involved, my body felt way less sore than it ever had before postpartum. I’m writing this a little less than a week later, and while it is still my model that rest and recovery is important, I feel remarkably good physically.

I was lamenting to a friend how it seemed sort of wasteful that I finally figured out how to do this birth thing just as I was never going to do it again, and she said that wasn’t this sort of the tragedy of life—we accumulate all this knowledge that’s ultimately pretty hard to transfer, and it’s very cool but also feels a bit like a waste.

If I have one regret from this birth, it’s that I don’t have any video footage of it. I would love to have more of a concrete record, and I really wish I could show Violet a video of her birth one day, but at least I’ve written this up while it was pretty fresh in my mind.

And if you got all the way here, thanks for reading a very long and drawn out story of a short birth! I’m very grateful for how it all played out.

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rachel-langella-author · 1 year

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Anna and the Apocalypse

Shudder has a lovely curated collection of holiday horror movies, so I'm going to watch (and in some cases, rewatch) the entire collection over the remainder of this month.

Tonight is night one! I've chosen to start with Anna and the Apocalypse (2017), which is a holiday horror comedy musical set in Scotland during a zombie apocalypse at Christmas. I'll be posting my reactions while watching it, so there will be SPOILERS.

Okay, we're starting off with strong teen angst vibes. Anna wants to take some time to travel before going to university, but her father doesn't approve of the idea. We have the obligatory "I can't wait to get away from you!" Also the obligatory "teen boy in love with his female best friend who has no idea" trope.

Oh, we are drenched in irony-laden foreshadowing with Anna looking straight at the camera as she sings, "this isn't what you expect" (or something to that effect. The "Not a Hollywood Ending" number is catchy, but I do wonder if Lisa and Chris collapsing on the floor at the end is giving us a clue as to whether they'll survive until the end or not.

I know Headmaster Savage is supposed to be unlikeable, but I think he might be my favorite just for the "Withdraw your tongues!" line aimed at a couple making out in the hall. Clearly, he's been broken by long years of teaching. Or he's just a dick. Either way, I'm amused by him and his unconcealed disdain.

Anna and John singing about what a wonderful day it is while smoke from a distant house fire billows and zombies lunge after terrified neighbors behind them. "Subtle" commentary about how unobservant people can be, especially when they have their ear buds in? It's a funny juxtaposition, at least! Also, the movie really hammers home what the viewer is in for when Anna kills her first zombie with a seesaw. Its head flies off, and we're treated to a close up of a Monty Python-esque up-spray of blood from the neck.

OMG #evacselfie Okay, I officially love the scathing dark humor.

"Tay-tay's fine. She's FINE."

John kills a zombie by bashing its head between two bowling balls so hard that the skull erupts. So we have pretty graphic gore, but it's so over the top, I'm not grossed out by it. The visual juxtapositions are interesting: one scene shows us a deserted residential street and zooms in on someone's limp hand in a pool of blood against the backdrop of the dismal, grey winter sky. Visually striking and poignant! Not long after that, a scene shows us Steph shoving a zombie's head into a toilet and beating it to death with the lid. Tinsel and garlands are everywhere, and red and green lights shine down on bodies sprawled in empty streets. A bloody apocalypse festooned with colorful holiday decorations pretty much sums up this movie.

Of course the local group of dudebros are hunting zombies and looting, led by Nick the dick, who bursts into an "Eye of the Tiger"-sounding solo about being "a soldier at war."

Voice-over narration of "The Night Before Christmas" while Anna and her ragtag band of survivors fight their way out of a Christmas tree lot in slo-mo. Anna's weapon of choice? A candy cane lawn decoration with a spiky bit at the end. Steph is wielding a mannequin leg, which could be a nod to A Christmas Story? Nick is swinging a baseball bat because he's basic.

Oh shit, Savage has straight up snapped. The actor playing him is a brilliant scenery chewer in the fine tradition of Alan Rickman in that Robin Hood movie.

Nick gets a redemption...moment? I can't tell if it's going to develop into a full-blown arc. Nice bit of concise character development, but he's still a dick.

"BOOM! Saved your life." Steph is my favorite.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Okay, so lots of blood, but most of it is very Monty Python, so it's not that bad. It's not scary, and there are minimal jump scares (thank goodness). It mixes social commentary with dark humor in the way that I like, and while there are some poignant moments, they don't delve into pathos. You get two seconds to have a feeling about it before the movie does something to make you laugh in that "OMG I'm going to hell for laughing" way.

If you like Shaun of the Dead and musical theater, you'll probably like this movie. 4.5 out of 5 zombie Santas.

#anna and the apocalypse #zombie movies #horror movies #holiday horror movies #holiday horror 2022 #unhappy holidays collection on shudder

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book-place · 2 years

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Now That You’re Home

Warnings: cursing, mention of kidnapping, violence, mentions of running away, injuries, let me know if I missed any :)

First part here —> Welcome Home

Pairings: Batfamily x batsis!reader

*not my gif*

Summary: After finally getting home, things can’t be expected to go back to normal right away. You were gone for far too long

A/N: I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and I’m sorry it took so long, I kept losing the will to write it, hence why it’s not as good as the first chapter

Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work

You yawned, slowly sitting up, wincing and gingerly holding your stomach, scanning the room.

In bed next to you was a peacefully sleeping Cass and Damain.

On the floor was Jason, sprawled out on his back, with Dicks foot resting on his face.

Dick himself, was sleeping half on, half off the couch, looking like if he moved even a muscle he would come crashing down onto the floor.

Steph was hanging upside down off your bed, somehow sleeping.

Tim and Barbara were nowhere to be seen, making you assume that they already got up and began their days.

It was hard to believe that it had only been last night that your family had come and saved you from that warehouse, it felt like it had been years since you were tied to that chair with a piece of tape over your mouth.

Pretty much right as you got into the batcave, Bruce made you get checked up by Alfred, and he gave you some pain medication for your head and ribs.

Then right after, Dick dragged you and your siblings up to your room, which surprisingly hadn’t changed in the slightest, and made you all have a sibling movie night.

After an hour of arguing about what you were going to watch, you finally put on your favorite movie as they continued arguing, which soon stopped them and they just began watching.

The rest of the evening was full of yelling, laughing, and junk food.

The perfect Wayne sibling night.

Apparently you had all fallen asleep, hence the uncomfortable positions most of your siblings were in right now.

The painkillers must have worn off by then, so you carefully put your feet over your bed and crept out of your room, not before taking Dicks discarded phone, snapping a photo, and sending it to your new number of the phone that Bruce gave you last night. Considering your phone was broken in the kidnapping.

You had no idea how he had one just laying around though.

You didn’t feel like walking down all of those stairs, so you hopped into the elevator that Bruce had installed for Babs and rode it down.

You got out of the elevator and walked to the living room, where you knew Alfred would be at this time, having a nice cup of tea before the rest of the children woke up and disturbed the peace.

A small smile made its way onto your face as you stepped into the living room to the sight of Alfred and Bruce drinking tea and coffee, just chatting.

“Morning.” You croaked.

Bruce’s head snapped over to you and he quickly stumbled up and over to you, taking you gently by the arm and leading you over to the couch.

Alfred looked at you with a smile, “Good morning, Miss. Y/n, how are you doing this morning?”

Last night was nice not only because you were finally able to hang out with your siblings, but also because nobody had asked or pushed you to talk about leaving.

You returned his smile and gently said, “I’m doing okay. Thank you Alfred.”

Bruce cleared his throat, “Y/n, I think we need to talk-“

“No, we most certainly do not.” Alfred cut him off sharply, giving him a warning look before turning back to you with a smile, “Care for some tea?”

“I would love some.” You said, voice full of gratitude for multiple reasons. You really didn’t know how you got on without this man.

The three of you fell back into a silence, one that seemed comfortable for Alfred, but very uncomfortable for you and your father.

The silence was thankfully broken quickly though by the sound of feet hurtling down the stairs, “Alfred! B!” The panicked sound of your eldest brother sounded through the room before any of you could even see him, “She’s gone! Y/n’s gone! I don’t know where-“ He cut himself off as soon as he sprinted into the room, skidding to a stop.

He sighed a big breath of relief, visibly relaxing.

Alfred looked at him in amusement, “She is still here, Master Dick.”

“Good.” Dick said awkwardly, rocking back and forth on his heels.

You looked up at him with a look that was a mix of guilt, concern, and sadness, he had thought that you left again.

He briefly glanced at you before quickly looking away, clearing his throat, “I’m- um- I’m gonna go get some coffee.”

With that he scurried off into the next room, stealing one more glance back at all of you.

“He thought I left.” You hadn’t meant to say it out loud, the sadness in your voice caught you off guard.

Bruce hummed, “Which is exactly why I think we need to talk-“

“Bruce!” Alfred burst out, standing abruptly, “May I have a word with you?” His tone was anything but questioning, it was demanding. He turned back to you and in a softer voice said, “I think Mistress Barbra and Master Tim are down in the Batcave if you would like to go see them.”

You nodded, quickly standing up and exiting the room, leaving your father to face Alfred’s wrath.

Sure enough, once you entered the Batcave, you were met with the sight of your older sister and younger brother typing away furiously at the keyboards of the computers.

“Morning.” You called out after a moment of them not noticing you.

Their heads snapped up at the sound of your voice and wide grins broke out onto both of their faces.

“Morning, honey.” Babs called out, beckoning you over with a hand, “How did you sleep?”

“Better than most of the others.” You responded with a small chuckle.

You watched as they both laughed a little before Tim took a large sip from his coffee mug.

“Still an addict for coffee, Timmy?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.

He looked over at you sheepishly, “You know me.”

You rolled your eyes a little, trying, and failing, to hide your amusement.

“What are you two doing up so early?” You asked, changing the topic which made Tim ‘secretly’ sigh in relief.

Babs shrugged, “Work to be done. What about you?”

“I usually get up at this time.” You copied her shrug.

Tim looked at you with a small laugh, “You used to not get up until noon.”

You cleared your throat, “Yeah, well I’m also not up until the early hours of the night every day now.”

Tim’s laugh quickly faded along with his smile and a sad look came over his face. He quickly looked down and Barbra looked away awkwardly.

A heavy silence fell over the three of you, seeming to crush down on top of you, almost making it hard for you to breathe.

“Well,” You said, “I’ll let you get back to work, sorry for interrupting.”

They didn't respond, and you didn’t wait for them to, as you quickly rushed away from the cave to try and rid yourself of the guilt you felt for what you had just said.

Why had you brought it up?

You mentally groaned and you felt like running your head through the closest wall as hard as you could.

As if on autopilot, you navigated your way through the manor. And though it had been years, you still knew exactly where everything was, almost nothing had changed.

There were still family pictures hanging on the walls alongside some expensive artwork that you could assume had been duct taped thirty times over in the back from your siblings probably destroying it.

A lot of the pictures were ones with you in it, but there were also some clearly updated and new ones.

You made your way through the maze of hallways to the place you had always gone whenever you were upset or needed some space to clear your head. The library.

Bruce had bought every single book in there for you and Jason because the two of you were the bookworms of the family.

As soon as you walked through the doors you sucked in a sharp breath, it was exactly as you remembered, besides at least six new bookshelves filled to the brim with books, down to the exact placing of the chairs and couches.

You wandered down the shelves of stories without really paying attention to anything, let alone where you were going.

You were walking down the fifth row when you suddenly ran into a hard wall and fell backwards.

A hand quickly flew out and caught you right before you could hit the ground though.

Your eyes quickly snapped open to see Jason standing above you with an amused smirk, “Watch where you’re going, Sunshine.”

Sunshine was a nickname he had given you when you were first dropped off at the manor. You had always been in a good mood back then, bubbly and full of giggles.

It seemed to annoy Jason to no end back then, and he had begun calling you Sunshine as an insult, but it ended up sticking.

A slow smile made its way onto your face as you fully stood up, “Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”

The black haired man scoffed, “Obviously, because I'm the only one that can call you that.”

“So true.” You said back, falling into a comfortable silence as the two of you began to wander down the aisles together.

The two of you fell back into the pattern that had been your weekly routine before you left.

You would go back and forth making new book recommendations and you would both do your best to give summaries about them without spoiling.

The peacefulness of normalcy was interrupted by Jason’s phone making a loud ‘ding’.

He grumbled under his breath and fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket. He glanced down at it for a second before announcing, “Dickie Bird says breakfast is ready.”

Your eyes widened slightly in horror, and Jason must have noticed because he quickly reassured you, “Don't worry, Alfred doesn’t let him actually cook. Just let’s Dick think that he helps.”

You breathed a small sigh in relief, “Good, I wasn’t really in the mood to have shit sprinkled with a pinch of poisoning.”

He laughed as the two of you made your way back through the hall mazes and to the dining room.

When you got there, everybody was now awake and all seated in the same seats that they sat in when you had left.

Your eyes swept across the table before they landed on the chair that was in the middle of your father and Damian, the chair that you had always sat in. And it was empty.

The thought made you sad, realizing that they had left that seat empty for you all those years, waiting for you to come home and fill it again.

You quietly made your way to the seat, hesitating only slightly before sitting down, but you were sure that your family noticed.

Across from you sat Alfred, and next to him was Tim, then Cass, Steph, and Jason.

And then next to Damian was Barbra and then Dick.

You all began to eat the pancakes in front of you in silence. And while you sensed your family sending numerous glances your way, you kept your eyes trained on your plate.

Once you were halfway through, you finally looked up and mumbled, “This is very good, Alfred. Thank you.”

You had almost forgotten how much you loved his pancakes. Almost.

“You are quite welcome, Miss. Y/n.” He said, clearly delighted that you spoke up.

Then you all fell back into the uncomfortable silence.

Bruce was the next one to break it.

“Where have you been?” His question was genuine, and there was such sadness in his eyes that you had to look away.

Your siblings all snapped their heads towards you, eagerly awaiting your answer.

Alfred on the other hand, was glaring at your father, “Master Bruce, the breakfast table is no place to discuss such things.”

Once again, you were grateful for Alfred.

“I just wanted to-“

“Enough.” Pennyworth said, face calm, but eyes raging with a fire that you hadn’t seen since you and Jason broke the most expensive piece of art in the manor by having a pillow fight.

Bruce’s mouth snapped shut and he quickly averted his eyes back to his own plate, your siblings quickly following suit.

You cleared your throat, pushing your still half full plate away, “Thank you again, Alfred.”

With that you hastily stood up and exited the room as fast as you could, avoiding eye contact with everybody.

After a moment of silence, Damain rolled his eyes and scoffed, clearly directing it towards his father, and stood up, harshly pushing his chair away from the table and stomped in the direction you had just exited.

It didn’t take him long to find you out in the backyard, sitting on a bench in the garden, knees pulled up to your chest with your head resting against them.

This was where you went whenever you and your father got into a fight.

“Sister.” Damain called out from a few feet away from you, trying not to creep up and end up scaring you.

You turned around quickly with wide eyes before relaxing when your eyes landed on your youngest brother, “Hi, Dami.” You greeted quietly, scooching over to give him room on the bench as well.

He walked over and sat down, letting silence wash over the two of you, this was something that the two of you used to do whenever something like this would happen.

You and your father would fight, then you would end up storming out into the garden and Damian would quickly follow after you.

Then you would end up sitting together for as long as it took for you to calm down. Either by talking it through or just sitting in silence, taking in the comfort that your brother gave when you had him close.

After about ten minutes of a comfortable silence, you let out a deep breath, keeping your eyes straight ahead, staring at nothing, “Thank you, Dami.”

He nodded, looking over and studying you, deciding what he should do next.

Without warning, he quickly stood up, “Come, sister.” He said in less of a commanding way and almost as a question, as if he was afraid you would say no but was trying to hide it, “I want to show you something.”

Letting your curiosity get the better of you, you stood up and followed behind your brother as he led the way through the rows upon rows of plants until he came to a stop in front of a large bush and dropped to his hands and knees.

You looked down at him in confusion and he quickly explained while trying to look under the leaves, “He normally like to hide here.”

Though you were still confused, you nodded slightly.

“Ah,” He said suddenly, “There he is.”

He stuck his arm into the bush and for a moment you were terrified that he was going to scream as it got eaten off by a wild animal, instead it slowly started coming out of the bushes, with a cat in his hand.

“Alfred.” You said in surprise, instantly recognizing the now much older cat.

Damain nodded, holding out the cat named after the butler for you to hold and pet.

“You still have him.” You said softly, gazing at the beautiful creature.

“I also have more pets.” Your younger brother said proudly, before diving into an hour long conversation and meet and greet of the rest of his pets.

The two of you were in the barn, introducing and being introduced to Batcow, when Steph came bounding through the doors with a wide smile on her face.

“Sorry, Dames.” She said, not very apologetic at all, gently taking your arm and beginning to drag you out the door, “I need to borrow our sister.”

You looked at your little brother helplessly as the blonde girl dragged you out of the barn and Damain stood with his face beginning to grow red and a glare pointed at your sister.

Before he could threaten to take his katana out though, Stephine quickly ran and exited, taking you with her as you had to run to keep up with her long strides.

When she finally came to a stop once you got inside the manor, you were gasping for air and bent over with your hands on your knees, “W-what’s up, S-steph?” You asked breathlessly.

Your sister, who wasn’t even out of breath, shrugged, “Eh, I thought I deserved some time with my sister, seeing as my little brother was hogging her all to himself.” She answered with her iconic grin.

This caused you to smile a little, “Well fair enough.”

You looked around, trying to see what room she had brought you to, and with a little shock, you realized that you were in the game room.

Looking back at her, you were about to say something until you noticed her looking at you with a now evil grin, “I Stephanie Brown, challenge you, Y/n Wayne to a game of air hockey.”

You quickly copied her look, “Oh it’s so on.”

The next hour was spent with yelling, laughing, betting, and cursing. Just like old times.

The two of you didn’t stop until you heard someone softly clear their throat from the side of the table.

You and Steph each jumped a foot in the air, letting out a little scream each, and Steph threw the puck that she was holding at the person.

Cass dodged the piece with ease and an amused smile on her face.

You sighed in relief when you realized that it was just her, “You scared me, Cass.”

She giggled quietly, and Steph rolled her eyes playfully, “That’s cause you're a scaredy cat.” She teased, and this time it was you rolling your eyes.

“If I remember correctly, it was you doing the screaming as well.”

She opened her mouth to rebuttal, only for Cass to beat her to it, “Actually, Bruce sent me to get Y/n. He wants to talk with her.”

This caused you and your sister to fall silent and for her to send you an apologetic look.

You looked down and took a deep breath before looking up at Cassandra with a clearly forced smile, “Well then, lead the way, Cassie.”

She nodded, beginning to lead you to wherever Bruce had told her to go.

On the way she started a conversation to get you caught up on some basic things that changed around the manor, like a change in breakfast cereal, or everyone’s new favorite movie.

Even though they weren’t big things, it still made you sad to hear about everything you had missed out on while being away.

You had been so caught up in your thoughts, that you hadn’t even noticed Cass had come to a stop until she put a hand on your shoulder to stop you from continuing down the hall.

With a small, reassuring smile, she quickly turned on her heel and left you to deal with your father alone.

After taking a deep breath, and seriously debating just not going in at all, you mustered up the courage to knock gently on the door.

You were met with the muffled sound of your fathers voice calling back a, ‘come in’.

With another deep breath, you pushed open the door and stepped right into your fathers office, only to find it exactly as how you had left it.

Bruce sat behind his desk and you could see him studying you carefully, before he gestured to the seat across from him, indicating that he wanted you to sit down.

You strode across the room, keeping a brave and confident exterior on, while on the inside you were squirming with nerves.

Sitting down graciously, you didn’t take your gaze away from your father and neither did he to you.

You two just sat there in silence, both of you still trying to wrap your heads around if the other was actually before you or if this was some dream that you would wake up from any moment.

“It’s been put off all day.” Bruce started, leaning back in his chair, “But I-“ He cut himself off and cleared his throat, darting his eyes away quickly, “I need to know.” His voice came out quiet and suddenly you were feeling guilty all over again.

It was weird for you, even after all these years to see your father like this. So vulnerable, so… small.

“Dad,” You began and then opened your mouth again, but no words came out.

You didn’t know what to say.

That you were sorry? That you couldn’t live his lifestyle anymore? That being Batgirl was one of the worst times of your life?

“A day never passed that I didn’t think about you guys… I missed you all so much.” You admitted, tears filling your eyes as you looked down and fiddled with your fingers.

Bruce stayed silent for another moment, “We looked for you. Everywhere.”

You nodded your head, “I figured. That’s why I changed my name.”

A pained look crossed Bruce’s face, “You changed Y/n?”

You shook your head, swallowing hard, “I changed Wayne.”

“Oh,” was all that came out.

You finally looked up, realizing that he deserved to know, and you were just being selfish not telling him, “I was in Bludhaven.”

His head snapped up and his eyes met yours, “You were?”

You nodded slightly, “And I- I left because…” You took a deep breath before letting the words tumble out of your mouth before you could convince yourself to change your mind, “I couldn’t do it. The whole vigilante thing. The violence. Staying out late every night. Never knowing if I was ever going to see my family again. I couldn’t handle it. Any of it. I wasn’t strong enough.”

It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off your shoulders when you said that.

Bruce stayed silent for one moment. Two. Three. Four.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” His voice came out so broken that you almost started crying right then and there in that chair, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you.” Your voice was thick with emotion.

His next words surprised you, “You could never disappoint me.”

Next thing you knew, you were around the desk and had launched yourself into your fathers arms, taking him and you by surprise, but he quickly wrapped his arms around you in return, holding you in a hug that said a million things.

And you stayed like that for a while, holding each other in silence and comfort.

Then the door was slammed open, surprising the two of you so much that you each jumped a foot in the air.

Out of instinct, Bruce immediately pushed you behind him and put his hands up, ready to fight off whoever dared step foot in his office.

But instead of some random goon or attacker, all of your siblings filed into the room, Jason in the front, who you had assumed was the one who did the kicking in of the door.

Steph let out a battle cry as she emerged from the hallway and entered the room, shoving Tim out of the way, who fell with a heavy thud.

Damian followed quickly after, katana raised and ready for action.

Bruce dropped his arms to his side and scowled and you stepped out from behind him, “What are you kids doing?” He asked in a tired voice.

Before any of them could answer though, Alfred stepped into the room, not even glancing down as he stepped over Tim’s groaning form, “They all insisted that since it had been so quiet that one of you had ended up killing the other.”

You watched as your siblings came to a halt upon seeing both of you alive and well, and all shuffled awkwardly and Barbra slapped Dick’s arm and muttered something about an idiotic idea.

Dick then proceeded to gasp dramatically and shove Jason slightly, saying something about it being his plan all along, and he just rolled his eyes before motioning to Damian and muttering about the demon child being the one with a weapon.

The room then erupted in chaos as your siblings yelled at each other and Bruce and Alfred tried to calm them down.

And despite everything, you couldn’t help but allow a small smile to grow on your face.

You were finally home, and this time you weren’t going anywhere.

Eventually, your siblings calmed down after all agreeing to blame Steph (because she was the one to bring up the silence coming from the room in the first place), who was very much against that accusation, and made their way down to the living room where you all sat around as Bruce told you all to wait before he exited the room.

After a moment of silence, you cleared your throat and spoke up, “Guys, I’m sorry for every-“

“We know.” Cass cut you off with that small, kind smile that she’s so famous for.

“I just-“ You tried again.

“We know.” Babs repeated her sister.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “What do you-“

“We may or may not have been eavesdropping on yours and Bruce’s conversation.” Tim rubbed the back of his neck and avoided your gaze.

Your mouth dropped open, but you quickly smiled, “I suppose I can’t expect anything less from you guys.”

“Pennyworth was listening as well.” Damain blurted out, pointing a finger at the butler.

Alfred turned his nose up, “I am quite certain I have no idea what you are speaking of, Master Damian.”

Before the youngest could open his mouth to rebuttal, Bruce walked back into a room with something hidden behind his back.

Everyone fell silent and looked at him expectantly, so he smiled and revealed to all of you the monopoly box he was holding, and grins broke out on every single one of your faces.

The monopoly box he was holding was something that you had helped make with all of them before you had ran away, it was a DIY that held enough pieces, money, and properties to buy for everyone in your family to play at once.

The next hour was spent laughing and yelling while trying to make each other go bankrupt and keep Jason and Dick from cheating.

Jason slammed his hands down on the table, “You piece of shit!” He screamed at Damain.

“Well at least I wasn’t beaten to death by a crowbar!” The younger one yelled back.

Then it went silent and everyone snapped their heads over to you, but you just stayed quiet.

The silence lasted for about five minutes before you slowly stood up.

“I’m sorry… YOU DIED?”

2K notes · View notes

skulduggery-pleasant-bp9 · 7 months

Text

Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe

WARNING!: Cursing, Name calling, Creep behavior, Protective Reader, blood and gore, Violence AND MORE ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

Part 2 - Danger

M/n was at his workplace, in the lab. He was looking some substance up in his microscope.

‘This is...weird...’

M/n took notes and then took his phone out. He typed Skulduggery’s number in and then wrote him a message.

M/n: Hey, I didn’t ask if you used WhatsApp or something to write with, so I am doing it with SMS and waste my precious money. I found something weird, maybe you know what it is. I took some notes on it. I will send it to you in a second. By the way, it is the Coroner from the Testament of Gordon’s.

Then M/n sent it. After a little bit it was shown that he saw it and wrote back.

Skulduggery: Ok.

M/n then reread his notes and made sure everything was readable. He took a picture and sent it to Skulduggery. Then he added another text.

M/n: This is clearly some kind of poison, but I’ve never seen, nor heard, of something like this. It seems out of this...world ? I am pretty confused and unsure what to think. This is the third client I have, that has unknown substances on them. Substances that I can’t place. You have any idea what this is ?

He put his phone away, but left the vibration on, in case. Then he took a closer look at the substance again and he got just more confused. Then his phone vibrated and M/n picked it up.

Skulduggery: Where did you find this substance at, from the victim ?

M/n: In the lungs and stomach. It was reaching for the brain and heart too as it seemed. It seemed to be a climbing substance. I just have no idea what the hell it is.

Skulduggery: I know that kind of poison. It is very rare and very dangerous. Can you give me the file reports about the victim and a sample of the substance until tomorrow ?

M/n: Is that a ‘special’ case ?

Skulduggery: It is. And it is very urgent that I take it into my hands.

M/n: Alright. I will sneak it out today and I will be at Gordon’s until tomorrow. I have vacation time for two weeks after today. I have been working for too long and they force me to take a break, so today is my only chance.

Skulduggery: Okay. Thank you. You have a good eye. Others wouldn’t have thought anything of it. It looks like normal slime people have.

M/n: I know. I always check everything though, just to make sure, to find stuff like this. Thank you.

Skulduggery: I will get Telegram installed, so we can communicate.

M/n: Okay. I will install it too.

Skulduggery: I will give you my tag after, so you can find me.

M/n: Okay.

With that M/n put his phone back into his pocket and then he left his place, to get the file report of the victim. He opened one of his drawers and then took it out and stuffed it into his backpack. He also took the substance’s file report and stuffed it into his backpack.

Then he returned and sealed the sample off nicely, then put it into his backpack too and he remade the files. Even lied about the slimy substance, he found, to be nothing. With that his job was done for the day and he clocked out.

It was already 14:00 o’clock. He was supposed to leave 30 minutes ago, so he better leaves now, before his Boss yells at him again for working overtime. Usually he had work until 17:00 to 18:00 o’clock, but because he overworked a lot, he was forced home very early that day and then into two weeks of vacation, for his own health.

He had to call a cab, because his own car was right now in the garage and getting a check up, that everything was still fine. They had to fix something near its engine and he was only able to pick his car up by tomorrow.

As he arrived at Grimwood, he was surprised by the visit he had. Stephanie and Melissa were inside the house and sat on the couch. They smiled as they saw him.

“Hello Brother !”, Stephanie greeted.

M/n smiled.

“Hello, Steph, Mom.”

“Hello, Son. We cleaned up a bit for you. We waited for you to come back and now we would drive back. It is already a bit late.”, Melissa said.

“Okay. Be careful on the way home, yes ?”

“We will be, Son. Be careful, okay ?”

“Always, Mom.”

Then they left, only to come back inside after 10 minutes. It was raining and M/n looked at them concerned.

“What is it, Mom ?”, he asked.

“The car won’t turn on. I need to call someone to pick it up.”, she answered.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry, but I have no idea how to fix it...”, M/n muttered.

That was a plain lie, but he couldn’t let his Mother know that he had done a lot of things, besides start a job as a Coroner. Gordon paid for THREE different schoolings. One of them was Mechanic, the other was Autopsy and the last one was Robotics. Gordon arranged everything in a timed schedule for M/n too.

First he went to Mechanic for a few hours, then to Robotics and then he went to Autopsy until the evening. LATE evening. M/n was very busy and under a lot of pressure, but he pulled through. He wanted this and he will be forever grateful to his Uncle, that he helped him so much.

When he had to study or learn, Gordon helped him, by taking M/n’s notes and asking him questions, which he had to answer correctly to and then he went to sleep at Midnight or late after it, and on weekends he took proper rest and studied even harder.

“No problem, honey. I will just call someone. Can we stay until then ?”, Melissa asked.

“Of course you can stay, Mom. I won’t leave you standing in the rain.”, M/n said.

“Thank you, Hun.”

“No problem.”, he replied with a smile.

Then Melissa got out her phone and she called some people to collect her car and give them a ride to the garage. They were on their way.

“I will be on my way to my study. I need to put away a few things and make my bed and I have to fill out some papers.”, M/n excused himself.

“Yeah, sure. We will tell you when we leave.”

“Okay, Mom.”

With that M/n left and entered his study. He gave a huff of distress.

“Out of all days...it had to be today where they are stuck...”, M/n muttered under his breath.

He whipped out his phone.

M/n: I am home, but Mom and my Sister are here too. Their car broke down, I’ll let you know when they are gone.

Skulduggery: Do you have the files and the sample ?

M/n: Sure do. In my Backpack.

Skulduggery: Okay, I am close by, because of the rain. I will wait until they are away.

M/n: Splendid. I will instantly tell you when I can. I hope you won’t get wet... this was a very unexpected visit from them.

Skulduggery: I am very dry in my own car, thank you for asking.

M/n: Okay. Let us hope they will leave soon. I don’t hate them, but out of all days, today this had to happen...

Skulduggery: I understand what you mean. Don’t worry.

“M/n ?”, Melissa called.

M/n: Have to go, Brb.

M/n put his phone away and opened the door.

“Yes Mom ?”, he called.

“They will be here in 45 minutes.”

“Okay. Do you want me to cook you something to eat ?”, M/n asked.

“No, no, Dear. Do your paperwork. We will eat when we left.”

“Are you sure, Mom ?”

“Yes, Honey.”

“Okay.”

M/n closed his door again and huffed annoyed. He pulled out his phone.

M/n: I hope you have a very loose time schedule...We have to wait for 45 minutes.

Skulduggery: I have a lot of time right now.

M/n: Good. Text me, if you need something. I need to do paperwork.

Skulduggery: What kind of paperwork ?

M/n: Autopsy. I did another body and made messy notes, now I need to transfer it all onto a proper sheet of organized paper. Until I am done, the 45 minutes will be over.

Skulduggery: Alright then.

With that M/n left the SMS App and entered YouTube, listening to music, while he filled out his papers.

-45 minutes later-

Melissa knocked on M/n’s door and he quickly put away his Autopsy report papers. Then he opened the door.

“Yes ?”, he asked.

“They are here, but we have another problem...”, Melissa said softly.

“What is it, Mom ?”

“Only one of us can go with them. They don’t have more space. Steph asked to stay. She would only stay for an hour.”

M/n could hear glass, in his mind, shatter.

‘Oh you gotta be KIDDING me ! Out of ALL days !’

“Sure she can.”

“She won’t be a burden ?”

“Mom, this is Steph we talk about. She is never a burden. Don’t worry, I can watch her for a night.”

“Are you sure ?”

“I am Mom.”

“Okay, Hun. Thank you. I’ll take my leave then and call later when I am back. I will pick her up as soon as I can.”

“Okay, Mom.”

With that she left and M/n whipped up his phone.

M/n: We need another plan. Steph is staying over and I don’t know for how long tonight. It was said only an hour, but it is uncertain.

Skulduggery: Well, this day isn’t going like we wanted it to...

M/n: No kidding...

Skulduggery: I will collect the things when she is asleep or gone then. Don’t worry.

M/n: Okay.

Then M/n left the App and downloaded Telegram. After he did that he went back to SMS and asked.

M/n: Do you have Telegram already ? I made an account just now.

Skulduggery: I did. Here, I will send you my account name.

M/n: Thanks.

Then he sent his account name and he searched it up on Telegram. He found him quickly and sent a friend request.

M/n: I named myself “Corrupted”. No one needs to know who I actually am.

Skulduggery: Smart move on your part.

M/n: I know. *Smirks*

Skulduggery: Writing facial expressions now ?

M/n: I can, when I feel very nice, yes.

Skulduggery: Very nice of you, yes.

M/n: I better check on my Sister. She is very responsible and all, yes, but she is still four years younger than me and I don’t want her to do something stupid. She has her moments.

Skulduggery: Alright. Tell me when she is asleep or gone.

M/n: I will.

M/n put the phone away and left his study. He went down the corridor, spotted his Uncle’s study’s door wide open and entered the it, he spotted Stephanie on the chair, reading the manuscript, Gordon wrote, before he died. He smiled and just left her alone. He entered the kitchen and ate a small snack, then he picked up his book about Robotics again, continuing to read where he left off last.

-Two hours later-

The phone rang and M/n jumped in fright. He got up and answered.

“Hello ?”, he asked.

“Hello, Son.”, Melissa’s voice appeared.

“Hi Mom. You okay ?”

“Yes, yes I am. You and Steph ?”, she asked.

“We are just fine.”

Stephanie appeared downstairs and looked at M/n. He worded silently the word MOM and then he continued to listen to her.

“What have you two been up to ?”

“I read a book.”

“One of Gordon’s ?”, Melissa asked with a warning in her tone.

“What ? No ! I read a book about my job. To get better in marketing. Mom, seriously !”, M/n scolded offended.

“Oh, alright then. And Steph ?”

“She has been reading with me in my book, Mom. No worries.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, is the car done ?”

“That is why I called, Son... They can’t fix it and the road to you is flooded. I will get a cab and try to get to you as quick as I can. But it will take another two hours.”

M/n was worried for his Mother.

“Mum...just go home.”

“Absolutely not ! I can’t leave you two alone in a strangers house !”, she protested.

“Mom, I live here. This was Uncle Gordon’s house and Stephanie is safe with me. You just said that the road is flooded, why would you try something as dangerous as to cross a FLOODED road ? In the worst case scenario, you will die trying. There could be a counter current and it could tear you off of the street and you could drown.”

“It won’t take long ! I will be fine !”

“Mom...where is the road flooded ?”

A short silence.

“At the bridge.”, she answered.

M/n scoffed.

“Mom ! You will take ages and it is way too dangerous to cross a flooded bridge ! The water will not just flood it, but also try to escape, which will cause strong counter currents ! They will pull you down into death ! No ! You go home and I will watch over Stephanie tonight ! You can come collect her tomorrow, okay ?”

“But...”

“Mom, think very clearly. This is too dangerous. DON’T do it. Go home and try tomorrow. I don’t want you to risk your life for something as silly as this. Steph has me and I can protect her if something happens. PLEASE don’t make me call police and Dad just to get you home.”

Melissa was silent and then sighed.

“Are you sure you can deal with this ?”, she asked in defeat.

“I am to a hundred percent, Mom. Don’t worry. Steph and me will be just fine.”, M/n said with a relieved smile.

“Okay, fine. Give me Steph, so I can tell her good night, okay ?”

“Okay. Night Mom and sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sleep well, Son.”

M/n turned to Stephanie.

“Steph, Mom wants to say Good Night to you.”

“She isn’t coming ?”, she asked her Brother.

“No. The bridge to us is flooded and the car isn’t fixed either. She will pick you up tomorrow.”, M/n explained.

“Oh, okay.”, she said with a beaming smile.

He handed her the phone and she and her Mom said Good night and Steph assured her that she was alright with all of this. After she hung up, she beamed.

“My first time all alone in here with you, Brother !”, she cheered.

He chuckled.

“Indeed. What do you want to eat ?”

“Humm... What do we have ?”

“A lot of food. What do would you like, I will serve.”, M/n said.

“Hmm...Oh ! Your tomato salad and...maybe some ramen noodles ?”, she asked.

M/n smiled.

“Comin’ right up, Mrs.”

She cheered and M/n made the food. After a while they ate and M/n told her to behave. He had to do something in his room and she nodded. He entered his study and sighed in frustration. He took his phone and wrote Skulduggery in Telegram.

Corrupted: Well, we have a problem. The bridge is flooded, Mom can’t pick up Steph and Steph is a hyper active twelve year old. So...any ideas ?”

Skulduggery: I will wait until she is asleep. Otherwise you will have to sneak out and give me the papers.

Corrupted: Why me ?!

Skulduggery: Because you can quickly dry off and I can’t.

Corrupted: Oh...right...Fine.

Skulduggery: Good.

With that M/n stuffed his phone back into his pocket and then left his study. He caught Stephanie again in Gordon’s study and she continued to read the script. He smiled and left her alone.

He entered the living room and turned on the TV, watching “How to train your Dragon” one.

-Time skip-

He must have nodded off, because he woke up and saw that another Movie was running. On the clock stood, that it is Midnight. The rain seemed to have stopped too. He sighed, got up, stretched, groaned as his body cracked here and there and then he went to the study only to see Stephanie leaving it.

“I just wanted to get ready for bed...”, she said.

“It’s okay, Steph.”, M/n calmed her down.

After a while of getting ready, the phone rang and M/n had a very bad gut feeling. He saw Stephanie approach it.

“Little Sister, don’t say your name.”, he warned.

“Why ?”, she asked.

“Bad gut feeling... be careful. And put the speaker on.”, he said.

She nodded and then picked up, turning on the speaker. M/n selected Skulduggery’s number and called him. He answered, but M/n didn’t say anything besides...

“Who is it ?”, he asked.

“No one is answering...”, she replied.

M/n hid his phone behind his back.

“Is it still ?”, she asked for his gut feeling.

“Still bad...”, he replied.

She nodded and took a deep breath.

“Hello ?”, Stephanie repeated.

“Who is there ?”, a male voice asked.

M/n felt a VERY bad feeling. She looked at M/n and he shook his head, eyes holding threat. She nodded in understanding.

“I’m sorry. Who did you want to speak with, Sir ?”, she asked.

“Who is there ?”, the voice repeated and this time it sounded dangerous.

M/n pulled his phone up to his mouth and ear.

“I think...I am asking for help right now...I feel VERY threatened...Help, Skulduggery....PLEASE....”, he whispered shakily.

He heard cursing on the other end.

“Don’t hang up !”, he yelled through the phone, urgency in his voice.

“If you wanted to speak to Gordon Edgley, then I have to sadly tell you, that-“

“I know that Edgley is dead.”, interrupted the man rudely, “Who are you ? Your name ?”

Stephanie hesitated and looked at M/n, who shook his head.

“Why do you want to know ?”, she asked.

“What are you doing in that house ? Why are you in his house ?”, he pressed.

“If you want to call tomorrow again-“

“I don’t want to ! Okay ? Listen, girl, if you ruin the plans of my Master, will he be very angry and he is no one, that you should piss off. Did you understand ? And now tell me who you are !”, he demanded angered.

M/n hid his phone on a save place so Skulduggery can listen in. He ripped the phone out of her hands in anger.

“Joe.”, he answered.

“...what ?”, the stranger asked confused.

“Her name is Joe mama. In other words, your fucking Mother. Now fuck off. I don’t care that you have a Master you kinky fucker. Let him whip you or whatever, but leave us ALONE.”, M/n growled out.

“No one talks to me like that !”

“Well no one in their right mind calls someone in the middle of the night and asks them shit, like some CREEP ! Now piss off ! I have a gun and I am NOT afraid to use it, got it Pisshead ?!”, M/n yelled back, protective mode activated.

“You don’t tell me what to do !”

“Just piss off already you disgusting creep !”, he yelled and slammed the phone down.

Stephanie stood there, frightened. As M/n turned around, he had a fire in his eyes, she never saw before.

“Steph, go to the Bedroom upstairs, with the lace hook. I will get a weapon.”, M/n said.

“B-but-!”

“I promised Mom to protect you. I will NOT fail. Now GO !”, he yelled.

Stephanie whimpered, grabbed the lace hook and ran up the stairs as the front door knocked loudly.

“Open up !”, the same man from before yelled.

M/n grabbed his phone and asked softly.

“How long until you are here ? He is at the fucking door.”

“Just a bit longer. I am almost there !”, Skulduggery replied.

M/n hid his phone again and then took deep breaths. He saw the shadow of the man at the glass of the front door.

“Open the damn door !”, the man yelled.

M/n rushed into the kitchen and got out the biggest kitchen knife he could find. Then he came back and yelled.

“FUCK OFF YOU BASTARD !”

The man slammed at the door harder and it shook.

“Leave my door alone you asshole ! I will NOT open shit for you, you CREEP ! I will call the police on your ass ! PISS OFF !”

The hammering stopped and M/n instantly knew he would try the back door. He checked it quickly and it was locked. Then the window knocked in the living room, next to him. He snapped around, murder clearly in his eyes. The man laughed.

“What are you planning with that ?”, the stranger asked.

“Stab your fucking eyes out and then cut your limbs off ! Now piss off you bastard !”, M/n snarled.

“I just want to come inside. Open the door for me, boy, and let me in.”, he said.

“Ha ! Fuck off, you piece of shit ! I am not opening a door, to strangers like you ! PISS OFF ! The police will be here any minute !”, he threatened.

“You’re lying.”

He picked up the phone that hung on the wall again, pointedly.

“Don’t do that.”

“I will call the police, if you don’t fuck off right now.”, he threatened darkly.

“The road is flooded, boy. If you call the police, I will break the door in and kill you hours before they even arrived.”

M/n scoffed, not scared. It only fuelled his urge to protect. He could care less about his life. This man was big talk and nothing else. Hot air is all.

“Why do you want to enter so badly ?”

“It has nothing to do with you. I was sent to pick something up. Let me in, I will look around, take what I was looking for, and leave again. I won’t hurt you and your friend. I PROMISE. But now open the door this instant !”

M/n’s grip tightened on the knife and he glared even harder.

“First you sound like some creep, then you threaten to kill me, now you tell me you wanna steal belongings and then you have the nerve to yell at me, like I am some dog. Piss off you piece of trash, before I will take care of you personally.”, M/n growled out darkly.

The man glared and punched in the window. His eyes sparkled and he entered the house. He didn’t care about the shattered glass. M/n went into a fighting position, ready to fight for his life.

“I told you multiple times to fuck off, you absolute piece of filth.”, M/n snarled.

The intruder attacked quickly. M/n, just as quickly, side stepped and cut the man’s cheek. The man was shocked and touched his cheek, then looked at his bloody hand. He glared at M/n, who gave him a nasty glare over his shoulder.

The intruder screamed in anger and attacked again. M/n dodged again and swung his knife, cutting the man near his eye, which he quickly close. Then he howled in pain.

“You little rat !”, the man hollered.

He attacked again and M/n dodged, then swung his legs out, making the male trip, make a roll forward and slam against the wall. He grunted, but got back up, ready to attack again.

“Just give me the damn key, you rat !”, the intruder screamed.

Then the front door flew out of its hinges and Skulduggery entered. M/n was still in murder mode, so he didn’t really care that he arrived. He was in protection mode. He will NOT let him get to Stephanie !

The man cursed and got up, trying to run for the stairs. M/n blocked the way and swiped at his face with his knife again. The man screamed as it made a deep cut on his nose.

“Piss off, you Crack head. You ain’t getting anywhere.”, M/n growled out darkly.

The man tried to punch him, but M/n dodged and stabbed his hand with the knife. The man screamed loudly and punched M/n, landing a hit. The boy grunted and slammed against the house wall. Skulduggery jumped into full action at that.

M/n still had a tight grip on the knife, luckily. As he opened his eyes again, he spotted Stephanie and she snuck up on the man, that was currently trying to beat the shit out of Skulduggery.

He scrambled to get up and stop her, but she already hit him aver the head with it and his attention went to her. The man kicked her away and she screamed in pain, which made M/n snap.

“Don’t. Touch. My. SISTER. YOU. FREAK !!!”, M/n roared and attacked again, knew fire in his eyes.

He didn’t notice, what Stephanie did. And that was that Skulduggery lost his glasses and hat. He jumped onto the man and stabbed at his clothes in a fury. The man hollered and threw M/n off, who got up instantly again and went again for an attack. He lost his knife, which Stephanie had now, but he didn’t need it. He set for a mighty punch. It made the intruder shout in pain as he got it into his chin. Then M/n punched him harshly into the stomach and the male lost his breath.

He kicked M/n away and he was ready to go again, but Stephanie held him back.

“LET ME AT HIM !!! NO ONE HURTS MY SISTER AND STAYS ALIVE !”, he roared.

M/n struggled against her, but she hugged him tightly.

“BUBBA !”, she yelled.

M/n froze and looked at her, over his shoulder. She seemed frightened. He forced himself to calm down. His Sister was more important than killing some scumbag. Suddenly there was shuffling and both Skulduggery and Stephanie shouted.

“WATCH OUT !”

M/n snapped his head back and saw the man aim a powerful punch for his head. M/n quickly pulled his arms up and he punched them instead. M/n and Stephanie flew backwards and he turned around, held his sister tightly to his chest, turned them and protected her with his back, as they slammed against the wall. M/n grunted in pain and then loosened his grip on his Sister.

He was weakened and he couldn’t move. His body was processing everything that just happened in a few seconds. Then his body shut down on him.

“G-go...can’t...move...”, M/n got out weakly.

Stephanie looked at him in a panic, while Skulduggery and the intruder wrestled around.

“I am NOT leaving you !”, she protested.

Then the stranger screamed. And M/n got feeling back into his body. Nothing was broken as it felt, but he was in pain.

“You don’t seriously think, that you can stop me !”, as he tried to get up.

He wasn’t very stable on his legs anymore as it seemed.

“Do you even know who I am ?!”, he screamed.

“No clue.”, Pleasant replied.

The man spat out blood and grinned. M/n got up on shaky legs, grabbed the knife, Stephanie dropped next to him and carefully approached him, from behind.

“But I know you. My Master told me everything about you, Detective, and if you want to stop me, you have to come up with something better.”

Skulduggery looked at the two siblings, shrugged his shoulders and let a fireball appear in his hand. The siblings were in amazement. Then he threw it at the man, but instead of screaming in pain, he laughed.

“More ! Give me more !”, he laughed out.

M/n was disturbed by that man, but also in shock that it didn’t kill him. Skulduggery shrugged again with his shoulders.

“If you really want that...”

With that he pulled out an old revolver and pulled the trigger. The recoil pushed his hand up. The bullet hit the man in the shoulder and he screamed. He turned around, ran for the door, stumbled, ducked and ran in slalom, to not be hit again. Because of the flames he couldn’t see clearly and he ran against the wall in the hallway.

Then he was gone.

Stephanie stared at the door, trying to understand what just happened, while M/n was in amazement and utter pain. Just then he also saw Pleasant and it was a skull. The hair and everything fell off in the fight and he saw the skull as clear as day.

‘So Uncle wasn’t lying...Magic exists...Explains so much too...’, M/n thought in wonder and pain.

Masterlist HERE !

#skulduggery pleasant #derek landy #male!reader #not the canon au #read warnings above #my au #skulduggery pleasant x reader universe #Stephanie Edgley #Playing with a Coroner and a Detective is not wise - Skulduggery x Male!Reader Universe #Part 2 - Danger

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astralis01 · 3 years

Text

Tim Drake X Reader: Dinner

Request: Tim x male reader . Tim bring his bf to the manner for a family dinner and crazy shit happening in that night.

Requested By: @imgayandilikeit

“You know Master Tim, you should bring your boyfriend to meet us tomorrow,” Alfred said as the whole Wayne family had sat down to eat dinner. A blanket of silence encased them broken by Dick who exclaimed, “Wait, Timmy has a boyfriend?”

Tim looked at his plate and then glared at Dick and said, “Yes, I have a boyfriend. His name is Y/n and he’s very nice.”

Cass signed from the other end We are happy for you while Stephanie slapped him on his back and exclaimed, “I knew it you had it into you to confess to him.”

Bruce, who was sitting silently at the table then said, “Why don’t you bring him over as Alfred suggested. We could meet him tomorrow.”

Damian glared and then smirked and said, “Oh yes, we have to see how much is Drake paying him to act like his beloved.”

Tim got up and screamed at him, “Oh you little-. Wait, I’ll just call him to give you your peace of mind Demon.”

Dick spoke up, “Timmy, you don’t-”

Tim glared at everyone as if daring to object and said, “No I do. Anyway, I need to ask him about the dinner.”

Tim dialled Y/n’s number, still glaring at everyone when the rising stopped. A soft voice was heard from the other side and Tim’s face softened. “Hey Timmy, you fine?”

“Yeah, thought I’d call you to ask something. You free at 8 tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, my family is insisting on meeting you. You okay with that?”

“Oh yes. Wait, a minute Timmy.” There were some shuffling sounds heard on the other end and then the voice rang out, “Noice, noice, noice. I’ll be there. Wayne Manor, right?”

“I’ll pick you up.”

There was laughing at the other end and then the voice said, “Dude, I know how to drive and Wayne Manor is the big, famous building. I’ll reach there.”

“You drive like a maniac.”

“No Timmy. I drive like someone who knows to live life to its fullest. We die wild.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’ll try to. See you tomorrow then. Bonne Nuit.”

“French today, huh. Well, then Bonne Nuit to you too.”

And with that, the voice was cut off and Tim said, “Well, does that satisfy you all. Now, let’s eat.” His voice did not leave any room for argument.

Cass signed You two are very cute.

Tim sighed and ran his fingers through his already messy hair and said, “Thank you.”

——————————————————

The next day was a tense affair. At sharp 8, there was a knock on the door. Tim practically skipped opening the door. There stood Y/n, in all his glory with a container in his hands.

“Hey, Timmy. I brought some of my lava cake for you guys. Hopefully, you all do like cake.”

Dick barrelled towards both of them and said, “Oh we do love cake, especially chocolate cakes. Please come in.”

Y/n handed Dick the cake who joyfully took it from his hands and flipped over the couch with the container tightly grasped in his hands.

He then walked over to Tim and said, “Hey babe. Howdy?” and then leaned over to kiss Tim on his cheeks.

Tim blushed and tried to push him away but anyone who was looking at the couple could see that he wasn’t trying very hard. After that, Y/n was approached by Cass and Stephanie.

“You dating Tim?” Cass’ broken English question was voiced out. Y/n looked confused, looked towards Tim and then looked back at Cass and nodded. Cass gave a nod of approval and before anybody could grasp what was happening, Y/n was flipped over. Tim yelled, “Cass” and rushed over to help him up but then Cass stopped him. “You hurt Tim, you get worse,” Cass said.

Y/n got up from the floor, rubbing his head and grinned at Tim, “You didn’t tell me you had such a badass sister,” and then he looked at her and said, “I’m pretty sure my accounts will be gone if I hurt Tim, but thanks for the warning. A formal hello in place. My name is Y/n. Nice to meet you, Cass, I assume.” Cass smiled happily and shook the hand which was given to him.

Then he moved to Steph and said, “Dude, nice to see you here”, and hugged her while Steph said, “Well, it was a surprise that he kept it a secret from me.”

Tim moved from his place and said, “Come, Bruce is waiting for us.” Tim then leaned over to give him a fleeting kiss on his cheeks and then moved his fingers to intertwine with Y/n’s.

The welcoming committee behind them was almost dying with how cute they both were but refrained from saying anything.

———————————————————————————————————

Dinner was a tense affair but Y/n continued to eat so it was a win for the Bat clan and Bruce awkwardly broke the silence, “So how long have you two been dating?” Y/n continued to eat but when he heard that no one was answering he looked up and saw that the question was directed to him.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you asked Tim but we’ve been dating for like 6 months now, I think.” He looked to Tim and said, “This food is delicious. When we were suffering because of our combined horrible attempts at cooking, why didn’t you tell me about this,” while gesturing towards the food on the table as if trying to capture what his words could not say.

Tim tried to answer but then Damian who was sitting beside Bruce said, “Is Drake paying you to be his significant other because all he does is sit inside and work.”

Y/n burst out laughing and said, “Oh my god. Timmy, your family is pure gold, why didn’t I meet them earlier?” Tim pouted and said, “Because I knew this was going to happen. You were going to team up with my family to bully me.”

Everyone was looking at the interaction like it was some kind of tennis match when Alfred appeared and saved Tim a lot of embarrassment before Y/n could answer Damian’s question and said, “It is nice to know that you appreciate my cooking but could you please repeat what you said about your joint efforts at cooking.”

Y/n looked awkwardly at Alfred and said, “Well, I was doing fine with my microwave and making my food in that when Mr Disaster decided that he was going to try to make something sweet for me and then suddenly I come home to find my microwave destroyed thoroughly because he forgot to do something. could you repeat what you did, Space Case?”

Tim looked at Alfred sheepishly and said, “I was doing it all according to the instruction but then it caught on fire and poured water on it. I did get you a new one.”

Y/n then pointed his fork towards him and said, “Alien, you got me an oven.”

Alfred looked like he was on a verge of a heart attack and then Damian said, “Drake, even with your so-called intelligence, you tried to put out an electric fire with water?”

Tim looked at Dick, Cass and Stephanie for support, all three of them shrugged and said, “We all might have to agree with Damian.”

Bruce then wiped his fingers on his napkin and said, “Tim, you know that you put out an electric fire with a woollen blanket, right?”

Tim groaned and said, “Of course I do now but if Mr Microwave would have told me that before, his microwave would not be destroyed.”

“Tin-man, seriously. I thought you knew,” Y/n said.

But with the introduction to his carefree attitude, stories were exchanged with Tim’s failures to be a proper human being were the highlight and soon Y/n had to head home.

———————————————————————————————————

Leaving Y/n at the gate, near which his motorcycle was parked, Tim said, “You could stay here the night.”

Y/n laughed and pecked his lips and said, “I didn’t pack and come properly enough to stay overnight, but thanks for the offer.”

He drove away, leaving Tim on the grounds of the Manor, wistfully looking towards the direction his boyfriend was gone in while the occupants of the manor looked onto the couple with a smile on their faces.

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