#And I didn't even include the brother hood here.

[artemismoorea03]

DPxDC Prompt: Damian's Friend

I feel like this has been done before so if it has please let me know!

-----

Damian is still learning to make friends. Sure, he has Superboy but according to his brothers and teachers he needed more friends. But why should he bother with new friends when one was already such a pain to keep up with? Social cues were hard to understand, jokes didn't make sense, and most civilians were far too squishy. He could end up hurting them accidentally and that would endanger his secret identity.

Though he quickly learned that meeting people as Robin made it considerably easier. That's how he ended up meeting Phantom, a 15-Year-Old boy who seemed rather lost. His only explanation for why he was in Gotham had been, "Listen, my mentor told me to come here and to stick with the birds and the bats. I don't know what that is or why I'm here but considering I don't seem to be able to go home yet I can only assume that I haven't found what I was looking for yet."

Phantom was strange, even for a meta. He didn't know what Gotham was, who Superman or Batman were, he had never heard of the Justice League, or even heard of 'metas' until Robin explained it to him. The kid seemed honest and he was staying out of the way of patrols and stuff which was more than most meta's did.

The only time he interfered with any fight was when Robin was cornered in a fight. In theory Robin would have been able to handle it but in the moment he had - admittedly - been a little in over his head. Phantom showed up and not only got Robin to safety but had managed to take down all of the enemies without killing anybody.

From that moment on Robin considered Phantom a friend and had given Phantom the number to one of the burner phones he kept on him during patrols. Phantom never called but would answer any time Robin checked in.

Which came in handy one day when the entirety of the team got trapped when a building came down, including one very frightened Superboy. The team was arguing loudly among themselves as they tried to figure out how to get out while Batman sat to one side with a headwound.

None of them were in good shape.

They were running out of air.

And the team were fighting and wasting even more air.

"We need more help." Nightwing said, "But I don't think Superman could hear us from here and nobody else in the city will be able to reach us before we run out of air."

"I could call my friend." Robin suggested, leaning against the wall.

"Uh..." Everybody looked at Superboy then each other.

"Your what?" Red Hood questioned.

"Is he saying friends?" Whispered Signal.

"Did you hit your head?" Spoiler asked, walking over as Robin stepped away from her.

"No, this is delirium. The air is too thin in here for him." Red Robin said.

"Robin, all your friends are right here." Superboy said.

Robin scoffed. "I have other friends. You guys told me I needed more friends, so I made friends. It was a task which I completed." He said, pulling out his phone as he silently muttered a 'please work' under his breath.

"Aw! I'm so proud of you!" Nightwing doted as Robin rolled his eyes and hit the call button.

"Yo, Robin, you see the collapse?" Phantom's voice said, sounding weirdly echoed on the line, not that it was unusual for Phantom's voice to do such a thing on calls.

"Bigger problems. I was inside the building during the collapse. Batman is down. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Orphan, Signal, Spoiler, and Superboy are all in here with me. We need exfil."

"Oh shit, on my way. I can get all of you out at once but you guys will have to forget what personal space is for a minute." Phantom said as Robin ignored the looks from the others.

"Whatever it takes, but hurry we're running out of air."

"What floor are you on?"

"Basement."

"Got it, I'll be there in just a second." The call turned to static for a moment before Phantom phased through the ceiling and looked at them. "Wow, a party." Phantom said, ending the call and slipping the phone into a bag on his back.

"No time, get us out of here." Robin pushed.

Phantom nodded, "You and you put Batman between you." He ordered Nightwing and Red Hood who after a moment did as they were told, supporting Batman between them. "Now use your free hands and hug me. The rest of you guys hug them and no matter what do not let go of each other or me. If you do you'll die."

"Great, trust the weird glowing kid not to drop us and kill us or die here. This will only go well." Red Hood growled but didn't question it further as they all held onto Phantom.

Robin could feel the ground vanish from under them as they flew upwards through the building and then out into open air. Phantom then took then a safe distance from the building near where the police were and made sure they were all on the ground before he stopped flying.

"There you go. Thanks for riding Phantom-Air." Phantom said, sounding exhausted as he leaned against Robin who frowned up at the taller teen.

"You okay?"

"All good. Been a minute. You guys get checked out. See you around Robin." Phantom said, then flew away as Superboy grabbed Robin's arm.

"Are we going to talk about the fact that your new friend doesn't have a heartbeat?" He said anxiously.

"He... doesn't?" Robin tilted his head.

"No!" Superboy squeaked, "Where did you even meet that kid?!"

"He saved me from being shot. It's no big deal."

"Does B know he exists?" Red Robin asked.

"No."

"Then it's a big deal." The others sighed.

Nightwing shrugged. "Next time introduce us to him properly though, when we're not suffocating in a hole."

"I suppose I will consider it."

Orphan was quiet for a moment, "New brother?"

"NO!" They all said together as she chuckled.

[jayladfanpage]

Saw a post saying that Cassandra Cain would hate Jason Todd and I'm sorry but. Are we talking about the same Cass Cain? Are we?

I understand the sentiment of "Cass would be outraged by Jason's morals" (when we're talking New Earth, at least,) that makes sense. I do think she would hate his ideals. Not Jason himself, though.

Cassandra knows death. Literally the thing that motivates her to be a hero is that, because of her ability to read body language, she experienced death after her first kill. She didn't just watch that man die, she died with him. She knows exactly what Jason felt like when he died, she knows how much it fundamentally changes somebody. I think she wouldn't understand how Jason changed for the worse, but she, out of everyone in the Bats, would actually, genuinely be able to see the boy Jason used to be when looking at Red Hood without separating Hood and Robin in her mind. Your death isn't something you ever forget.

Also, not only does she know the pain Jason went through when he died, she knows the grief Bruce went through, and is still going through when she finds out about Jason's death.

Obviously, everyone loves this scene (Batgirl (2000) #7) because it perfectly encapsulates both Cass' and Bruce's ideas of what makes a vigilante/hero. But there's a second layer to this, which is that Cass, who speaks in body language, feels Bruce's grief. In this scene, Cass isn't just shocked to learn that a Robin died, she's mourning Jason just as much as Bruce is. She can feel all of his regrets, all of his pain, all of his guilt. Cassandra would never be able to look at Red Hood without remembering what Bruce felt, what she felt, when he died.

Lastly, while Cass' morals aren't as much about "second chances" as Bruce's morals are, she is still desperate to save people. And Jason's main thing is that Bruce (and Dick, I'll make a meta post about Brothers in Blood at some point) can't save him. Saving Jason Todd goes directly against Bruce and Cassandra's morals, but another thing that Bruce and Cass have in common is how unwilling they are to give up. Everybody will be saved, or they'll both die trying to make it so. "Everybody" includes Jason, who's always worn his heart on his sleeve, who most likely wouldn't even try to hide his emotions/body language from Cass, because he never bothers to hide his pain, is always begging to be saved, just in a way that Batman can't fix. Jason doesn't just need help, he wants it. So Cass would never hate him, because she sees that Jason wants to be fixed, wants to change the man that he is, but feels like he can't do that until Joker dies, as seen here:

(Urban Legends (2020) #6)

And I think Cass would see that and would do everything she could to save Jason from himself without killing Joker. She could never hate Jason, not when she so fundamentally understands him and his struggle to believe he could ever be a good person. She knows his guilt doesn't absolve him just like her guilt doesn't absolve her, but Bruce gave her a chance to be a hero when he saw that she'd changed, became a better person. And I think she would go her entire life trying to give Jason the chance to change, too.

[wolfjackle-creates]

Answer My Call Chapter 2 Part 1

What's this? Two posts for WIP Wednesday??? I said I was gonna spoil you guys. Now, I originally planned to do Carry Your Heart. Figured the top and bottom choices from the WIP Wednesday poll would be fun. But both stories are at a point where Danny is taking Jason to Frostbite and I just didn't feel like writing the same scenario twice, even if the details and POV are totally different.

So I went to the third place option.

If you want a say in what I work on this week, check out the poll!

Story Summary: Jazz, Sam, and Tucker manage to help Danny escape the GIW, but they can't follow him and are under too much surveillance to communicate with each other. Sam snuck Danny a phone as he ran and Jazz sends him a text every day, hoping to hear he is all right. But he's not the one getting the texts.

Jason was away for several months on a mission with the Outlaws. When he finally returns home, he is surprised to find dozens of messages from an unknown number begging a Danny to tell her he's okay. Looks like there's not going to be a break between missions this time around.

Chapter 1: AO3 (user locked), Tumblr

Word Count: 1.5k

-----

Jazz tapped her finger on her phone as she waited for the Dunkin employee to call out her order. Red Hood was supposed to arrive any minute. She’d left her dorm a full two hours ago and led Agents K and O on a merry chase through Boston before finally losing them at Quincy Market. Then she’d doubled back and was now near Northeastern. She had no reason to be here, so hopefully it’d take a little longer to track her down.

And that’s when she felt it—a ghost or liminal was nearby.

Pushing his way in the building was a tall man with a red beanie covering dark hair. He had on an unbuttoned flannel jacket over a Dumpty Humpty T-shirt and jeans with a backpack slung over one shoulder. He glanced around before his eyes settled on her and he grinned.

“Hey, Jazz, right?” He held out his hand. “I’m Todd.”

Jazz couldn’t say anything and just stared in horror. Red Hood couldn’t be liminal. Had she just led another liminal to the guys in white? Did he even realize he was considered an ecto-entity under the anti-ecto acts she’d introduced him and Red Robin to?

“Jazz? Are you okay?” he asked, dropping his hand.

“Order for Jazz!” called out the barista.

Jazz shook herself and grabbed her drink with a smile for the employee. Then she grabbed Todd’s elbow and dragged him over to the tables.

“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting—” she cut herself off. She had no idea what he knew and what he didn’t. And the agents could come get them at any moment. Instead she pulled out her phone started turning off every security setting. “Never mind. Do you want anything?” she asked with a gesture at her own drink.

“I’m all right. But, are you? What happened?”

Jazz let out a laugh; if the way Todd’s eyes widened was any indication, it was a tad more hysterical that she would’ve liked. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.” She looked down at his shirt. “My brother loves Dumpty Humpty, you a music fan?”

He seemed nonplussed at the topic change but shrugged. “Sure. Music is good, but I stole this shirt from one of my brothers. I don’t know if I could name a single song by them. How about you?”

Jazz grinned and forced herself to relax as she logged out of her school email on her phone. “I’m a huge fan of any sort of self-expression, including music. Actually, my plans for tonight involve music, so I hope you like the indie scene. Might be a bit intense for a first date, but I’ve always figured, why not jump right in? Show ‘em the crazy from the start and see if they can keep up.” She leaned forward over the table and winked at him. “Think you’ll be able to keep up?”

Todd played the game perfectly and looked her up and down like they really were about to start a first date. “With you, sweetheart, I’ll follow anywhere you lead.”

Jazz laughed and stood. “Come on, then. We’re going on an adventure.”

Todd grinned and joined her. “Lead the way.”

Once out of the building, Jazz led them away from the university. This being Boston, it wasn’t long before they came across a homeless man begging on the side of the street.

Wincing internally, she gripped Todd’s arm and said loudly, “Honestly, I don’t know why the cops don’t do a better job of keeping away the beggars.”

Todd looked at her in surprise. “What are you talking about? They have a right to exist and we should help them.”

“They’re probably fine. Everyone knows they only use the money they’re given on drugs and alcohol.” She pretended to glance at her phone before reaching back to shove it in her back pocket. Only to miss so it fell to the ground. “Ew, he’s looking at us. Come on, let’s cross the street.”

She could feel the way Todd tensed at her words, but he let himself be led across the street.

As soon as they were out of hearing shot, he turned to her and hissed, “What the hell was that?”

Jazz glanced back and saw the man picking up her phone. She looked away before he could catch her looking. “Come on, I’ll explain.” She grabbed Todd’s hand and led him down an alley to a much busier street. “I had to ditch my phone. I logged out of everything and left it unlocked so he can use it or resell it. I needed to make sure he wouldn’t try to return it to me and, well, what better way than being the worst person you can imagine?”

And now he was staring, open mouthed.

“They’ve had remote access to my phone for months and I couldn’t let them track us!” she insisted. Habit had her looking around for any sign of a white suit.

“Who can’t find us?”

Jazz shook her head. “The guys in white. Look, this is too public. I can’t say much else here. But meeting you, everything had to change. You’re in danger just by being near me and I refuse to be the reason you get hurt.”

“Why am I in danger?”

“Later!” Jazz hissed before wincing and looking around. She forced a smile back on her face and asked, in as normal a tone as she could manage, “What time is it? Do you know?”

He looked down at his phone. “Uh, looks like it’s almost five.”

“Oh great! Plenty of time for us to get something to eat before I bring you to our surprise destination.”

And from there, Jazz led Todd on a convoluted tour of Boston. They grabbed food at the Pru, then she took him to the green line. Where they traveled four stops before she jumped up in feigned surprise that they were on the wrong branch. So then they got off and hopped on the train going in the opposite direction.

Which was where she wanted to be going all along.

For once, she was happy the orange line was still under construction, because the shuffle of passengers from trains to buses and back just made their journey that much more complicated and harder to follow.

By the time they finally got to their stop, the sun had mostly set. The station was mostly empty and Jazz looked around for any sign of white suits or vans, but even when she didn't see any, she couldn't relax.

“Where are we going?” Todd asked for probably the dozenth time.

Jazz rolled her eyes. “We’ll be there in five minutes and then you’ll find out.”

She led him to the street, the crosswalk had lights over it, but the rest of the road was shrouded in darkness. They ran across without waiting for the walk symbol.

Once they crossed what was basically a divided highway, Jazz led them along the poorly lit and cracked sidewalk. Ahead of them they were approaching a river.

“It’s before the river,” muttered Jazz to herself. “Is this it?” She hesitated at the top of a sloping, unpaved drive that led to an industrial building that sat on the waterfront. “I think so. Apparently this building used to be a coffin factory. Cool, huh?”

“I don’t care for coffins,” was Todd’s terse reply.

Jazz flinched slightly. She knew he was death-adjacent. Should’ve known better than to mention coffins. “Right, sorry. Well, they aren’t made here anymore.” She made her way down the steep drive, Todd a step behind her.

“What is it now?”

“Apartments, I believe.”

Once at the bottom, she looked around and saw the old loading dock. Entering, she looked for the door on the left.

Only to hesitate once more. Two doors were on the left. She hadn’t heard anything about there being two doors. Taking a chance, she opened the first one.

Inside was a table where two women sat in front of a metal box. On the wall were a set of pegs already mostly filled with coats. And inside milled probably thirty or forty people.

The women smiled at Jazz. “Hi, have you two been here before?”

Jazz shook her head and pulled two twenties out of her wallet. “No. But I had a classmate come here and tell me about it. When I realized you had something going on tonight when I had a date? Figured it was a great place to come with my partner!”

She laughed. “We’re definitely unique here at the Night Cap.” She stamped their hands. “Show starts in half an hour, but feel free to mingle until then. Bathroom’s through the kitchen.”

“Thanks! We’re looking forward to tonight.”

Todd nodded his own thanks and followed Jazz into the room.

“What are we doing here?” he whispered in her ear.

“Hiding,” she whispered back. “I’ve never been here before. Never even taken this stop on the T before. When we leave here, we’ll get a motel room or something and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Is this necessary?”

“Without a doubt.”

Jazz could tell Todd didn’t fully believe her, but he dropped it. Jazz found a few people who were discussing that evening’s performers and the two of them joined the conversation.

-----

Part 2

I no longer do tag lists, but please check out the Subscription Post if you want notifications when I update.

So, I had a lot of fun with this section. The place Jazz takes Jason to? Real place. Though Night Cap isn't what the residents call it. Honestly, the real name is also impossible to google. If you don't know it exists, you would never find it (why Jazz runs from the GIW there). Out of respect for the residents of the apartment, though, I changed the name. I went to a show there and it was super weird trying to find it. Like, the directions in my email seriously said "enter the loading dock of the former coffin factory, find the door on the left, and slip the person standing there $10-20 cash. Don't touch anyone's personal belongings, please."

As we waited for the bathroom during set break, two of the residents were cooking dinner at the stove and we were chatting about how Regan was the worst.

10/10 would go again.

Anyone who has spent any time in Boston knows what I mean about the T being under construction. Annoying as hell, but it worked out for Jazz this time.

(The T is the name of the Boston train/subway system.)

The Pru refers to the Prudential building. The bottom level(s) are full of restaurants and shops (basically a high end shopping mall) and upper levels are offices. The top level is an observation deck that's open to the public, though I've never been.

[ifyoucandaniel]

once again nobody asked, but here is a comprehensive list of my favorite shorter Batman fics. my other list was mostly fics 50k and up, so this will be under 50k and oneshots :) i feel like most people have probably read a majority of these but! i love them all so much so here they are

In Love With Justice and Battling in the Wings by Jedi_olympian, 9k, 10k, T. literally who would i be if i didn't include my day one, my bbg: the justice league recruits nightwing and meets the batfam <3

Two Against the World by carolinaa, 36k, T, completed. i reread this all the time :') this is a "tim joins the batfam a little differently" fic as well as a "tim gets an emotional support dog and dick grayson won't leave the lonely kid next door alone" fic <3

Museum Mishap by prettymisskitty, 38k, T, completed. I love smart little stalker tim joining the fam in fun ways! jason and tim get kidnapped after jason tries to figure out if this scrawny jumpy kid knows batman and robins secret identities. shenanigans ensue

Jason Todd's terrible, horrible, no-good very bad week by slenderboo, 18k, T, completed. this is another one im sure everyone has read but!! it's my bbg!! hurt jason with some big brother nightwing and concerned little brothers AND its a batfam meets the justice league fic? say less.

Say Uncle by megaerakles, 46k, T, complete. this is so fun and i actually laughed so hard at jason having legal custody of tim at 19 by accident. "teen dad(?)" this is basically tim's fake uncle AU but he hires jason to be his uncle until he can figure out how to get him to go home to the bats <3

Doc Harley by starknjarvis, 15k, G, completed. this!! i love harley being friends with the bats sooo much and her slowly therapy-ing them all is so very good and perfect. harley and dick deserve to be best friends

Dangerous and Noble Things by Destiny919, 45k, T, completed. this one reminds me of hand in unloveable hand by britishparty, and in this one tim is abducted by ra's and then years later the batfam finds out and they bring him home :) cass and tim are a package deal, do not separate!! so good and i love robin jason so very much

Savior(s) of the broken by epistemology, 13k, T. this is just some good ol' jason and dick becoming brothers again and jason slowly getting to know his siblings again <3 the end maybe made me cry just a little... right in the brother feels

Living Dead Boy by terranpheum, 22k, T, completed. im actually rereading this right now! this is where tim is there when jason digs his way out of his grave and takes him home to rehabilitate him by making him play scrabble and eat with him :) so cute and very good

Even if I'm Erased by Darkness, I Will Definitely Save You by Kirazalea, 7k, T. okay so i LOVE battison fics especially ones that include dick and this one is from selina's pov so this is my bread and butter. if anyone has more battison fics send them to me i feel like ive been through the whole tag.....

of crime lords and literature by adelfie, 23k, T, completed. everyone loves some jason begrudgingly becoming protective of tim and the two of them bonding over hamlet. whats not to like :p

Juneberries by michaberry, 68k, M, completed. tim gets kidnapped and psychologically tortured while damian wrestles with his own demons and tries to bring his brother home :’) tim and damian learning how to be brothers and realizing they would do anything for their family is just <33

Robin is Magic by flames_dance, 15k, T, completed. the way my heart actually dropped to my ass when jason found out who tim was, you had to be there... very good jason and tim bonding with a side of trauma from titans tower <3

Around Red Hood's Barn by Tori1116, 24k, T, completed. jayroy where roy doesn't realize his crush red hood and his hooligan neighbor jay are one and the same and keeps ranting to his buddy hood about how annoying his neighbor is. single dad roy x jason wanting his brothers to leave him alone and stop causing misunderstandings <3

the butlers neighbor by deargalileo, 16k, G, completed. okay i almost never see fics from alfreds pov and this is even better because its alfred adopting tim into the family while bruce and jason are just in the background accepting they have another kid. 10/10 very cute bonding between alfred and tim

lashed with riot-red and black by lux_et_astra, 16k, T. yet another tim and jason becoming brothers fic <3 they start writing notes through their windows and become friends :) i think i’ve read every fic under the tim drake joins the batfam early tag

Panic Room by envysparkler, 15k, T, completed. jason being locked in a room with his trigger while actively trying not to kill him and then getting locked in a room with TWO of his triggers is insane lmao. i love damian in this actually :’) that boy needs so much love

also i realized again that these are mostly tim & jason centric so i’m very sorry damian, dick, duke, cass, babs, and steph, i do have fics for them i promise i just have so many tim and jason ones…. pls send recs for other batfam member focused fics!! <3 i feel like that tiktok that’s like I GOT LOVE FOR YOU TOO KEVIN but for the entire batfam because i just have 900 jason and tim centric fics 😭

[bones4thecats]

Having An S/O Being A Member Of Toman

Type of Writing: Top Poll Result Characters: Manjiro Sano, Takashi Mitsuya, Souya Kawata, and Nahoya Kawata Name: Having an S/O Being A Member of Toman Original Poll Link: Here

A/N: My first ever Tokyo Revengers writing! I do hope that I portrayed the characters correctly, since I've just started watching the series. Personally, I give it a 10/10, it's amazingly put together and I love the art style! Anyways, sorry for the ramble, enjoy!

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🍡 Mikey is the leader of Toman, of course he always knows who joins the gang no matter what

🍡 When he first met you, which was before you joined, he was in the middle of a fight with Draken, and suddenly the man they were fighting was knocked out and the others were sent running

🍡 You turned around and pulled down your hood, revealing yourself to the males, and they were shocked, you had taken that guy down with one hit

🍡 Mikey loves spending time with his closest friends, and that includes you, and since you're a part of Toman, he gets to see you so much more than he would if you weren't a fellow member

🍡 Whenever you guys enter a fight together, you guys stay close, fighting back-to-back to make sure you guys didn't get seriously injured

🍡 You are one of the only people he has left in his life, and he isn't gonna lose you anytime soon if he can help it

🍡 He also loves to take rides with you on his bike, from going to look at the city from the edges of it to sitting at a park to look at the stars, riding your bikes together makes Mikey feel more connected with you

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🪡 This guy is a worry-wart when it comes to the people he cares about, especially his S/O

🪡 You joined Toman just after he and the other boys founded it, since you were just as good in fighting as the others were

🪡 Despite the fact you have held your ground for many years of being a part of this gang, Mitsuya is always watching over you when a threat emerges

🪡 One time proved this theory, when Toman had got caught up in a disagreement with a smaller, yet strong-standing, gang, you and him ended up being on the frontlines of a fight

🪡 Mitsuya watched over you, causing you to end up kicking someone away so that he wouldn't end up getting harmed from a blade the enemy was holding

🪡 You end up having to hoist him back down to Earth so he can not worry about you for five minutes

🪡 Much like with Mikey, Mitsuya loves to wide his bike with you, especially when you guys go to classes and whatnot together

🪡 I can see him having hidden embroidery on his uniform and other pieces of clothes, so, expect to have small things embroidered on your uniform and gloves that he made you to protect your knuckles

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

💢 While he seems very mad and pissed-off all the time, Angry is very delicate when it comes to handling his brother and fellow loved ones, including his darling S/O

💢 He, much like Mitsuya, is a worry-wart when it comes to fights

💢 He's strong, and his S/O may also be just as strong as him, but, that doesn't stop him from trying to protect them and stay as close as he can during large debacles

💢 Angry is a protective lover, no doubt

💢 Even though you're a fellow member of Toman, he always has that slight nagging in his head that you may end up fighting someone that could take you down

💢 You have protected this man's skin from getting into fights quite a few tmes

💢 Like I mentioned, he's a fairly passive person, so, whenever someone tries fighting, he always attempted to calm them down, but, when you realize they aren't taking that, you land a kick to them and cause the rest to run away, despite your boyfriend's disagreements to that

💢 Angry and Smiley both made a pact to protect you when the other was busy, if one cares for you, the other does as well!

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

☀️ Fiercely protective boyfriend? Fiercely protective boyfriend.

☀️ If Smiley is super defensive of his brother and Mikey, than you know he gonna be extra defensive about his S/O

☀️ Unlike Angry, Smiley is far less of a worrier than him, he is confident in his S/O's abilities to keep themselves safe, and he ends up drifting farther away from his S/O during fights

☀️ But, that doesn't mean that he doesn't keep a close eye on them, these enemies of theirs are known for their tricks

☀️ During your first fight together, you ended up getting slightly wounded, since your enemy landed a few hits to your ribs and face, leaving slight bruising on your face and large ones on your chest

☀️ That is when he starts worrying more than anything

☀️ He was quite agitated that that person ended up harming you, and once he saw them hurt you, he lunged away and began to punch the hell outta him

☀️ Smiley also loves to train with you, since you're just as experienced as him

☀️ While he doesn't like riding his bike with you that often, he does enjoy taking walks with you, it's funny to him how nobody is aware of your status as delinquents, it gives him a rush of adrenaline inside

[silicon-puppy-pudding]

Danny totally kills the Joker

I have a very specific Eldritch!Danny in my head that, even though I've tried drawing before, I can't really get out of my head if you get what I mean

And as a dead on main shipper and a lover of angst I have him do shit that causes problems

Like kill the Joker in a blind rage after an Arkham break out

So it's like this, after a breakout that obviously requires all hands on deck, everyone is eventually re-cuffed and put back in their cells (including the Joker).

Red Hood and Phantom are doing some clean up in the Narrows and it's hard on them. Seeing some kids whose parents died cuz of the clown nearly broke Hood.

Phantom, now well known as Hood's right hand, picks up some of the burden. Helping more then he normally does with some displaced kids and families cuz he can feel Hood breaking down.

It hurts..

After the night/day/whatever is over, they head back home to their appartment and Jason just breaks. Danny's been helping with the pit rage so without all the extra anger crowding him it just sort of crumbles into pain and hurt.

Danny can't stand it

He can't stand to see Jason like this

Jason was his rock, his shoulder to cry on, his partner in crime. He had always been there for Danny when he had panic attacks and couldn't breathe cuz he saw some guy walking down the street in a white suit. Was always telling him it was going to be okay. Had told him things were gonna be alright. And now the roles had switched. Danny comforted Jason for who knows how long. Held him tight till he calmed down and was able to fall asleep. Once Danny was sure Jason would be okay he slipped out of the appartment...

Phantom would not stand for this.

Phantom flew over to Arkham with the intent to "have a little chat" with the Joker. Just ruf him up a bit. Scare him shitless so he'd rethink ever braking out again.

He didn't mean to bash the guys skull in.

He didn't even realize he'd been beating a flattened pound of meat and skull till Batman showed up and pulled him from his mind.

He looked over to where he'd heard his name and saw Batman and Nightwing standing by the door of the cell. Both were wrapped in bandages, some obviously stained in blood from the damage they endured during the breakout.

Dick covered his mouth and stared in horror at the sight of Danny, who he'd been lovingly calling his future brother-in-law for the past 2 months, covered in the Jokers blood. He looked like a staticky, distorted shadow. Three(3) sets of arm all ending with white clawed hands; one pair around the Jokers barely intact neck, another clutching the inmate uniforms chest, the last frozen mid punch. Bruce, having just the slightest ecto-connection from the pit, fought off the screaming in his chest to run and leave the King be.

Bruce slowly approached Phantom. Phantom on the other hand, slowly realized what he'd just done and was starting to panic.

He'd just killed a man

Sure he fucking deserved it but he just....let himself go. Let himself indulge in his rage, be consumed by it. And now the Batman was here to stop him. Would he send him back to the Realms? Would he lock him up, away from anyone he could hurt? Away from Jason?

Phantom flinches when Bruce touches his shoulder. And continues to try and back away when Bruce calls for someone to get a hold of Jason on the coms. What's he doing? Isn't he going to be thrown into a cell? He's dangerous! He could do this again if he wasn't dealt with! Why is Bruce calling for Jason? Does he want to show him the monster he let into his life? Does he want Jason to be the one to do it?

Bruce is talking.

Not Batman, but Bruce, is saying something to him, his name.

Not Phantom

"Danny? Danny!?"

Phantom disappears and isn't seen for two(2) days

Nightwing is the one to find him. In some warehouse, slamming his head into a support beam, yelling at himself that he can't become Dan.

I don't know how to continue this. It was supposed to have a nice hurt/comfort ending but I'm not a fic writer and I don't know how to do that. So feel free to use this as a prompt or something 👻👉🏾👈🏾

Edit: figured I'd add one of the Danny doodles I did a while back cuz it fits. I already posted it a while ago but it feels appropriate here too.

[hiddencityhijinksau]

I'm totally gonna create art for this - already have - but in the meantime I should probably explain this concept lol.

So basically, in one way or another, the turtles each stumble upon the Hidden City at around age 8 to 10, and decide to keep it a secret from their bros >:3

Leo is the first one, technically, when he goes out to explore NYC when he's eight, and discovers Run of the Mill Pizza, because I'm obsessed with the Uncle Hueso idea, but he doesn't go to the actual city until much later, though he knows of it's existence.

I actually kinda started writing this starting bit? It's totally unedited and missing bits but whatever, I'll include it under the cut.

Leo peered up at the manhole cover from the bottom of the ladder, imagining what he would see if he climbed up and lifted it. The young turtle mutant didn't get long to think about it, hearing his brothers call for him.

"I'm coming!" The 8 year old ran to catch up with his family, sending one last considering look at the rungs of the ladder.

Later that night, after his brothers were asleep and his father was dozing in front of the TV, the red-eared slider crept out of bed, utilizing all the stealth skills he'd learned from the lessons Splinter thought he hadn't been paying attention to. Once safely out of the Lair, Leo practically sprinted down the route to the manhole cover he'd spotted earlier. There were entrances closer to the Lair, of course, but this way, if he got caught sneaking back in he could say he was just wandering around the sewers.

Reaching the top of the ladder, the slider paused for a moment, savoring the adrenaline of what he was about to do. Splinter never even let them explore the sewers without him, nevermind letting Leo venture out on his own. And now he was about to go Topside!

Shoving at the metal disc with all his strength, Leo cautiously poked his head out, eyes wide to take it all in. Of course, this wasn't his first time on the surface – Splinter had taken all the boys with him once or twice for scavenging trips, especially when they were younger. But now, Leo was here on his own! This was so exciting!!

The slider climbed out of the manhole, tugging the cover almost back into place, but leaving a small gap so he could get in later, as he wasn't sure how to lift it from the top side.

Bouncing in place, Leo looked around the alley he'd surfaced in with a wide grin, wondering what he might find.

Hmm. There wasn't much in this alleyway. In fact, it was pretty much empty. Nothing but a few scraps of cardboard and a colourful graffiti tag decorated the concrete.

Well, Leo didn't come here just to hang out in one measly alleyway! Full of confidence, the eight-year-old marched to the end of the alley, pulling up the hood of his sweater as he rounded the corner.

Even with the late hour, there were still people on the streets, eyes focused on getting to their destination. No one paid attention to the small figure in a battered green hoodie hurrying along, sticking close to the wall.

Leo ducked into the next alley, heart pounding. Okay, so that was a lot more nerve-wracking without Dad or Raph than he'd thought it would be.

Luckily, he realized as he took in his surroundings, this alleyway was much more interesting than the one he'd come out of. There was a huge dumpster on one side, and the walls were covered in graffiti. Even better, the far end of the alley was actually a corner, meaning there was more to explore!

Leo started poking around, kicking at the small piles of trash and inspecting the locked dumpster. Not finding anything cool, he moved on, admiring the graffiti.

He ended up turning two more corners while following the trail of graffiti, and found himself facing the street again. The constant something of spray paint broke off at the corner, meaning the skull painting in this alley stood out sharply.

Bla blah blah some yokai open the door to run of the Mill while Leo watches from behind a dumpster or smth

Leo's eyes sparkled. Was that actual magic?! Donnie said magic was impossible, but Donnie also said it was impossible for the two of them to be twins, and Leo knew that wasn't true. The turtle bounced forward with glee, eager to see where those people had gone, only to stop short when the portal closed in his face.

Leo frowned. Clearly, he just hadn't been fast enough. Wait, what was that gesture they used to open it? Leo lifted his hand, trying to mimic the pose he'd seen, and wiggled it with great concentration.

Nothing happened.

Huffing, the boy tried again. And again. And was glaring at the wall, ready to shout at it to let him in, when he heard someone approaching the alleyway. Eyes lighting up with an idea, Leo darted behind the nearest dumpster and peeked out, watching carefully.

Sure enough, another mutant-like person entered the alley, heading for the graffiti tag. Leo stared hard at the gesture they made, but instead of waiting and trying to copy it, he darted in behind them as soon as the portal opened.

As soon as he was inside, Leo stopped. And stared.

There were so many people! And none of them were human.

"This is the coolest place I've ever seen," Leo whispered to himself in awe. He slowly started walking further in, craning his neck to stare at every little detail.

So entranced was he, that he didn't see the bony figure approaching until he nearly face-planted into their suit.

"Where are your parents, little pepino?"

Leo froze and looked up at the sound of the voice. Towering over him, arms crossed, was a frowning... skeleton?!

Instantly forgetting to feel guilty at being caught, Leo blurted out, "are you dead?!" His eyes were wider than they'd been all evening, he was sure. Because, come on, that was a walking, talking, skeleton man!!!

The aforementioned skeleton man, somehow, raised an eyebrow. "No, I am not dead. Have you never seen a skeleton yokai before?"

"No," Leo responded, eyes still wide. "What's a yokai?"

"Que pasa con este niño," the yokai muttered under his breath, then continued in a normal tone, "Yokai is what we are. You, me, and everyone in this restaurant is a yokai."

"Oh. Hey, what was that language you were talking in?"

The yokai looked at him weirdly, but Leo really did want to know! He'd only said one sentence but it sounded so cool! Leo already knew he wanted to learn it.

"Spanish. Why are you here, niño?"

"Uhhhhhh... Dad... sent me?" Leo cringed a little at the blatant lie, and decided to distract him with another question. "Can you say something in Spanish?!"

The yokai sighed. "Tell me your name and I'll consider it."

He beamed. "I'm Leo! What's your name?"

"You can call me Señor Hueso."

"Whoa, is your name in Spanish?! Wait wait wait you gotta say something in Spanish now! I told you my name!"

"Deberías estar en le cama, tortuguita."

"Coooool! What does that mean?"

"It means 'you should be in bed, little turtle'. Let's go, out, time for you to go home." Hueso began pushing at Leo's shoulders, nudging him towards the door.

"Whaaaat? Come on, you can't kick me out! I just got here!" Leo dug his heels in, refusing to be pushed.

"This is a restaurant, not a daycare. I do not have time to be babysitting lost children. Out!" With one final shove, Señor Hueso let go of Leo and prepared to shut the portal.

The turtle mutant stumbled and whirled around as soon he was free. "Wait! You're just gonna let a child wander around New York alone? At night? Isn't that illegal?"

"Well, since you won't tell me where your parents are..." Hueso trailed off with a raise of his eyebrow, waiting to see if Leo would offer any more information.

Leo huffed in defeat. He didn't want to admit it, but he was getting tired, as it was already far past his usual bedtime. "Fine, fine, I'm going! But I'll be back tomorrow!"

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

Leo did in fact come back the next day. Hueso wasn't there when Leo scampered in behind a weird frog yokai, so the slider was quick to scurry off into the restaurant, hoping he could hang out for a little while before Hueso found him and kicked him out again.

To be continued...?

[littledead-ridinghood]

I have personal beef with Lobdell's "hence the name, Red Hood" panel when Jason picks up that poor, abused dog in RH:O. Which logically I know is an off the cuff joke but 1. Lobdell likes to simplify Jason and his motives all the time (which he could’ve been doing here) 2. I’ve seen a lot of people say they don’t get why/the connection/deeper meaning/etc. Jason picked his name or 3. people who want Jason to drop RH & pick up a new vigilante identity without (or before) Jason getting his full circle closure

(First: can Jason please have a companion again. And can they be given a real name this time? Not Lobdell’s lazy out? Give that man another dog or fuxk, let him pick up a cat that was abandoned in the rain. Please???)

anyway, main attraction:

Within that spread, Scott Lobdell wrote that Jason picked the name because he's awful at naming things and went with the most basic, obvious choice, Red Hood. This is an incredible disservice to why Jason chose to take his mantle specifically.

Imagine you're Batman, a fledgling vigilante who abides by a strict no-kill moral code. It's your first or so year manning the streets of a massive, corrupt city--Gotham--and you still aren't fully sure of what you're doing. The criminal underworld still isn't even convinced you're real. One of the first big cases you bust, a man who calls himself the Red Hood, dies. you play accomplice to the man falling into a vat of chemicals even as you try to save him. He dies. You killed a man due to your own mistakes.

But you didn't. Not really.

The man comes back under a new name--the Joker--and becomes one of your most prominent enemies. The guilt eats you alive. You dub him your greatest failure. The guilt complex and strengthened moral platitudes refuse to let him die, let alone kill the man. Only "saving him" will relieve you of the grief. Your guilt, your grief, God, your god complex, something is too big for you to admit you can't save everyone including the problems you inadvertently create.

You take in a boy, a ward--Dick Grayson--because the city won’t let a single bachelor like Brucie Wayne adopt him. You’re his brother, you’re his spandex-wearing partner, you’re not his father (he has a father, he doesn’t want you to be his father) but you’re also not not his father; it’s complicated. You didn't want him to turn into you and he creates his own mantle--Robin--to honor his parents.

You and him are partners for many years--Batman and Robin: The Dynamic Duo. Until, one day, The Joker shoots him in the shoulder and he falls off a building on live TV. The city’s populace is upheaved, believing Robin is dead. Demanding Batman be held responsible for his negligence, for even having a underaged partner in the first place. You agree. The field is no place for a child, you decide to keep him so. Robin, the child, is dead, killed by the Joker. Dick Grayson, now a man, is alive and blazing his own trail--Nightwing.

So one child-to-man moves on. And one stays behind. Weeks, months, pass and, you refuse to admit it, you're lonely.

You find another boy--Jason Todd (found in the same location and on the anniversary your parents were murdered in the part of town you only visit once a year)--stealing your tires. Not Bruce Wayne's tires. Batman's tires. He makes you laugh, audaciously so. He takes you down with a tire jack and, God, he’s fast and feisty. (He thought you were going to kill him. You don’t loiter on the thought: it makes your stomach turn). You track him down to retrieve your tires. He tells you he doesn't want to be a criminal, he takes what he needs to survive. He's starving.

You try to stay out of it (all you do is check what happened to his missing dad--murdered--and sick mom--heroin was what got her in the end). You push him towards education. He doesn't trust the cops. He doesn't trust the system. He doesn't trust adults. He hardly trusts you. He tells you about a case, that the school is bad, but believes you only half listen--brush him off like every other person in his life. You follow up. He follows up.

You ask him to be Robin. He accepts.

Later, you adopt him.

Dick's mad at you for giving away his title without asking, to a child nonetheless. (“You said the field was no place for a child!”) You snap at him, say you missed him. (You keep telling Gordan that Jason's no child. That he's seen too much, is more experienced than either of them combined. You don't say this to Dick).

He leaves but he gives Jason his number and his blessing. The kid's torn up about it, you can tell (see the doubt eat him alive of if he should be wearing those colors. Your butler? Your father?--Alfred--tells you to stop comparing the boys--good or not).

That doubt sticks with him. That past experience sticks with him. He urges you to help the poorer parts of the city, especially the places where Batman only visits once a year (The first time he goes back after getting Jason isn’t as bad as all the times before). He fights for his people. He’s tied to Gotham in ways you aren’t. Sees things you don’t. Knows things you don’t. People who can’t stand you, love him.

You keep hearing him crying over his dead mother and watch him lose it against rapists. He advocated for the woman that killed the man who murdered 12 women including her sister even though Batman and Robin aren’t supposed to endorse extra judicial work like that. He breaks a man’s collarbone for taking pictures of naked children. He thinks the “Dress-ups” won’t ever stop because Batman’s only weapon is fear and they aren’t afraid. He once said life’s a game. Monopoly, Bruce assumes he means.

Drugs are easier than rape to catch a man on, and the boy is furious that the perpetrator is only being sent back to his home country. ("he'll just hurt the women over there! He won't stop!" He's in hysterics).

A young woman is dead. The boy found her body. A man falls to his death a man is pushed to his death is dead. The boy was the last one to be with him. You bench him, but you forget that you asked him to be Robin first and a son second.

He runs away. A birth mom--Shelia Haywood, you eventually learn. He's missing. It has to wait. The Joker's out again. You have to prevent your greatest failure from becoming bigger. (He shot Barbara earlier this year)

You leave the boy with his birth mom by the warehouse. You have to go after the Joker. The Joker has killed and killed and killed. Will continue to kill. The boy is dead. He killed the boy. The mother says he was good. He's nothing more than broken bones and mangled limbs. She's...not.

Your greatest failure murdered your boy. His body’s already getting cold when you find hi—the body. The corpse. You hold it. Because it’s an it now, not a him.

You go after the Joker. The pilot is shot. You don't try to kill the Joker, but you don't bring him with you as you jump. The helicopter crashes. You don't even think he's dead; unresolved as per usual.

You failed to protect him. You failed. And he’s dead.

Superman pulls you from the ocean.

You go home and Alfred meets you once you get off the plane. He tells you it's not your fault, the boy had it coming. The murdered boy--a Good Solider, buried next to his bio-mother in Gotham Cemetery--is dubbed your new biggest failure.

Dick's in space and would miss the funeral, so you decide instead to not tell him there was a funeral at all. At least someone will still think Jason’s alive. At least someone will keep Jason alive through their belief. It’s not like Dick’ll find out. They weren’t that close anyway (Dick & Jason or you & him?)

When Dick does eventually find out, because of course he obviously does, he's furious. It's the first time you punch your first Robin. (You don't know it yet, but it won't be the last time, not for Dick and not for some other so-called family members.)

Robin is dead. Far deader than Dick Grayson ever was. He did it to himself. He thought it was a game. Dick doesn’t get it. He was better. He was alive.

(You can’t admit he’s become your son out loud. Hardly even in your head. It’s fine. Dick is the same about your fatherhood. Like father, like son)

You blame it on Jason's death. It changed you. He changed you. It's his fault. Everyone follows suit.

You leave the Joker in a body cast for six months. He gets out again. Luckily you have a new Robin--Tim Drake. He's not Jason. You can see it in his eyes that he knows that's a good thing. Gotham doesn’t even know the second one is dead. They believe Tim’s second one. Gordan even asked if he’s finally hit his growth spurt. 4’6 the death certificate said. That’s okay. No one needs to knows.

(Park Row Crime Alley knows. They know who’s theirs and who isn’t. Batman and Robin aren’t welcomed down there anymore)

(The first anniversary you visit your parents yours and his first meeting spot after Jason’s death feels like Ethiopia all over again)

A blonde girl is Robin now--Stephanie Brown. You tell her she's like Jason. She can tell you mean it as a bad thing but never processes it through her mind. You're trying to lure Tim back. A city-wide gang war wrecks Gotham. She's dead. Tortured by Black Mask and died on the operation table.

There's talk around the underworld, unified under Black Mask, a new gang leader's been making waves for months. You just heard about him tonight (a duffle bag full of heads told you): The Red Hood. You know that name. It’s a punch to the gut. Your first failure.

(“You’re getting slow, old man!)

He did what you've been trying to do for years in a matter of weeks: He overtook the entire Gotham underworld. He’s running circles around everyone. He pits you against the underground, keeps you busy, and he gets what he needs to be done Scot-Free. You hardly ever see him around. Only when he wants you to see him, do you. You don’t like things you aren’t in control of.

He doesn't want anyone dealing to kids. He likes bombs, but they're contained. Implosions, not explosions. He kills and is on par with Batman himself (he cut himself free of your line). Red Hood hangs around Crime Alley ("Park Row!" Jason would always respond), but no one there will rat him out to The Batman. They won't talk to you. Some of them even seem to...like having the Red Hood around.

He’s managed to bring down the crime rate of the entire city. Somehow.

It's raining. You can't tell. Jason's alive.

Jason's. Alive.

Jason'salivejason'salivejason'salivejason'salivejason'saliveason'salivejason'sal--

Jason's alive.

And he's killing people. And he's spitting in the face of your "sanctimonious" moral code. He laughed at you when he murdered someone in front of you. ("Just be happy I only killed the Nazi!") You tell him he doesn't get it. He responds the same.

(“You can't stop crime," he says along the lines of "Not with fear. But me...I'm controlling it.")

Jason's never had enough fear.

And now he's crying with a gun to his murderer's head. He says he’s not talking about the other rogues, just him. Just the Joker. He throws you a gun. You won't do it--can't do it. You need to save the Joker. To prove that you can. You need to save Jason. To show him this isn't the way. You can't have any more failures.

(“He took me from you!”)

Jason's going to do it himself, he says. "If you want to stop me, you're going to have to shoot me. Right in the face."

You can't let anyone die. You can't let the Joker die. It's your mission. There's so much blood. The batarang had to have had to knick the carotid artery in his neck. No one could survive it. The Joker is cackling with glee. You hear it in the walls of your skull. The bomb goes off. You don’t hear that at all.

Oh God. You killed your so—

You’re still gone, you think

You see Jason on patrol sometimes. High collar and still branding himself as Red Hood. There’s a red bat on his chest now. You don’t think it’s a compliment. The East End loves him. Jason still can't let the Joker go. Can’t—won’t move on.

Not till he's dead he says.

Take a moment to imagine yourself as a fledgling vigilante--Batman.

— — —

Anyway my meta turned into a 2nd POV fic????? but like that's not the point. The point is: That’s the impact of why Jason chose the name he did. It’s important to me that you all recognize these full-circle story beats. Do you see my vision?

Jason planned everything when he made his big debut. You don't think that dramatic-ass bastard thought about the name? Jason is mocking Bruce: both his fears and failures as a vigilante.

But that throwaway line is one of those really minor details that really bug me because it's so easy to throw out a panel and say “Jason's bad at naming things Haha" It's much harder to commit to "show, not tell" where writers have to trust their readers to get between the lines and figure out long-term connections.

As well as it's just another way Lobdell undermines Jason's goals in UtRH by saying "He couldn't think of anything else" compared to Winick's Jason who is laughing and mocking Bruce by taking up the mantle of Red Hood. Showing he's not afraid of what happened to him. Spitting in the face of the world that burned him and yelling “I’m still here!” Owning it. He's not afraid of Bruce. And he's definitely not afraid of the Joker.

I want Jason to get a new identity one day too but to do so before Jason ever gets his joker closure cuts his story short. (Which is a creative way of saying it’s never gonna happen unfortunately). I think if he gets one before he finishes the story and closes the cycle, it would be the final nail in the “Jason’s a batfamily member” coffin as it would probably be written as “Jason seeing the error of his ways” rather than for himself moving on to heal for himself.

[captain-sharkie]

The art for this chapter has nothing to do with the chapter I just thought it would be funny

Story under the cut!

Chapter 2

Word count 1040

Kidd stood outside the temple, the cool air brushing against them as the sun began to set, watching as Lambert handed out new clothing to followers young and old,

“I will be on the way home once this dinner is finished, promise.” Kidd mumbled seemingly to themself, the crown moving slightly on his head,

Kidd just sighed, anxiety filling them as Lambert walked towards the temple, five robed figures following behind.

All of them were carrying bowls, the lamb held two in both hands as they walked towards Kidd

“Can you get the door?” Lambert asked, Kidd just nodded, reaching for the handle as they opened the creaky door,

The five in robes sat at a table the lamb magically summoned, setting down the bowls, Lambert summoned a small box.

“Crown in the box, I’ll put mine in there too, no magic at dinner.” Lambert hummed, Kidd just shrugged, placing the crown in it as it gave him a more than displeased look.

Lamb took the two crowns and put them in another room in the temple, closing the door and locking it.

“There.” Lambert sighed, “Hoods off everyone.”

One by one, each of the bishops removed their hoods,

“Guh. Why did we have to wear these stupid things!” Leshy huffed, untangling his antlers from the holes in the hood,

“Because someone’s little friend doesn't seem to like us very much…” Narinder mumbled before Shamura promptly smacked his back.

“Dont speak rudely of our guest or their friend Brother.” Shamura hummed,

Heket just munched away at the food, not even engaged in conversation in the slightest sense.

“...Why are we here exactly?” Kallamar asked, crossing his arms as he sat

“We will get to that after everyone eats.” Lambert hummed, sitting down and pulling a chair out for Kidd

“Well I am not hungry, Lamb.” Narinder spoke, glaring at Kidd,

“I’ll… I’ll eat it.” Heket coughed, her bowl already empty, licked clean even

“Heket you fat fuck.” Leshy coughed, acting like he didn't say anything.

“I’m gonna… throw you…” Heket grumbled as Narinder passed his bowl off to her, Kidd just held back a laugh.

Shamura sighed, taking a few bites of their food as Lambert huffed.

“No throwing each other at dinner.” He spoke, Lambert’s face in his own hands.

“Lamb, you're no fun.” Leshy huffed, pouting as they crossed their arms, tossing the bowl of food in their mouth, eating the whole lot.

Bowl included.

“...And you called me… fat.” Heket mumbled, Leshy just scoffed,

“God I am so happy they aren't like this.” Kidd mumbled, getting raised brows from everyone,

the room was silent for a few moments,

“...Well, everyone is just about done? Right?” Lambert hummed, cleaning up the remaining bowls,

Kidd stood up, brushing themself off,

“Okay so… I was hoping I could get you guys to come with me soon.” Kidd spoke,

“To The Holy Isle.”

“...Like some sort of pilgrimage?” Shamura asked, raising a brow,

“Well- Mostly because I need some questions answered.” Kidd admitted, “All of the gods there seem to… have a…” Kidd spoke, trying to find the right words in his head

“Vendetta, against you all, even you Lamb.” Kidd look around, the bishops raised their brows and looked at eachother,

“Well why’s that?” Lambert asked

“I… have no idea.” Kidd sighed, taking a deep breath,

“Yet you want to bring us… why?” Shamura spoke, standing up,

“I was hoping you guys could come and settle things,” Kidd shrugged, “She said what happened was thousands of years ago… I thought maybe if I could prove you guys have changed…”

“She won't have to watch my every move here.” Kidd mumbled,

“She… watches everything you do here?” Leshy asked, “She sounds worse than Shamura.” Leshy whispered as Shamura groaned,

Kidd just huffed,

“How hasn't she recognized any of us?” Narinder asked, his ear twitching.

“I may or may not have convinced all of them you guys were dead…?” Kidd shuddered, “Besides she says it's been thousands of years since she's last seen you all!"

“...” Narinder groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose,

“Who do you even work for?” Narinder asked,

“...We all call her The One Who Remains.” Kidd spoke, “I’m… not exactly allowed to call any of them by their real names.” Kidd hummed,

“Hmph…” Narinder huffed “What do we get out of coming?” Narinder grinned.

“Well… uh…” Kidd mumbled, a little confused.

“You get information, what do we get?” Leshy joined in, grinning

“If I get the information I need, anything you want that Madame can give.”

All the bishops looked at eachother, raising a brow as Narinder and Leshy laughed,

“I highly doubt she can give me what I want.” Narinder smiled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

“If she can't, her siblings can.” Kidd retorted, “I promise you that.”

“Well, what about me?” Lambert asked, pointing to himself

“Well, I’ll tell you this.” Kidd turned to face Lambert,

“Ever since the word of the Lamb massacre began, she vowed to protect any flock she came across.” Kidd sighed, “Albeit few made it there.”

Lambert's eyes widened, “Are… you being serious?” they asked,

“I promise you.” Kidd sighed,

Narinder raised a brow, “Why would she do such a thing?”

Kidd just rolled his eyes, “She believes no life should be sent to waste, each one important in its own way.”

Everyone was silent for a while, the wind whistling against the temples thin walls as Lambert spoke up,

“What’s the plan?” Lambert spoke,

Kidd smiled, “Simple.” they spoke,

“You all, wear robes and all, same as today.” Kidd hummed,

“Walk north until you spy a broken bridge marked with blue paint, I will meet you on the other side.”

Leshy just groaned at Kidd’s words, “Why do we have to wear these stupid robes!”

“Because, you don't know who could be watching.” Kidd spoke, Lamb motioned for everyone to put the hoods back up as they went to retrieve the crowns,

“Thank you for the food, friend.” Kidd spoke as Lambert handed the crown to him, the crown’s single teal eye staring into his own.

“Hope to see you soon.” Lambert spoke, watching as Kidd walked out into the night, fading away with the wind.

[vinnianlovesdinosaurs]

House of the Dragon Hot Take #6

I think it's time to voice my opinions on a few things that include both teams because I feel like in most of these posts I'm just blatantly staying neutral so here we go 😮‍💨

Joffrey Lonmouth and Vaemond Velaryon getting murdered - Both terrible injustices and a blatant display of ignorance from Daemon and Criston Cole. Neither should be celebrated or seen as "cool."

Daemon and Rhaenyra - Not a good ship at all I'm sorry. To be honest I don't think any ship involving Daemon is a good one because he's abusive, neglectful, selfish, and a pedophile.

Rhaenyra and Alicents victim-hood - Should not be compared in any way shape or form. They are both victims in their own right and they BOTH deserve better.

Blood and Cheese - I know most Team Green AND Team Black stans agree with me on this one because it was absolutely unforgivable. Daemon had an innocent child beheaded. Let's not ignore that a rape threat was used against a little girl and a distressed mother.

THE Driftmark incident - Both parties were in the wrong in their own ways here. Aemond didn't deserve to lose his eye, Lucerys didn't deserve practically having a death threat made towards him by full grown adults and his uncle who knew better than him, Rhaenyra didn't deserve to have her arm sliced open, Aegon didn't deserve to have the blame placed on him and he especially didn't deserve to be hit for it, and Alicent didn't deserve to be cast aside like that and ignored.

Laena's Funeral (Pre- Aemond becoming One-eyed) - Honestly justice for my precious girl Laena because WTF even was that mess of a funeral? Her uncle was spewing vitriol at literal children during the ceremony, her husband laughed and was practically eye-fucking his niece, and then Daemon and Rhaenyra end up fucking like three hours later?? 😭

Viserys I Targaryen - I hate this man. He was a shit father to all of his children. He was a shit husband to both of his wives. He was a shit king. He was a shit friend. He was a shit brother. A PEDOPHILE JUST LIKE HIS MF BROTHER !! AND HE'S A RAPIST !! #Viserys should have died sooner

Aegon II, Aemond, Helaena, Daeron, Rhaena, Baela, Aegon III, Viserys II, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey - Honestly, I sympathize with every single one of these children. They were all raised in terrible environments with immature people all around them. Most of them were practically abused.

Harwin Strong - Justice for my man. He loved Rhaenyra, Larys, Lyonel, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey with all his heart.

Laenor Velaryon - JUSTICE FOR MY MAN!!! He was ridiculed, bullied, and blatantly used almost every day of his life for who he was. His lover was murdered right in front of him, his selfish ass father refused to accept him, and he had jokes made about his sexuality while he was grieving his dead sister that he didn't get to see for 10 years.

Rhaenyra and Criston Cole - The whole fucking situation grossed me out tbh. I understand Rhaenyra was under the influence and confused from what just happened to her but she practically coerced Criston.

Aemma Arryn and Rhea Royce - Justice for my wives ASAP!! Aemma was used as a breeding mule and Rhea was murdered by her weirdo fucking husband.

The Iron Throne - In my true opinion, I do agree that Rhaenyra was the rightful heir, but in truth neither her or Aegon were good rulers in their own ways. AT ALL.

[edutainer2022]

Character Ask Game

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

For Scott.

@janetm74 Thank you so much for the ask!

I will revisit a little meta I did on getting to know Scotty as a character and have some additions.

"How do I love thee, let me count the ways". I stumbled into TAG through Tumblr osmosis I think some time in the second half of Season 1 run. I remember liking the 2004 movie, and I zeroed in on the "missing Dad" part, but I was generally amiably "on the fence" and non-committal. Nice boys, overall. A little bit too much focus on "child hero" Alan (because it's a kids cartoon and you're an adult, duh!). I was dabbing into bits and pieces here and there, not having a full picture. Tunnels of Time drew my attention, because of the sheer DEVASTATION Scott demonstrated. The elder brother and in charge sans Dad - I was bound to pay attention. John was the character I am - an introverted "intellectual". But the Tall, dark, charismatic and going kinda recklessly nyoooom didn't hurt either. Then I came across Recharge. And it hit me like that Runaway train. My Dad died when I was 22 and I took over as head of the family, as my Mom checked out in grief. I'm fairly sure I GAVE THAT SAME SPEECH in the Arctic tent to someone at some point - I miss him, I HAVE TO DO IT ALL (and do it fast), keeping busy with IR the PhD/work/postdoc/more work is the only thing that keeps me from going crazy. Verbatim. I'm still giving that speech sometimes. I saw a mirror of grief, self-worth issues and (non)coping mechanisms I recognized so much it was uncanny. So I knew these things: I've met yet another character that I know all too well what makes tick and will love forever - it's pretty much always the same character, give or take; the uppity Top Gun Flyboy persona is absolutely a facade - he's Tall, Dark, and Emotionally Compromised (hello there, sweetie!); I need to rewatch the earlier episodes keeping that in mind. And of course, Recharge (re)contextulizes everything - chasing a sizable city time and again to martyr himself for or to generally self-destruct, chasing Dad's shadow pretty much beyond the edge all but consciously (pretty candid for a kids show), going insane with a combo of worry, grief and guilt, keeping up the Next in Command mantle, sometimes just barely, the whole convo with Lee up to and including asking him to stay, the Chain of Command implications, the Hood's return implications, randomly adopting people and pushing them to be and do better. And just like that, I SAW Scott Tracy.

That was nine years ago, give or take. I've been through more losses, pressure of "command", responsibility, betrayal and just plain tragedy ever since. And every step of the way I feel I can relate to Scott more. The need to lift and inspire people to be their best selves - even when your own soul is writhing in pain and doubt. The crippling guilt over failure. The understated loneliness. The very unsubtle nonexistent concept of personal happiness. Being back in fandom also helped me explore (and confirm) and share lots of nuance about this character that I also felt were true. I wish for Scott a lot healthier emotional coping structure and support going on into his next decade than I got his age. He's my emotional support emotional wreck and disaster.

[tic-toc-clock77]

Tw//Familial Abuse, bullying, slight mentions/implied SA, mentions of physical abuse and neglect, Suicidal thoughts, suicidal ideation

Clockwork is an incredibly frequent insomniac; because she was abused by literally every person in her family, she always had to keep her guard up and that included sleep.

She'd fall asleep in class the next day after pulling an all nighter but her bullies would throw things at her to wake her up. She had to find a very secretive spot during lunch and recesses to sleep which landed her in a bathroom stall by herself most times but of course, the bullies found her there too.

School wasn't safe, home wasn't safe. She had nowhere to go, she knew if she went home she'd be attacked one way or another. If it wasn't being hit in the face with a beer bottle by father, her brother would be breaking the lock she placed on her room that she always had to repair herself. She knew she had to go somewhere but where could she go?

"They'd be happier if I disappeared." She thought bitterly, 2 blocks down from her home. It took her a millisecond to take off running as far away as she could get from that place. She didn't have to get hit, she didn't have to get her cries ignored, her insides wouldn't hurt every morning, even if just for a moment, she could be safe and happy. She was going to take that chance.

Late at night, Natalie found at herself at a park with her drawing book and pens in her hands. The hood of the 11 year olds green jacket was up so nobody would notice her. Her pen scratched the paper as she disembodied limbs and organs spewing out of each hole. There was something freeing about it, taking that pain she'd been forced into and making something out of it.

Sure, the girls at school had found her drawing books once and pasted all the images around school, having written things on them such as "NATALIE'S A FREAK!" In large letters across her art but she paid no mind when she was here. Feeling at peace, at long last, she wanted to find a place to sleep but that dream was dashed when the police cars that'd been circling the area finally caught wind of her.

"There you are, Ms. Ouellette." An officer stated, Natalie hid her book in her bag and began to back up. "Now don't run but I'm afraid your time is up out here. I need to take you back to your parents." Natalie was defeated. She wanted to kick and scream but she knew if she evaded this any longer, the beating would only be worse so she stepped toward the man in the car and got led to the back seat.

Finally home, she stood in front of the door nervously and watched her father fuming from the window to the living room. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed in anger at the man as she pushed the door open, ready to get it over with and gone. "I'm back!" She yelled, her father's attention immediately turning to her. He yanked her by the arm and she prepared but when the first hit landed.

"Clockeye?" Clockwork turned on her side to look up at the face that held the familiar gash and she raised her hand to graze it. "You looked like you were having a nightmare so I woke you up." Toby smiled, placing his hand on her hair. "Oh, uh, yeah. Just some bad memories coming back up." She sits up, letting herself rest on his shoulder.

"You okay with telling me about it?"

"....Maybe not now."

"Alright."

Toby plants a small kiss to her temple and she smiles, resting more comfortably against him.

She felt rested at long last.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

TWOW: Arianne II

The Peregrine made port at the Weeping Town, where the corpse of the Young Dragon had once lingered for three days on its journey home from Dorne.

Could be relevant.

The Dornish prince was three days dying. - The Queen's Hand, ADWD

+.+.+

The town was large enough to support three inns, and all their common rooms were rife with rumors. Arianne sent her men into each of them, to hear what they might hear. In the Broken Shield, Daemon Sand was told that the great septry on the Holf of Men had been burned and looted by raiders from the sea, and a hundred young novices from the motherhouse on Maiden Isle carried off into slavery. In the Loon, Joss Hood learned that half a hundred men and boys from the Weeping Town had set off north to join Jon Connington at Griffin's Roost, including young Ser Addam, old Lord Whitehead's son and heir. But in the aptly named Drunken Dornishman, Feathers heard men muttering that the griffin had put Red Ronnet's brother to death and raped his maiden sister. Ronnet himself was said to be rushing south to avenge his brother's death and his sister's dishonor. That night Arianne dispatched the first of her ravens back to Dorne, reporting to her father on all they'd seen and heard. 

I'm going to laugh if she's sending him a bunch of gossip and hearsay.

"Send a raven whenever you have news," Prince Doran told her, "but report only what you know to be true. We are lost in fog here, besieged by rumors, falsehoods, and traveler's tales. I dare not act until I know for a certainty what is happening." - Arianne I, TWOW

For the record, Jon Connington didn't actually kill Red Ronnet's brother, or rape his maiden sister. However, he's currently holding his own family hostage, one of his men threw a maester from a tower, and only four of the castle garrison survived the attack.

Similar to Daenerys Targaryen in Slaver's Bay, sometimes knowing the truth of a situation doesn't bring much more reassurance.

+.+.+

Huge willows grew along the watercourses, larger than any that Arianne had ever seen, their great trunks as gnarled and twisted as an old man's face and festooned with beards of silvery moss. Trees pressed close on every side, shutting out the sun; hemlock and red cedars, white oaks, soldier pines that stood as tall and straight as towers, colossal sentinels, big-leaf maples, redwoods, wormtrees, even here and there a wild weirwood.

I don't think this is anything, but I get paranoid.

+.+.+

Arianne had once heard her father and Maester Caleotte arguing with a septon about why the north and south sides of the Sea of Dorne were so different. The septon thought it was because of Durran Godsgrief, the first Storm King, who had stolen the daughter of the sea god and the goddess of the wind and earned their eternal emnity. Prince Doran and the maester inclined more toward wind and water, and spoke of how the big storms that formed down in the Summer Sea would pick up moisture moving north until they slammed into Cape Wrath. For some strange reason the storms never seemed to strike at Dorne, she recalled her father saying. "I know your reason," the septon had responded. "No Dornishmen ever stole away the daughter of two gods."

It's astonishing to me that a priest lacks understanding of the scientific field of meteorology.

For some strange reason the storms never seemed to strike at Dorne

+.+.+

The princess lost another game of cyvasse to Daemon Sand, won one from Joss Hood, then retired as the two of them began to teach Jayne Ladybright the rules. She was tired of such games.

There ya go!

You better not be tired.

+.+.+

Nym and Tyene may have reached King's Landing by now, she mused, as she settled down crosslegged by the mouth of the cave to watch the falling rain. If not they ought to be there soon.

Yeah? Is that what you'd like me to believe, George?

Boy, I'm eagerly anticipating the amusing antics that will unfold between Cersei Lannister, the High Sparrow, Nym Sand, and Tyene Sand. That's definitely a plot you can count on happening, no shadow of a doubt.

+.+.+

Prince Trystane had remained safely back at Sunspear, after a tearful parting from Princess Myrcella. 

That moment you realize nowhere in Dorne is safe.

Reminds me of this one:

Steffon and Stannis were thousands of leagues from the fighting and safe from harm, but Devan was at Castle Black, a squire to the king. - Davos II, ADWD

Nope!

+.+.+

That accounts for one brother, thought Arianne, but where is Quentyn, if not with the griffin? Had he wed his dragon queen? King Quentyn. It still sounded silly. This new Daenerys Targaryen was younger than Arianne by half a dozen years. What would a maid that age want with her dull, bookish brother? Young girls dreamed of dashing knights with wicked smiles, not solemn boys who always did their duty. She will want Dorne, though. If she hopes to sit the Iron Throne, she must have Sunspear. If Quentyn was the price for that, this dragon queen would pay it. What if she was at Griffin's End with Connington, and all this about another Targaryen was just some sort of subtle ruse? Her brother could well be with her. King Quentyn. Will I need to kneel to him?

You are too old to be acting like this.

+.+.+

No good would come of wondering about it. Quentyn would be king or he would not. I pray Daenerys treats him him more gently than she did her own brother.

The irony of this thought occurring immediately after she ponders the absurdity of her own brother as king shouldn't be lost on you.

+.+.+

It was only as she settled down that Arianne realized Elia Sand had not returned from her explorations.  [...] The cave proved much deeper than any of them had suspected. Beyond the stony mouth where her company had made their camp and hobbled their horses, a series of twisty passageways led down and down, with black holes snaking off to either side. Further in, the walls opened up again, and the searchers found themselves in a vast limestone cavern, larger than the great hall of a castle. Their shouts disturbed a nest of bats, who flapped about them noisily, but only distant echoes shouted back. A slow circuit of the hall revealed three further passages, one so small that it would have required them to proceed on hands and knees.

Giving House of the Undying, House of Black and White, and Red Keep vibes.

+.+.+

And all at once she found herself in another cavern, five times as big as the last one, surrounded by a forest of stone columns. Daemon Sand moved to her side and raised his torch. "Look how the stone's been shaped," he said. "Those columns, and the wall there. See them?" "Faces," said Arianne. So many sad eyes, staring. "This place belonged to the children of the forest." "A thousand years ago." Arianne turned her head. "Listen. Is that Joss?" It was. The other searchers had found Elia, as she and Daemon learned after they made their way back up the slippery slope to the last hall. 

Wait a second, I know this scene!

Are you telling me that wasn't real?

Okay, but what about this?

↓ 

Might I ask about these corpses in the ice cells? They make the men uneasy. And to keep them under guard? Surely that is a waste of two good men, unless you fear that they …"

"… will rise? I pray they do." - Jon VIII, ADWD

x

"Thrice I flew Silverwing high above Castle Black, and thrice I tried to take her north beyond the Wall," Alysanne wrote to Jaehaerys, "but every time she veered back south again and refused to go. Never before has she refused to take me where I wished to go." - Fire & Blood

Shit!

Okay, but what about this?

↓

Mormont snorted. "Because I sent him, why do you think? He's bringing the hand your Ghost tore off the end of Jafer Flowers's wrist. I have commanded him to take ship to King's Landing and lay it before this boy king. That should get young Joffrey's attention, I'd think … and Ser Alliser's a knight, highborn, anointed, with old friends at court, altogether harder to ignore than a glorified crow." - Jon VIII, AGOT 

Shit!

Okay, but what about this?

↓ 

The Cinnamon Wind was spinning all around them and he could taste the rum on Gilly's tongue and the next thing her breasts were bare and he was touching them. - Samwell IV, AFFC

Shit!

Gosh, it's almost as if the creators of Game of Thrones pulled an entire season and romance from their ass.

+.+.+

Their passageway led down to a still black pool, where they discovered the girl up to her waist in water, catching blind white fish with her bare hands, her torch burning red and smoky in the sand where she had planted it.

That black pool sounds familiar.

Blind white fish swam in the black river, but they tasted just as good as fish with eyes once you cooked them up. - Bran III, ADWD

Where else does this river go?

+.+.+

"I caught two fish," said Elia Sand. "You could have died," said Arianne again. Her words echoed off the cavern walls. "… died … died … died …"

A bit ominous.

+.+.+

"Elia, this must end," she told her. "We are not in Dorne now. You are not with your sisters, and this is not a game. I want your word that you will play the maidservant until we are safely back at Sunspear. I want you meek and mild and obedient. You need to hold your tongue. I'll hear no more talk of Lady Lance or jousting, no mention of your father or your sisters. The men that I must treat with are sellswords. Today they serve this man who calls himself Jon Connington, but come the morrow they could just as easily serve the Lannisters. All it takes to win a sellsword's heart is gold, and Casterly Rock does not lack for that. If the wrong man should learn who you are, you could be seized and held for ransom–"

[...]

"You are a Sand Snake, and Prince Doran would pay any price to keep you and your sisters safe from harm." That made the child smile at least. "Do I have your sworn word? Or must I send you back?"

"I swear." Elia did not sound happy.

"On your father's bones."

"On my father's bones."

That vow she will keep, Arianne decided. She kissed her cousin on the cheek and sent her off to sleep. Perhaps some good would come of her adventure. "I never knew how wild she was till now," Arianne complained to Daemon Sand, afterward. "Why would my father inflict her on me?" "Vengeance?" the knight suggested, with a smile.

Later:

Arianne was on her way back to her own chamber when she heard muffled laughter from the adjoining room. She paused and listened for a moment, then pushed the door open to find Elia Sand curled up in a window seat, kissing Feathers.

[...]

"Feathers is a man." A serving man, but still a man. It did not escape the princess that Elia was the same age she had been when she gave her maidenhead to Daemon Sand. 

Lmao.

This is why I'm never having children. I would be cursed with raising another version of myself.

+.+.+

Mistfall's new sellsword masters called themselves Young John Mudd and Chain. Both knights, to hear them tell it. Neither behaved like any knight that Arianne had ever met. Mudd wore brown from head to heel, the same shade as his skin, but a pair of golden coins dangled from his ears. The Mudds had been kings up by the Trident a thousand years ago, she knew, but there was nothing royal about this one. Nor was he particularly young, but it seemed his father had also served in the Golden Company, where he had been known as Old John Mudd.

That's considered fAegon evidence.

Young John Mudd (Young Griff), son of Old John Mudd of the Golden Company, bears the name of previous kings in Westeros. However, it's clear there's no real ancestral ties to that royal bloodline.

+.+.+

At evenfall a fine supper was served to them in the solar, high in the Tower of Owls, where they were joined by the dowager Lady Mertyns and her maester. Though a captive in her own castle, the old woman seemed spry and cheerful. "My sons and grandsons went off when Lord Renly called his banners," she told the princess and her party. "I have not seen them since, though from time to time they send a raven. One of my grandsons took a wound at the Blackwater, but he's since recovered. I expect they will return here soon enough to hang this lot of thieves." She waved a duck leg at Mudd and Chain across the table. "We are no thieves," said Mudd. "We're foragers." "Did you buy all that food down in the yard?" "We foraged it," said Mudd. “The smallfolk can grow more. We serve your rightful king, old crone.” He seemed to be enjoying this. “You should learn to speak more courteous to knights.”

"If you two are knights, I'm still a maiden," said Lady Mertyns. "And I'll speak as I please. What will you do, kill me? I have lived too long already."

Princess Arianne said, "Have you been treated well, my lady?"

"I have not been raped, if that is what you're asking," the old woman said. "Some of the serving girls have been less fortunate. Married or unmarried, the men make no distinctions."

"No one's been doing any raping," insisted Young John Mudd. "Connington won't have that. We follow orders."

Chain nodded. "Some girls was persuaded, might be."

"The same way our smallfolk were persuaded to give you all their crops. Melons or maidenheads, it's all the same to your sort. If you want it, you take it." Lady Mertyns turned to Arianne. "If you should see this Lord Connington, you tell him that I knew his mother, and she would be ashamed." Perhaps I shall, the princess thought.

Might as well start the obituaries now.

+.+.+

That night when she told Ser Daemon what Chain had said, the Bastard of Godsgrace seemed as perplexed as she was. "Storm's End was still held by men loyal to Lord Stannis when last I heard. You would think Connington might do better to make common cause with another rebel, rather than making war upon him too." "Stannis is too far away to be of help to him," Arianne mused. "Capturing a few minor castles whilst their lords and garrisons are off at distant wars, that's one thing, but if Lord Connington and his pet dragon can somehow take one of the great strongholds of the realm …" "…the realm would have to take them seriously," Ser Daemon finished.

Including Daenerys!

+.+.+

Near dusk on the fourth day, not long after Chain and his wagons had taken their leave of them, Arianne's company was met by a column of sellswords down from Griffin's Roost, led by the most exotic creature that the princess had ever laid her eyes on, with painted fingernails and gemstones sparkling in his ears.

Lysono Maar spoke the Common Tongue very well. "I have the honor to be the eyes and ears of the Golden Company, princess."

"You look…" She hesitated.

"…like a woman?" He laughed. "That I am not."

"…like a Targaryen," Arianne insisted. His eyes were a pale lilac, his hair a waterfall of white and gold. All the same, something about him made her skin crawl. Was this what Viserys looked like? she found herself wondering. If so perhaps it is a good thing he is dead.

(Please give yourself a moment to laugh at her discomfort at the sight of someone resembling a Targaryen.)

That's considered fAegon evidence.

It's another reminder that people from Lys have the Targaryen look.

"Your Grace is kind," said Waters with a smile. A wicked smile, the queen thought. Aurane did not resemble Prince Rhaegar as much as she had thought. He has the hair, but so do half the whores in Lys, if the tales are true. Rhaegar was a man. This is a sly boy, no more. Useful in his way, though. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

↓ 

"Serra. I found her in a Lysene pillow house and brought her home to warm my bed, but in the end I wed her. Me, whose first wife had been a cousin of the Prince of Pentos. The palace gates were closed to me thereafter, but I did not care. The price was small enough, for Serra." - Tyrion II, ADWD

Somewhat worrisome, because Aegon also resembles young Illyrio.

A naked boy stood on the water, poised to duel with a bravo's blade in hand. He was lithe and handsome, no older than sixteen, with straight blond hair that brushed his shoulders. So lifelike did he seem that it took the dwarf a long moment to realize he was made of painted marble, though his sword shimmered like true steel. - tyrion I, ADWD

↓ 

He was a lithe and well-made youth, with a lanky build and a shock of dark blue hair. The dwarf put his age at fifteen, sixteen, or near enough to make no matter. - Tyrion III, ADWD

+.+.+

"I am flattered. The women of House Targaryen are said to be without peer in all the world."

"And the men of House Targaryen?"

"Oh, even prettier. Though if truth be told, I have only seen the one."

That's considered fAegon evidence. The author made it ambiguous.

Lysono Maar is the spymaster for the Golden Company, it's possible he's met Viserys Targaryen.

Her brother Viserys had once feasted the captains of the Golden Company, in hopes they might take up his cause. They ate his food and heard his pleas and laughed at him. - Daenerys III, ADWD

+.+.+

"Do you play cyvasse, my lord?" asked Arianne. "My father has been teaching me. I am not very skilled, I must confess, but I do know that the dragon is stronger than the elephant." "The Golden Company was founded by a dragon." "Bittersteel was half-dragon, and all bastard. I am no maester, but I know some history. You are still sellswords." "If it please you, princess," he said, all silken courtesy. "We prefer to call ourselves a free brotherhood of exiles." "As you will. As free brothers go, your company stands well above the rest, I grant you. Yet the Golden Company has been defeated every time it has crossed into Westeros. They lost when Bittersteel commanded them, they failed the Blackfyre Pretenders, they faltered when Maelys the Monstrous led them." That seemed to amuse him.

That's considered fAegon evidence.

He might find it amusing if he knows they have another Blackfyre.

+.+.+

By midmorning a light rain began to fall, as they were making their way north through a land of green fields and little villages. 

x

The rain still fell, soft and steady. The sound of moisture dripping off the leaves was all around them, and every mile or so the music of another little waterfall would call to them.

x

They travelled to the music of steady, lashing rains beating at the treetops up above, though underneath the green great canopy of leaves and branches she and her riders stayed surprisingly dry. 

x

And finally Griffin's Roost emerged from the sea mists, on a grey wet day as the rain fell thin and cold. 

Rain falling from start to finish...

+.+.+

"Has no one told you?" Halden Halfmaester favored her with a smile thin and hard as a dagger cut. "Storm's End is ours. The Hand awaits you there." Daemon Sand stepped up beside her. "Shipbreaker Bay can be perilous even on a fair summer's day. The safer way to Storm's End is overland." "These rains have turned the roads to mud. The journey would take two days, perhaps three," said Halden Halfmaester. A ship will have the princess there in half a day or less. There is an army descending on Storm's End from King's Landing. You will want to be safe inside the walls before the battle." Will we? Wondered Arianne. "Battle? Or siege?" She did not intend to let herself be trapped inside Storm's End. "Battle," Halden said firmly. "Prince Aegon means to smash his enemies in the field."

Let's talk about a few things.

One.

Previously covered in ADWD's Epilogue.

There's two hosts in King's Landing, both belonging to the Reach.

Randyll Tarly and Mace Tyrell had both brought armies to King's Landing, whilst the best part of the strength of House Lannister remained in the riverlands, fast melting away. - Epilogue, ADWD

Mace Tyrell intended to deal with Aegon and the Golden Company after Margaery's and Cersei's trials.

"[...] we must destroy Connington and his pretender now, before Daenerys Stormborn can come west."

Mace Tyrell crossed his arms. "I mean to do just that, ser. After the trials." - Epilogue, ADWD

If Cersei carries out a massively destructive and violent act at that trial, causing significant harm to House Tyrell (and we have a lot of reasons to believe she will), then it seems logical to conclude that the host coming from King's Landing intends to join Aegon, not fight him.

"… as for Connington," Tyrell repeated, "what victories has he ever won that we should fear him? He could have ended Robert's Rebellion at Stoney Sept. He failed. Just as the Golden Company has always failed. Some may rush to join them, aye. The realm is well rid of such fools." - Epilogue, ADWD

Two.

"Battle," Halden said firmly. "Prince Aegon means to smash his enemies in the field."

Once again, the author is reinforcing the idea that Aegon is lacking necessary skills for this job.

In Jon Connington's last chapter, we learned the Golden Company does not currently have the strength to face enemies in the field.

The great beasts would be useful in a pitched battle, no doubt, but it would be some time before they had the strength to face their foes in the field. - The Griffin Reborn, ADWD

Now, at Aegon's command, they're going to ABANDON THE WALLS OF STORM'S END, and meet the King's Landing host in an open field.

That is unbelievably stupid, and the only reason it won't end in disaster is because the Tyrell host probably isn't coming to fight.

Regardless, what is it telling us about the future?

Ser Jorah considered that for a moment. "Robert should have been born Dothraki," he said at last. "Your khal would tell you that only a coward hides behind stone walls instead of facing his enemy with a blade in hand. The Usurper would agree. He is a strong man, brave … and rash enough to meet a Dothraki horde in the open field. But the men around him, well, their pipers play a different tune. His brother Stannis, Lord Tywin Lannister, Eddard Stark …" He spat. - Daenerys IV, AGOT

This is the problem with Jon Connington: he's dying, therefore he's no longer patient.

He will allow Aegon to be reckless, and use flawed strategy.

" … once we have Storm's End . . ."

The princess let that aside go without comment, though it gave her considerable pause. Storm's End. This griffin is a bold one, it would seem. Or else a fool. The seat of House Baratheon for three centuries, of the ancient Storm Kings for thousands of years before that, Storm’s End was said by some to be impregnable. Arianne had heard men argue about which was the strongest castle in the realm.

Three.

Has this girl lost her mind? Why would you voluntarily go to Storm's End when an army is descending upon it?

Catelyn Stark also found herself in the middle of a dispute at Storm's End, but Catelyn Stark isn't the heir to Dorne.

+.+.+

"Your brother is not at Storm's End, we know that now," Ser Daemon said, as soon as they were behind closed doors. "If Daenerys Targaryen has dragons, they are half a world away, and of no use to Dorne. There is nothing for us at Storm's End, princess. If Prince Doran meant to send you into the middle of a battle, he would have given you three hundred knights, not three."

Do not be so certain of that, ser. He sent my brother off to Slaver's Bay with five knights and a maester. "I need to speak with Connington." Arianne undid the interlocked sun and spear that clasped her cloak, and let the rain-soaked garment slip from her shoulders to puddle on the floor. "And I want to see this dragon prince of his. If he is truly Elia's son…"

"Whoever's son he is, if Connington challenges Mace Tyrell in open battle he may soon be a captive, or a corpse."

"Tyrell is not a man to fear. My uncle Oberyn–"

" –is dead, princess. And ten thousand men is equal to the whole strength of the Golden Company."

"Lord Connington knows his own strength, surely. If he means to risk battle, he must believe that he can win it."

"And how many men have died in battles they believed that they could win?" Ser Daemon asked her. "Refuse them, princess. I mistrust these sellswords. Do not go to Storm's End."

I think it's a little concerning that the designated Voice of Reason doesn't want her going any further in this journey.

+.+.+

"Ser Daemon, you squired for my uncle Oberyn," she said. "If you were with him now, would you be counseling him to refuse as well?" She did not wait for him to respond. "I know the answer. And if you are about to remind me that I am no Red Viper, I know that too. But Prince Oberyn is dead, Prince Doran is old and ill, and I am the heir to Dorne."

"And that is why you should not put yourself at risk." Daemon Sand went to one knee. "Send me to Storm's End in your stead. Then if the griffin's plans should go awry and Mace Tyrell takes the castle back, I will be just another landless knight who swore his sword to this pretender in hopes of gain and glory."

Whereas if I am taken, the Iron Throne will take that for proof that Dorne conspired with these sellswords, and lent aid to their invasion. "It is brave for you to seek to shield me, ser. I thank you for that." She took his hands and drew him back to his feet. "But my father entrusted this task to me, not you. Come the morrow, I sail to beard the dragon in its den."

Yeah, I don't have a good feeling about any of this.

I don't think the danger is the host coming from King's Landing. I think it's the decisions she makes after that.

Final thoughts:

What happens when Daemon Sand is the more likeable man in the love triangle?

Let it be known, I'm Team Bastard of Godgrace. I'll let you guys enjoy the one assuming the role of Joffrey.

Next chapter: The Forsaken (Aeron Dam-phair)

-> return to menu <-

[daichinom]

LAST REFUGE

chap. 6

Daryl Dixon x Grimes Reader

Season 1

⚠️Warning: spoilers, blood, mentions of death and suicide, medical terms, angst, typical TWD violence and gore, vomiting, child injury, allusions to gunshot wound

You walked through the forest, trying to keep up with him.

-"Amy!" You raised your voice, the girl turned to see you.

-"Don't worry, you know he didn't mean it with that intention. I bet they're fine. They're probably back."- You said, trying to cheer her up.

-"Do you want to bet? What will you give me when they tell me my sister is dead?"- Amy said while frowning, you sighed.

-"She will arrive safely… I promise"- you assured, although you had no idea if they were still alive there.

Amy hugged you, trying to find comfort in the uncertainty, you hugged her and rubbed her back. Suddenly, a dull noise echoed through the place, like an alarm, causing everyone to gather in the RV, including both of you.

-"What's Dale?"- Shane asked.

-"It looks like a stolen car… I guess"- said the old man.

You approached with Lori and Carl, putting yourself on a par, suddenly the noise became louder, as soon as the red car was parked right in front, Glenn emerged from it, you were glad to see him.

Suddenly the poor guy was greeted with complaints from Shane and Dale along with Amy's insistence on her sister's whereabouts, -"everyone is fine!… Well, Merle not so much.."- said the Korean, looking at everyone -"How do you come here making so much noise? Do you want to attract them to us?!" - Shane scolded.

-"The noise echoed throughout the mountains.. It's difficult to find a source.."- you tried to defend him, making everyone turn to look at you, -"I thing it was stupid"- Shane said, turning to the hood of the car.

-"Don't defend him… He must have been careful, what will we do when the camp is full of those things?"- Lori told you, to which you bowed your head shyly, silently agreeing with her even though you agreed.

Suddenly, a white truck similar to a moving truck became visible, Glenn smiled, everyone began to approach, Andrea emerged from it, whom Amy ran to hug, then Morales, who was received by his wife and children, then Jacqui and T-Dog followed.

-"C'mon darling"- Lori told Carl, you saw out of the corner of your eye how Shane looked at Lori, a mixed feeling turned your stomach.

-"How did they get out of there?"- Shane asked.

-"A new friend, he took us out"- Glenn answered, Shane looked at him

-"A crazy guy who came to town, hey helicopter boy! Come say hello"- Morales called.

You looked ahead and couldn't believe what your eyes saw.

Out of the driver's seat came Rick Grimes, your brother. Your first instinct was to call her, -"Lori"-

Shane's expression couldn't believe it, when Lori responded to your call, she also couldn't believe what she saw, much less Carl.

-"Daddy!!!-" Carl shouted, running to where Rick was, who knelt down to be embraced by his son's arms.

You and Lori couldn't believe it, he was there, alive and standing in front of you, you quickly went to hug your brother, along with Lori, Carl in the middle.

Your fat tears came out of your eyes, hugging the man you thought was dead, everyone looked at the emotional scene with a smile, except Shane, who looked at it, but not with a smile.

Night came, everyone lit a bonfire to welcome the new arrivals, everyone was listening to Rick, who was talking about his experience since he woke up from a coma, Lori was next to him, Carl on his lap, you were next to Glenn, a little further away.

-"Disoriented, that's how I felt…"- expressed Rick.

-"Words are not enough…Sometimes they are not enough"- said Dale, suddenly your gaze focused on Shane, who was looking at you, you straightened up and without saying anything you stood up, your action made everyone pay attention to you and without Say not a single word, you left.

Everyone looked at you strangely, especially Rick.

-"I'll go see what's wrong… I'm sure your appear filled her with emotions"- Shane said, standing up, Rick gave him a grateful smile, while everyone began to discuss what they would do with Daryl Dixon.

You took heavy steps against the dirt floor, hiding behind the caravan, -"what's wrong with you?"- Shane intervened, stepping on your heels, you turned around indignantly.

-"Isn't he dead?"- you said in an upset tone, as you hit his chest, -"you lied and preferred to let him die?!"- you challenged him, your eyes about to drown in tears.

-"Hey, hey, wait!.. You have no idea what that place was… people shooting and dying in the hallways, he was hooked up to the machines!.. I didn't hear anything, I swear to God"- Shane exclaimed, you looked at him, not knowing whether to believe him or not.

-"Hey, look at me"- Shane said, taking your face in his hands, -"he's my best friend… you know that more than anything.. And you know I'm incredibly happy that he's alive and back"- Shane He said, looking into your eyes, for a moment, you wanted to believe him, it sounded so real, you couldn't blame him when he said it to you like that.

-"I need a moment…"- you decided to separate, turning your back on him and leaning on one of the fences that were in the quarry and that overlooked the cliff.

Shane didn't say anything else and went back to the others, not wanting to get on your nerves.

-"She's fine, you just know… her "ghosts"" - he said, as he sat near the campfire, Rick couldn't help but laugh, - "nothing strange about her after seeing me against the dead" -.

TimeLapse

You rubbed your eyes, emotional and physical exhaustion passing through your body, you watched everyone go to their tents to sleep, on the way you met Rick, about to enter Lori's tent, until he turned around and saw you.

You smiled at him, and went to give him a hug, sinking into his smell and touch, as if he weren't real, he planted a kiss on your cheek.

-"I missed you so much"- you almost murmured, -"I know, me too"- he said, as he looked at you, suddenly Carl came out of the tent and went to hug you, -"good night Aunt Y/N"- you smiled and You hugged him, -"rest, you need it"- you said, while you gave the boy a kiss on the head and said goodbye to Rick with another hug, to finally say goodbye to Lori from a distance.

[wolfverse-stories]

Dreams aren't always pleasant

(Falling in Reverse Au/Reverse Batfam)

Chapter 6 (Final Chapter)

     "Back so soon?" Jason asked standing across the rooftop.

     "Afraid so," Damian said stepping forward "I'm-"

     "Not from this Earth" the redhead smirked "Oracle brought me up to speed"

     "I need you to do me a favor," Damian said meeting his gaze.

Timeskip

     "Who is this?" Tim looked over at Jason suspiciously.

     "A friend," Damian said walking over to him.

     "I didn't know you had frie-Sorry force of habit.." Tim trailed off sheepishly.

     "Don't worry I have three brothers I'm used to it" He reassured Tim "So you're sure this will get me home?" Tim gave a nod "Thank you" he turned over to Jason "Remember our deal?"

     "Yeah yeah," Jason said rolling his eyes "You are so much chatter than our wing"

     "Not as cold thought" Tim observed.

     "Yeah that's thanks to a couple of people I know" Damian answered 'including you'

Timeskip

     "Hello?" As soon as he walked into the living room two sets of footsteps came racing down the stairs.

     "Dami!" Dick practically tackled him.

     "Where have you been?!" Jason crossed his arms.

     "Nice to see you too Jay" Damian rolled his eyes getting up "Where are the others?"

     "Cass and Tim are out looking for you" Dick answered still hugging Damian.

     "Bruce had a JL emergency so Wally is 'babysitting us' " Jason explained.

     "And where is West?" Damian looked at his younger brother suspiciously.

     "Jay put a tranquilizer in his food then locked him up in the bat cave" Dick grinned.

     "He wouldn't stop ruffling my hair!"

One week later

     Damian stood in the kitchen where he was supposed to be getting popcorn for his siblings, instead, he was deep in thought. He had gotten back a week ago and one question had been eating away at him.

     'Had I acted out of love or guilt?'

     "Did you get lost?" Tim smirked leaning in the doorway.

     "Lost in thought" Damian replied finally pulling out the popcorn.

     "Something wrong?" Tim asked letting his arm drop.

     "Tim, do you think this is all just guilt?" Damian frowned.

     "What?" Tim stared at his older brother with confusion.

     "Do...do you think that maybe I don't really care about anyone I just feel guilty about what happened to you?"

     "Of course not" Tim scuffed.

     "But I treated you like trash before you died and not that other eart-" Tim cut Damian off.

     "Is that what this is all about?" He moved closer to Damian "Yes when I first got here you hated you beat the heck out of me but before I died you did start to treat me like a brother"

     "What about the others am I just trying to make up for how I treated you?" Damian asked

     "I've seen how you are with Cass and the baby birds and it's not guilt" Tim smiled softly  "You genuinely love for them"

     "Are you sure?" 

     "The fact that you're even worried about this proves you love them" Before Damian could realize what he was doing he had his arms wrapped around Tim in a tight hug

     "Thanks" Tim's body stiffened  from the surprise attack hug "You know I love you too baby bird?"

     "I know," Tim said relaxing "I love you Big Bird"

Meanwhile

     "Wow" Jason mused staring at the large computer set up "You're a seriously little nerd aren't you"

     "It's designed after the bat computer Only with a few more tricks" Tim grinned turning it on.

One year later

     It had started out as a 'favor'. He works with Tim and Damian wouldn't expose his identity. Pretty soon it stopped being a favor. Jason didn't work with Tim because he had to but because he wanted to. Tim was like his little brother and there was no way Jason would let anyone mess with his little brother.

     So when the court sent a Talon after Tim of course Jason was going to track him down and make him sorry.

    "Skywatcher any signs of your attacker," Jason asked into the comm.

     "No so far, be careful Hood these are professionally trained assassins"

     "Don't worry little brother" Jason replied in a mocking tone.

    "I'm technically older than you" Tim snapped back.

     "I'd still be bigger than you without magic" Jason chuckled "Seriously you need to eat"

     "I've put on five pounds" Tim shot back.

     "Yeah sure you-"  a noise started Jason

    "Hood? What's going on?" Tim asked over the comm

     "I uh..." Jason stared at the small figure in front of him "I found a baby talon"

Prev. / More stories

[hellishattempt]

all is fair in love and war. . . jason todd.

it is four in the morning but this idea of the joker kidnapping jason's girlfriend, and hurting her in front of him, has been keeping me awake so here we are.

of course this is going to include violence, blood / gore, descriptive injuries, kidnapping, and other things of that likeness. will also include mentions of hospitals / hospital machinery and leukemia so if you are sensitive / easily triggered by those categories, this is not for you </3

summary : you are the resurrected jason todd's girlfriend, living with your mother and little brother in the crime ridden city of gotham. whenever there is danger near you, the red hood immediately swoops in to save you. this has not gone unnoticed by one particular clown of gotham. so he decides to use you to get to the red hood. && this kinda goes along with the arkham knight route of jason's past.

also i kinda hate how i represented the joker in some parts so bear with me. and this is really long. like. way longer than i anticipated. so. sorry?

with that all being said and done, off we go into this delirious one shot.

        "i'm sorry" tears were falling from the girl's eyes. "i didn't have a choice."

        the boy scoffed. "there's always a choice." he had been led here, sold out by someone he loves once again. first it was his mother, who cared more for her drugs than she did her own son. now, it was his lover. the two women in his life who he was supposed to always be able to trust. and they were the two who had betrayed him. the irony was suffocating. 

        "he took my brother. he took him." the girl was struggling against her bonds, tied to the balcony above him. her fresh bruises and the cut above her eye showed she had put up a fight. "he's only a boy."

        "so was i," the boy's voice cracked. he was twenty - two now, but it was only six years ago when he was trapped in a warehouse much like this one. he was tortured, beaten and abused endlessly for days, weeks, months. a video was taken over the span of the boy's time away. it was sent to his father. the boy's father had done nothing. he was the most powerful man in gotham, and he did nothing. he watched. when he finally did something, it was too late. the boy was dead. the clown had won. 

        "you would've done the same if it was any one of your brothers."

        "i know. it's okay, i'm not mad," his voice sounded distant. she was right, of course. all of his brothers could take care of themselves, and could be scary sometimes, but the boy loved them too much to let them be hurt in any way, even if he doesn't show it. 

        "i'm sorry," she whispered once more. 

         from the shadows, that same maniacal laughter from all those years ago rose up from the balcony. the boy faltered, falling into the arms of two large henchmen, who held him tightly. the clacking of the clown's shoes came closer. "ah, young love. so pure. so innocent." he stepped into the light. "so . . . fragile." there stood the clown prince of gotham in his purple suit and bright green hair combed back neatly. his face was painted snow white, accented with his trademark blood red smile. the red looked so much like fresh blood the boy stole a glance at his girl. the cut above her eye had not stopped bleeding. he became sick to his stomach as the thought of the clown's smile being painted with her blood. joker's green eyes were staring down into the boy's deep blue ones. "hello, jason."

        the room got smaller. it became harder to breathe. it felt as though he had been slammed into a brick wall. he could still hear it. the scrape of the crowbar. the ticking of the bomb. the crunch of his bones. he could feel the metal breaking him again and again. the ties digging into his skin. the iron taste of blood on his tongue. he had spent six months being abused and tortured by this very villain. it took all of his strength not to just shoot the clown down where he stood. 

        "it's so good to see you again, little birdie. how's your back? healed nicely after i broke it, i hope. did you get my flowers? i made batsy promise he'd bring them to your grave." the word grave made jason suck in a breath. he had died. and it had been this clown's fault. now he was here, at the mercy of the joker once more.

      the joker circled the girl, and crouched down to her level. he ran a gloved hand down her arm. "such a beautiful girl."

        "don't touch her!" the red hood shouted from below, struggling against the men holding him. 

        the clown ignored him. "do you want to hear a joke?" the girl nodded, terrified. she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. "good, good. so, what's red and bad for your teeth?" he grabbed something from the dark with one hand, the other caressing her face. "a brick!" laughing his heartless laugh, the brick came crashing down and slammed into her face. the girl fell to the floor, her scream echoing through the abandoned warehouse.

        "(y/n)!" jason's vision rimmed red with fury. he snapped. he wrenched away from his captors, taking both down easily. more of joker's goonies filed into the room. without hesitating, jason killed every single one of them. he would burn the joker down to the ground for hurting her. another scream came from the balcony. jason looked to where she was. the joker had hit her again. distracted, he was easily overpowered. the joker had his people strip him of his utility belt and all weapons. he was helpless. 

        "now, now, birdie, let's not get too excited here. i know you're just dying for your turn, but don't worry. my crowbar is stored safely away, waiting for your return." the joker walked to the edge of the balcony, tossing the brick between his hands. it dripped with her blood. 

        "let her go, joker. it's me you want. not her. leave her out of this," jason pleaded. 

        "ah, ah, ah. sorry, birdie, but no can do! she here is the key to your obedience." the joker just shook his head. he turned back to the girl, "this might sting." the joker continued to hurt her, and jason was defenseless. she grew quieter with every strike, and jason began to worry the joker had pushed too far. 

        "(y/n). . ." jason breathed. the joker had forced her to stand, and jason got a look at all the damage that had been done. her face was swollen and scratched. the smooth skin now rough and uneven. her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, matted in knots mixed with dirt and blood. her eyes flitted open and jason got a glance at her irises. one was red from the cut above it. her eye was trying to push the blood out, so it looked as though she was crying bloody tears. her white shirt had been ripped open, revealing her lacy black bra. it was jason's favorite of hers because of the way it defined her features. the lace was torn, and the straps were fraying, slipping from her shoulders. right under her collarbone was red and irritated. the joker had written something on her, much like the "J " he had branded on jason's face. jason tried to make out what it said, but the word was too bloody and too rough to see what it was. her side stained the shirt red, the mark spreading to her stomach. the joker had hit something, and hit it hard. her black flared skirt hid the dark stains of blood well, but jason knew they were there. her long legs were scarred from both the beatings and the jagged floor beneath her. her wrists and ankles were bound by a thorny rope, the material digging into her skin. jason prayed to whatever god what out there that the rope didn't cut too far, for fear of any one of her veins being opened. her bare feet were being stabbed by the jagged iron floor beneath her. blood dripped in a steady stream to the floor below her. the joker had hold of her arm, and it was clear he was the only thing stopping her from falling. 

        "isn't she so pretty? such a pretty, pretty angel." joker grabbed her face. "wait, now hold on a second. she needs a smile." joker pressed two of his fingers against the wound on her side. evangeline winced, losing her balance, while joker raised the two fingers to her lips and painted a smile on her face. "look, we're matching!" he showed off her smile of blood to jason, his trademark smile right next to hers. 

       jason couldn't look. his love, his one, his person, was in this mess because of him. she was bloody, broken and bruised because of him. if he had just stayed away, she wouldn't have gotten hurt. but she was so intoxicating. her voice, her laugh, her tendencies and quirks were things he couldn't live without now. it all started in that damn library with that damn book. pride and prejudice. they had tried to check it out at the same time. it was a cliche meet-cute, but jason wouldn't ask for anything better. he had let her check it out, and when it had been returned a week later, (y/n) had left a slip of paper bookmarked on the first chapter. on the note, it read her phone number. "this is a bit risky, but there's no way in hell i'm passing up a hot guy who reads jane austen. call me! xx (y/n)". that was over six months ago.

       of course jason called her. she had been so damn beautiful when they met. her hair was half up in a knot on her head, the other fell down in cascading waves. her loose clothes hung from her frame, revealing nothing about the shape of the body beneath it. her lips were slightly chapped, and you could tell she bit on it as a nervous habit. her hands had been cracked, dry from the cold weather outside. she had been standing in the sun, so her blue light glasses reflected across those eyes, and they shone in response.

       they set up a date. they were going to meet at the local coffee shop, just across from the library. again, it was cliche, but jason wouldn't have had it any other way. they sat in that coffee shop until closing, having been there for over six hours. they talked about everything: their families, their likes and dislikes, past pets, childhood, and even their most embarrassing moments. when the baristas kicked them out for closing, neither one wanted the night to end. jason wanted to stay with her forever, wanted to hear her lustrous voice for eternity. she invited him back to her apartment, and he smiled so wide as he accepted. they stayed up all night- well, jason did. (y/n) fell asleep on the couch at around four am, three fourths of the way through the six hour pride and prejudice movie.

       now here stood the same girl, still just as beautiful, but her beauty was marred by blood and grime. (y/n) looked so helpless in the joker's arms. her broken body was like a ragdoll, limp and lifeless. the sight made jason want to cry and scream and vomit all at the same time. she was so precious and didn't deserve this.

       "please," red hood pleaded once more. the psychotic clown just smiled back at him. "i'm begging you. i'll do anything. just don't hurt her anymore."

       "my, my. you didn't even beg for your life, but you'll beg for hers?" the joker mused, studying jason. jason was on his knees on the floor below him, his hands bound behind his back. he had been stripped of his utility belt and all weapons. his mask was broken and scattered across the floor, and the domino one wore underneath had been removed. his comm link had been ripped from his ear and crushed. no calling for help now. it was just jason and the joker's army.

       "she's all i have left." the words were a whisper, laced with ruin and defeat.

       "then i will take her from you, too." the joker pulled out a shiny revolver from behind his back.

       "no!" jason called out, tears staining his vision.

       glass rained from the ceiling as canisters of smoke gas filled the room. somebody was attacking the warehouse.

       a gunshot rang out. a female voice cried in a silenced scream. a body fell to the floor.

       "(y/n)!"

       just then, four vigilantes landed in the warehouse. the joker screamed out, fleeing from the scene and taking the still body of the girl with him. more goons filled the room as the vigilantes prepared for a fight. the henchmen holding onto jason had let go of him, but he hadn't moved. he was delirious, in shock and unresponsive. a comforting hand was on his shoulder.

       "jason? jason, are you okay? are you hurt?" it was dick grayson, aka nightwing and jason's older brother. "come on, jay. we gotta get you outta here." he hauled his younger brother to his feet, slinging jason's arm around dick's shoulders. jason vaguely took in the scene, seeing spoiler, robin and red robin all fighting off men twice their sizes.

       "she's gone," jason muttered, mostly to himself. "i couldn't protect her, and now she's dead."

       "it's okay, little wing. you're safe now." nightwing's voice was calm. "oracle, red hood's been injured. i can't say how bad, but there's blood all over the warehouse. the joker got to him again. you got to get us out of here." a muffled voice responded to dick's call for help. soon, the batcopter was hovering over them, releasing a ladder for the vigilantes to grab onto. "spoiler, robin, let's go! red robin, come on! we got red hood." the other three nodded in response, running for the swinging rope ladder. but jason's weak body began fighting against dick as he hauled him up.

       "no! i won't leave without her!" he thrashed.

       "without who? come on, little wing. there's bombs rigged all over the warehouse, we got to go."

       "(y/n)! i have to save her. he took her. the blood, it's hers, not mine. please, dick. she's all i have."

       dick ran a gloved hand down his face. "shit. jason we can't do anything now. the joker's gone. we have to get back to the batcave first, then we can start looking for her."

       jason wasn't happy with that answer, pushing himself off dick. nightwing made a motion to robin that he didn't see, and something sharp was in his neck. his body slowed, becoming numb. dick grabbed him once again. they drugged him? hurt flashed in jason's heavy lidded eyes.

       "you bastard. he's gonna kill her," jason croaked. but nightwing just shook his head. then the world went black.

       jason awoke some time later, strapped down to a cot in the batcave's medical bay. dick and bruce were in a heated argument a few meters away, while alfred was tending to jason's wounds. tim and damian were spectators to the argument, but it was clear they were on dick's side. cass, steph and duke were no where to be seen. barbara was at the batcomputer, running back the tapes of the previous night's events. jason turned back to his brothers, where it looked like bruce was about to give up. he caught a few words, but couldn't hear much.

       "-not stable-"

       "-locked up, bruce! he's a hu-"

       "it's not safe-"

       they were arguing over him, jason could tell. sighing, he looked away, staring at the ceiling.

       "master bruce is concerned for you, master jason," alfred's soft voice spoke as the man cleaned his supplies. "you keep running off to track down the joker, and he doesn't understand why. perhaps you should talk to him." the butler left without another word.

       he doesn't understand? how could he not? i had to save (y/n), surely bruce understands that. i failed her yesterday, but i won't do that again. i'll find the joker, and i'll kill him like i should've all those years ago.

       thumping footsteps pulled jason from his thoughts. it was bruce. he took the seat alfred had just occupied. dick, tim and damian had left the room. jason didn't look at his adoptive father, just kept on staring up. no doubt it was bruce who ordered jason be chained down like a rabid animal.

       "jason-" oh no. he was using his tired dad voice. "why did you go after the joker like that yesterday? no one is ever supposed to face him alone." that was a rule bruce had implemented after jason died the first time. dick had nearly murdered the joker when he found out about jason, and bruce had to stop him from going too far. he had already lost one son to the joker, and couldn't lose another. one of the first things he told tim was to never try and face the joker without bruce or someone else there. even then, bruce didn't like the idea of any of his children taking on the clown prince, no matter how many stood against him. the joker was just too unpredictable.

       "i had to save her." his voice was dry.

       "save who, jason?"

       jason said the answer as though it was obvious. it was to him. "(y/n)."

       bruce's sigh could be heard halfway across the world. "jason, how many times do we have to go over this? (y/n)'s dead. she died three months ago."

       the memory played in jason's head without his permission.

       (y/n), lying in a hospital bed with a forced smile stretched across her lips. the heart monitor next to her was slowing, as was her breathing. the girl's cold hands were clasped firmly in jason's warm ones. it was just them in the room, the doctors had left to give them privacy. they were supposed to be saying their goodbyes, but no words could be spoken. she had been diagnosed a few weeks before they met, but had abstained from telling him until a couple months ago.

       "say something, please." her voice was barely above a whisper, but that was all the strength (y/n) could muster.

       "what's there to say? you're going to die tonight, and i can't do anything about it." jason didn't know how to process his emotions, so he had just turned them off. he felt like he was suffocating in this stupid room. "we were supposed to have the rest of our lives together. i had plans for you and me, you know? i was gonna build us a pretty yellow house, far from here. i was gonna marry you, give you a couple of kids, you know? i was ready to drop everything for you. give up my life as a vigilante for you. but now you're gonna die. you're dying right now."

       his words hurt her heart. she wanted that life with him. she wanted kids with him, she wanted to marry him. "i wanna marry you, jailbird." jailbird. it was her nickname for him once she learned he was former robin and now red hood.

       "yeah? really?" he picked up his head, to meet her starry, watery eyes. she sniffled and nodded. jason smiled a little and pulled a box out of his pocket. he got down on one knee and opened the box. inside, was a beautiful wedding ring, given to him by his stepmother, catherine todd. she was a shitty person, and he didn't care for her at all, but the ring was the only thing she left him when catherine died. "(y/n), i love you more than i've ever loved anyone. i didn't even think it was possible to have all the feelings i have for you. please, will you marry me?"

       her tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "yes, of course, baby. of course i'll marry you. i love you so much, jason. i love you so goddamn much."

       (y/n) died hours later.

-----

&&. okay so tbh i didn't know how to end this, and then when i decided i wanted the reader to end up being dead i didn't know how to do that either. so the last like eight paragraphs are kinda just a disaster. oh well. hope you enjoyed and i always take requests! i write anything and everything having to do w dc / batfamily, so don't hesitate to ask for the wildest of things. xx atticus