#Edit because I really don't believe Jason would do that

[rmbunnie]

Red Hood Characterization

This is really long so I'm putting a cut here, I've been thinking about Jason Todd's character motivations and the question of whether or not his actions are based in a Moral Code (I don't think so, not to say he's without any morality) and I talk about that in more depth here.

I saw someone say on here that Titans: Beast World: Gotham City was some of the best Jason Todd internal writing they'd seen in a while, and I've been a Red Hood fan for 8 years or so now? pretty much since I read comics for the first time, so I went and checked out and I thought it was good! The way the person I saw talking about it as if it was rare and unusual made me wonder though, because as well-written as i thought his stances on crime were, there wasn't really anything in it that went against the way I conceptualize Jason?

This kinda plays into a larger question I've been thinking about for a while with Jason though, which is that, do people think that the killing is part of a fundamental worldview that motivates him a la batman, and that worldview is the reason he does the things he does?? Because 8 years ago i was a middle schooler engaging with fiction on the level that a middle schooler does, so I simply did not put much thought into it beyond "poor guy :(" but ever since I actually started trying to understand consistent characterization, I don't really see Jason as someone who's motivated by a moral code in his actions the way batman or superman is!

tbh my personal read is that he's a very socially-motivated guy, his actions from resurrection to his Joker-Batman ultimatum in utrh always seemed to me like every choice made leading up to his identity reveal was either a. to give him the leverage and skill necessary to pull off his identity reveal successfully, or b. to twist the knife that little bit more when he does let Bruce find out who he is. Like iirc there's a Judd Winick tweet like "yeah tldr he chose Red Hood as his identity because it's the lowest blow he could think of." And I think that's awesome, I think character motivations rooted so deeply in character's relationships and emotions are really fun to read! I also think it's where the stagnation/flatness of his character comes from in certain comics, because if his main motivation is one event in one relationship that passes, and he is not particularly attached to anything in his life or the world by the time that comes to pass, it's a little harder to come up with a direction to go with the character after that, because there isn't much of a direction that aligns with something the character would reasonably want? But I do think solving this by saying "all of the morally-off emotionally driven cruelty he did on his way to spite Batman was actually reflective of his own version of Batman's stance that's exactly the same except he thinks it's GOOD to kill people" isn't ideal. To be fully honest, it seems to me like he never particularly cared one way or the other about killing people to "clean Gotham of crime," he just did everything he could to get the power necessary to pull off his personal plans, and took out any particularly heinous people he encountered along the way (like in Lost Days.) Not to say I think the fact he killed people keeps him up at night anymore than everything else in his life events, I just never really thought he was out there wholeheartedly kneecapping some dude selling weed or random guy robbing a tv store for justice.

Looping wayyy back to my question, Is this (^) contradictory to the way he's written/the overall average perception of the character? Because like I enjoyed his writing in Beast World i have zero significant issue with anything there, I just didn't believe it would be a hot take, like yeah, that is Jason. It's been a while since I've read utrh and lost days, but I don't think my takeaway directly contradicts either of those too bad iirc. Idk all this to say I think Jason killing and being alright with killing is an obvious and objective fact, but i guess i've always seen it as more of a practical tactic than a moral belief, and I think taking the actions made during the lowest points of a character's life where he is obsessively focused on this ONEEEE thing and trying to apply it as a Motivating Stance to everything he's done after that, doesn't really follow logically for me.

[little-tainted-angel]

๑ A secret between interlinked fingers.

Tim Drake x male!reader

Category: [Fluff/sfw/comical(?)]

Warnings: 5/5 bat-bros (Dick, Jason, Tim, Duke and Damian), male reader. Mention of Cassandra. 4/5 bat-bros don't believe Tim could go to therapy at all (I doubt any of them would). Reader uses Spanish pet names. May be too OOC.

Request: Yes / No | From: Anon.

«Hey! Could you please write Tim Drake x reader? Basically Tim is secretly dating a guy and they nostly hang out at school, his brother's get a bit too curious and listen in <3»

Note: My first request! Glad to have you here <3 I apologize if this isn't linked to your ask, Tumblr for some reason wouldn't let me edit it. I only had the options "delete" "program publication" and "post". Also, sorry this is short and if I got the characters personality wrong, I don't really know how to write Tim.

Resume: Tim and reader are dating, but they mostly just spend time in their school. His brothers got curious, and since all of them were raised by the world's best detective, is up to them to resolve the mystery that is Tim's relationship.

"I swear there's something strange in the kid's behavior," Jason muttered as he sat down on the couch, next to Damian while Duke was sitting on the other extreme. Dick was standing in front of them.

The four brothers (Cass also noticed, but Cass being Cass had already found out what it was), noticed that the brother —that was currently disappeared from the manor— had slight changes in his behavior.

It was sort of positive, they noticed. But they didn't know what caused it (therapy was discarded as an option by group agreement).

"Maybe he's self-improving for once?" Duke suggested, though he didn't sound convinced himself.

"TT. Doubt that Drake of all people could self-improve his pathetic self," Damian rolled his eyes.

"Damian, be nice," Dick sighed, looking at one of his baby brothers.

"Well, there must be a reason of why this small change." Jason crossed his arms.

"...And if we follow him to find out the reason?" Duke suggested.

"Wouldn't he notice?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"It won't hurt giving it a try," he shrugged.

"I say we do it. What can end up wrong?" Jason pointed out.

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"All of this is ridiculous," Damian murmured.

"You agreed to it Habibi," Jason hummed, making Damian click his tongue.

The brothers managed to follow Tim to his school. That was the moment they noticed a male getting closer to Tim with a smile.

You were a new addition, they quickly realized. As they had never seen you before with Tim. And Tim seemed at ease with you.

"A boy?" Dick said amused. "That's the cause for Tim's subtle change?"

Don't get him wrong, his baby brother can date whoever he wants. He was just surprised Tim changed because of someone else.

"Who is dumb enough to be interested in him?" Damian replied, clearly not believing what he was seeing.

"That guy we just saw, apparently," Duke hummed.

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"Everything okay, Amor?" You asked Tim, as he seemed to be slightly on edge.

"Yeah...I just feel like someone's watching me." Tim replied, sighing as he left his head rest on your shoulder. He was tired, you could tell.

You hummed softly as one hand came to brush his hair out of his face.

"When did you last slept?" You asked him, quietly enough for no one else to hear you.

Tim grumbled quietly, avoiding the question.

"Cariño, when did you last slept?" You asked again with a small sigh.

"...48 hours ago?"

"Tim."

"You asked."

"Do I have to drug you for you to sleep properly?" You murmured, gently massaging his scalp.

"Mmm....maybe," Tim replied back, closing his eyes as he left you touch his hair.

"What am I supposed to do with you, Amor?"

"Love me," Tim replied.

"I already do that, it's easy," you said amused.

Tim grumbled some sort of answer that you couldn't process.

"Yeah, you're definitely sleep deprived, Amor."

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© Made by little-tainted-angel 2023

[dairy-farmer]

It's almost midnight and I'm not entirely sure how to phrase this, but this idea will not leave me alone.

Bruce, Dick, and Jason are good people; obviously, they wouldn't be heroes/vigilantes if they weren't. And part of being a good person is being revolted by sex crimes, especially against children. The Bats always hurt the sex criminals a little more than any other bad guys... And yet they're all fucking the underage new Robin, Tim.

Jason has forbidden children from working the corner, and kills a pimp who tries to turn out a kid anyway - then goes back to the manor and bends little Timmy in half. Dick saves a young woman from a date rapist, breaking the guy's arms in three different places - then goes back to his apartment where Tim is visiting and they 69 for almost an hour. Bruce helps the Justice League take down a worldwide sex trafficking ring - and returns home wake up Tim with a surprise fucking.

Eventually someone in the hero community finds out (it's honestly shocking how little effort the bats seem to be putting into hiding this horrific thing they're doing), and because it seems so out of character they bring in Martian Manhunter/Constantine/Wonder Women's lasso to check if they're being a mind controlled or lying about being good people or something. But? There's no sign of mind control or magic spells. And when Wonder Woman questions them they don't try to lie, even in the standard bat 'lies of omission or talking around in circles so it seems like they answered but they actually didn't' way. Of course they're fucking Tim. Yes, it's been a few years and no Tim isn't even 15 yet. Things get very odd though when Diana offhandedly asks how they could possibly do such terrible things, because all three say that there is nothing bad or terrible about what they're doing ... and the lasso doesn't blow or burn them. They are telling the truth, or more specifically, they believe what they are saying is the truth.

After a lot of back and forth it's established that Bruce, Dick, and Jason only feel this way about Tim: when the situations and circumstances around Tim are presented in an ambiguous way, the three are rightfully angry and horrified. But as soon as those actions are applied to Tim, they immediately change tune. It's completely baffling and makes absolutely no sense!

Until they go to question Tim and Constantine, having never met Tim before, exclaims that 'he's a fucking succubus!'. Turns out that Tim was not aware of this, and neither were the bats, yet Tim had managed to somehow subconsciously edit in a type of 'Tim Exclusion Clause' to the Bat's sexual morality about minors and children. The reason Constantine hadn't caught it before when he scanned for magic is that it's not a compulsion or an enchantment or anything like that, but more along the lines of a 'glamor' - Tim isn't making them want to have sex with him, he's just kind of editing out of the morality and rational thought that would point out why they shouldn't be attracted to him or want to.

Honestly not sure where to go with this from here. The Justice League probably ends up not doing anything because like, Tim is totally into it and also needs to have sex to remain healthy, and his morality edit glamor has no effect on the bats actions towards any other people or children. I don't know why, I just really liked the idea of "The bats find 'xyz' actions absolutely horrific... Unless it's them and Tim, in which case it's totally different and cool".

yessssssssss!!!!!!!!!this is so good!!!!!! tim being a succubus and no one knowing and him ending up using his powers unconsciously to make it so that tim fits in his own category, outside of 'grown up' and 'child', existing outside the barriers that would normally prevent the bats from fucking him.

the way that none of them see anything wrong with the fact that they're fucking and sharing tim, they don't make any effort to hide it and in fact the justice league aren't the first people to find out. there have been visitors to the manor who have seen or heard things and have just never bothered to say anything because bruce is...bruce and the amount of money he has would ensure their silence if they ever tried to say anything so they don't even bother trying and just resolve that it's typical rich people depravity.

tim being a succubus and it affecting his sweet admiration for batman and nightwing and robin. he's a young succubus, a baby succubus and so he can't fully control his power- the ones that allow him to cross paths with them one night while he's spying on them with the telescope he got for his birthday on the roof of his parent's penthouse.

tim had always been a little different from his peers, from the other children. he'd always been more...advanced. more mature with an indepth knowledge about people and what felt good, what made them lose sanity and control. tim couldn't help it, couldn't resist his own body and the way it just hummed with a hunger and need.

but all that had happened was counselors and teenagers bringing his parents in, accusing them of things and their son of being a seducer and that this was a school for decent people. and so tim was made to home school.

until robin stumbled across him. until he was charmed by tim's earnest demeanor and need to please. for nightwing and batman it's the same.

they stop by to visit tim, increasing the length, they don't reject tim's invitation in, eager to show them his photos taken from his telescope and his room.

tim's room in that quiet little penthouse is where they fuck him for the first time and fill tim's belly in more than one way.

they bring tim home eventually, to the manor to play more and also because they liked him, they liked having him around and seeing him giggle and laugh when they weren't crouched over him fucking their cocks into his little hole.

sex with tim is different, it's better, deeper. it's like they can feel at peace with the world when they're with tim and not fall so deeply into the darkness of nihilism and crumbling faith in the world after doing their jobs for so long and seeing the worst humanity had to offer. tim grants them reprieve from that and so of course they grow attached to him.

for the most part sex with tim doesn't feel like sex, it doesn't carry the heaviness it usually does. where before dick and bruce would balk at sharing a partner, with tim they did it without blinking. they'd even keep talking about a case through it while tim whined between them.

dick and jason would discuss entire sex abuse cases while taking turns fucking into tim's little hole, neither of them seeing anything off about spending time with their timmy.

even after they find out tim is a succubus nothing in their brains switches. they still never see anything off about what they do only that their friends go green with sickness when they talk about fucking tim. it's not like they dislike tim either, if anything they seem very...concerned for tim?

either way nothing ultimatly changes but it does take the league awhile to...adjust. they're not sure how to tackle it.

constantine had told them that depriving a succubus was akin to torture and removing the succubus from their...feeding ground was tangential to genuine abuse especially since tim was essentially harmless and wasn't actively praying on people instead opting for willing donations.

but...they can't just ignore how it looks. if new members join the league, if other people find out about it...it just LOOKS bad. it makes them feel weird to act like they approve of it.

but constantine just huffs at them, says their sensibilities are surprisingly delicate and that they need to learn that the world and wider universe won't always necessarily obey their version of morality.

they just need to make peace with the fact that succubi can fuck anyone and thing, that they mature at different rates than humans and while this one might look like a human at a sexually underdeveloped state it was in fact very much a succubi that has begun to feed and establish territory.

and that unless they could prove a compulsion, which constantine had already said there wasn't, there was nothing more they could do.

but constantine sees how unsure and shaken they are and moves to give them some modicum of comfort, telling them that this is no different to finding out their colleague fucks dogs, only difference was that this dog could talk and assure them it was okay.

oddly enough that still doesn't make any of them feel better but constantine had tried and so takes his leave knowing all was right with the world since he got that phone call asking for help because batman was fucking kids.

in the end the league does have to let things be. no one was getting hurt and their colleagues weren't being made to do something.

they do write up a brief to forewarn memebers who might cross paths with the bats. they don't go into much detail but do their best to make sure they're aware of the situation.

that doesn't end up helping much when a pair of dimension travelers stumble across the unfortunate sight of batman with his adopted succubus some years later but they intervene when things get ugly.

of course it doesn't get any easier explaining it to others but they try.

[mxtantrights]

this is a snippet from the famous dc! au that started with The Greatest Hits [read here] you don't have to read it but a lot of things would make sense if you do

THE GREATEST HITS - The talk show interview

"Alright please help me welcome my next guests. They were costars on the number one box office smash hit two years ago, and they did it again last year with their sequel. I think you might know them? Come on out guys!" The night show host says.

That was the cue. You and Jason walk out hand in hand to a bustling crowd. You see in the stands some people start to stand on their feet. And then sure enough they are all standing.

Jason and you wave to them as you take you seats and thank them for the appreciation. When the audience sits down is when you finally sit down. And Jason goes second because he waits for you to sit. The host, Hal, sits last.

"It's good to see the two of you." he says.

"yeah same." you smile.

"I see you like every other month because you're neighbors with my brother." Jason says.

The audience laughs at that. But he was telling the truth. Dick and Hal were neighbors in the same neighborhood.

"Okay first I have to ask, how's everything between the two of you?" Hal asks.

Jason looks over to you with a boyish grin, "Wanna tell him sweetheart?"

You nod along with a huge smile on your face.

"I don't know if you read Iris West Allen's new piece but we're not together anymore." you say.

The crowd goes painfully silent. You could hear a pin drop. You didn't want to keep them in suspense for too long though, they didn't deserve that. Jason stifles a laugh.

You raise your hand up and show off the tattooed band on your ring finger. The audience is slow to pick up on it. One person outright screams. And then a few others claps and soon enough everyone is clapping again.

You're about to put your hadn't down when Jason grabs your hand and places a soft kiss on your knuckles. The audience coos and so does Hal.

"Ah! oh my gosh you guys are so cute!" Hal yells.

Jason, who is now blushing, places his arm over the back of your chair. You lean back into your chair and onto his arm.

"So, what's the appetizers looking like? Do we know? I can't do shellfish so that's off the menu." Hal jokes.

You and Jason laugh, knowing that your invite list was longer than the coffee shop line at rush hour on Rodeo Drive. Hal would probably end up making the event if not as an invite then as someone's plus one.

"We need you actually to bring John and Kyle so yeah you can come." Jason jokes back.

Hal rolls his eyes, "Very funny. I have known you since you were in diapers."

"Everyone says that but I have yet to see a picture of said diapers." Jason quips.

The audience laughs at that. So do you. You look over at Jason with nothing but love in your eyes. You'd probably end up in an edit or a compilation somewhere. You couldn't really care that much.

Jason Todd is your favorite person to look at. He makes you smile and laugh and get hot in the chest and weak in the knees. All of it. And you can't believe he only wants to come home to you for the rest of forever.

[happyk44]

Thoughts on poseidon children with siren powers?

I actually wrote a post featuring that! I think I may have mentioned it a couple other times? But, lol, that may have just been in my head.

But ultimately, yeah!! I think it would be really cool if the Big Three kids all had manipulating people's minds powers - partly to represent the fact that their dads are kings, and have a bunch of people/creatures tied to them/at their disposal and son. And also because I think it just makes them more OP. And also because I have endless ideas of many things and it's fun to fantasize.

With Hades's children, the ability to manipulate someone lies in the soul. Compared to Charmspeak, it irreversibly changes a person because it's not just a "suggestion" that people follow through on. It's literally taking their soul and changing it. There's no waking up and thinking "why did I do that?"

I actually came up with this concept years ago (like. over a decade. christ. the passage of time). It happened in a. Very convoluted daydream I've been writing and rewriting in my head since I was 12 - essentially one of Nico's older siblings from the wayback times protects him from an enemy by telling them, "You want to walk into the ocean and not stop."

And they do. They stop and walk away. This is their soul's greatest wish. So they walk into the ocean, they drown, and at no point, not as they walk across sand, not as they inhale water, not as they land in the waiting room of the Underworld, does that want change.

However, children of Hades typically do not like using this power because a) free will, b) they disagree with the idea of changing a formed soul, it would be different if they were desiccated/severely splintered and faded, and lacked any sense of consciousness, but forcibly editing someone's living soul is essentially rewriting someone's story and it fucks up their history, and personhood, and so on, and etc, and c) living souls are gross and they don't really like touching them if they don't have to.

I've written a couple things on it before - just flick through my PJO tag and I'm sure they'll pop up eventually 😂

With Zeus's children, the ability to manipulate someone lies in the concept that Zeus is a) king of Olympus, and b) the god of law and order, and justice. It works best in battle - giving orders to enemies to make them turn on their friends, forcing comrades at arms to become more efficient, to follow through instead of veering off course.

In casual, everyday stuff, it's more influential - sort of forcing their beliefs, their rules, their "law" on other people. Jason believes wholeheartedly in the laws of New Rome, and when he sees someone who isn't following a law to the letter, he can just be like, "Don't you think following your assigned patrol route is really great?" and other people will be like "yeah! it is great" and bing bang boom, suddenly they're following the patrol rouote and refusing to deviate no matter how much others may try to convince them to.

People who are more suggestible are more likely to fall under it faster. They may even by their internal rules completely rearranged by it, thereby unable to wake up/snap out of the control. I think this depends on intensity as well and it's probably far more exhausting to really force a permanent change, whether the person in question is super susceptible to suggestion. People who embody chaos are harder to control and more likely to snap out of it when they do fall under. I like to think children of Poseidon fall under that type because the ocean is chaotic. Dionysus's kids are likely the same way 😂

(Lol, imagine Zeus giving all his kids different orders and Dionysus just squints at him, fully "Father, I cannot express how hungover I am. Also I have this cocaine party I need to attend, so sorry, here's some bitching wine to make up for it" and Zeus is just pinching the bridge of his nose and counting to ten slowly because he does not have the energy for this rn)

The kids can also push their idea of justice on other people. Jason, aware that someone else in the cohort won't do execute the correct punishment, can simply harness that belief that this punishment is the correct thing to do (according to New Rome's laws, or even Jason's own beliefs), and say, "Cut off his hand", and that person will comply. They may awaken from it afterwards and be horrified, or, if they're not as suggestible, may even be aware that they're under Jason's control, but in the moment (even if they're aware), all they'll think is "this is the right thing to do".

Also, for me anyway, children of Hades and Thanatos are basically immune to it because laws and justice differ between life and death. This is something I adapted into my OG story, so ofc I'm happy to keep it in line w/ my PJO headcanons - but everyone else can play with these concepts as they want, don't worry.

I have also talked about this before - again, flick through the PJO tag and you will likely fall across something eventually

Now! Children of Poseidon, my beloved ocean, the clingiest bastard in the world, lol, (ofc including non-clingy Neptune in this as well, all of this is equivalent to the Romans). I think siren powers only work when they're in water. Typically they need some kind of body of water: river; lake; ocean; puddle if they're desperate, but it probably won't be as effective

The more skilled kids can utilize the water in the air to use this power, but most of them can't, and need something far more concrete, something they can plant their feet in, something they can feel.

The most basic and common use of the power, ofc, is the siren song - a melody, humming, singing actually lyrics to lure or distract the people in range. Most use this in order to distract enemies away from their friends, or to lull them into a stupor for an easier kill.

Other uses of the power: mind-control (similar to Charmspeak, the more suggestible the person, the longer it lasts after the user has left the body of water), empathic manipulation (being able to manipulate someone's feelings through the use of your voice), sonic scream (Zeus's kids can probably do this too, but it's not part of their version of a manipulation power). There are probably other uses but I'm blanking rn. All I can think of is the fourth PotC movie with the mermaids and how nice that song was 😊 🎶 "my jolly sailor bold" 🎶

I think kids, like Percy, who are naturally tone deaf tend to have a far harder time using this power, much less mastering this. Daughters have an easier time mastering it (since sirens are typically depicted as woman - there were male sirens according to Wikipedia, but they faded out of art around 5BC).

And yeah! I think that's it. Oh, actually, I wrote something a long while ago (you will have to scroll quite a bit to find it, or check out my blog's archive? It's probably in 2021 or 2020?), where Nico does a similar thing, singing softly to entice souls that have fallen to the ocean to come to him. In the story, it's implied that the intensity of his song hits Percy's living soul, causing him to want to go with Nico. I think this is something for all the Hades's kids, Nico is just best at it because - in my headcanons anyway - he is most attuned to souls.

Emerged from the idea of Hades walking through a forest in the early days after the war, singing the lullabies he used to sing to his younger siblings, and souls emerging from wherever they've hidden themselves - in the dirt, in caves, in the trees, behind bushes, refusing death - to take his hand and let him walk them home.

Aaaaaaand that should be it! :) Thanks for the ask! This was fun to ramble about 😂

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Nisha, did you know I would step on some legos barefooted for you? Anyways can’t wait to read for another fandom I have never stepped foot in and would probably never engage with the canon in just because you decided that’s what to make, and I’ve decided to read it anyways. Home cooked meal. -Rotten Anon

The opening line of this message made literal cartoon anime hearts appear above my head, just so you know <3

Also you have inspired me to post a rundown of my WIPs because I am really excited about what I have been working on. And for two of these fandoms, I know you have said you know nothing about the canon, but for the third, I am not sure, so we'll see.

My Current WIPs April/May 2024

Heaven's Gate (for The Walking Dead) - Daryl Dixon x GN!Reader. Strangers to Lovers/Soulmates/Lovers Reunited. Angst, Fluff, Hurt and Comfort. Set during Season 1 to Season 5. 17k in counting (will be a oneshot). You can find a preview here. In this fic, you and Daryl get separated when the Governor attacks the prison, and though you both believe the other person is dead (or long gone) you find each other at the most unlikely time, in the most unlikely place.

I am super excited about this fic, and the themes of hope that I have woven into it. Because yes, I unironically love writing about hope and how the human spirit can persevere - which is something that my favourite moments in The Walking Dead show. This is first draft complete and just needs to be edited.

The Jaws of Life (for DC Titans) - Jason Todd x GN!Reader. Sequel to Emergency Contact. Lovers Reunited. Extreme Angst, Smut, Hurt and (some) Comfort. Set during Season 3. 21k in counting (will probably be a oneshot - if it needs to be split up, it will be put in two parts, but I hope I can get away with a oneshot). (I highly recommend that everyone go read the original in the meantime, because it is one of my best fics ever.) In this fic, you and Jason struggle with the new meaning of your relationship after what happened with Deathstroke - only for this tentative change to be harshly disrupted by the Joker. And you're still heavily mourning when a red hooded stranger breaks into your apartment one night, seeking medical care because apparently - you owe him one.

Everyone give Jaycen @nctzenkane a big fucking round of applause for this one, because he was randomly talking to me about Jason Todd today (we were having the 'some characters are only fuckable in costume' discussion) - and I got talking about how this version of Jason from Titans makes me so passionate to write about the character. And it is solely because of him that I opened up this fic and took a good look at it - I have been thinking about this fic for months, wanting to finish it because I know I am gonna be proud of it, but I kept hesitating because I thought I had a way bigger mountain to conquer with it. But the conversation I had with Jaycen really inspired me and I wrote 5k on the fic just today, and I realized that with this momentum, I could have the first draft done by the end of this month. So I am promising myself that this is gonna be done soon.

Speaking of which - when The Jaws of Life is first draft done, I wanna host a poll so you guys can decide which of those two ^^ fics goes through the editing process to be posted first. Both will be posted (hopefully) by the end of May, but I do wanna know which one you guys wanna see posted first. Which leads me to:

Nasty (for Stranger Things) - Sub!Eddie Munson x Dom!Fem!Reader. Established Relationship. Smut/PWP. 3k (this is gonna be a shorter fic lmao). In this fic, you and Eddie have been dating for a while, but you don't like that all of his attempts to have sex with you have him taking on a (seemingly fake) dom persona. When you finally tell him that you prefer to be more dominant in bed, he isn't disgusted like you thought he might be - he loves it.

This is one I have been sitting on for a while, and right before it was ready to be posted - my brain lost interest in it like tiktok does micro trends. But I think this is gonna be really great to post while the poll for those other fics is cooking because it's short and sweet and for the past few days, whenever I have seen the cover for this in my drafts, I have gotten excited about it again. So I am excited to finish it and show it off to everyone!!

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts day 49, 50

From this prompt list. If you've read this far, I'm not sure you need any explanation, but the short version is I hadn't written any fiction since 2019, I set a goal to write at least 150 words/day in 2024, and this list was my way to restart. Also I abruptly decided on day 2 I would write an entire Tim/Damian story connecting all the prompts, because I am Good at Judging My Limits. /sarcasm Anyway, I finished the rough draft a while ago and am now unlocking the old entries as I edit. Buckle in because this one is long.

Read from the beginning here, or on ao3 here

Day 48 here

***

14. A whispered “Please” slipping out of kiss bitten lips.

27. Soft whines and whimpers; held back noises because they don’t want anyone else hearing them; a plea for more without the use of words.

94. Whispered praises against the other’s lips, which are met with soft whimpers and moans.

***

Tim didn’t see Damian again for a full week. He threw himself into casework and patrol, going out every night to, as he told himself and everyone else, "make up for all the coverage you took the slack for while I was gone." He could tell no one believed him, but they also didn't question him so he took it as a win. Jason bitched a little about never being able to get the two of them in the same place at the same time for their case, but he didn't really have a leg to stand on given the different ways they could collaborate.

Cass mentioned that Damian had headed for Metropolis to testify in some criminal trial he'd worked on with Jon in his civilian capacity over a year ago. She said it casually to Stephanie, just at the edges of Tim's hearing, and didn't look at him at all. Clearly she suspected something. He resolved never to bring up Damian in her presence.

He was just curling into bed on the seventh morning, staring at the light bleeding in around the curtains and once again remembering Damian telling him he should get shutters installed, when a text from Jason came through. Got a lead.

Tim didn't regret the distraction at all.

tell me

Why do you insist on not using punctuation like a normal human? Okay. There's a connection in Metropolis, believe it or not. They're the second-to-last stop on the northbound route and where the main arteries to the northern Midwest branch out.

so damian's there right now—can he check it out????

He's too busy; has to be in court every day for eight hours a day and Jon has other stuff he's doing. My sources are saying there's a connection with a couple of wealthy Metropolis dudes with ties to organized crime: Rufus Waters and Terrence Galloway. They're the ones taking the hottest girls and putting them to work as escorts etc. so they can get dirt on other rich dudes through them. Tale as old as time.

don't u start singing for me now

Timbo, you don't deserve my dulcet tones. Anyway. These guys love to see and be seen at bougie shit so they can throw their money around. The Metropolis Opera has something called the Aria After Party tonight for "young patrons," which I'm guessing means anyone under the age of sixty. You should go. Bruce keeps a box in Metropolis for when he needs another excuse to go there publicly.

Tim groaned. Opera was a definite acquired taste for him. He pulled up the Metropolis Opera's web site.

ah fuck they're doing the abduction from the seraglio

Is that a hotel? Are they keeping a lot of victims there? How do you even know?

no i mean that's the opera they're performing

Well, shit, Timothy, are you gonna survive a night of caterwauling that's not your fave genre just so dozens of young boys and girls don't get sex trafficked? Because I'd hate to fucking inconvenience you.

no need to get bitchy i'm going it's just i saw it awhile ago and it's kind of racist and not mozart's best work. so will some of the trafficking victims be there with waters and galloway or what?

Yeah, they usually have at least one on each of their arms so they can advertise. Just go with the flow and see what you can figure out. IDK, get wild and crazy and see if you can get one of the girls to leave with you.

Tim rolled his eyes. Yeah, right, like that would be hard. i am extremely charming and all the ladies love me so no worries i've got this

Sure, sure, I'm sure even someone who's being exploited is gonna be a sucker for those baby blues.

why jason i didn't know u noticed do u wanna tell me something

Absolutely, I want to tell you to shut the fuck up and do some detecting tonight. I'll drive down too in case you need backup but I'm gonna stay at that one safehouse Bruce has near Mortimer Bridge. Comms'll be open.

got it.

Tim put his phone on do not disturb and rolled over to his stomach, determinedly squeezing his eyes shut. He was going to get some sleep before he drove across the bay tonight, dammit. Good thing he'd had his best suit pressed recently.

He zoomed down to Metropolis after he took a detour by the Manor to borrow Bruce's Chiron. After all, what was the point of being the sort-of son of one of the richest people in the world if you couldn't drive faster than everyone else even without a mask on? Even when the car was idling at a red light, he could see pedestrians turning to look behind them at the sound of its engine. He grinned at the sight—he'd never deny that he shared the Bat penchant for making an entrance.

The opera itself went as expected. He saw some of Bruce's friends who made the same rounds of charity events and backstage events, and even some of his former classmates from Brentwood. The latter made a point to come to the box during intermission and make idle queries about where he was living, what he was doing, and how his Wayne Enterprises dealings were going at the moment. He kept his best vapid smile firmly in place and kept giving the answers that would get him an invitation to the party Jason had mentioned.

Finally, just as the lights dipped in warning, Jeffrey Chung said, "Hey, dude, there's this after party thing we're going to when the show's over. It's to support the opera and raise money for new carpets or whatever. Wanna come?"

Tim shrugged, though internally he was pumping his fist in victory. "Sure, I don't have to be back in Gotham tonight."

Once the lights were down and the performance had resumed, Tim raised his opera glass and tapped on the nightvision option so he could see across the hall. Galloway had a box opposite Bruce's, but it had been empty at the start of the show. Now, though, both Galloway and Waters sat close together, whispering to each other while the four stunning women with them stared at the stage with various levels of boredom. "You seeing what I'm seeing?" he subvocalized.

Jason replied on the comm. "Yep. Good deal. Hopefully you can get an invitation to one of their homes at the after party and plant some bugs."

"Even if I can't, I can get some into the women's purses, plus Waters' and Galloway's suits." He paused, then added judiciously, "It was a good idea to come here." A complimented Jason was a happy Jason. He was a former Robin, after all.

A brief pause in which he knew Jason was trying to hide his discomfiture. "Yeah, well, only a moron wouldn't have thought of it, so."

Tim suppressed a smile.

The after party was exactly what he'd expected: sponsored by a local entertainment and society magazine at a dark cramped restaurant that was trying to become fashionable, decent drinks, and pointlessly complicated hors d'oeuvres in which figs, liver, and fish were over-represented. Plus conversation in which bemoaning the state of taxation and by-the-way bragging about recent travel played a heavy role. Tim group-hopped with Jeffrey for a few minutes before wandering off on his own to make a circuitous route toward Waters, whose two companions were looking increasingly tired behind their charming smiles.

He approached them from behind, reaching just past their little cluster of people to grab a fresh glass of sparkling wine from one of the side tables. While he was back there, he dropped a combination bug/tracker into the clutch hanging from one of the escorts' arms. By the time he'd straightened, Waters had turned to see who was there.

Up close, he looked like the douchebag he was: floppy nose-length hair parted in the middle into two carefully styled waves, stupidly expensive tie gone askew despite the gold tie clip studded with huge diamonds, the type of puffiness around the jaw that bespoke self-indulgence, ill-fitting suit that he hadn't bothered to get tailored correctly. Kind of a faux pas, son, Tim heard Brucie say with that informal intonation that was an ultra-rich person's way of taking others down a peg or two. Most of the time Tim hated that the voice lived in his own brain, but in this case he felt like the target deserved it.

Guys like this always expected to be known, so Tim fixed a delighted expression on his face and reached to shake hands. "Well, hello there, Rufus Waters! We've got quite a few friends in common but I don't think we've ever officially met. Tim Drake."

Waters gave him a supercilious look down his nose before the name clicked and he returned Tim's grip. "Oh, right, you're Bruce Wayne's, uh . . ." He floundered a bit.

Tim jumped in before he could feel awkward about it. "Right, yeah, he's like a second father to me, taught me most of what I know today, set me up at WE. And who are these lovely ladies?" He turned with his most charming smile to the escorts, who both straightened and returned the expression with a little more enthusiasm than they'd shown previously.

"This is Luz," Waters indicated the Latina on the right, "And Katarina." The white blonde gave him a tiny wave. She stood at least three inches taller than him in her heels.

"You're a lucky man to have two dates when some of us have zero," Tim laughed, clapping him on the shoulder and planting another device in his collar. "Have some pity, give a lonely person a few tips."

"You don't need game to get these girls," Waters said, sliding his hands down to cup each of their asses and pulling them closer. "Just be rich and they'll throw themselves at you. Right, ladies?"

They both laughed and patted him on the chest. "Of course," Luz agreed.

Her eyes were dead despite the sparkling expression in her voice. Tim wanted to throw up, but instead he made a wide enough gesture to drop another tracker into the open mouth of her purse. "Well, then, clearly I'm all set! Luz, Katarina, tell your friends you know someone with lots of money and time who's ready to spend both on them."

"Thought I heard you were more into boys," Waters said, with just a thread of contempt sewn in the sentence.

Tim gave him a smirk and a tiny up-and-down just to watch him squirm. "Hey, I'm an equal-opportunity type of guy."

Katarina's smile turned a bit more genuine at that, and she caressed him from his shoulder to his wrist, where her touch lingered. "I appreciate a man who doesn't set artificial limits for himself." She had a slight Russian accent, but the British inflection was stronger.

Tim couldn't stop himself from blushing a tiny bit. "Oh yeah? And what kind of limits do you set for yourself?"

She raised his hand to chest level and held it in both of her own. He could feel her breath on his knuckles. "Not many, honestly."

Someone bumped into Tim from behind, sending his drink flying onto all three of the others. The women shrieked. He spun, but the culprit had been swallowed back into the crowd and probably didn't even know what they'd done. He turned back to Waters, who was grimacing at the wine splashed across his jacket.

Tim grabbed a cloth napkin from a nearby table and dabbed at it fruitlessly. "Oh fuck, I'm so sorry."

Waters waved him off with better humor than he would've expected. "Not your fault. I've got fifty more suits just like this or better. I should probably get back home, though. Some of us were already headed there anyway for a party that isn't as boring as this one. Wanna join us?"

"Do it," Jason said, and Tim agreed.

Waters' house was tacky nouveau riche even for a tacky nouveau riche neighborhood, full of peacock accents, stark white walls broken up with haphazard black and white photographs of tigers, and neon mood lighting in alcoves that made no sense. From what Tim could tell, all the men present were either potential clients for the sex traffickers or were actually part of the profiteers. A few women wore typical black evening dresses and held conversations with the men with business-like expressions, but most of them were stunningly beautiful, in low-cut gowns, and seemed to serve the function of seductive eye candy. Bass boomed from speakers set into the walls, drowning out any conversation more than a foot away, which he had to think was purposeful.

Tim took the first opportunity to make a circuit of all the lower-level rooms and get video of the layout, then withdrew to one of the recessed areas to get a better look at faces.

"Galloway's there," Jason told him. "Just showed up. He and Waters and that woman who looks like a matron from a Romanian orphanage were all talking by the Jacuzzi, but it looks like they're moving inside, probably headed for his study via the kitchen stairs. Get up there before them and you might be able to plant some bugs in good places in time for us to hear their plans. One camera in the hall at the top of the stairs nearest you, one in the study on the bookshelf closest to the window."

Tim started up the stairs, body bent over the railing like he was calling down to someone on the ground floor to hide his face.

"Tim?" Katarina rounded the banister just as he got to the halfway point.

He used it as an excuse to keep his back to the camera as he continued ascending. "Just headed to the bathroom!" he called. "Be right back down."

She gave him a long look, but nodded without saying anything and walked away.

Tim did a backflip as he reached the landing beneath the camera’s range of sight and hit the lens askew with his heel before ricocheting off the wall and down the hallway. Hopefully the cameras were just precautionary measures and no one was watching the video feed at the moment.

"Third door on the left," Jason's voice directed him.

Tim picked the lock in a matter of seconds—what kind of idiot didn't use biometrics for sensitive stuff? Well, he supposed he should be grateful—and entered the study in a crouch, locking the door again behind him. Taking care of the remaining camera proved to be easy work, and then planting his own surveillance devices was no trouble at all.

"Shit, they were faster than I thought they'd be. Go out the window."

Tim dashed to the window facing a side yard fenced in with wrought iron and almost tugged on the sash lock before he noticed it had been painted shut.

"Tim, I'm not joking, they're almost there."

Shadows loomed in the light under the door as Waters' voice reached his ears. "—talked to the people we've got in Tulsa—"

A hot hand grabbed his upper arm and propelled him into a closet he hadn't noticed before, closing the door behind them silently just as the study door swung open with a creak. Tim had just enough time to wonder why the  hell he hadn't fought back before the faintest ghost of Oud-Al-Janaid gave him his answer. His vision adjusted to see Damian's eyes glaring down at him, green in the lamp light now slivered under the bottom of the door.

"Tim, what the fuck is happening? Gimme a report!" Jason sounded pissed, which meant he was actually concerned.

"Everything okay," Tim breathed out, and took the comm from his ear to drop into a pocket.

"Are you checking up on me?" Damian demanded in a whisper so quiet Tim more felt than heard it. The fury came through loud and clear, though. Tim shook his head. 

Cass had started learning ASL several years ago because her own rudimentary signs were frustrating her when she couldn't speak fluently, so the rest of them had learned as well, but they weren't conversational, more at toddler level plus a lot of finger spelling. Toddlers could communicate, though. 

He signed, With Jason. Don't know you here.

Damian replied, good I come. They catch you.

Tim shrugged. Maybe.

He strained his ears, but the closet door was made of quality wood and he couldn't hear the words being spoken outside, just tone. Whatever conversation the three were having sounded like routine business. It didn't matter since the hidden cameras would pick up everything and have it ready for review.

For the first time, he became aware of how Damian was dressed. He wore a long cut tuxedo in dark green, with gold thread embroidered in intricate vines down its front and on the sleeves. Heat climbed up Tim's cheeks at the sight. He had to work to take his next breath evenly. Opera?

Damian nodded. Not box. Already go here after other party. When see you, know you come up to this room, so I wait here.

He'd probably braced himself in a corner of the ceiling just to have the drop on Tim. He narrowed his eyes, struck by sudden suspicion. Drink?

It was Damian's turn to shrug. You mind?

Tim shook his head, clamping his thumb and first two fingers together for emphasis. No. Waters could drown in booze for all he cared, let alone give up a suit jacket to it. It didn't speak well of his powers of observation that he'd missed Damian's presence, though. It wasn't as if he didn't draw the eye.

The study door opened and closed again. They both straightened to attention. Waters and the woman's voices kept talking, but Galloway's was silent, so he must have been the one to leave.

Tim turned his eyes back to Damian and had to fight not to clear his suddenly dry throat. Fuck. Why was he so attractive? It wasn't fair.

Damian gave a tiny sigh as their gazes met. It sounded like regret. Tim didn't know how to fix it, though, so he stood on tiptoes and kissed first one cheek, then the other, then his chin. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

Damian didn't move for a long moment, and kept looking at him with an unreadable expression. Probably he'd just made the situation worse.

But then Damian tilted up his chin with one finger and kissed his forehead, his eyes, his temples. Tim shivered at each delicate brush of lips. His heart swelled in his chest with emotion too significant to define.

And Damian kept kissing him. The curve of his ear, the thin scar on his neck left by Jason a lifetime ago. Tim braced himself with both hands on Damian's hips and let his eyes fall shut. Damian shuffled toward him, closing the few inches between them, arms wrapping around his back and pulling him close to kiss the top of his head. Tim strained his head up to kiss Damian's pulse just below his jaw. Damian let out a shuddering breath at the contact and turned his face so their lips met. Tim encircled his neck with both arms and pulled him down to kiss him harder.

This was so stupid. He was so stupid.

The lump in his throat made it hard to breathe. His heart kept thudding an uneven tattoo, made clumsy with the mingled joy and pain inherent in Damian's touch. He pulled his mouth away, meaning to say something, anything that would help instead of hurt. Instead, Damian took advantage of the pause to hoist him against the wall by his thighs. Tim wrapped his legs around his waist and clung.

Unlike the last time he'd pinned Tim this way, Damian's body was strung tight with tension. He angled his hips into Tim's. Tim bit his lip against the frenzied sound that wanted to break free as their erections pressed together. Damian shoved one big hand into his hair and tilted his head back to kiss him with ardent force. Tim opened up and let him in deeper.

I'm sorry, he tried to say through his touch, through the tiny whimpers he couldn't entirely strangle, through the kisses he nipped against Damian's mouth. I'm so, so sorry. I do want you. I really do.

He wasn't sure if Damian understood what he was telling him. He wasn't sure he wanted him to.

Damian fumbled between Tim's legs, getting his suit pants open, and pulled out his cock. Tim whined feather-soft against his mouth at the relief of freedom from the confines of clothing. He yanked the sole fastened button of the tuxedo jacket free and parted the sides to reach Damian's trousers, unfastening them as well until his searching fingers found their goal.

Damian bucked into Tim's grip as Tim fitted them together in his hand. "Please," slipped out of his lips in a quavered whisper, and he gripped their lengths in one of his hands as well, moving in tandem with Tim's strokes. It was a little rough at first for Tim without lube, but Damian was leaking precome all over both of them, enough to smooth the way after a second.

They rocked against each other for long moments. Tim lost track of how much time had passed, or whether he was being quiet enough. The necessity of making Damian feel better buried every other concern. He looked up at the handsome face currently slack with arousal, begging silently for absolution. The care in Damian’s touch felt like a plea of its own.

His lips parted as he panted for air, and Damian slid his thumb between them. Tim sucked on it without thinking, and that was all it took to get Damian to stiffen from head to toe and spurt hot over his cock and fingers. His chest heaved, though his breathing stayed soundless.

Tim relaxed against the wall, letting Damian's thumb slip from his mouth, nearly as satisfied from feeling Damian's orgasm as he would've been from coming himself.

Damian clearly didn't share the sentiment. He buried his face in the crook of Tim's shoulder and inhaled against his skin, then renewed the motion of his hand around Tim's erection. Tim squirmed, almost overstimulated in the bad way, but Damian directed his legs down so he was standing again and that helped, to be able to push against something with his feet.

"There you are," Damian murmured against his mouth, practically soundless. "You're so lovely when you're like this." Tim moaned in the back of his throat at the praise and throbbed in Damian's grip. "Stunning. You'll come for me now, won't you? Let me feel it."

Helpless, Tim slapped one hand over his mouth and came so hard it almost hurt.

When his eyes and ears started working again, Damian had turned away and was listening intently at the door. His clothes were back in place. How had he managed to put himself together while Tim was still a mess? Grimacing, Tim pulled his handkerchief out and wiped himself off, then set his own pants back to rights.

With a satisfied nod, Damian said, "They're gone. We can leave." He pushed the closet door open.

Tim fought the urge to force a conversation at this exact moment and followed him down the stairs, fitting his comm back into his ear as he went. There were still plenty of guests milling around. Jeffrey caught sight of him in the foyer, and by the time Tim extricated himself from the goodbyes he had to say, Damian was long gone into the night.

“Was I hallucinating, or did I see the baby bat leave just now?” Jason asked.

Tim couldn’t keep his shoulders from slumping in defeat. “No. I saw him too. We didn't really talk, though.”

day fifty-one here

(p.s. the Brucie line in here is an affectionate shout-out to one of my favorite Superbat fics, "Sometimes, Always, Never," by liodain.)

[azol-otl]

I want to see more Robin!Jason and Batgirl!Barbara content. But like in a very specific way. I want Babs to be the unintentionally bad influence sibling. The chaotic sibling. Dick already isn't there (he is busy with the Titans who are falling apart every other day, his absence is understandable), so let Only Child Babs connect with Jason who's *at least* 10 years younger.

I want her to be the one who curses around the baby and then curses when she realizes what she just did. Like, "You see this shit Robin." "Fuck. I mean-shit fuck, damnit-"

She's the older sister who keeps Jason from drinking coffee by stealing it from his hands and downing the mug like a shot then smarmily being like, "Too much coffee is bad for you little bird," even though that's her fifth cup that morning.

I want them to have their own nicknames for one another (I actually *like* the fanon tendency of having Jason calling Barbara 'Barbie').

edit: Turns out this isn’t fanon and just straight up canon from Batman Eternal and she called him Little Bird in Gotham Knights. Thank you anon who sent that.

I want Jason fake-flirting with Barbara where both of them know he's just fucking around. (And because his ability the flirt is inversely related to how much he actually has a crush on someone, it should mean that he's actually really good at it. Mostly so Barbara can make fun of Bruce and Dick that scrawny runt Jason Todd is a better flirt.)

She's the one who tells Jason all of the embarrassing stories about Dick.

Jason (12): "Why doesn't this costume have pants?"

Barbara (23): Because Dick's an exhibitionist.

Or

Jason: "I can't believe Dick never got mask acne that's not fair."

Barbara: *wheezing because she remembers the days Dick refused to leave his room because of acne*

She and Jason are patrolling and they do the fast-ball special because Barbara's like, "I was able to do this with Dick at this age still." But forgot to account for two things.

She's much stronger than she was at 16.

Jason is much lighter than Dick was at the same age.

So Barbara just accidentally yeets Jason off the rooftop.

I don't know if Barbara was already running for Senator but Barbara using her adorable baby brother to help get votes.

Senator Batgirl and Robin's adventure in figuring how who's trying to kill Barbara. Bruce is fucking around thinking it's the mob. It's actually just wealthy business owners getting rich off of exploitative practices Barbara is trying to shut down. All of them are legitimate business owners and at least a third of the Wayne Enterprises Board is involved. Barbara still ends up never getting re-elected because she was too leftist and most of the people who tried to kill her got off with a fine. (Am I trying to make a point that Bruce has massive blind spots and the people who are doing to most damages are the ones he grew up with along with the system that has afforded him the power to be Batman. Yes.)

I know Barbara was a mentor to both batgirls and Misfit etc. But I want to see her stumble first (but in a funny way). And Jason's Robin run was so isolated that even if Babs was retiring there's no way only Bruce and Jason could deal with a whole city and she would have been out more often than just the once. Plus these two should interact more.

[antisociallilbrat]

Hello <3 I followed you a while ago and I was scrolling through you blog (sorry if that's creepy) I saw you mention how you think the Duffers lied about Steve supposing to die in season 1? I'm a little confused (but not judging) why you think that?

Love your blog! Sorry if this seemed rude!

Anon trust me when I say this isn't rude at all, I love talking about this shit and I thank you for giving me an excuse to do so.

Okay so first of all this probably stems from this post where I first talked about the chance the Duffer brothers lied about Steve in season one. That's because in my research for answering the anon in that post I found two conflicting articles. One that talked about Steve getting the redemption arc that was supposed to go to Lonnie Byers and how instead he was supposed to leave the Byers house and die at the hands of Demogorgon but then I also found this article that conflicts with that one. It basically says that Steve was originally supposed to be the human villain and have an arc more reminiscent of Billy's.

So here's what I believe happened. All speculation of course, no way to know for sure on any of this. I believe that Steve was supposed to be the human villain at least up until season three where he would- presumably- die like Billy had. I don't think his villain arc would've been exactly like Billy's, but he probably would've been the one to get flayed and his would've had a lot to do with Jancy.

In season one we can see where they were setting him up for that villian arc, his fight with Jonathan, his slut shaming of Nancy, the general anger he had for the two. Alongside his typical 'jock persona'; like Jason Craver in season four. Steve really wasn't doing anything 'decent' until the very end of season one, as if his character had a paradigm shift.

Edit: More under the cut, holy shit it's been a while since I did this

I do believe the Duffers when they say that they fell in love with Joe Kerry, I just think that they decided to make him another 'good guy' instead of the series 'bad guy', I don't think they ever had any intention just 'killing him off' though.

There are a couple instances in season one that support this. After his fight with Jonathan we see him with Tommy and his girlfriend in front of a convenience store. This is the first time we see him snap back at his two 'friends' in the defense of Nancy. Then after this we see him go back to the movie theater and volunteer to wipe the graffiti off. This is the start of the shift in character from bad guy to good guy for him.

Then on top of all of this we see him go to the Byer's house to apologize. Driving home his character shift. After he leaves the house, after trying to apologize, this is when the Demogorgon is supposed to get him. And if it did play out this way,,,it would make the whole scene messy- and not in a bloody way.

Like that would mean that the Demogorgon appeared outside, killed Steve, fucked off long enough for Lonnie to get there, and then appeared back inside the Byer's home? It's a little much don't you think.

And if they were going to kill him, why show his character shift from bad to good? If he was just going to be another body for the count, why show the audience those two scenes I mentioned previously? Up until then some of the audience would've been rooting for his death. And you could say having Steve go apologize would've given him a reason for being there in the first place but he could've easily just shown up at Jonathan's house for revenge before getting picked off.

So why would the Duffers lie? That question is easy explained, press. The Duffers needed all the press they could get after season one. Netflix took a chance on Stranger Things and season two was not happening unless season one did well. So I think the Duffers fibbed, added a little spice to the press if you will. Obviously they weren't going to mention about Steve supposing to be the bad guy since they were still going to keep that arc and just write it into a different character, that's part of the reason we got Billy, so saying that Steve was supposed to die was just an easy route.

I fuckin rambled but Anon I hope this explains why I think the way i do and thank you for the question! I love fandom discussion questions.

[theodorobrejafmp]

1. Forefront Research - Diablo 4 Cinematic

Since I discovered the Diablo series and I started playing Diablo 3 many years ago, I've become smitten with their art style and dark fantasy graphics. When Diablo 4 came out in 2023 I was surprised by the huge upgrade of their realism and since then, I knew my work would fit perfectly in this form of art style.

My major project is highly influenced by the Diablo 4 aesthetics, as it can be seen through the multiple references throughout the project. However, with this project I didn't just want to try and copy their style, I really wanted to study and understand how they built their aesthetics and what was the reason behind their choices.

In 2019 when the first Diablo 4 teaser trailer was released at BlizzCon, it had a huge impact over the fandom. During my research, I managed to find my holy grail, an article posted senior manager executive communications Amelia Savery with the modeling behind the Diablo 4 trailer.

Fig.1: Behind Diablo 4 "By Three They Come" - Article

During my research, I've tried to find the artists who worked on the characters from the cinematic, or those who worked on the characters from the game. However, the only few artists that I found are the freelancers who worked on different cosmetics of the game. As a result, this article provided me a lot of insight about the workflow they used to create the famous cinematic, as well as the level of detail of the characters.

The article starts with examples of the props sculpted for the environment. I found this to be very useful when it comes to the layout of their presentation. As a junior artist, I've always struggled with showcasing my sculpts in a professional layout. For my presentation, I will use this layout as reference.

Fig.2: Props Sowcase

Following in the article, they showcase some of the environment shots with the 3D models. I found this to be an eye-opener, because I was able to see how the scene looks without any post-processing effects and renders. It also made me realize that one of the biggest reason of why my projects don't achieve the same level of hyperrealism and the cinematic feeling, is because their final results, that we see, have many layers of post-processing and editing to achieve that look.

Fig.3: 3D Environment Without Effects

These environment shots were also helpful because I got to see and learn how they use lighting and the composition of their scenes to create the environment and target the viewer's eye. Even though I am not an environment artist, for most of my projects I created small environments to showcase my characters. Nevertheless, I believe knowing how to use the environment composition and lights to showcase your characters is an essential skill for a character artist.

Fig.4: Environment Lighting

In the article, Amelia emphasizes the different scale they had to work at between the characters and the environment, in order to create that huge scale effect. I found this interesting because I also struggled to get the right proportions between the environment and characters when working on my own project.

Fig.5: Character and Environment Scale Comparison

When it comes to characters, I found it fascinating the way they approached the realism factor. Jason Huang, the lead character modeler said "At Blizzard, we don’t do photorealistic" which indicates that even though the direction is to achieve realism, without actually using scans to achieve that. Amelia explains that "Although actors were cast for reference, the modeling team was also provided concept art—their task was to push the boundaries of realism back and forth between the actors and the art, both on a character-by-character basis and overall, until they landed in a perfect spot".

Fig.6: Character Portraits Style High Poly Sculpts

In my project, I used the same technique, where I would have a concept art generated with MidJourney for the overall design of the character. However, I also used a lot of real life references in order to make sure I have real proportions and believable constructions. As Amelia said, I had to find the sweet spot between the realism of reference and the concept design to bring uniqueness to the character.

The essential part of the article is the section where they showcase the characters in their sculpted form used for animation. Seeing the wireframe of the characters gives me a crucial insight of the poly density and the topology flow they used. While working on my characters, I tried to achieve the same clean topology and level of detail. However, even though there I have improved tremendously during this project, I still have a lot of work to achieve their level.

Fig.7: Topology and Wireframe Full Body Showcase

When it comes to the blend of realism and concept for the characters, Jason says: "They don’t have to be realistic, they don’t have to be live-action, but they have to be convincing enough that the viewer is not taken out of cinematic because there’s something off about the character. As long as these characters are believable in their world, in the way we are presenting them, then I am good with it". This makes an excellent point, which helped me better understand the style I was pursuing. When I was explaining my style to other people, I always struggled to explain that I do a blend between hyperrealism and stylized.

While diving deeper into studying their cinematic process, I also came across a video on YouTube from Houdini, in which they explain how the technical artists managed to simulate the ritualistic placenta from which Lilith is born.

Fig.8: Houdini Flesh Portal Technical Showcase

Even though I am not a technical artist, I find it intriguing to find out how all these crazy elements are made and understand all the processes that come together to achieve such a high level end result.

Fig.9: Chris Connor Reaction and Analysis Video

As a big fan of cinematography, I was also eager to learn more about how they used their cameras and how they chose the shots to create the cinematic. In his reaction video, Chris Connor analyses in detail and explains the different camera and perspective techniques they used to showcase the characters and achieve the cinematic atmosphere.

I believe this to be an inspiring forefront artefact which envelops the highest level of character design, environment compositing, technical artists and cinematography. Seeing how they presented the article and the insight over the technical side of the production, helped me tremendously in my work and I will further use it as reference in my projects.

Bibliography:

Fig.1,2,3,4,5,6,7: Savery, A. (2020) It’s a gate: The modelling BehindDiablo IV’s “by three they come,” Artstation. Available at: https://magazine.artstation.com/2020/10/its-a-gate-the-modelling-behinddiablo-ivs-by-three-they-come/

Fig.8: Houdini (2021) Building and tearing a flesh portal for Diablo IV: By Three They Come | Nema safvati | blizzard. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XauHIveIVuA

Fig.9: Connor, C. (2020) Filmmaker reacts to Diablo 4 cinematic trailer! YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV2PUti_EpQ

[nightlight-stardust-and-rain]

One thing that would be funny about Kyle/Jason (be it romantic, friendship or hey-you're-a-pain-in-my-ass-but-i'd-jump-in-front-of-a-bullet-for-you) is that their world-saving stuff with Donna (Btw their team being called cosmic mistakes will never get old, I fucking LOVE that name) has been, like, erased/forgotten from the time-line right? So all their interactions would come out of fucking nowhere for everyone else involved. Like, from outsider pov, one day they would barely know each other's name and the next there would be teasing, references to things no one else (except Donna) knows about, and that special kind of familiarity that involves fighting together like a well-oiled mechanism. And it would be weird for everyone and I'm all for that!! Also Kyle and Jason would be the kind of friends that attack each other on sight, but like, playfully. Kyle lands right before Jason and Jason just shoots at him, lightning-fast, except he's missing Kyle by a hair on purpose. And Kyle doesn't even bother with trying to dodge because he knows Jason wouldn't shoot him (and once, dodging actually put him on the path of the bullet, so yeah no) and in retaliation Kyle launches a colony of bat-constructs at Jason who barely bothers to bat (ha) them aside because the worst they'll do is flap their wings in his face (which, yknow, helmet) and the banter.... "if it isn't the universe's worst best bat! Where have you been?" "excuse me, bitch-lantern? What about where have you been?"

So anyway I'm just a sucker for Jason-Kyle dynamic and that's it.

Edit because I really don't think Jason would shoot at a friend even if it's an intentional miss :

Every time they meet they bicker like there's no tomorrow but at some point Kyle launches a dozen bat constructs at Jason who promptly shoots them out of existence in two seconds flat. Kyle didn't even see him grab his gun and is very amused and kind of impressed. It becomes a tradition after that : every time they see each other Kyle launches a dozen or more bats at Jason who obliterates them fast - because Kyle thinks that Jason's marksmanship is actually really cool and it's pretty great to watch (and it confuses people who witness it which is always a plus). Jason gets target practice, gets to make Kyle smile, and gets this nice warm feeling you get when someone admires your skills. It's a win-win.

Also, even though I don't know Kyle really well, they both give this "look like impulsive dumbass but are actually sharper than they look" vibe which is... Interesting.

So I'm picturing something like... Kyle hanging-floating off Jason's shoulders and it's all "get off me, you glow-in-the-dark annoyance!" "nope :D" but if you look closer you'll notice that Jason isn't trying very hard to shake him off and Kyle is careful to place his hands in a way that doesn't restricts Jason's movements and takes care to not get too close to his neck.

The thing is that Kyle is actually using the physical contact to cover Jason in a discreet thin layer of willpower for added protection. It makes Jason feel safer and allows him to use a greater part of his focus on other things (like, idk, battle plans) - like it's easier to think if you don't have to worry about watching your back. The thing Kyle gets out of it is the warm feeling that Jason trusts him to watch his back and allows him to use his power on him without question. It's a big show of trust, and that can be quite heady (Kyle kind of digs it).

The banter is half to distract people from the fact that Jason subtly glows willpower-green and half because they're just Like That and enjoy bickering.

[truessences]

Jason Carver

So what are people's thoughts on Jason Carver in ST4? Even if you didn't like him that's fine... I just want to see something. Like prior to Chrissy's death and how he reacts to it, what kind of person do you think he was? Was he a good boyfriend? Was he an "okay" person? Before the unhingment of Jason Carver, what are your thoughts? And then what are your thoughts when he became unhinged?

Edit: The reason I ask, is because when I read fanfics, people often have Jason being terrible to Chrissy, or Chrissy talking/thinking about how Jason is just terrible. This is probably controversial but I liked Jason a little lol, I mean, he was a good human villain and an interesting character... plus I thought the actor was great. BUT I wonder if Jason and Chrissy's relationship, while probably very shallow/surface was as bad as people write it to be.

I absolutely believe that in the beginning, his actions were genuine in his mind for Chrissy, but when he found out that Chrissy went to Eddie for help and not him, that had to have made him think "Does Chrissy LIKE Eddie Munson? Was there something romantic happening?? WHY didn't she come to me instead of him??"

This is why I wish there was an actual interaction between Eddie and Jason because that would have been an interesting conversation and I think Mason and Joseph would have ate that scene.

And don't mistake me, after what happened with Lucas and Erica, I knew that that dude had to go. As a black woman, that really bothered me.

[feathers-fallen-on-riverdale]

Season 1 Episode 2: Chapter 2 - A Touch Of Evil ⬇️

[Ep. Statues: Already Watched/First Time Watching + Remember/Vaguely/Don't Remeber]

WHAT is it with this show and showing me that nasty ass board?

Am I horrible person for laughing at Jason's facial expression when he's laying on the corner's table?

😑😒 I'm gonna be seeing this man's unrealistic abs for a while aren't I?

Jesus Christ bro put a shirt on you'll catch a cold.

"This isn't a negotiation this is our lives." Okay bitch you meant your life.

Fred every time you show up on my screen I start thinking this show is worth it. Also give me stories of Jughead's tree house.

"An accidental drowning, who cares?!" AGAIN are we sure Betty's mom isn't the phsyco?

Betrayed you? Alice here is acting like they violated some ancient treaty or something. Remind me again who's the teenage girl?

Okay go Betty! Being all emotionally intelligent!

"Watch it Wednesday Addams!" TRANS JUGHEAD CONFIRMED?!!!

(Jellybean made the patches for him when he came out! He also has them as pins beside the crown pin on his beanie)

AGAIN #LetKevinHitThat2022

VERONICA GOT HER FLOWERS! 🤩🤩🤩. Nooo not yellow for friendship they should be red and pink and there should be violets there too because sapphic and.... hold up I gotta search something up.

Tulips, peonies, purple hyacinths and white orchids.

HERS AND HERS MENI PEDIS. jdjksjs the nail tech asks them how long they've been together and Betty says they just got together before Veronica can get a word out.

What is it with the Lodge women and pearls. Oh god I just got the vivid image of early 20s Hiram Lodge with a single dangly pearl earring. Might try and edit that later.

Edit: I did it!!!!

(I think Hiram would have done drag at least once in his life. What would his drag name be?)

Wow okay Jughead caught on fast go on gender King!

Girl the fact that Kevin left Betty high and dry for Moose. He's breaking the gay best friend stereotype you're honour 😢 /sarcasm

"Once again, fate throws us together once more" uhuh fate being Kevin's hornieness for Moose dick. Mmmm maybe Kevin's onto something? #KevinShipsBeronica perhaps?

Jesus they're really laying the guilt tick on Archie.

Shipper Veronica? Good to know.

... I really don't want to be mean. But. Archie you can't sing for shit.

Oh Betty.... you're GAY.

...... Grundy is really being fucking manipulative. Did she kill Jason?

JUGHEAD. JUGHEAD IN HERE COME HELP YOUR CARROT TOP.

Mmmmh I don't like this passive aggressive honeymoon phase Beronica are in.

😧 Betty you bitch. Okay now I can see how these 2 (Betty and Cheryl) are related.

Awwww Betty tutoring dyslexic Archie my beloved. After she tutors Archie and she gets a little older she states tutoring other neurodivergent and disabled kids. She tells her mother it's for her college application but it's actually it's so she can keep an eye on her own and create a support system within Riverdale.

Is Cheryl hitting on Betty? Godamit if they weren't related I'd ship that. Okay neverMIND 😬. That ship sank about as fast as it floated.

Wha????? Okay that.... escalated. Wasn't a serial killer gene mentioned in later seasons?

Jughead is me when it comes to Grundy.

"There's more?" - The damming words of one Jughead Jones in season 1 of a CW show.

Me @ Jughead:

Also I'm surpised but Jughead seems to have the single brain cell on this show (expect for Fred Andrews).

Archie, do you actually believe this? Oh this is getting too real too fast.

Okay Alice is giving facebook woman. Also the pagan comment is.... icky.

The transphobia against my boy is evil. Also not Reggie picking up on Jarchie vibes.

Again Fred is being the best person on this show.

But after this, does Archie like, talk to anybody about him and Grundy? About how there was obvious a power imbalance and grooming?

Also the Jarchie moments are so genuine. At least this side of the polycule is coming along nicely.

This feels way too professional for a highschool cheer squad. But what do I know, America is weird.

Oh. Cheryl is feeling the full blow of her trauma. I wonder how this is gonna be handled.

"He was supposed to come back" !? OH I remember now. He was supposed to run away with Polly and Cheryl was in on it. Him drowning was supposed to be a cover up.

Omg Beronica first date!

Oh a vow 😏. "Yes Betty lets commit interact rituals together. No boy will get between us."

Omg double date! The Riverdale polycule is assembling!!!!!!!!!

Oh I remember Cheryl's arrest so vividly this makes no sense to me. Staring to remember bits and pieces? I remember Jason's father had something to do with it definitely.

Unhinged rating: 1/10. The unhinged has suddenly plummeted. There were some genuine moments in there but it got dark real quick, from Alice being a psycho to Archie being groomed. But the dialogue is still Like That and the polycule is solidifying.

Starting several new segments:

Archie ab shot count (per episode then added together per season): Two. The first was more subtle the second just made me cringe.

Cheryl's Bitch-O'Meter: 🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹|🏹🏹

A hefty 8/10 bow and arrows because of her moment at Betty's house.

Is it a bird? A plane? No it's a new headcannon pulled right out of thin air! :

Trans(masc) Jughead

Wednesday Addams/General Addams family stan Jughead

Veronica speaks flower language

Betty and Veronica's nail tech think they're a couple

Hiram Lodge used to wear a single dangly pearl earring in his 20s.(and still does on special occasions)

Drag Queen Hiram Lodge

#KevinShipsBeronica. He's our in-canon captain of the ship

Veronica is a diehard shipper (of what you ask? Anything)

Archie is a horrible singer but still writes lyrics

Betty creates a support group for neurodivergent/learning disabled people for her and Archie

Season 1 Alice Cooper is a facebook mom

Riverdale polycule first date/go to date idea is milkshakes at Pop's

Tag list (you can ask to be added [or removed]) though I doubt anyone will ask: @youre-only-gay-once

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

breaking it down to find a meaning

neighbours au?

this came out of literally no where. I was getting ready for bed and I had "I wanna love somebody" by We Three stuck in my head and then I opened tumbles and this just poured out of me? Yea I literally wrote this in the tumblr post option. no google doc we die like lovers.

I point this out only to say this is defs not edited lmao. I didn't even expect it to be this long it was supposed to a tiny drabble?

please enjoy!

[all images have alt text]

There are exactly three things wrong with Percy's current living situation.

1. He has far too little lounge space for his terribly long body. His shins have hit the coffee table six times today in his attempt to maneuver from sitting on the couch to standing.

2. The spare bedroom is not a good enough sound quality for his guitar or his drum practice. The bathroom is much better. He cannot practice in his bathroom forever, or ever.

3. His neighbour is undeniably, completely distractingly hot.

He hasn't allowed himself to rate the problems in order of most troublesome because he's a little ashamed about which one might take first place.

Since moving in one week ago Percy has had many opportunities to arrange and rearrange every aspect of the tiny two bedroom— or one bedroom and a makeshift studio— apartment until he could walk around it blind. He knows not to step on the third floorboard from the left wall on the way to his bedroom because it creaks unpleasantly and he thinks his downstairs neighbours are going to shove a hot poker through the roof just to brandish the annoying foot that keeps making the noise. He knows that the oven setting has to be juggled just right for it to go on. He knows the curtain railings in the living room are far too thin and brittle— he will have to replace them before the month is out. He knows you have to turn the hot tap in the shower three times and the cold tap four to get the exact perfect temperature. What he doesn't know, however, is his neighbour's name, or the colour of their eyes, or anything about them. All he knows is that they're hot.

But today, bruised shin and all, Percy is determined to introduce himself. If for nothing else but to gauge just how upset they might be when he starts up what his mother used to lovingly call "Melodic Madness".

So far it takes the reign as number one reason he's had to leave his previous living spaces. Mr Chiron from Strawberry Valley, who told the landlord the noise was so loud it made his steel kneecaps rust. Creative, but Percy isn't sure it's feasible. Then there was Minerva from Olive Grove who took one look at him and told the landlord he was a drug dealer, or worse, a drug user. He had raised a brow, couldn't stop his lip from tugging up, liking the way the ring that hugged his bottom lip stretched deliciously. He almost killed her on the spot. He would have laid lillies at her funeral and she would have risen again to throw them away. The last place, a Mr Hedge. Percy was glad to leave him behind. There were baseball bags swinging and yelling almost as loud as he played every time they crossed paths. For his own safety Percy didn't even wait for the man to call the landlord before he wad tucking his drumsticks in his pocket and high tailing it to, here.

Here being Sunset Gardens. Here being in this small apartment that fit him almost perfectly. Here being one knock away from meeting his new neighbour.

Percy wonders, as he looks at the soft cream wood of the door, if he should have worn a turtle neck to hide the snake tattoo wrapping around his throat. Or maybe a button down and a tie, to hide the swirls of ink on his arms. The black t-shirt he has on, a normal longer length to his usual cropped look, is clean and soft from use. He decides it'll have to be good enough because he can't wear button downs all the time. How ever will he afford all the ties that come with the obligation?

Percy knocks on the door.

There's silence behind it. The silence of sleepy world, too cozy-can't move. The silence that doesn't wish to be disturbed.

The door opens.

His neighbour's eyes are blue. Bright blue. Startling blue. Blue enough to make his lungs feel a lack of oxygen. He's reaching for the sky and it's getting harder to breather the higher he gets.

"Hello." Says his neighbour.

Percy is flying closer to the sun than Icarus ever will, ever could.

"Can I help you?"

He needs to stop staring. He needs to say something that doesn't make him look like a gaping angel fish. All starry eyes halos and floundering for relief from the air. Do fish know how beautiful the sky is? He imagines if they did they'd all kill themselves trying to get to it. He's doing it right now.

"Hi," He grins. Teeth white, straight, flossed because his mother forced him to learn the habit. "I'm Percy, your new neighbour."

"Jason," The voice is warm, deep. He knows if he lay his head on that spectacular chest he'll feel every vibration when this blue eyed spectacle talks. It'll be like getting into a really nice car and feeling the seats rumble beneath you.

"How are you finding the apartment?"

They're still standing on his door front. Jason won't relent his sanctuary. Percy won't toe over the line, curiouser and curiouser as he is.

"Good. Living room is causing some bodily harm," He waves to his shin, "But otherwise very good. Cozy."

"We share a wall. I don't know if it's your bedroom and mine or..." His neighbour trails off.

"It's my spare bedroom against you." They both glance to his door, light from his lounge flooding the passage in a perfect parallelogram.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." He's looking into the sky again. Watches as hair falls over that golden forehead. His hands— tattooed "amare" on his left fingers and "amari" on his right— twitch to push it back, to grasp the white strands, to know what light feels like. He tucks them into the pockets of his sweatpants. He tells them behave. The twitch in their hiding place. He doesn't let them seek.

"What about it?" Jason is frowning, in that worried way that says he's used to bad news and he's tired of it too.

"I uh," Percy's eyes flicker around the world. "I play guitar and drums. I'm using that room as my music room."

"Oh." The relief in Jason is a pointed arrow straight at his heart. Even cupid could never shoot something so potent. "That's okay. I'll use your music as inspiration when I paint."

Percy is Icarus three seconds after he believes he can fly. Percy is Patroclus when he feeds Achilles. Percy is Hercules after completing his first trial. Percy is a hero and a warrior and the luckiest person alive. Percy is alive.

"I hope you're good." Jason shrugs as if he hadn't tattooed a permanent place into the underside of Percy's ribcage.

"I hope so too." He manages to say back.

"I'll show you what I can create from you the first time and you can judge." Those blue eyes are so wide with innocence. Not the innocence of life but of words. His neighbour has no idea what he's doing to him. Has no idea that he is about to go home and make song lyrics out of all these declarations.

"I look forward to it." He smiles wide. It's ocean deep with happiness.

There are exactly three things perfect about Percy's current living situation:

1. The kitchen has a gas stove enough counter space for him to make bread and his mother's gumbo

2. His bedroom is big enough for him to fit a king sized bed easily. He is a sprawler when he sleeps and he cannot be happier to sprawl across never ending expanse.

3. His hot neighbour is perfect.

[marichat-verse]

Mist Memories

Leo Valdez x reader for his birthday ahhhh (even though it's angsty) with a platonic/developing jason x reader cameo at the end (lmao im sorry i couldn't help myself 😭)

Based on this picture I found in pinterest + also [kinda] based on traitor by olivia rodrigo and omg i really recommend u guys listen to this edit because it reminds me so much of this fic that's been stuck in my head for MONTHS also kind of a run away with me prologue lol

Your POV

I nervously made my way across the forest until I reached a limestone cliff. I knocked on the iron door, not really expecting to get an answer.

My boyfriend has been shutting himself in Bunker 9 for the past few weeks. I stood there counting up to seven before knocking again. I knocked again two more times, until he answered in the middle of my last knock.

He removed his goggles and winced as sunlight hit his eyes. He'd grown thinner and paler, making the dark circles in his eyes more pronounced.

"Oh, Leo..." I reached out to brush a few strands of hair away from his face, but he moved away.

"What are you doing here?" He said in a monotone voice.

I moved to walk inside the Bunker, brushing off his hesitation to let me in. "I'm your partner, remember? And I'm really concerned because you're shutting yourself out lately. You know everyone's starting to worry about you. Percy asked me to check on you because you missed pegasus riding with him. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Jason's coming back from Camp Jupiter soon. I was hoping you and Annabeth could be with Piper while Percy and I hung out with Jason because it's been a little awkward since their breakup. Plus Piper wanted to tell you something—"

"Please," he said forcefully causing me to stop and look at him. "Just... Get out."

Normally, he'd shut himself from the world for a few days to work on an important project or because he was feeling really sad and he needed space. But this was getting out of hand. He had never locked me out of his life when I offered to help him. He was never this mean when he asked for space. I was not having this attitude of his.

"Okay, Leo. I tried to play nice. What is so important that you blow off all your friends for nearly a month that you can't even tell your partner, or maybe say hi to your best friend who's coming back from the other side of the country?"

He didn't say anything. He pursed his lips and avoided eye contact. I scanned he room for any signs.

It was messier than usual with all the crumpled paper scattered on the floor, especially on his desk. He could have been drawing up new plans. Something in my gut told me that something wasn't right. There were no new unfinished projects, indicating that he wasn't starting a new invention. Harley's helicopter lay on his bench in the same state it was weeks ago. Huh, not even his siblings could enter the Bunker.

I turned and Leo was already changing Festus' oil. I took this moment of distraction to pick up a few pieces of crumpled paper on the floor and on his desk. I had to process the words a bit longer—too long that Leo took notice. Damn dyslexia.

I heard footsteps speed up behind me, but it was too late. I read enough and got the gist of what he had been trying to do these past few weeks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled at me. Small embers started to erupt between his curls.

I laughed dryly. "So this is what you've been up to?"

His fists tightened, further crumpling the paper in his hands. His eyes flashed with anger, despair and confusion.

I sighed and focused my eyes on his desk, not daring to look at him any longer. Under some pieces of paper were old photographs of him and Piper from Wilderness School. Yup, those definitely were the mist memories she had with Jason. I read the latest draft he'd been writing:

Dear Piper,

Remember the mist memories from boarding school with Jason? They were real, but they were with me.

I miss you. I miss when it was just us. I miss the night on the roof.

Yours truly,

Leo Valdez

I tried to keep my voice from cracking. "How long?"

I heard him sigh. "Three weeks."

I balled my fists. Tears started to fall and smudge the ink. I wiped them away as fast as they came.

"How?"

"In a dream," his tone softened now. "Hera came to me in a dream and told me to check an old drawer in Bunker 9. I found the photos and the memories came rushing back."

"How long were you dating back then?"

"Two weeks."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

Silence; then a deep breath.

"No."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I knew you'd get upset like—"

"I meant why would you throw away months of our relationship for a couple of weeks of your relationship with her? And without even bothering to tell me? Gods damn it, Leo. We've been together since you've first arrived at camp. And what about those promises you made when we were sailing to Greece? You've been keeping these feelings away from me and you've been lying to me, making me believe that there's still something between us and—"

"Oh, calm down," he said with an annoyed expression and tone, which only infuriated me more, "it's not like I did anything were her yet! I didn't kiss her or tell her how I truly felt for her! She just got out of a relationship with Jason around the same time I had that dream. I had to figure out how to talk to her about it. I've been alone in this Bunker for three. Fucking. Weeks. I didn't cheat on you."

"Oh, and that makes everything better?" I countered. "Being in a relationship isn't about not cheating, Leo. It's about being honest and communicating with each other."

"Oh, like you've been communicating with me? After the war, you take go back to Manhattan for school, and you take a job. I haven't seen you much during the holidays because work has been keeping you in the city. And you won't tell me what you even do for a living!"

I took in a deep breath. "I told you I needed to have a life outside of camp! I needed to know first that I could handle myself in the mortal world as a normal human being. I needed this demigod part of my life to be separate as much as possible! I've been in two wars, Leo. I needed time to myself, too. And I was about to tell you guys in a few more days. But I guess now, I'm glad I've kept you out of that part of my life. At least I have an escape from all of this. And now, especially from you."

I took another deep breath and walked to the door, about to let myself out. I turned back again, both our tear-stained eyes meeting each other.

"If it makes you feel any better," I said softly, "I would've hated the idea of us breaking up. But if you really love her, if you really feel like you have this special connection to her and she makes you happy, then I won't get in your way. You could at least have had the decency to talk to me so we could have left on a good note."

He looked at me with wide eyes, clearly regretting his actions. I sighed and looked around the Bunker, possibly for the last time. Lots of memories were definitely created in this room; all just as grand and meaningful as the inventions they made here. But just like some of Hephaestus' contraptions, some of them were flawed and dumped in his scrapyard, no matter how much potential it could have had.

"Goodbye, Leo."

I sat on a rock on the beach that gave me a beautiful view of Long Island Sound. To my left, the sun started to set, casting an orange filter on everything. My heart broke, remembering how everything glowed orange in the Bunker. Leo always left the fires burning when he was working. The sunlight twinkling against the sea reminded me of how small bits of flame peaked through his hair earlier. I remembered how mad he was at me. Or maybe he was mostly mad at himself.

"Hey."

I jumped when someone sat—or rather, landed—beside me. I turned and smiled, seeing one of my good friends back at camp.

"Hey, you're back," I said weakly. "How long have you been here?"

He smiled at me, although he could maybe sense that something was wrong. "Half an hour, maybe? I saw Annabeth making plans to expand camp to have a city. She made me do an aerial inspection and I told her I'll get back to her tonight. That's when I saw you."

"Mhmm," I mumbled, not really knowing what to say. It was silent for a few minutes before I spoke up again, knowing he was just waiting for me to open up.

"I broke up with Leo."

His head quickly turned to me. I guess he wasn't expecting it to be that bad. "What?"

"Oh yeah," I laughed dryly. "Turns out the mist memories Piper had in Wilderness School with you? They were real. But not with you."

His eyes widened. "Oh... With Leo."

"He locked himself in the Bunker for weeks trying to write a letter. It was heartbreaking. Like, truly heartbreaking. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and how much he missed them. Then he said how much he missed that night with her under the stars and... It hurt. Like hell."

"Oh," he said. "I guess Piper didn't tell me everything then."

"She knew all along?"

He shook his head. "Maybe not everything, but she told me she's been confused about her feelings lately and she'd been having visions or dreams of possible old memories that were messing with her head."

"I'm sorry about you and Piper," I said.

"Don't be," he said. "I understand her. It did hurt, though. But I think I can get over it some day. We're still awkward around each other, but at least we left on a good note."

I scoffed. "Leo couldn't even give me a good ending to our relationship."

"Hey," he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "You're a great person, y/n. You've done so much, especially for him. It's his loss that he was stupid enough to let go of you."

"I know that."

"Do you really?"

"I do!" I said. "I'm a great person and I know that. But that doesn't mean what he did doesn't hurt me."

"I know," he said. "You'll find someone who'll treat you like the queen that you are. You're a great person, and I'm not just saying this to cheer you up. I truly think you're amazing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Jason. And you'll find someone great, too. Maybe not as great as me but, then again, who is?"

We both let out a laugh. The conch sounded in the distance, signaling dinner. I moved to stand up before hearing Jason speak up again.

"Hey, do you maybe want to just grab a couple of plates and eat out here?"

I smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good. I don't really want everyone else hounding me about the breakup right now."

I don't know how long it was going to take me to get over Leo. We really did gave something special. It was cruel how the universe gave me something so good, to make me have hope that something was finally going right, then have it yanked away from my arms just as suddenly as it came.

He never cheated on me, but that didn't mean he didn't betray every promise we made to each other. I should have known it was too good to be true. Life has always played cruel jokes on me.

Then again, who's to say that things won't turn out for the better, right?

•••

Tagging: @drvrslcense @bubblybubbubs @dreamerball @quteez @aesthetxcimagines @chasingpj @beingleft @wadewilsonsgreatestfriend

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts days 112-117

From this prompt list. If you’ve read this far, I’m not sure you need any explanation, but the short version is I hadn’t written any fiction since 2019, I set a goal to write at least 150 words/day in 2024, and this list was my way to restart. Also I abruptly decided on day 2 I would write an entire Tim/Damian story connecting all the prompts, because I am Good at Judging My Limits. /sarcasm Anyway, I finished the rough draft a while ago and am now unlocking the old entries as I edit.

Read from the beginning here, or on ao3 here.

Days 109-111 here

***

30. “Where do you want me to touch you?” “I don’t know and I don’t care — I just want your hands on me. Please.”

33. “Beg and maybe I’ll think about it.”

108. “And I think you’d look fucking hot when you’re on top of me.”

111. “Just sit on my fucking face already.”

***

By the time he finished reviewing all the audio again, Tim had found so much information that it was time to turn it over to Bruce for advice. He drove out to the Cave and called the files up on the screen near Bruce's main workstation, waiting for him to return from patrol.

Damian stepped out of the elevator while Tim flipped through Oracle's channels, listening to everyone's night and glad to not be trapped with mobsters' conversations for the moment. Tim spun around in his chair, unable to keep his smile a normal size at the sight of him.

"Hey! I thought you'd be asleep so I didn't want to bug you." Mindful of the cameras, he kept his seat. Just because he was reasonably certain Bruce knew about their relationship didn't mean he wanted to give him any more information than necessary.

Damian's answering shadow of a smile nearly made him forget his prudence. "You can always text me. That won't wake me up if I have gone to bed." He pulled up a chair and rolled near enough to Tim that their knees brushed. "You're ready to show Father what you've found?"

Tim scooted closer so one of Damian's legs slid between his own. "Yeah, even Jason finally agreed that we'd be smart to bring Bruce in for this last push. Not that he's happy about it, but he doesn't want to risk more victims than we absolutely have to."

Damian made an aborted motion, like he'd been about to reach for Tim's hand and thought better of it. "I finally received the copy of Al-Kunūz al-fannīyah fī al-rumūz al-Maymūnīyah you ordered today. It's in better condition than the copy we used to have."

Tim beamed. "Glad I could help."

Now Damian did take his hand, though he swiveled his chair to block the action from the nearest cameras. "You were very helpful." Tim blushed, and promptly wanted to roll his eyes at himself. If Damian noticed, he was kind enough not to point it out. "I don't know if Father is on his way back yet, but it's very late. It makes more sense for you to spend what's left of the night here."

“Oh, it does?" Tim inquired, keeping an innocent lilt in the words. "And there's no benefit to you, of course."

He half expected Damian to scowl at the teasing, but all he got was a haughty look down his nose. "The benefit to me is the same as to you. I believe we are better together."

Tim's heartbeat sped up to a tempo better suited to a sprint than a quiet conversation. "Damian," he breathed out, gripping his hand too tightly, but Damian gave no sign of discomfort. "How irresponsible is it if we just leave this info for Bruce and go to bed?"

Damian's eyes widened. "Perhaps—perhaps we could go and then return before he gets here?"

Tim checked Bruce's transponder. Fifteen minutes out. "We could be really quick?"

Damian shot to his feet. "We could."

They walked as fast as they could to the elevator. By the time they got to the stairs, they were running, skipping steps along the way while Tim laughed at his own foolishness.

Once they crossed the threshold into Damian's room, Tim immediately tripped over Alfred the cat, who hissed in disapproval and took off like a streak. Damian lifted Kent and Pennyworth from his pillow and carried them to the hallway, then Tim slammed the door behind them and pressed his back against it. Damian leaned on one arm over him and kissed him, soft, careful pressure at odds with the impatience of his dash upstairs. Tim stood on tiptoe and cradled his face in both hands, kissing him back just as carefully. Damian deserved to be treated like something precious. God knew he wouldn't ever be gentle with himself.

"Dami," Tim sighed against his mouth when it felt like he might melt into the wood at his back. He started kicking off his shoes. "Where do you want me to touch you?"

He meant it in the "do we have time to focus on non-essentials" sense, but Damian groaned at the question. "I don't know and I don't care." He nipped Tim's bottom lip, his hands gripping Tim's hips with demanding pressure. "I just want you to touch me. Please."

Oh. A sudden realization struck Tim: they hadn't slept together since the night Damian had driven over after he'd figured out what to do with the audio surveillance. It would explain why he was shaking all over. Or maybe that was Tim.

He pulled back and looked up at Damian through his lashes. “You really don't care?” He dropped his hands to Damian’s ass and squeezed. “I can touch you anywhere?”

“I've said so.” Damian kissed a gentle progression from his temple to his collarbone. 

Tim tilted his head to give him more room. “In that case I want more than—oh,” as Damian nipped at the crook of his neck. “Take off your shirt, I wanna feel you.”

Damian pulled away enough to obey, then lifted Tim’s shirttail. “Stop wasting time and get this off too.”

Tim laughed and helped him get the collar over his head. “Happy?”

Damian picked him up in a fireman’s carry, sending a surprised “oof” from Tim’s mouth as his belly hit Damian’s uninjured shoulder. Damian strode across the room, a man on a mission.

“I'll be much happier when I see you in my bed again.” He tossed Tim onto the mattress and pulled back the covers, motioning Tim to move so he was lying on the sheets. “I had to wash my bedding, and now—” He cut himself off and stripped the rest of his clothes off before crawling to join Tim. Only a large bandaid covered the site of his wound.

Tim hummed with happiness as they pressed together skin to skin. “And now, what?”

Damian busied himself sucking on Tim’s earlobe, then said, “Now they no longer smell like you. I have grown accustomed to at least one pillow bearing your scent. It's unacceptable.”

Tim clutched at his shoulders and shivered with delight with the scrape of Damian’s teeth against the tender skin below his ear. “I can fix that tonight.”

Damian’s nimble fingers made quick work of opening his jeans. "What if I want you to make the whole bed smell like you?"

Tim laughed, angling up his hips to help pull his pants down. “Beg and maybe I’ll think about it," he teased.

Damian gave him a derisive look as he sucked a bruise into Tim's shoulder. "Please. As if I wouldn't have you begging me in a matter of moments as long as I offered to bottom."

All of Tim's blood supply abruptly relocated to his dick so fast he went light-headed. "I—" He swallowed and tried to talk through the wad of cotton currently masquerading as his tongue. "Is that on the table?"

Damian huffed, all exasperation with Tim's denseness as he licked his way down to a nipple. "I'm merely stating that there's only one of us who knows how to make the other beg. It certainly won't be me debasing myself in such a fashion."

"Got it." Privately, Tim felt certain he could recall a few times Damian had let a "please" slip out in bed, or five minutes ago at the door, but he decided to get his own back with a different strategy. "You did say I could eat you out, though. And I think you'd look fucking hot when you're on top of me."

Damian bit across his chest, leaving tiny bruises behind. "Did I say that?"

Tim grabbed his hair and tugged his head back to see his face. To his surprise, Damian didn't fight the motion. Tim gave him a gentle shake, and Damian's eyes went half-shut. "Hey. Just sit on my fucking face already."

After a pause so long Tim almost took it back, Damian replied, "All right."

The response surprised Tim enough that he accidentally tightened his grip on Damian's hair. Damian grunted in response, body going lax on top of Tim's, head lolling on his chest. 

"Oh, look at you," Tim said, his tone rough with appreciation. "I love seeing you like this." He petted Damian's hair, combing through it a few more times while Damian slow-blinked in feline satisfaction. The occasions when he truly surrendered to Tim’s wishes were few and far between, and Tim hated to rush him, but . . . "C'mon, sweetheart." He dropped his hands to Damian's shoulders and tugged. "Up you go."

Damian only made it far enough to kiss Tim again, a little sloppier this time, lips slick as he devoured Tim's mouth. Tim groaned, too loudly for a house that had surveillance in its halls, and tore his mouth free. "We don't have time." He nipped Damian's chin in mock reproval. "Stop distracting me. We said we'd be really quick."

"I've changed my mind. Father is more than capable of—" Damian sucked in air between his teeth when Tim grabbed his thighs and pulled him up to straddle his face. "More than capable of—" He broke off again with a muffled shout as Tim began licking him from his entrance to his balls, long strokes with his tongue as flat as he could make it. "Oh fuck." His fingers tightened on the headboard hard enough to make the wood creak beneath his grip.

Tim did his level best not to laugh in triumph at that reaction, a struggle made easier by a sudden knock on the door and Dick's voice calling, "Dami? You okay?"

Damian moved lightning-fast as a matter of course, but this time it was like he teleported straight off of Tim's face and to the floor where his clothes lay. Tim jerked upright, grabbing a corner of the sheet to rub his own saliva off his chin and cheeks. "Shit, Damian, did we lock—"

"I don't know," Damian snapped, yanking his boxer briefs up. He raised his voice to call, "I'm fine—I will be there shortly."

"What do I do?" Tim whispered urgently. "Where do you want me to go?"

Damian shot a glare over his shoulder as he buttoned his pants. "I am not ashamed."

Well, in that case. Tim switched to a more conversational tone. "Me neither. I wanted to make sure you don't mind, is all." He got out of bed and pulled his own pants on. Damian walked to the door and ducked to pick up their shirts.

Tim glanced down and realized the head of his cock was showing where he'd pulled it up into his waistband. "Hey, give me mine."

Damian tossed him his shirt, and swung the door open to reveal Dick standing there in post-patrol sweats. "Hello, Richard. I didn't expect to see you tonight."

Dick's gaze flitted from Damian's exposed chest, to Tim pulling his shirt down to his hips, to the unmade bed. Tim could see the second his suspicions, confirmed, morphed into incredulity. "Are you two serious right now? You had to have known Bruce was on his way back and you were going to try to run out the clock like this?"

Tim shrugged. "He deserves to get some trauma from us instead of the other way around for once."

At the same time, Damian said, "He knows better than to disturb us."

Dick stepped in and closed the door behind him. "I wondered what you two—but I didn't want to risk ignoring sounds with your injury being so recent—" He grimaced. "How long has this been going on? Wait, what is this?"

A surge of protectiveness had Tim snapping, "That's none of your business, Dick," but Damian shook his head at him and he fell silent.

Damian turned back to Dick. "It's all right," he said, and Tim blinked. That sounded like reassurance of a preexisting worry, but why?

The deep divot between Dick's eyebrows confirmed his concern. "But—Dami—" His gaze shot to Tim again. Tim tilted his head, trying to understand the issue. Dick looked just as worried about him as about Damian, which was a change from the norm.

"Richard," Damian said, voice firm. "I assure you. It's all right." He pulled his own shirt on. "We are well."

"And are you happy?" Damian gave him a dubious look, and Dick sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, it's only that a few things just clicked and I'm trying to understand."

Oh. He was remembering the conversation he'd had with Tim when Tim was still getting in his own way with Damian. No wonder he was struggling.

Tim crossed the room to stand at Damian's side, not touching him but close enough to feel his body heat. "I can't speak for Damian, but I'm happy." Talking plainly about his own emotions made him feel like he'd just walked nude into a press conference, but maybe he could spare Damian the same embarrassment.

Damian surprised him, though. "In this, you may speak for me," he replied, voice low and private. Although his mouth stayed serious, his eyes smiled down at Tim, warm with fondness.

Tim lost his breath at that look. An unfamiliar feeling reverberated through his chest, tightening his throat and sending his heartbeat into overdrive, but it wasn't unpleasant.

God, I love you so much.

Dick spoke before he could properly panic. "Okay. Good. Then . . . this is just weird instead of troubling. I'll get out of your hair. Tim, wanna come back to the Cave? I was hoping you could walk me through the info at the same time as Bruce since they have a couple of things going on in Bludhaven."

"Yeah. Sure," Tim replied, his tone so normal that it shocked the tiny portion of his brain not shrieking what the fuck what do you mean LOVE. Picking up his shoes and socks, he followed Dick out the door.

It wasn't until he heard the door click shut that he realized he'd forgotten to say goodbye.

day 118 here