#I think I dig the idea of Jason being blind in one eye ....

[daydreamerwonderkid]

Just be grateful he's using them for cooking.

Much love to @oifaaa for pointing out Law would be one of Jason's OP faves <3

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 3

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst! Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines

Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN!!!! Y'all enjoy this now, because it's only gonna get so much more angstier soon. -Thorne

Set Three Months After PT. 2:

She didn’t have to look up to know who entered the shop, because his voice carried over the air. “Melisandre!”

Humming, she immediately plated a pastry and a hot coffee, sliding it on the counter just as he sat down. “Good morning, Wally,” she greeted, watching him take a bite. “Right on time, as always.”

He smiled, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. “Morming Merisamdmur,” he replied, and she rolled her eyes with a snort.

“Jeez Wally, didn’t your mom teach you to not talk with your mouth full?”

Shrugging, he swallowed and said, “I was trying to be polite.”

“I think it’s more polite to chew with your mouth closed and speak after you swallow.”

They glared at each other before one of them cracked a smile and they fell into laughter. She tossed a napkin his way. “How’s your day going so far?”

Wally groaned and laid his head on the cool marble countertop. “I’ve got so much to do today, it’s not even funny.”

“Well, well, Wally the procrastinator is finally feeling his toes at the fire, huh?” She ignored his glare. “What do you have to do?”

“Barry needs my help with my cousins and my friends are coming over today to hangout and I haven’t bought any food or drinks for that and I have yet to even start cleaning my house.”

She giggled and reached over, patting his head sympathetically. “There, there, Wally. Everything will be alright. Why don’t you just bring your cousins over to your house and watch them while you hang out with your friends?”

“Because my cousins are annoying and I’m not subjecting my friends to that,” he countered and propped his chin on his palm. “Unless…”

She cocked a brow and waited for him to continue and he offered, “You come over with my cousins and help me watch them?”

“No.”

“What! Why?”

“Well for starters, I don’t know your friends and it would be weird for me to just show up.” She countered.

“They’ll like you though!” he cried, and his hand shot out, wrapping around hers. “Please, Melisandre!”

“Wally, I’ll just watch your cousins at my apartment and Iris can just come get them later, that’ll be easier and won’t force me to sit in a group of people who don’t know me.” He tried to speak but she tossed another napkin, hitting him in the face. “I’m watching Dawn and Don so you and your friends can hang out without being bothered, and that’s final.”

His face pinched. “You sure you can keep up with them?”

Something passed between them and she quirked a brow. “I can keep up with you, can’t I, Wally?”

Wally chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a fair point.” He glanced at her. “They would like you though.”

She ignored the comment in favor of, “Tell me about them. What are they like?”

He inhaled sharply and took a moment to think. “Donna’s strong willed, Roy’s loud, Lilith likes to get in your head, Garth is easy to annoy, and Dick’s kinda the glue that keeps us together.”

“Dick? He get that from Richard by asking nicely?”

Wally barked a laugh. “Oh, I’m definitely gonna tell him you said that.” He nodded. “But yeah, his name is Richard Grayson, but he goes by Dick.”

Her eyes almost bulged out of her head and she was lucky that Wally was looking at his watch then.

Don’t ask. Don’t do it. Leave it alone.

But she couldn’t stop herself.

“Richard Grayson?” she feigned. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

Wally met her eyes. “Bruce Wayne.”

She snapped her fingers. “Right! The ward.” Wiping the counter, she added, “I heard they added a new addition to that family too. A daughter, right? Cassie? Cassidy?”

“Cassandra,” Wally corrected. “Yeah, that’s Dick’s new sister.” He put his elbows on the counter. “She’s nice, doesn’t talk a lot though.”

“The quiet one, then?”

He laughed. “Of them all.”

Don’t dig any deeper, (Y/N). Keep your fucking mouth shut and let it go.

“I always wondered what happened to that other daughter he had,” she murmured, and Wally’s face blanched like he’d witnessed a murder.

“What?”

She met his gaze. “He had another daughter. I think her name was (Y/N).”

He swallowed thickly. “He does.”

“Does? She’s still around?”

“Yeah, she’s in some Italian villa.”

“Wait really? I thought she died or something?”

“What? No! She left—” Wally snapped his mouth shut like he was about to reveal a secret, but she knew anyways. “She left and went to Europe for a mental retreat.” He finalized and she wondered if that was the story Dick told him to say if anyone asked. Or maybe it was Bruce.

“It’s been like three years now, right? You’d think she’d post something on social media.”

“The whole point of a mental retreat, Melisandre, is to get away from social media.”

Oh please, I know plenty of elite who do that shit and still post crap on their socials.

“There’s no way that girl hasn’t.”

“Why do you say that?”

She scoffed. “Oh please, she’s the daughter of a multi-billionaire. There’s no way a girl that wears Gucci belts and carries Prada purses keeps herself off social media.”

Wally’s eyes narrowed like he was thinking hard about something and she internally cursed.

Oh, smooth move you dumbass.

She coughed and waved a hand. “Well, it’s all theory anyway.”

After a moment, he nodded. “Yeah…theory.” Wally got to his feet and handed her the empty plate. “I should go ahead and get back to my place and clean up before they get here.”

“Have fun,” she smiled, and he grabbed her arm.

“Take a pic with me.”

“What? Why?”

“So, I can tell my friends about you and prove I’m not lying.” He pouted. “Pretty please, Melisandre?”

Don’t do it. Dick will know. You know he’ll know.

She smiled despite her internal thoughts. “Sure.”

Wally grinned and raised the camera where she was in the background. She threw up a peace sign and gave a cheesy grin, momentarily blinded by the flash of the camera.

She spun and filled a bag with pastries then handed it to him. “Here, so you can give even more proof.”

Wally took the bag and hopped onto the counter, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. “Thanks Melisandre!” And he was dashing out the door.

You’ve ruined it all. This is going to come back to bite you in the ass. And it’s going to come quicker than you think.

She frowned and wiped down the counter again, trying to ignore her thoughts. Maybe. Just maybe, it wouldn’t.

***

Waving Barry and Iris off, she smiled as the twins climbed into the backseat of their car and the taillights signaled their departure. She closed the door behind her and glanced at the mess the two tornadoes had left. Even for the little she had in her apartment, they sure did know how to make a mess.

She sighed as she bent over to pick up one of the cushions when her doorbell rang and she stood up, confusion coming over her as she made her way to the door.

“Hello?” she asked, and a muffled voice echoed from the other side.

“Melisandre, it’s me, Wally. Can I come in?”

She opened the door, surprised to see him. “Wally? What are you doing here? I thought you were with your friends?”

“Yeah, I told them I had to do something really quickly,” he said as entered her apartment. He took a moment to examine her living room. “Man, Dawn and Don did a number here, didn’t they?”

She chuckled. “We had fun building forts.” Nudging him in the side, she added, “I don’t mind the mess.” She looked at him. “Do your friends know? About you being…you know?”

He nodded. “We’re all special in some way.”

Understatement there, Wally.

“So, why tell them you need to do something then come to me? Is everything alright?”

Busying herself with the couch cushions, she waited for him to explain, but nothing could’ve prepared her for his words.

“It will be once I get to the bottom of it…(Y/N).” She froze for a split second, but it was all he needed. “It really is you, isn’t it?”

(Y/N) stood upright and gazed at him. “When did you know?” Her voice was a lot colder than she meant for it to be.

“I had suspicion for a while, but when I showed the picture to everyone, Dick said it looked like you.”

“Really?” she laughed. “I thought I did a good job changing my appearance from three years ago.”

Wally didn’t laugh, he merely gaped at her. “Why?”

“Why what?” (Y/N) knew what he was referring to.

“Why’d you just leave?” He took a step towards her. “Do you have any idea what your family has gone through since you disappeared on them? The grief? The shame?”

She shrugged. “I explained everything in the letter I wrote my dad, Wally. There’s no reason why they should still be concerned with me.”

“They love you!” he shouted, taking her by surprise. “They love and miss you so much!”

“My family ignored me for eighteen years straight, Wally!” She yelled right back. “What was I supposed to do? Sit and pretend being forgotten was all normal?!” (Y/N) couldn’t help but shove at his chest. “I chose to leave because my next choice was taking a swan dive off Wayne Enterprises!”

His eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “I left because the only person who cared about me, was me.” She turned and fixed the final couch cushion while he watched her do so.

“They’re still looking for you, you know. Dick is always staring at his phone hoping there’s a text from Jason or Tim that they’ve found a sign of you.”

(Y/N) sighed. “If you’re trying to guilt trip me, Wally, it’s not going to work.” She shot him a glare. “I got over the fucking guilt the second the flight to Central took off. I got over the fucking guilt the night I laid in a hotel room bed curled into a ball where I cried myself to sleep. I got over the fucking guilt the moment I realized I’ve done so much better on my own than when I was there.”

She marched up to him and got in his face. “I got over the fucking guilt when I realized Barry and Iris Allen were more of a family than four brothers and dad ever were.”

They glared at each other and finally, she let out a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve already started a new life here and I have no plans of ever going back.”

“At a college that doesn’t have a real name. You know that’s illegal, right?”

(Y/N) scoffed. “What’re you gonna do, Wally? March into four-C and tell them Bruce Wayne’s daughter is going to school under a false name? We both know you wouldn’t.”

“I’ll tell Dick,” he suddenly shot back, and she went rigid.

“You wouldn’t dare,” (Y/N) threatened and he took a step towards her, getting nose to nose with her.

“Try me.”

They stared one another down and she said, “I think you need to leave, Wally West.”

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I guess I should.” He spun on his heel and marched to the door, but stopped when she questioned,

“Are you really going to tell him?”

Wally gazed at the ground for a moment then he murmured, “…No…it’s not my place to.”

(Y/N) swallowed and nodded. “Thank yo—”

“Don’t thank me, (Y/N). I’m lying to my best friend about knowing the real location of his baby sister he misses dearly.”

She looked away. “Cassandra is his baby sister now. He should focus on her.”

“You really have no idea about what they feel for you, do you, (Y/N)?” He asked, and she grunted.

“Get out, Wally.”

“Don’t worry, I’m gone,” he spat, slamming the door behind him, hard enough that it shook the walls that held the doorframe.

(Y/N) stared at the door for a few moments then cursed sharply and collapsed onto her couch, eyes directed to the ceiling. Three years down the drain in one conversation.

Way to go, (Y/N). You did a spectacular job of keeping it all under wraps.

She groaned and picked herself off the couch, not caring about the mess as she headed to bed. She’d deal with it all in the morning.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

A Failed Betrothal (4)

Am I doing this right? I mostly do write this when I am between the state of sleep and awareness. Hope you enjoy this.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 3)

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PART 4

Marinette came to a dungeon cell with two other prisoners. One of them was awake and he looked vaguely familiar. The other had an ugly red helmet that didn’t help with the headache she had.

“Do you know where we are?” She asked the handsome stranger with beautiful green eyes, her throat a little dry.

Wait. Handsome?

No bad Marinette. Don’t fall for fellow prisoners, no matter how cute he looks. Oh Kwamis, she was already screwed.

He still hadn’t replied. Maybe he didn’t understand French. She tried to ask again in another language before her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of footsteps. She faked unconsciousness. Later, she heard the iron door open. She looked through the tiniest slits of her eyes she could muster while the two held a staring/glaring match. Oh shit, that’s the fame Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s, head of the League of Shadows, and the boy she was glaring at had some resemblance to her, so he must be her son, Dennis? Daniel? Damon?

"Damian, I hope you know what you should do."

Ohh..Damian. Where had she heard that name before?

"To be forcefully married to that little girl. She is no one special. Why am I getting married to her?"

Ouch, that hurts. Well, Damian, just because I forgot your name does not mean you can call me a little girl. I can also kill you very easily and painfully.

“Well, Jason, you are awake. You can be the best man for the wedding.”

“No. I don’t know what game you are playing but you better release us. B is gonna find us and you will pay. Let the girl go. She is innocent in all of this.” Red Helmet, Jason, is officially not going on her hit list for his atrocious fashion choices. But that red monstrosity still needs to go.

"Ladybug may not seem like it but she possesses great power that my father converted for centuries. Speaking of, she should be awake by now."

Marinette felt her hair being yanked. A little pain was expected but the really sharp claws digging into her scalp was not. Making her cry and tear up.

”I am so sorry, kit.” Plagg whispered in the kwami language, loosening his claws.

"Tch, See, she is more pathetic than I thought. She is not powerful." Damian growled out.

Geez, thanks for the compliment, it’s not like you ever had a tiny cat dig its claws into your scalp out of surprise. (Damian once had a kitten thrown at his head and if he knew about Plagg, he would have been sympathetic.) Marinette started begging for mercy, hoping they would buy the helpless girl out of the suit that is ill-suited for the job she had been chosen for and had no idea on how to escape.

“Like I thought, weak. She is not deserving of the title of my wife.”

Oh kwamis, what did she ever do to have such a picky groom? The more he insults her, the less she wants to be married to him.

"Appearance can be deceiving. Despite her demeanor, she is the current wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Current Guardian. The old Guardian, the old fool had promised her in exchange for his protection."

Great, another reason to stop her mother from killing a senile old man.

"That doesn't mean I want to marry her. She is not worthy of an Al Ghul or a Wayne. Look at her, crying at the slightest feeling of pain."

So that’s where she heard it from. The boy was the son of the daughter of a guy who leads a secret order of assassins and a man that owns a multi-million business. How even did a billionaire meet an assassin, ends up in bed with her and lives? Something to think about for later. She quieted down her sobs, (beat that acting, Rossi) kept her voice low to hatch out a plan with Plagg in the kwami language while the mother-son duo bickered.

“Hey, Plagg before you go, you think I can do that thing, the one which your one of your past holders from Japan can do.”

“You have a lot of potential for destruction but you have not used the ring for a long time yet so I am not sure.”

“I will give it a go anyways. Nothing to lose after all. See you later, Plagg.” Marinette smiled, one that drove fear into the hearts of even the bravest of people. Plagg returned it, already loving the new Guardian before zipping out of the cell to do some scouting. Using the enhanced strength the French superheroine got from prolonged use of the Miraculous, she yanked the chains of the walls and wrapped them around Talia’s neck, cutting off her air supply.

The League of Assassins thought that they could kidnap her and get away with it. But they were no match for the daughter of Sabine Cheng, the deadly Blue Reaper. A high ranking member from the group of assassins and mercenaries called the Guild of Night, who had semi-retired. Kidnapping her was a bad move to make as it meant they had declared war on the Guild, despite the reason behind her abduction having a completely different intention.

She whispered as such to the older woman in her tight grip, making sure the League would know how much they had fucked up. After dropping the limp body, she took a deep breath and tried channeling some of her energy for what she was about to do.

Well, here goes nothing.

She breathed out on the shackles, turning it to rust.

Success!

She introduced herself as Lady and concentrated the energy from before into her hand, forming inky black orbs of destruction in order to free her fellow captives. She felt a little drained from doing magic out of the suit and tried not to show it. Plagg returned, informing her of where the Ra’s and the Pits were. She grinned at the thought of showing old Ra’s who the boss is and made sure he regretted ever messing with her. She explained about Plagg as vaguely as she can, no need to let anyone know about the miraculous than necessary. Sure her plan sounds insane but the boys don’t know who they were with.

She would worry about that curse after she got out of Nanda Parbat. Although she could probably find something in the grimoire to reverse it, she was still an amateur at magic so it was best to have a professional to take care of it. Marinette didn’t want to be with such an asshole, no matter how striking he looks in those regal robes.

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Picking off the League assassins, one by one was easy especially in her transformed state. She hadn’t appraised her suit properly but from what she had seen, it wasn’t like Chat Noir’s leather get-up. She was armoured in vital areas and her colour scheme was mainly black with green accents. There were vials that were probably poisons and pouches which she decided to look at later. She still had a long braid as a tail from her brief stint as Lady Noire and she wondered why her suit was different. While hiding in a niche she found, she called the bakery via the comm in one of her various pouches.

“Hello?”

“Papa, it’s me, Marinette. Do you know where Maman is?”

“She went out of Paris, talking about how this League must pay. I think she is meeting up with several of her old friends. Are you alright, my little blossom? I know you can take care of yourself but I worry.” The relief in Tom’s voice was palpable. However, she was right and the Guild was going to war against the League. Marinette was adored by nearly everyone in the Guild due to her strangely bubbly and cheery personality in the harsh and brutal lifestyle.

“I am fine, Papa. Did Maman use the Horse to leave? And how are my friends?” She knew they might be in a panic after her disappearance.

“I think she did. I didn’t see Kalki when I went to feed the kwamis. Your friends panicked when they found out you were kidnapped. But they are fine now, mostly worried about you. Took care of some akumas and senti monsters by themselves. I think your fencer friend, Kagami, knows more about the League than she lets on.” Of course, she does. Her mother was a member of the Guild before being blinded due to a mission. Kagami and her actually first met during a reunion party of sorts.

“Thank you, Papa. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and dialed the personal phone number her mother uses that only Marinette and her father knows about. She waited for the call to connect, trying to think of ways to stop her mother from storming into the League’s base of operation.

“Maman, it’s me. I know you want to attack the League right this minute. But I have a better plan. Can you get Tikki’s earrings from Alix? We can use them and the ring to destroy the Lazarus Pits. Make them really angry.” She peeked out of the niche she was hiding in. She had been there for a while and needed to move to gain some grounds.

“Where are you? And are you okay?” Panic and worry filled her usually composed mother’s voice.

“I am somewhere in Nanda Parbat and I am fine. I was nearly married off to Talia’s son but I am not now. I think.” Marinette replied. Better to rip that band-aid off before she showed up with her would-have-been-husband. She jumped out of the niche and looked

“Kalki, Full Gallop. Okay, we will talk about the ‘nearly married’ part later. What was this plan to destroy the Lazarus Pits?” Sabine thought she was already used to Marinette’s brand of craziness that was her normal but apparently, not.

“I am currently on my way there. Plagg said we need Tikki to get rid of them. Since the League pissed me off and by extension you and the rest of the Guild, I thought our first move against them is to destroy the Pits and a trail of bodies. By the way, can you get some cheese for Plagg?” Marinette ran through the halls, knocking out some poor sod with a whack on the head.

Silence. She thought Sabine had hung up when-

“Voyage. Alix, where are you? We need Tikki for one of Marinette’s insane plans. And Marinette, stay safe, sweety, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

“Bye, Maman. See you there.”

Marinette turned another corner, the last one before the path that leads to the entrance where the Lazarus Pits were. She only managed to find it with Plagg’s voice in her head, whispering directions and Tikki’s luck. Unfortunately, the luck ran out because the entrance had a lot of guards who had spotted her.

Crap.

She hoped her mother would get here soon. Thankfully, being transformed gave her a boost and would help her to hold her ground for a while.

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Damian and Red Hood followed the trail of unconscious bodies and sounds of fights, trying to find Lady. Damian was impressed at the level of her skills to defeat many of the League’s assassins although he could probably do better. They relied on his memory to find the Lazarus Pits which was their best bet to finding her as she claimed to be able to destroy them. If Lady possessed such powers, they must find out whether she is a threat to the world or not. And also break the infernal curse they have.

Red Hood was silent mostly. He made a few jabs about how kick ass his ‘bride’ was and how the current Robin should not let her get away. Damian tried really hard not to just maim his adopted brother and also ignore that little fluttering in his chest that happened every time they saw an unconscious assassin left behind by Lady. The sounds of fighting got louder as they got nearer to the entrance. They turned the final corner to see Lady fighting against the guards who outnumbered her. But she seemed to be doing fine against them. Mostly.

One had slipped through her defenses and nearly stabbed her in the back if it weren’t for Damian grabbing one of Red Hood’s guns and shooting a rubber bullet to the neck. He jumped into the fight, grabbing the fallen assassin’s sword and taking out the knife he got from his mother. Jason joined in too, not going to let the two teens have all the fun.

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“Thanks for the save, Al Ghul but I don’t know why you bothered when me being dead would solve your curse problem.” Lady said as the guards laid around them and they tried to catch their breath.

“It’s Wayne. I go by Wayne these days. Being an Al Ghul is not something I learned to be proud of. And as much as I don’t want this curse, your death is not worth that price.” he replied, “Although, I have to wonder why you would choose to die rather than live.”

She chuckled, “Okay, Wayne, to answer your question. Petty teenage drama makes death much more preferable. On top of that, I have responsibilities that I was practically forced into for doing one little act of kindness.” Her tone was joking but there was a touch of bitterness in it. It made Damian want to find out what caused it. Red Hood looked at her in concern. Lady went down the stairs, ignoring their reactions to her words. They followed her, not wanting to lose sight of her again.

The Lazarus Pits emitted a green glow that lit up the cave and cast strange shadows on the walls. At the edge of the glowing toxic green waters was a woman in dark blue clothing and strangely enough wearing sunglasses. Strapped to her sides were two Dao, ancient Chinese swords. She wore a vindictive expression on her face as she stood staring at the green lake, likely to kill anyone who gets in her way. Damian didn’t recognize the woman as part of the League but taking no chances, he got into a fighting stance and Hood did the same. Lady calmly approached the woman. He reached out to grab her to stop her suicidal nature when she shocked him by speaking to the blue-clad assassin in French,

“Hey, Maman, sorry I am late. I had a little trouble with the guards upstairs. You have Tikki?”

Lady’s mother rushed to hug her, “灵儿 (líng er), I am just glad you are alright. I knew you could handle yourself.”

How the hell did Lady’s mother get to the Lazarus Pits faster than them and snuck past several vigilant guards? Before Damian could question further, a red blur appeared and went to Lady’s face, hugging her cheek. It appeared to be the same size as Plagg but was red, looked like a bug and had a black dot on its forehead.

“Oh, Marinette, you are alright. I was so worried when your mother showed up, saying you were kidnapped and needed my earrings to escape.” Unlike Plagg’s nasally voice, her voice was sweet and shrill.

So, my bride’s name is Marinette. Such a unique name for an intriguing girl.

Wait what?

Wayne, stop thinking such ridiculous notions. That is probably the curse working. Resist against it. He will not be ensnared in the traps of such magic. He hoped that the curse will be reversed before he turns and act like those fools in Grayson’s idiotic shows or Todd’s ‘secret’ romance novels.

“I am fine now. See,” reassured Lady, “We actually need you and Plagg to reverse the Lazarus Pits to what it was before someone made the wish that resulted in them in the first place. Oh, I almost forgot. Plagg, claws in.”

Green light flashed, leaving Lady in her wedding robes (which actually flatter her body. Shit. Think of something else. Drake with a smug superior smile that needs to be wiped off his face. Grayson and his plans for ‘family bonding’) and Plagg to reappear.

“Cheese.” whined the cat-like kwami(?) to which the older woman held out a brown bag that smelled and made Plagg perk up in delight. He proceeded to open the bag, taking out a slice of stinky cheese, muttering about the greatness of camembert.

Todd cleared his throat and asked in English, “Umm...Pixie as much as your reunion is touching. Who’s the new lady?”

“Oh Right, sorry. Well, Red Hood, this is my mother, the Blue Reaper of the Guild of Night. Maman, this is Red Hood and the one next to him is my husband-to-be and Talia’s Spawn, Damian Wayne.”

Lady introduced them, also in English. Damian stilled in fear, recognizing the name. The Blue Reaper nearly became his mother-in-law. She was famous for her efficiency and ruthlessness. And gained her nickname from the blue clothing she often wore as she killed her targets. His eyes also widened at how his grandfather had gone a little too far now by kidnapping the Reaper’s daughter. There were other organizations that could possibly take down the League if it weren’t for the somewhat truce between Ra’s and the other leaders. The Guild was one of them and having the Lazarus Pits to revive their soldiers made the League a little more powerful. But if what the mother-daughter duo were planning succeeded, then the League was going to have one of its most deadly wars in its history and would probably never recover from.

“Tikki, Plagg, you guys ready?” asked Lady.

“Yes, Guardian.” They both replied and emitted a blinding red and green light which Damian shielded his eyes from. When it died down, the Lazarus Pits no longer glowed a toxic green and looked… like normal hot spring water.

“Oh. I wished I could see Ra’s face when he finds out.” Lady laughed. Plagg and Todd joined in.

“Pixie, I am beginning to like you.”

“Voyage. That being said, it’s time to go home, Marinette. Your father must be worried sick about us by now. I hope you boys can find your own way back.” A portal opened up, showing a cozy living room. Damian grabbed Lady’s wrist as she moved towards it.

“Wait, let us come with you. We need to contact someone to get rid of the curse on both of us. And we can also call our father to send us tickets for a ride home wherever you live.”

“Curse? Marinette, you never mentioned a curse in your call.” Blue Reaper said, raising her eyebrow.

“I will explain later. They can come with us and I am pretty sure Ra’s knows that we have escaped by now.” Lady grabbed the two brothers and dragged them through the portal.

She then threw herself onto the couch after releasing her hold on them and the two pocket gods went to comfort her after her ordeal. The Blue Reaper stood where the other portal was and fed a floating tiny gray horse, that must be the same species as Tikki or Plagg, some sugarcubes.

“You boys must be tired but the showers are upstairs and we might have some clothes your size. Dinner will be ready in an hour. You can stay the night if you want. Welcome to Paris.”

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Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe. @tonicxworld, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @frieddonutsweets, @local-witch-of-mn, @lady-bee-fechin, @iglowinggemma28, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @k-tea-and-coffee, @jayjayspixiepop, @all-mights-asscheeks, @idk-j-go-with-it , @loysydark, @thenillabean, @lolieg, @zalladane, @silvergold-swirl

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(Part 5)

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Cheryl//this is me trying

Request: Can I request a season 1 cheryl x reader. Cheryl always protects reader from people and r is shy but falls in love with the redhead and some who’s accidentally tells her while she’s having a bad day but cheryl is quick to reassure her then they cuddle after going to pops or something and it’s just fluffy.

hey! happy valentines day gays! and get you, two imagines in one day, it must be the day of love. i hope you all like this because it’s really fluffy and i enjoyed writing this a lot!

Overnight, Riverdale became a shell of its former self. Two months since Kevin Keller and Moose Mason stumbled upon the body of Jason Blossom, and nobody has been the same since. 

The town is riddled with secrets, they’re slowly destroying it like a disease. Nobody trusts anybody anymore, everyone is on high alert, and everyone is a suspect. 

Cheryl usually loves being the centre of attention, she has done ever she was a kid. It’s something that comes naturally with being a twin, you share everything and as much as she loves loved the shared birthdays and friends, she has always loved being the centre of attention.

Now however, she hates it. Her life is a true crime documentary at the minute, and all she wants is for the killer to be caught so the crew can pack up and leave and she no longer has to stare down at the blinding lights being cast over her and her family. 

The only thing that’s kept her sane over the past two months, is you. Despite everything happening, despite the murder and the secrets and the suspicion, you’ve stuck by her side. You were with her when they found the body, and you haven’t really left since. 

The two of you are unlikely friends, she’s Cheryl. Bright and bold and never one to back down from confrontation. But you’re Y/n, sweet and shy and always the first to shrink away from any sort of attention directed at you. 

She knows you hate the constant attention recently, it’s something you get used when you’re best friends with the victim’s sister, but not once have you complained. 

You’ve being questioned by police, journalists and strangers on the internet. You’ve had camera’s shoved in your face on your walk back from school and been asked countless questions about what you know about the Blossom’s. And you’ve also been offered ridiculous amounts of money in order to talk. But no matter what happens, you always just rush past them and join Cheryl, who’s always waiting for you with a sad smile and warm hand. 

Due to the constant hoard of vultures swarming Riverdale High, the two of you had to figure out somewhere else to meet after school so you could walk the long way home. It adds twenty minutes to your walk, but it’s not that well known around town, meaning people can’t bother you. 

Plus, the extra twenty minutes that you get to spend with Cheryl isn’t the worst thing. It’s the opposite in fact. It’s the thing you look forward to, even if you are looking over your shoulder every so often 

But today you’re not at your meeting spot. 

When Cheryl pushes her way through the stares of her fellow students with you and only you on her mind and makes her way through the school basement, back up the stairs and out of the fire exit, you’re not waiting for her with a smile that makes her feel warm and a cold slice of pizza you snuck out of the cafe earlier. 

The only thing waiting for her is a full bin and an empty field. 

“Y/n?” She calls out and looks around the corner. She’s met with three seniors, all of which are smoking with absolutely no care for being caught. 

“She’s not here.” One of them says, her blonde hair and large glasses cover half of her face and Cheryl forces a smile. 

“Hey, Blossom.” A boy says and Cheryl freezes. Who knows what they want, but whatever it is, it probably won’t be nice. It’ll probably be something along the lines of ‘hey, did you kill your brother’ and no matter how many times she’s asked that, it doesn’t get any easier. “Maybe try the bleachers.” He says, ending his sentence with a sympathetic smile and Cheryl nods slowly, not really sure what to say. 

“Thanks.” She forces and spins on her heel. 

“We’re sorry about your brother, Cheryl.” The blonde one says and she turns around again. Each of them look sad, with matching frowns and sorrow swimming in their eyes. 

Jason meant the world to Cheryl, but he also meant a hell of a lot to other people too. And that’s when it hits her. Of course you’re at the bleachers. 

For some bizarre reason, only known by your father. You and your family used to come along every other week to watch the Bulldogs play. For a while you thought it was because your dad was trying to get you and your brother into football and this was a lot cheaper than the actual game, but the older you got the more you figured it was because he was just trying to relive his youth. For 90 minutes he could pretend that he was quarterback again and for those 90 minutes your dad would be the happiest he’d been all week. 

Then one week, a redhead sat beside you. In clothes that were far too expensive to be worn to a high school football game. Her parents looked like they wanted to be there as much as she did, but then a boy with matching red hair ran out on to the pitch and you’d never seen a smile quite like it. 

After that, you made sure to sit beside her at every game. And then one day she sat opposite you at lunch. The first few times she was alone, but then soon she began to appear with a group of other girls, but you were the only one she’d talk to. 

Eventually lunch times and football games turned into group projects and sleepovers. You spend hours braiding her hair and listening to her tell you stories of other worlds and the creatures that live in them. You’d sneak down the dark and creepy halls of Thornhill in hopes of finding a midnight snack, and instead be met by Jason and your older brother in clown masks. 

Eventually, you found a different way to get to the kitchen, one that Jason didn’t know about. And when he’d come looking for you, both of you would jump out  and chase him around the house, much to the dismay of Penelope and Clifford. 

Those bleachers are what started a whole friendship, not only between you and her, but also you and Jason. When you’re brother eventually made the team, thanks to a good word put in my Jason, despite him being a year younger. Him and Jason became as inseparable as you and Cheryl and so it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence to see the four of you hanging out. It also meant that if Cheryl was busy, you and Jason would hang out until she finished whatever she was doing. 

Grief is a hell of a lonely thing, and sometimes Cheryl forgets that other people miss Jason too. With everything going on, she didn’t even think about how you were doing. With all the questions, accusations and crying that constantly fills Cheryl’s house. She never even asked how you were. 

And now her legs can’t carry her quick enough to were she hopes your sat. Because she’s already lost her brother, she can’t lose you too. She wobbles as her heels dig into the dirt, kicking up dust and mud as she runs across the field. Her hair swings behind her, and she can feel the red scrunchie loosen the quicker she runs. 

The bleachers have all sorts carved into them. Initials in hearts, some of them still there, some of them crossed out so aggressively that it’s a miracle they didn’t chop it in half. There’s inside jokes and ridiculous rumours. Codes and dates and everything in between. 

But something new has been added in the past few days. 

cheryl murdered jason

and y/n helped

The writing is small and barely legible, but it’s there and the more you run your fingers over it the more it carves itself into your heart. 

“Y/n?” Cheryl pants breathlessly and you quickly pull yourself away from it. Instead you stand up properly and pull the sleeves of your sweater down over your hands. The y/f/c scrunchie remains still in your hair and Cheryl has to stare at it for a few seconds to calm herself down. “You weren’t at our spot.” She says quietly and you close your eyes. 

You let her down. You let her down. You always let her down.  

“Sorry Cheryl.” You sigh and sit down in the dirt. Cheryl looks around before sitting beside you. “I just wanted some space.” You add and force yourself to look at her. 

The sun sits behind her, but even that doesn’t seem as bright as it used to be. Nothing is what it used to be. For the past two months, you’ve been told that thats a good thing. But what’s good about someone you loved being dead. What’s good about watching someone else you love go through life but not really live. 

Cheryl just exists. 

But she exists for you. 

Because as lost as she would be without you, she knows you would be just as lost without her. 

It’s an unspoken rule now, you always text each other when you wake up and before you go to sleep. It’s something you used to do anyway, but now you make a point not to forget. Because forgetting means that the worst could have happened, and that’s something neither of you can bare to deal with. 

“I get it.” She nods. “I was just worried that’s all.” She adds, trying to sound as casual as she can. But on the inside she’s screaming. Because she thought you had died, she thought whoever had killed Jason had gotten to you too, and the whole reason you’re both dead is because she wronged the wrong person. 

There’s a lot of people that don’t like Cheryl, being unliked comes naturally to her. But she doesn’t know how she’ll cope if she’s so unlikeable someone she loves died. 

She has no idea why your friends with her to be honest. She saw you staring at her at a football game once. But it wasn’t a stare she was used to. It wasn’t cold like her mothers or jealous like her friends. No, this was nice. You were staring at her like you wanted to know about her, like when you looked at her, you saw a friend not someone to be feared. 

And so Cheryl clung onto the tiny hint of friendship, the crack of a door into something that could happen, and she shoved herself through it. It worked, and now you’re the only person she’s nice to. She’s mean to everyone else, she calls them names and teases them, especially when they’re rude to you...but you stay. And she has no idea why, but she’s not going to wish it away. 

“Shit, sorry Cheryl.” You drop your head into your hands and Cheryl looks at you confused. She looks around, not really sure of what to do. “I didn’t think, God knows what you thought had happened.” You ramble and she realizes you’re crying. Her eyes widen and you look at her, your eyes red and puffed and your lips pulls into frown. 

“It’s okay.” She replies and wraps her arms around you. You bury your head into her neck, the smell of maple and cherries invade your senses and you let out a shaky breath. 

It smells like home and happier times, and you want to crawl into those happy memories and never come back out. “I was just being ridiculous.” She tries to play it off, to make it seem like she couldn’t feel her heartbeat in her throat and the ringing in her ears. Pretend like it didn’t feel like someone had pulled her heart out and stamped on it. 

“No, no you weren’t. I’m really sorry.” You sob and wrap your arms around her. She falls into your neck, surprised but not upset with how tight you’re holding her. She never wants you to let go. But of course she has to, and so however reluctant, she untangles herself from you and lets out a deep sigh. 

“I’m sorry.” You sniffle. She hands you a tissue and you wipe your eyes with it before scrunching it up in your hand. “I’ve just had a rubbish day. Somebody shoved this in my locker.” You frown and pull a balled up piece of paper out of your pocket. 

Cheryl’s eyebrows knit in confusion as she takes it from you, her fingers graze yours and you freeze for a few seconds. 

who do you think did it? 

cheryl __

y/n __

Jamie __

“Why is your brother on here?” Cheryl asks, her voice rising with each word and you rest your hand on top of hers to calm her down. 

“I dunno.” You shrug. “Your parents are on there too.” You add and point further down the page. 

“What a bunch of dicks.” She grumbles and crumples it up. “Do you know who it was?” You shrug and she sighs. 

“I’ve just gotten tired of the staring and the whispers. So I thought I’d just have five minutes peace before going home and having to listen to Jamie cry in his room but pretend he’s okay. Or for my parents to walk on eggshells around both of us. Neither of them know what to say, and because of that they keep saying the wrong thing.” You ramble and she listens intently, trying her best to find a resolution to all of your problems. 

Unfortunately, she doesn’t know the answer to everything, no matter what her mom says. 

“I just thought five minutes by myself can’t be terrible. But then I came down here and someone carve-well it doesn’t matter what they wrote. What matters is that I made you worry at the worst possible time in your life. I hurt you, and I’m really sorry. Believe me, hurting you is the last thing I want to do you. I feel sick even just thinking about it. I never, ever want to hurt you. I love you too much. I love you more that I’ve ever loved anything or anyone ever. I just love yo-” Your eyes widen when you realize what you’ve just admitted to. 

You don’t want to look at her, but she hasn’t said anything in a while and that’s strange for her. So you force yourself to look at her, expecting the worst. Expecting disgust, disappointment, betrayal. But it’s none of those. 

Instead she’s smiling. And she looks actually happy. Something you haven’t seen in so long, something you’re glad to see, despite the circumstances. 

Oh yeah, you’ve just told her you’re in love with her. What do you say after that? 

“I-er-”

“Y/n?” She cuts you off before you get the chance to ruin the moment. She’s known you for long enough to know that when you get nervous, you ramble and when you ramble you say weird things. 

You’re grateful for her cutting you off, usually if she talks over you, it annoys the hell out of you. But this time it’s welcomed and she stifles a small laugh and the sigh of relief you let out. 

But the next thing she says is something that you weren’t expecting, but you’re sure as hell grateful for. 

“Would you like to go on a date?” 

---

The red lights from outside, illuminate Cheryl’s pale face in the night, painting her in a reddish hue and you find yourself staring at her for far longer than would be considered normal. 

Lucky for you, she hasn’t noticed. She doesn’t seem to be paying attention to anything, not really anyway. Instead she stares down at her food, pushing a few fries around the plate and anxiety rises in your chest. 

She’s already regretting doing this. She’s made a mistake and now she doesn’t know how to let you down gently. 

She seems to sense you nerves because she’s looking at you quickly, a sad smile twitching at her lips.

“Sorry, I just. Jason always used to tease me about the two of us. It’s the only thing we’d take about sometimes. He’d constantly ask me if I’d asked you out yet. And every time I would say ‘no, we’re just friends’ but, well neither of us really believed that.” She says, a small laugh escapes her lips near the end, but she quickly shuts it off. It’s too soon for her to be laughing, too soon for her to be happy. 

“Yeah.” You nod and finish your drink. “He used to tease me too. ‘if you don’t tell her, I’ll do it myself’.” You mimic his voice and a ghost of a smile twitches at her lips as she forces herself to look at you. “I am really glad you did ask me though.” Your voice shakes a little with nerves and Cheryl stares at you confused. “I do really like you Cheryl.” 

“I really like you too.” She smiles softly and you stare at her lips. Sometimes you think the red lipstick has permanently stained her lips cherry red. Even when you guys are a sleepover, she still has bright red lips and the other part of you wonders if that’s just what they look like. 

“Hey.” You start and a sly smile twitches at your lips as you remember an old memory. She leans forward, excited to know what you’re smiling about. 

It could literally be anything, from a musty old book she let you borrow from the Thornhill archive, to a new tv show you started to watch. But whatever it is, she’s excited to hear you talk about it. 

“Can you remember last year. It was Jamie’s 16th birthday and you and Jason were invited over. Jason was there because him and Jamie were planning on sneaking out later that night, and you tagged along so you could keep me company.” You start and she smiles at the memory. 

The four of you sat in the living room, while your mom brought cake and your dad sang ‘happy birthday’. Cheryl remembers how happy she was, and she remembers talking to Jason afterwards, the two of them whispering and wondering if that was what a normal family was supposed to look like. 

You, Cheryl and Jason had each pitched in for the record player he wanted. And even though you all knew that just Cheryl alone could have been able to buy him it if she really wanted, you knew they split it for you. 

Jamie was ecstatic when he opened the box, and then all of the records you’d bought to go with it. He’d played it every single day since getting it, but now you haven’t heard it in months.

“Yeah.” She nods, a sad smiling taking over he face. “Can you remember when Jason pushed his face into the cake.” She adds making you snort a laugh. 

The bell above Pop’s rings and Betty and Archie walk in. They send you a sympathetic smile before sitting at their own booth, and you and Cheryl share a look. 

“Would you like another one?” You point at her milkshake and she nods, smiling shyly. 

---

The walk home is over far too soon, and it’s only when you’re standing on your porch do you realize you took the normal way home by accident. Either the media has gone to sleep, or people are starting to forget about Jason and Riverdale. 

That thought makes you frown and Cheryl watches your expression falter before you look back at her again. 

“Thank you for walking me home.” You smile shyly and a nervous laugh escapes her lips. 

“It’s no problem.” She shrugs and the two of you stare at each other for a few seconds longer than normal. She’s about to leave when you grab her hand and spin her around to face you. 

She’s surprised for a second, until suddenly she feels a pair of lips on hers, and then the only thing she can feel is them. Everything else disappears, and though the kiss is short and a little awkward, it’s still perfect. 

“Would you like to come in?” You ask and motion your head to large wooden door. The pain is chipped around the metal numbers, something your mom has nagged your dad about for the past 6 months. “We still have the rest of y/f/s to watch.” 

“I’d love to.” She nods and the two of you grin at each other. “But seriously, how many times have you seen that now?” 

“It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it.” You unlock the front door, giving it a quick kick before you stumble through it. “What matters is that this is the first time you’re seeing it.” You add and she rolls her eyes but follows you up the stairs anyway. 

The sun sets over another day in Riverdale and darkness floods the town. The streets are cold and scary, but wrapped in your duvet and Cheryl’s arms, you’ve never felt warmer. 

[wolviecore]

An AU where Archie's a ruthless villain who hates the Southside and FP, because FP left him, Fred, and Jug behind (let's say Fredsythe was married in this AU, but Gladys somehow convinced FP to leave his family in Riverdale for Toledo or smthg) and not only is his baby brother in love with a tall, beast of a boy southie fucker, but Moose, one of his closest friends, is also in a secret relationship with the tall fucker's best friend.

LIKE. ARCHIE IS A BOY, RIGHT? A bully, sure. It seems harmless (it's not. Reggie being forced into exile, having to give up his jacket and spot on the team, and shunned away to eat by the dumpsters, is not harmless.

Archie breaking into biology class with his posey in tow after the serpents transfer, that too wide, too friendly smile plastered on his cruelly handsome face staring at the three kids sitting tight in their chairs as dead snakes, stabbed, gutted, skinned, get thrown at their dissection trays , isn't harmless. It's a war declaration. One that no one takes seriously enough.)

Archie gains control over the school young; He's bigger than the other kids. Bigger, badder, meaner. Has a sharp mind, too cutting for someone so small, with enough knowledge to disguise it as innocence when he needs to.

"Fear and respect sleep together, you know, " he whispers to Cheryl. Bitchy, icy, insecurity filled Cheryl, on their first day of junior year, no Jason at her side. He must be hand in hand with Polly Cooper somewhere, and he's willing to bet his guitar it bothers the girl to the bone. "Stick with me. We're gonna run this nothing town."

Archie fits just right with the bulldogs; He wants to lead, not follow, thought. And Cheryl grows fangs of her own.

And they do; Unknown to Jughead, the only person besides his father Archie has love for, they do, and their rule is a glorious and brutal one.

Then Cheryl meets the tiny serpent girl with too much nerve to be considered smart. And things... Change.

"What do you mean I didn't make the team?! I was the best one there! "

She was. She was, and that's what makes Cheryl's skin crawl. "Evidently, we possess anonymous viewpoints of what 'best' means."

"... You're afraid of him, aren't you? Cheryl fucking Blossom, scared of one man."

Cheryl tenses, crimson lips tight. "Everyone is scared of Archie. But not me. This is not about fear,- I cried, and begged, and bled for this team. It happens to be the one thing in my life I have a pinch of control over. I won't endanger that just because of pretty Southside trailer trash not realizing she's aiming too her for such a laughable stature."

" ... You think I'm pretty?"

Cheryl doesn't dignify that with a response.

Unsurprisingly, Sweet Pea has a lot to say. "Northsiders are trouble. Falling for them is stupid, and we don't do stupid," the scowl on his face vanishes within minutes, as soon as he smiles and waves back to the dark haired boy following Cooper to the B&G. "What?"

Sweet Pea, who's torch of hatred he carries for Andrews burns so bright it could blind the sky, fell in love with his enemies' younger brother.

SP HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO, he envisioned a mini Archie; A spoiled, rotten little north side brat who acts like he owns the room. So he rehearsed, prepared himself to hear Andrews' voice from a different mouth when they first got paired up for a project.

But Jug is nothing like his big brother, from the dark of that fluffy, bouncy bed hair to his lithe stature, the elegant bed of his neck when he wanted to look Sweet Pea in the eye. He didn't have hazel eyes hiding hell in them, or a shark grin that raised hair from everywhere on the body.

No, - the boy is all small but scrappy, soft, dainty, if he dared used that word. He's got bright Bambi eyes, layered with a faint blue that steals the air from SP's lungs, and if given the opportunity, he won't ever shut up about those precious bunny teeth.

The fact that he has to keep the boy in the dark about Archie's cruelties cracks his heart. He doesn't know why. It just does. Maybe its because he understands hero worship. Maybe he's not ready for the other option.

Fangs and Moose, thought. Fangs and Moose break my heart.

They're young, and they're revounous for eachother, more than food or air. Fangs is hungry for the gentle eyed bulldog who towers over Archie but still bends down to get his hair ruffled, the only one there besides Sweet Pea's boy who doesn't sneer or looks with hatred.

Moose represses; Is what he knows. But the drumming in his chest when Fangs brushes hands with him in the crammed hallways refuses to be silenced, and the dryness in his mouth at every stolen glance and secret late night kisses won't be parched.

Its not enough. This is not the kind of love you can walk away from. So Moose doesn't.

The bulldogs have an exile ritual; Public. Ruthless. Stripping you of power, of humanity, of everything that makes you whole. It's a brutal spectacle, one that everyone must attend.

Cheryl makes sure Jughead doesn't. Sweet Pea makes sure FP does.

Moose, actual sunshine baby, with tears of heartache washing over his face, pushing his letterman jacket into Archie's chest. The redhead is stoned face, but his eyes are large, incredulous. Pleading, almost.

"You're either going to kill someone, or kill yourself, Arch. I don't want to be there to see it."

Archie's hand travels from its desperate grip on his friend's, - one of his BEST friend's,- wrist to fist Moose's hair. The strength is vulnerable. There's despair behind it.

"This is about the Southside. You're picking them over us," he whispers, pained. "You're picking that southie over me."

The taller between them gulps, teardrops slipping down his raised chin, proud, defiant. "... Yeah."

Archie framing Moose's face between his hands, steeling himself against the gentle pain in Moose's eyes, exploding at the violent tenderness in his captain's hold. "Your name will dissappear. Your worth will dissappear. And I want you to remember that I gave you a chance to walk away. You're dead at 10 pm."

Moose knows; He knows pain, and fear, and Fangs is worth all of them. That's the mantra echoing, when he arrows through the sea of students, all of them gazing downward.

GOD- ARCHIE. ARCHIE SLOWLY STAUNTERING IN MOOSE'S DIRECTION. LIKE IN THAT BULLDOGS VS SERPENTS FIGHT. "Come back," he's whispering. Hes begging, a quiet plea, a silent curse. "I'll forget about this. Come back to us. Please."

Moose's eyes find Fang's. Even drowned in sorrow, even cracked with raw pain, they're beautiful. His lips mouth 'I love you.'

"Do what you came here to do. It won't change my heart. Or my mind."

holy shit when Archie looks over at a SHATTERED Fangs, held back by Sweet Pea and Toni, his stomach coil in such a dark hatred, such a poisonous anger- he pours it all in the punch to Moose's jaw.

"You're gonna cry, hmm?" Archie growls, animalistic, more hell then boy, dishing thundering slaps to Moose in between his hisses."You gonna cry Moose, huh? Cry a bit. Cry for your fucking snake friend and his southie family."

FP BEING THERE- WATCHING HIS SON, HIS OLDSEST, THE SON HE LOVES SO MUCH, DO... THAT. AS a father, he's destroyed.

As a leader, he just. Watches Fangs, pure, good, strong, RIGHT Fangs, cling to Sweet Pea, fingers hooked so tightly into his best friends' jacket they pale. He yells ' they're killing him, sweet pea let me GO they're killing him, stop, STOP-' and FP realizes. On some degree, a bitter one, Tall Boy's words rang true.

At some point, they will have to hit back.

At the end of the ritual, Archie grips Moose's hair, fingers digging into his loose jaw. His friend is limp in his hands, probably unconscious, probably passed out.

He holds this maimed version of Moose, more corpse than boy, towards Fangs. He's so hateful. He knows, because Sweet Pea's disdain stares right back. " LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! YOU DID THIS," he laughs, a sad, hollow sound, bordering on manic. Half madness, half sob. "YOU DID THIS. NOT ME! NOT ANY OF US. YOU."

"THIS," He whips around, Moose swining in sort, making majority of them cringe in disgust, in unsettlment. They're terrified. Good. " IS WHAT THEY DO! THIS IS WHAT YOU'LL BECOME, IF YOU MIX WITH THEM!"

At the very end, Moose drops, but he's strong. He's so strong. He stays on his knees for it, not down. His face is drenched in blood and brushes and cuts, and he won't stand down.

Someone hesitantly hands the redhead a baseball bat, which he grabs, eager to end this, eager to leave. Archie hates the whole world.

"You can live up here with us," he can't tell if the wetness sliding down his cheek is rain or tears. Can't distinguish the wail of pain from Fangr or Reggie, as the bat leaves a punishing kiss on Moose's right cheek, putting him down for good. "Or die down there, like them."

In conclusion, I'm crying.

[lovecinnatwist]

So I know you wrote a star sapphire Dick au, but I raise you a star sapphire Jason au—he always seems to love everyone around him a lot more than they seem to love him and he just wants to be loved so badly poor baby

Hello Anon! I loveeee this idea! You didnt specify a pairing so I've made it gen. Let me know if you have a pairing in mind. I've left it open for ideas.

All are welcome to slide into my DMs with ideas for star sapphire!Jason.

Lanterns Lead Home

The first moment of consciousness Jason Todd has after being beaten to- not death apparently- is warmth. 

The fuzzy feeling of being held by what must be twenty different pairs of hands pulls him back as he wakes. Every broken sob and desperate scream that wants to rattle free of his chest melts away into nothing. The air itself seems to vibrate with something sweet that he can’t put a name too. Every draw of breath fills him with kindness until he can recall the feeling-

love.

Tender touches chase away the bruises and scars until he can’t remember if they were ever there. Soft and caring caresses cup his cheeks and soft lips kiss away his tears. It’s too much and something that he’s been without for so long. For a moment he thinks of Catherine. Who she had been before the drugs. The thought of her breaks something in his chest. He cries and what seems like dozens of voices echo out validations. They sing back welcoming calls to release and let go.

So Jason does but he’s still floating. Still in the warm embrace of what he realizes must be his sisters. They must be because they call him that over and over and over again. A cup of something sugary comes to his lips and he gulps it down greedily. It coats his insides sweeping through him like a scolding saccharine syrup.

Consciousness starts to slip again but insistent slaps to the face jolt him awake. 

‘ Not yet. ‘

He knows what the words are but his ears don’t actually hear them. The woman over him has blue skin and gorgeous eyes that see into everything he is. He wants to turn away from it but she holds him steady. There is another cup. She makes him drink and this time Jason feels like he’s suffocating. 

He swallows more cups until he feels like he's at his limit. Then the hands are moving him and the rocking motion makes him feel sick. He passes from one hand to another until someone is bringing him to his knees in front of a huge glittering basin. 

“ Purge Ja’s Purge and be reborn. “

He feels dizzy and sick. Like he’s still rocking. He clenches onto the cool surface ahead of him. He tries to collect himself but memories start surfacing like bile in his throat. He remembers everything in startling detail. It all flashes before him until he flies forward and purges. 

He shakes and shudders through it. The loud cheers after every heave grounds him in support. Many hands hold him to stop him from falling in but no one stops him from emptying everything that he is into the quickling filling basin. 

He trembles and they replace that one for another. He can’t believe there’s more to give but everytime he feels peace a vile memory twists up and sends him face first into the bucket. By the time he’s thoroughly wrung out and empty- gentle hands pull him up. He doesn’t fight as he’s taken by many hands to a cool pool that bubbles against his skin. It fizzes and sizzles but doesn’t burn as his body is submerged. His eye lashes flutter. 

He gets a vague glimpse of blue skin and pinks and then someone tells him to hold his breath. 

He does and goes under. Everything goes black. 

Most Pink Lanterns don’t need to go through the rebirth. At least that is what Ja’s has heard from the others. The ring finds them before anything bad can happen. Usually during high emotions of love or joy something Ja’s has felt little of. Or well maybe that isn’t quite right. 

He does love, he loves everything. He loves hard, fast, passionate and ferociously but sometimes it feels like there isn’t any left for him. Sure he’s had people care for him, but to choose him first? To love him first…. Wilis loved money, then Catherine loved the drugs, then there's Bruce who loved the Crusade and Alfred… well Alfred could never love him more than Bruce. 

It had been that that drove him to Ethiopia in the first place.

He remembers everything in startling clarity now. His birth, his life, his death and of course both rebirths. It’s hard to forget the feeling of splitters digging into your fingertips and the taste of mud as you dig yourself out of your own grave. Who knows how long he had been wandering Gotham in a fuzzy haze? No one found him, no one had been looking for him. At least that's what he thought until he saw a pink glow.

The star sapphire. His star sapphire to be precise. 

Lost in the memory he gently touches the gem. It’s a wonderment, meeting the sisters of the lanterns corps and of course… getting permission to be- well who he's always known himself to be, Ja’s as they call him.

It had been freeing to be allowed to be nurturing. To be allowed to be tender and to care. Despite the changes that he’s gone through he feels more like himself than ever before. Like his body suddenly fits and he is grateful for the Zamarons for allowing him the ceremony. They honor his pronouns, as they all honor and celebrate femininity as its essence and not as sex or gender. Ja's has learned nothing if not the suffering of smothering his divine feminine in his last life. 

Now he is free.

( He tells himself that's why he hasn’t gone home to Gotham. Not because the existence of the third Robin Bruce has replaced him with. )

He does a good job at ignoring his old life and memories for the most part too. The few indulges he allows are watching digital transmissions of different versions of pride and prejudice with his sisters. Even in space nothing seems to beat human literature, something that Ja's gets to share with the others. He learns how to love deeper. Not only himself but more importantly everyone and everything. Mostly in the emotional sense… while the others- well Ja's isn’t quite ready for the sexual sense yet. 

Like many of the Pink Lantern Corps he has yet to meet his soul mate. 

The thought flutters low in his stomach. While he could easily show someone their love in his ring, the power didn’t work for star sapphires themselves. They simply had to wait for the pull and circumstance when they would feel the electricity in the air. Other members in the corps said that the feeling is indescribable. Like swallowing lightning or crashing into a planet with nothing to cushion the fall.

Though unfortunately, most of his sisters felt that with every good looking creature they came across. 

Ja's takes a drink, lounging about in the Green Lanterns station. They’re taking a short interlude before heading back home. One that the others are taking full advantage of.  It’s kind of embarrassing how the revealing costume and reputation of his corps makes others stare. He hears the whispers and feels the eyes on him just as clearly. 

It’s stupid because he isn’t even the best looking of them all. In a universe full of aliens most lanterns find humans rather dull. He hears the giggles as the others flirt. That’s all it is sometimes, flirting. While other times- Ja's turns the blind eye to Nadia’s wink as she disappears with a lantern down the corridor. He doesn’t flush long familiar with their games. Still a little part of him feels empty.

If only he could give as freely as they did. 

The chair next to him creeks making him sigh. Great, another lantern trying their luck. Couldn’t they tell he just wants to finish his drink in peace? He turns around to give the person a piece of his mind, anger already hot on his tongue. 

That is until playful green eyes fall on his. Ja's immediately tries to escape but Ryner grabs his wrist.

“ Well if it isn’t my favourite Star Sapphire. “

Ja's knows there’s no way he’s going to be able to pull the other off without causing a scene. He gives one more futile tug while Kyle just raises an unimpressed eyebrow. He groans just as the lantern orders himself his own drink. 

“ What do you want Ryner? “

The green lantern only lets go when he’s sure Ja's won’t run. Which is funny considering the fact that he's always running. Whether it be from bad guys, suitors or most times his sisters. It’s something that comes from growing up on the streets. The only place he’s ever felt safe had been… warm memories of the manor and Bruce's smile tug at his heart.

“ What makes you think I want something Ja’s? “

The very clear inflection of his voice Ja's wants to say. The other human has always made himself a pest whenever their corps comes to visit. It’s probably because they are both humans and around the same age. Not that they’ve really spoken about how they both ended up here. 

He doesn’t answer Ryner and takes a sip of his drink instead. The playful smile on the green lantern holds no matter how long Ja's ignores him. 

“ So I'm going down to Terra thought maybe you’d like to come? Apparently Batman could use some extra hands. “

At the mention of Batman Ja's interest piques. It’s rare to hear about anyone from his former life. Of course he does look through mission logs from time to time. It’s public access in the lantern corps library after all- but otherwise it's uncommon for Bruce to ask for help. The last thingJas's saw was Batman, Nightwing and Robin rescuing Hal from a villain he didn’t recognize. 

Ryner is either ignorant to his inner conflict or ignores it. 

“ It’ll be fun. You know Bats never lets us in his city. Could be nice? We could get a burger afterwards. Maybe catch a movie. “

It sounds like a date. Ja's would think it’s one too if he hadn’t told Ryner exactly how he feels about those things. He’s a nice guy, not bad looking from what he can see… but still he needs- well he wants the spark. 

He meets the boyish smile with a frown but it does nothing to make it go away. He shouldn’t. He’s done pretty well ignoring both earth and the bats. Still the big huge heart in him wants. He wants to see Bruce again and help him. 

A tiny part of him wants to go home and pretend like his dad still loves him even though he’s gone and gotten a new kid. One who’s probably in Ja’s room with all new clothes that are fitting of a good son. A loved son. 

Ryner bumps shoulders with him pulling him out of his head. His ring had begun to flicker a bit from the emotional distress. The other human places a hand over it to block the light and Jason let’s him. It’s a distraction. 

“ C’mon Ja’s Earth isn’t like you remember it. Let me show you a good time? “

That stupid hopeful smile and the shy way Ryner really looks at him hurts. He’s weak to things like this. People actually caring about him. He’s practically starving for it. He swallows down his protest. After all it would probably be nice to see his family again. They probably wouldn’t even recognize him. He could go and help and then maybe take up Ryner on his offer for a burger. 

Something light. Something Casual. 

“ Fine.. That sounds ok- I’ll go. “

Ja's wishes he could ignore the stupid happiness radiating off of the other lantern. 

“ Swear to God Ja’s this is going to be so much fun- You aren’t gonna regret it. There’s this one place that serves burgers like the size of your head and the art on the wall is just so hilarious- “

Ja's rolls his eyes as he finishes the last of his drink. 

“ Shut up Ryner and don’t make me regret this. “

The green lantern mims zipping his mouth shut and Ja's laughs.

Turns out he’s actually right as well. 

Jas's hasn’t been to Earth in years and it really shows. The place looks different. Even Gotham in all its dirt and grime feels foriegn to him. He joins the other lanterns in their job of catching and sending the aliens back to a prison at the corps. It’s fun with the little quips the Green Lanterns seem to toss back and forth between one another. Jason isn’t used to it but it’s a vibrant kind of energy that leaves a smile on his face even while he’s fighting. 

With the group supers the battle is over quickly. Quick enough and Ja's finds himself disappointed. He doesn’t know why but ever since they’ve been back in Gotham he has been positively vibrating. It’s new and exciting and maybe it’s because he caught a few glimpses of familiar capes and blue. 

When they all land on the roof for briefing Ja's feels like he’s about to burst from the excitement. 

This time when Ryner bumps into his shoulder it isn’t quite as annoying and he bumps back. It’s playful and light which seems to be the mood with them all. That is until Batman comes down with his dark dramatics.Jas's goes stone still at the sight of him. A blue and Black shadow follows behind before the bright colors of Robin pop up the edge of the building. 

It’s- strange to him. Like being on the wrong side of a mirror. He takes in what he can see of Bruce’s face from under the mask. The worn lines seem just too deep to be on the man he thought of as his father. Even Dick’s posture feels different and the new Robin… Well Ja's wishes he could say he feels anger but if anything he just feels- strange. There’s also something else. It’s slow and thrumming in his mind like he’s running on outdated software. His entire body itches all over and all he wants is to get closer. He needs to be closer. Close enough to touch, feel and just make sure they're real. That they are who he remembers and not just a figment of his imagination-  

Ryner nudges him and Ja's hisses under his breath. 

“ We gotta go. Didn’t you hear the man? “

Ja's had not heard him. The soothing quality of Bruce’s voice always made it hard to focus. The dark timber of it has always been more relaxing than menacing in his opinion. Just- being so close to them but not with them feels so strange. He knows he has to go over there. It’s been years and he probably doesn’t even fit in space left. There's anxiety at the thought, to go home he'd be willing to cut away any parts of him that he needed to. He swallows. It’s a sad and small mindset, something that he’s supposed to be better than by now. 

“ Heard him say what? “

Someone clears their throat and now there’s all eyes on them. Apparently they weren’t being as quiet as they thought.

“ That your help has been appreciated but you are not welcome in my city. “

Hearing it and knowing it are two different things. While Ja's always knew how Bruce felt about metas and supers, actually being told to leave is equal parts hilarious and frustrating. The itch that has been nagging him turns into an entire rash. He takes two steps forward but Ryners hand stops him from closing the distance. He shrugs off the touch, it doesn’t feel right. 

“ Yea? And who decides who comes into Gotham. Last I checked I have a birth certificate sayin i’m Gothamite and that means I can come to this cesspool whenever I want. “

He spits the words in the accent to prove a point. He’s giving away too much- too much information. He knows how Bruce obsesses over identities. It's not like the corps where everyone knew everything. A few people look around and Jas's suddenly feels even smaller. Ryner pulls him back and he can’t get himself to move. He just stares at Bruce hoping- wishing that the man will know it’s him. That he’ll close the distance and hug him and hold him. That he’ll smell like home like he always did when Jason could fit on his lap. 

Because as many sisters as he has now he only has one living father, brother and grandfather. He only has them and Jason wants so badly to be told that he could have them again. Space has never felt like much of a home. As much as the others made efforts they’re versions of love and his are different. He clung to the idea of meeting a soul mate and being full but now that he’s actually in front of Bruce he just wants to be here. With his dad. 

The shush on the roof is eerie. Ryner pulls harder and this time Ja's stumbles back. 

“ Ja’s lets go. “

The hardness of his voice spurs him into action. Bruce doesn’t move. He doesn’t move an inch and it hurts so badly he thinks he might die. When the lanterns take off he hesitates for just a moment. His eyes find Dick’s hoping for…. He doesn’t know what. When their eyes meet his heart pounds and his blood rushes in his ears. The blankness he gets back makes him flinch.

His eyes flicker to the Robins and the innocent wide eye stare is just- too much. He feels like a spectacle. His eyes flutter around and soon he realizes just how out of place he is. Not like he ever fit to begin with. 

Shame rolls over him. He staggered back a few steps. No one moves and his throat goes dry. He turns and flies after Ryner in mortification.

[awhitehead17]

For the prompts: how about Tim getting hurt/injured on patrol? (how bad is up to you) And Dick or Jay (or both) rescue him and take care of him.

Thanks for the prompt that’s been sat in my inbox for who knows how long at this point! I kind of got carried away with this story but it was fun to write and I hope you enjoy it! :D 

Tim had been patrolling the streets of Gotham, covering his usual route and taking out the normal petty criminals as time went on. It had been an easy night which Tim didn’t mind, he was perfectly happy with the pace, after a long and gruelling week, this patrol has been enough for him to work away some stress and to let go a little.

It had been nearing 2am when he came across the biggest case for the night. He had been passing over a back alley when two black anonymous cars got his attention. They were parked together however he couldn’t see anyone standing nearby.

While it doesn’t appear to be much, Tim’s instincts are telling him there’s more to the cars and he decides to hover around to see if something would happen or not. After several minutes of waiting, Tim’s taken by surprise when more cars pull up to the location. A single black car along with a black van park at the opposite end of the alleyway, keeping a respective distance away from the others.

All car doors open and various of people climb out of the vehicles as they move to meet in the middle. Tim frowns as he watches the scene. To his knowledge none of the Bats have been informed about this kind of arrangement happening that night. Oracle hadn’t said anything nor did the police.

How had something like this slipped past their radars? Tim switches his mask into night vision mode to get a clearer view of those involved but he’s stumped even more when he doesn’t recognise a single face.

Realising that this is part of something bigger Tim decides to stay hidden, this is a perfect opportunity to gather more intel about what’s happening first-hand. He sent out a ping to his location to the others on patrol that night, alerting them that he’s going to need back-up. Tim estimates about 15 minutes before someone arrives.

The group in the middle continue to talk and after a pause the back of the van is opened and what looks like various of brief cases are brought out into the open. The men carrying the cases drop them in front of the other group and take a step back.

From his current position on the rooftops above the alleyway, Tim doesn’t have a clear view of the contents inside those cases. After a glance around he makes a plan to switch to another location that’ll give him a new vantage point. Unfortunately when he goes to make a move he startles a pigeon that had settled nearby without him realising. Tim had been so absorbed into the scene before him that he lost all sense of his surroundings.

The pigeon freaks out and takes off into the night sky, grabbing the attention of the men down below as it goes. Tim freezes on the spot when the men see him and everything comes to a stop. Tim blinks at the men as they blink back at him.

Then it’s chaos. One of the men suddenly yell and gunfire immediately follows. Snapping into action Tim dodges the bullets and jumps down to the alley in the midst of the group. Without thinking about it, he starts taking them out one by one engaging each of them in a fight. As he fights Tim tries to take into account how many of them there are and even where the vehicles were parked but the men were making it difficult to concentrate.

A poor misjudgement on his part ends up with Tim getting a knife sliced across his thigh. While he’s able to ignore the stinging sensation, the unexpectedness of it causes him to stumble. In that moment of weakness, Tim finds his legs being swept out from underneath him and he lands on the ground with a grunt.

In no time at all Tim finds himself surrounded and different parts of his body are targeted as he receives blow after blow. For a long moment Tim’s completely disorientated as he tries to fight his way out. He’s not sure how long he stays on the ground but with a bout of luck Tim catches one of them in the chest with his foot and kicks them away. He gets lucky again when his fist collides with a cheek, successfully knocking another away from him.

Ignoring the pain developing throughout his body, Tim kips up to his feet and immediately swings for the person on his right, he follows the action through and spins back around bringing up an elbow into someone’s nose as he does so.

After that Tim finds a gap in the group around him and takes off sprinting down the length of the alleyway. He needs to get away and find somewhere to hide, there’s too many of them to take on by himself.

Tim’s running is put to an abrupt stop when pain flares up through his calf. The shock of it makes him stagger and as he tries to right himself his ankles rolls causing him to crumple to the ground. He doesn’t stop though. Hissing through the pain Tim wills himself to keep going.

On the floor, he scrambles on his knees and hands until he comes across a large stack of crates piled up against the wall. Tim dives behind them, using them as cover as he tries to evaluate the situation.

His thoughts are interrupted when gunfire sounds out. He flinches and curls up against the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible to avoid getting hit by any stray bullets.

The wall and crates are providing a good temporary cover for him but it won’t be long until the bullets begin to pass through the thick wood. He needs to try and move elsewhere before the men come around and reach him.

When the gun fire ceases Tim decides to risk a glance over the top of the crates, he wants to get some idea on how close they are to him. However he’s stopped from looking when a hand suddenly clamps down on his shoulder and forces him to stay still.  

Tim jerks in surprise and is about to swing with his fist when he catches sight of who’s there.

“Stay down. We’ve got it from here.”

Tim doesn’t know what to say when Dick’s authoritative voice sounds out. He’s looking at Tim with a frown and his hand stays on Tim’s shoulder as if making sure Tim follows his order. From the corner of his eye Tim spots more movement and sees a familiar red helmet go by.

“Hey shitheads, why don’t you take on someone your own size?”

Even without seeing the helmet, Tim would know Jason’s sarcastic voice anywhere.

After the comment more gunfire erupts, there’s even more now that Jason’s is added into the mix. Dick’s gaze lingers on him for a moment longer before he’s jumping over the crates and joining the fight.

Disliking the idea, Tim stays put. He really ought to be out there with his brothers fighting but he knows that the best thing to do is to stay out of the way. Nightwing and Red Hood can handle it.

Tim sighs and slumps against the wall, finally taking the chance to assess his body for the first time. The wound on his thigh is stinging, the knife having cut through the fabric of his leggings and catching his skin. The wound, while not deep, is large and is sluggishly bleeding. It’ll probably need stitches.

He moves his attention away from his thigh down to his calf. Now he’s paying attention to it, he could feel the wound throbbing, how the slightest bit of movement or twitch causes pain to flare through his muscle.

Tim hisses when he readjusts his position to try and get a better look at the wound. Lighting from the streetlamp isn’t enough so Tim digs out his pocket torch to get a better look. He instantly grimaces when the bloody wound becomes clear to see.

He can see where the bullet would have entered his calf muscle and if the pain is anything to go by, he thinks that the bullet may still be in there. The wound is bleeding but Tim’s pretty sure it hasn’t hit a major artery, he would be in a very different state if that was the case.

“Baby bird?”

Tim jerks at the voice and looks up to find his brothers now crouched in front of him. When had they gotten there? Is it all over?

“It’s all being sorted, the police are on their way and everyone involved tonight is currently tied up and unconscious. We’ll be finding out more about this soon and we’ll work out what bigger play this exchange is part of.” Dick says as if he read Tim’s mind.

Jason shifts his position and gently takes the torch out of Tim’s hand. Tim lets it go without protest and lets his arm flop down by his side. He’s feeling rather tired now, putting his head back he closes his eyes and allows Jason to check the wound in his leg.

Not a second later he’s feeling rough pats against his cheek. “Hey, you can’t go to sleep Tim. Stay awake buddy.”

Tim grumbles about code names and grudgingly opens his eyes. In front of him Jason is beginning to carefully prod the wound and Dick is watching his face with a concerned frown. After a particular prod Tim flinches and hisses, if he had the energy he would smack Jason.

“It’s pretty bad, the bullet’s still in there.” Jason informs Dick, Tim already knew this of course. “Are there any other injuries?”

Tim vaguely gestures to his thigh where the knife wound is. Whatever Jason says next is lost to Tim as his vision suddenly spins before it goes dark.

-------

When he comes to, Tim’s instantly hit with the smell of antiseptic and is blinded by bright lights. He groans in displeasure before slowly blinking his eyes open again, this time letting his sight adjust to the brightness.

He lets out a second groan when he registers the pain throughout his body. Most of it seems to be centred around his legs but there’s a noticeable throbbing sensation in his head alongside achiness in his torso.

Tim takes a deep breath and starts trying to work out what happened. To begin with his mind is fuzzy, his headache makes it difficult to recall the details of what happened. It’s not until he shifts his body, moving his leg a fraction, that it all comes back, allowing him to remember what happened.

He groans a third time, though this is in annoyance at himself and the situation he’s now in. Thank god that Dick and Jason arrived when they did or else it would have ended so much worse for Tim than a bullet in the leg.

Gritting his teeth, Tim raises himself up to his elbows and glances around the room. He’s in the cave’s med bay, a blanket is draped over him and there are machines quietly thrumming beside the bed he’s on.

Tim gingerly lifts the blanket and looks down at his legs, both of them were covered in bandages, his right calf covered up where the bullet wound is and his left thigh patched up from the knife wound he received.

“Finally awake then?”

Tim’s head jerks up at the voice. Jason, followed by Dick, enters the med bay and comes to stand by the bedside. Tim notices how his eyes linger on his face before traveling down his body, as if checking him over. Dick’s doing the exact same thing as he stands next to Jason.

“Obviously.” Tim retorts with an eye roll. That probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do, especially when the room spins afterwards, he takes a breath to steady himself.

“How are you feeling?” Dick asks looking concerned. He and Jason pull up some chairs and settle down beside him.

Tim drops back down onto the mattress, turning his head so he can keep looking at his brothers and answers, “sore.”

“Well that’s not surprising, Alfred did play operation on you after all.” Jason comments stiffly.

Not sure on how to respond to that, Tim simply hums in acknowledgement. A wave of guilt washes over him at the thought of putting Alfred through that, he appreciates it of course, he would be dead a hundred times over if it weren’t for Alfred. Maybe he should look into getting him a present, or maybe paying for a vacation for him.

Tim takes another deep breath. “What happened?” He starts pushing himself back up onto his elbows, now wanting to sit up again. Seeing his movements, Dick jumps up to his feet and helps him sit up right as he raises the bed into a comfortable incline position.

“You sent out a ping to your position and at the time Dick and I were together. As soon as it came in we immediately headed towards you. However when we arrived, we find you hidden behind some crates bleeding out! What the hell were you thinking Tim!” Jason exclaims sounding agitated. His voice had kept on rising with each word until he’s basically shouting.

Tim looks away feeling conflicted. He’s annoyed because it’s not like he planned for it to happen, he didn’t know what he was walking into and he certainly never planned to get into a fight. On the other hand he probably should have done more to get away or to figure out what was going on.

“Knock it off Jason.” Dick snaps at their brother.

Jason jumps up to his feet, glaring down at Dick, his arms swinging around as he gestures wildly while speaking. “He almost died Dick! What if we didn’t get there in time huh? What if we arrived five minutes later? They would have found him, he wouldn’t have been able to get away and then they would have shot him until he looked like a fucking dart board full of holes!”

“Jason!”

Jason opens his mouth to say something but seems to rethink it, he ends up shaking his head and storming out of the med bay without another word.

Dick gets to his feet and shouts at Jason, trying to get his attention but the younger man ignores him as he storms off. The entire time Tim watches this happen from the bed. He feels frozen in place, unable to speak up, unable to get Jason to stay and feels extremely bad for causing his brother that much distress.

His thoughts must have been showing because Dick leans over the bed and grasps Tim’s hand in his own, giving it a comforting squeeze. “It’s not your fault Timmy. The situation is being handled, they’re all in custody and are now being investigated. We’re working on why something like that slipped our radars but none of that is your fault.”

He knows that’s true of course but knowing and believing are two different things. It’s nice to know that it’s being looked into though.

Tim glances at the doorway where Jason had just left and sighs. “But he isn’t wrong Dick. I got myself into a situation that I couldn’t easily get out of and it would have ended badly if you two hadn’t come when you did.”

“Hey.” Dick’s voice is low, sounding both stern and soft at the same time. Tim blinks at him, his eyes meeting Dick’s own. “We’ve all been in those kind of situations before Tim. Unfortunately it happens, but at the end of the day, we did get there in time and nothing major happened, that’s a win in my books. We also got the bad guys.”

Tim swallows thickly and looks away from Dick, knowing he’s right but the guilt inside of him is making it difficult to accept the words.

“Before we got your call, Jason was having a difficult night. A situation he stumbled on brought up old memories and it shook him. I happened to be near by and talked him down, that’s when your call came in. I think that on top of seeing you hurt and then passing out pushed him a little too far emotionally. He’ll come around once he’s calmed down.”

If Tim was feeling bad before, now he’s just feeling downright awful. Tim doesn’t respond to Dick, he ends up getting lost in his own thoughts for a long moment, reflecting back on what occurred and how it obviously has affected Jason.

He’s brought out of his head when a hand runs through his hair, he blinks dazedly at Dick, coming back into the moment. Dick smiles at him knowingly. “I’m going to grab you some pain killers and then some food okay, Alfred will be down later to check the wounds and then we can see about moving you upstairs.”

Tim sends Dick a strained smile, truly grateful for his brother and just the way he understands these things. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you.”

-------

The following day, Tim finds himself limping down the hallway using the wall to support himself as he goes. He’s supposed to be in bed, resting his legs and getting some sleep but there’s one thing on his mind and it won’t leave him alone until he confronts it.

Tim travels through the hallway, with one destination in mind. A bedroom several doors down from his own because there’s a certain someone he needs to speak to.

When he finally reaches the door, Tim takes a moment to pause to take a deep breath. That small walk has left him feeling knackered! That’s also not mentioning how much his legs are protesting at him for moving around. He takes another breath before knocking on the door and when a voice calls for him to enter, Tim does so.

The person he’s looking for is sprawled out on the bed with a book in hand. When Tim enters Jason peers over the top of the book to look at him. Tim sees the surprise cross Jason’s face, clearly the elder had not been expecting him. He quickly sits up, bookmarks his page and places the book down on the bed.

“Tim what are you doing up? You should be resting!”

“I needed to talk to you.” Tim answers honestly.

Tim sees Jason’s jaw clench, his brother looks away for a moment before he’s staring at Tim again. It comes as a surprise when Jason pats the space on the mattress in front of him, Tim had been expecting to be rejected. Finding that he’s welcome, Tim quickly accepts the offer and limps to the bed before slumping down on it, it’s a bit of relief when the weight is taken off of his legs.

Now he’s there in front of Jason, Tim is having trouble finding his words. All day he’s been preparing what he’s going to say to his brother, he planned to talk about what happened and also wants to make sure Jason is okay but now he has no idea on how to start the conversation.

“How are you feeling?” Jason asks him, sounding almost cautious. Tim knows that Jason knows exactly what he wants to talk about, the real reason why he’s come to see him.

“Uh, better, getting there at least.” Tim answers. “Alfred said the wounds are healing nicely but I’m on strict rest for at least a week.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen.” Jason says smirking, he crosses his arms and leans back against the headboard.

Tim cracks a grin at that and shakes his head slightly. “Probably not, five days maybe?”

They both share a light laugh before sobering up again. Tim turns and faces Jason head on. His bother looks back, blinking at him, expectantly waiting.

“Jason-”

“Tim-”

They both talk at the same time and stop before staring at one another for a long moment. Jason then gestures for Tim to talk.

Tim frowns. “Dick told me that you were having a bad night the other day. I’m sorry that you had to go through that and then obviously dealing with me and the situation didn’t help anything. I wanted to apologise and to see if you were okay. What happened the other night-”

Jason makes a slashing action with his hand and pins Tim with a hard determined look. “I’m going to stop you right there baby bird. You have nothing to apologise for alright. I’m the one who overreacted, especially after you woke up. I did have a rough night yes, seeing you hurt worried me, yes, but that doesn’t mean I should have taken it out on you.”

“I don’t blame you for-”

“It’s not about blame Tim.” Jason cuts him off again. “You got hurt and I should have been there for you and I wasn’t. That’s my fault, not yours.”

Tim shakes his head. He doesn’t like that Jason is blaming himself in this equation. “It’s not. You were there for me Jay, remember, you saved my life. If you and Dick hadn’t of come I would have been a goner for sure. I’m just sorry that you found me in that state.”

Jason stares at him before rubbing a hand over his face. Tim notices that he looks exhausted, like he’s both mentally and physically drained. “You know what,” Jason sighs, “we’re not getting anywhere if we keep blaming ourselves here. It was a shitty situation, one that we were all unprepared for.”

Tim nods. “Exactly. The bad guys were caught, that’s what Dick told me, and very little damage was done.”

Jason sends him a deadpan look. “You got shot and stabbed Tim.”

“Only one bullet…” Tim mutters quietly, glancing away.

He hears Jason huff in both amusement and frustration. Tim looks back up at Jason when he would feel the other’s gaze on him. “What?”  

“Do you need help getting back to your room? You really should be resting.”

“I should be fine thanks…”

Tim makes a move to get up, preparing himself for the discomfort that’s going to come walking on injured legs but before he could, Jason is shifting on the mattress, creating more space on one side. When Tim sends him a questioning look, his brother waves at the space.

“Get comfy, I’ll stick a film on.”

Tim knows he should probably refuse, he should let Jason have his space, but the idea of leaving isn’t all that appealing. Instead of refusing he finds himself shuffling up and lying down on the mattress, getting comfy as he does so, while Jason gets up and puts a DVD on before returning to the bed.

With no hesitation Jason wraps one arm around Tim’s shoulders and hugs him close. Tim instantly soaks in the warmth and comfort that’s provided like a sponge to water. Since getting injured he can finally let himself relax, now feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off his chest. He smiles to himself and sinks into Jason’s side as the film begins to play on the screen in front of him.

[redhoodieone]

Panties or Us

This is a short fic. Fluffy and a little smutty (but not as much as I usually do). I wanted to write something with emotion and feelings for once, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of the fluffiness. 😊

A little practice goes a long way. And I apologize in advance for any spelling errors or just shitty ass mistakes in general.

Warnings: Language, Sexual Content, and Misunderstandings.

Panties or Us

It’s no surprise Jason Todd is hot. Scratch that; it’s no surprise that he’s fucking sexy. Anyone would have to be blind to not see it, I mean, men and women everywhere have shown interest in him and even admire him enough to either want to be him or be with him.

I suppose my crush on him grew as fast and hard like a man’s erection when he took me under his wing. As a matter of fact, the whole Batfamily is training me as well:

Dick is my emotional support.

Tim is my technology support.

Damian is my meditation support.

Barbara is my sister support.

Bruce is my father figure support.

Alfred is my saint support.

And Jason is my training/fighting support.

Initially, he hated the idea of having “train” me. He tried to say he didn’t have time to be a “master” to a “grasshopper”, and had insisted Dick or Tim to take me. But after Bruce lectured him that he should have some sort of new responsibility to keep him out of trouble, Jason reluctantly agreed.

But that doesn’t mean he ever went easy on me.

For the first four months of our new partnership, it was a complete horror movie. We constantly argued. We constantly butted heads and had stormed off like bickering couples. We constantly found the need to hate each other more than ever.

And it was all because we didn’t know what to expect from the other.

Jason had always expected me to be fast, smart, and on my feet for anything and everything. Days of grueling workouts, late night stake outs, protein shakes daily, and lessons of self defense and some weapons.

NightBat, my superhero identity, is still considered the newest member of the Batfamily even though I have been working with them for over a few years. But luckily, I’ve learned how to fight well and even use guns with rubber bullets like Jason.

So, in a way, I became exactly like Jason.

But I never thought I could like him. Hell, I never thought I would ever like him-like him.

And believe me, I never thought I could ever fall in love with him.

But I did, and I’m in love with him.

I’m in love with Jason Fucking Peter Todd.

But being in love with Jason Todd is everything.

It hurts.

It’s confusing sometimes.

It’s beautiful.

It’s difficult.

It’s perfect.

It’s unfair.

Oh, boy...whoever said being in love with Jason Todd isn’t fair is lying.

Whoever said, “Being in love with Jason Todd is all sunshine, sex on heaven’s clouds, happily ever after, and all’s fair in life!” Is WRONG!!!

Because right now, it’s not fucking fair how Jason is staring down at the city with his back turned to me.

It’s not fucking fair how his thighs flex when he rearranges his gun holsters and how it makes me want to grind deliciously on those big muscular thighs.

It’s not fucking fair how I want to run my hands underneath his leather jacket just to feel his strong back and make him moan for me.

And it’s not fucking fair how he makes me want to drop to my knees and BEG him to let me suck his big hard cock.

Fuck. It’s also not fucking fair how I want to please him before he pleases me!

None of this is fucking fair. There. I admit it! I admit that I’m acting like a horny, spoiled bitch on the inside. And it’s not very pretty and lady like.

But how else am I supposed to behave and think when someone like Jason Todd is a sex God on a stick? He’s a delicious snack for fucks sake!

And how can I focus on saving people when all I can feel and think about is how wet my panties are?

“Why do I feel your eyes burning in the back of my head?”

Jason’s voice startles me. I stumble back and release a nervous sigh.

“I’m not. I swear!”

Yes, because I’m really staring at your fucking body, Jason.

Jason turns around to face me. He removes his trademark red helmet and holds it under one arm, while he digs into his jacket pocket with the other; while keeping his beautiful, addictive-staring blue eyes on me.

“Really? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”

“Yes, because it’s the truth.”

Jason smirks. “You’re a horrible liar, sweetheart. You’re just as awful as Tim! Maybe that’ll be our next lesson for next week!”

He finally pulls out a Butterfinger candy bar from his pocket. He rips an end open and takes a big bite.

I softly whine when Jason moans in satisfaction at the taste and when he licks his lips. I suddenly want a taste.

Another thing that’s fucking not fair.

“Want a bite?” Jason asks me with a mouthful.

“Um...okay,” I say weakly.

Jason hands me the candy bar. I slowly and cautiously raise the sweet chocolate to my mouth and take a decent bite. It’s delicious. It’s a satisfying treat.

But it’s not as sweet as Jason, I imagine.

I hand over the candy bar back to Jason but he somehow looks offended at me. He pushes my hand back.

“Oh, come on, Y/N! Take a real bite! I’m not going to get pissed if you do,” Jason urges.

“But it’s yours, and I don’t want to eat it all,” I insist, handing it back to him.

“But I’m sharing it with you, doll. That’s why I offered it to you, so we can share it.”

Fuck...the way he calls me “sweetheart” and “doll” makes me feel all tingly inside. I almost believe and feel like I’m his girlfriend. The way my heart beats fast and slows down whenever he’s near me or far away makes me believe in it more than anything, because Jason is the only guy to ever do that to me.

But “sweetheart” and “doll” are common nicknames he uses for attractive women and close female friends.

And I’m just another female friend to him.

I sign heavily in defeat. “Okay,” I say, while taking a bigger bite of the candy bar. While chewing and tasting the dessert, I instantly notice Jason is staring at me with such intensity.

His pupils are blown wide.

His mouth is parted and he’s breathing almost hard.

He consciously or unconsciously licks his lips while watching me lick my own to make sure I don’t have any crumbs on me.

“Uh...here,” I say softly, and hand half the candy bar back to him. “I ate my half so the rest is yours. You can finish it.”

Jason reaches out to grab it but ends up pulling me instead by my wrist. My chest collides to his, and he gazes down at me with lust in his eyes.

“I rather have something else...and I’m not in the mood to finish it anytime soon,” he reveals in a deep voice. I shiver at just hearing him speak and feeling his hot breath on me.

I stare at him with confusion. “Wait, what?” I choke out, as he shuts his eyes and lowers his head to chuckle at me.

“You heard me,” Jason smirks.

But I’m confused. I’m literally confused right now!

“I’m sorry, Jay. I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I admit quietly.

“You seriously don’t know what I’m talking about, Y/N?”

“I-I really don’t,” I whisper.

Jason immediately purses his lips and stares at me as if he’s trying to decide if he believes me or not. I stare back at him with anxiousness.

“You don’t believe me.”

I open my mouth to say something but I can’t. All I can do is stare at him in shock.

“You know I really like you, right?” Jason asks me. He smiles at me, and it makes my heart swell. “Y/N, you’re my babe. You’re my girl. You’re everything I want.”

I finally find my voice. “You-you like me? You really like me?”

Jason frowns. “Of course, I really like you! Why else would I have spent all this time with you? Why else would I have fought so fucking hard to be chosen by Bruce to be your mentor? I had to literally beat Dick’s and Tim’s ass to be with you!”

“But-but you didn’t want to be my mentor! You hated it! You hated me! You always bitched and whined about having to train me and spend all your time with me!” I say defensively.

Jason throws his head back and bursts out laughing. I immediately frown, my cheeks burn with embarrassment, and I instantly feel like I’m about to cry. Standing in front of someone as strong, handsome, fearless, and beautifully broken like Jason, while wanting to cry is intimidating.

A nightmare, really.

I want to run away. I want to run so far away from here that even detectives like Bruce and Tim could never find me.

Because just the thought of Jason seeing me cry and feel stupid is more painful than being alone and lost.

I can’t help but shake in embarrassment. My bottom lip quivers and my cheeks become wet from the few tears that refused to stay in my eyes.

Jason glances down at me for a second and quickly notices me crying and looking red in shame. His smile is gone. He’s concerned and looks ashamed for his actions. He gently reaches to wipe away my tears.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry if I made you feel upset and embarrassed. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I was only laughing because I never once hated you or hated being with you,” he reveals softly.

“But...but you did,” I choke out sadly. “You

always acted like a total asshole to me.”

“Y/N, the only reason why I acted like a total asshole to you is because I was always lectured by Bruce to keep my feelings in check. He didn’t want me to like you more than a friend. He didn’t want me to flirt with you, didn’t want me to ask you out, didn’t want me to sleep with you, and didn’t even want me to get in a relationship with you,” Jason confesses. He lifts my chin up so I can look into his devastated eyes. “I wanted you ever since I met you, Y/N. I wanted to be the one you crushed on. I wanted to be the one you’d turn to for help. I wanted to be the one you’d run to if you needed someone to hold you. But I couldn’t. Bruce said if I broke any of his “golden” rules that he would replace me with Dick or Tim. But I couldn’t let him do that. I couldn’t let either of them take you away from me, just when I got you. That’s why I had to act like an asshole. If I acted like I didn’t care and didn’t want to be around you, I really thought that no one could find out how I honestly feel about you. But I guess you really believed what I was trying to sell you...”

I wipe my cheeks from the fresh set of tears that fell.

“But...what were you trying to do tonight then?”

Jason finally grins and brings me closer to him. He gazes lovingly at me.

“Y/N...I’m been trying to flirt with you all night here!” Jason confesses with a soft laugh. He lifts his head back up and looks at me with such adoration.

But I can’t help but feel like all this isn’t real.

Am I dreaming?

Did I fall off this big ass building and die?

Is Scarecrow fucking around with me with his scary-ass gas?

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. I can’t help but stare at Jason with confusion.

Jason laughs nervously and moves both hands to hold my waist. I suddenly notice he dropped the candy bar just so he can hold me instead. He even looks down to see what I’m looking at, but he doesn’t say anything or even react.

His eyes are back on me, and he won’t look away for anything.

“Can you please say something? Can you please say anything before I fall apart in front of you?” Jason whispers. He’s so anxious. I’ve never seen him like this before. “I’ll hate myself more than I’ve ever had.”

“I-I really didn’t know you felt that way about me Jason,” I admit. I don’t necessarily know what to say, because I’ve never thought Jason would ever feel this way about me. “I just don’t know if you and I-“

“Okay! I get it! If you don’t feel the same way I feel about you, then just don’t say anything! I’ll understand. Fuck! Because why would a beautiful, smart, kind girl like you want with a total fucked up, zombie like me?! No one! Don’t even explain it to me, Y/N! Don’t get your fucking panties in a twist!” Jason snaps angrily. He removes his hands off me and takes a step backwards.

Jason appears really embarrassed and rejected; he looks as if he’s about to cry.

Because he confessed his true feelings for me. And he truly believes I don’t feel the same way about him like he does about me.

But I do feel the same way.

I love Jason.

But I’m afraid to say it right now, because Jason didn’t say he loved me. He just has feelings for me.

And Jason is about to leave me right now. He’s going to run away until he moves on and can face me again.

But I don’t want him to leave me. I don’t want him to think I don’t have feelings for him.

So, I think of something instead.

I’ll flirt back...just a little.

“Who says I’m wearing any panties?” I smirk.

Jason’s face falls. “What?” he splutters.

“I always go commando in this costume,” I shrug and smile at him. “It’s comfortable.”

I swiftly turn around and walk to the other side of the roof, just so Jason can have a good view of my ass. I know he’s flustered, and still spluttering all by himself. I turn back towards him and grin cockily.

“You’re not uncomfortable with that, or anything right Jay? I mean, you were honest with me a while ago, and I want to be honest with you, too,” I say innocently.

Jason finally looks like he’s got control over himself. He tries to smirk back at me. “No. I’m not uncomfortable at all. But I may need to see some evidence,” he reveals with a dark, lustful grin. “You know, so I won’t get distracted by you.”

I slowly walk backwards until I glance behind me and see an easy escape. “Well, then come and get me! If you catch me, I’m yours!” I shout, before I shoot from my grapple gun and jump off the roof; swinging to the other side.

“I’ll get you, Y/N. I’ll always come for you,” Jason confesses, as he runs fast to the edge to jump and chase after me. Just to find out if I’m wearing panties.

A game that’ll definitely lead to more.

[greycappedjester]

"If ATFO isn’t up by the end of the month, feel free to ask me for an already written scene from one-shot from that universe." is the offer still open?

Gotcha! Sorry this is late 😬

Here is young Jason's POV. It's from right after Year 4 so before Tim and right after Jason was formally adopted (still in training to be Robin)

Here's the first eight pages

-------

Year 4.5: The Vacation

Alright, so here’s the thing.

Jason is a city boy. He grew up in a city. It was Gotham so it was a shit city and the part that he lived in even shittier; but, it was, without question, a city. And one where he had lived the entire fourteen years of his somewhat depressing life. Jason was familiar with said city.

So, Jason is decidedly not familiar with the so-called “great” outdoors. Fuck, he’s pretty sure the closest he’s come to nature is fights with Poison Ivy.

All of which is just too fricking bad because Jason also happens to be the recently adopted brother of Dick Grayson, who has for some unimaginable reason decided camping is the best way to spend a vacation.

And Jason is coming along.

Why? Because apparently Dick’s first thought had been this was a great time for brotherly bonding. Okay, actually his first was that it was perfect for Jason’s birthday but Jason had flat out refused and Dick moved it to the week after.

So, now, the newly fourteen year old is watching as Dick somehow crams a tent, sleeping bags, and camping gear into one of the Wayne’s very fancy and very compact sports cars.

Jason looks back wistfully to the manor door.

It’s probably not too late to back out.

But, as lame as it most definitely sounds, this camping trip actually seems really important to Dick. Like important enough to give Donna his Titans duties for a few days and ask Roy to be back up for Barbara in Gotham if she needed it. Plus, more terrifying, getting Barbara to agree to that.

And, as much as he refused to say it aloud, Jason could privately admit that Dick Grayson may have a very large part in why his recently somewhat depressing life is a now a lot less depressing.

Whatever. So, Jason might not actually think it’s too terrible to spend a few days with his older brother. Even with the camping.

That still doesn’t explain the other part.

“Why can’t we bring our uniforms again,” Jason complains, crossing his arms.

Dick doesn’t stop in his work to get the trunk shut. “Because that would mean we’re working and I’ve been informed by both Raquel and Zatanna that working vacations don’t actually count as vacations.” The trunk pops back open and Dick’s head disappears inside. “Besides, we won’t need them where we’re going.”

“Yeah, cause that doesn’t sound ominous,” Jason mutters under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Dick emerges and the trunk finally closes with only a slight creak of protest. “Ha, there! What did I tell you? Circus performers always know the best packing tips.”

Jason is reluctantly somewhat impressed.

“Come on, get in! We’ve gotta get to the grounds while there’s still light to set up the tent.”

Jason slumps into the passenger seat. “Are you sure this isn’t like you stealthily training me in advanced wilderness survival or something?”

“It’s a vacation, Jason,” Dick insists, starting the car and backing down the drive way. “Believe me, if it was training, I’d pick a lot trickier place than twenty minutes out of Gotham city limits.”

Crap, if it was training, Jason would at least know it sucked for a reason. Doing it for fun makes it even worse.

“You know you’re an heir to like billions of dollars, right?”

“We’re the heirs,” Dick corrects because of course, he does.

Jason rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying if you wanted nature, we could go to like the Bahamas or the Galapagos or even just buy an island if that’s what you really wanted.”

“We don’t need an island.”

“Sure, we do. We could even use it as a secret prison for supervillains when we’re done. It would be great!”

Dick’s grinning, checking briefly before pulling into Gotham traffic. “Secret island prison bases definitely fall a bit too far into the supervillian category, Jay. They'll sue us for trademark infringement.”

“Still beats camping.”

“Camping’s fun!” Dick laughs. “Trust me. Millions of people do it every year. They can’t all be wrong.”

Per usual, Jason is far less trusting of the populace’s intelligence than Dick is.

As if to spite his skepticism, the hour or so drive out to the woods doesn’t go so bad. Jason commandeers the radio so they’re listening to a good classic rock station instead of being subjected to the weird mix of folk songs and pop music that Dick likes. The dark buildings and usual smog of Gotham starts to fade out around the forty minute mark, somewhere between one of Dick’s Titans stories and Jason complaining about a plot thread in the last book he read.

The drive is nice. Peaceful, even.

You know like most horror movies start.

“We’re here!”

Jason eyes the stretch of trees for any kind of sign or even a distinguishing feature. There’s nothing.

“Dick, this is definitely not a campsite.”

“It’s a few miles off,” Dick explains, dropping a bag in Jason’s arms. “I wanted to avoid the usual campgrounds in case the tabloid reporters found us. Don’t worry, I checked with the owner. No one’s used this stretch in years.”

Jason thinks there’s probably a reason for that since there’s not one hint of a trail in sight.

“Where are we even going to set up a tent?”

“Not sure,” Dick says way too cheerfully. “Finding a spot’s part of the fun!”

Jason gives him a look.

Dick rolls his eyes. “Relax, Jay. The owner told me there’s a stream about half a mile in. We’ll set up camp there.”

Jason still gives a token grumble just because.

By the time night rolls around, they do manage to find a camping spot, set up the tent, and Dick even starts up a small fire right in the middle of the campsite.

If pushed, Jason would admit the entire thing is a bit picturesque.

He bites down on his hot dog as Dick digs through the rest of their stuff.

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!” Dick pulls something out of the bag. “Look, I brought stuff to make s'mores!”

“Cool, hand them over” Jason grabs for the bag of marshmallows only for Dick to pull them away.

“Not yet, they’re for our last day. Gotta ration out the food.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. Why not bring enough for every night?”

“Cause then it’s less special,” Dick answers sagely. “Think about it like a prize for surviving camping.”

Because Jason is the generous sort, he doesn’t even make a crack about “surviving”.

“So, okay, let’s say I buy that camping is a vacation,” he says instead between bites.

“It is a vacation.”

“Yeah, fine, sure. Real question though, why are we taking a vacation?” He waves a hand. “What ever happened to ‘crime never sleeps’ and everything?”

“I’ve never said that!”

“You said it to Babs last week!”

“That was so she’d help me run the Poison Ivy samples! That doesn’t count! She didn’t even believe me!”

“Definitely counts!”

Dick rolls his eyes. “You know most kids don’t need a reason to go on vacation before school starts.”

“So, that’s what this is,” Jason accuses. “This is for you! You wanted a vacation before college!”

Dick turns his face down to poke at the fire. “I’m not going to college...not this year anyway.”

Jason frowns. “I thought you got accepted to Gotham U. Shit, I know you did. Alfred still has the letter hanging on the fridge.”

Dick shrugs. “I’m going to turn it down. There’s too much going on right now. Gotham. The Titans. I’ve gotta start sitting in at the Wayne Enterprise meetings soon, too. I don’t have time for classes.”

“Pretty sure, the classes would help with the Wayne Enterprise crap,” Jason says. “And you know Roy and Donna can help with the Titans and Babs and I can cover more in Gotham if--”

“Jay, it’s fine,” Dick cuts him off. “I need to choose what to focus on and it just can’t be college right now. It’s okay.”

Jason wants to argue more but then Dick’s continuing

“And, hey, I know camping’s not exactly your thing; but, I’m glad you decided to come anyway.” Dick gives him a blinding grin. “You deserve to do some normal summer stuff after all the Robin training. And I’m glad I get to spend some time with my favorite little brother.

Jason glares, ignoring the way his cheeks have gone warm. “Shut up, I’m your only brother. And you know I hate it when you say stuff like that.”

“No, you don’t,” Dick says, shit eating grin in place.

Jason flings the bag of hot dog buns at him.

He catches it, still grinning. The asshole.

-----

Something that’s always jarring but becomes really fucking obvious once he thinks about it is the fact that Dick gets nightmares.

Of course, he does. How could he not? Jason’s doesn’t know why he never expects it.

It’s not even loud nightmares with like screaming and flailing arms and shit. It’s just these short, sharp little gasps as his body goes entirely too stiff and face twists in pain. Sometimes, Jason thinks that’s worse than screaming.

Jason shifts in his sleeping bag, turning to face the top of the tent. He briefly contemplates waking Dick up; but, he knows from experience, it won’t help much. Better to let him get some rest until the nightmare goes away on its own.

Only problem is that Jason still can’t fall asleep. It’s kind of funny. He’s never really thought of himself as a picky sleeper before. Fuck knows he’s slept on way too many of Gotham’s mold infested roofs back when his dad was on parole. But, there’s something about the cold feeling of hard dirt that he swears he can feel even under the layers of sleeping bag and tent.

Camping sucks.

Screw it. Jason’s not just going to lay here all night. Least he can do is get up and explore around the campsite so he can have a better idea of whatever “fun” activities he’s sure Dick has planned for tomorrow.

He slips out of the tent without waking up Dick--which actually does serve as a fairly good challenge for his new Robin training--and heads into the woods, careful to keep note of how far away he goes from camp. He feels ridiculously like he should have bread crumbs or some other kind of fairy tale stuff to track his way through the forest.

He swears if he survived living in Crime Alley, Black Mask, and a freaking explosion just to get lost and die in the woods, he’s going to haunt Dick forever. Jason the Unfriendly Ghost.

He gets to the stream that he and Dick found earlier so at least he’s not that lost.

SNAP!

Jason’s head whips around in the direction of the noise.

Nothing.

He lets out a long breath. Dumb, of course, it’s nothing. It’s the forest. Forests make weird noises. It’s reason #357 why they’re terrible.

SNAP!

Okay...that definitely sounded like something big….but, maybe it’s something normal like a tree branch snapping or--

Snap!...Snap!...Snap!

That’s footsteps.

Jason moves back into the tree line, crouching down until he’s covered in the darkness of the bushes. His hands run over the ground, trying to find anything even remotely useful other than a slightly pointy stick.

Snap!...Snap!

Shit, he really is going to die here, isn’t he? In this stupid forest before he even gets to go out as Robin. Of all the dumb fucking--

Snap!...snap!...snap...snap.

The footsteps are getting further away. Echoing deeper and deeper into the forest on the other side of the stream.

snap...snap...snap…

Jason listens, in slight amazement, as the sounds slowly fade off into the distance until they finally disappear. Slowly, Jason counts in his mind to sixty, then a hundred and twenty, then two hundred.

On three hundred, he bolts--tearing through the forest in the direction of the camp until he finally catches sight of the obnoxiously bright yellow of the tent Dick bought, shining in front of him like a heavenly beacon.

He tears through the opening, breathing heavily, just a half a second before there’s an arm jammed hard against his neck.

“Jay?”

The pressure disappears and then Dick’s looking down at him with wide eyes and a slight blush. “Sorry about that. Was surprised. What’s wrong?”

Jason’s heart rate’s finally slowing down. And here in the safety of the tent, in the face of Dick’s patented concerned face, admitting to getting freaked out by noises in the woods seems beyond stupid.

“Nothing,” he mutters. “Just thought I heard something?”

“Heard something?”

“Yeah, like footsteps.”

Dick frowns. “We’re on private camp land. There shouldn’t be anyone around here. You sure?”

Jason shakes his head, face feeling hot, as he sits back down on his sleeping bag. “No. Don’t worry about it. Like I said, it was probably nothing. Maybe it’s just a mountain lion that’s gonna eat us in our sleep.”

Dick pats his shoulder. “Mountain lions don’t really live in this region, Jay.”

Jason rolls his eyes before turning over pointedly to try to get some more sleep.

“It’s bears you need to worry about.”

[watchtower-feed]

Death Do We Part (Part 2)

SSA Spin-off ✧ Jason Todd ✧ Physical Link ✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧ 3 ✧ 4 ✧ 5 ✧ 6 ✧ 7 ✧ 8 ✧ 9 ✧ 10 ✧ 11 ✧ 12 ✧ 13 ✧ 14 ✧ 15 ✧ Notes: This doesn’t but third part will have smut. Words: 2,300+

                A crowbar? Then it comes crashing down against your ribs and you hear bones crack. Your friend screams, too afraid to touch you.     

                You’re having trouble breathing now. You think one of your ribs splintered and your lungs have collapsed. It’s too hard to breathe. It feels like no air is coming into your lungs. You hang your head to the side, staring at your arm.      

                Slowly, words start appearing, smeared in crimson blood.

                I’m sorry, Y/N. I lov

     Your parents arrive at the Wayne manor the very next day, worried, asking about Jason. Bruce and Alfred are shocked to find out about Jason’s physical link with you. They apologize over and over again for your death. They tell them it was a skiing accident. Jason went too fast and fell.

     Bruce comforts your parents and offers to pay for everything from the wake to the burial. Your parents’ request that they hold the viewing together, with you and Jason side by side.

     Before the wake, Dick had arranged with the funeral parlor that your bodies are to be viewed in the same casket. They had made a double casket and laid the two of you next to each other. Your mother touches your cheek before she clasps your hand in Jason’s.

     A lot of people attends the wake. The first round of visitors fills the venue with people you don’t know. Celebrities. Politicians. Millionaires and billionaires. Your families has no energy to turn them away. The last few days of the wake, the crowd dwindles, only leaving those that knew you. Your friends from the party visits every day, comforting each other, recalling what they had seen.

     Your parents, Bruce, Alfred, and Dick can hear them. In the end, they too can picture the way you two died. Bruce insists that you and Jason be buried next to each other. “I believe it’s what they would’ve both wanted.”

     Bruce, Alfred, and Lucius carry Jason’s casket while Dick and your father carry yours from the car to a plot of land on Gotham Memorial. Your parents adamantly refused a mausoleum and burying you on Wayne property would hinder them from visiting you as often as they wanted.

     At Gotham Memorial, they carefully lay down your caskets and say their goodbyes. Dick stares at your arm and at Jason’s which had Jason’s last words written on it. The parlor re-wrote it at your mother’s request. She wishes you could have been together, happy and alive. Not 6 feet under Gotham soil.

     Your family and the Wayne family stay until everyone leaves. Bruce pays the gravedigger to leave the shovels and go home. He takes off his blazer, rolls up his sleeves, and starts heaving dirt onto Jason’s casket. Your father follows suit and he cries as he buries you. Dick takes over when he gets tired and your father hugs your crying mother until there are only mounds of dirt on the ground.

✧ ✧ ✧

      Jason rises up from the glowing green waters of the Lazarus pit, gasping and coughing.

      You gasp awake inside a casket, hitting your head on the wooden door.

      Jason is knee-deep in the water but his chest is heaving, greedy for air.

      You’re hyperventilating, screaming, and banging against the roof of the casket.

      Jason’s knuckles and palms are hurting, stinging.

      You’re panicking. You don’t know what’s happening.

      Jason doesn’t know where he is or who he is.

      You cry out Jason’s name and start pinching your arm.

      Jason winces and turns around to find no one around who could have touched him.

      You can hear something hit the casket and you’re screaming for help.

      Jason hears footsteps striding down towards the pit.

      Your eyes are blinded by the moonlight but it’s quickly covered by a black cowl.

      Jason waits for the woman to reach him at the edge of the green water. “Hello, Jason.”

✧ ✧ ✧

      Batman pulls you out of the casket and onto level ground. He’s staring at you and gripping your shoulders, wondering if you’re real.

      You’re crying and blabbering and then you remember, “Jason! What about Jason!”

      Quickly Batman digs at the grave next to yours. You kneel beside him, waiting for the first sighting of the wooden casket. You almost jump down into the hole when Batman pries it open. But you stop and stare wide-eyed at the empty casket.

      Your instincts quickly set in. “Batman, do you have a pen or anything I can write with?”

      He quickly gives you a pen and watches you write on your arm.

      Jason! Can you see this? Are you okay? Please write back!

      Talia has her back turned while she escorts Jason around the fortress. He sees writing appear hastily on his arm and quickly hides it. Talia points to a room and orders Jason to get changed before he’s presented to her father.

      As soon as the doors close, he looks at both of his arms. One was talking to a person named Y/N and the other writing had called to someone named Jason, the same name Talia had called him. He looks around the room until he finds a fountain pen and some ink. He dips his fingers in the ink to write back.

      Who are you? How are you doing this?

      You look at Batman who’s already staring at the new writing on your arm. He frowns. Jason is alive but his memories are lost. Faster than the bat, you write back.

      It’s me. Y/N. Your soulmate. We have a physical link. I feel what your body feels.

      Jason doesn’t believe it even when the magical writing says it so. He decides to try it out and stabs his hand with the fountain pen. New words suddenly appear on his arm.

      Ow! Don’t test it, you dummy!

      Jason’s head whips around the room. He goes to the curtains, looks under the bed, and examines the closet. When he can’t find anyone, he laughs.

      Jason doesn’t reply to you for hours. When the sky starts chasing away the darkness in place of dawn, Batman leads you to the batmobile. You sit in the passenger seat, staring at your arm, waiting.

      “You can’t go home,” Batman says matter-of-factly while he drives.

      “I know,” you say. “I don’t plan on going back until I find Jason.”

      Batman purses his lips, “Y/N, there’s something you need to know.” So Batman tells you everything. You’re shaking your head as he pulls down his cowl. You laugh and tear up when you imagine Jason flying through the skies of Gotham. And then, after a minute of silence, Bruce asks you about your death. Jason’s death.

      You look out the tinted window as your lips quiver. You’re the only one that remembers everything now. Jason is off somewhere thinking he just woke up from a nap while you have to tell Batman about each phantom blow that broke your bones and your souls.

      He listens and doesn’t offer you words of comfort when you cry. He waits for your sniffling to calm down before he tells you about Jason, his mom, and the Joker.

      “He found his mother, but it was a trap all along, set up by the Joker.”

      “His mom… is she?” Bruce shakes his head. “Oh god,” you hide your face in your hands. “She didn’t even know that was her son. Jason just wanted to see her. Ask her why she left him all alone.”

      You arrive at the cave and you’re surprised to be greeted by both Alfred and Dick. They hug you as if you’re family. As if this isn’t the first time you’ve met them. Dick keeps staring at you and your arms. He smiles when he finds that Jason’s last words are still there.

      “I’m sorry. Have I met you before?”

      Both Alfred and Dick frown. What could they say? They know everything about you. Your parents. Your life. Your death. That week of arranging your funeral made them feel as close to you as they were to Jason. You are their only link to him now.

      “Y/N, I need you to tell me more about your link.” 

      The three of you turn to Bruce who’s taking off his cape and standing front and center like a mission briefing is about to begin.

      “Master Bruce,” Alfred starts, “Y/N just came back from the dead. Maybe it’s best to let her rest for a while.”

      “No,” you whisper, “If you think we can use our link to find him then I’m in. I want to start now.”

✧ ✧ ✧

      Jason lies in his new bed for hours, waiting for sleep to come to him. It doesn’t. After his meeting with Ra's Al Ghul, he’s been itching to talk to this person claiming to be his soulmate. He looks at his arm. His previous messages have been rubbed off except for the small writing near his wrist that has his soulmate’s name on it. 

      He rubs it with his fingers and it doesn’t come off. Jason wonders if he’s the one that wrote it. It’s unfinished but it’s clear what the message was going to be. Why didn’t he finish it?

      He grabs the ink again and starts writing on his arm with the fountain pen.

      Y/N. 

      There’s no reply and he’s getting impatient. He uses the pen to stab his palm. He only waits a few seconds for words to appear again.

      Jason! Where did you go? Did something happen? Are you okay?

      He stares at the string of messages and wonders who’s writing to him.

      Also, STOP DOING THAT.

      Jason laughs and he sits up on his bed.

      I want to know who I am. Tell me everything.

      You’re still in the cave. You were lying on the medical table, trying to drown out your senses so you can find him. You don’t feel or hear anything for hours and Dick has already gone home. Alfred’s gone to bed and it’s just you and Bruce in the cave.

      When you jump up because of the sensation on your arm, you catch Bruce’s attention. When he sees you writing, he walks closer. You show him Jason’s request.

      “Ask him where he is.”

      I’d be happy to, Jason. But first, you need to tell me where you are so I can come and get you.

      Bruce talks to you while you wait, “It might not be a good idea to tell him everything if his memories are gone. He might be unstable.”

      You disagree. “What about me? I’m back from the dead and I’m just peachy.”

      “You still have your memories. Jason could be alone or being held hostage right now. Think about how he would react to hearing about what happened two years ago.”

      Two years ago. This is the first time Bruce has told you how long you have been dead. You and Jason would be 18 by now. Graduated from high school and old enough to live together in your own little apartment.

      “Are you okay?” Bruce asks gently. You wipe your tears silently.

      I don’t know. Wouldn’t tell you if I did. They would kill you.

      You stare at Bruce whose brows are creasing together. You write before he can speak.

      Who are they, Jason?

      Jason mulls over the writing on his arm. He’s growing impatient at the lack of information in this conversation. 

      Fact for a fact, Y/N. Nothing in this world is free.

      Jason relaxes his head on his pillow and waits. You take your time this time and Jason is a little annoyed. You’ve been replying quickly, as if without thought, but now you’re not. He already expects your next words to be lies.

      Then. There’s a barrage of words that litter his arm.

      I can’t believe you! You may have lost your memories but you sure do remember how to be a jerk! Your name is Jason Peter Todd, aka asshat. You’re officially 18 years old but still act like you’re 9. You were my neighbor in Gotham City and I’ve seen you naked hundreds of times that I know you have a birthmark on your right hip that’s shaped like a perfect circle!

      Jason instantly blushes and stands up. He quickly takes off his garments and locates the mark on his hip. It’s definitely round. Perfectly round.

     Why have you seen me naked?

     Bruce shifts where he stands and goes back to the computer. “Tell me if you find out anything.”

     You almost forgot he was there. You end up writing back and forth with Jason the whole day, unsuccessfully extracting any information that might help you. But successfully teasing him about the things you did when you were younger.

     You only guess that it’s been more than 10 hours when Alfred comes down and berates Bruce for keeping you up for so long. He confiscates your marker and locks you in a room against your will until you’ve completed at least 12 hours of sleep.

     “That should be enough for someone who’s defied death.”

     When the door closes you rummage the room for any writing material but find none. You slump on the bed and run your fingers over the last writings between you and Jason until your eyes close.

     You wake up due to a strong pinch on your cheek. You look around the room and find it empty. The sun was already setting. You stare at your arms and find your name and Jason’s written over and over. You smile and use your fingers to write his name slowly and heavily on your arm.

     You’re finally awake.

     You rub your fingers at his words and wish you could write back.

     Not replying, Y/N. Does that mean you don’t love me anymore?

     You frown at his words. He couldn’t possibly think that? As dense as Jason can be sometimes, even without his memories, he shouldn’t forget just how much he means to you. You lightly pinch your arm as a response. But he doesn’t write back.

     You lie back down on the bed and wonder when Alfred is going to let you out and possibly give you a pen. You’re supposed to be finding Jason after all. Even if the idiot isn’t being any help at all. You sigh.

     “Do you really think I could stop loving you?”

     You stare at the back of your hand and then slowly bring it close to your lips.

     It’s an odd sensation. Jason almost doesn’t feel it but something soft and moist had pressed itself against the back of his hand. He feels it again, leaving a trail that runs along the shape of his palm.

     Curiously, he brings his hand close to his lips and guesses where the next mark will be. He kisses it.

     You pull away immediately. You felt chapped skin pushing back against your lips.

SSA Spin-off ✧ Jason Todd ✧ Physical Link ✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧ 3 ✧ 4 ✧ 5 ✧ 6 ✧ 7 ✧ 8 ✧ 9 ✧ 10 ✧ 11 ✧ 12 ✧ 13 ✧ 14 ✧ 15 ✧

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

[sometimes-i-write-4-you]

hi! :) could it get a stanley barber x reader with prompt 23 of the romantic prompts?

Hate (how) you (make me feel) - Stanley Barber x reader

a\n - this took so long lol, hope you like it. i feel like there were’nt that many scenes with him but that’s just how the idea rolled so i promise to post a second Stanley fic featuring more of him.

trigge warnings: angst, cursing

word count: 3243

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stanley Barber was my best friend, and I'm saying “was” because he’s been ignoring me for about a week now. I don’t know what happened, but I guess he just got tired of me, which was not very typical for him - he’s the type of guy to stick with you through thick and thin, he’d walk through fire with you even if you started it. However, it was typical for people to get tired of me. It’s not the first time my friends walk away from me, and if I survived losing them, i’ll survive losing Stanley, but this is different. The thing is, he wasn’t just my best friend. I truly liked him. I mean, liked-liked, like, I love him. He doesn't know, obviously, I'd never risk our friendship. The last time we hung out i almost did it, kind of confessed. Maybe this is what scared him off?

I open my computer and search up “how to get over losing a friend?”

1.  Don't try to force closure.

A week ago, Stanley and I were still okay. I was planning to ask him to go to homecoming with me. As friends, of course, but i guess that’s out of the question now. My mind travels to the last time we hung out.

“(y\n)!” Stanley smiled at me from the porch. He ran toward me, even though he wasn't wearing shoes. He almost slipped over a random rock in the driveway, but it didn’t stop him from reaching out and pull me into a hug. His hugs were the best hugs ever, and nothing can convince me otherwise. “Hey stan '' I replied into his chest, since I didn't get the chance to stand on my toes and minimize the height difference, which kind of made the hug even better.  “Yo, i have to show you what i got! I searched for it for so long, and I finally got it!” he said, grabbing my hand and running into his house. “My dad is, uh, he’s away, which means that, uh, we can watch it right now!” he kept going as he dragged me to his room. His hand still held mine when we arrived, and I hoped he’d blame how red my cheeks got on the running. His other hand grabbed a VHS from his desk, “look!” he smiled, leaving my hand to hold the VHS right in my face. I took it from his hands. “It’s (your favorite 80’s movie)!” I smiled, looking down at the VHS. he took it back and ran upstairs, “come on!”. I followed him upstairs, and arrived just in time to catch him sliding on the floor rock-star style toward the VHS player. “There’s- uh, there’s popcorn bags in the cabinet next to the fridge” he called, and I walked past him toward the kitchen, ruffling his hair on my way to get the popcorn. He claimed to hate it, but it was funny how he’d get mad. “(y\n)! It took forever to- ``''get my hair to look this good, don’t ever touch it again because i know where you live!” I mimicked him. He always said this exact sentence, which followed a “and what would you do?” from me, and to that he had a different answer every time. “I’ll take away your popcorn privileges!” he threatened this time. “Whatever” I laugh.

By the end of the movie we were cuddled up, his hand on my shoulder and my legs over his lap. I leaned on him while trying to dig up some popcorn crumbs from the bag. He took the bag and poured the crumbs in his mouth. “Stan!” i said, punching his chest. He moved the bag and I suddenly noticed how close our faces were. His eyes looked right at me, and I felt my heart skip a beat. He stuck his tongue at me breaking the awkward stare.”i love you” i thought to myself. I didn’t even realise I said that out loud until Stan got up. “What? Wait? Are you serious?” he asked, and i was quick to deny the meaning behind it, thought it was not smooth. “Of course buddy, you’re my best friend, '' I said, getting up to pinch his shoulder. “Oh! oh, right, yeah, love you too, buddy” he smiled at me. “Well, i gotta go to.. Work” i made up, desperate to escape the scene. “Really? I didn’t see your name on the shift list-” Stan said, confused. I forgot we work at the same place. “Uh, yeah, Jason wanted me to replace him, he has a.. Huge test and he didn’t have the time to study” i lied. “O-” stan started, “kay”. I was already on the other side of the door though. 

I later on looked at the shift list, it was Jenna and Carla’s, so Stanly probably knows I lied. Maybe that’s that, so no need to talk to him about his sudden distance. 

2. Give yourself a lot to look forward to

What can I do to keep myself busy? Maybe I can take up a new hobby - guitar, painting, writing. I can talk to mrs. Miller to get more shifts a week? I’ll talk to her today. Wait, shit, today. I have a shift with Stanley. We rarely get to work together, since Mrs. Miller knows we tend to talk instead of working, it was like that ever since we met at my first shift.

“Stanley, I'd like you to meet (y\n), she’s going to replace me since I'm leaving for college tomorrow. I was supposed to teach her the job, but my mom stalled with choosing a replacement. I think she tried to get me to stay. You think you can show her around?” Frank said. Frank Miller. He’s dating my brother, so he hooked me up with this job since his mom is the owner. “Sure thing, Frankey” the curly-haired boy said, and Frank left us to be. On our way here he promised i would like the company, “you’d get along just fine, (nickname), Stanley, for example, is just as weird as you, if not more. He’s the only person to call me “frankey” other than my mom” were his exact words, and when Stanley noticed your bloodwitch shirt, it turned out that he was right. 

“First thing first, you gotta change, unfortunately we can’t wear awesome band shirts to work. I know. It’s stupid” he said, and took a pink polo shirt identical to his from under the table. “And what’s your favorite bloodwitch song?” he asked me, tossing the shirt at me. “Hard question” I replied, putting on the pink shirt and adjusting the tuck. “A gun to your head, what’s your answer?” he says. “Well, a gun to my head… (your fav)``I say, and he smiles. His smile is so pretty, and even though i barely know the guy, i know that i’d love to make him smile again.

I arrive at the bowling alley, step 3 repeating in my head.

3. Meet new people – but don't pressure yourself to find a new BFF ASAP.

“Hey” i smile at Mrs. Miller. Sure, she’s old, but i can befriend her, right? It counts. “Hey” She smiles back. “How’s Frank?” I ask her, and she asks about my brother after saying her son is doing great in college. “Well, he’s just fine” i reply, and with that Mrs. Miller is off to do whatever she needs to do to keep the place running. So maybe making her my friend is not a good idea. 

Stanly is already there, since his shift started earlier, and he was shining the shoes behind that same counter where we first met. The hours pass by, but no one my age is arriving, it’s either 12 year olds or 30 years old, and my hope to find a new friend is slowly fading. Maybe i should just work on my existing connections.

A short haired girl I recognised from school rushed in, and walked directly to Stanley, who went back to the shoes. As they talked, he glanced at me. I hurried and moved my eyes toward the couple who was about to ask me to get them fries. I never knew i needed to be a waiter if i work at a bowling alley, they don’t even tip me here. Maybe i should quit and get a different job where there is no Stanley Barber and his beautiful smile and stupid curls and charming personality. Somewhere where someone else is choosing the playlist and I'm forced to listen to Justin Biber. Maybe i’ll even start liking his music. Stanley and the girl leave.

An hour passed, and I understand he may never come back here to close, meaning I had to do it by myself for the first time. A couple walks in, and i recognise them from school, in fact, i even manage to remember their names. “Dina, Bradley, hey” I smile at them. The making-new -friends plan is back on track.

 4. Tailor your social media if needed.

I took a picture of the burger I ordered, posting it on my story. I tagged Dinna. My plan succeeded, as you see. Dinna is likeable, however Brad pissed me off. He was being a bit possessive and controlling, but Dinna was blind to it. “Oh, my friend Sydney would be joining us, I hope that’s okay, I just rarely get to hang out with her now that I have a boyfriend. She doesn't really like him, so having the both of ‘em around at the same time is not an option” Dinna says, and the bell rang, meaning someone walked in. The girl that Stanley took off with yesterday sat down across from her. “Sydney! Meet (y\n), i met her at the bowling alley yesterday” Dinna says. “Oh, hi” Sydney smiles, but her voice is a bit disappointed. “Well, i’ll be off soon, i’ll just finish my food” i said. “Oh, okay” Sydney starts, but Dinna’s “oh, no, why?” is clashing. I choose to answer Dinna. “Homework. I had to close the Bowling alley alone since Stan..ley ditched me” i said, deciding to use his name instead of the nickname i got used to. “I wonder why’s that” Dinna said, looking at Sydney. “I- i don’t know if i can share the news with her, no offence, but i don’t know you” Sydney said. “Oh, none taken” I say, But Dinna insists. “Come on, you can’t leave me hanging. You said you hung out with him on the phone, and that you’ll give me the details face to face! Come on, you can trust (y\n), she’s alright” Dinna said, and now I know for sure I don't want to hear Sydney’s news. “Well, we got high,” Sydney gave in. Stanley and I used to get high together. “And then we, uh, slept together,” Sydney says. “You know I'm actually gonna take that to go and leave now, lots of homework” I say, getting up. I paid on my way out, and started to walk home as tears formed in my eyes. I refuse to blink and let the warm, salty liquid run down my cheeks, but when I arrive home, my mascara is all smudged and  I'm shaking. I hurry into my room before my mom notices.

5. Have a game plan when dealing with mutual friends.

Step 5 made me laugh when I first saw it, but now that Dinna invited me to come along with her and Sydney to Ricky’s birthday party, I had to figure it out. I haven’t told Dinna the real reason i left, and when she called to ask about my homework progress my voice was still shaky from crying, and i was confused as to what homework is she talking about, cause i always finish these during school breaks, especially now that i don’t spend them with Stanley. We used to finish as much as we could together, but we’d lose focus and I ended up sitting at the park after school to finish what I had left.

I agreed, thinking it will take my mind off of Stanley, but I later found out he’s planning to be there. All I need to do is just.. Avoid him. I bet he’s gonna be late. He was always late to work, and to our hang outs over at my house or anywhere other than his house. He used to be late at school, but then he started picking me up and I told him to be there half an hour before the time I wanted him there, and he arrived right when I needed him. When he found out, he was so offended, so I reminded him of the first time he picked me up at school. The both of us had to write a two page long essay about arriving on time and the importance of being present at school, since we missed the entirety of the first period. Ever since then, he got to my house 15 minutes earlier than he used to, just to be safe. 

6. Try to learn something from it (if you can).

My friendship with Stanley was good to the both of us. We matured together, we learned new things together. We made each other better, and encouraged each other to be ourselves. Not that Stanley was shy, but he wasn't as shouty as he is nowdays. He wouldn't ask someone to homecoming, for example, but he did that at Rick’s party. Homecoming is tomorrow, and i’m going alone, which is kind of sad. I put on a nice enough dress (or jumpsuit, or suit, whatever floats your boat. I wore a jumpsuit to prom at my senior year). I did my makeup a bit more dramatic than usual. Dinna and Sydney promised me a dance from each. After hanging out with her a bit, I liked Syd. i couldn’t holf the fact she had sex with the guy i love against her, it’s not like she did it on purpose, she was high and as i learned when she confessed to me she has feelings for Donna, not interasted in ever doing that again. I was surprised she made me her secret buddy, but I guess it made sense - she couldn’t tell Dinna without risking their friendship, and the same goes for Stanley, who partially believed he had a chance with Syd.

“You look gorgeous!” Dinna smiled at me as she made her way toward me, hugging me. “You look.. Like a christmas tree, in the best way possible”  i compliment her. She laughs, “thanks”. She offers to go place our votes for prom king and queen, and just when we’re done, Sydis approaches us, dragging Stanley along with her. 

 “Stan” Dinna smiles at him. He was wearing his sky blue suit. When he got it i said it’s stupid, but now that i see him wearing it, it suited him. His fashion sense was kind of weird, but I liked it, it was very much… him. “Dina! You look like a Christmas tree” Stan said. “Thanks, man” Dinna said, “actually (y\n) said the same thing. You two work together, right?”. “Yeah, but we barely get any shifts together” I said. It wasn’t a lie. “Yeah” Stan agreed, looking anywhere but at me. “I’m gonna go get some punch” I said, and left.

7. Accept that you may never reconnect.

They kept talking for a bit, and I took a seat on the benches with my punch. It wasn’t that good, but i said i’m off to get one so i had to stick to the story. “Hey (y\n)” a familiar voice said as the sky-blue wearing guy sat down next to me. He didn’t sit too close, but I could still feel the warmth his body was radieting and smell all 3 colons he had on. “Hey, Stanley” I replied, keeping my eyes on the dance floor. “So you wanna dance?” he asked.  “No, not really” I said. It wasn’t exactly the truth. I wanted too, but i just felt like he’s asking out of pity, or cause Dinna and Syd forced him. You really expect me to believe he wanted anything to do with me after the way he’s been ignoring me for two whole weeks? “Yeah, I guess i get that. Look, I'm really sorry for ignoring you, i just-” Step 1 - don’t look for clouser my mind screamed at me. “You just hate me?” I ask, finally looking at him. “Not you, no, never” he says, turning his eyes to me. They looked just as sad as mine, he was… offended. “I don’t- how can you ever think that?” he said. “Are you really asking that?” I say, a sad laugh accompanies my words. “No, (y\n), i could never hate you, I just hate how you make me feel-” he says, and I look at him confused. “How’s that better?” I say, but he ignores me and continues to talk. “i hate how you make me feel so… not in control. When i’m around you, i get all stuttery, and i have this annoying feeling like- like there are butterflies in my stomach. Have you ever felt that? It’s terrible” he says, and then cuts eye contact. The dance floor seems very interesting to me now, too. “Look, two weeks ago, when you said you love me, I really wanted it to be true. I stayed away because I realized that you don’t feel the same and I have to accept that. But, (y\n), not having you in my life sucked, so I don't care if it’s just as friends, I want you to be a part of my life” he said, fidgeting with his fingers. “Stan..” I started, but I had no clue how to word what I wanted to say. I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Look, it’s cool if you don’t feel the same, but just, be my friend again, please?” he said, and as he finished the sentence he finally looked at me. I took the chance. Now or never. My lips met his. He was surprised for a second, but once he realized what was happening, his hands found my waist and he turned his body to me as we looked for a comfortable enough position. We finally break the kiss to breath, but none of us dares to open our eyes, just in case this is a dream and we’ll wake up if we open our eyes. I can feel his breath on my lips, and I want to pull him into another kiss, but first i have to say something.

“Stan, I won't be your friend,” I say, opening my eyes to look at him. He opened his eyes. “What?”. “However, i will be your girlfriend” the words slip out of my mouth, and the look in his eyes was so worth it. “(y\n), don’t ever scare me like that again” he says, and offers me his hand right as the music gets slower. “Now, may i have this dance, babe?” he asks. “Only if you never call me babe again” I say and take his hand. “That’s fair, yeah, it felt wrong” He Said as he spun me around on our way to the dance floor. Looks like i don’t need to worry about step 7 after all.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Defrost

Weather is starting to turn cold here so quick Wintry S2 fluff with a still kinda bad demon kitty.

Vicky decides to cause a snowstorm at the worst time, for Eleanor.

Michael was beaming. This was absolutely hilarious.

It was only his third ethics lesson and definitely his favorite so far, none of which had anything to do with what he was supposed to be learning. Presumably. 

When he’d begrudgingly arrived, all of the humans had been gathered waiting for class to start, Chidi stood at the chalkboard tapping his foot, while Jason and Tahani sat awkwardly at either ends of the couch, as if it wasn’t obvious enough that they were having a ‘secret fling’ the rest of the dummies were too blind to notice. 

There’d been an annoying twinge in his chest when there didn’t seem to be any sign of Eleanor, the one human who wasn’t afraid to sit near him and make these damn lessons somewhat bearable. 

“She’s decided to skip today. Apparently the weather was far too good to stay inside when there’s good ‘Arizona style skin baking’ to do.” Chidi had explained with a groan when Michael had asked about his missing classmate. 

The brief irritation and pettiness that Eleanor hadn’t asked him to ditch classes with her was quickly replaced by a burst of giggles, his hand moving to his mouth.

“What is so amusing?” Tahani asks, looking up.

“Oh, it’s great, trust me! I was about to warn you all; Vicky’s about to get Janet to mess up the weather so that we have a week of insanely cold snowstorms! Apparently something to do with Eleanor giving you ‘the cold shoulder’, yada yada,” Michael waves off, addressing the egocentric princess; “And...Ha! Eleanor is out there sunbathing?! Oh, that’s priceless!”

Why did he never think of that in all those reboots? Maybe because sending murder hornets after Chidi whenever the two of them tried to have a romantic picnic or soak them in torrential rain seemed too similar. But this was even better! If only he could take credit for it.

A flash of white outside the windows gets all the humans to their feet as they turn to see Michael’s words come to fruition. Heavy, sharp winds carrying the thickest of snowflakes begin whirling around and burying the ground outside in a quickly rising layer of powder.

“Oh, so THAT’S snow! Awesome!” Of course the Florida DJ hadn’t ventured far enough beyond his swamp city to see such weather before; “I wanna go eat it!”

“Trust me! You really don’t wanna go out in that, it’s not designed to be fun. I’m supposed to make some announcement to be broadcast in your homes later about a glitch and you all needing to stay inside.” Michael warns them of that.

Chidi turns on him; “And you said Eleanor’s out in that?!”

“Yeah! Imagine her trying to make her way back in that! She’s probably frozen solid already. That’ll teach her to skip class, right, Teach?” He raises his hand in the air.

Chidi leaves him hanging. As does Tahani. Not even Jason will indulge him.

Ugh. So much for a team. He drops his hand down as their stares on him turn to full on glaring.

“Tough room.” Michael puts his hands in his pockets.

“You’re supposed to not torture us anymore, you need to go make sure she’s okay.” Chidi tells him.

Oh, for fork’s sake. Why should he do that when Eleanor was gonna leave him to endure this dumb lecture while she got to relax and top her tan up? This was the best he was going to get to payback...as well as for the eight hundred previous defeats that he seemed to care less and less about each day.

“She’ll be fine! It’s only a bit of snow. And anyway, this isn't my torture, it's Vicky’s - speaking of which, Janet will be offline for a little bit as she’s supposed to be helping fix this, but it’s really just to make your quarantine more boring.”

See? He’s nice enough to fill them in on that and what thanks does he get?

“Okay then, I’ll go-.” Chidi starts towards the door.

Michael huffs and blocks the professor’s path; “No, you’re supposed to stay in...Plus your limbs might fall off from frostbite in five minutes.”

“You just said-.”

“I know what I said, she’ll still be fine...” Michael turns and stomps his way out the door, muttering under his breath; “...So long as I find her quick.” He clears his throat and exits into the snowy chaos.

It’s lucky his extra senses are able to help him find the path towards the beach, as the fog is getting denser along with the downpour. He snaps a pair of snow boots on to help him trudge through where his loafers don’t help quite as much, along with a long, blue coat flapping behind him. He doesn’t feel the cold as bad as the humans would, but it’s still a pain in the ash. It’s bad enough relinquishing control of his experiment, now his beautiful torture city is going to be wrecked by this wintry storm. 

He hopes he wins some major extra credit scores in these ethics lessons for journeying out into this to help bring one filthy cockroach back...even if she was the most enjoyable cockroach to be around. 

A claw reaches out to grip his ankle.

“AH, SHIRT!” He almost trips, at first expecting one of the ice demons to have taken off their skin and planning to surprise him; “Sven, is that you?!”

He glances down, seeing the hand still exposed through the snow on the ground, his sight adjusting to make out the fallen form, half-buried alive...well, close enough.

Oh. Crab.

He kneels down and digs the inches of snow away, exposing Eleanor’s shivering, half-naked form on the ground. Her hair is damp and her lips nearly bright blue, arms hugged tight around herself, her swimsuit possibly making her more cold than if she was wearing nothing at all.

“Eleanor? Eleanor, can you hear me?” He shakes her by the shoulder.

Flakes are caught in her eyelashes as she tries to open her lids, teeth chattering like those little wind-up novelty set he has in his cabinet.

“H-h-h-hey b-b-bud.” She says, smaller and weaker than he’s ever heard her; “C-c-care to t-t-turn up the...th-thermostat...a b-b-bit?” 

About another twenty degrees Celsius? 

Michael sighs, brushing the snow away from her hair, though more quickly falls on her. He knows he should take this moment to mock her, to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see her in true misery...But he’s pretty sure she’s going to pass out at any moment. And, damn it, has she always been this small?

He shrugs his coat off and swaddles it around her frame, trying to make sure every corner is tucked in against the icy wind, before he lifts her up.

Her head turns to find its way to the crook of his neck.

“Wow....H-h-how are you so warm? You made of f-f-fire?” She whispers, jaw still moving rapidly beyond her control.

“Yes.” Is as much as he reveals, for now. 

He scoops her close in his arms, turning to go back to the clown house before spotting Vicky beyond some trees, possibly on her way to look for him.

Cursing inward, he turns and heads back towards the rocks near the beach.

“R-r-really not in the mood for a beach read r-right now, man.” Eleanor barely has the strength to stand in her giant coat burrito as Michael releases her near some boulders.

Michael snaps his fingers, summoning an igloo behind the giant rocks, out of easy line of sight for any potential scouting demons, though he knows not many venture this far out - usually making it the perfect spot for his and Eleanor’s after-school study groups (aka the Make Fun of Chidi and Forget To Study groups).

“Oh, n-nice! An ice house for me to f-f-freeze in some more!” Eleanor’s quickly numbing face makes it difficult for the sarcasm to translate on her face.

Michael rolls his eyes and nudges her to get inside.

Obviously, it’s no mere igloo. It’s more like one of those ‘glamping’ - as Tahani would say and then lose points for using - pods or tents, essentially a portable mini-apartment with a sofa, a TV, a stove and a lit fireplace that doesn’t melt the walls. Because magic. 

“F-f-fork...I t-take it back,” Eleanor exclaims, swaying as she clutches the coat around her and glances at the surroundings which are, of course, bigger than the outside would allude to; “This is pretty swe...Sweet set...”

Michael sees her begin to fall to the floor despite being no where near the large sofa. He catches her and hurries her over to the fireplace, snapping his fingers to ignite some more flames.

“Better?” He asks, rubbing her arms, watching her aura and studying her vitals.

Probably not the best thing for a human to get hypothermia, even when already dead. Especially so. The ones being tortured in the snowy Bad Place neighbourhoods looked rather happy, though that was mainly because their mouths were frozen in permanent smiles, the ice forever smothering their screams.

Eleanor nods a little, before shuffling out of the coat.

“T-that things too wet...So is this...” She gestures to her skimpy blue bathing suit, struggling to move her numb fingers; “Dude...gimmie a hand?”

A hand? Wait.

She wants him to...? Oh. Right. 

His throat suddenly goes dry, which is ridiculous as he shouldn’t ever need to hydrate. Michael nods, moving his fingers to fumble the knot on her back, allowing the bra to slide off of her after a couple of minutes.

He hears her chuckle; “Wow, even demon boys still struggles to get a human bra off, huh?”

Michael feels the blush on his cheek, not having expected that to be a skill he would need to learn.

He watches her keep her back to him, pushing her bottoms down to her ankles before kicking them aside on the warm, white ‘carpet’ he made up for the igloo, before she shuffles as close as she can to the fireplace. Sitting bare naked and not seeming to give a fork that he can see every inch of her.

Thank Upper Management the whole shivering and blue-tinted skin doesn’t make her the least bit attractive...Not that she ever was...Gross, dumb human.

“Lemmie guess...Vicky’s latest idea? Why didn’t you tell me, man? I thought we were a team.” She berates over her shoulder to him.

“Hey, I was going to tell you and the others at class. It’s not my fault you decided to ditch without giving me a heads up.” He tries to look away as the side of her breast is in view when she turns and this...Damn it, why does she have to be so carefree and public with her nudity?

She smirks; “What’s the matter, dude? First time you seen a hot human naked you weren’t covering with scorpions?”

“Please, as if I care if your skins are covered or not.” He rubs the back of his neck; “You should be thanking me! I decided to venture out into this weather to rescue you, of my own accord, with no external persuasions needed!”

“Chidi told you to find me, didn’t he.”

“Yes, he did. But I could’ve said no and I didn’t. So...” He shrugs; “Progress?” Is it? He’s still new at this.

Eleanor suddenly starts to laugh and Michael can’t help but smile. He takes it that he’s right then. He notices that her face is still rather off-color, her lips now a shade of lilac, even though her shivering isn’t as violent as it was when he found her.

His chest aches, just for a second, as he remembers hesitating to come out. 

How he’d been excited at the idea of Eleanor suffering from this...Why wasn’t it enjoyable to see it happening before him?

“Uhm, Janet’s gonna be AWOL for a couple hours...But I could get something to warm you up? Humans like drinking warm liquified chocolate when it’s cold, right? Or I could fill one of those bags with dangerously scalding liquid?” 

“How about you just bring that internal fire of yours over here, bud?” She curls a finger at him, her other still wrapped around her shoulder; “You can be my hot water bottle while we wait this out.”

He isn’t sure what she means about that until he goes to sit next to her and, suddenly, Eleanor is grabbing his arms and folding them around herself as if he were now the wrap to make up her human-flavoured burrito. Her hands grip his, tight, bringing them around to rest around her stomach.

Michael shifts, awkwardly. He’s still getting used to the whole ‘hugging’ thing, which was mostly something Eleanor did as her own torture to annoy him, also Jason sometimes not having much of a concept of a personal space. It’s a whole other set of issues he thinks to put his arms around her when she’s completely naked. She has no qualms about leaning back into him.

“Awww, yeah, that’s nice. Demons make for good bean-bag chairs.” She smirks as she snuggles into him.

He isn’t sure whether to be flattered or insulted.

“Am I...helping then?” He asks, oddly nervous.

“Mmm hmm.” She hums, her heartrate steadying a little, as well as the pink returning to her lips.

The glow that fills Michael’s chest as he watches her smile in his arms, that sated buzz rushing through his stomach, is what he had expected to feel from seeing her be successfully tortured. Instead it had brought him some weird after-sad sensation that was new and frightening. And yet, helping her, making her better...That was the result that made him feel better?

Holy shirt....What was happening to him?

“You okay there, buddy?” Eleanor asks after a while, “You’ve got the look I used to have when someone told me they were bringing their toddlers out to lunch with me.”

He shakes his head; “S’fine....A-are you okay?” His hands shift around her middle, wanting to make sure she’s getting as much warmth as she can from him.

For some reason it matters a lot that she is. The softness of her skin beneath his fingertips is distracting him from working out what he’s heard in his ethics lessons so far that might explain this. 

“Well, sat nude in an igloo, cuddling up to the demon who tortured me for three hundred years, isn’t quite the weirdest thing that’s happened to me in this place...but it’s also far from the worst.” She quips.

He feels as if he could melt now, that look she’s giving him making his essence fizz like a well-shaken soda bottle.

“Thanks for coming to get me...Eventually.” She says, moving a cold hand up to touch his cheek; “Damn, that touch would be good payback if you were human.”

“Sorry.” He smirks back; “I can’t help being a hot Architect, Eleanor.”

“And they call me full of myself!” She grins; “Whatever, we’re right and we should say it.”

That’s not what he meant but...Sure, he’ll take that. 

“Actually...your face could do with helping mine warm up.” Eleanor’s thumb brushes against the corner of his mouth.

Michael frowns; “...Really? How?”

She smiles, a twinkle in her eyes; “Like this.”

She moves in close, before he can even comprehend her next action, pressing her lips against his and sucking, lightly, her tongue invading his mouth while her hand gently head his head in place. Michael freezes, to start, stunned in shock and confusion. 

Do humans really do this just to...warm up? He wouldn’t be against the idea if that was the case, but...This is Eleanor Shellstrop in front of him, Arizona born and bred, almost ninety per cent of her actions were a pathway to sex.

Fork!

Michael pulled back, ignoring the softness of her lips, resisting the temptation to lose himself in...whatever that was.

“Ugh! Gross! Why do humans do that? Your food holes are for eating, you horny dinguses!” He makes a show of rubbing his lips on his hand.

Eleanor is laughing again; “Oh my god, you’d think I gave you cooties or something!”

“Is that a thing?! A human disease?! Do I need to disinfect myself?”

He starts to shuffle away but she reaches to grab his hand; “Relax, Mikey...It was just a bit of fun. Don’t worry, if you’re not into gross humans, I’ll be all good and pure and restrained...for one day.” 

He gulps, feeling as though he should be relieved; “G-good. W-why would I ever want to...Again...I mean. Good. Thank you.”

Now he has to stop his eyes from looking at her again, now that she’s warmed up and dried, no longer shaking like a leaf and looking smaller than usual. She’s sat in the glow of the fireplace, giving him that smile she had every time she saw through him, saw who he was, always too impressed or pleased with herself to be angry at him. 

Damn it, he should have left her to freeze.

You know you couldn’t do that. Not anymore.

She’s beaten you. Accept it.

“If you’re not gonna warm me up the fun way, the least you can do is snap us some hot chocolate.” Eleanor says, turning back to the fire and putting her palms up.

Michael sighs. Yes. That he can do, easy.

“And some dry comfy clothes....I wouldn’t wanna prolong your torture any longer.” She winks at him; “It’s only fair.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #318

“what can you do, where can ya go, when your mama is a burnout, and your daddy is a pyro?”

Do you have your ears pierced more than once? Yeah. Do you use an electric toothbrush? Yes. When was the last time you changed in front of someone? Oh, I have no idea. That's something I avoid like the plague because I loathe my body. When was the last time you got high? Never. Do you get along with your parents? Yeah. How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? None. Have you ever used a Ouija board? No, I don't fuck with that stuff. Have you ever met anyone who claimed to be a witch? Yes. Do you go along with prank-callers, or just hang up? I don't answer numbers I don't recognize to begin with. Would you ever tattoo a lover’s name onto your body? Nooooo. Do you own any version of Guitar Hero? I have a lot of 'em. Do you use mouthwash every single day? No. Do you know anyone with asthma? Yeah, my mom. Have you ever walked through a forest at night on your own? Uh, no sir. When was the last time you were in a graveyard? It's been many, many years. Do you know what an ‘AMV’ is? Yep, used to make 'em. How many items are in your recycle bin? (On your computer!) Oh yikes, probably loads. I haven't emptied it in... I don't know how long. Would you rather be a bird or a fish? A bird. What’s one award show you have to watch every year? None. Who do you like more: the Batman or the Joker? Joker. Heath Ledger's is my favorite. Have you ever had a pet rock? No. How much do you weigh? Yeah, no. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Taking nature photographs. Have you ever lost your luggage at an airport? No. Have you ever been on a rollercoaster that actually scared you? I don’t do roller coasters to begin with. Have you ever gone in a sauna? Ugh, hell no. Has a stray dog ever tried to bite you? No. Have you ever had an eating disorder? No. Are you attracted to people outside of your race? Yes. Are you in love with anyone at the moment? No. Have you ever dated someone more than once? No. Best cough drop? Those creamy strawberry ones. If you have a pet, does it make a lot of noise? One's a snake, so she's silent as could be. My cat is generally quiet, but he has his times where he just walks around meowing, normally for attention. Are you a fan of eyeshadow? If I actually wear makeup, yeah, I like black eyeshadow. Can you tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi? Absolutely. I don't like Pepsi. Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? Done it before, didn't feel weird. Besides furniture, what’s the biggest thing in your bedroom? A Silent Hill poster. Which of your friends makes you laugh the hardest? Girt. Have you ever been in a Catholic confessional? Yeah, as a kid. What color was the hair of the last person you kissed? Brown. What was the title of the last song you listened to? So today I've really been digging dark synthwave/cyberpunk-ish music, and right now I have a playlist on that's currently playing "DNA War" by Absolute Valentine and Billy Mays. How far away is the closest Walmart? Not even five minutes. Can you do a backflip? No. Who is the lead singer of your favorite band? Well, Ozzy is the lead singer of Ozzy Osbourne, haha. When was the last time you went fishing? Not since Sara visited and we went catfishing with my dad one night. What brand of deodorant do you use? Secret. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yes. Do you regret it? Nah. Who was the last person to buy you a drink? My mom, lmaoooo. Who was the last person to buy you dinner? Also my mom, haha. How old is the oldest person you’ve dated? Juan's maybe like... 28 or something by now, idk. Have you ever run a stoplight? No. Have you ever dated someone & then dated their sibling? YIKES, no. That sounds miles beyond awkward. Are both your parents still living? Yeah, thankfully. What’s something that makes you feel more creative? Music, for sure. Do you collect Mason jars to use for crafts? No, but I do find those super cute. What gives you a quality of life? Not much nowadays, idk. What would give you a high quality of life? A sense of purpose, direction, and worth. Do you have any rugs on top of carpet in your home? We have a big one in our living room, yes. I don't get it. Do you have a mattress cover on your bed? Yeah. Do you hate taking naps during the day? No; naps are normal for me. Who has the best personality on YouTube? Maybe I'm biased, but I genuinely do think Mark for a multitude of reasons. He's just extremely likable imo and sincerely a fucking spectacular human being. Do you have any vinyl records? No, but I would love to collect classic rock and metal ones. Which serial killer(s) do you find most fascinating? I'm quite honestly not well-informed in serial killer stories. I think they're interesting, but not enough for me to learn about them. Have you ever visited any celebrity gravesites? No. How do you feel about archaeology? It's fuckin dope. Any animals whose behaviors you find particularly interesting? ALL OF THEM AHHHH!!!!! But I particularly love learning about social animals, like meerkats (mongoose in general, really), African wild dogs, wolves, etc. What are your thoughts on gun control? I don't support the idea of banning firearms altogether, but I am very much in favor of some reform. There needs to be a much, much more strict and complex system in order for you to legally own a gun, and I also support periodic "check ups" to ensure you still fit whatever criteria is laid out. "Bad people will still find guns;" yes, some most certaintly will, but you can't convince me that the numbers wouldn't decrease. It would take a serious villain to put so much effort into pursuing obtaining a firearm. Do you like animals better than most humans? Sure do. Have you ever had to block people online for harassing you? I've blocked people to prevent that. If you collect anything, what is your favorite piece of that collection? I cherish the plush meerkat Jason gave me most, probably; out of my Silent Hill stuff, the limited edition Revelation flyer I have in Japanese. Are you friends with anybody you didn’t like at first? Hi, meet my best friend lmao. Are there any musicians you didn’t like at first, but grew on you? Probably. Do you have any favorite books you’d like to have signed by the author? Not really. Well wait, Ozzy signing my copy of his autobiography would be pretty damn cool. Do you like any board games or card games? I'm not really a board game fan, but Magic: The Gathering is fun as far as card games go. What historical figure(s) are you most interested in? I'm not incredibly interested in any, but I do think Pharaoh Hatshepsut was a bad bitch. She was one of the extremely few female pharaohs, and if my memory serves me right, one of the most successful. Do you like Breaking Benjamin? I sure do. How many people of the opposite sex have you told you loved them? One. Have you ever had to change your phone number? Yes, because I was getting strange texts from numbers I didn't know. Have you ever played bingo at an actual bingo hall? No. What’s your favourite comic book/graphic novel? I don’t read any. What is something you take pride in? How far I've come as far as my mental illnesses go, particularly depression and PTSD. What’s the biggest magnet on your fridge? I'm not getting up to go look. Have you ever eaten a Big Mac? No; I hate lettuce on burgers, so. What brand is your vaccuum cleaner? Dunno. Do you believe in sex before marriage? Sure, but I don't believe it's a must for everyone. Plenty of people don't even want to get married. Be intimate once you're comfortable with the person, and be safe and smart about it. Are you for or against abortion? I'm pro-choice. Do you feel like you need to lose weight? It's fact that I need to. My body just doesn't want to, afuckingpparently. All I seem to be capable of is either maintain or gain nowadays. Is summer your favorite season? It's my least favorite, actually. Do you wear glasses? I'm basically blind without 'em. Can you say the alphabet in more than one language? Yeah, in German. What do you want out of life? To feel like I made a difference, even if it's a small one. Do you ever get carsick? No. Do you groom your eyebrows? Not really anymore, no. Have you ever liked someone who treated you badly? No. When was the last time you went in the car past midnight? Oh boy, probably not since I had my cyst in I think '16. I was in so much agony and we had no painkillers, so I had to wake up Mom to go to Walmart to grab some. They barely even helped at all. God, I couldn't imagine dealing with that again. Were your last two kisses with the same person? Yes. Do you have alcohol in your house? I don't think we do right now, no. Do you have any personal fashion rules that revolve around your own preferences/body type (e.g., you never/always wear a certain color, sleeve type, or length of dress)? Yeah; I don't wear anything that shows my legs unless I shaved, but I will never wear a dress that isn't at least past my knees. Do you remember any celebrity whose style you admired when you were a teen? What do you think of that style now? Avril Lavigne was/is an ICON. I still think she looks badass. So, is it gif with a hard G or soft G? I used to say the opposite, but I say "gif" now. Apparently that's how the creator of the term says it anyway. When you are invited to things like wedding showers or baby showers do you tend to go or skip? What about graduation parties? If Mom is able to take me, I'll try to go to the first two if they're my closer friends. Do you like spicy chips? Oh FUCK yes. What’s the last movie you watched at a friend’s house? Elf with Sara's fam. Can you remember your parents’ birthdays? Mom's, yes. Dad's, only the month. Do you read your friends' surveys? Yep, I love learning about them. Do you know anyone with a glass eye? Not to my knowledge, no. Do you ever use the n-word? Absolutely not. What piercing do you like most on the opposite sex? I tend to like lip piercings. Do you prefer beef, chicken or steak? Chicken. Ever spent the night in a tent? Yeah, multiple times as a kid, "camping" in the yard with Dad, haha. What do you call your grandparents? I called both sets just "Grammy" and "Grampa." Have you ever cried while reading a book? Oh, certainly. How many college degrees do you want? I got none, and I'm not going back to college. Do you know how to play pool? What about foosball? Yes. Have you ever attended a professional sporting event? Yeah, hockey with my dad a few times. Do you own any jerseys? No. Were you born with naturally straight teeth? No; that's why I had braces. If you were the opposite gender, what name would you like to be called? Maybe like... Victor. Idk. Do you prefer original or sour Skittles? I love both, but sour. Do you like bacon bits on your salad? Yeah. What is your favorite kind of soup? I'm not a soup person. Did you learn to type through a computer program for kids? Yeah. What do you take for pain? Advil/Ibuprofen. What is your favorite place that you’ve lived? My pre-teen and teenage years house: in the woods on a dead-end road and down a gravel path that everyone always missed when learning where our house was. The actual road itself had very, very little traffic, and there was a large expanse of cotton fields. I loved it and miss the house itself, but it's got a lot of bad memories rotting in it. Who are your favorite kids that you’ve babysat? My niece and nephew. <3 Who is your favorite cousin? I don't have a favorite. We barely interact at all. Does one side of your family live in another state? Literally none of my extended family (or half-siblings) live in NC. What states did your parents grow up in? New York and Ohio. Have you ever had an allergic reaction to an insect? No. Is there a good hospital where you live? God no. It is notoriously awful. When was the last time you were asked out? Did you accept or decline? Mid-2017. I aceepted. Does your job allow piercings or tattoos? N/A Do you want to get married? If so, what color will your dress be? Yeah. Probably white/ivory or black. Ever had a caricature done of yourself? How much was it, and were you satisfied with it? No. Do you like peanut butter and fluff sandwiches? No, I don't like the texture. If you got married and then got divorced, would you want to re-marry? Probably not. What’s your favorite amusement park? I haven't been to nearly enough to know. Do you play video games? If so, what kind? Yeah. My favorite are horror games, but I also love me some story-driven survival games like The Last of Us, and then there's "kids" games like Spyro, etc. I like a looot of different kinds. Would you buy used clothes? I don't think so. I know it's easy to wash clothes and stuff, I'd just still feel kinda... grossed out by it.

[angrylilfic]

On the Wild Side pt. 6

I’m so happy that I was able to keep writing this story and that you’ve all liked it. My friend @bihoodnerd already uploaded this chapter to AO3, but I forgot lol. Here’s chapter 6

  At midnight, the rangers were set up around the town square, watching nanos as they moved silently, stalking their way out of several apartments. Children slung unconsciously from their shoulders, they made their way to the ground where the same little boy from before opened a portal near the town square. 

“Alright everyone, let’s move.” Jason said through their comms. 

The team snuck their way through to the center, slowly creeping behind the last nano going through the portal. Jason made a hand gesture that signaled them to move quickly.  

The blue light of the portal was blinding. In a flash, the light was gone and when Jason opened his eyes they were in an underground cavern. Zack pulled the others behind a stack of large crates. He shushed them as he peeked over the crates to watch the nanos.

“All right, everyone stay together. We’re outnumbered so try to stay unnoticed.” Jason whispered.

They waited until the monsters rounded a corner before walking along. They moved silently, Jason taking the lead with Trini behind the others. The team came upon a fork in the path.

“Okay here’s the plan, Billy’s mapping system thinks we’re in the original mine shafts from before the town was officially built. Trini, you and Kim go to the left. Billy, Zack, and I will go to the right. Billy’s put the map schematics into our arm tech so don’t worry about getting lost. Everyone keep your comms on and make sure we meet back at the portal spot in twenty minutes.” Jason said. 

The team split and the girls went down their path. The hairs on Trini’s hair stood on end as they came to a door.

“Kim wait I have a ba-” 

Before Trini could finish, the door opened and a squad of nanos marched out. Kimberly squeezed Trini closer to her. Kim looked around to find somewhere to hide, but saw nothing, her breathing came in short bursts. Trini could feel Kim thinking herself into a panic attack. 

“Calm down, it’s gonna be okay just breathe.” Trini soothed her. 

Kim took in a big gulp of air and when she closed her eyes, a pink dome-like shield cast itself around them. Trini inwardly panicked as the monsters looked directly at the two girls. One stared directly at them, its green eyes staring directly at them, though it didn’t seem to even see them. When they rounded the corner, Trini and Kim separated and looked at each other.

“Did you just make us invisible?” Trini smiled.

“I- I don’t know. Maybe? I felt this warmth spread around my body and I thought of a way to hide us.” Kim said.

The girls quieted down as they entered the room the nano monsters had come out of. The room was covered wall to wall with steel pods, each with a child inside. The room was insanely cold and seemed to be two floors tall. Trini walked up to one of the pods.

“Babe come look at this.” Kim said, her hand brushing across a pod.

Trini turned her head, inside the pod was a little girl. Trini recognized her as one of her brother’s friends from school. 

The girls ducked as the door opened again. Trini pulled Kim behind the pod as Astronema walked in with a Sabertooth at her side.

“Oh kitty, it’s so hard to be me. Those little brats keep breaking my gaze somehow,” she said dramatically, stoking the tiger, “I fear if I don’t act soon, the rangers will uncover my plans. Those military bozos won’t have the transport ready for another twenty four hours. OH and on top of that, I haven’t even found the Zeo Crystal yet.” 

Her tiger perked its ears and growled. 

“Oh? Yes I do think so, let's go greet them shall we?” Astronema laughed as she and the tiger went through a mini portal.

 Trini grabbed Kim and they raced back out the door, running through the dim hallway they came from.

“Guys? We gotta go. Kim and I found some crazy shit.” Trini said through their comms. All that came back was static.

The girls came to a screeching halt as a blockade of nanos and kids stopped them. 

“Leaving so soon Power Rangers?” Astronema said, the wall of her minions parting for her to pass. 

Trini and Kim took a fighting stance.

“Oh come now, surely you can’t leave without your friends can you?” She chuckled. Stepping over, Astronema wove a hand and Zack, Billy, and Jason walked forward, their armor gone and their eyes completely blue and devoid of any emotion.

‘What’s wrong girls? I just took your little friends and enhanced them.” Astronema cackled as she ran her nails down Jason’s jaw.

A low growl made its way through Trini’s throat. She shifted her body to shield Kim.

“Awe. It’s endearing how you think you can protect her, or any of them for that matter,” the enchantress said in her smooth voice, “but it won’t help you. Once I get rid of the two of you, I’ll be free to send the kids off to infiltrate the government, then I can dig up the crystal and no one will stop me!” 

“Why would you bother telling us your whole plan?” Kim said from behind Trini.

“Why?” Astronema cocked her head. “Well pinkie, that’s because you two won’t make it out of here alive.” Astronema gave them a wolfish smile, she lifted a sharpened nail. “Destroy them,” she said, cackling.

Kim gripped Trini’s hand as they ran through the maze of a mineshaft. Behind them, they could hear the thunderous footsteps of both the hypnotized children and their teammates. Kim looked down at the map on her arm, they were headed for one very large pit.

“We gotta think of a plan soon Trin! There’s a giant hole coming up!” Kim said in one breath.

Trini wracked her brain for an idea. She knew there was an opening above the pit, but the jump would be too high for Kim to make. The lightbulb went off in her head.

“Get on my back, quickly!” Trini said as they made it to the edge of the pit.

“What? Trini there’s no way we’ll both make it. We’d be too heavy.” Kim panted as they heard the boys approaching.

“Dammit Kimberly there’s no time! We have to try.” 

Kim wrapped her arms and legs around the other girl as Trini took a giant leap at the cliff above the pit. Kimberly could feel them falling just as Trini’s fingertips grabbed the edge of it. Kimberly saw the boys and the kids standing at the edge of the pit.

“Trini?” Kim said as Trini tried to pull them up.

“Just hold on, I got it.” Trini grunted as she struggled to pull them both.

“Trini look at me,” Kim’s voice wobbled, “I need you to keep going.” 

Trini looked down at her girlfriend, realization dawning on her.

“No, no don’t say that Kim. I can pull us up just give me a minute.” 

“Trini we don’t have a minute! You need to get to the surface and find a way to stop Astronema.” Kim said, untangling her legs.

The hand that wasn’t gripping the ledge grabbed Kim’s thigh in an attempt to stop her.

“No! Don’t let go Kim, please. I can’t do this without you!” Trini cried out.

Kim looked over her shoulder, Jason and Billy were locking fingers to help Zack get a boost. They were out of time.

“Get out of here Trini.” Kim said.

“No please! Don’t do this Kimberly.” Trini cried, her grip slipping.

Kim kissed the top of her head, “I love you, I know you can do this.”

Kimberly launched off of Trini’s back. She used the momentum to send her body right into the path of where Zack and the boys were. On the ground, Kim threw punches restlessly, trying to take out as many people as possible. Trini watched in horror as Billy came up behind her and pinned Kim’s arms behind her back. Zack gripped her head as Jason stared into her eyes. Trini had to watch as her girlfriend’s kind brown eyes turned an icy blue.

She pulled herself up from the edge. The map on her arm told her that there should be an exit coming up soon. Trini ran, she ran so hard she thought her legs might fall off. The path seemed to go on for eternity, until finally she saw the moonlight illuminating the exit. Trini recognized the opening as being on the other side of town. She could faintly hear footsteps approaching behind her.

Thinking quickly, Trini put her fingers to her mouth and gave a sharp whistle. In an instant, Kimberly’s zord was above her. Trini climbed into the cockpit and flew as quickly as she could towards the ship. 

_____

  “Trini what happened? Where are the others?” Alpha asked as she walked into the ship.

She had to sit, had to think. She just wanted a moment to catch her breath. She laid down on the cot in the medbay, her hand brushing over something soft. She turned her head to see that it was one of the hoodies Kim had stolen from her months ago. Trini could feel the tears well up in her eyes.

She was so tired, and she didn’t know if she could go on without her friends. Especially without Kimberly. Trini closed her eyes, thinking of her friends, of how she could possibly take on the problem alone.

“Trini, Zordon needs you in the command room immediately.” Alpha said, entering the medbay.

Trini sighed, her limbs feeling heavy. She lifted herself from the cot and walked past alpha without a word.

“Trini, we must address the problem. Without the re-” 

“Shut up.” Trini cut him off.

“Trini this isn’t a game. We need a plan on how to handle this.” 

“I said shut up! Don’t you get it? Without the rest of my team i’m nothing!” The short girl yelled, balling up her fists at her sides, “without Billy, Zack, Jason, KIMBERLY! Without them I have nothing! I’m just some weird little mexican dyke with no friends who moves every couple months. My friends, my family, they make me who I am. Without them I don’t know what to do.”  

Trini felt the tears spill from her eyes, running hot down her cheeks. She could feel her claws dig into her palms.

“I don’t know how to do this without them Zordon.” 

The man in the wall said nothing for a beat, simply letting Trini’s words wash over him. 

“Then don’t do this without them. Do it for them,” He said softly, “Trini losing your team is not something I take lightly, but I know that you are one of the strongest rangers I have ever had the honor of guiding. There is a reason you have the alpha abilities, even when you didn’t have them, you protect those you love, even if it puts you at harm. So go, go save them, and prove to everyone that you are the alpha Power Ranger.” 

The tears had stopped running down her face. Trini took a deep breath to try and reel in her emotions. Her body felt heavy and she wanted so desperately to just stop for a minute. She knew he was right though, she had to fight to get her family back.

“Step onto the power grid, and finally feel the extent of your powers.” Zordon said in a booming voice.

Trini gripped the rails. Her feet felt glued to the spot as blinding yellow light filled her eyes. The power that coursed through her veins was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.She could feel the animal inside her stir, as though it were trying to claw its way out of her.

And it did, Trini opened her eyes and was met face to face with a yellow Sabertooth tiger. It stood in the middle of the grid, watching her. Trini stood, raising her chin at the beast. It bowed its head to her. Trini stroked its mane and touched foreheads with the giant tiger. When she pulled away, it was gone and Trini felt her strength come back. 

“I’m ready.”  

[ice-magician]

The Crying Child

So, this was a thing I had been meaning to make for @spaceiplier ‘s AU since forever. Life happened and yadda yadda, but it’s finally done. In case you didn’t know, the main story is an AU mostly surroundly Team Iplier in space, but other Youtubers make appearances. I started to wonder what would happen if MatPat and Steph were there? What species would they be? What would they do? Anyway, here it is :)

The dazzle of holographic camera flashes blinded Matt. He should’ve been used to it by now. Having your own televised program beaming across galaxies came with its share of paparazzi. As the rain began to pour so with it came the onslaught of questions.

“How did you know the Vlocam monarchs were working deals behind their people’s backs?”

“Where do you get your intel, Mr. Patrick? Surely this isn’t all from you and your small team.”

“Do you have people working for you in each planet’s government?”

“HOW do you do it all with a new baby?”

So many questions. Though every species had their differences in appearance, politics, and genetic makeup, one thing remained constant- curiosity. This is what Mat loves most about every universe. Matt wiped soggy brown hair out of his eyes. He turned towards the horde of cameras, and put on his best award-winning smile.

“The secret is quite simple- work hard, and work with those you love. As for how my broadcast was correct, well…” Matt looks into the nearest camera and winked, “... it was just a theory.”

With that, Matt slipped into the parked pod, where an android driver was waiting on him. He was completely soaked from the downpour. Matt felt the water squish in his shoes, confident they would never recover. He continued to ignore the remaining flashes and questions that roared outside as he whisked away. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Matthew undid his all too formal tie, and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes and became unbelievably grateful that today’s antics were over. Awards were always far too formal. Everyone there thinking they’re better than the person sitting next to them, planning and gossiping. Everyone who was anyone had been there. The Awards for Intergalactic Achievements were no small deal. Matt was no exception to the crowd of “stars”, not just for his show’s intergalactic popularity, but also for his family tree. Matthew was Ahtret, a species renowned for their wide vocal range and ability to copy any sound, including voices. Ahtrets with his vocal range were few and far between, especially on Treo, thus earning him attention Matt felt he didn’t deserve or need. He was a simple guy, and at that moment all that simple guy wanted was to go home, hug his family and pet his cat.

Now that the formalities were over, they would have their show to themselves. The goofy, nerdy, and all out crazy show that never put a mask on the Patrick family’s face. They were never ashamed of who they were, and that’s why it had gained so much traction. Making theories, being proven right time and time again was nice, but nothing was better than not having to wear a fake persona. That was what he loved. Do what you love, and love what you do, and all that.

Although the Patrick family loved their job with all their hearts, it came with drawbacks. Meetings with rather… unsavory individuals. Or that time the show was Matt looking behind the camera at their guest because they refused to be videoed. The show had even received a personal, and slightly threatening, invitation to GAAP headquarters because they believed the program to be hiding or withholding information. That had all been straightened out, thankfully. In the end, the Patricks had been offered to take on cold cases for GAAP. Despite their deep intrigue, Team Theorist declined the offer. Even though GAAP practically ran universes, something about their operations were shaddy… Actually, maybe the fact that they did run universes was what made them questionable at best. His father had taught him to question everything, do your own digging and not rely on what you see in holographic tabloids. So far, it had paid off, and, secretly of course, Matthew and Stephanie Patrick saw GAAP as another potential threat to the freedom that the organization claimed to protect.

They didn’t advertise this, of course… not yet, anyway. There wasn’t enough evidence to pin down GAAP for illicit or violent activities. Higher ups were good at covering their tracks. Well, two can play at that game. With a family to worry about, they had agreed that working directly with GAAP was unwise. Instead, Stephanie insisted that Matt go to GAAP events. They needed GAAP to think that a Patrick on the premises meant GAAP had their trust. Well, so goes the old saying, “Keep your friends close, and enemies closer.”

GAAP needed to believe that the Theorists were simply focusing on minuscule ideas. Who would be the next president of Maxfor? Was the Valsic Union dealing in illegal android sales? Stick to cosmetic topics, Stephanie had insisted. That was why she hadn’t been with him. She was busy at Theorist HO. Her and the building’s AI, JASON, were digging through files on mass servers for their next broadcast. Soon, though. Soon, they’d find something. Soon everyone would see GAAP for who Matt believed them to be.

Still, it was a shame she couldn’t make it to the awards. She would chuckle at the Velm’s dress that probably cost as much as the venue. She would add more flavor to the debate Matt had had with a man who attempted to argue about the state of Treo’s biotech core. Matt thought back to his cheesy response to the reporters before he stepped into the car. He could practically feel Stephanie rolling her eyes. The upstarts of the gala wouldn’t have been the only ones receiving side comments for cringe-inducing antics.

The awards had been held in a ballroom. Rows of decorative chairs lined up to face stage made of shining opal. Stephanie’s golden tinted skin would have dazzled under the shine of stage lights. The glittering gold lines streaking from the sides of her brown Aurumen eyes. Matt would have loved to hear her telekinetic thoughts on the characters that had surrounded him. Stephanie would have made the night bearable.

Speaking of thoughts….

Matt tapped his temple, stirring his eye’s connection to life.

“CHRIS, how’s the house?”

Considering how dangerous their job might get, the Patricks long ago decided it was best to get security links to their home installed. The computer chips comfortably sat in their temples, with contacts containing mini screens on their eyes and micro implants in their ears so they could hear. The chips’ signals were linked directly to their home, and live security camera feeds would be shown via the contacts. The Patricks had built the installments themselves. They didn’t trust that biotechnitions would do it correctly, considering a significant amount of Stephanie’s biological makeup was sunlight.

Sure, Treo had the galaxy’s best and brightest technicians, but the Patricks never shied away from a challenge. Besides, it had meant working together, using their extensive knowledge of tech to grow closer. That’s how they met in college, after all. In the end, Stephanie certainly handled her own with her microtech implant. It worked perfectly; she even used the gold and sunlight in her body to generate energy for the chip. Aurumens could communicate telepathically, but Matt could not. Considering this, Steph programmed the chip to open the conversation both ways. Undetectable telepathic communication made Matt giddy sometimes. It was like he was a kid playing spy, or hide and seek where he always won.

Now that they had a baby, that decision made long ago was truly coming into use. They could check the cameras in their house whenever they pleased. They quite literally had eyes and ears everywhere. CHRIS, their home’s holographic security AI, watched over the house while they were gone. Letting their cat Skip out, making sure their son Oliver’s bedroom was at a heat level comfortable for a growing Aurumen.

This knowledge usually provided a feeling of security. That night, however, when Matt tapped the sequence to his house, the only reply was static. Matt tapped his temple again, making sure the link is stable. Still nothing. No cameras blinked to life in his vision. No audio warbled to life.

“CHRIS? CHRIS?! Are you there?”

Matt was met with eerie silence from their holographic home security manager. A cold chill ran down his spine. It could just be a glitch in the system, but his gut told him otherwise. Matt didn’t care about their collections of Earthen memorabilia of Diet Coke dispensers, or vintage video games; Oliver was in that house, and if CHRIS was not responding....

Matt entered the sequence for Stephanie’s chip. Nothing. She was probably engrossed in her work. A Patrick curse- working to the bone. Matt left an urgent message, trying to keep the strain out of his voice. He said it was probably nothing, but he was en route. Despite his bravado, when he ended the call, Matthew felt his heart beat erratically in his chest.

Matthew leaned forward to the keypad’s microphone installed behind the driver’s seat, “Step on it!”

This time, he didn’t keep the urgency hidden.

.

.

.

Matt jumped out of the pod so fast he almost forgot to pay his driver. He quickly slid the android the required amount of credits, down to the decimal. The driver grumbled something and zipped away. The rain outside hasn't let up in the slightest. Stephanie would be livid when she found the sopping condition of his good tuxedo, but the state of his attire flew out the window when he exited the car. The front door to his home was slightly ajar. Resisting the urge to burst through the threshold and run upstairs to check on Ollie, Matt quietly stepped into the house.

Everything seemed in order. Open family room to the left, kitchen on the right, a hallway in between where with the staircase leading upwards stood, waiting for Matt to rush up. Matt touched the wall of the house. A blue light scanned quickly over his handprint, and a small beep sounded, officially registering that it was indeed Matthew Patrick.

He whispered as softly as he could, “CHRIS, activate.” (Man, when was the last time he had turned on his house’s security system manually)?

A small hole opened in the wall, and several pixels darted out, sputtering and flashing, attempting to take on the shape of a human. Eventually, they gave up and resorted to the small speaker next to the holographic projector.

“Matt?” CHRIS’ voice came out warbled and full of glitches, but there nonetheless.

“Yeah, CHRIS. I’m here.”

“It was… tried to call… busted my system over your network….”

“Shh,” Matt tried to calm him down, “What happened exactly.”

CHRIS’ next response came clear as day, “Matt, he’s still in the house.”

A shiver ran down Matt’s spine, “Where?” A deep pit had formed in his stomach. A part of him already knew the answer.

“Oliver’s room.”

That was it. Matt dashed into the kitchen, nearly knocking over the broken soda dispenser, and grabbed the nearest thing resembling a weapon he could find. His fingers found their way into the cool grooves of a knife's handle. He quickly examined it, making sure it still worked. Matt had been fascinated with its design. Based on an old concept from Earth, the blade could change temperature depending on what you wanted to slice. Matt gently pressed the button to the knife’s highest setting. The blade began to glow a threatening orange.

As Matt quietly slid up the stairs, he was grateful for the awful carpet Stephanie had insisted on, fearing Oliver might hurt himself on the previously hardwood floor when he learned to walk. At the time, the installer bots had been sceptical, saying the shaggy material didn’t match the rest of the house’s decor. It was “outdated and irrelevant”. Clearly, the bots didn’t know the risks of having children installed in their memory banks. Going with Stephanie’s fear that Oliver would inherit Matt’s clumsiness, the carpets had been installed (much to the bots’ dismay). On that night, however, as Matt crept up the stairs, he was grateful for the beige carpet, outdated as it was. It wasn’t serving to keep Matt’s son from bumping his head, but to help him keep his footing, and prevent the intruder from hearing his approach.

Matt reached the top of the stairs, his son’s bedroom directly to his right. He gripped the metallic handle of the knife. Though the handle felt cold, the blade’s heat gently touched his skin like a warm towel, just enough to remind him of its potential. Thankfully, the device was designed to keep the needed heat on the blade, away from the wielder, but it still felt foreign in his hand. It was one thing to theorize and research battles, but being the one actually holding a weapon was entirely different.

An annoyed “Hiisss!” came from inside the bedroom.

Skip? Matt thought.

Skip was usually laid back. He was from Aurumen, like Stephanie, and their animals were known for their lazy nature. Give Skip food and sunlight, and he would be fully content. So, hearing him release a threatening screech set Matt more alert. He gripped the knife tighter, turning his knuckles white. The blade burned a threatening orangish red, reminding Matt of “futuristic” sabers from an old Earth movie he’d watched with Stephanie.

Matthew quietly opened Oliver’s bedroom door. The lights were off, but with the slight light from his knife and moonbeams swinging through a window on the back wall, he could see relatively well. It was a simple space- a closet in the back wall, a bookshelf, rocking chair, various toys and stacks of books hugged the right wall. Matt and Stephanie always grabbed any paper books they could. Scattered and nearly lost as they were, the Patricks knew the power of the written word better than anyone.

The culmination of their work overflowed the small bookshelf, and into the floor. Another small stack had started forming on the room’s left wall, where a cool green crib sat under the glow of an orange heat lamp. Matt silently closed the door and approached Oliver’s crib timidly, almost afraid that his son would not be curled in his blankets. He released a sigh of relief when Ollie’s face looked back at him, face calm in a blissful sleep. The Aurumen heat lamp continued to bask its glow on the boy, ensuring that he would get the necessary amount of sunlight he needed until his body could perfect its own growing energy source. An incubator, of sorts.

Matt peered down, and saw something curious in Oliver’s hand. A piece of metal, maybe five inches across, sat lazily in the infant’s grasp. Careful not to disturb his son, Matthew reached down and retrieved the trinket. It was smooth and black, twisted into the shape of, if Matt didn’t know any better, would be a-.

“Hiiiiiisssssss!!!!!!”

Matt jerked his head up. Eyes now adjusted to the room’s darkness, he saw Skip angrily clawing at the back closet doors. He gripped his knife. It glowed back, as if reassuring him that it could do whatever needed to be done.

“I know you’re here,” Matt tried to keep his voice steady yet quiet, taking a few solid steps towards the foreboding doors. He knew his voice had started to shake, but as long as his hands remained still….

One of the doors creaked open. Matt held out his glowing knife in what he hoped was a threatening stance. Skip hissed a few more times before backing up to Matt’s side. The darkness of the night mixed with Ollie’s lamp cast ominous shadows across the walls surrounding the black vortex of the dark closet.

Matt heard what sounded like metal creaking slightly as a robotic foot stepped into view. It was a male Velm robot, and with the cross stitching of mixed parts Matt could tell that it was homemade. From what he could see, the robot had glowing green eyes, an old fashioned monocle, brown hair, and a strong tail. The one thing most disturbing about the robot, though, was his lack of a jaw. A light crisscross of welded metal bits where his jaw should have been. Slit welded bulged over where the left and right upper corners of a mouth would have been…. Matt inwardly shuddered with realization. The robot’s jaw, and consequently his voice box, had been ripped out. Whatever had the strength to do that, to rip apart something with beyond repair....

The robot stared at Matt silently, wringing his hands with nervous energy. His glowing eyes quickly glanced at the exit.

Matt squinted his eyes. This was what had set JASON on alert? This robot?

Looks can be deceiving, Matt’s mind reminded him.

Matt raised his glowing knife, its burning visage reflected in the Velm’s eyes. Its blade was the color of seething coals, or Matt’s fury at the idea of a monster hurting Oliver. Whether harm had been the robot’s intentions was yet to be determined.

Matt readjusted his grip on the blade, daring to take a step toward the intruder. The dapper robot’s eyes went wild, and he nearly tripped over himself trying to back into the closet. Matt looked at the knife, then the robot…. then the scar on its neck. His Theorist mind whirled.

“M...A…AT...Ttt!” CHRIS’ fractured voice cut through the room’s palpable tension.

The lights flickered on, off, then back on, but low enough to not wake the room’s sleeping baby. Once his eyes had adjusted, Matt got a better look at the intruder. In the light, the Velm looked even more like he’d stepped out of an old film. He wore a vest and bow tie, dress slacks, and wing tipped shoes. Just below his nose was an empty screw hole. Matt glanced at the curious metal piece he had found in Oliver’s grip.

He held the metal mustache up to the robot cautiously, “This yours?”

The robot touched the empty spot above his lip. He nodded slowly. A robot who looked like he belonged in early Earth’s 1920s. This robot’s creator certainly had more of an imagination than any mind Matt knew on his planet.

“I’ll cut you a deal,” Matt said, “mustache for the promise you won’t, you know, attack me.”

The robot started to nod, then froze. He pointed at Matt’s knife. Matt got the hint. Trust has to go both ways. Matt reluctantly turned off his burning blade, and brought his hand back to his side. The robot visibly relaxed. Matt tossed the metal mustache to the robot, who caught it swiftly. He looked at the mustache dejectedly, before pocketing it.

“Sooo,” Matt ventured, “you got a name?”

Before he could answer CHRIS’ voice came back, this time free of static, “MATT! Oh, thank God. I swear, he just came out of nowhere! Disabled me, and I, and… I swear, I couldn’t stop him!”

Matt paused. His home’s AI- CHRIS (Child Homecare Response Internal System), had been activated before Matt and Stephanie left home. That being so, how did the Velm get in?

As if sensing his question, the robot began making wild gestures with his hands. Sign language. The intruder was mute. So Matt had been right in his theory about the voice box.

“Hang on, hang on. Last time I signed was with a disgruntled politician.” Matt tried for a laugh. Nothing. He cleared his throat, “Why don’t you start again, slowly.”

It nodded, “My name is Jameson Jackson, JJ, healthcare robot of….” The robot, Jameson, suddenly stopped signing. Interesting, so he had something, or someone, to hide.

“.... Your door was open.” he continued.

“Wait, what?” Matt spun to the port on the wall where CHRIS’ hologram projector was built in. At the moment he didn’t have enough power to corporeally appear, Matt knew for certain that he could see him glaring.

“... Skip got caught in the rain! He’s Aurumen, remember! Those cats hate water! I had to let him in!” CHRIS protested.

“And you just happened to forget to lock the door?”

A pause, “... A lot was going on. Skip’s meowing and scratching at the door woke Oliver. I had to leave the walls and manually adjust his light to calm him down. Next thing I know Dapper Boy is standing behind me! I tried to call you, but he deactivated my system…. I’m sorry, Matt.”

The rage Matt had felt towards the house’s AI suddenly drained. It made sense. CHRIS rushing to let Skip in, then taking on his holographic form to care for Oliver would confuse any AI. Matt didn’t blame him for forgetting to lock it back. Obviously, he would have if given the time. Still, that didn’t explain one thing.

Matthew pointed at the robot. “Why did you come in? You didn’t steal anything or break any objects. Why are you here?”

Perhaps he’d stopped him in the middle of his scourging? Except, he was in Ollie’s room…. Matt’s wall went back up. Though deactivated, Matt remembered the knife hanging limply in his hand. Had he stumbled across a true enemy, one willing to harm his family? Did he have some personal vendetta? He might not have enough strength to do detrimental damage to the robot, JJ, but Matt needed to be ready. JJ continued to wring his hands, occasionally tweaking his monocle.

“I… I heard crying.” JJ finally signed.

Matt paused, “What?”

“I heard crying,” JJ signed again.

Matt glanced at his sleeping son, “You heard crying, and just decided it was a good idea to break into a house?”

JJ twitched, “I am a health care robot. The door was opened, and I heard his cries so clearly….”

The robot looked sadly over at Oliver’s crib, “He missed you so much. I-I didn’t know about your AI, I just…. It was pure instinct.”

A homecare robot, huh? Matt had heard of how empathetic they could be, throwing almost anything aside to help those who needed it. In a sad way, it started to make sense.

Suddenly, a hologram projected out of JJ’s monocle. It was full of static at first, but eventually it calmed down. Matt only saw the blurred reflection, but judging by the ears he figured it was another Velm. He was completely soaked from the rain, his brightly colored clothes darkened with the downpour.

“JJ!!” The other Velm nearly shouted, “I have been trying this damn line for hours! Screw this new tech! I’m breaking your monocle as soon as I find you, you understand me?! Where are you? You were supposed to meet me at-.”

JJ held up his hands in an attempt to stop the rant.

“No, no, no!” The angry Velm jutted a finger at JJ, “You listen to me! I have been all over this God forsaken town looking for your dapper butt, with nothing-.”

Matt couldn’t see his face, but he imagined the look of horror that crossed it when the robot noticed his friend’s surroundings.

“JJ, where are you? Where’s your mustache?” he asked in a near whisper.

JJ cast a sideways glance at Matt before answering, “I’m fine, Jackie. I just got caught in the rain. I’ll see you soon.”

“No, no. Fuck that! I’m tracking your ass right now!”

For some reason, hearing his story and seeing him in that moment, Matt was sure that Jameson did not have evil intentions. Before JJ could respond, Matt quickly broke the barrier between them. Within a few strides he was directly behind him and could see the speaker clearly. It was another Velm robot. He was identical to JJ, except that he had a mouth, further supporting Matt’s idea that something horrible had happened to JJ.

The other robot stopped whatever he was doing to stare at Matt, then back at JJ, then back at Matt, and finally back to JJ. He started to sign to his friend, apparently thinking that Matt didn’t understand. It was full of expletives, and questions.

“Don’t worry,” Matt signed, “He’s fine.”

The caller’s jaw dropped in surprise.

Matt actually laughed at the other robot’s confusion. JJ’s eyes twinkle with mischief; if he had a mouth he would have been smiling too.

The other robot shook himself from his daze, and huffed. He responded, but didn’t take his eyes off Matt. “Whatever, just get back to… where we came from.”

JJ tipped his hat, and the call ended. He turned to face Matt. Being up close to the robot Matt could see the details over his missing jaw even better. JJ wasn’t a menace, he really was just a care robot who had been lost in the rain. Matt immediately regretted his previous actions. Then there was the empty screw hole, courtesy of rain, a loose screw, and an Aurumen baby.

Matt sighed and patted the robot’s back, “Come on, let’s go downstairs. I can help you with”, he motioned to his mouth, “that.”

JJ touched the vacant spot and nodded in agreement. With one last glance at Ollie’s sleeping face, the two headed downstairs.

No longer needing to slink in the dark Matt called out, “CHRIS, lights please.”

Immediately the lights flickered on. Matt squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Just as he left it, the kitchen was a mess. Matt rounded the island, sheathed the knife he never really needed, and fumbled through a junk drawer. JJ took in everything, every obsessive article of old Earth Diet Coke memorabilia that hung on the kitchen walls, on the counters, and in cabinets.

Matt caught him looking,“I know, I know. Steph says I’m an addict… and I am. I’ll be the first to admit that.”

Matt laughed, and JJ gave him an amused look.

“Ha!” He triumphantly retrieved a screwdriver and screw from the drawer. Matt tossed them across to JJ who swiftly caught both in the air. He retrieved his mustache, and within seconds JJ was restored. He beamed at Matt, who smiled back.

“Right, let’s get you back to your friend.”

JJ started to move, then noticed Matt’s broken soda dispenser. He cocked an eyebrow in question.

“It’s an old Earth soda machine. It’s supposed to dispense Diet Coke, but something broke. I’m no expert on antiques, so I’m having it looked at as soon as I-.”

JJ rounded the island and looked at the machine. He opened its hatch, took a good look inside, and began tinkering with it. Matt heard started to object at JJ’s sudden action. Had he not heard him say “antique”? Anything could break it! Then he’d have to find some new era substitute, which were all flat and boring and…

The sound of fizzling brought Matt out of his thoughts. JJ stood over the soda dispenser, happily holding out a glass filled with a dark, fizzy beverage. Matt gingerly accepted the drink from the excited robot. He took a sip. To his utmost surprise, it was just like new!

“How?...”

JJ closed back the hatch that contained the machine’s innards. He held up tubes clogged with sticky residue. Casually, he shrugged as if to say “All in a day’s work”. Matt laughed heartily, and took another sip.

“On second thought, you can come over as often as you want.”

JJ continued to beam at his success.

“I could’ve done that…”

Matt turned and saw CHRIS’s holographic form, fully functional and very disgruntled. JJ rested his arm lazily across the machine, his stance saying “But you didn’t.” CHRIS scowled, causing a new fit of laughter from Matt. Two pieces of artificial intelligence were having a staring contest in his kitchen. The day just kept getting weirder.

“Come on, JJ. Don’t want to keep your friend waiting.”

JJ nodded his head. He and Matt walked out of the kitchen to the front door. Matt opened it and a clean breeze blew in. The rain had fully stopped. Every so often birds could be heard in the distance.

JJ tipped his hat to Matt and CHRIS as he stepped out the door.

“Oh!” Matt called, “By the way, tell Jack that he has nothing to worry about. You’re safe here.”

JJ’s eyes widen in shock. He looked ready to interrogate Matt, but his expression relaxed. A bemused twinkle appeared in his eyes.

“Just a theory?”

Matt saluted JJ with his glass of Diet Coke, “Now you’re getting it.”

With that, Jameson Jackson walked down the street, leaving Matt with a fixed soda machine, and an aggravated security AI.

“So,” CHRIS said, “what exactly are you planning on telling Steph?”

“Simple, I’ll just blame it on you.”

CHRIS threw up his hands, “Oh, sure, blame the AI. It’s always me or JASON, isn’t it?”

Matt downed the rest of his soda with a smirk, “Exactly.”

[whimpering-hearts]

SASSY-JELLYFISH: Which 2p's in axis and allies would survive a Bird Box or The Happening scenario? Thank you so much, I really enjoy your writing.

So, this is an interesting question, because to me surviving a Bird Box or The Happening scenario is just as much about luck as it is about actual survival skills. It’s not like a zombie apocalypse, where you can theoretically beat the shit out of the monster and survive. Here, all it takes is one asshole removing your blindfold or throwing you out into the garden and, bam, you’re dead.

For the purpose of this question, I’ll use Bird Box as the scenario, because I just watched it this morning just so I could answer this question. For those who haven’t seen the movie, a general idea of what we’re working with:

There are invisible entities terrorizing the world. If you see them, you are either enraptured by them and become a devout slave intent on spreading their image (by removing others’ blindfolds), or you are driven by intense sadness or fear to kill yourself.

Because nations are normally immortal, we will say for the sake of this scenario that death by one of these entities is one of the few permanent deaths a nation can face.

2P America / Jason A. Cardinali: He’s one of the first to die. He might have the survival skills to handle a zombie apocalypse, or a viral outbreak that drives everyone crazy, but this? Invisible entities? Yeah, right, you’re pulling his leg. He’ll tease you for being paranoid, then open the front door despite your begging protests. See? Nothing to be scared - and then he goes quiet, too quiet. You watch from behind your parted fingers as he walks into the kitchen, takes the butcher knife, and slices his own throat open from ear to ear.

2P China / Xiaoyu “Xiao” Wen: Xiao’s answer to stress is to get high - and so he does. He loses himself to the opium, to the cocaine, to the ecstasy, to the hallucinogens, sees the world in a fuzzy haze. He tells you it’s a survival tactic, that if you can’t see them, if you’re so blinded to reality, they can’t get you. And, for a while, you think he’s right. But then one night you’re woken by the screams, his screams, far from you, outside, and without thought you race to him. He’s clawing at his face, at his eyes, digging fingers into his sockets and scraping and pulling. His words are incoherent, terrified, desperate, and when you try to calm him, he turns his fingers onto you. “You can’t see it - you can’t see it. It’s so horrible!”

2P England / Oliver Townsend: He’s managing the lunch crowd at the bakery when it happens. People run down the street, screaming. Cars drive into each other, into crowds, into the brick building across the street. He goes to the front door - glass, all of it’s glass, the windows, the door, everything - and looks out to see what’s causing this mayhem. And see it he does. It’s beautiful, riveting, powerful, how could these fools run from something so glorious? So, he finds you upstairs and takes you by the hand.

“Come here, poppet, I want you to see something amazing.”

2P France / Jacques Girardot: The first person he calls is Oliver. Oliver, who does not answer, who forces Jacques to leave a voicemail telling him Jason is dead. The second person he calls is Beau. So many things he doesn’t say, so many regrets he doesn’t voice. Your hand is a comforting weight on his arm, your face pressed against his shoulder. You have no food. You have no water. You have nothing. Jacques may be able to survive on wine and self-hatred, but you are human, more delicate. So, he braves the mayhem and goes to the store - and he never comes back. He bleeds out on the market floor, his final thoughts of you.

2P Germany / Lars Brenner: It was his idea to go on a supply run - a foolish, terrible idea, he realizes now, because you’re both lost on the streets of Munich, hearts pounding and breaths quick, desperate, as you try to find any identifiable landmark. Your hand is warm in his sweaty palm and he squeezes it tight, hangs onto you with a desperation fueled by adrenaline. It feels like you’re going in circles - if he peeked, just for a second, just for one look, he might be able to tell where you are. But the moment he does, his heart goes cold with fear and his mind screams. You feel him pull away, call for him, voice thin, panicked, fall silent when you hear it: the beating thuds of Lars bludgeoning himself to death with the chair leg he’d brought to protect you.

2P Japan / Ren Suzuki: For Ren, the best course of action after witnessing the outbreak of suicides is obvious: if seeing is what drives you to madness, then clearly seeing is the problem. He blinds you first, not flinching at your screams, your pleading tones, blinds you with household chemicals that burn. His care of you after is delicate, apologetic - bandages over your eyes, with a kiss over each socket. After, he blinds himself. It’s the only way to survive, and you will survive.

2P North Italy / Luciano Valentini: “Safe room. Now.” His tone leaves no room for argument. You’re sent scurrying to the deepest, safest parts of the mansion, hidden away from both monsters and men. And he stands at the door, your fiercest, most loyal guard. He kills the men who come to his house seeking refuge, kills the men who come and speak in hushed, reverent tones and tell him to look, just look. Sometimes, in between the killing, he hears the whispers, feels the wind brush across his skin, but he doesn’t give in. Because the moment he gives in you are dead, and you are everything.

2P Russia / Pyotr Ruslyakov: Like everything, it starts in Russia - and Pyotr is not impressed. He watches his neighbors let strangers into their homes and fall prey to their minds, watches as they lay themselves out for death to take, and he shakes his head because fools, they’re all fools. He keeps you close, keeps the doors locked and the windows covered, ignores the pleas for help, ignores the please to let us in, let us in, please, keeps you safe with him because if you’re going to survive this you have to be clever about it, you have to be smart. He doesn’t care if the whole world falls into ruins as long as you are alive.

2P South Italy / Flavio Valentini: He is in a perfect state of bliss. His mind is quiet save for the whispers, the voices, your voice, telling him to spread the vision of these most glorious creatures, telling him to help the rest of the world see. Flavio was, unfortunately, one of the first to fall to the invisible entities. He wanted you to be the second, his second, but when he pried your eyelids open and made you see, you were so overwhelmed by the vision of your new masters. He could only watch, pained, disappointed, a lost part of him screaming beneath the calm, as you poured the wine from dinner onto your clothes and set yourself aflame.