#If it isn't obvious. Gordon's not really there .

[unacknowledgeable]

SK!Reader x Yan!Batfam: Not in the plan

I have thoughts about the batfam going yandere before finding out about Reader being a serial killer.

Because if the fam go yandere before finding out, this gives them time to formulate their own perceptions of the reader, based on their limited knowledge of them and a lot of wistful thinking, so there's now an illusion built that can be shattered. 

It’d definitely be a slower roll into being yanderes, because they view the Reader as a full civilian and obviously don’t want to scare them off. They only really have the media's view of the Reader, and Alfred's view to make assumptions off of, which both are pretty biased tbh.

 They end up forming this version of Reader that is quiet but charming, social but reserved, irritable but kind, meek but shrewd, etc etc.

So they start off slowly, with little things, like Tim bumping into them on the street then offering to buy coffee, running into Steph while buying groceries, Jason waving at them from across a clubs dance floor, Bruce cutting in during their chat with Gordon at a Gala, getting “leftovers” from Barbara whenever she brings her dad lunch at the station, being asked for your math notes by Duke, Cass having Alfred give you tickets to her dance recitals, Damian entering rooms you’re in without making a snide comment, Dick inviting you to family game night–

The list of tiny ways they try to insert themselves is endless and every new acknowledgement from the family leaves the Reader fucking terrified.

Reader stares, bug eyed, at Tim for his offer, falls into a shelf at Steph's excited hello, downs a shot before running to the the club's bathroom to climb out the window when Jason tries to approach your seat at the bar, tripping a waiter to distract Bruce while you ditched the Gala, nearly back handing Barbara because you were listening to music and you didn't hear her come in, asking Duke ‘what math notes?’ ...while studying said notes, saying ‘no, you couldn't make the recital because you had to water a friends dog that day’ before quickly leaving the kitchen, throwing a book at Damian when he moved to close because the only times he’s ever been this quiet around you is when you're inevitably stabbed, or flinching so hard when Dick reaches out a hand to clap your shoulder, he thinks he somehow actually hurt you and the look of fear in your eyes gives off such a startling sense of deja vu, it leaves him despondent for the rest of the week.

 So now the batfam are thinking “Why the fuck are they panicking so much? oh god did we seriously fuck up so badly they're afraid of us?!?!?! DD: Why are they so uneasy??? It can’t just be because they’re estranged from them. Can it??” And now they're getting increasingly desperate to fix this because this wasn't supposed to be so difficult, but now it is and that's making it more intriguing and thus higher on the family’s list of priorities. 

Meanwhile… from the start, the Reader is just-

Because despite outward appearances, Reader is constantly paranoid as fuck. We’re talking Batman levels of paranoia. Hard not to be when he’s literally your dad. You have contingencies for your contingencies, escape routes by the dozen out of the city and out of this mortal plane itself, if needed. You had plans for every conceivable possibility, just not for this. 

You're now met with such a glaringly obvious flaw in how you go about life in general, the way you live and how you operate as a serial killer, it all hinges on the idea of the family never turning their attention your way. It wasn't even an option and now it’s happening and you had no idea how to function because this isn't normal at all. Now you're actually forced to put in more than 25% of brain power to bury any possible leads and dissuade any possible connections to yourself and the silent terror on Gotham, while also trying to figure out what the hell happened.

Safe to say, this cat and mouse game is no longer fun for you.

I'm meltingggg. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, I'm going to bed bleh

X-X

Masterlist

[halflifebutawesome]

you used to be such a baby.

[jaewritesfic]

Everlasting Trio Nobody Knows AU DP x DC Part 4

Part 3

(Tim POV! This is a long one 😅)

 Tim almost has it. He's so close to cracking this file he can fucking taste it. He's been fighting this thing for two weeks. It's the most incomprehensible and infuriating code he's ever faced off against, which is fitting considering who gave it to them.

The engineer. THEIR engineer. The engineer they didn't ask for and Tim still isn't sure how they got, and the single biggest mystery in Tim's fucking life right now.

See, a significant amount of Bat gadgets at this point are Tim's brainchildren. He imagines them, he designs them, he workshops and tests them.

A few months ago, he'd had a pouch on his utility belt full of experimental pellets meant for slowing down fleeing vehicles. They were designed to break when run over and the compound inside would expand into durable, sticky foam that would ensnare tires.

He'd tested them in the cave.

He had not been prepared to take one hit to that side and have to frantically divest himself of that pouch before he became Gotham's latest foam based cryptid. 

His family had laughed themselves silly at him even as he broke off in pursuit of the drug runners he'd been fighting.

When Tim had doubled back expecting a mess to clean up and pellets to rework? It had been gone. All of it. The foam, the pellets, the pouch of his utility belt.

A serious problem, because who knows who got their hands on that?

Then it had shown back up.

That is to say, Gordon had called them because he found a pouch with a note labeled ‘for Red Robin’ sitting on the stand of the Bat Signal and didn't dare touch it.

After making sure it wasn't a bomb or some kind of biological weapon, Tim had opened the pouch - his own belt pouch - and found pellets. New pellets. Different pellets.

The note just read, “As funny as that was to watch, I fixed them for you. No more premature sploogage on the job. :3 P.S. here's a recipe for solution to dissolve future intentional discharges.”

They'd been right, too. The new pellets were tested (in case THEY were a bomb or biological weapon) and they'd been just strong enough to safely transport but still break when under the pressure of tires. Even the foam was more effective, and the spray Tim synthesized from that stupid recipe had worked like a dream.

What. The fuck.

This person not only improved his design and came up with a dissolution agent from scratch in days, they'd been watching without him knowing and made off with the original pellets without anyone noticing.

This was either a rogue in the making or someone they wanted on their side, and either way they needed to be found.

So Tim had done the obvious.

He'd put together a lockbox of money for the product they'd been given, loaded it with no less than ten (10) bat trackers and a note thanking their mysterious benefactor and requesting to meet up. He'd exploded a foam pellet on a rooftop and left the box on it in the hopes they'd notice and find it, then hung around far enough to not be seen and close enough to beat feet as soon as the trackers started moving. 

They did not start moving. They all went offline simultaneously. 

Tim has never moved so fast in his life, and yet by the time he got to the rooftop there was a pile of foam and nothing else. Not even a trace of whoever took the lockbox.

The next day, there was a ping of one (1) tracker that led them to a note thanking him for the money, refusing to meet, and asking if they'd considered certain improvements to their grapples with schematics for said designs.

Thus started the most bizarre and infuriating chase through notes, money, helpful designs and disappearing trackers Tim has ever been a part of.

Last time, the engineer had left them a USB stick and a note claiming that since they really wanted to know about him so bad, they could have the information on the USB if they could crack the encryption on the zip file inside.

Obviously they screened heavily for viruses or backdoors, but long story short Tim has been trying to crack the fucking thing for two weeks and refuses to let Oracle help. It's personal. It's a matter of pride. 

He could swear the code itself has actively been sabotaging his attempts to hack it, which is, you know. Impossible. 

Ping!

Tim blinks, looking over at the map on another monitor of the Bat computer. 

“Motherfucker-”

He taps into Duke’s comms. This is the first time this has ever happened during the day shift, he wasn't expecting it.

“Signal! I need you on the roof of the warehouse on the corner of Fifth and Everest - a tracker just came online.”

Another thing that infuriates Tim. You can't just turn Bat trackers on and off. They're activated, and then they either stay active or they're destroyed. They can't be turned off and then reactivated.

And fucking yet.

Duke groans, but his own tracker starts making its way in that direction.

“Dude. He's gonna be long gone by the time I get there. He always is.”

“He can't run from me forever,” Tim insists. “I'm almost in this damn file, and I am going to find him and dangle him off a roof from his ankles for giving us this runaround, so help me God.”

“Uh huh,” Duke deadpans. “Sure you are. I'm almost there, and- oh look! A note. What a surprise!”

Tim hears Duke touch down on the rooftop, eyes on the code on his screen while his brother clears his throat and reads aloud.

“Ahem- ‘Good morning, sunshine!’ - guess that's me - ‘I hear some bats and birds have been murdering tires at an alarming rate with the way they drive their bikes-’”

Tim freezes. He's not listening anymore.

“Signal.”

“‘- and that just can't be good for business. Nobody wants a bald tire ruining a chase. So boy do I have the thing for you-”

“Signal!”

“What?”

“I got it.”

“Huh? Got what?”

“I cracked his file. I got it.”

Tim is staring, wide eyed and full of a mixture of elation and trepidation at the contents of the zip file. It's a single text file titled, ‘Wow! You did it!’

“Oh, shit? Well? What's in it?”

Tim swallows, mouse hovering over the file. He takes a deep breath, then double clicks.

The file opens.

Tim blinks.

“Red Robin? What's in it?”

Tim scrolls slowly down, disbelief and horror dawning across his face. “Oh my God.”

“What? Come on, man, talk to me.”

Tim scrolls further.

“Oh. My God.”

“Red? Red Robin, you're scaring me, man.”

Tim puts his face in his hands. Voice muffled, he responds.

“Duke.”

“...Red? You okay?”

“No.”

“No?��

“It's the entire Bee Movie script.”

Silence reigns for a solid five seconds before Duke breaks and descends into raucous, hysterical laughter.

Even muffled by his own hands, Tim's scream of rage scares the bats in the cave into a tizzy.

Part 5

Masterpost

[ohnonotthehorrors]

You know, if any of the bats are going to kill the Joker: it should probably be Dick or Duke.

Like, I get it. 'Jason kills the Joker' sounds like the most obvious solution. But the thing is: Jason literally does not care about the Joker.

"But he's the man that killed him-" Sure. But that was a While ago. (At least if you ignore all the rebooting of the universe). Sure, Joker is a big symptom of what Jason sees as the problem. Which is: Crime needs to be controlled. Because more than anyone, he knows it won't be stopped. (It especially won't be stopped if no one is allowed to kill the bad guys).

But here's the thing. Jason's arc does not, and Should Not, revolve around Joker at all. Jason's story really never has been about revenge, and he should be Allowed to Move On from this one of the many people that hurt him. This isn't a: 'Oh Jason should learn to forgive and let go and not take revenge' this is a: 'the Joker is pathetic. Killing him just straight up doesn't do anything to Jason's arc or character.'

But Dick? Dick whose TRIED to kill the Joker? Dick who first donned the mask and tights to take revenge? Who wanted to make up for not being there for Jason? Yeah. This is the character that Would benefit from killing the Joker.

The first Robin has been around almost as long as the Joker has (both made in the same year) and it would be nothing more than divine justice for him to finally be the one to end him.

Well that's all well and good, you say. But what about Duke? What does he have to do with this?

You mean other than Duke being Awesome and he deserves to?

Duke's parents were hit by Joker gas. Pretty famously part of his character's back story. Duke has already killed a 'mirage' of Joker in the comics, which I think would be neat foreshadowing.

And think about it. The guy with light powers, the guy that works the day shift, by all means the Proof that Gotham really does care. Really does take things seriously. Why Shouldn't he get to kill off the personification of apathy?

Now the other point, and this is really just a personal vendetta, I would love Love the character that is Constantly ignored (at least by fandom) to kill off DCs 'specialist awful white man.'

The other person who should get to kill the Joker is Barbara Gordon (for self explanatory reasons) except I don't trust any writer to do it.

(She should get to beat that Thing into a white and red Pulp and shred his remains. No 'pull a trigger' no 'hire a swat team.' She gets to do it with her Bare Fists)

[raeedioheadd]

500 gigawatts of the power of God.

summary: you're the only one in this godforsaken family who isn't apart of the night crew that cleans up gotham every night. you didn't hate it, but you didn't like it either. that was until jason died. now, you had to learn how to cope, while simultaneously trying to warm up to your new brother– or jason's replacement.

pairing(s): all platonic/familial, mostly dick and jason

word count: 2.0k ish

warning(s): antidepressants are brought up like twice or thrice and its a bit obvious reader is very upset lol

authors note: heavy mouthwashing (game by CRITICAL REFLEX on steam) fixation rn, so yes, the title is from the game. go play it! this isn't really canon following, so sorry if it doesn't exactly follow the comics canon. I tend to jump around a bit, so sorry lol

objectively, living with bruce wayne seemed like one of the best things that could ever happen to well, anybody. he was rich, seemed kind, and provided a roof over your head. that’s all you needed, right? you needed to be grateful for everything he gave you— he took you in and put a roof over your head. that was what really mattered.

you were bruce wayne’s first kid. coming right before dick grayson- the soon to be boy wonder-you were the light of his life for a few years before the golden boy came along. you held no grudges against him since, well, he was basically older than you, and he doted over you all the time. he was the perfect ray of sunshine the dark walls of the wayne manor needed. as time passed, and the dynamic duo formed, attention shifted from you and more onto the crime ridden streets of gotham. you helped in the background sometimes, patching your brother and father up when alfred had his hands full and, before barbara gordon came around, told them where in gotham crime spiked the most. it was an odd dynamic at first, but you grew used to it. even if it wasn’t normal family bonding time, it was something. you enjoyed being around them anyway.

and then jason todd came along. upon being caught stealing the wheels of the batmobile, bruce took him in. he was apprehensive, a bit violent and a little too carefree. but the two of you clicked. he would come to you to escape from bruce, even though the old man knew where he would go every single time. dick grew to like him as well. gothamites loved the three of you, deeming you all the only things that could keep bruce wayne single. the three of you took this and ran, making sure to act like spoiled brats in front of him at galas. before jason came around, you were the peace bruce needed in life. now, you two got into trouble at every turn.

months passed, and bruce kept fighting crime with a robin as he had always done. dick had moved on to become nightwing— leader of the teen titans along with kori, aka star fire. it made you happy to see that your older brother was making a name for himself outside of the caped crusader, though you didn’t know if you were necessarily a fan of the spandex. while you weren’t in ‘the life’, it didn’t worry you any less when any of the boys got hurt, and it didn’t worry you any less when jason had snuck off one night, his robin suit missing. from what you knew, bruce and jason were on patrol a few nights ago when they got into an argument; after that, he was on a patrol ban. for a while now, jason was growing more agitated— more reckless. he wanted to bring things that batman didn’t agree with in the mix, like death and violence. of course, this caused a lot of arguments and disagreements, but at the end of the day, they were fine, right? they always bounced back. he was his son, after all. and while he had some.. unorthodox forms of raising his kids, he loved them. he just didn’t realize he never said it enough.

you didn’t know the exact timeline of how things went down that night, and you didn’t really want to. from what alfred told you, their argument from the night prior escalated to heights that they hadn’t really seen yet. in a blur of rage and revenge, he snuck out of the manor to find the joker and avenge his mother, not knowing she was the one who ratted him out. you didn’t want to know anything else after that, since you knew both of them had met their untimely ends. 

after that, it was like a hole formed in your heart and your world got a little bit dimmer. you had taken off the rose colored glasses, and faced the real brutality the life gave your family. 

the funeral was hard. only five people attended including yourself, those people being alfred, bruce, commissioner gordon and his daughter, barbara. they even had the audacity to bury him next to his mother. dick didn’t show up because he was off planet, and didn’t know jason died. he didn’t know for a month. when he did find out.. it was bad. days were filled with dick and bruce arguing, and he even managed to get you to stay with him in blüdhaven for a bit, which was well needed. but you knew, despite how much of an asshole bruce was being, he needed someone other than alfred right now. so, reluctantly, you returned to wayne manor. as for the media’s reaction to jason’s death, bruce said he died in a terrorist attack while searching for his mother in ethiopia— he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. a casualty of circumstance.

the first year was harder than you could have imagined. it got harder and harder to get up every morning. you always had to walk past his room on the way out of your own, and you slowly stopped responding to dick’s texts. alfred, finally deciding to intervene, managed to get you to see a doctor and got you put on anti depressants. it didn’t really help, but you were still alive. the urge to take your own life and join jason was still there, but the whispers weren’t as strong. sometimes you felt like alfred needed the help more. one day he had told you that the curtains had closed on their own, despite the windows being closed and the wind being nonexistent. you entertained the idea of jay watching over you all, and promised alfred you wouldn't tell your father. the old man needed to indulge in something every now and then, too. it secretly comforted you too.

despite your growing disdain for vigilantism, you ended up becoming the new batgirl. you weren’t nearly as smart or tech savvy as barbara gordon, but you could fight, and that was what mattered. you tried not to patrol with bruce as much, but when your patrol hours overlapped, you would notice him following you deep in the shadows sometimes. as overbearing as it felt, it comforted you to know that he was watching. you hoped he was proud of you to some extent.

jason’s death changed the trajectory of batman’s meaning and life. so when you became batgirl, he had a few.. choice words and a lot of rules, but sometimes alfred would help you sneak out without bruce knowing. one time, you even ran into dick while on patrol. to say he was shocked would be an understatement.

“so you decided to join the fight, huh?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the building you were sitting on. “yeah, i guess you could say that.” you murmured, looking down at the liveliness of gotham at night. it was silent for a few moments, and for once, the gotham night was silent. no screams, no gunshots, and no laughing. your older brother finally spoke up, a sigh falling from his lips as he glanced at you. “how have you been?” he asked, taking off his domino mask to actually look at you. you took off your cowl, letting the cool air hit your face as you looked up at the night sky. “alfred is making me pop pills now, and i wouldn’t be surprised if dad was watching us have this very conversation right now,” you sighed, looking over at dick, “i haven’t really been happy, but i don’t think anyone can really be happy in gotham.” 

dick laughed, looking down at the street below. “i don’t think i’ve ever heard anything more true.” he spoke, intertwining his fingers in lap. “you should come live with me. i know it doesn’t erase what happened, and it doesn’t change really anything at all, but i think a change of pace will be good for you. and don’t start with that ‘dad needs me’ bullshit. he barely pays attention to you as is.” he says, grumbling the last part under his breath. he had a point; bruce was either keeping up his billionaire playboy persona that was also the ceo of wayne enterprises or cleaning up the streets of gotham at night as batman. you let out an exhale, watching as your breath vaporized in the air. “i’ll think about it. is that good enough?” you offered, giving him a small, yet rare smile. he immediately grinned and wrapped his arm around you, his blue eyes lighting up ever so slightly. “that’s more than i thought i’d get!” he exclaimed, his laugh booming through the air.

four more years passed, and while you hadn’t moved on yet, you were getting better. that was before a boy named tim drake came waltzing into your life. at the ripe age of fourteen, he had saved batman and successfully been enlisted as the next robin. in your eyes, even though you’d never say it out loud, he was jason’s replacement. tim’s arrival brought emotions you had long buried rushing back, and it was then you finally decided to consider dick’s offer of moving in with him— either as his new ‘protege’ or as a titan. you started taking ‘medicine’ again, and slipped off one night after putting a note on alfred’s nightstand. 

there was nothing wrong with tim. he was smart and outgoing— he almost reminded you of your older brother when he became robin, and he had smarts that rivaled that of barbara’s when she was batgirl. hell, his first interaction with bruce was him telling him that he knew he was batman, you were batgirl, and that dick was nightwing. he also knew that jason todd was the previous robin before him. you had to give him credit; he didn’t want to be robin. he only wanted to help. but bruce was the one who pushed him to become robin, thus replacing his late son— if he even considered jason that at all. tim tried talking to you before you moved out, and even offered to leave because he thought he was the reason you were leaving. he was nice to talk to, but you really couldn’t help but feel like he was a painful reminder of what had came before him. you just couldn’t take it in the manor anymore. there were too many lingering memories.

moving in with dick helped a lot more than you thought it would, even though you’d never tell him that. you later found out that kori was the one who pushed him to push you into moving in with him. she wanted to help you heal, and form a sister relationship with you that she never got with her own. you appreciated her, and was happy she was around. when her and dick were doing titan business or off planet, you took care of haley. you continued being batgirl, and life was.. calm. you were as happy as you could get yourself to be for the moment, and you had people around you who loved you.

it was a quiet night. that was what you loved about blüdhaven over gotham— there were more quiet nights in weeks than there were in a year in gotham. dick and kori had been off grid for a bit, leaving tim to lead the titans for the time being. some new faces had appeared in wayne manor, like the appearance of bruce’s cousin kate and the rescue of cassandra from the league of shadows. other than the few international incidents that the justice league would cause, things were peaceful. you were currently sitting on one of the gargoyles gotham characteristically had. it was jason’s favorite, and it was where you went after his death. you weren’t a fan of going to his grave, since the last time, you had an epiphany. you had felt it. 500 gigawatts of the power of god. it was then you decided to shape up, and live for jason. 

just as you were starting to relax against the wall behind you, a voice sounded from above you. 

“my favorite gargoyle, huh?”

[tyrantisterror]

I think one of the things that gets lost in the big, endless internet conversation about whether or not heroes should kill their villains is the fact that killing villains off robs you of a lot of story-telling potential. The Joker died at the end of his debut story in Batman - imagine what Batman would be if he stayed dead. No Joker in Batman 66, no The Killing Joke which means no Barbara Gordon as Oracle and no The Dark Knight, no Mark Hamill Joker episodes of BTAS (so many of them were based on his comic appearances, after all - the laughing fish is a direct adaptation of a comic), which means no Harley Quinn and no Return of the Joker, on and on it goes.

Like, you can argue the morality of heroes sparing their villains till you turn blue - god knows this site does it at least a thousand times a day - but on a purely pragmatic story-telling level, the minute you kill ANY character, you kill all the story potential they had. And yeah, it's fiction, you can bring them back from the dead if you really need them, but that's a pretty hard story beat to pull off without hurting your story. You don't want to fill your tale with "Somehow, Palpatine has returned" moments.

And you can just make new villains, sure, but again you have a problem with that - a new villain has to establish themselves and has to stand out from who came before, which means you can't go directly to the storylines you could have had with a villain who stuck around AFTER their introduction. A recurring villain is capable of doing things that one-off villains can't.

I'm going to illustrate this with a character from a fandom I'm not even a part of - I never played the Ratchet and Clank series and am only vaguely aware of it, but one day I saw a supercut of scenes starring one of its recurring villains, Dr. Nefarious, on twitter, and I was like "Oh shit, that's the guy who plays Quark on Deep Space Nine, isn't? This guys a hoot, let's see if we can find more clips on youtube." Which brought me to this hefty video here from one of the more recent games in the series.

And, like, as a person who "doesn't even go here," it's obvious this goofy little fucker has a history. His opening scenes have him ranting about how much it sucks to lose repeatedly - a lampshade on the "flaw" of a recurring villain, i.e. that their threat diminishes the more they come back because, by the nature of their role in the story, it means they've suffered a lot of losses. So how cool is it that as this supercut chugs along you can clearly see this is a theme of the game - that this is a story about the virtue of losing, a story that is enriched by having an antagonist who fans of the series know has lost a LOT?

The true antagonist is an alternate version of Dr. Nefarious who's won every fight in his life so far, apparently with little effort, and I love how they differ on a design aspect. They're both technically mad scientists, but notably, Emperor Nefarious, the winner, has a more imposing and "heroic" build, but a smaller brain-dome for his robot brains. Because winning may make him look strong, but if a mad scientist's real power is their mind, well, which Nefarious is really the strong one here then?

Dr. Nefarious gets this juicy arc about realizing the virtue in his repeated failures that corresponds with the heroic characters struggling to find a way to win against a seemingly invincible opponent, as well as contrasts the true villain, Dr. Nefarious's explicit counterpart and foil Emperor Nefarious, who has never once lost and is a total piece of shit for it. Again, not my fandom, I don't go here, not an expert on Ratchet and Clank, but even as a relative stranger to it who's just watching a big supercut, I fucking love this. This is an excellent story.

And it's one you can only tell with a recurring villain. Without Dr. Nefarious, this story works significantly less. You need a villain with a history the audience has seen to really sell this.

Anyway, I made this post because, ironically enough, I saw another tweet talking about how some fans think Dr. Nefarious should have been killed off in his first appearance, and, like... that's just fucking baffling to me, as a person outside this fandom looking in. Recurring villains deserve more love, man, they give us so much.

[animeyanderelover]

Despite the stress of my new semester I am desperate to at least write something and since I just finished the last episode of Black Clover I thought that I would write some short drabble. Honestly though, if it comes to potential rivalries or poly!relationships Black Clover has to be one of the most fun potentials for me. There are literally so many possibilities and so I'm just going to write for one certain dynamic I especially like in the context of them falling for the same s/o and no, it isn't Asta and Yuno.

Tw: Yandere themes, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional behavior, clinginess, protective behavior

Falling for the same darling

❌​🔥​Geez, talk about two peas from the same pod. In more than just one way Asta and Leopold are very similar to each other, especially in regards to their stubborn and straightforward nature as well as their tendency to act first and think afterwards. It doesn't really take long for either of them to fall fast and hard for their darling and once that infatuation has taken hold you get two men suddenly shouting at you to please marry them as they just blurt their feelings out. Perhaps with Asta it is less shocking as he is known for being loud and just speaking up with whatever is on his mind. Leopold on the other hand is a descendant from one of noble families in the Clover Kingdom and especially with the way his older brother carries himself around with so much charisma and strength this blunt confession comes as a shock for those who are around as he so thoughtlessly, so unfitting for someone of his status, asks for your hand in marriage. To Leopold's credit though, he is afterwards more ashamed than Asta as soon as he has realised what he has done, clasping his hands over his mouth as his entire face turns as red as the flames that he wields.

❌​🔥​Whilst Leopold has always been a rival of Asta he has never really been the rival of Asta as that title goes to Yuno. However, that changes somewhat as Asta finds out that apparently Leopold is in love with you as well as the incident where the youngest sibling of the Vermillions confessed to you out of the blue goes around quickly. And Asta with his competitive and straightforward nature is just not the type to play the long game nor any mindgames as he quickly seeks out the other boy and declares loudly to him that he is in love with you as well and that he won't lose to Leopold. Leopold himself isn't really that shocked nor surprised when Asta confesses that he loves you as well. He expected after all nothing less from his rival! Asta has great taste when it comes to the person he falls in love with! Neither of those two even attempt to hide the newly lit competition that they have going on and it becomes very quickly obvious to everyone that they're fighting for your heart. Asta and Leopold are very healthy with their rivalry though since both have a lot of respect for the other which means that things are fierce and passionate but never escalate into an ill will against the other.

❌​🔥​The Black Bulls are Asta's personal cheering squad, though some show it in more interesting ways than others. The most openly supportive are Finral, Vanessa, Charmy, Magna, Gray and in his own creepy ways Gordon as well. The others are obviously also secretly rooting for Asta but aren't quite as vocal and passionate about it as the other members. People like Nacht, Zora and Gauge would probably never admit it out loud that they're secretly wishing this stubborn and loud idiot only the best. Leopold obviously also receives a lot of support and advice from his own squad but his older siblings have perhaps the most interesting reactions. Fuegoleon is still recovering from the fact that his brother fell out of the blue so deeply in love with someone, shocked that his younger brother has found someone before he has. Mereoleona on the other hand is roaring with laughter when she hears about the story and Leopold is silently terrified of the day where she decides to take a look at you herself to see what kind of person you are for her youngest brother to fall so deeply in love with you. Neither one of those would ultimately care though whether you're a peasant or not, especially Mereoleona.

❌​🔥​The more you spend time with those two the more you are convinced that they must be long lost brothers of some sort because the more they compete over you the more alike they become. You hear both of them before you even see them as they always turn it into a race who can reach you faster whenever both are searching for you and bump into the other who is currently also trying to find you, screaming at each other as they sprint through the streets whilst calling your name. Now, Asta is a peasant whilst Leopold is nobility which means that Leopold has a financial advantage but he has never once considered using that. It would feel dishonest and lazy to him, especially since he witnesses how hard Asta is working all by himself to impress you and Leopold strives to do the same. He wants you to love him after all for the person that he is and not for the influence and the money that his family possesses. When Asta hands you a bouquet of flowers he picked from the forest then Leopold is doing the same, refusing to buy flowers from a store. You're worth all the effort he can give after all so soon you have him kneeling on one knee in front of you whilst he offers you the flowers he picked.

❌​🔥​Both of them are very similar when it comes to the way their obsession manifests even. Both are quickly starstruck with you and from the very beginning very open and honest about their feelings even if Leopold attempts to still obtain some dignity as not only a member of the Crimson Lions but also as a Vermillion. Spoiler, it often fails as he often gets pulled along with Asta's infectious passion and antics more than just once. Both are very protective of you, especially if you are a Magic Knight who gets discriminated for being a peasant or for not being strong enough in the eyes of others. Asta even more so than Leopold as he knows firsthand how discriminating people can be against others since magic is everything in this kingdom. Asta's dense nature is the major reason why he is very much delusional as he doesn't perceive his obsession as one and coupled with his tenacious personality you better give up on hoping that he will ever give up on you. Leopold is a bit more lucid than Asta yet he isn't completely self-aware either as he tends to be someone who feels more and thinks less when it comes to you. He does know that neither he or Asta would ever hurt you though which calms him.

❌​🔥​Fun fact, I believe that Asta would come to an agreement with Leopold to share you faster than he would be if it were Yuno who also fell in love with you. Not much is changing though even after both Magic Knights have agreed to share you as they still keep their competitive nature up even afterwards. They spend even more time with you now than they have before but they're just starting now to actually initiate physical touches with you. Asta, as dense and delusional as he is, grew up in a church after all and his childhood crush on Sister Lily has caused him to be rather chivalrous, meaning that as loud as he is and as often as he proclaims his love for you, he is very respectful with the way he touches you and you're actually surprised when he always asks you if he can hold your hand or kiss you. Leopold tries to follow Asta's example as good as he can but if there is one of them who is more prone to be somewhat more dirty-minded it is definitely Leopold and then it is always Asta who literally yanks him back by his collar and proclaims shocked and very loudly so that you end up hearing it as well that the youngest Vermillion shouldn't do that.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Random G-Man headcanons/observations cause this old fart won't leave my brain

-He's simply a representative of his employers, being the one to do all the dirty work. His employers themselves are not a physical being, rather a massive conglomerate of consciousness that exist outside of this plane of reality, being a hivemind that Gman simply follows the orders of and speaks to sometimes.

-Is Not Human, if it wasn't obvious. I see him as also without a proper "true form", being a formless mass in its typical, non-human form, one that isn't really comprehensible to humans (aka its enough to make eyes bleed and brains explode). This is why he acts and moves so strangely, because he finds the human form very limiting, but it's best to be "polite" to humans and not immediately expose them to horrors beyond belief.

-Despite his strange behavior he has been mistaken for a normal old man. People tend to assume he can do less than he can actually do because of this, which is both to his advantage and also his detriment since some people think they need to help him with certain tasks-

-Stasis is a physical dimension that people can go to and stay in. To whoever is stuck in stasis (Gordon/Adrian/Alyx) Will simply be in a physical manifestation of a room/vehicle, in a state similar to catatonia, unable to move anything but their rapidly moving eyes, or react to anything. to them, no time passes between going into stasis and coming out of it.

-He has no blood. He can't bleed. If you somehow cut him, nothing will come out.

-His emotions are very dulled down compared to human ones, meaning he can keep his cool (mostly) no matter the situation. He sees showing emotion as "unprofessional".

-Gets bored easily, so it sometimes just makes random objects float for shits and giggles.

-Has a very low body temperature. The lack of blood will do that to you

-Treats every living being as if they're the same. refers to everything as "entities" rather than a Person or Animal.

-He knows how to lead a conversation a certain way. I remember looking through his HLA speech to Alyx, and he always manages to push the conversation topic towards something he wants to talk about in such a way that Alyx doesn't even seem to notice it happening. Manipulating it in a way where he always ends up getting what he wants. A master manipulator.

-If a regular human being were to open It's briefcase, they'd find there's nothing in it. Whatever is in there is not for their eyes, so it simply does not appear.

[bunny-heels]

like being completely honest to me it was obvious that it wasnt hl2vrai.

Wayne was extremely burnt out from the gnome streams and all the production value that went into it. Baaulp didn't enjoy playing Tommy. And all the crew just kept making jokes about making spin-off stuff with Benrey. and that teaser that was made was way too like. idk "high-production" bait. i just knew in my heart it wasn't real.

i also don't know how to explain how i feel about the people who are genuinely upset that its not real. like i understand being like "oh i do wish it was hl2vrai but im fine with this", but to the people that are GENUINELY really upset and feel like they were "mean spirited" for baiting them for a week. idk it just.

idk how to word this other than i think those people need to sit back and realize this isnt like a serious deep franchise that has a lot of production and character development and hard story elements. these are just friends playing gmod.

i mean compared to fans of Half-Life that were literally lied to and teased at for over 15+ years and the company making jokes about making the fans wait so long. this hl2vrai stuff isn't on that same level.

so just. calm down okay? i mean this in a very lighthearted way: its not the end of the world. so either enjoy these guys butchering breaking bad or go draw some hlvrai stuff. draw benrey kissing gordon or tommy giving sunkist a soda. go and chill out. have a good night.

[veryace-ficrecs]

Batman Outsider POV Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Wait... you're backup? by Ceciliedr - Rated T

When her team is captured by Lex Luther, Traci can do little more than cross her fingers for a rescue. When someone does crash the party, it isn't anyone she knows. Traci sincerely hopes the guy in the red helmet is on their side.

library card by mikkal - Rated T

Jason Todd, Red Hood, and the Park Row Public Library (and her librarians).

Finding a New Perspective by njw - Rated T

“I got this, Hood.” Red Robin sounds annoyed as he arcs and twists through the air, kicking one henchman into another and wrenching the gun away from a third while simultaneously retracting his grappling line and then launching it to catch another unwary henchman. Just, how?

“I can see you do,” Red Hood says, and wait. Was his voice always that deep? Is he… Maya squints. Is he staring at Red Robin’s ass?

She blinks, then studies the line of sight more closely. Maybe he’s just checking out Red Robin’s kneecaps, in preparation for shooting at them? That seems more his style. Sexual attraction is kind of confusing and she still doesn’t totally believe Tosh that it’s actually as big a thing as people make it out to be—seriously, do other people really spend that much time thinking about it? Sounds fake but okay.

But no, Red Hood’s helmet is totally pointed at Red Robin’s ass. Huh. That’s new.

Captain Marvel's Adopted? by Len_suilon_mellon - Rated T

When Captain Marvel sends out a distress call, the only League member available is Batman. Bruce comes to his aid, but he finds out that Billy is a 10-year-old homeless orphan with black hair and blue eyes. Obviously, he makes the only logical decision and adopts Billy. Because it's Bruce—who's allergic to revealing life-changing information—the League is left in the dark. This story is written as 5+1 story from the Justice League's POV as they attempt to define the weird relationship between Batman and Captain Marvel. 5 times they didn't realize Batman had adopted Captain Marvel, and the 1 time they did.

The Startling Secret Identity of The Batman by Nokomis - Rated T

Good evening, super-sleuths! Boy, do we have a treat for you today. We’re delving into one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the modern era. The million-dollar question. The billion-dollar question, if one of these theories holds water. That’s right. We’re gonna risk life, limb and sanity by asking the question… who is The Batman? [In-universe Buzzfeed Unsolved accidentally stumbles on Batman’s secret identity. The Batfam reacts.]

playacting by nex_et_nox - Rated G

“So,” Jim said, “are you one of Wayne’s new kids?” Because only siblings acted that way toward each other, and it seemed like every time Gotham turned around, Bruce Wayne was adopting more kids. It was a reasonable question. “What?” Jay asked. “No, I’m—” He paused. Very slowly, his head tilted as he looked over Jim’s shoulder in the most obvious way he possibly could. Jim Gordon accidentally meets the "newest" member of the Wayne family.

5 times the Justice League catch Bruce acting domestically by TimesBeingWhatTheyAre - Rated G

...and the one time he lets them see it aka 5 times the kids torment Bruce, and the time that he actually arranges a meet-up and minds are blown

the politics of dancing by TheResurrectionist - Not Rated

After months of silence following his mysterious resurrection from the dead, the prodigal Wayne heir shows up at an unlikely meeting. “Where is Mr. Wayne?” Jason crossed his legs, cracking his neck. “He’s not coming.” “I was assured Mr. Wayne would be here.” “Tough. Looks like you’ll have to settle for me, huh?”

I Love My Gay Son(s) by reeby10 - Rated G

But the part that had everyone’s attention was the shirt, a plain white t-shirt with “I LOVE MY GAY SON” emblazoned across the chest in bold, rainbow letters.

Bat Out Of Hell by arguablysomaya - Rated G

Five times the Bats are weird, and one time that weirdness saves the world Or, the Bats are weird, everyone that’s even remotely aware of the superhero game knows this. But, odd as they are, they’re still humans. Which is why it should probably be impossible that they’re such forces of chaos. And when they’re all together? Well, most people are just glad they’re on the good side. And they are. Mostly.

The five times Flash came to Gotham for help and the one time he didn't need to (5+1) by Silver_Athena - Not Rated

Barry needs help solving a murder, he goes to Gotham for help. Though he's looking for Batman he seems to constantly run into new heroes. Why do they all seem connected to Batman? --- “You know where he lives?” “I practically live there myself, why is this so surprising to you? You’ve worked with him for- Oh… oh my God, you guys don’t know!"

A Break in Tradition by incogneat_oh - Not Rated

Gordon had seen something when he caught the canary yellow cape out the corner of his eye– something in the way the kid had moved. So he figures he should ask, “You doing okay up there, son?” AKA: The one where Jim Gordon minds a tiny vigilante until his bigger, scarier partner can collect him.

gotham aviary by pepperfield - Rated G

“I see you have a new addition to the family,” Bella says, smiling at the group pushing their father along toward the plaza stairs. “Yeah, we stole him from his backyard,” Jason tells her brightly.

“average billionaire adopts 1000 children a year” factoid actualy just statistical error. average billionaire adopts 0 children per year. Orphans Bruc, who lives in cave & adopts over 1 child each month, is an outlier adn should not have been counted.

what goes around by Goldmonger - Rated G

A civilian accidentally kills the Joker. It’s a confusing time for everybody.

artemis crock coming to the wrong conclusions by impravidus - Rated G

Nightwing has his hands outstretched, his palms opening and closing exaggeratedly. Red Hood shakes his head. “I am not gonna—” “Just one?” Nightwing interjects sweetly. “Please please please?” “You are such an idiot—” “Just ooone. C’mon, Hood. Don’t these arms look so warm and inviting?” “Inviting for a stab, yeah.” Artemis sees Nightwing being his affectionate (or as Red Hood would put it, extremely annoying) self and comes to the wrong conclusions.

[bubblesxo]

(harvey bullock in the batfam)

okay, so this post is to elaborate on something i was talking about in tags the other day etc. etc.

so basically, my whole point was that bruce is a little chaos gremlin. he has so many bad habits and does so many illegal activities completely nonchalantly that it sometimes can make people question his mental state.

of course, this all originated from his childhood and the way that he was raised. we know from the gotham tv (which this post is specific to) that bruce was close with his parents, though his father did have secrets that eventually killed him. nevertheless, bruce was raised well for the first 12 years of his life. very well, in fact. he was rich, he had a butler and two loving parents---he had a good life.

and then his parents were shot in front of him.

12 years old and bruce is reborn. bruce after isn't the same person as bruce before. after the shooting, bruce has a purpose and a meaning to life. he knows what he needs to do---protect gotham and her people. make a difference. (though i won't get too ahead of myself.)

it starts out small. thomas wayne (bruce's dad) made alfred promise to never bring bruce to a psychologist if he and his wife were killed. alfred kept this promise and never did, even though that was definitely what bruce needed at the time.

bruce coped badly, especially at first. he had no appetite and stopped eating. he started burning himself, cutting himself, and holding his breath underwater so he could "test himself" and "overcome fear" (which is actually a recurring theme in the show). he went to the roof of his house and stood on the ledge to make himself not fear heights.

it was obvious then that bruce needed help, but he didn't get it. instead, he got alfred (who i love!!). however, just because i love alfred doesn't mean i can't acknowledge that he is one of the main reasons bruce ended up the way he did.

it's no secret that bruce is a little messed up. we all know that, right? anyway, alfred did a lot of crazy stuff in his time taking care of bruce, which is understandable, because he wasn't expecting to one day be going about his day and suddenly find himself a single father. he was definitely going through it with guilt and despair after his bosses were killed. didn't help that he had to find a way to care for their son.

anyway, alfred is also a bit odd. he has a strong opinion on what it means to be strong and also a strong opinion on bruce being safe. once, bruce sprained his ankle hiking and alfred let him crawl up a hill for half an hour. however, he followed that up with honoring one of bruce's prized family traditions. alfred frequently was a bit rough when teaching bruce to fight, which, admittedly, bruce didn't seem to mind, but he once did punch bruce in the nose after purposefully distracting him to make a point about him not being ready.

i don't think learning to fight is harmful, of course. i just think that the way those two went about it was... interesting. and pretty cool. they have a great bond and i love that for him.

anyway, alfred never pushed back against him. thomas also told alfred to let bruce choose his own path like all waynes did, which is why bruce has way too much control over his own life way too early. (again, not blaming alfred per se. the man was grieving and following the order to the letter.)

this led to bruce doing more and more reckless things over time and learning way too much for his age. his gets involved in vigilatism around the age of 15 (i do believe? my timeline there is fuzzy) and, while alfred makes his disapproval known, he doesn't stop him.

alfred teaches bruce that he needs to be strong. he teaches him to always expect the worst. he teaches him to always be on guard and to never give up when facing opposition. these are not necessarily bad things.

then, there's jim gordon. jim was the first person to really talk to bruce after his parents were killed, and he promises bruce that he'll find the man who was responsible. over time as this is revealed to be much more complicated than expected, jim does not grow apart from the family. if anything, it just seems to make them all closer togehter. their lives are completely linked.

now, when jim talks, he has the crazy ability to make persuasive speeches. it's one of his things, a motif of his in the show---he always gives speeches, especially when motivating people. now, as a kid, freshly orphaned, bruce needed motivation. jim tells bruce a lot of things that could be misinterpreted and come back to hurt him. he also, however, draws him in closer to the mess that is gotham and it's crime world. this encouragement only makes bruce more determined to get involve over time.

now, i made a post saying that these two basically coparented bruce, and i stand by this. alfred did all of the day-to-day stuff and helped really form bruce as a person, but jim was the one who really imparted his morals and hope on bruce.

jim taught bruce that everyone can be redeemed, and anyone can be saved. just like batman believes.

jim and bruce talk about darker and more complicated things as time passes. for example, they once talked about how you sometimes need to let go of your own pride in order to take care of other people (which ended up with a lot of bad results)

this leads to jim killing someone and bruce's brain being changed. he gets most of his morals from jim most likely, and jim is not necessarily particularly "good" often. he violates police procedure and the law frequently to help people.

now, jim's partner is harvey bullock. while he and bruce aren't the closest in the canon material for the show, they did have a few notable interactions and i believe that we can really extrapolate here.

before, i said that harvey would freak out at the realization that he's old. i stand by this. however, harvey also knows that he's getting older and will eventually need to leave the force in jim's hands.

harvey is a very blunt man. he knows how to lie but he doesn't really ever do so unless his life depended on it. when he talks to bruce, the two of them really click. despite harvey having committed so many crimes and broken many, many departmental policies, it is shown that he is still a good man deep down.

harvey tells bruce stories all the time. he talks to him about the legal AND illegal things that he has done both on and off the job, and bruce picks up on way too many of him. he gets /ideas/. he has the money, after all. he can learn how to do that stuff.

bruce really just wants to make life better for the others tbh. that's like his life goal. harvey basically teaches bruce how to emulate the more gritty parts of batman---torture in interrogation, breaking and entering, gathering information, how to break the law without getting caught, etc. etc. of course, some of his terms really rub off on bruce.

i'm imagining bruce calling someone "putz" as an insult. it's just so funny to me

i was falling asleep while writing this so i'm gonna snooze now and maybe add more later bcuz that was a bit lacking in harvey sorry!!

[aa-400]

malevolent and the queer-coded villain trope

*disclaimer please respect the #masked tag. while i'm putting these thoughts out into the ether they're not really meant for harlan to see as i don't want to be put on blast for criticising the show. this is not me attempting to malign this podcast or its creator or to go "it's bad and problematic actually so don't listen to it" because that's a frankly horrible and unhelpful way of engaging with media and the world at large. i'm certainly not going to stop enjoying malevolent wholeheartedly or supporting harlan in his creative endeavours. this is not an accusation, it's an observation.

i've been thinking about the queer-coded villain trope in a separate context recently, but something clicked for me with part 34. horror (and other genre fiction but let's focus on the relevant genre here) has a tradition of placing queer elements within the subtext. it's a means of Othering and used to separate the protagonist from whatever evil entity they're up against in the story, be it man or creature, and where the the tropes of the monstrous queer and the queer-coded villain are born from.

a brief second disclaimer. i'm a queer villain and queer horror enjoyer and here to reclaim every single queer-coded villain and monster ever created but acting like the trope doesn't have a problematic, negative history is a sucky way of engaging with and examining a piece of media so let's not do that.

aaanyway, to the actual meat of this post: i believe malevolent reiterates the monstrous queer / queer-coded villain tropes however unintentionally and they go unexamined in the text.

first, we have kayne. flamboyant, exaggerated kayne who calls arthur—and to an extent john—pet names. i don't really think i have to go into detail for people to know what i'm getting at.

then we have larson. yeah, larson. in particular, i'm referring to the scene where arthur wakes up in the larson estate and his clothes have been removed. larson approaches arthur while he's in bed, vulnerable, and while there's not anything untoward happening in the text, it's still very ... master of the house and the gothic heroine, for lack of a better comparison. actually, think of count dracula and jonathan harker in castle dracula — the dynamic is very reminiscent of that, and dracula is a famously queer coded monster in part for that whole thing.

and finally, there's the butcher. a predator—a serial killer—obsessed with chasing arthur down. and boy did part 34 lay it down thick. i mean, he hears peggy gordon in his head when he hunts arthur and sings it to him when he's come to get him. it's a song about a man's unrequited love and it's pretty obvious the butcher's meant to be the man while arthur is peggy, who slighted him when he escaped from the butcher back in the train. and then as if that wasn't obvious enough he has a line about falling in love with his victims. "it's dedication, devotion, a bond. (laugh) sounds a bit like falling in love, doesn't it? maybe i suppose you could say i've fallen in love with each and every one of them. with each and every animal." which is then followed by more arthur-specific obsessing.

harlan has explicitly stated that arthur isn't queer rep, so unintentionally what's happening in the text is that the heterosexual protagonist is pitted against these queer-coded malevolent entities in a way that's pretty text book.

none of these characters i used as examples are written to be explicitly queer, but the coding is certainly there. again, i'm not saying harlan is a secret queerphobe who is putting this subtext in malevolent intentionally—i can with confidence say that we can safely assume that isn't the case! but, like i said when i was prefacing this post, queer subtext in the monstrous and villainous have a recorded history within horror. it's really easy to reiterate tropes like that if you create within a genre without actively examining your work and its wider context, and i think that's what happening here.

so what was the point of this post? there isn't much of one, really, i just made an observation and wanted to share because i believe in and enjoy examining the things you love critically. and i do love malevolent, with its queer-coded villains and all. i'm not calling for anything to change in the story, or accusing harlan or anyone else of anything; i'm just having thoughts about the wider scope of horror media and where malevolent fits within it and i'm using a cda and queer theory oriented brain to do it.

[denaliwrites]

Something Meaty For The Main Course

Aziraphale x GN!Reader

Summary: You cook a special meal for Aziraphale to tell him how much he means to you.

Soundtrack: Take Me To Church by Hozier

Requests: Open!

Warnings: Blatant use of Take Me To Church lyrics for the symbolism. Also weird Christian symbolism. I saw the opportunity and I took it.

You were no trained professional when it came to cooking, but you knew your way around the average kitchen, you knew the names of most tools and utensils, and in a pinch you were quite skilled with Google.

But Aziraphale deserved better than "average home cook." He deserved a meal even Gordon Fucking Ramsay couldn't find fault in. You weren't exactly sure you could deliver that kind of meal, but you'd be damned if you weren't going to try on the angel's behalf.

After all, this meal in particular had to be perfect. Literally perfect.

You settled on roasted lamb with pomegranate sauce and mint.

You didn't consider yourself a particularly religious person, or a particularly sinful person, but you were pretty sure Aziraphale wouldn't miss the meanings there. You were also pretty sure God was docking off some points for your brazenness.

There were still a few minutes left on the kitchen timer when Aziraphale's knock on your door filled the otherwise silent flat. "Coming!" you called, shooting the oven a warning look (as if it could see or understand) before wandering to the door and opening it for the angel to enter.

"Oh, it smells absolutely heavenly, my dear," he purred as he stepped over the threshold. You could see his eyes taking in the flat -- you didn't have a lot of belongings, and most of what you did have was second-hand. It didn't bother you too much, that was just the reality of living on your wage.

Even though you knew he wasn't, you couldn't help but feel a little judged.

He stepped towards the kitchen area, and you followed with your hands nervously wringing as they rested over your belly. "Erm, the table is just there," you offered uselessly, motioning towards the rather obvious dining set that he couldn't have possibly missed.

Stellar.

"Would you like me to sit?" he asked, and when he turned to you his eyes were nothing but cheerful and kind.

"Oh, er... only if you want," you stammered. "I didn't mean to... you can keep looking around. The roast isn't ready yet, anyway."

"Oh, you've made a roast? How delightful!"

The genuine joy warmed your heart and your cheeks. Much like the table, you were sure it was impossible for him to miss how red your cheeks got.

Despite your invitation to keep looking around the flat, Aziraphale chose to take a seat at the little table. Unbeknownst to him, he'd taken your usual spot -- you weren't going to tell him that, of course. He could sit wherever he wanted. You'd let him sit on your corpse if it so pleased him (though, now that the thought had crossed your mind, you really hoped it didn't).

Wordlessly, you stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the wine you'd bought for the evening. It was nothing special, the most expensive you could afford was a twenty pound bottle of some red you couldn't say the name of. But you knew the angel liked red wine, so you'd squeezed it into the budget for him.

You'd just set the bottle and two glasses on the table when the timer for the roast went off. "Oh," you sighed in disappointment.

"Would you like me to get it?" he asked helpfully.

"Oh, no, I couldn't... ask that of you," you told him, holding a hand out to pause his progress upward. "It's fine." You made sure he sat down fully before you ducked out again, this time to get the roast out and prepare everything.

You'd had to buy serving trays for this meal, something you hadn't really thought you needed until this whole affair. Now that you had them, though, you were determined to use them for any occasion that you could justifiably use them for.

You transferred the roast to a tray, then carefully carried it out to the table. Next were the potatoes, then the salad, and finally the gravy boat filled with pomegranate sauce. Finally, you were able to sit down, and you all but collapsed into the chair.

Aziraphale's attention immediately snapped from the food to you. "Are you all right, my dear?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," you answered, waving a hand dismissively. "Just glad to be off my feet."

He smiled sympathetically, then looked back to the food, his eyes lighting up. "Wherever did you learn to cook like this, my dear?" he asked distractedly.

"Google," you answered honestly, thankful he hadn't actually wanted an answer and hadn't seemed to hear you regardless.

He looked to you, as if asking for permission, and you motioned for him to go ahead.

You weren't sure how much you'd expected the angel to eat, but it certainly wasn't... nearly as much as he served himself. Not that you were complaining, you couldn't eat all that food by yourself, even as leftovers.

While he was busy piling food on his plate, you busied yourself with opening the wine and pouring the glasses, making sure to set his somewhere he wouldn't accidentally knock it over.

"This was very kind of you," he said suddenly, and when you looked up his eyes were on you rather intently. Uncomfortably intently.

"O-oh... no, it's nothing," you weakly assured him, smiling nervously.

"No, no, it's not nothing," he insisted, shifting in his seat to move closer to you. His delightfully warm hands wrapped around yours, and while his hands warmed your skin, his smile warmed your soul in a way you didn't even know was possible.

Then again, he was an angel.

"It is," you said, voice stronger. You wondered if he had something to do with that. "Nothing, I mean. It seems perfectly normal to cook dinner for someone you love, you know?"

Both of you froze.

Shit.

Well, that certainly wasn't how you'd planned to tell him, or how you'd planned to phrase it. You wondered, idly, if maybe he had something to do with that, too. Not that it really mattered now, since the words were out there, hanging awkwardly in the air.

"You... love me?" he asked softly.

"Oh, yes. Very much."

Finally, he cracked, and a joyful smile spread over his face, eyes gleaming. "Oh, isn't that just wonderful! And I you, of course."

"Of course," you agreed deliriously. "Of course."

"I do think this calls for a toast."

"With cheap wine?" you asked with a light chuckle.

He made an odd motion with a hand, then gave you a wink. "Not anymore."

[ghost-bxrd]

Dick making friends with Mockingjay.

The thing is, Jason doesn't have any particular hatred towards Dick - just the general hate towards all Bats and all heroes.

He hates Bruce and Tim for obvious reasons, but he and Dick were never close enough to feel strongly one way or the other.

He isn't surprised Dick didn't avenge him, because why should he? It isn't like Bruce, Dick never made the choice to take him in, if he didn't want to play big brother to the random kid, well, annoying, but okay.

So unlike with Bruce or Tim, Jason doesn't spew quite so much vitriol about Dick to MJ. So already it is a 'the least horrible among the Bats' impression. Which is not saying much, but still.

More to the point? Mockingjay is basically what Baby Robin Dick was - I mean, waving a severed arm? That's 100% something feral robin Dick would have done.

So Dick has a much better idea than the others on how to deal with the gremlin.

He knows better than to talk the kid into leaving Hood, he knows how he would have reacted to anyone taking him away from Bruce in the early years.

So he just, kinda offers random tips to the kid? Like, "Hey, that mob guy your boss is after? He's got arachnophobia. So if you guys wanna have some fun questioning him..."

Or

"Come on, kiddo! You grabbed the arm when the head was right there? Imagine how it'd look if you just pushed it at the right angle to make it look like it's nodding!"

Stuff like that. And laughs at the insults the kid spews at him. There isn't really much the kid can say which will get to him - school pretty much immunized him to any surprise at kids being absolutely brutal.

And has practical answers to the ' why won't you kill' question. Like, "Kiddo, we start killing, we lose Gordon. The Mayor is already bought, just looking for an excuse to sic the cops on us. We lose ability to coordinate with the idiots in charge, good luck dealing with anything city wide - like that Man Bat invasion last week. We'd be fighting both the cops and the bad guys. Fine if you're just a dealer defending your territory from regular bad guys, but not gonna work on a larger scale. I mean, there's a pretty good reason your boss isn't going after any big name Rogues or even going out the Alley"

Of course, there's still absolutely no doubt where MJ's loyalties lie, but still, MJ with enough of a semi amiable connection with Nightwing to go to him if Jason is in trouble and MJ can't get him out of it alone, or if MJ is being chased or something and Jason isn't close enough to help.

In the beginning I think Dick will be too angry over the bastardization of Robin to even consider taking this route with Mockingjay. Like everyone else, he’s convinced Hood must be abusing/grooming Mockingjay and attempt to do the “you’re safe with us spiel”, which is just going to annoy MJ so much more.

But eventually, if Dick stops to think long enough about it, then I can see him trying to take the route you suggested and attempt to establish himself as a trustworthy adult in MJ’s life, in the hopes that the kid will realize how messed up his situation is and come to Dick for help.

Of course that would also mean he has to stop insulting Red Hood around Mockingjay, which is very hard for poor Dick.

But we’ll see how the Nightwing situation is going to play out in AoM 😌✨

[resident-idiot-simp]

How do you think 09 v Reboot MW would fair in the SPN verse?

Would be creatures or hunters?

how’d they react to the characters from SPN and in a fair fight who would win?

YOU HAVE UNLOCKED SOMETHING IN ME!

Okay this whole thing is very complicated let's break it down.

First of all I think either could be both depending on the vibe you are going for but here is my first thoughts on it.

22-

Soap: hunter

Ghost: creature (werewolf or vampire maybe)

Gaz: hunter

Price: hunter

09-

Tav: toss up maybe originally Hunter turned creature I want to say vampire..... For Obvious reasons

Riley: creature (I would like to say Wendigo I really would but that might not fit quite in the universe... I'm going to say it anyway)

Roach: creature (Hell maybe he could be a Phoenix that would be very interesting considering they're all dead)

Price: Hunter but like Gordon vibes

React is a good question... There are so many characters I could go on about... Honestly it might be easier to ask about a specific character but I'm just going to do a vague overall. So TFW + Gabriel (because he is the best character)

Sam- He likes all the 22 boys honestly (probably a particular liking in Soap) he probably is just curious about their lives. 09 probably extremely hesitant but even more interested. He hates Price because Price is far too much like John.

Dean- He finds a keen spirit in Ghost and finds Soap fascinating. Hates 09 Price and probably wants to kill Riley. Tav is off-putting and he is confused by Roach and asks him a metric shit ton of questions.

Cas- He really don't care about any of them except for Riley and Roach probably he just wants to understand how they function and why (09) Price isn't dead

Gabriel - He loves the 22 boys and will treat Ghost like a pet. Soap is displeased but can't do shit about it. He finds Soap fun to poke and prod at and likes to call Price a child.

09- He wants to put Riley in a jar and study him. And he is so found of Roach (kindred spirits those two both can't FUCKING DIE) . Tav gets the trickster special because he isn't found of where he is headed and Price is free game to hunt.

(there is more Gabriel because I understand how far better then any other character.)

And in a fight?? That's not really a fair question... Because it's the Winchester's..... They can beat any character in fiction let's be honest here.

Castiel alone bodies. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ BUT I don't think that's the answer you want. So instead let's break it down.

They both have military tactics they are both honed in their craft. Tactics wise I don't know who actually wins It might be a toss-up. Would I like to give it to the Captain? Yes! Would he actually come out on top? I'm not sure.

Fighting wise again toss up they really are evenly matched in my mind.

The thing is the Winchester's have the advantage they know more than any hunter in the world because of the bunker.

If we're not counting just how overpowered the Winchester's are for the numerous reasons they are not only because God made them that powerful. They are honestly two sides of the same coin so I'm the end It might just be a draw ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Eyes and Ears

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: An AU where Barbara finds Jason instead of Bruce.

Chapters: 24/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood, Original Character(s)

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character(s), Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Older SIbling Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd-centric, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Jason Todd is NOT Robin, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has a Crush, Adopted Siblings

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mindfulness/Movie Night

When Jim went back to work, Barbara decided to add a new element to Jason's training. Mindfulness meditation. Jason sat with her for nearly an hour, listening to a guided meditation before pausing the audio. "Barbara, I have a date in two hours," Jason whispered.

Barbara opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, what?" Barbara asked. Jason gave her a wide-eyed look just as he realized he hadn't told her about his date. "You have a date? Where?"

"Here... I meant to tell you. I really did. I just forgot. We're just gonna watch a movie," Jason replied as he stood up and stretched out. "Also, don't worry about dinner. I'll cook."

"You're gonna cook?" Barbara asked. "You know how to cook?"

"Yes, I know how to cook," Jason whispered. He went to the kitchen and washed his hands. "I'm making something easy anyway." He started cutting vegetables, and Barbara followed him, sitting across from him at the counter as he cooked.

"Jason, can you tell me who it is?" Barbara asked.

"I don't know if I can say... Pop doesn't know either," Jason reassured her.

"Oh no, I'm not jealous that you—." Barbara grew quiet as she noticed the grin on Jason's face. "Shut up," she laughed as she grabbed a julienned slice of bell pepper and ate it.

"Hey!" Jason laughed. He went back to cooking quietly, and Barbara looked at him, cocking her head. "What?" Jason asked.

"This is your first ever date, isn't it?" Barbara asked. Jason nodded without looking up.

"Is this not a normal date? Like is it obvious that I have no idea what I'm—."

"A date can be whatever you want it to be. Don't put pressure on yourself to do what's expected of you. You're just supposed to have fun," Barbara interrupted. Jason relaxed his shoulders. "What are you cooking?"

"You'll see," Jason whispered. Barbara squinted at him.

"You can cook?" Barbara asked once more.

"Yes, I can cook. Why is that so shocking to you?" Jason asked. Barbara shrugged and let him go back to cooking. Once dinner was in the oven, he asked Barbara to stay and watch the food while he showered and got dressed.

Jason came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. "Is time still good?" Jason asked.

"Fifteen minutes to spare," Barbara replied. Jason ran back to his room and straightened up a little. "Can I make myself a plate?"

"Sure, why not?" Jason answered from his bedroom. Someone knocked on the door, and Jason took a deep breath. "I'll get it!" He walked to the door, and Reese stood there with a tall, severe-looking man with white hair.

"Papa, see. I told you," Reese whispered. Mr. Polishuk said something in another language.

Jason answered the man's question and watched as a smile spread across the man's face. "You speak Hungarian?" Mr. Polishuk asked. Jason nodded and offered a sheepish grin before shaking his hand.

"Mr. Polishuk, would you like to come in?" Jason asked. Mr. Polishuk shook his head.

"No, I just wanted to meet the boy my son speaks so highly of," he replied, "It was very nice to meet you, Jason. Is your father home?"

"Oh, no. My father's working late tonight," Jason replied. Barbara took that as her cue to set her plate aside and come to the door.

"Hi, I'm his older sister, Barbara Gordon," she smiled as she extended her hand. Mr. Polishuk shook her hand.

Mr. Polishuk nodded at them before reminding Reese that he'd be back in three hours, and they parted ways. Reese followed Jason inside, and Jason asked if he wanted to sit down.

"Sorry about my dad. I'm still in the process of earning his trust back," Reese apologized, "And Ariel says hi."

"Don't worry about it. I made dinner," Jason whispered.

"It's good, and I'm gonna make my exit. I'll be in my room if anyone needs anything," Barbara replied as she took her plate to her room. Jason got up and made their plates, and he took a deep breath. "I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink," Jason whispered.

"Oh, water is fine... Jason, can I help?" Reese asked. Jason shook his head. Reese stood there for a moment before going to the kitchen to help Jason. "Sorry, I—. Wow, this is beautiful."

"Thanks," Jason smiled before confessing, "Reese, I've never been on a date before."

"That's okay," Reese replied. Jason expected Reese to say he'd never dated either. "Jason, don't be nervous... It's just me."

"That's why I'm nervous," Jason laughed. Reese nudged Jason playfully. They both sat at the counter and ate together, and Reese tried to find something to say.

"I didn't know I liked—. The fish is good. Thank you," Reese mumbled. Jason smiled.

"Thank you," Jason replied, "I uh—. I forgot to pick a movie to watch." Reese chuckled before catching Jason's eye. They made eye contact for an uncomfortably long time.

Jason turned his head and went back to eating. Reese hesitated a moment before going back to his dinner. Jason turned back to Reese, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Hey, Jason... I thought your last name was Todd," Reese mentioned.

"Oh, yeah. I'm adopted," Jason put his fork down, "It was a little while ago. It hasn't been a long time, but I've been here since I was twelve. Can I ask about the stepmoms?"

"He thinks we need a mother... He married my mom first, but she left when she found out about Ariel. Ariel's mom was his true love. She was pretty and sweet and the only mother I really knew. After my mom left when I was three, Ariel and his mom came to live with us. I never saw my mom again, so Ariel's mom was Mumma to us. She died when Ariel and I were ten in a car accident," Reese took a deep breath, "My father married two years after that, and after a year, they divorced, and he married Four. It won't last."

"Why do you hate her so much?" Jason asked.

"Because she doesn't love my father, and she's no mother. She's not a mother at all. At least Three didn't hate kids," Reese whispered, "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I didn't know my mom wasn't my birth mom until after she passed. But now I'm not sure if my birth mom is alive at all," Jason confessed, "And if she is alive, I don't know if I'll want to find her... I mean, of course, I do, but I don't want to give up this family."

"Do you look like her?" Reese asked.

"In some ways, yeah... But, mostly, I just look like my father," Jason replied. They finished eating dinner, and Reese helped him wash the dishes and put away the leftovers. By the time they got around to watching the movie, Jason was half-asleep. He lay his head on Reese's shoulder as they sat.

Reese took Jason's hand and locked their fingers together before resting their hands on his knee. Jason smiled and sat with his feet on the couch. He closed his eyes, and Reese whispered something that Jason wasn't awake enough to hear. When Jason woke up, the movie was over, but Reese was still holding his hand. "Reese, I'm sorry—."

"It's okay. This was the best date I've ever had," Reese whispered. Jason smiled. "Do you maybe wanna do this again? At my house next time?"

Jason nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that'd be nice," Jason whispered, "Oh, um... I'm still holding your hand, aren't I?" Reese nodded, still making eye contact with Jason.

"You're the first boy I ever liked," Reese confessed. Jason's face went red, and he turned away. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Jason whispered as he tried to collect himself. "I'm just a little surprised..."

The door opened, and Jim grabbed hung up his coat. "Hi, Pop... Remember Reese?" Jason asked. Jim shook Reese's hand.

"Nice to see you again, Reese. I'm just gonna make myself something to eat, and I'll make myself scarce—."

"I made you dinner. It's in the fridge," Jason interrupted. Jim smiled.

"Thank you," Jim replied as he made his plate and popped it in the microwave.

Reese leaned over to whisper, "You sure your dad doesn't mind?" Jason took Reese's hand.

Jason changed the channel and nodded as he rested his head on Reese's shoulder. "It's fine, Reese," Jason whispered. He sat there with Reese until Mr. Polishuk rang the doorbell. Reese stood up and lingered a moment before pressing a kiss to Jason's cheek. Jason touched his cheek and offered a nervous, near-silent laugh. Jim set his dinner aside and answered the door, and introduced himself to Mr. Polishuk.

Soon after Mr. Polishuk and Reese left, Jim nudged Jason. "So, how'd your date go?" Jim asked.

"I slept through the entire movie," Jason groaned out of embarrassment. Jim chuckled. "But he did hold my hand. He—. Pop, he kissed me... He kissed me on my cheek," Jason smiled as his hand strayed back to his cheek.