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demonslayerscript · 17 hours ago

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Episode 3 : A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago / 第三話『三百年以上前の刀（さんびゃくねんいじょうまえのかたな/Sanbyaku-nen-ijo Maeno Katana』

*Green colored words are only in anime, not in original manga, and we usually call them “アニオリ/ani-ori(アニメオリジナル/anime-original)".

竈門炭治郎「ぐううっ！」

Kamado Tanjiro “Guuu!”

小鉄「何でしょうかこれ!! 少なくとも三百年以上前の刀ですよね！」

Kotetsu “Nan-deshoka kore!! Sukunaku-tomo sanbyaku-nen-ijo maeno katana desu-yone!”

Kotetsu “What could that be? At the very least… it’s a sword from over 300 years ago, right?”

炭治郎「そうだよね。これ…やばいね！どうする!?」

Tanjiro “So-dayone. Kore…yabaine! Do-suru!?”

Tanjiro “It probably is! This is…crazy, huh? What should we do?”

二人「はぁ、はぁっ、はぁっ…」

Futari “Haa, haa, haa…”

小鉄「興奮が治まりませんね!!」

Kotetsu “Kofunga osamari-masenne!!”

Kotetsu “Can’t stop our hearts from pounding, huh?”

炭治郎「うん！」

Tanjiro “Un!”

Tanjiro “No!”

小鉄「炭治郎さん、ちょうど刀が打ってもらえず困ってたでしょ。これ炭治郎さん貰っていいんじゃないでしょうか！」

Kotetsu “Tanjiro-san, chodo katanaga utte-moraezu komatteta-desho. Kore Tanjiro-san moratte iinja nai-deshoka!”

Kotetsu “Mr.Tanjiro! You were at a loss because you couldn’t get a new sword forged, right? I’m thinking it would be all right if you took this sword!”

炭治郎「ややややや！駄目でしょ！」

Tanjiro “Yayayayaya! Dame-desho!”

Tanjiro “No, no! That wouldn’t be right!”

小鉄「戦国の世の時代の鉄は、すごく質がいいんですよ！」

Kotetsu “Sengokuno yono jidaino tetsuwa, sugoku shitsuga iin-desuyo!”

Kotetsu “The steel they used in the Sengoku Period is the best quality ever!”

炭治郎「だめだめ、そんな」

Tanjiro “Dame dame, sonna.”

Tanjiro “No, no, I couldn’t!”

小鉄「炭治郎さんが斬ったから見つかったんだから」

Kotetsu “Tanjiro-sanga kitta-kara mitsukattan-dakara.”

Kotetsu “But we only found it because you came here!”

炭治郎「それは今まで蓄積された剣戟があって、偶々(たまたま)俺の時に人形壊れただけだろうし、そんな！」

Tanjiro “Sorewa ima-made chikuseki-sareta kengekiga atte, tama-tama oreno tokini ningyo kowareta-dake-daroshi, sonna!”

Tanjiro “That’s because it already had a battle history stored inside, and I just happened to be there when it broke! So no!”

小鉄「いいんですか？本当に」

Kotetsu “Iin-desuka? Hontoni.”

Kotetsu “Are you sure about that? Really?”

炭治郎「んんん…」

Tanjiro “Nnn…”

小鉄「試しにちょっと抜いてみます!?」

Kotetsu “Tameshini chotto nuite-mimasu?”

Kotetsu “Want to pull it out just to take a look?”

炭治郎「そうだね、見たいよね！」

Tanjiro “Sodane, mitai-yone!”

Tanjiro “Sure! I know I’d like to see it!”

二人「はああ…」

Futari “Haaa…”

炭治郎「錆びてる……」

Tanjiro “Sabi-teru…”

Tanjiro “It’s rusty.”

小鉄「あ…いや、当然ですよね。三百年とか…誰も手入れしてないし、知らなかったし…。すみません、ぬか喜びさせて…」

Kotetsu “A…iya, tozen desu-yone. Sanbyaku-nen-toka… Daremo teire shite-naishi, shira-nakattashi… Sumi-masen, nuka-yorokobi sasete…”

Kotetsu “Well, yeah. Of course it is. It’s been neglected for like 300 years, and no one knew about it. Sorry! I got you worked up for nothing.”

炭治郎「大丈夫!! 気にしてないよ」

Tanjiro “Daijobu!! Kini shite-naiyo!”

Tanjiro “It’s okay! I don’t mind, all right?”

小鉄「うわあああ、炭治郎さん!! 炭治郎さ…ごめんね!!」

Kotetsu “Uwaaaa, Tanjiro-san!! Tanjiro-sa… Gomenne!!”

Kotetsu “Whoa! Mr. Tanjiro! Mr. Tanjiro, my bad!”

二人「あっ！」

Futari “A!”

炭治郎「何だ？……あ……」

Tanjiro “Nanda? ……A……”

Tanjiro “What was that?”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

炭治郎「うわあああああ!! 誰!? 鋼鐵塚さん!?」

Tanjiro “Uwaaaaaa!! Dare!? Hagane-zuka-san!?”

Tanjiro “Who’s that? Mr. Haganezuka?”

鋼鐵塚蛍「話は聞かせてもらった…後は…任せろ…」

Haganezuka Hotaru “Hanashiwa kikasete-moratta… Atoha…makasero…”

Hotaru Haganezuka “I have heard your story. I’ll take it from here.”

小鉄「何を任せるの!?」

Kotetsu “Nani’o makaseruno!?”

Kotetsu “Take what from here?”

鋼鐵塚「ぐっ…」

Haganezuka “Gu…”

炭治郎「何するんですか！」

Tanjiro “Nani surun-desuka!”

Tanjiro “What do you think you’re doing?”

鋼鐵塚「俺に…任せろ…」

Haganezuka “Oreni…makasero…”

Haganezuka “Leave it to me!”

炭治郎「ぐっ…放してください。ちょっ…何で持って行こうとするんです!?」

Tanjiro “Gu…Hanashite kudasai. Cho…nande motte-ikoto surun-desu!?”

Tanjiro “Let go, please! Hey, why are you trying to take off with it?”

鋼鐵塚「いいから俺に任せろ…」

Haganezuka “Iikara oreni makasero…”

Haganezuka “Just shut up and leave it to me!”

炭治郎「突然現れて、任せろと言われても意味わかんないですよ」

Tanjiro “Totsuzen arawarete, makaseroto iware-temo imi wakan-nai desuyo.”

Tanjiro “You can’t just show up out of the blue and say, ‘Leave it to me!’ That doesn’t make any sense!”

鋼鐵塚「任せるんだ…」

Haganezuka “Makaserunda…”

Haganezuka “You leave it to me!”

炭治郎「いやこれ小鉄君のですから!!」

Tanjiro “Iya kore Kotetsu-kunno desu-kara!!”

Tanjiro “No, this belongs to Kotetsu!”

鋼鐵塚「任せろ…」

Haganezuka “Makasero…”

Haganezuka “Leave it to me!”

炭治郎「俺、鋼鐵塚さんに会いに来たんですよ。どこにいたんですか？」

Tanjiro “Ore, Haganezuka-sanni aini kitan-desuyo. Dokoni itan-desuka?”

Tanjiro “I came here to see you, Mr. Haganezuka! Where have you been?”

鋼鐵塚「うっ……。任せろったら任せろ」

Haganezuka “U…… Makaserottara makasero.”

Haganezuka “Leave it to me means leave it to me!”

小鉄「にににに…」

Kotetsu “Nininini…”

炭治郎「いやだから、何を任せるんですか？説明してくださいよ」

Tanjiro “Iya dakara, nani’o makaserun-desuka? Setsumei-shite kudasaiyo.”

Tanjiro “And I asked you what you meant by that! So explain that to us!”

鋼鐵塚「俺に任せろって言ってるだろうが!!」

Haganezuka “Oreni makaserotte itteru-daroga!!”

Haganezuka “Which part of ‘leave it to me’ don’t you get?”

炭治郎・小鉄「うわあああ！」

Tanjiro, Kotetsu “Uwaaaa!”

炭治郎「大人のすることじゃない!!」

Tanjiro “Otonano suru-kotoja nai!!”

Tanjiro “What grown-up does that?”

鉄穴森「少年たちよ。鋼鐵塚さんの急所は脇です。ここを狙うのです」

Kanamori “Shonen-tachiyo. Haganezuka-sanno kyushowa waki desu. Koko’o nerauno-desu.”

Kanamori “Listen, boys. Mr. Haganezuka’s weak spots are his sides. Go after him here.”

鋼鐵塚「ひゃひゃひゃひゃひゃ！」

Haganezuka “Hya-hya-hya-hya-hya!”

鉄穴森「こしょこしょこしょ…」

Kanamori “Kosho kosho kosho…”

Kanamori “Tickle, tickle, tickle…”

炭治郎「あっ、鉄穴森(かなもり)さん!! ご無沙汰してます！」

Tanjiro “A, Kanamoro-san!! Gobusata shite-masu!”

Tanjiro “Hey! Mr. Kanamori… Long time no see.”

鉄穴森「あっ、お久しぶり、炭治郎君。鋼鐵塚さんは、くすぐられると、しばしグッタリしますので、私から説明しましょ。鋼鐵塚さんを許してやってくださいね。彼はね、山籠もりで修行していたんですよ」

Kanamori “A, oshisashi-buri, Tanjiro-kun. Haganezuka-sanwa, kusugu-rareruto, shibashi guttari shimasu-node, watashi-kara setsumei-shimasho. Haganezuka-san’o yurushite-yatte kudasaine. Kare-wane, yama-gomoride shugyo shite-itan-desuyo.”

Kanamori “Hey, long time no see, Tanjiro. Mr. Haganezuka always goes limp for a while after being tickled, so I’ll do the explaining. Please forgive Mr. Haganezuka. You see, he’s been hiding out in the mountains, training.”

炭治郎「修行？」

Tanjiro “Shugyo?”

Tanjiro “Training?”

鉄穴森「そう。君を死なせないよう、もっと強い刀を作るために」

Kanamori “So. Kimi’o shinase-naiyo, motto tsuyoi katana’o tsukuru-tameni.”

Kanamori “That’s right. In order to forge you a stronger sword… so that you won’t get killed.”

炭治郎「あ……」

Tanjiro “A……”

Tanjiro “Oh…”

鉄穴森「素直に言わないけれどね」

Kanamori “Sunaoni iwanai-keredone.”

Kanamori “Not that he’d ever admit that himself.”

炭治郎「俺のため…」

Tanjiro “Oreno tame…”

Tanjiro “For me?”

鉄穴森「君はずっと鋼鐵塚さんに刀をお願いしてるでしょう。嬉しかったんだと思いますよ。この人、剣士さんに嫌われて担当外れること多かったから」

Kanamori “Kimiwa zutto Haganezuka-sanni katana’o onegai shiteru-desho. Ureshi-kattandato omoi-masuyo. Kono hito, kenshi-sanni kirawarete tanto hazureru-koto ookatta-kara.”

Kanamori “All this time, you’ve been asking Mr. Haganezuka for another sword, right? I’m sure that it made him happy. After all, he’s always losing clients because most swordsmen can’t stand him.”

炭治郎「そうなんですか？」

Tanjiro “Sonan-desuka?”

Tanjiro “Is that right?”

小鉄「人付き合い下手すぎなんですよね、この方」

Kotetsu “Hito-zukiai heta-sugi nan-desu-yone, kono kata.”

Kotetsu “He’s got zero social skills, this one.”

炭治郎「えっ！」

Tanjiro “E!”

Tanjiro “Huh?”

小鉄「だから未だに嫁の来手(きて)もないんですよね」

Kotetsu “Dakara imadani yomeno kitemo nain-desu-yone.”

Kotetsu “No wonder he still can’t find a bride.”

鋼鐵塚「ばいーん」

Haganezuka “Baiiin.”

炭治郎「わっ！」

Tanjiro “Wa!”

鉄穴森「あ、復活しましたね」

Kanamori “A, fukkatsu shimashitane.”

Kanamori “Oh, look, he’s revived.”

鋼鐵塚「この錆びた刀は俺が預かる。鋼鐵塚家に伝わる日輪刀研磨術で、見事磨き上げてしんぜよう」

Haganezuka “Kono sabita katanawa orega azukaru. Haganezuka-keni tsutawaru Nichirin-To kenma-jutsude, migoto migaki-agete shinzeyo.”

Haganezuka “I shall take this rusty sword into my care. And using the Nichirin Sword polishing art of the Haganezuka family, I will surely restore it!”

小鉄「じゃあ始めからそう言えばいいじゃないですか一言。信頼関係もないのに任せろ任せろって、ハア…馬鹿の一つ覚えみたいに…」

Kotetsu “Jaa Hajime-kara so ieba iija nai-desuka, hitokoto. Shinrai-kankeimo nai-noni makasero makaserotte, haa…, Bakano hitotsu-oboe mitaini…”

Kotetsu “Then, why didn’t you just say so from the start? Instead of ‘Leave it to me, leave it to me’ when you have zero trust built up? Oh, right, that’s the one thing you know.”

鋼鐵塚「なんじゃあごりゃあ！もう一回言ってみろ！」

Haganezuka “Nanjaa goryaa! Mo-ikkai itte-miro!”

Haganezuka “What the hell was that? Let’s hear you say that again!”

小鉄「ぐ…ぐるじい」

Kotetsu “Gu…Gurujii.”

Kotetsu “I can’t breathe!”

炭治郎「わあああ…」

Tanjiro “Waaaa…”

鉄穴森「わき、わき、わき！」

Kanamori “Waki, waki, waki!”

Kanamori “His sides! His sides! His sides!”

炭治郎「わあ～！」

Tanjiro “Waaaa!”

鉄穴森「わきです！」

Kanamori “Waki desu!”

Kanamori “Go for his sides!”

炭治郎「わあ！」

Tanjiro “Waa!”

鉄穴森「こしょこしょこしょ…」

Kanamori “Kosho kosho kosho…”

Kanamori “Tickle, tickle, tickle!”

二人「ハア、ハア、ハア…」

Futari “Haa, haa, haa…”

鋼鐵塚「これは預かっていく。それまではこの刀を使ってろ」

Haganezuka “Korewa azukatte-iku. Sore-madewa kono katana’o tsukattero.”

Haganezuka “I’ll be taking this with me. In the meantime, use this sword.”

炭治郎「あ……あ…ありがとうございます」

Tanjiro “A……a…arigato gozai-masu.”

Tanjiro “Th-Thank you very much!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

炭治郎「ということが昨日あってさ。刀の研磨が終わるまで、三日三晩かかるらしくて。研ぎ終わるのが明後日になるんだ。その研ぎ方、すごい過酷みたいで死んじゃった人もいるとか言ってて、心配だよ」

Tanjiro “To-iukotoga kino attesa. Katanano kenmaga owaru-made, mikka-miban kakaru-rashikute. Togi-owaru-noga asatteni narunda. Sono togi-kata, sugoi kakoku-mitaide shinjatta hitomo iru-toka ittete, shinpai dayo.”

Tanjiro “So, that’s what happened yesterday. They say it takes three days and three nights to polish a sword… so he’ll be done the day after tomorrow. That polishing art of his is so brutal, some people have even died, and that worries me.”

不死川玄弥「くっ……」

Shinazugawa Genya “Ku……”

炭治郎「絶対覗きに来るなって言われてるんだけどさ。見に行ってもいいかな？」

Tanjiro “Zettai nozokini kurunatte iware-terun-dakedosa. Mini ittemo ii-kana?”

Tanjiro “He said not to look in, no matter what. But do you think it’s okay if I go?”

玄弥「知るかよ!! 出てけ、お前！友達みたいな顔して喋ってんじゃねーよ!!」

Gen’ya “Shiru-kayo!! Deteke, omae! Tomodachi-mitaina kao-shite shabettenja neeyo!!”

Genya “How should I know? Get out of here! Stop talking to me like we’re friends!”

炭治郎「えっ、俺たち友達じゃないの？」

Tanjiro “E, ore-tachi tomodachi-ja naino?”

Tanjiro “Huh? But aren’t we friends?”

玄弥「違うに決まってんだろうが!! てめぇは俺の��、折ってんだからな！忘れたとは言わせねえ！」

Gen’ya “Chigauni kimatten-daroga!! Temeewa oreno ude, otten-dakarana! Wasureta-towa iwase-nee!”

Genya “Not by a long shot! You broke my arm, remember? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!”

炭治郎「あれは女の子を殴った玄弥が全面的に悪いし、仕方ないよ」

Tanjiro “Arewa onna’noko’o nagutta Gen’yaga zenmen-tekini waruishi, shikata-naiyo.”

Tanjiro “That was totally your own fault for hitting a girl, Genya. I had no choice.”

玄弥「下の名前で呼ぶんじゃねえ!!」

Gen’ya “Shitano namaede yobunja nee!!”

Genya “Don’t call me by my first name!”

炭治郎「このお煎餅おいしいよ！食べる？」

Tanjiro “Kono osenbei oishiiyo! Taberu?”

Tanjiro “These rice crackers are delicious! Want one?”

玄弥「クソが!! いらねーっての、消えろ!!」

Gen’ya “Kusoga!! Iraneetteno, kiero!!”

Genya “Damn you! No, I don’t want one! Get lost!”

炭治郎「あれ…？歯が。抜けてなかったっけ、前歯…温泉で」

Tanjiro “Are…? Haga. Nukete-nakattakke, maeba…onsende.”

Tanjiro “Huh? Didn’t you lose a tooth? A front tooth… at the hot spring?”

玄弥「……。お前の見間違いだろ」

Gen’ya “……Omaeno mi-machigai-daro.”

Genya “You must’ve been seeing things.”

炭治郎「見間違いじゃないよ。歯、とってあるから」

Tanjiro “Mi-machigai-ja naiyo. Ha, totte-aru-kara.”

Tanjiro “No, I wasn’t seeing things. I’ve got the tooth right here.”

玄弥「何でとってんだよ！気持ち悪ィ奴だな、テメェは!!」

Gen’ya “Nande totten-dayo! Kimochi-warii yatsu-dana, temeewa!!”

Genya “Why’d you pick it up? You sure are creepy, you know that?”

炭治郎「いや、だって、落とし物だし返そうと…」

Tanjiro “Iya, datte, otoshi-mono dashi kaesoto…”

Tanjiro “Well, but you dropped it, so I thought I’d return it.”

玄弥「正気じゃねぇだろ、捨てろや!! 出てけ!!」

Gen’ya “Shokija nee-daro, suteroya!! Deteke!!”

Genya “Are you out of your mind? Toss that thing! Get out of my sight!”

炭治郎「あ～！あ……」

Tanjiro “Aaa! A……”

Tanjiro “Hey!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

炭治郎「こうして、こう…そして、こう…え～っとそれから、こうして…玄弥はなんであんなにずっと怒ってるんだろう。やっぱりおなかすいてるのかなあ。明日の朝、玄弥をご飯に誘ってみようか」

Tanjiro “Ko-shite, ko…soshite, ko…eeetto sore-kara, ko-shite… Gen’yawa nande annani zutto okotterun-daro. Yappari onaka suiteruno-kanaa. Ashitano asa, Gen’ya’o gohanni sasotte-miyoka.”

Tanjiro “Like this, like that, then like this… Let’s see. And now I go like this… I wonder why Genya’s always so mad all the time. Could it be that he’s hungry? Wanna ask Genya to breakfast tomorrow morning?”

→I think the last sentence should be: Shall I ask Genya to breakfast tomorrow morning?

禰豆子「んん～！」

Nezuko “Nnnn!”

炭治郎「禰豆子も、いいと思うか」

Tanjiro “Nezukomo, iito omouka.”

Tanjiro “You like him, too, Nezuko?”

→This line should be: You also think it’s a good idea, Nezuko?

禰豆子「ん～ん～」

Nezuko “Nnn nnn.”

炭治郎「お風呂は一緒に入ったから、次はご飯だと思うんだ。玄弥ともっと仲良くしたいな」

Tanjiro “Ofurowa isshoni haitta-kara, tsugiwa gohan-dato omounda. Gen’yato motto naka-yoku shitaina.”

Tanjiro “We’ve already soaked in the hot spring, so the next step is to eat together, I think. I’d like to get closer to Genya.”

炭治郎「三つ編み、難しいな…禰豆子が好きな甘露寺さんとお揃いの髪だぞ」

Tanjiro “Mitsu-ami, muzukashii-na… Nezukoga sukina Kanroji-santo osoroino kami-dazo.”

Tanjiro “Braiding sure is hard. Now you’ve got the same hairstyle as your idol, Ms. Kanroji!”

禰豆子「ん～！」

Nezuko “Nnn!”

炭治郎「あっ！禰豆子、今日は月が綺麗だな」

Tanjiro “A! Nezuko, kyowa tsukiga kirei-dana.”

Tanjiro “Hey! Nezuko, the moon is so beautiful tonight!”

禰豆子「ん～！」

Nezuko “Nnn!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

刀鍛冶「ちょっとのんびり長湯しすぎたな。明日も早朝から作業だってのに。…ん？壺？さっき上がっていく時は、こんなの無かったけどな。危ねぇなあ、誰だ、こんな所に壺なんか置いて…うわっ！う…うわあ～！！うっ、ううう…」

Katana-kaji “Chotto nonbiri nagayu shisugitana. Asumo socho-kara sagyo datte-noni. …N? Tsubo? Sakki agatte-iku-tokiwa konnano nakatta-kedona. Abunee-naa, dareda, konna tokoroni tsubo-nanka oite…Uwa! U…Uwaaaa! U, uuu…”

Swordsmith “I might’ve soaked a little too long tonight. Never mind that I have another early morning tomorrow. Huh? A vase? I didn’t see anything like that on my way up just now. This is a hazard! Who would put a vase here?”

玉壺「不味い、不味い。やはり山の中の刀鍛冶の肉など喰えたものではないわ。だがそれもまたいい…。しかしここを潰せば鬼狩り共を��ヒョッ！確実に弱体化させられる」

Gyokko “Mazui mazui. Yahari yamano nakano katana-kajino niku-nado kueta-mono-dewa naiwa. Daga soremo mata ii… Shikashi koko’o tsubuseba oni-gari-domo’o…hyo! Kakujitsuni jakutaika sase-rareru.”

Gyokko “Horrible, horrible! I should’ve known that a mountain swordsmith’s flesh would be unfit for consumption! But that’s what makes it so appealing! But if I destroy this place, then those Demon Slayers… Hyo! They’ll be undermined for sure!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

半天狗「急がねば…急がねば…玉壺のおかげで里は見つかった。あああ…けれどもあの御方はお怒りじゃ…早う、早う…皆殺しにせねば…あの御方に楯突く者共を……!!」

Hantengu “Isoga-neba…isoga-neba… Gyokkono okagede satowa mitsukatta. Aaa…Keredomo ano okatawa oikari-ja…Hayo, hayo…mina-goroshini seneba…ano okatani tate-tsuku mono-domo’o……!!”

Hantengu “I must hurry! I must hurry! Thanks to Gyokko, we found the village… but my lord is in a rage! Quickly, quickly! We must kill them all! All who stand up to my lord!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

玄弥「おっさん。できたか？…いねえのか」

Gen’ya “Ossan. Dekitaka? …Inee-noka.”

Genya “Old man? You done? You’re not there?”

玄弥「兄貴……俺はやらないといけないんだ」

Gen’ya “Aniki……orewa yara-naito ikenainda.”

Genya “Brother… I have to do this!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

炭治郎「んがっ」

Tanjiro “Nga.”

時透無一郎「鉄穴森っていう刀鍛冶知らない？」

Tokito Muichiro “Kanamoritte-iu katana-kaji shira-nai?”

Muichiro Tokito “Have you seen the swordsmith named Kanamori?”

炭治郎「わあ、時透君！どうしたの？何？いやその前に今、俺の鼻つまんだ？」

Tanjiro “Waa, Tokito-kun! Doshitano? Nani? Iya sono-maeni ima oreno hana tsumanda?”

Tanjiro “Whoa! Tokito? What’s wrong? What is it? Wait, first of all, did you just pinch my nose?”

無一郎「つまんだ。反応が鈍すぎると思う」

Muichiro “Tsumanda. Hannoga nibu-sugiruto omou.”

Muichiro “I did pinch it. You took too long to react.”

炭治郎「いやいや！敵意があれば気づきますよ、そんな」

Tanjiro “Iya-iya! Tekiiga areba kizuki-masuyo, sonna.”

Tanjiro “No, no, I would’ve sensed it if there’d been any animosity!”

無一郎「まあ敵意を持って鼻はつままないけど」

Muichiro “Maa tekii’o motte hanawa tsumama-naikedo.”

Muichiro “Well, not that I’d pinch someone’s nose with animosity.”

炭治郎「鉄穴森さんは知ってるけど…どうしたの？多分、鋼鐵塚さんと一緒にいるんじゃないかな？」

Tanjiro “Kanamori-sanwa shitteru-kedo…doshitano? Tabun, Haganezuka-santo isshoni irunja nai-kana?”

Tanjiro “I do know Mr. Kanamori. What’s going on? My guess is he’s with Mr. Haganezuka.”

無一郎「鉄穴森は僕の新しい刀鍛冶。鋼鐵塚はどこにいるの？」

Muichiro “Kanamoriwa bokuno atarashii katana-kaji. Haganezukawa dokoni iruno?”

Muichiro “Kanamori’s my new swordsmith. Where’s Haganezuka?”

炭治郎「一緒に捜そうか？」

Tanjiro “Isshoni sagasoka?”

Tanjiro “Why don’t we go look for them together?”

無一郎「……なんでそんなに人を構うの？君には君のやるべきことがあるんじゃないの？」

Muichiro “……Nande sonnani hito’o kamauno? Kimi-niwa kimino yaru-beki-kotoga arunja naino?”

Muichiro “Why do you care so much about other people? Isn’t there something that you need to do for yourself?”

炭治郎「人のためにすることは結局、巡り巡って自分のためにもなっているものだし、俺も行こうと思ってたから、ちょうどいいんだよ」

Tanjiro “Hitono tameni suru-kotowa kekkyoku, meguri-megutte jibunno tame-nimo natte-iru-mono dashi, oremo ikoto omotteta-kara, chodo iin-dayo.”

Tanjiro “Whatever you do for others comes around to help you, as well, in the end. I was planning to go anyway, so the timing’s great!”

無一郎「あ……えっ？何？今何て言ったの？今。今…」

Muichiro “A……E? Nani? Ima nante ittano? Ima. Ima…”

Muichiro “Huh? What? What did you just say? Right now. Right now.”

炭治郎「へっ？ちょうどいいよって」

Tanjiro “He? Chodo iiyotte.”

Tanjiro “Huh? I said the timing’s great―”

禰豆子「んっ！」

Nezuko “N!”

炭治郎「イデッ！」

Tanjiro “Ide!”

Tanjiro “Ouch!”

禰豆子「んっ、んっ、んっ、んっ…」

Nezuko “N, n, n, n…”

炭治郎「禰豆子!! 起きたかー。いたいー」

Tanjiro “Nezuko!! Okitakaaa. Itaiii.”

Tanjiro “You’re awake, huh, Nezuko? Ow…”

禰豆子「んっ！んっ、んっ、んっ、ん～んっ！」

Nezuko “N! N, n, n, n, nnnn!”

炭治郎「一緒に鋼鐵塚さんとこ行こう」

Tanjiro “Isshoni Haganezuka-san-toko iko.”

Tanjiro “Let’s go see Mr. Haganezuka together.”

禰豆子「ん～！ん～！」

Nezuko “Nnn! Nnn!”

無一郎「その子何かすごく変な生き物だな」

Muichiro “Sonoko nanika sugoku henna ikimono dana.”

Muichiro “This girl is one really odd creature.”

炭治郎「えっ！変ですか？」

Tanjiro “E! Hen-desuka?”

Tanjiro “What? Is she odd?”

無一郎「うん、すごく変だよ。何だろう、うまく言えない…僕は前にもその子と会ってる？前もそうだったのかな。何だろう」

Muichiro “Un, sugoku hen-dayo. Nan-daro, umaku ienai… Bokuwa mae-nimo sono koto atteru? Maemo so-dattano-kana. Nan-daro.”

Muichiro “Yes. She’s super odd. Let’s see. I can’t describe it. Have I met this girl before? Was she like that before, too? How should I put it?”

禰豆子「ん～？」

Nezuko “Nnn?”

炭治郎「ハハ…う～ん…」

Tanjiro “Haha…Uuun…”

無一郎「ん～…」

Muichiro “Nnn…”

禰豆子「ム～…」

Nezuko “Muuu…”

炭治郎「んっ？誰か来てます？」

Tanjiro “N? Dareka kite-masu?”

Tanjiro “Hmm… Is someone here?”

無一郎「そうだね」

Muichiro “Sodane.”

Muichiro “Seems like it.”

半天狗「ぐうっ…ヒイイイイ…ヒイイ…」

Hantengu “Guu…Hiiiii…Hiii…”

炭治郎（な…なんだ？鬼なのか？鬼がどうしてこんな所に…目視するまで気付かなかった。この鬼、間違いなく上弦！）

Tanjiro (Na…Nanda? Oni-nanoka? Oniga doshite konna tokoroni…mokushi-suru-made kizuka-nakatta. Kono oni, machigai-naku Jogen!)

Tanjiro (Wh-What’s that? Is it a demon? What’s a demon doing here? I didn’t notice him until I actually saw him! No question, this demon is an Upper Rank!)

無一郎「霞の呼吸・肆ノ型。移流斬(いりゅうぎ)り」

Muichiro “Kasumino Kokyu, Shino Kata. Iryu-Giri.”

Muichiro “Mist Breathing… Fourth Form… Shifting Flow Slash.”

半天狗「うがあ！ヒィィィ!!」

Hantengu “Ugaa! Hiiii!!”

無一郎（速い…仕留められなかった）

Muichiro (Hayai… Shitome-rare-nakatta.)

Muichiro (So quick. I couldn’t take him out.)

半天狗「やめてくれえ…いぢめないでくれぇ。痛いぃいい」

Hantengu “Yamete-kuree… Ijime-naide-kuree. Itaiiii.”

Hantengu “Please stop! Please stop tormenting me! It hurts!”

炭治郎（気おくれするな!! 大勢人を殺している鬼だ!! そうでなきゃ、柱の攻撃を避けられない）

Tanjiro (Kiokure suruna!! Ozei hito’o koroshite-iru onida!! Sode-nakya, Hashirano kogeki’o yoke-rare-nai.)

Tanjiro (Don’t lose your nerve! This is a demon who’s murdered tons of people! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to dodge a Hashira’s attack!)

炭治郎「ヒノカミ神楽。陽華突(ようかとつ)！」

Tanjiro “Hinokami Kagura. Yogatotsu!”

Tanjiro “Hinokami Kagura… Sunflower Thrust!”

半天狗「ヒィィィ！」

Hantengu “Hiiii!”

炭治郎（当たったか？何で反撃してこない。上弦じゃないのか？）

Tanjiro (Atattaka? Nande hangeki shite-konai. Jogenja nai-noka?)

Tanjiro (Did I get him? Why isn’t he fighting back? He’s not an Upper Rank?)

禰豆子「ウウウ～！ウッ！」

Nezuko “Uuuuu! U!”

半天狗「うごっ…ギャアアッ！」

Hantengu “Ugo…Gyaa!”

炭治郎「禰豆子!! その姿になるな！鬼化が進むから、やめろ！」

Tanjiro “Nezuko!! Sono sugatani naruna! Onikaga Susumu-kara, yamero!”

Tanjiro “Nezuko! Don’t transform! You’ll go into full demon form, so stop it!”

半天狗「ぐあっ…ぎゃああ！ヒィイイイ、斬られたああ！」

Hantengu “Gua…Gyaaa! Hiiiii, kiraretaaa!”

Hantengu “I’ve been slashed!”

炭治郎（斬った!! 頚を!! 速い…!! でも、上弦は頚を斬ったからと言って、必ず死ぬとは限らない）

Tanjiro (Kitta!! Kubi’o!! Hayai…!! Demo, Jogenwa kubi’o kitta-karato-itte, kanarazu shinu-towa kagira-nai.)

Tanjiro (He slashed off his head! So fast! But… Upper Ranks don’t always die even if you’ve beheaded them!)

炭治郎「時透君、油断しないで！」

Tanjiro “Tokito-kun, yudan shinaide!”

Tanjiro “Tokito! Don’t let your guard down!”

炭治郎（分裂!! 一方には頭が生え、もう一方には体ができた…!! 後ろは俺が!! 同時に斬れば…）

Tanjiro (Bunretsu!! Ippo-niwa atamaga hae, mo-ippo-niwa karadaga dekita…!! Ushirowa orega!! Dojini kireba…)

Tanjiro (He split into two! One grew a head… while the other gained a body! I’ll take the one in the back! If we can slash them at the same time…)

炭治郎「うわっ！禰豆子…!!」

Tanjiro “Uwa! Nezuko…!!”

Tanjiro “Nezuko!”

禰豆子「ぐっ…」

Nezuko “Gu…”

炭治郎「時透君!!」

Tanjiro “Tokito-kun!!”

Tanjiro “Tokito!”

可楽(からく)「ウハハハ！楽しいのぅ。豆粒が遠くまでよく飛んだ。なぁ、積怒(せきど)」

Karaku “Uhahaha! Tanoshiino. Mame-tsubuga tooku-made yoku tonda. Naa, Sekido.”

Karaku “This is fun! That peanut sure went flying! Right, Sekido?”

積怒「何も楽しくはない。儂はただひたすら腹立たしい。可楽…お前と混ざっていたことも」

Sekido “Nanimo tanoshikuwa nai. Washiwa tada hitasura hara-data-shii. Karaku…omaeto mazatte-ita kotomo.”

Sekido “There’s nothing fun about this! All I’m feeling is rage! Karaku! That also goes for being lumped in with you!”

可楽「そうかい。離れられて良かったのう」

Karaku “Sokai. Hanare-rarete yokattano.”

Karaku “Is that right? Well, good thing we got separated, then!”

炭治郎（また…こいつらも頚を同時に斬らなきゃ駄目なのか!?）

Tanjiro (Mata…koitsuramo kubi’o dojini kira-nakya dame-nanoka!?)

Tanjiro (Again…are we going to have to behead these two at once?)

積怒「うう…う～！」

Sekido “Uu…Uuu!”

炭治郎（ぐああ！何っ…だ…これは…!! あの錫杖(しゃくじょう)……!! まずい、意識が、飛びそうだ……!! 屋根に誰か…玄弥！あっ！）

Tanjiro (Guaa! Nan…da…korewa…!! Ano shakujo……!! Mazui, ishikiga, tobisoda……!! Yaneni dareka…Gen’ya! A!)

Tanjiro (What… is this? That staff! This is bad… I’m about to… lose consciousness! Someone’s…on the roof? Genya…)

積怒「ぐっ！」

Sekido “Gu!”

可楽「ぐあっ！」

Karaku “Gua!”

炭治郎（何だあの武器は…!! 銃か!? 日輪刀と同じ匂いがする）

Tanjiro (Nanda ano bukiwa…!! Juka!? Nichirin-To-to onaji nioiga suru.)

Tanjiro (What is that weapon? A gun? It has the same scent as a Nichirin Sword!)

玄弥（一匹仕留め損ねた）「ぐっ」

Gen’ya (Ippiki shitome-sokoneta.) “Gu.”

Genya (So I missed one of them.)

可楽「おおおお、これは楽しい、おもしろい。初めて喰らった感触の攻撃だ」

Karaku “Oooo, korewa tanoshii, omoshiroi. Hajimete kuratta kanshokuno kogekida.”

Karaku “Well, isn’t this fun and entertaining! I’ve never been hit with an attack that felt like that!”

炭治郎「玄弥駄目だ!! どんなに強い武器でも、この鬼は！」

Tanjiro “Gen’ya dameda!! Donnani tsuyoi buki-demo, kono oniwa!”

Tanjiro “It’s no good, Genya! Now matter how powerful your weapon is, this demon…”

玄弥「ぐうっ！」

Gen’ya “Guu!”

炭治郎「倒せない!! 斬ったら斬っただけ分裂する！若返ってる!! 強くなるんだ!! 頚を斬らせるのはわざとだ!!」

Tanjiro “Taose-nai!! Kittara kitta-dake bunretsu-suru! Waka-gaetteru!! Tsuyoku narunda!! Kubi’o kiraseru-nowa wazatoda!!”

Tanjiro “can’t be defeated! If you slash it, it’s only going to split into that many more demons! It gets younger! It gets stronger! It’s making us behead them on purpose!”

可楽「ヒヒッ」

Karaku “Hihi.”

炭治郎（この鬼は頚を斬られることに頓着してない。つまり頚は急所じゃない!! 四体に分裂…再生が早い!! 規則性はないか？どこが一番早く治る？急所は必ずあるはずだ。探せ!! 見極めろ!! 何か…）

Tanjiro (Kono oniwa kubi’o kirareru-kotoni tonchaku shite-nai. Tsumari kubiwa kyushoja nai!! Yon-taini bunretsu… Saiseiga hayai!! Kisoku-seiwa naika? Dokoga ichi-ban hayaku naoru? Kyushowa kanarazu aru-hazuda. Sagase!! Mikiwamero!! Nanika…)

Tanjiro (This demon doesn’t care about being decapitated. Meaning that its vital spot isn’t its head! It’s splitting into four! It’s regenerating fast! Is there a pattern here? Which part will heal up first? There’s got to be a vital spot! Find it! Figure it out! What is it?)

炭治郎（えっ？分裂して四体のはずじゃ!?）「ぐあ…」

Tanjiro (E? Bunretsu-shite yon-taino hazuja!?) “Gua…”

Tanjiro (I thought it split up into four demons!)

禰豆子「う―――――!!!」

Nezuko “Uuuuuuuuuuu!!!”

空喜(うろぎ)「カハハハハ！喜ばしいのぅ！」

Urogi “Kahahahaha! Yoroko-bashiinoo!”

Urogi “This makes my heart sing!”

禰豆子「ウウ～！」

Nezuko “Uuuu!”

空喜「分かれるのは久方ぶりじゃ！」

Urogi “Wakareru-nowa hisakata-burija!”

Urogi “It’s been so long since I was last split off!”

炭治郎（この鬼は飛んでる!! 能力が四人共違うんだ！）

Tanjiro (Kono oniwa tonderu!? Noryokuga yonin-tomo chigaunda!)

Tanjiro (This demon can fly! All four of them have different powers!)

炭治郎「禰豆子、俺に構うな！玄弥を手助けし…あっ！」

Tanjiro “Nezuko, oreni kamauna! Gen’ya’o tedasuke-shi…A!”

Tanjiro “Nezuko! Don’t worry about me! I want you to help Genya―”

玄弥「ぐはっ…」

Gen’ya “Guha…”

哀絶(あいぜつ)「哀(かな)しいほど弱い」

Aizetsu “Kanashii-hodo yowai.”

Aizetsu “You’re so weak, it’s sad.”

玄弥「がっ…ああ…があっ…」

Gen’ya “Ga…aa…Gaa…”

炭治郎「玄弥―――――っ!!! 禰豆子、助けろ!! 玄弥を助けろ!! 頼む!! 急げ！」

Tanjiro “Gen’yaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Nezuko, tasukero!! Gen’ya’o tasukero!! Tanomu!! Isoge!”

Tanjiro “Genya! Nezuko, save him! Save Genya! Please! Hurry!”

禰豆子「ウッ！」

Nezuko “U!”

空喜「人の心配とは余裕があるのう」

Urogi “Hitono shinpai-towa yoyuga arunoo.”

Urogi “Worrying about someone else? How confident we are!”

→The last sentence should be: How confident you are!

炭治郎「あっ！」（ヒノカミ神楽…がああ…）

Tanjiro “A!” (Hinokami Kagura…Gaaa…)

Tanjiro (Hinokami Kagura!)

空喜「やるのう。これはなかなか喜ばしいぞ」

Urogi “Yarunoo. Korewa naka-naka yoroko-bashiizo.”

Urogi “Not bad. This is quite delightful!”

炭治郎（枝につかまれ…枝に）「くっ…ぐあっ！ぐっ！うう…」

Tanjiro (Edani tsukamare… Edani.) “Ku…Gua! Gu! Uu…”

Tanjiro (Grab onto a branch! A branch!)

炭治郎（早く立て!! 立ち上がれ!! 里の人たちも危ない。守らなければ…くそっ!! 体が痺れてる。耳も聞こえない）「あっ！ハッ！」

Tanjiro (Hayaku tate!! Tachi-agare!! Satono hito-tachimo abunai. Mamora-nakereba… Kuso!! Karadaga shibire-teru. Mimimo kikoe-nai.) “A! Ha!”

Tanjiro (Get up right now! The villagers are in danger, too! I have to protect them! Dammit! My body’s numb! I can’t hear, either!)

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

無一郎（かなり飛ばされた。早く戻らなければ）

Muichiro (Kanari toba-sareta. Hayaku modora-nakereba.)

Muichiro (I got blasted quite far away. I’ve got to get back as soon as I can.)

小鉄「うわっ！ああ…」

Kotetsu “Uwa! Aa…”

無一郎（鬼と子供。子供…刀鍛冶として技術も未熟なはず。助ける優先順位は低い。気配からして、あれは本体ではなく術で生み出されたもの）

Muichiro (Onito kodomo. Kodomo… Katana-kaji-to-shite gijutsumo mijukuna hazu. Tasukeru yusen-jun’iwa hikui. Kehai-kara-shite, arewa hontai-dewa naku jutsude umi-dasareta-mono.)

Muichiro (A demon and a child. As a swordsmith, the child is still unseasoned. Saving him is a low priority. Judging by its presence, that’s not the main body but something generated by a spell.)

金魚鬼「ギョギョ！」

Kingyo-Oni “Gyo-gyo!”

小鉄「うわあ！あああ…」

Kotetsu “Uwaa! Aaa…”

金魚鬼「ギョッギョッ」

Kingyo-Oni “Gyo-gyo.”

無一郎（ここで足を止める理由はない。里全体が襲われているなら、まず里長。技術や能力の高い者を優先して守らなければ）

Muichiro (Kokode ashi’o tomeru riyuwa nai. Sato-zentaiga osowarete-iru-nara, mazu sato-osa. Gijutsuya noryokuno takai mono’o yusen-shite mamora-nakereba.)

Muichiro (There’s no reason to stop now. If the entire village is under attack, the village chief comes first, then those with greater skills and talents are my top priority to protect.)

小鉄「うわっ…」

Kotetsu “Uwa…”

金魚鬼「ギョッ、ギョ～！」

Kingyo-Oni “Gyo, gyooo!”

小鉄「うぐっ…」

Kotetsu “Ugu…”

無一郎（今やるべきは上弦の鬼を抹殺して、里を守ること）

Muichiro (Ima yaru-bekiwa Jogen’no oni’o massatsu-shite, sato’o mamoru-koto.)

Muichiro (My job right now is to destroy that Upper Rank demon and protect the village.)

金魚鬼「グア～！」

Kingyo-Oni “Guaaa!”

無一郎（未熟な刀鍛冶の卵一人助けたところで…）

Muichiro (Mijukuna katana-kajino tamago hitori tasuketa-tokorode…)

Muichiro (Saving an inexperienced, budding swordsmith isn’t going to…)

炭治郎（人のためにすることは、巡り巡って自分のために）

Tanjiro (Hitono tameni suru-kotowa, meguri-megutte jibunno tameni.)

Tanjiro (Whatever you do for others comes around to help you, as well, in the end.)

無一郎「ハッ！」

Muichiro “Ha!”

小鉄「うぐっ、ぐぐぐ…うっ」

Kotetsu “Ugu, gugugu…u.”

金魚鬼「ガア～！ギョッ…ギョ～！」

Kingyo-Oni “Gaaaa! Gyo…gyooo!”

小鉄「ぐっ！うう…」

Kotetsu “Gu! Uu…”

無一郎「逃げろ」

Muichiro “Nigero.”

Muichiro “Run.”

小鉄「あんた…」

Kotetsu “Anta…”

Kotetsu “You…”

無一郎「邪魔になるから、さっさと逃げてくれない？」

Muichiro “Jamani naru-kara, sassato nigete-kurenai?”

Muichiro “You’re in my way, so just run.”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

大正コソコソ噂話/Taisho Koso-koso Uwasa-banashi/Taisho Secret

小鉄「鋼鐵塚さんに刀を預けてる間に鬼が来ちゃったんですが、大丈夫でしたか？」

Kotetsu “Haganezuka-sanni katana’o azuke-teru-aidani oniga kichattan-desuga, daijobu deshitaka?”

Kotetsu “A demon showed up while Mr. Haganezuka was working on your sword, but are you all right?”

炭治郎「うん。これだって鋼鐵塚さんが打ってくれた刀だし。それにしても、鋼鐵塚さんは相変わらずだなあ」

Tanjiro “Un. Kore-datte Haganezuka-sanga utte-kureta katana-dashi. Soreni-shitemo, Haganezuka-sanwa ai-kawarazu danaa.”

Tanjiro “Yes. After all, Mr. Haganezuka forged this sword for me, too. But I have to say that Mr. Haganezuka is the same as ever!”

小鉄「あれは一生直らないですね。アハハハ！」

Kotetsu “Arewa issho naora-nai desune. Ahahaha!”

Kotetsu “That one’s never going to change for the better!”

炭治郎「ここで大正コソコソ噂話。鋼鐵塚さんが風鈴を笠に付けていたのは、風鈴が大好きだからで、子供の頃は彼が癇癪を起こす度、周りの大人たちは風鈴を鳴らしていたんですって」

Tanjiro “Kokode Taisho Koso-koso Uwasa-banashi. Haganezuka-sanga furin’o kasani tsukete-ita-nowa, furinga daisuki-dakarade, kodomono korowa karega kanshaku’o okosu-tabi, mawarino otona-tachiwa furin’o narashite-itan-desutte.”

Tanjiro “Now, it’s time for a Taisho-era secret! The reason why Mr. Haganezuka has wind chimes tied to his umbrella… is because he loves wind chimes. And when he was little, every time he threw a tantrum, the grown-ups around him would play wind chimes to quiet him.”

炭治郎「そうだったんだ」

Tanjiro “So-dattanda.”

Tanjiro “I didn’t know that.”

小鉄「これ、炭治郎さんに」

Kotetsu “Kore, Tanjiro-sanni.”

Kotetsu “This is for you, Mr. Tanjiro.”

鋼鐵塚「そんなもので俺の機嫌が直ると思ったら大間違いだ！」

Haganezuka “Sonna monode oreno kigenga naoruto omottara oo-machigaida!”

Haganezuka “If you think something like that will put me in a better mood, you couldn’t be more wrong!”

小鉄・炭治郎「はい、はい、はい！」

Kotetsu, Tanjiro “Hai, hai, hai!”

Kotetsu & Tanjiro “There, there, there!”

鋼鐵塚「子供扱いするな～！」

Haganezuka “Kodomo-atsukai surunaaa!”

Haganezuka “Stop treating me like a child!”

小鉄・炭治郎「はい、はい、はい！」

Kotetsu, Tanjiro “Hai, hai, hai!”

Kotetsu & Tanjiro “There, there, there!”

炭治郎「次回、第四話『時透君ありがとう』。落ち着きました？」

Tanjiro “Jikai, dai-yonwa, ‘Tokito-kun Arigato.’ Ochi-tsuki-mashita?”

Tanjiro “Next, Episode 4, ‘Thank You, Tokito.’ Have you calmed down now?”

鋼鐵塚「だから、俺は子供じゃ…」

Haganezuka “Dakara, orewa kodomoja…”

Haganezuka “I said, I’m not a child!”

小鉄・炭治郎「はい、はい、はい！」

Kotetsu, Tanjiro “Hai, hai, hai!”

Kotetsu & Tanjiro “There, there, there!”

(Continue to Episode 4)

#demon slayer #demon slayer romaji #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer script #kimetsu english #kimetsu romaji #鬼滅　英語　学習 #learning japanese #kny #japan #鬼滅　刀鍛冶 #swordsmith village arc

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forevermore-quoth-the-kitten · 3 years ago

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Jason’s the family cryptid

Headcannon on that Jason's actually the family cryptid because his default on anything is to be short and vague. The family has to regularly check in on Jason when he's not in Gotham, otherwise they won't hear from him for months. but he won't answer Bruce, so Bruce will tell a random different batfam member to check in every week. (If Jason notices a pattern he'll ghost that person for a while, so it had to stay random). But they do so and that's fine, but his answers are the cause of his cryptid status. So when prompted he'll say something batshit crazy, but when they ask for him to clarify, it's absolutely not helpful. After that though he'll ghost them about it and whenever asked he'll say that same thing, no more details added, ever. So everyone knows he's done weird things, which is normal for the bats, but because he's never explained the situations, is so much weirder. Some examples include-

Dick: you missed our check in, everything good?

Jason: sorry, killer mimes.

Dick: . . . Long version?

Jason: killer mimes in Paris.

Dick: Jason that's not helpful. Explain.

Dick: . . . Jason

Dick: Jason answer me, wtf happened?

Damian: Father has requested I contact you for your check in.

Jason: lazarus pit.

Damian: Todd!

Damian: You have been told to stay away from those!

Jason: it's not at Nanda Parbat anymore.

Damian: . . . WHAT?!

Damian: Todd explain yourself!

Damian: Todd!!

Steph: check in, still not dead?

Jason: checking in, still alive.

Steph: cool. Where are you now?

Jason: just gave my best memory away

Steph: wtf Jason?! What was it?

Jason: dunno, ask the immortal baby man.

Steph: this is why you're the family disappointment.

Cass: little brother good?

Jason: sorry, shower was on fire

Cass: ?

Cass: showers use water?

Jason: I was in it.

Cass: little brother ok?

Cass: . . .

Cass: I'm calling Alfred

Jason: I'm ok, it was on purpose

Cass: :)

Cass: I think

Duke: checking in? B said to, dunno what it entails.

Jason: you're making sure I’m not insane or dead.

Duke: that's not reassuring but I guess that's normal here? So checking in?

Jason: Rent-a-bat

Duke: . . . What?

Jason: he named us REDARSE

Duke: what does that even mean?!

Babs: Jason

Jason: Barbie

Babs: check in.

Jason: ex possessed a date to kill me

Babs: how'd that happen?

Jason: sword

Bruce: Jason please answer. You've been ghosting everyone.

Jason: fuck off.

Jason: I was in space.

Bruce: why? You've never gone off planet so suddenly before.

Jason: new gear too

Bruce: . . .

Dick: checking in time.

Jason: I did your old girl before we saved Roy

Dick: which one?

Jason: now she's doing Roy

Dick: who?

Dick: Jason who?

Dick: . . . Goddammit Jason

Kate: you dead yet?

Jason: no, new team tho

Kate: lovely. Who's on it?

Jason: a hulk child and badass with an ax

Kate: I'll tell Bruce

Tim: dead?

Jason: sadly no

Tim: so fucking.

Tim: check in.

Jason: was taking out guys before going back to out invisible floating cube.

Tim: say what now?

Tim: your what now?

Jason: oh I used my tazer titties

Tim: YOUR WHAT?!

Steph: my turn again.

Steph: time to play dead, alive, or fuckin weird.

Jason: I'm a teacher now.

Steph: . . . Please tell me your an English teacher or something?

Jason: they're gonna kill so many people.

Steoh: fuckin weird it is!

Damian: Todd, report.

Jason: Shush, dealing with knock off Croc

Damian: Jones cousin perhaps?

Jason: he's cool, like a dragon.

Damian: I will alert father to your new pet.

Jason: he's in space now.

Damian: . . . Why do I even try anymore?

Dick: how's it going little wing?

Jason: small midest town wants my head.

Dick: . . . Wwwhhhyyyyy?

Jason: killed a cop with my magic swords.

Dick: you did what with your what now?

Tim: sup nerd. What'ya up to?

Jason: my ex possessed my other ex.

Tim: think Babs mentioned that?

Jason: yeah but I'm sad.

Tim: that's reasonable.

Jason: no, I think she killed dog.

Tim: which one?

Tim: you have a dog?

Tim: Jason, seriously, what the fuck?

Tim: which ex?

Tim: when did you get a dog?

Tim: what was its name?

Jason: he was dog.

Tim: you're bad at this.

*note, these are not in order, but all have happened.

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alchemist-of-altoids · 1 year ago

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Okay but imagine the aftermath of all of this. it’s been four months since Batman died, and six since Robin died. the world is in mourning. Gotham is worse than ever, with the villains pouncing on the opportunity. To make matters worse, the U.S. has declared Gotham a No Man’s Land. Nightwing, Oracle, Azrael, and Catwoman are doing they can, but they’re losing steam. They don’t sleep, they barely eat, they haven’t showered in weeks. Other heroes come in to help sometimes, but they can’t stay here. The rest of the world still needs saving too.

That’s the world Jason comes back to. He begs Talia to take him back to Gotham. They need his help. But she tells him he still needs to regain his strength. So that’s what he does. His memories are coming back. Memories from when he was dead. Jason spends his time either training, resting, or playing with Damian. The kid looks so much like Bruce it’s crazy. He’s so serious, but Jason makes sure the kid still gets to have some fun. After some time, Talia tells him he needs to go to some mountain because some monks can finish healing him. So he does. While he’s there, he gets the All-Blades, and the second his hand touches them, he remembers. His entire life and afterlife flash through his eyes. He rushed back to Nanda Parbat. The Lazarus Pit is ectoplasm. Fucked up ectoplasm, but still. He can use it to call Danny.

Jason remembers what had happened. Some Vampire Guy had been harassing a group of teenagers. And it turns out the phrase “old habits die hard” isn’t that accurate. Even dead, he could let that just happen. He’d jumped in, taking a hit that would have killed at least one of them. Vampire Guy has been so shocked by the interruption that a white haired teen was able to to blast him and then put him in a… thermos?

After some introductions Jason found out that he was dead (that sucks), he’s a ghost (kinda cool), and that he’s a ghost of the Infinite Realms, which means he gets a bunch of powers (fucking awesome).

Turns out, those teenagers were actually kind of important. Like. A king, two princesses, a royal knight, and a pharaoh. And the blast he’d taken absolutely would have killed them.

Jason had spent most of his afterlife with them before his revival. But the important thing was that Danny, the Ghost King, owed him a life debt, which is apparently is a big deal in the Infinite Realms.

Jason immediately starts the summoning circle, making sure he was using the one for Danny Phantom, not The Ghost King. Using a title makes it easier to ignore. But if you use the name, it’s damn near impossible. Once it’s drawn, Jason braces himself for the next steps. Then, he starts gulping down Lazarus Water. It’s disgusting, and it burns his throat. But it’s better than nothing. His ectosignature was basically nonexistent right now, so he needed to make it more noticeable. Once he starts the ritual, it’s only a few moments before Danny appears.

“Jason! Are you okay? How did you come back? Why is your ecto all fucked? Who did this to you?” Danny fussed over Jason.

“Jesus Christ Danny, chill the fuck out! I’m fine.” Jason said. “I need a favor. I’m cashing it in.”

Danny got serious at that.

“Jason, are you sure? Don’t use this lightly.” Danny warned.

“Danny while I was gone… Bruce he-“ Jason choked. “I want Bruce back. Bring my dad back to life.”

“Of course.” Danny smiled sadly. “But, when I bring him back, it probably won’t be all the way.”

“If he’s not going to be himself then it’s not worth it!” Jason says. “What like you’re going to make him a zombie or something? Fuck that!”

“Jason, chill!” Danny shouted. “He’s still going to be him, I just mean he won’t be all human. He’ll be a bit like me. A little more on the human side, and he won’t have two forms, but he’ll probably trigger people’s uncanny valley whatever.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Jason said.

“Now, let me clean your ectoplasm before I go.” Danny said. Then, he pointed at the Lazarus Pit. “Also I should probably take care of that. Eventually. But that’s Future Danny’s problem.”

After Danny leaves, Jason decides to stay with the League longer. He needs to improve his strength and skills if he wants to help out in Gotham.

It’s another six months before Danny brings Bruce back. Apparently, Bruce had been quite difficult. But he and Danny had bonded. When he gets back, he hugs Jason. He tells him that he’s so sorry he was late, but Jason tells him that he never blamed him for than. Jason asks, his voice sounding broken, why Bruce didn’t kill Joker. Bruce told Jason that he almost had. Jason asked what stopped him. Bruce hesitated. He didn’t want Jason to blame anyone else. But he also didn’t want to lie to his son. So he told him the truth. He told him that Superman stopped him because Joker became the Ambassador for Iran. Jason stared at him for a second, making Bruce uncomfortable as he couldn’t read his sons face. Then, he laughed. Jason laughed and “that sounds about right for us.” Bruce smiled back. “Let’s go home, chum.”

Dick was losing this fight. He’d gotten eight hours of sleep in the last month. He hadn’t eaten in a week. Recently, Venom had started to pop up, which every random goon or thug had the potential be damn near as strong as Bane. Dick had tried to stop a deal from going down, but they had all juiced up. So now, Dick was trying to fight 5 Venom enhanced criminals. He was on the ground, his life flashing by. That’s when he saw Batman and Robin. They were coming to get him. He would finally be able to rest. He would be okay. Bruce would protect him.

Bruce and Jason had been on their way to the Belfry. That’s where they’d made their new base of operations. It was on their way over there, completely by coincidence that they came across Dick. So it seemed their return as Batman and Robin would start with them saving Nightwing. The jumped down, landing on two of the goons, taking them to the ground. They didn’t have a constant source of Venom, so it was running out. The two made quick work of the rest. Bruce and Jason grabbed Dick, mumbling about being happy to see them again.

“Good to you too, Dickhead.” Jason said. “Don’t you die on me, I just got back.”

Bruce and Jason carried Dick to the Belfry. It tools about 20 minutes. They had done everything they could for now. The elevator up seemed to take an eternity. When the doors opened, there were two people waiting for them. Barbara, holding a taser, and Alfred, holding his shotgun.

“I suggest you leave Nightwing on the ground and leave the way you came.” Alfred said, his voice calm, steady, and commanding. “Your outfits are in poor taste.”

“Jeez, this is a way more hostile reunion that I expected.” Jason smiled. “Cmon Alfie, Babs. This response to Bruce makes sense but me? I’m hurt.”

“Master Jason!” Alfred set the gun down and ran over. “I will be fussing over you two in a moment, but for now let’s take care of Master Dick.”

They lay Dick on their makeshift medbay table and treat his wounds. By the end of it he’s covered in casts, bandages, splints, and all other manner of dressings. Afterwards Alfred bring Jason and Bruce in for a hug.

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but how are you both here?” Barbara asked.

“It’s a… weird story.” Jason said.

“Our whole lives are weird, Jason.” Barbara deadpanned.

“Okay so it starts with me coming back to life, but only some of the way…”

DPxDC prompt/fic idea

Tim didn't end up stealing Jason's suit.

Bruce died, running in solo, angry, impulsive, over his head.

Dick is blaming himself for not being there, Tim is about to implode because he can't tell everyone he knows and that he blames himself that Batman is dead. That he should have done something.

Then Jason comes back, finds out that Bruce is gone and it just about breaks him. Why can he come back but when he's back Bruce isn't?

During his temporary trip to the afterlife, he made fast friends with one Danny Phantom, who owes him a favor.

Danny agrees to bring Bruce back from the afterlife, he hunts him down and he finally finds him, he's a little confused why his friend's dad looks like a bat in the afterlife but ghosts do odd things sometimes. He doesn't question it.

"Are you Bruce? Your son sent me to go get you, come on."

The man blinks in surprise at him, startled out of his brooding session. "... Robin?"

"No? I'm talking about Jason."

"Jason is dead." He bit out.

"And so are you. Do you want to see him or not?"

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redrobin-detective · 4 years ago

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wait isn't there a dc hero who is just a ghost that can't interact with most stuff without possessing someone and does hero stuff by possessing people. i think his name is deadman. imagine the confusion if deadman ended up in Amity Park

Do you mean Boston Brand, my beloved? I love Deadman so much does the root of my love stem from my origins as a DP phan? most likely I’d say and he’s such an interesting character with a unique place in the DCU. Every comic he appears in is a special thrill of Hai there Boston!!!!

Anyway, I may or may not have uhhhh given considerable thought to how Deadman intersects with DP. So Boston’s ghostliness is uh a little more spiritual in nature. He was given the ability to interact in a limited capacity with the living via the godly caretaker of the hidden city, Nanda Parbat (massive simplification don’t fight me fellow DC nerds). That said, he is aware of the Zone and other ghosts he just doesn’t really go there all that often since he’s pretty stuck in the real world.

99% of ghosts, in DP and DC, are like Boston and can’t really have any effect on humanity. Boston himself is strong enough to be able to possess the living and make contact but most ghosts can’t in normal circumstances. Amity Park is not normal. The whole town was one big liminal space even before they had a giant ghost portal leaking ectoplasmic energy everywhere. It’s a big reasons ghosts go to the small town, its got enough latent ghost energy that they can have physical form whereas they can’t in most other places. Amity Park has another thing, it has Danny. I think I made a post about this but Danny also creates a strong ectoplasmic field that unknowingly strengthens other ghosts around him. If Danny were to go to, let’s say New York, his aura would give strength and potentially even form to nearby ghosts.

Boston knew about Phantom long before he met the kid. He knows there’s a stable ghost portal in the midwest, knows that ghosts come and go freely but he also knows that situation is concentrated to Amity and is being managed by a powerful, ghostly spirit. Boston thinks Phantom is like him, another poor dead soul who’s keeping people safe while they worked through their own death. It’s something he knows but doesn’t bring up to the JLA bc it’s not really relevant until one day it is.

When he gets in Danny’s vicinity he realizes several things very fast: 1. Danny is crazy powerful and they’d have a hard time taking him down if it came to that 2. He’s a ghost but still can easily interact with the living and world around him unlike Boston 3. He can make other ghostly things able to interact with the world (he almost cries when he speaks and his coworkers turn to look at him) and 4. holy fuck this kid is a ghost but is also still alive. While humans can’t tell Phantom apart from other ghosts, the dead take one look at Danny and just know that he’s still carrying the spark of life they themselves are missing. It’s a lot for an undead circus acrobat to handle.

Anyways, he and Constantine become Danny’s primary contacts in the JLA. They all come to an arrangement that Danny will mostly stay in Amity and only be brought into JLA related missions if he’s absolutely needed, likewise, the League will be there if Danny needs help. Boston and Danny get along pretty well, they have vastly different circumstances but they’re both ghost superheroes so it checks out. Boston delights in helping Danny out with ghost lore and working on the more finicky of his powers. The kid unnerves him, he’s unnatural and his power radiates off him like a furnace. But he’s a good kid and Boston does his best to ensure Danny gets the most out of his human life before it’s taken. Amity soon gets used to seeing the Deadman floating over their city, playfully bantering with Phantom in his characteristic thick New York accent. Just another day in the most haunted city in America.

#I need a tag for this AU #OP danny phantom #DP/DC crossover #boston brand my beloved #let Danny have a spooky ghost hero mentor #let boston become more physical and get his own ghostly pal #Anonymous

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ashintheairlikesnow · 3 years ago

Text

Misread Details: Robert

CW: Dehumanizing language, BBU blanket warning, serial killer/death talk, descriptions of death/abduction/murder, blood, whumper death, some real vague implied noncon references, creepy whumper, sadistic whumper

Part One: Nanda | Part Two: Brute | Part Three: Robert

The Dark Discovery in Robert Weber’s Basement: Box Boy Killer, Part 3

r/LetsTalkTrueCrime

��Posted by u/oshaycanyousee

3 days ago

After Part One, where we learned about the mysterious, but possibly entirely natural, death of Nathaniel “Nanda” Benson, and Part Two, where we saw Henry “Brute” Hanlon’s double life lead to his untimely gruesome murder, you see the single thread that connects these two men who otherwise never met, interacted, or even shared a single person in common… a nameless Box Boy, present at the death of Nanda even if he isn’t responsible for it, and the proven killer of Brute.

It’s my theory that this Box Boy may have accidentally killed his legal owner, Nanda, and then picked up a taste for the act and moved on to taking shelter with those he turns into his victims.

With Brute, he simply didn’t know the man had a wife and children and entire other life, and may have assumed no one would come looking for him or recognize his death. With our third individual, Robert Weber, it seems like our Box Boy Serial Killer got in over his head.

I give you… the Accidental Vigilante death of Robert Weber.

You decide if our unknown killer is simply the unluckiest guy in the world or a killer who even now may be somewhere living with - and earning the trust of - his next victim.

One bright and sunny day in the quaint, old-fashioned California town of Rancher’s Rest, Robert Weber was late for work.

Weber worked in a vehicle repair business owned by lifelong “RR” resident Randy Niles, who had known Weber since his childhood and had been his boss since Weber was eighteen years old and fresh out of high school.

Niles, who is now nearly seventy-five and still spends his days in the shop with an Australian Shepherd named Cody and a blind pit bull named Sue keeping him company everywhere he goes, stated that Weber had no living family he knew of beyond his sister in Vermont, and he was just about the closest thing Weber had to a relative just from having known him so long.

“He didn’t have too much to do with his sister,” Randy said in an interview with Unsolved Mysteries. (You can see the interview on the new Netflix reboot of the show! It’s a really good episode, definitely recommend. It’s how I got into this case in the first place.) “Or nobody, really. Just us at work, the guys at the bar, that kinda thing. He was quiet, kept to himself really. You’d never just strike up a chat around town or anything. But he got on just fine with the boys here in the shop. He was a bit of an egghead, too, always going on about this thing or that he’d seen on the news. Little… odd. Little bit off, you might say. But really, who isn’t? In any case, you know, I’d known him since he was a little boy, so he was just Bobby Weber to me.”

Then, of course, one day Robert Weber didn’t show up to work. Randy Niles immediately felt that something was very wrong.

“When nine, nine-thirty came and went and he wasn’t there,” Niles said, “I knew someone needed to go check on him. Bobby showed up for work right on time or ten minutes early, rain or shine, for twenty years. My first thought was maybe he’d had an accident at home, or some kind of, you know, health thing. Almost never called in sick, took one vacation a year, that kinda thing. So I drove right on over there. This would’ve been, oh, probably ten or ten-fifteen when I got to the house. Had my dogs with me, and they never did like Bobby much, but as soon as I opened my door and got out of my truck they just lost their damn minds. Barking, growling, Cody’s hackles were up like you wouldn’t believe. I know it sounds damn crazy, but I’m sure those dogs could smell that evil had been done in that house.”

On camera, Niles goes quiet, here, his gaze slipping away from the interviewer as he scratches at the side of his nose. When he looks back, the hint of good humor that seems to be an eternal part of his expression is gone.

“I didn’t know what Bobby had been up to all this time. None of us knew. I’ve known Bobby Weber his whole life, and I… I had no idea.”

Randy Niles was unable to convince his two dogs to exit the truck, and eventually rolled down the windows to give them some air and a way out if they chose (he is insistent on this point in the Unsolved Mysteries episode - “don’t you dare say I left my dogs locked up in a truck on a sunny day, I sure didn’t - Cody even knows how to pull a door handle if it’s the right kind”) and got out to knock on Robert Weber’s front door.

No one answered.

Niles knocked again. Still no response.

The front door was locked, but Niles was able to locate an unlocked back door into the garage, where he found Weber’s car neatly parked and nothing out of place. However, once he used an interior door in the garage to enter Weber’s home, what he found was so shocking he still struggles to describe it today.

“The, uh. The first thing I saw,” Niles says in the Unsolved Mysteries episode, wiping at his mouth with a handkerchief, “was a cage. Big old cage in the living room. Like a kennel for a big dog, Great Dane or something, except… except, you know, kennels’re usually mostly wire, not that heavy. You can fold ‘em up, put ‘em away. This was… geez. This was pure metal. Bunch of blankets all piled at the bottom, too. Here’s the-... you know, my mind just didn’t want to even make the thought, but I just, I looked at it and-”

In the episode, Niles has to take another moment, here. His eyes grow wet, and his voice is hoarse when he speaks again. “People cage. Bobby had a damn man-sized cage in his living room. That’s when my stomach just fell out. Even then, though, I couldn’t-... I just thought, oh, well, what people get up to in their own homes is their business. But still, I just. I just decided, find Bobby, figure the rest out later. So I kept walking around looking for him.”

Randy Niles continued to call out, hoping to hear Weber’s response, but received none… at first. The radio in the kitchen was playing a local public radio station (“Bobby always hated the country western and classic rock we played at work, he was a big news man, big into classical, jazz, you know.”)

Niles noticed, he says, that the cage next to the couch had a wooden top, as though it were meant to act as a side table, and on that table was a small woven basket. Inside the basket appeared to be several State IDs and Driver’s licenses. Niles took note of this but his first assumption was maybe that Robert Weber had stolen some IDs or something.

Which was technically true, just… not quite the way he thought.

The kitchen, hallway, and all three bedrooms were equally empty of life. Every room was clean, everything neatly in place. Empty bottles of Jameson whiskey, Weber’s favorite brand, were lined up like décor along the mantel, and one half-full bottle was next to two clean, empty glasses on the kitchen table.

Even the beds were perfectly made.

The only thing missing was any sign of Robert Weber himself.

The question of Weber’s whereabouts was answered when Randy Niles heard a sound coming from the open door to Weber’s unfinished dirt basement.

“Like a ghost,” Niles said in his interview. “Just this low moaning sound. Hardly even thought of it as human, you know. But I just-... I called out, ‘Bobby? That you?’ and the moaning got a little louder, like whoever it was was tryin’ to answer. I could still hear my girls in the truck just going nuts, probably worried about me knowing what they maybe could smell even out there. I figured… I figured I’d best call the cops and get them out here. Seemed like a plan. So I picked up my phone and dialed, and then I headed down those basement steps.”

What Randy Niles discovered in Robert Weber’s basement was a dying man, battered and stabbed eight times, lying in a half-dug grave.

Robert Weber had been beaten with the very shovel that had done the digging. The shovel lay off to the side, caked in dirt and blood. Police would find some of Robert Weber’s hair on it, too. Then, the individual who had beaten him had gone back upstairs - blood smears were found on the railing to the stairs - and taken a kitchen knife out of the knife block on the countertop. A bloody fingerprint was found on the side of the knife block. They had then returned to the basement where Weber was stabbed, almost entirely through the stomach and chest, twenty-six times, until the cheap knife simply broke from the force.

Randy Niles admitted in his interview that he became very ill at this time. “From the shock,” He elaborated. “I haven’t been able to smell much since I was in a car wreck when I was young, so I didn’t smell what-... what my girls prob’ly smelled from outside, and what the cops smelled. To me, it was just… just a little off, is all. It was the sight of it that got to me, not the smell. The sight of the-... the hand.”

Behind Robert Weber’s body, the hand of another person was sticking up out of the loose dirt, as though someone was trying to dig their way out.

“I remember… I remember her nail polish was pink. That’s when I got sick, actually, was when I saw that hand with the painted nails. That’s when it just hit me all at once what Bobby had done.”

Randy Niles went back up the stairs and waited for the cops to arrive. Rancher’s Rest is a small town where everybody knows just about everybody else, and Niles was on a first-name basis with every single police officer he spoke to that day and in the days after. He would learn alongside the investigation that Robert Weber was not simply the quiet, intellectual car mechanic he had always seemed.

Instead, Robert Weber was a serial killer whose potential final victim had managed a miraculous, deadly escape.

Robert Weber never answered a single question about his own murder - he never fully regained consciousness and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. His injuries were simply too severe. His autopsy showed that the cause of death was a stab wound that went deep into his chest and that he was first stabbed only after the beating with the shovel had taken place. Like Brute, most of his stab wounds were applied post-mortem in a rage rather than as part of the killing itself.

Medical examiners also found scratches on Weber’s face and arms, indicating that he had attempted to defend himself - or someone else had attempted to defend themself from him.

So why was Robert Weber killed, and why was there already a body in his basement? Investigators would piece together the story over the following days and weeks from a crime scene that only seemed to become darker and more baffling as time went on.

Excavating the basement was originally thought to be something that would be brief, but after the first body was removed, another one was found beneath it. Then another off to the side of that. And another, although this was simply bones.

Every time the forensics team thought they’d found the last human bone, they dug a little deeper or in a new spot and found more.

Eventually, the remains of twenty-two individuals would be removed from the basement of Robert Weber’s home, not including Weber himself. The oldest located victim was identified as Melinda Traxson, an Iowa woman reported missing by her family after she ran away in March of 1996… more than two decades before Robert Weber didn’t come to work one day.

Investigators are still working to match up every body with a missing persons’ case. For nearly all of them, the cause of death could not be easily ascertained due to the deterioration of the remains, but some showed signs of skull fractures. Identified individuals so far include:

Melinda Traxson, 19, from Iowa, ran away from home in 1996.

Billie Mortimer, 21, disappeared from a day out with friends at Lake Tahoe one year later in the summer of 1997. Her friends went to get lunch from the car after a swim and when they returned, she was gone.

Matthew Ranger, 22, went missing during a road trip to Yellowstone National Park in 1997 (only five months after Billie). His car was found abandoned by the side of the road with a flat tire.

Karl Janssen, 24, a tourist from the Netherlands who was also visiting Yellowstone, disappeared a month after Matthew. Last seen by an employee of the park who witnessed him speaking with another young man and getting into the man’s car. The employee said that the two seemed to be friendly with one another and did not seem like strangers.

Hannah Pointer, 26. She was reported missing in 1999 by her mother after failing to return home from work in Reno, Nevada. This disappearance occurred more than a year after Karl Janssen’s. Investigators would later discover that during this time period, Robert Weber dated a young woman from his hometown and he may not have wanted to risk her finding out what he was doing.

Isaac Jackson, 26, a Rancher’s Rest resident who disappeared after going out to a local bar to see his friend’s band play in 2000. His car was found submerged in a small pond two years later. This is the first time Weber apparently killed anyone close to home. He was actually briefly suspected in Jackson’s death, as he was the last person noted to see Jackson alive, but was cleared of suspicion at the time.

Dustin Swill, 21, who was driving from Colorado to California to visit his sister who had moved to Berras to work for WRU in 2001. He was last seen in a gas station near Yellowstone, where employees noted he spoke to a man who was smoking outside, who gave him a cigarette. When Swill left, employees saw the man put out his cigarette and leave shortly after. They did not find this unusual or noteworthy at the time.

Maria Vargas, 25, a Rancher’s Rest resident who was reported missing in 2002. Her family is intensely private and have shared few details about her, but it is known that her boyfriend at the time suspected Weber, who had attempted to convince her to leave the boyfriend for him and had apparently threatened her. He remained a suspect but there was never enough evidence to charge him.

Jennifer Striker, 28, from who never arrived for an appointment with a realtor in 2011. The long pause between Maria Vargas’s murder and Jennifer’s appeared to be due to Weber keeping a man named Finn Schneider within his home for more than a year after abducting him, as well as Weber serving five years in prison for a violent assault on a man he believed had sold him a defective vehicle. (Schneider was no longer in the home before the assault and prison time.)

Riley Nievelt, 25, was staying at the Big Meadow Campground with six friends during a weeklong vacation in 2012. She vanished while on a trip to purchase supplies. Her cell phone was found on the ground in the parking lot of the Food Lion in Rancher’s Rest, a short and easy drive away. At this time, with multiple individuals vanishing after being seen in Rancher’s Rest or being residents of the town, police begin to suspect and start hunting for a possible serial killer.

Alexander Peterson, 29, was a long-haul driver who vanished while working. He was last seen at a rest stop in 2014 on the California/Nevada state line, and would likely have passed right through Rancher’s Rest on his journey. He was reported missing by his ex-wife in South Dakota when he did not return as scheduled for a custodial visit.

The most recent victim, and owner of the hand that Randy Niles saw sticking up out of the dirt, was Yolanda Pierce, 26. She was a Rancher’s Rest resident with a troubled relationship with her husband, who had stormed out after an argument and was never seen again. She is believed to have died the same day as Robert Weber.

More remains exist but have not yet been identified. If you or anyone you know has a friend or family member who went missing during this time period in or near Rancher’s Rest, Yellowstone National Park, or Death Valley, it may be worth looking into, as those appear to be Robert Weber’s “hunting grounds”.

Disappearances in Yellowstone and Death Valley almost always matched up with Robert taking one of his rare weeklong vacations from work.

When investigators located three large diaries hidden inside a locked box in Weber’s closet, the first two fully filled up and the third nearly two-thirds finished, they found an exhaustively detailed record of Robert Weber’s crimes.

In these records, they discovered Weber’s first three victims were killed within 24 hours of abduction, with the rest being kept alive for longer and longer time periods. It is believed all of them met their end in Robert Weber’s basement.

Diary entries included records of two victims who were not a part of the bodies buried in Weber’s basement, both of whom may still be alive:

Finn Schneider, 19, a German tourist who disappeared in 2003 during a visit to Death Valley. Until Weber’s journals were found, it was believed he had perished in the park and had simply never been found. Robert Weber also visited Death Valley during this time. No one linked the two together. Evidence found in Weber’s home after his death, including the aforementioned diary entries and photographs, shows that Schneider was alive in Weber’s home for nearly sixteen months. It is believed Weber purchased the “human cage” that Randy Niles noticed around this time. The last diary entry that mentions Schneider states that he was “traded” on June 16th, 2005, to an individual only referred to as “Mouse.” What Weber received in exchange is unclear, but he was seen driving a new, custom-painted truck around this time, which he said he bought “from a personal ad” when asked by Niles about it. Schneider has never been found. However, his mother did receive a phone call in 2013 from an individual she believes to be her son, telling her that “Finn” was okay and to stop looking for him.

Our Box Boy, 334235, purchased by Nathaniel Benson years prior, whose whereabouts had been unknown since he murdered Brute Hanlon. Weber believed the Box Boy to be in his early twenties, according to his diary entries, and mentioned that he had picked the Boxie up hitchhiking and had intended to kill him before seeing the barcode on the inside of his left wrist and changing his mind. His diary suggests the Box Boy remained in his possession for roughly a fourteen months prior to Weber’s murder. Police have not released the details of what the Boxie was subjected to during this time, stating only that it is not the public’s interest for this information to be known, and they would like to locate the missing Boxie and interview him about certain details.

Four murders occurred during the time the Boxie was kept by Robert Weber. Weber noted that “the dog helped” with either murder or burial, suggesting that he may have worked as Weber’s accomplice in his terrible crimes.

Is it possible that they bonded over a shared urge to kill? Did the Boxie start a captive and become a companion?

Weber’s diary contained other disturbing facts, as well:

Weber also noted three failed abduction attempts in detail, in 1998, 2004, and 2017. In each he described with incredible precision of memory the appearances and descriptions of each person he failed to capture. He also appeared to do intensive research using their license plates and other information to find out where they lived and who they were. The names of these individuals have been kept quiet for privacy reasons.

Other failed abductions were noted, about one per year, without much detail. Or at least not enough for police officers to know who they were. Nearly all these failures were in one of three locations: Yellowstone National Park, Stanislaus National Forest and nearby campgrounds, and in or near Death Valley.

The last entry in Robert Weber’s diary was penned the day of his death.

NOTE: Weber referred to the Boxie as “the dog” in nearly all his journal entries. His last entry went:

May 6th, 20XX: The dog is pissed about something again. He’s always pissed about something. I think the thing in the basement probably kept him up all night with her caterwauling. He never gets used to the noises they make. God knows I can’t sleep either, at least not well. I’ll handle her tonight, have a drink with the dog after, see if that shuts up his nonsense for a while. Note: missed NPR interview with Senator Carlotta Grant on new leg. about the bb prohibition act. Find that on website later.

Found in Weber’s home, in boxes under his bed, were a series of restraints made of leather, high-quality items that appear to be custom-ordered to specific measurements. These included “gloves” intended to keep someone from being able to claw or scratch in their own defense, five sets of cuffs, a body harness, a leather half-face-mask that police referred to as a “muzzle”, several gags, some of which were deemed to be “designed to cause injury to the inside of the mouth”, and “other assorted items for use in torture and torment”.

You can find some leaked police docs online that go into more detail, but suffice to say they pretty much match the kinds of “toys” found in Nathaniel Benson and Brute Hanlon’s homes, too. And apparently, if you really know where to look, you can find some blurry low-quality photos Weber took, too.

While the items are a bit salacious, they aren’t entirely uncommon in consensual relationships, too, so it’s really not clear if they’re evidence of the Boxie being held against his will or not.

The investigation of the crime scene suggests that at some point after writing his final diary entry, Robert Weber made himself a pizza, which he ate half of and put the rest away in the fridge. His shaving cream and razor were found out on his sink, and Weber’s body was clean-shaven, suggesting he shaved shortly before his death.

He then watched three episodes of Law & Order: SVU. We know this because he texted during this time with his only living relative, the sister in Vermont. Little is known about Weber’s family and childhood, beyond his sister’s recounting of a quiet, strained home life with an overbearing mother and her mention that Robert endured several head injuries as a child and adolescent, including one that hospitalized him for days.

After he finished watching TV, Weber entered the basement and murdered Yolanda Pierce. It is believed he took the Box Boy downstairs with him, either as accomplice or witness. At some point while he was disposing of Yolanda Pierce’s remains, the Boxie became enraged for one reason or another, beat him with a shovel, got the kitchen knife from upstairs and stabbed him to death, and then left the house.

A neighbor remembers hearing odd noises around 3:30 AM and looking out their window to see a shadowy figure walking quickly down the road, but they weren’t able to see well enough to say whether or not the individual matches the description and WRU-provided photos of the Boxie. It does seem reasonable, though, to assume that the neighbor witnessed the Boxie fleeing the scene of the crime.

The Box Boy has never been seen again.

Police are pretty mum about the active investigation into the Box Boy’s whereabouts. I was able to get ahold of one source closely related to a member of the investigative team who said that there’s just not a lot of urgency. “Weber killed nearly two dozen people, just that we know of,” The source said. “The cops are a little bit ‘good riddance to bad rubbish’ about the situation. Unless the Boxie comes back to RR, they’re just inclined to let sleeping dogs lie.”

The sense of “let it be someone else’s problem” would be understandable… if this Box Boy weren’t responsible for one other direct murder, possibly two.

Police believe the Boxie has not left California, and is likely to be continuing to survive by engaging in prostitution or perhaps panhandling or some other hidden way of making money. Unconfirmed sightings have been located in three cities in central California, but all of these are unverified and should be taken with a grain of salt.

It’s also possible he hooked up with a pet liberation movement group, in which case he may be hiding out in a safehouse, protected from the consequences of his actions by the pet lib movement’s understandable insistence on total secrecy and anonymity for the Boxies they take in.

If he’s an innocent victim of circumstance, that’s fair.

If he’s a burgeoning serial killer with three victims under his belt and a taste for inflicting terrible violence on those who take him in… well… anyone who gives him shelter may be next.

Is our Boxie a purposeful killer or just supremely, almost incomprehensibly unlucky? Will he kill again? Was he Robert Weber’s accomplice or his victim?

Will he strike again?

Should there be an audit of WRU’s psychological testing on potential sign-ups to see if, perhaps, a Box Boy-wannabe with an urge to kill slipped through the cracks?

What do you think?

@astrobly @finder-of-rings @burtlederp @whump-tr0pes @raigash @eatyourdamnpears @orchidscript @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @boxboysandotherwhump @outofangband @whumptywhumpdump @whumpfigure @thehopelessopus @downriver914 @justabitofwhump @butwhatifyouwrite @newandfiguringitout @yet-another-heathen @nonsensical-whump @oops-its-whump @endless-whump @cubeswhump @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @whumpiary

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phis-corner · 4 years ago

Note

I saw your Cass x Marinette one shot. How would the Batfam and/or JL react to Marinette?

Bruce:

“Are you sure I’m not allowed to adopt her?”

“Well, if you do ever change your mind, I already have adoption papers prepared.”

Welcomes Mari to the family with only a tiny bit of snooping into her background, because Cass is scary.

Still wishes that he could adopt her, but she’s going to end up part of the family either way, so whatever makes Cass happy works for him.

Dick:

“Another one, B?”

“What? What do you mean you didn’t adopt her? She fits all your criteria!”

“Oh. OHHHH.”

Lots and lots of hugs and squeals.

Instantly accepts her as a sister.

They’re gymnastics buddies now. He absolutely refuses to lose to her in a stretching contest.

Does his best to be a Mom™ and tries to cut her off from coffee too.

“We already have one coffee gremlin. Two of them will be unstoppable.”

Jason:

“New Wayne?”

“Cassie’s girlfriend?”

“All right then. Am I allowed to corrupt this one?”

“So Bats can convert everyone to his methods, but I’m not allowed to teach even one of his kids to fire a gun?”

“You already know how to fire a gun? I want to see this.”

Mari isn’t as good as he is, but boy is she close.

Declares Marinette the best Wayne after Cass, because it’s universally agreed upon that Cass is the best.

Spars her a lot. Their skill levels are perfectly matched, so he only gets his butt kicked about half the time.

Tim:

Starts running a background check as soon as Cass tells them about her.

“Her name is Marinette, you said? I’ve got eight Marinettes that live in Paris with an age within five years of yours. Ooh, look, this one looks like Ladybug. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Is that her?”

When he meets her in person, the first thing he does is ask if Adrien knows about the voicemail incident.

“Of course I know about that. Had to make sure that you were good enough for Cass, didn’t I?”

Once Marinette proves herself (aka bribing him with delicious coffee-flavored sweets), they become coffee buddies.

That mostly consists of helping each other sneak in coffee beans for their secret stashes when they are cut off from it by their family, but it also involves the occasional outing to a cafe where they make various baristas nearly wet themselves.

Damian:

Challenges Marinette to a duel for his sister’s hand.

“Cassandra only deserves the best. Are you worthy of my sister?”

It was originally a duel to the death. Cass stopped that with a look.

They fight for an hour and a half before Marinette finally pins him to the ground.

He is (mildly) impressed and allows Marinette to ‘continue courting my sister.’

Marinette finds out about his childhood and has to be stopped from portalling over to Nanda Parbat and killing both Ra’s and Talia.

“First Cass, now Damian? How dare they?”

Anyway, since she’s not allowed to murder, she settles for making all of Damian’s favorite childhood foods. Every. Day.

Steph:

“You’re Marinette! Oh my gosh, you’re the girl who makes Cass go all pink and flustered and-”

Cass tackles her to shut her up.

“We’re besties now. No takebacks.”

Marinette tries her best to get Steph to stop eating so many waffles with other tasty treats, to no avail.

“Yeeeah, those were great, but waffles.”

Babs:

“Think twice before you enter the Wayne household, Marinette. Seriously. It’s f*cking crazy in there, and once you enter, they’ll never let you leave.”

“Oh no. You’ve already met them, haven’t you?”

“Well, I tried.”

Does a deeper background check than Tim, somehow.

“Did you ever tell Adrien that you made the scarf?”

“How do I know? Security cameras, duh.”

Batman is scary, sure, but Oracle is the truly terrifying one.

She knows everything. Literally everything.

Including which Hello Kitty stickers Marinette used on which folders for each subject back in collége.

Duke:

Stares into her eyes very seriously.

Continues doing this for a very long time, until Marinette is positively sweating.

“Save yourself before it’s too late.”

Behind him, a crash sounds as Jason throws Tim off the side of the stairs, just as Dick walks past.

A paintball whizzes by his head as Damian charges in, screeching a war cry.

Cass joins the fray and takes them all down in thirty seconds, standing victorious, until she’s sniped by a paintball and dramatically falls to the floor.

Alfred is holding a second paintball gun.

Alfred wins.

BONUS

Clark:

Is at the Manor for an interview. Enters the living room to see them all congregated on various seats.

Eyes glance over Marinette at first.

Blinks, then looks at her again.

“Bruce. Did you get another kid?”

Marinette cheerfully informs him that she actually turned down the adoption papers.

“I-is that allowed? Is that allowed???”

Diana:

Also declares herself Mari’s mother.

“She is a fierce warrior, this one. I must take her under my wing.”

“You are the wielder of the Ladybug miraculous as well? Well, since Bruce has not managed to adopt you, I must do so now. Mother would love for her successor to be her granddaughter.”

Is disappointed when Marinette insists that she has ‘two parents, both alive, and I am very happy with them!’

“Alive, you say? Do you need me to fix that?”

“NO!”

“Well, all right then.”

Decides to be her mother in spirit.

Starts showing up at the Manor weekly to train her.

#maribat #cassandra cain x marinette dupain cheng #asks #my writing

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ft-nostalgia · 3 years ago

Text

Idk if this is something I'm not supposed to speak of, but I always believed in saying Voldemort's name, so are we ever going to actually name The Team? Or did I miss something and they are actually called Young Justice? Because A) That's fucking dumb as a team name, B) They would absolutely HATE that and, C) Just let them be the Teen Titans maybe? Or just the Titans? I don't like that they're just called The Team and everybody else gets a cool name. Not a fan. I thought they were all gonna be Outsiders, but that's a different team. And just in that sentence alone, I'm mad. Just—it would be so easy to make them the Titans. I don't even think they've been referenced in this universe. Literally EVERYTHING ELSE exists in this universe but the Titans. They've even got Jason Todd chilling in a trance in Nanda Parbat. We've got the Court of Owls for no other reason than crazy rich people. And yet I have no Teen Titans. I'm gonna need them to rectify this. I really don't need it to be the Titans, but name the fucking team. SOMEBODY. Where's Cisco? JUST KIDDING HE'S HERE TOO.

#young justice #yj #teen titans #titans #nanda parbat #court of owls #yes I'm tagging all of it #jason todd #cisco ramon #vibe #we better fucking get vibe too #i didnt watch cisco get bullied just so vic could later feel like less of a jackass #red hood #fully expecting red good and the outlaws #btw this is is the show goes on more seasons lol #i swear officers it isn't my queue i've never seen it before!

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asrisgratitudejournal · 3 years ago

Text

Home

It struck me so hard especially in these last few days what home is to me. Well, to be exact, what and where home is. To put into context, from last Sunday evening to today, I've stayed in a campus accommodation called The Hub which is in the Royal Holloway uni complex. The first time I arrived here, I was so surprised by the non-existence of people. Turns out it is now out-of-term time and plus, because of covid-19, despite the lifted restriction on July 19th, people don't have any reason to be around. Well, it's a pretty similar situation we'd find back in ITB when it's out of term. However, there's always students' social thingy in ITB back then (pelatihan oskm lah, osjur, persiapan wisuda etc2), so it's not a zombie apocalypse situation, unlike here.

It's not that I don't like quietness (I'm very much into a calm and serene situation rather than a busy one), but this is just too much. Being alone in a new place (?). Not only that, the HEAT. The summer heat is crazy and I only got a not-so-bad fan actually, but still, I believe my room back in Headington would feel so much cooler than this room now I'm staying. I miss being close to Tesco/Sainsbury's/Waitrose just to buy snacks and drinks (anaknya suka banget jajan). These whole 4 days I can't wait to go back to Headington, which now I pretty much called home.

The only things I love from being here are the forest and the pond (the other day I even saw a small deer? Googled it, it's called Muntjacs), and the fact that I got to buy Iced Caramel Macchiato so easily. And of course, the hospitality of Alex and James. AH! And also the isotope lab with a 17C degree AC on full blast. Well, now that I listed what I like here, it's not so bad though.... (the power of journaling).

Ah yes, back to the title post. Home. So, what's home to you? What's home to me? Can't believe what I'm going to say, but after not being in Headington for so long, I now can confidently say that 9 Woodlands Close is definitely my home. Heck, I've lived there for 10 months, how can I not call that place my home? It's definitely a comfortable space for me. It's a place where I feel safe doing anything I want without having to worry about a thing. I have spent my 27 years living and sleeping in >50? different beds and rooms, but I don't know why this one I'm sleeping in right now just feels so... wrong? Let's blame it on the heat, then.

*swith mode ke Bahasa Indonesia*

Terus berhubung lagi di RHUL juga dan tadi lihat foto-foto di dinding SEA-RG (ada Mas Igun, Mas Alfend, Mas Ega, wow banyak banget ya orang-orang geodin di RHUL ini), jadi keingetan how it was back then in Timor. Ini sebetulnya part of reflection juga sih, dari kemarin selalu mikir "kenapa ya kok w ga betah di sini, padahal tinggal di rumah kepala desa, di hotel di antah berantah, di kamar asrama sekolah sekamar sama ibu guru, di sleeping bag dalem tenda, di musola, pokoknya segala macem experience tidur tuh udah pernah ngerasain tapi nggak pernah ngerasa se..nggak nyaman ini. Padahal ini dipikir-pikir ya not bad juga: kasur empuk, bantal ada 2, kopi teh lengkap (tapi ya emang lebih ke panasnya ajasihya kayanya mah). Iya! Jadi pas di Timor juga ngerasain hal yang aneh tapi ku berani bilang: hotel timor megah di Soe was indeed my home. Ada waktu-waktu di mana kita split team (tim ku nginep di mobil/nyari hotel sambil jalan ke Betun dan Atambua, sempat nginep yang bareng Bang Nanda juga di desa mana tapi lupa yang hampir keseret sungai itu) dan pas lagi split team itu betul-betul can't wait to go back to Soe.

Pada akhirnya kesimpulan dari mikir-mikir dan ngomong-ngomong sendiri ini adalah: rumah itu ada tingkatannya.

Ada yang rumah betul-betul rumah di hati (basically place where we're growing up), in this case for me berarti adalah rumah kemuning.

Ada rumah yang di level nggak sedalem rumah tempat kita tumbuh, tapi we usually can't wait just to go back to that place when we're away for too long. In this case, sekarang bagi saya adalah 9 Woodlands Close, dulu pas di IFP berarti adalah IFP Residence 204 (selalu ga sabar ingin pulang kalau lagi field trip atau lagi ngetrip sendiri ke Itali waktu itu atau ke Jerman), kemudian kosan Bandung Cisitu Lama 1 kamarku yang kecil tapi sangat ngangenin, mana lagi ya... udah kayanya so far yg I'm attached ya baru 3 tempat ini untuk di level ini

Ada rumah sementara. Yang ditinggali tidak lebih dari 1 bulan tapi cukup membuat kangen karena sheltering us enough, tapi kalau disuruh milih mau tinggal di sini apa pulang ke rumah beneran ya mendingan pulang ke Jakarta: tadi si Hotel Timor Megah di Soe, kayanya Karsam bisa masuk grup ini, rumah Mbah Putri di Karanganyar, rumah Tante Nana (Mbah Putri Pedan), rumah Bude Reni, kosan di Balikpapan (ini lebih dari 1 bulan sih, tapi yang bikin ga nyaman sebetulnya lebih ke kondisi psikologis sayanya sih instead of physical tempatnya), wisma kartini!, P4TK jogja!, Hotel Bunga-bunga, si vila yang dekat Boscha itu apa sih namanya (Barusan ngecek google maps pake street view terus ketemu namanya adalah Pondok Buah Sinuan 2! Senang banget), Lotus Hotel, Dago's Hill. Iya udah sih itu aja kayanya yang inget untuk "home" di level ini.

Bukan "rumah" tapi lebih ke tempat yang pernah dikunjungi. No hard feeling or anything tapi kalau bisa milih banget mendingan nggak tidur di sini atau PP: sekarang di The Hub RHUL ini!, tempat-tempat ku menginap kalau lagi ngajar olim full 5-6 hari (ini ku-list dengan sambil liat google map, of course w ga hapal): hotel di Medan (Garuda Citra Hotel), hotel di Padangpanjang (namanya Wisma Pangeran rupanya), hotel Srikandi di Kendari, Wisma SMA Barana di Rantepao (OMG I submitted my Oxford application here! Inget banget itu mendekati 24 January 2020 deadlinenya), Muara Hotel di Ternate, rumah di MAN IC Sambas! (OMG w main tu jauh2 banget ya), KNO hotel di Lubuk Pakam, LPMP Sumbar di Padang (ini bagus btw kamarnya, w suka, seru bgt juga karena di sini rame ada Dewi dan Isna), Grand Zuri Padang, Premiere Pekanbaru, OYO Palembang waktu itu acaranya ISPG, Archipelago Carita acara student exchangenya UI sama UTP, MAN 4 Jakarta, Hotel Benua diminta ngisi SMA8Bandung ngesot ke TSM, Airy Buah Batu NGAMBIL DATA PALEOFLOOD CRI, Ardan Hotel ngisi pelatnas + wisudaan Mita, Hotel Mutiara Purwokerto, Semesta Semarang (lol jaman-jaman mendekati diputusin 2013), Hotel Siliwangi Semarang jalan kaki ke Lawang Sewu, Hotel Horison Kota Lama Semarang berenang sm Isna beres kelas + bela-belain ke sbux ngegojek, Villa Taman Eden Kaliurang OMG!, Hotel New Saphir Jogja (IESO dan terakhir acaranya FMIPA), MMUGM buat tes jadi dosen UGM ditemenin Papa, Swiss-Belinn Saripetojo (ini juga dianter jemput Papa apa ya kalo gasalah ke bandaranya), MAN 2 Malang (lupa nginep di MAN-nya apa gimana, kayanya w masi kecil bgt dulu), Bali Bay View Hotel! (ICES 2019 sesungguhnya adalah kenangan yang ingin kulupakan), yes udah itu aja kayanya yang w ingat. Ada crumbs2 macem pas OSN nginep di dekat BPK Penabur 1 dan dekat stasiun Senen juga, dan Mataram OSN jaman kapan lupa, + Medan OSN sebagai peserta juga, dan tempat-tempat fieldtrip jaman di IFP gitu, plus traveling2 yang nginep2 tapi ya udah yang lupa ya biarkan saja. Intinya kalau dihitung-hitung mungkin ada kali ya 1/7 waktu hidupku dihabiskan untuk tinggal di "rumah" level yang ini. Tapi ini juga yang bikin bingung, I mean, I'm not typically very picky in terms of sleeping place dan yaudah adaptasi aja, makanya kalau sampai ga betah dan pingin pulang tu sesuatu banget berarti.

Yaampun bikin post ini berujung 2 jam reminiscing places. Ya intinya jadi refleksi diri aja sih. Bagi 27-year-old Asri yang masih belum punya rumah sendiri ini, definisi home masih amat sangat ambigu. Dan mungkin akan masih terus ambigu entah sampai kapan(?) To be honest, settling down as in beli rumah terus tinggal selamanya di tempat itu sampai sekarang belum menjadi opsi hidup yang kubayangkan di masa depan. Masih pengen explore, mau ke US nyobain tinggal 1-2 tahun di sana, mau ke Middle East juga, mau coba tinggal di Korea juga, atau Japan? Melbourne looks like a pretty great place gara-gara kemarin habis nonton tripnya 2PM back then in 2016 itu. Yasudah mari berdoa saja semoga di mana pun kelak "rumah" itu nanti buat saya, yang penting adalah saya bahagia dan nyaman. Dan tentu saja juga: sehat, baik fisik maupun mental.

21:09 pm 22 July 2021// 3-08 The Hub Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK in a scorching 27C evening

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atinykidult · 4 years ago

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i saw this on my timeline yesterday, they were shipping their mutuals with idols, so,,, i was wondering who would you ship your mutuals with and why? have a nice day btw 🖤

Hey! Thanks for this ask! Sorry I was so slow—I love asks like this and put a lot of thought into them, but it just takes time! 😅 Sorry to anyone I left out! I ramble so I just decided I’d do as many moots as I could in a certain time frame

Anna | @yunwoo | Y A N A N

So, I knew I had to ship you with someone from Pentagon! I settled on Yanan because he is a very gentlemanly, sweet type yet also goes along with jokes and chaos really well! I think that matches up well with you, as you are someone whose personality shines in both settings. You would make a very sweet (and pretty!) couple! <3

Helen | @yeocult | H O N G J O O N G

Look, I know I’ve shipped you with him before, but I just can’t unsee it!! He’s such a creative, brilliant person, and I think his energy would match with yours really, really well! You could talk about anything, but not feel pressured to talk at all if you didn’t feel like it. Random thing I could picture you doing: Writing little notes on each other’s hands

Vivi | @seongghwaa | J U N H U I

I’m just saying—the chaotic energy the two of you could generate is beautiful to picture! He’s such a crazy, hilarious goof-ball, yet so caring! I feel like that’s you, too, and you could match each other so well through both sides of yourselves! Date headcanon: Karaoke, with both of your friends, and you having a duet with him but it being pure chaos :D

Ana | @toffee-hwa | J I M I N

I wanted someone super sincere, super caring, but plenty fun to ship you with! You give everyone so much support and love, you deserve to go home each day to that same energy. I thought Jimin matched that really well! You both could take care of each other, and share anything with each other, anytime. Date idea: Cafes! Trying all the cafes together!

Dia | @jaesmintea | S E O N G H W A

You’re the mom friend, but you also have a lovely, scream-y side, I feel like? And I think that you deserve all the cuddles after long days, with back rubs and comfort food already purchased for you. I think Hwa would provide just that! And he would fall deeper in love every time you showed him that kind of love in return.

Shelby | @softhwas | S E O K J I N

This one felt like it came out of left field, because we never talk BTS, but I’m 90% you know them, right? Anyway, I definitely ship you with him! I feel like he’s really, really smart but no one thinks about it because he’s just making everyone laugh 24/7. You two could talk about anything, binge all the shows together, and just be a chill and functional couple! ^^

Nanda | @sanflowerseeds | J O N G H Y U N

JR from Nu’est was my emotional support kpop idol for a good minute last year. He’s such a precious soul, and so are you, so I shipped you two together! I feel like you’re both pretty quiet and could be homebodies together—maybe learning to cook different meals together, and definitely spending tons of quality time with each other!

Citron | @citronnade-coups | J E O N G H A N

So, I feel like you have this really chill vibe, and might(?) intimidate me IRL, but are super caring! Jeonghan has that same vibe, and I think you two would get on each other’s nerves but also fall in love in a classic rivals to lovers kind of way?

Cami | @hansolmates | S E U N G C H E O L

I feel like Cheol would really be attracted to your personality, tbh! He is such a soft, responsible, tired-dad type (lol) so he wouldn’t gravitate to really extra people. But he would love spending time with you, learning about your dance and students, and both of you are just, like, vibing. (Also, his MBTI should compliment yours pretty well! ^^)

Tiny | @yunhowhoitiss | S E U N G M I N

Okay, so, I don’t know Stray Kids well enough to psychoanalyze, but like... I would only ship you with the sweetest, brightest idols, and when I began thinking about it, I was just like: “Tiny needs someone who will make her smile as much as she makes everyone else smile.” Seungmin is serotonin, so that’s my reasoning! ^^ Sunshine with sunshine!

Hannah | @nafnifnice | D O Y O U N G

Doyoung, is, like, the normal member of NCT in my books. Super pretty, super kind, super patient (putting up with them), and obviously super talented! (I think you’re all of those, too! ^^) Anyway, I feel like he would be a nice match with you, energy level-wise! You could spend lots of quality time together, and you’d be a really sweet couple.

Alex | @woozisnoots | S E O K M I N

Alex!!! You are one of the sweetest people, and so I have to ship you with the sun himself! From what I’ve gathered, you’re a pretty high energy/bright person, and such a joy to interact with—Seokmin would match that energy perfectly! If you like amusement parks, that’s definitely one of my date headcanons for you!

Lia | @hanniesbubble | W O N W O O

I think you both are types who have learned/are learning to be comfortable in your own skin, and are fine not being the extra loud person in the room. Quiet, and thoughtful, and sincere. You guys could spend all sorts of quality time together, whether by talking or just being quiet together!

#this...turned into a monster #oh well 😅#atki.asks #I hope everyone sort of likes who I shipped them with! ^^

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siriuslysassy934 · 5 years ago

Text

Forgive me 4/?

Forgive me for Sara dying again and for letting you think I died again and lying about it... again

"You know, I'm honestly having trouble remembering a time when I loved you," Laurel snapped and she walked out of the Arrow Cave.

Oliver let her words sink in. He told himself he would deserve her and here he was worse off than ever. They weren't dating, and quite frankly, they were a sorry excuse for friends at the moment, but her words still stung. He should have told her that Thea killed Sara, but he was so afraid of her overreacting. Which was stupid; Laurel loved Thea just as much as he did. She had been there for Thea. Why couldn't he do anything right when it came to Laurel? He had to make this up to her, somehow.

***

Coming back from Nanda Parbat, Oliver had one thing that knew he needed to do. He needed to apologize to Laurel, again. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her about Thea killing Sara, and now he was in an even bigger hole. Not only had he lied about Sarah's death, Malcolm Merlyn was responsible and he needed him alive, and to make it all worse he let her believe he was dead again. Oliver figured he was going to need more than ice cream to fix this problem.

***

"Just because I'm mad at you doesn't mean I want you dead." Oliver almost smiled at her words; at least she didn't want to kill him, but she was clearly still mad. When she turned to leave, Oliver followed her.

"Laurel, wait." She stopped. "I'm sorry."

She raised an eyebrow, wanting an explanation. He supposed there were many things he could be apologizing for. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about how Sara died. That was stupid of me; I know you would never hurt Thea. I panicked and that was wrong. I'm sorry that I ran off to Nanda Parbat and let you think I died, again." He would have kept going but she stopped him.

"Stop that. I'm not mad that you didn't tell me that Thea killed her. I'm a little annoyed, but I'm mad because you don't trust me to act rationally. I know I have made some kind of crazy decisions, but I would never hurt Thea. You have apologized to me more since you got back from that island than you ever did before. Don't get me wrong; it's a nice change, but apologies don't do anything if you keep having to make them." Laurel frustratingly brushed her hair out of her face.

"What do you mean?" Oliver's heart raced in anticipation.

"If you're really sorry about keeping things from me, then stop keeping things from me especially things that you have no business keeping from me," She snapped turning her back towards him to leave.

Oliver grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him. "Laurel, I do trust you. I just--"

Laurel cut him off again, "If you have to give conditions, you don't really trust me." Laurel walked away feeling guilty. She was never this hard on him. She knew that Oliver tried, and she knew how hard trusting was for him; but she was starting to get annoyed. She wasn't really mad at him, she hardly ever was, but if they were going to fix what was left of their relationship he needed to trust her.

***

He had to make this up to her. He trusted her, but she was right; he wasn't acting like it. He promised he was going to work to deserve her, and he would no matter how painful it was. Oliver knocked on her apartment door hoping she would give him a chance to make it up to her. Laurel opened the door and rolled her eyes.

Laurel was beginning to grow tired of this charade. He did something stupid, came over, apologized, they made up, and then did it all over again. She would always forgive him and always let him in, but her heart could only take so much pain.

"Before you say anything, you said I didn't trust you, and that isn't true. I do trust you, and I should start acting like it. So I am going to prove it to you. I am going to tell you about my time on the island. Diggle and Felicity know parts of it, but I will tell you any and all of it you want to know," Oliver stated, shocking Laurel.

He never spoke about his time on Lian Yu unless he absolutely had to. She assumed he had done things on the island he wasn't proud of, but she never pushed for him to tell her. She didn't want him to feel forced to open up to her about his torture due to her outburst earlier.

"Ollie you don't --"

Oliver cut her off and took her hand, walking her to the couch. "I want to. When I first came back home, Thea told me I needed to find someone to talk to. If you'll let me, I'd like to talk to you."

Laurel nodded a smile forming on her lips. The fact he was even willing to bring up the island was a huge step. Plus, she had to admit she was curious what he went through to change him so much. They sat for a few hours facing each other with Oliver recounting his time on Lian Yu. Laurel listened carefully staring at his eyes. He looked so similar to the boy who had left on that boat, but listening to him talk about his torture and seeing all the pain in his eyes, she realized how much he had changed. When he stopped Laurel took his hand in hers and pressed her lips to his knuckles.

"Ollie, you might very well be the strongest person I know." He gave her a small smile. "I had no idea you went through all that."

"That may not be all of it, but it's a lot of it. And I will tell you more in time. It's a little difficult to talk about, but please be patient with me. Laurel, I know that I have made a lot of mistakes. I know that I don't always act like I trust you, but I do. I trust you more than just about anyone, and I hope that I showed you that." Laurel smiled and nodded.

"Hey, we have time. If you trust me enough to tell me all of this, we can do it on your terms." Oliver gave her a grateful smile.

She could live with this. Yes, he didn't tell her everything, but he was working on it. He trusted her and that was the important thing. Maybe he would keep secrets, but given time he would tell her everything. For now, that was enough.

#arrow tv #oliver queen #laurel lance #lauriver #green arrow #black canary #green arrow x black canary #oliver queen x laurel lance

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msbeccieboo · 5 years ago

Text

Arrow 8x03 Brain Dump

ASDADGHSADFSAF!! Back on form this week, with more returning guests, massive sibling feels and concentration on characters that we love, AND THE COLLISION OF FUTURE AND PRESENT TIMELINES IN THAT EPIC ENDINGGGG!!!!!!!!! YAAAASSSS!!! I’m still spiralling now!!!

Oliver and Thea

Welcome back Thea Queen!! Oliver had missed his Speedy 😍

So following on from last week, Oliver travelled to Nanda Parbat (which looked suspiciously like Lian Yu...the S8 Budget was clearly too used up on guest stars to recreate the outdoor Nanda Parbat scenery we saw in S3 😂), where he hoped to find some answers about The Monitor. I’m not actually sure if he intended on visiting Thea, or if her appearance was just a happy coincidence! But either way he was able to tell her about Mia and show her the picture of his new little family GAJKFSDGHFHDSGFS!!!

Source: oliverxfelicity

More below the cut...

In a shock move for Oliver Queen, he is open and honest with Thea straight away about his prophesied and imminent death. Thea wasn’t buying it, and Oliver even made a little sarcastic comment to “take as much time as you like to be upset” 😂😂 I’ve seen a few people say that they wanted to see more emotion from Thea here, and in later scenes. My take is that Thea/Willa’s nonchalant air is just classic Thea Queen Swagger™, but did feel like Willa maybe wasn’t really all that present in all of the scenes (mainly the LoA stuff though really). I however loved her total chill at the prospect of Oliver dying...not dissimilar to us...we know what's what! Our boy will be okay in the end!

Oliver seeks out Talia Al Ghul to use the Leagues archives (?) to find out more about The Monitor, because she owes him one. I love the idea of Oliver collecting his debts for once...this could fill the rest of the season to be honest; he’s racked up rather a few favours over the years. Talia’s help comes in the form of an Indiana Jones-esque scavenger hunt to uncover an ancient League book, and some special Demon’s head sword (?), with interruptions by the pesky Thanatos Guild from last season, who Thea is at war with. Honestly, plot-wise, I struggled a bit this week; even on rewatch I found it hard to concentrate😂 . I just zoned in on the character moments to get me through. But luckily, there were lots of those!

One such beautiful character moment with the Queen siblings was on the side of a mountain, and reminded me a little bit of the Will/Mia scene up the Glades wall back in 7x16, I think? Oliver getting all emotional about missing his family and doubting his decisions every single day just punched me right in the feels 😭😭

Source: feilcityqueen

Then his explanation for trying to find answers before the Crisis: “My sacrifice, my death will protect the people I love. I need my family to be safe.” MURDERER!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Thea reassures him with some sage Queen family words, that their parents also made some questionable choices regarding them (that’s putting it lightly), but it ultimately made them heroes because of them. I think this scene was one of my favourites this episode, if not the season so far. Love me some Queen siblings 💗

The upshot of this random adventure with Talia was that Oliver read that the upcoming Crisis will actually be caused by The Monitor (dun dun DUUUNNN!!), complete with a lovely drawing of him 😂😂 But what Oliver doesn’t know, cos The Monitor doesn’t tell him anything is that there is also an Anti-Monitor, who will be the big bad of Crisis...so this may be a bit of a red herring for now!

Oliver ends his time in Nanda Parbat by saying one final (in his mind) goodbye to Thea, which actually made me sob like a baby out of nowhere, and has done every time I’ve rewatched the clip haha! Thea didn’t see it as a goodbye (cos Oliver dying? Pass!), but Oliver just cracks and won’t let go of her, and now I’m tearing up again 😭😭😭

Source: smoakmonster

I think by the way the goodbye scene played out that that will be the last we see of Thea, and ugh it’s such a shame because she has always brought out something special in Oliver, but we know she’ll be with him the whole time...😭😭😭

Stray thoughts:

They had Thea acknowledge Moira as her namesake (still think it’s a stretch, Moira-Mia? No.) but also had a callback to Thea’s Corto Maltese alias, which made me lol, and frankly, I find a better reference 😂

“All beings burn but a Phoenix rises from the ashes”. The Phoenix references this week were as subtle as a sledgehammer...Oliver is the Phoenix, and he will rise from the ashes following his death!

The Guild calling Oliver and Speedy ‘outsiders’ 🙄🙄 Oliver was Ras al Ghul and Thea is heir to the demon; get your facts right, biatch!!

Thea was a total badass this week, taking down Talia was sooo cool, and shows how far she has come as a fighter/hero.

Nice drop-in that Felicity gave the hozen to William!

Thea and Talia joining forces to raise a female ‘League of Heroes’; better than any faux-feminist Canary bullshit!!

The guest stars are fantastic, but their novelty and distraction is wearing off...I MISS FELICITY SMOAK 😫😫 Next week should hopefully tide us over, though!!

Dyla

Dyla had their own little adventure this week, that echoed their suicide squad mission in Season 2. Bronze Tiger killed a bad guy whilst working for Lyla, and in revenge, that bad guy’s son kidnaps Sandra and little Connor Hawke, then also tries to kill Lyla, but obviously she’s a total badass so that doesn’t happen! Anyway, all’s well that ends well and Dig rescues Connor and his Mum, and that’s about all I can remember plot-wise 😂😂

What we got character-wise, though was really cool! We got the first hint of JJ’s story of being 'neglected' by Dyla...with Dig and Lyla being increasingly away on missions and unable to call him, and in turn finding Connor and obviously starting to fall in love with him because he is the softest little bean 😍 When ickle Connor said “thank you Mr Diggles” I was a goner 😂😂

We saw Dig having a crisis of faith (pun intended) after seeing Earth 2 disintegrate before him, but ultimately he realises (after some Lyla wisdom) that they just have to hold on to each other and do their best. Lyla made a few comments and pulled some ‘I’m keeping secrets’ faces, asking Dig to remember the good times no matter what happens, and I need to know what Lyla knows dammit!! I still believe that she is on the good side, and her appearing to double-cross Dig and Oliver with The Monitor last week is a little bit of a red herring. I need to believe, ok!!!

Flash-forwards

Plot-wise, I actually think the flash-forwards were the strongest storyline this week. Following on from last week we had the team rushing back to the bunker to check on William, after JJ threatened him. This scene brought us another “frack” from Mia 😍, and a mention of Felicity as “Mom” from William 😭, as he managed to electrocute the bad guys all by himself! Will being a techy little badass is a forever mood and is yet another reminder of our Felicity. She is never really gone.

With the Deathstrokes now targeting William and other members of the Star City Unification Movement (SCUM, really?? LOL), William offers himself up as bait. As Oliver’s daughter, you can imagine how that went down with Mia. Badly. Big nope from Mia, who decides on a more direct approach of going to their HQ and kicking all of the ass 😂. Zoe is very much against this, but Mia is all “I know best, we’ll just storm in and take them all out myself” (S1 Oliver anyone?). Said storming in leads to this absolute beauty of a moment:

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!

Prior to kicking all of the asses, Mia and William have a heart-to-heart, with Will still angry at Mia for not trusting him to go into dangerous situations. Will thinks it’s because he’s not a fighter, but Mia comes back with “it’s because you’re my brother” 😭 😭 😭

Source: olicitygifs

In another Felicity-worthy pep-talk, William tells Mia that operating out of fear is not the way to go, and that they need to trust each other to survive. I’m really gonna need a Mia/Will hug soon, please and thank you. Honestly, Will is the perfect balance/offset to Mia with his easy humour and quick wit, but he ALWAYS brings the feels as well. He reminds me so much of Emily’s portrayal of Felicity, and not just in the way that his character has been written, but just by what he brings to the role. Ben is a wonderful actor; I adore him and he and William must be protected at all costs!

In the final confrontation, Mia, Zoe and JJ storm JJ and the Deathstrokes, but JJ gets Mia by the throat in an awesome 3x23 Felicity/Slade parallel. Mia couldn’t save herself like Felicity did in this instance, but we must remember that this is just the beginning of Mia’s journey. She has time. Unlike Zoe, who saves Mia, but is then fatally stabbed by JJ 😬 Poor Zoe dies in Mia’s arms. Kat’s acting here was perfection. I may have shed a tear. They had kept Zoe pretty much in the background in the FFs, so I wasn’t particularly attached; if one of FTA needed to die, then I’m good with her. Sorry Zo. But in all honesty, this fridging trope really needs to end. Another female character didn’t need to die in order to elevate JJ’s evil-factor, or to spur on Mia’s hero journey, or Connor’s struggle with his conscience. Enough now. Hopefully, being a bird, Zoe will be back from the dead soon enough anyway 😂

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 💗

Connor sees Zoe die and goes after JJ. Hard. Tries to kill him. Between 2 generations of Queens and Diggles, the sibling parallels were so strong this week, and I’m loving it! I wrote a little meta here about it. But does Connor have the guts to actually kill JJ? JJ taunts that he doesn’t, Connor disagrees, but then the bright light comes for all of FTA and so we come to…

THAT ENDING

OH MY GOD ALL OF FTA IN THE BUNKER IN 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!

So most people following any kind of interviews or spoilers had a pretty firm idea that Mia would come back in time at the end of the episode. We were expecting it. What the show did was really quite clever...they allowed these pretty big spoilery-type interviews and tweets to be released, heavily implying that Mia would rock up in the last 30 seconds. They let us think we were all clever and had figured it out then BOOM! EVERYONE CAME BACK (minus Zoe 😬)!

I am so pleased with this!! All the paparazzi pics etc that we’d seen of Mia in the crossover etc had made me so happy, but equal parts sad that William couldn’t go back and see Oliver too, but now he can!!!

Uggghhhh it was so fucking goooood!! Oliver’s initial confusion of being beamed back to the bunker, stunned Dig, Dinah and Rene (I can live with their 5-second appearances this season 😂😂), then the camera and Oliver pan around to Mia, William and Connor just stood there!! Mia still had tears running down her face from seeing Zoe die, and she has her Arrow suit on and is covered in blood and she sees her Daddy for the first time in her memory!!!!!!! Just one word is delivered in those last few seconds and it was still one of the best moments of the season so far!!

Mia’s “Dad”, followed by Oliver’s confusion, realisation, then shock was just gaaahhhh!! But my absolute favourite reaction (I decided after multiple rewatches, for science, haha) was William’s 😍😭😍 His eyes full of tears, and utter gobsmacked-ness was fucking sublime!!

Source for all 3 reaction gifs: tylerposey

Next week is going to be so epic!! We have Mia, who has never met Oliver and who has built him up so much in her head and heart from Felicity and William’s stories, and also the tainted Star City archives, getting to finally come face-to-face with him. Then conversely, there is William, who got a few years to know his father, but then left him and eventually believed to have been abandoned by him and Felicity, and has had to live for 20 years until very recently still believing that, and now he gets to see him again, only a few months after little William left! Then there’s Connor, who Dig barely even knows in 2019 and he’s gonna call him Dad and then have to tell him that he nearly just killed JJ, who just killed Zoe, and Rene is right there and I AM HERE FOR ALL OF ITTTTTT!!!!

There’s so much content coming in next weeks episode it’s going to be so beautiful!! I wrote a post of things I really hope to see here, and I’m pretty confident we’ll get most of them and so much more!

Then there’s the implications of what FTA being in the present means for the future!! I had a bit of a spec meltdown here about how this could end up saving Oliver, and I think that’s pretty much just wishful thinking, but either way, them coming back to the present to help with the Crisis and to try and stop future Star City turning so bleak is going to make my head hurt and my heart sing in equal measure, I’m sure! After all, what is the point in having the multiverse, time travel, super powers etc in Arrow if we can’t reap some benefits from it somehow? The ending to this episode, and hopefully next week will be our reward for the fuckery we’ve had to endure with the more sci-fi-esque elements since Larry rocked up and the Arrowverse was extended. And I. cannot. wait.

Thank you to the beautiful, talented, and super speedy gifmakers for blessing us with all the amazing gifsets from this episode!! Mwah! 😘😘 (Uncredited gifs are mine)

💗💗💗

#Arrow 8x03 #Arrow #Arrow spoilers #Oliver Queen #Thea Queen #Mia Smoak #John Diggle #William Clayton #Arrow Season 8 #beccie's brain

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raywritesthings · 5 years ago

Text

A Father’s Faith

My Writing Fandom: Arrow, The Flash Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Characters: Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Mari McCabe, Team Arrow, Team Flash, Damien Darhk, Nyssa al Ghul, Earth 2 Laurel Lance Summary: Quentin Lance refuses to accept his daughter's death, leading him and her team to recruit a number of their friends with surprising results. *Can be read on my AO3 and FFN, links are in my bio*

Quentin tried not to show it, but he was crushed by the news Nyssa had given him when she’d come to offer her condolences. How could there no longer be a Lazarus Pit when he needed it most?

He didn’t blame the woman. Sara had been frightening when she had first emerged from it. They’d all been so worried she would never really recover, hard as Laurel tried to reach her. Without that magician friend of Oliver’s, who knew if she would be out there right now figuring out her life and how best to help people? Some people might say he was crazy to want to try to risk all of that again on his older daughter.

But that was the thing. Loving someone was a risk, a risk Laurel had always taken with the people around her. Even when it didn’t pay off. Especially when. After all the risks she’d taken on him, how could he not do the same?

Without this Pit in Nanda Parbat, he just had to find another way. Their world had become filled with magic and all kinds of impossible science. In all of that, there had to be something.

Quentin didn’t know everything the others did. He may have been a resource and ally they called on when needed, but he knew there were things he was simply kept out of the loop on. But he had eyes and ears, and a mind sharp for detail. He knew asking that friend of Laurel’s in Detroit wouldn’t pay off; her magic didn’t work that way. The guy in Central City supposedly could recover from devastating injury in record time, but that ability didn’t seem to extend beyond himself or beyond the grave to his knowledge. The magician called Constantine could recall souls, but was that to living bodies only? He needed a way to heal her, to rejuvenate the body before they could expect that kind of spiritual aid. Something like the Lazarus Pit even if he’d never seen it before.

And then it hit him where he’d seen something like it.

Darhk. In his office, he had kept a pitcher. Quentin had seen it, and Darhk had noticed. He’d boasted it was a souvenir from Nanda Parbat, something to keep him young, as he’d put it. Hadn’t Darhk been connected to the League? That was how he’d known what had happened to Sara during her resurrection. What if the water he had was the same as that Pit?

He had to get his hands on it. If nothing else, the bastard shouldn’t have it anyway. The trouble was, he knew he couldn’t possibly get into Damien’s office, steal one of his most highly-guarded possessions and get out with it alive. At least not on his own.

It was a good thing he knew a whole team of vigilantes.

Oliver was the first one to answer his calls and agreed to meet him down in the base. Quentin paced as he waited. Over the years, they’d had their disagreements, but he was confident he could convince the younger man. And if Oliver was on board with the idea, the rest would follow. He’d be that much closer to having his girl back.

Oliver arrived, and Quentin wasted no time. “I’ve figured out how we can get her back. It’s risky, but it’s the best we got.”

“If this is about the copycat—”

“It’s not. This is about Laurel. I saw, in Darhk’s office, he’s got this water that works just like that Pit she used for Sara.”

“Lazarus water,” said Oliver, a spark lighting in dulled eyes. “Ra’s said when Damien left the League, he took some with him.”

“Yeah, well I know where he keeps it. If we can just get it we can, I don’t know. There’s not enough to submerge a body, but if we could get it into her system somehow—”

“That’s assuming we can get past Darhk and his men,” Oliver reminded him. “I still don’t know how to beat him.

“Well, what about that friend of yours. Uh, Mari. Didn’t she beat him last time?”

“I can’t ask her for help every time,” he told him. “She did me a favor already by coming in the first time.”

“Then I’m calling in a favor for Laurel. She went out and helped her before. You’re telling me Mari wouldn’t want this lunatic taken down anyway?”

“It’s not her responsibility.”

“And neither is it yours. You know? It’s supposed to be the police’s job to bring in criminals. But we needed help, even if we couldn’t admit it at first.” He gave a shake of the head; still referring to himself as police. Old habits. “It’s not wrong to ask for help. Better to do so before you’re in over your head.”

Oliver considered that silently. Then he looked up and asked, “Even if we defeat Darhk and secure the water, there’s no telling if it would work for a resurrection.”

“Maybe not, but I’m willing to try.”

“Quentin, I just don’t know if I am.”

He scoffed. “You’re kidding me. After all the times she stuck her neck out for you.”

“That’s not what this is about. If we get this wrong, we’d be bringing her back to some kind of half-life.”

“Well then that friend of yours gets her soul back, right? Just like with Sara.”

“He’s out of contact. There’s no telling when or if he gets back, and in the meantime she would be...I couldn’t do that to her.” He shook his head, and for the first time Quentin noticed something past his own grief; he’d assumed, because Oliver wasn’t outwardly spiraling like the rest of them seemed to be, that he was coping the best of all of them. Yet he could see now that his face was screwed up like he was barely holding in a storm. “Not to her.”

“What did she say to you?” The question he’d been longing to ask slipped out. Oliver’s expression shuttered. Not in a way that left him looking angry, just...broken. He’d gotten what might be the last minutes with Quentin’s daughter — a part of Quentin envied him for it — and those minutes seemed to have changed something in him.

Oliver shook his head, shoulders hunching. He couldn’t or wouldn’t share. Fine.

Quentin took a step closer. “Look, you told me once you love my family,” he reminded the other man. “Well, now’s your chance to prove it.”

Oliver’s hand curled tight into a fist, and for a wild second Quentin thought he might be about to hit him. But instead, the archer swallowed once and said, “You’re right. You- you all deserve better than just words from me. She deserves better. Where was Darhk keeping his supply?”

—-

Oliver felt slightly out of his own head when he placed the call to their ally in Detroit. Quentin’s plan, the hope that Laurel might not be as out of reach as they all thought, it had to go to the back of his mind if he was going to concentrate on the fight ahead.

Mari answered and he briefly explained the situation. How the idol had come back together and how Malcolm had stolen it as well as the betrayal from Andy. Laurel’s death at Darhk’s hand. The need to stop him again.

“I wouldn’t ask another favor of you so soon, but we’re...we’re struggling here,” he admitted, hearing the exhaustion in his own voice. None of them were doing well without Laurel; over the months, she had become the glue that had held them all together it seemed, and he wondered if that, too, was something he’d taken for granted.

“It’s not a favor, Oliver,” Mari said, her tone hardening into steel as she added, “That bastard is going down permanently.”

He didn’t tell her the rest of the plan. He didn’t tell the others, either. There was still such a chance that it wouldn’t work. Getting their hopes up would only distract them from defeating Darhk, and the last thing they needed was distractions when going up against him. He already felt guilty enough asking Thea to postpone her vacation with Alex, but they would need all hands on deck for this one.

Oliver knew the others were getting nervous all the same. Quentin announced they were postponing Laurel’s funeral. He’d cited waiting for Sara as the reason.

“You’ll be waiting a long time, then,” Felicity muttered under her breath.

Oliver convinced John that the best way to do right by Laurel in the meantime was to help catch the copycat who had stolen her suit and device. Oliver was forced to unmask Evelyn Sharp in front of a crowd, denouncing her as a fraud. The media picked up the story; eyewitness accounts of the Black Canary easily confirmed she hadn’t been a teenager even at the start, and Evelyn had had to make crude hem adjustments to make Laurel’s longer pant legs and jacket sleeves fit her smaller frame.

She’d been taken in by social services who were treating her case as one of severe emotional and mental trauma from the loss of her parents. Her status as a minor would likely save her from jail time. Oliver sent a message to Cisco, hoping the engineer might be able to restore Laurel’s costume to its original state. He excused it as sentiment to the team.

He didn’t tell them he held the slimmest hope that the suit might be needed again.

By the time Mari could join them in Star, Darhk had set his sights on his next target: an ARGUS transport. Diggle was inside with Lyla and Sara to better protect their family. He and Thea were approaching the HIVE members and Darhk from behind on a motorcycle, his little sister letting go of him every so often to fire off an arrow at their opponents.

Just as he watched the truck doors open, they all heard the screech of an eagle as Vixen swooped into the fray. She grabbed Darhk by the shoulders and threw him to the ground where he went rolling. It took him some time to rise off the ground, and he did so shakily, a scrape on one side of his face.

“You and Spartan occupy the Ghosts!” Oliver ordered Thea as he stopped the bike, running to Mari’s aid.

The two magic users were facing off, Darhk’s usual tricks no match this time for the protection Mari got from her amulet. He wondered if her proximity to it versus Darhk not having his idol on him had something to do with it as well, but dismissed the thought as Darhk moved into the physical offensive.

Having been trained by the League, he was a threat even without his powers. Mari was barely able to get her guard up and was losing ground. But Oliver had completed that same training. He had something more he was fighting for, as well. Something greater than delusions of power and conquest.

Darhk raised a hand, but Oliver caught his arm, twisting it with a snap. Darhk gave a sharp cry and sank to one knee, breathing in deeply. “Oh, that’s good. Didn’t know you had it in you. Hero type and all that.”

“Arrow,” said Vixen, a warning note in her voice.

“I never tried to be a hero when I started all this,” Oliver said, watching the man at his feet. His arm would heal, he’d go back to plotting, and they would do this all over again. It would never end, with Oliver losing more and more pieces of himself along the way. William, Laurel...even if they could get her back, would it really be the same? “Not until someone believed I could be. You killed her.”

Darhk’s breath quickened as he withdrew an arrow. He pushed up onto his feet, his other arm striking out—

The arrow went in under his arm, stabbing through the material of his suit. Darhk stiffened with a ragged gasp.

“You could have gone to prison. You could have served your time or broken out and simply left this place. But you didn’t.” Darhk’s knees were giving out again, and Oliver brought him down to the ground. Then he ripped the arrow out as he stood.

“You’re not going to pass on a message to anyone. But I want you to think of her in your last moments. I want you to know she wasn’t just a pawn in your game of control over this city. And I want you to know that’s why I’m not the hero you thought I was.”

Darhk’s eyes had gone wide as he hemorrhaged. There was no way of knowing if he’d even heard or understood. Oliver watched solemnly, silently, as the light left his eyes and his breath stopped coming.

When he looked back around, Mari’s eyes were on the ground. “Would Laurel have wanted that?”

Oliver couldn’t answer right away. His impulse was to say no; Laurel had believed in the changes he had tried to make in himself, in the light she felt he still had. Yet he could see her flashing eyes and pointed words every time they argued about Merlyn, who had hurt and threatened their loved ones time and again. Was this really so different?

“I don’t know,” he said finally. “I’ll have to ask her.”

Mari looked up sharply, her confusion plain, but Lyla was walking over to join them. Beyond her, he could see Thea and John finishing tying up the Ghosts they had managed to take down.

“Thank you all for your help,” Lyla said. “If Darhk had gotten ahold of Rubicon, he could have launched a nuclear apocalypse.”

“Then I take back my objections,” Mari stated swiftly, as they all eyed the body of the man who had nearly taken away the world as they knew it. “We should still secure his idol to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“We’ll take Captain Lance,” Oliver told her. “There’s something in Darhk’s office he was hoping to find.”

They caught the few Ghosts left to guard the place off guard with a sudden attack. Four vigilantes — as grateful as Oliver was for her help, he felt a pang in his heart every time he looked and didn’t see the teammate he wanted to — with a former police captain for backup. Without their leader, they were disorganized and overwhelmed.

Mari was quick to get possession of the idol sitting inside a cabinet, but Quentin only had eyes for a pitcher.

“It’s here. This is it.” He lifted it down with trembling hands, but his grip was secure. The both of them peered inside to see the water that sloshed around. Oliver couldn’t describe it; all he knew was that it was no normal water.

Now that it was in their possession, it felt real.

“Uh, guys?” Asked Thea. “What do we need that for?”

Oliver turned to his team — the ones that were present, though he knew Felicity was likely listening through the comms — and drew in a breath. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

Sure enough, there was a scoff heard through their ear pieces. “Isn’t there always?”

Oliver grimaced.

—-

Thea was having trouble wrapping her mind around all of this. The Lazarus Pit wasn’t as totally destroyed as they’d thought it was. Or at least, the water wasn’t.

Was it enough? If it was, how did they get her soul back with Constantine away? If they did that, how did they get some of the Lotus to cure her bloodlust? Thea didn’t want her friend to suffer they way she had for so long before she’d received the cure, but she also needed her friend back badly. They all did.

Mari shook her head as they stood in the base, Laurel’s closed casket sitting on a table. “I don’t see how this works. You said the last two times the person was submerged?”

“We’re thinking if we feed it directly into her system,” Quentin explained. He was energized, almost manic.

“But how does it get around?” Asked Thea. “I mean, don’t you need a working heart to pump the blood and other stuff?”

“Very scientific,” Mari remarked. Thea made a face. What, she’d barely gone to high school. “But yeah, I think she’s right. You’d have to get her heart restarted first.”

“There’s machines or something, aren’t there?” Oliver looked around at them all, and Thea hated to see him hurting. It was clear he wanted this to work, maybe needed it to. When Felicity had been injured around the holidays, he’d turned angry and vengeful. Without Laurel...it was like he was desperately searching for hope in a place she wasn’t sure still existed. But if Laurel could still come back to them, if they could just figure out how—

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Felicity abruptly cut in. “But Barry can restart hearts with his powers. I don’t know if it’d be enough for someone who’s been dead for over a week, but.” She shrugged.

“If we’re gonna do this, we probably need STAR Labs’ help anyway,” said John. “They’d have the science.”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ll need to do that.”

Mari tagged along. “I’m the best expert in magic you have right now. If we're doing this to a friend of mine, I want to be there in case it goes sideways,” she stated firmly.

It took them another week before they could head to Central City. They needed to make sure Ruve and her daughter left town along with the remnants of HIVE. Once the woman resigned, it was safe enough to leave the city unwatched for at least a couple days.

Thea followed the group right into a central hub of STAR Laboratories without so much as a sign-in sheet. Barry and his team seemed to be in the middle of celebrating a recent victory and looked startled to see them all there.

“Oliver!” In an eye-blink, the speedster was standing in front of them all. “What’s going on? We heard on the news, have they set a date for…” he trailed off as his eyes landed on the casket Mari and John carried — Mari using the strength of a gorilla to help that along. They probably did look like a procession, the way they were all standing around it. “Uh…”

“Barry, we need your help,” Oliver said simply.

Team Flash was filled in on the details. Thea could see the same mix of hope and doubt on their faces that was in her own heart.

“You really think this will work?” Asked Cisco. “I mean, there’s been some time.”

“We’re not ready to give up yet,” Quentin stated. “Now are you helping us or not?”

“Of course. We told Harry, we loved — or love Laurel,” Caitlin said. “I’ve just never overseen this kind of blend of science and magic.”

“Magic doesn’t exist,” a dark-haired man in glasses said dismissively.

Mari gave him a look. “Oh?”

“Magic is simply science that has not been explained or explored to its fullest,” the man maintained. “These chemicals in this water have restorative properties. If the properties were broken down, we’d understand them.”

“We don’t need to understand them. We just need Laurel back,” Thea said. “Can we do that?”

“If what you say about the water is true, then yes. Though, given the time that has passed since the heart stopped pumping blood, we might want to do an additional transfusion,” the man said.

“But dad,” a girl with brown hair who’d remained silent until now spoke up. “Wouldn’t there be a higher chance of rejection of the blood with the additional substances?”

An older man standing by Barry and looking remarkably like him nodded as well. “She has a point. It would definitely pose a risk.”

“It would, if we were simply using blood of the same type. That’s not what I’m suggesting,” the man with glasses said. “I’m suggesting we use her blood.”

There was silence as Mari and the team from Star City glanced around at each other to see if they understood.

The people from Central seemed to be catching on one by one. “Oh no,” Cisco said with a shake of his head. “Harry, come on. We only just got her in the pipeline.”

“Sorry, who are we talking about now?” Felicity asked.

“Your friend’s Earth 2 doppelganger was part of Zoom’s army,” Harry told them. “She was captured tonight.”

Thea felt her jaw drop. Laurel was a bad guy on another Earth? That was crazy!

“Will she even agree to donate some blood?” John asked.

“We’ll have to ask Black Siren. You guys don’t have to come down,” Barry said. “I know it’ll be kind of hard to see her like this.”

Oliver shook his head. “We have to be the ones to ask.”

They left Laurel’s casket in the cortex with Caitlin and the other scientists. Barry hit a button to open a door, letting them see a glass box of cell. Inside was Laurel — it was uncanny. If her hair were blonde, there would be no telling the difference. Except for her black leather clothes not being a match for Laurel’s suit, and the way she scowled as she paced.

She froze at the sight of their group and came up to the glass.

“Ollie?”

Oliver said nothing, his mouth open slightly as he stared at the woman who looked just like their friend.

Her painted lips turned down again. “Oh. You’re not my Ollie. You’re from this Earth, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he finally managed. “We have something to ask you. It’s about your counterpart here on this Earth.”

“I heard about that,” Laurel’s double said with a smirk. “Poor Canary met her coalmine.”

Oliver flinched, and Thea couldn’t blame him. “Not necessarily. We have a way to bring her back, but it requires a transfusion. Your blood is the best match to hers available.”

The woman with Laurel’s face scoffed. “You want me to agree to give a blood donation to a dead woman?”

“To bring her back to life, yes.”

“Why?”

That brought them all up short. “You...want your counterpart on this Earth to stay dead?” Felicity questioned incredulously.

The Siren shrugged. “I don’t see why she’d want to return to the living. What does she have to come back to? Zoom’s told me everything, you know. Let’s see...a mother who abandoned her, a sister who slept with her boyfriend. The boyfriend,” she listed off, eyes flicking over Oliver as she did so. “Friends who use her for pep talks or as their personal legal aid office. It’s no wonder she just gave up and died, her shoulders were probably aching from everyone crying on them all the time.”

Thea’s gaze was on the floor, her eyes feeling heavy with tears she didn’t want to she’d in front of the others. She’d worried to herself from time to time that she was a burden to Laurel, that she’d taken advantage of her kindness and hospitality, that she wasn’t giving back enough. To hear it spelled out in Laurel’s own voice — dripping as it was with a bitterness Laurel had never had — was hard to face.

“Well, there’s your answer,” Quentin said, and Thea wasn’t the only one who looked around at him in confusion. “That’s why she’d want to return. To help people. Friends, family, complete strangers. It didn’t matter. She was a hero, and heroes a lot of times, they’re taken for granted. It’s a mistake I’ll never make again. But that’s who my daughter was — who she’ll always be.” He looked Laurel’s double straight in the eye. “I think you could be that, too, if someone gave you the chance.”

Siren looked uncomfortable. She’d drawn in on herself and blinked a couple too many times as she looked back at Quentin. It occurred to Thea he hadn’t made her list of reasons for Laurel to stay dead.

“Please,” she said, standing at Quentin’s side. “We just want her back. We love her, and we want her to come home.”

“We do,” John echoed quietly, though his voice carried.

Felicity and Mari both nodded, the former clearly choking back tears.

“That’s really sweet,” said Siren. Her eyes narrowed. “But I want to hear it from Mr. Green over here. You’re the one asking for my blood. What’s it worth to you if your birdie comes flying home?”

Thea frowned. She wanted to say that of course her brother felt the same as the rest of them. But then, he hadn’t actually said anything just now. And if she thought about it, he hadn’t said anything when they’d all told Laurel they loved her at her hospital bedside.

But he spoke now. “Laurel...asking what she’s worth, it’s impossible to say. She has so much to give, to the people in her life, to the world. She should never have been taken away like this. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to change that.” He swallowed and said, “Because I do love her.”

Thea pressed her lips together to keep from making a sound. She had to. Because she knew now why Oliver hadn’t said it with the rest of them before; they could all hear how completely he meant it.

She could see Felicity knew it, too, by the way her shoulders hunched and her eyes squeezed shut. Even knowing she’d been the one to break things off, that couldn’t have been easy to hear.

“Well then,” Siren said, her eyes on the ground. “I guess people can change.” Her gaze cut to Barry, still standing at the control panel. “You and your friends better remember this when it’s time for you to decide what to do with me.”

“We’ll see,” he replied before flicking a switch.

Gas filled the little cell and Siren reared back, only to collapse moments later.

“Knockout gas,” Barry explained. “She may have agreed, but I don’t trust her not to try and break out afterwards.”

Thea nodded. It had still been hard to watch someone who looked so much like her friend fall. “What will happen to her?”

“It depends on when and how we stop Zoom,” said Barry. “But first thing’s first.” He went in to get the blood for the transfusion.

Oliver turned back towards them all, his hands rubbing over his face. Thea went up and hugged him.

“Thank you.” She knew how hard it was for him to open up, to be vulnerable. Thea felt it when a hand clapped her brother’s shoulder. She looked up to find it was Quentin.

“We’re getting her back,” was all Oliver said. “We’re getting our Laurel back.”

—-

Mari went back upstairs while the others were still recovering from having met Laurel’s doppelganger. She wanted to see what the scientists were making of the Lazarus water and begin some preparations of her own.

When she arrived, they’d moved Laurel’s body to a table and inserted a number of different IV needles and various points. One even directly into her chest underneath the loose shirt she’d been put in.

“The idea, as I understand it, is to get this water through her system as quickly as possible, particularly to the heart,” said a man who introduced himself as Henry Allen.

Another young woman had arrived in meantime as well. “I should tell dad to postpone the party then?”

“I think so, Iris,” Henry said with a rueful smile.

“Wow, a real-life resurrection. I thought we’d seen everything,” Iris said with a shake of her head.

“I’ve learned the best way to keep from being surprised is to expect anything,” Mari remarked. She then went for her things, carefully removing and unwrapping Darhk’s idol.

“What’s that?” Iris asked, walking over to join her.

“The man that killed Laurel used this to power his magic. It drew on the souls of his victims. I’m hoping that when her body’s brought back to life, Laurel might be drawn to her own soul. Then we’ll have both parts of her back.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Mari nodded. “Expect anything.”

Barry raced up ahead of everyone with an IV bag that he attached to the system they had going. “Are we ready, Caitlin?”

“Just waiting on you,” Caitlin confirmed. “Harry and Jesse have theorized that if you give her heart a jolt at the same moment that the Lazarus water reaches it, it should hopefully respond and rejuvenate her.”

“Right.”

Mari looked back around as Oliver and the rest of his team entered the cortex, some of them with red-rimmed eyes and all looking varying degrees of downcast or hopeful. “Anything else we should prepare for?” She asked them.

John collected himself first. “We should fasten her down. The first few minutes, Thea was pretty disoriented. Sara was dangerous until Constantine got her soul back.”

Cisco hurriedly moved in to add restraints. Mari had to marvel at it all, both teams and her working towards one common purpose. The things they could do together.

The man named Harry counted down on a watch at his wrist as the water and blood were fed into the IV tubes and began trickling down. “Ten seconds...five...now, Allen!”

Barry’s hands sparked as he touched down on Laurel’s chest. The body jolted once.

“Again!”

Thea was gripping her brother’s hand tight enough Mari could see it turning chalk white. Laurel’s father was using the back of a chair for support.

“One more time!”

“You can do this, son,” Henry Allen encouraged him.

“Come on, Bear,” Iris muttered.

The lighting was crackling in Barry’s eyes this time as he pressed onto Laurel’s chest.

A jolt. Then a gasp.

“My God,” Mari breathed. She’d seen a lot of things in her time as a hero, but this?

Laurel’s body was alive. Her friend began writhing against the restraints with an energy and fluidity that would have been impossible seconds before. Cisco, Harry, Jesse and Henry each held a limb down as Caitlin frantically checked over the IV’s. A snarl that didn’t sound quite human left Laurel’s lips as the doctor fiddled with them.

“Honey!” Quentin suddenly pushed forward. “Honey, it’s okay. I know you’re scared, but you’re safe, I promise!”

Laurel’s head whipped around, seemingly searching for her father’s voice. Disoriented like John had described. She was more like a wild beast, Mari thought to herself.

“Careful, Mr. Lance,” Caitlin cautioned.

“No, let him,” said Mari. In the corner of her eye, she watched Oliver drift closer towards their friend as well. She doubted he was even aware of himself. “It’s soothing her.”

Even as she said it, her senses detected a charge to the air and her hand went to her necklace, instincts kicking in. Danger.

Laurel, in her altered state, seemed to have that heightened sense, too. Her body went rigid and lips pulled back over her teeth as a blue streak of lightning entered the room.

It impacted a scream.

Lights shattered overhead and they were all forced to duck the glass shards. There was a thud as the blue lightning resolves into the form of a man and slammed against the far wall. Barry was on the unknown attacker and then Mari was seconds later with the speed of a cheetah. She followed Barry’s lead in punching him out.

“Zoom. I’m putting him in the pipeline!” Barry called out into the near-darkness before vanishing with the other speedster. Only the lights out in the hall allowed them to make out dimly lit shapes.

“Ramon, we need lights!” Harry was barking.

“Got it!” His footsteps were easier for her to track than his shape.

“What the hell was that?” She was able to easily discern Quentin’s voice. “What happened to Laurel? Did it go wrong?”

“That was her doppelganger’s ability. The transfusion must have reacted to her latent meta gene.” That she was fairly sure was Harry. “We’ll have to test when she’s stable. What’s her status?”

She touched the Anansi Totem around her neck again to give herself a leopard’s night vision. The first thing she noticed was Oliver. He’d thrown himself over Laurel’s form on the table to shield her from the glass, and still had his head ducked down.

“She’s still breathing,” Oliver announced, slightly muffled. “She’s...she’s calmer.”

That, Mari could see as well. Laurel’s face was turned into his neck, and she was no longer fighting to get free.

The backup lights kicked on with no warning, and Mari quickly cancelled her borrowed powers. She had to blink spots out of her eyes for a few moments.

Everyone was either lying or crouched on the floor like one of the drills they put kids through for storms. Henry’s hand rubbed at his neck.

“I could swear I felt fingers for a second,” he muttered. “It was all so fast.”

Iris was the first to move to brush some of the glass off of Oliver’s shirt. “I don’t think you got cut too badly.”

“Thanks.” He slowly leveraged himself up back to standing.

“No problem. This might be a weird time to ask, but since when did you know about Barry being the Flash?”

“Uh…” Oliver didn’t seem to have anything ready to answer that question, and truthfully Mari wasn’t sure why it was being asked. He was saved when Laurel made a sudden jerky movement and started snarling again.

Harry and Jesse pushed both Oliver and Iris back in order to hold Laurel down again. “Snow! Snap out of it! We need you focused,” Harry commanded.

Mari noticed Caitlin, still sitting on the floor and staring at the spot where the other speedster had been. She was paler than what seemed natural. “R-right!”

“Let me bring this closer,” Mari said, lifting the idol up and doing her best to find room amongst the small crowd. If Laurel reacted to it, that would give her a better idea of what needed to be done.

Her friend was fighting against the restraints, struggling toward something like Mari had predicted she would. But it wasn’t towards the idol.

It was towards Oliver.

Mari’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, I have to be missing something.”

“What do you mean?” It was Felicity that asked.

She set aside the idol. “Oliver, come stand by me.”

He did, and sure enough, Laurel’s focus shifted in his direction again. They all stared.

“What does it mean?” Quentin asked.

Mari frowned, touching her totem to try and center herself as she concentrated. She thought she could detect some kind of trace on him, only she didn’t see how.

Mari opened her eyes. “You didn’t tell me you could channel magic.”

“I can’t,” Oliver said with clear confusion.

“Then what are you hiding there,” she said, gesturing at his torso.

With a slightly uncomfortable look, he lifted up his shirt a little. On his right side was a tattoo. A couple years ago, she would have thought nothing of it; since she’d begun studying the occult, she knew better now.

Mari hummed to herself. “That’s it.”

“Constantine gave it to me. He didn’t say it could channel magic.”

“That’s probably because he never expected you to learn magic. But I think I know what’s happening. You were with her when she died?”

Oliver’s throat bobbed before he answered. “Yes.”

“Then her spirit isn’t in Darhk’s idol. Somehow it’s in you.”

“Whoa,” said Cisco at the entrance to the cortex. He’d clearly just returned from turning the generator on. “How does that work? Is he an Oliver-Laurel hybrid? Could she take him over? Can we talk to her through him?”

“You might be able to, Ramon,” said Harry.

Mari looked between them. “I’m gonna need some clarification on that.”

“Cisco’s a metahuman,” said Iris. “He used his powers to pull Barry out of the speed force. I went with him.”

“I’m not sure this is the same,” Mari told her. It was admittedly murky territory. As much as she drew on the spirits of animals from her ancestors’ tribal lands, she had no real experience transferring a spirit from one person to another.

“Would it hurt if Cisco tried?” Asked Caitlin. Some of the color was beginning to return to her cheeks.

Mari still didn’t know how Oliver had accidentally absorbed Laurel’s spirit instead of Darhk, and if Cisco really could even just open a line of communication, it would help. “We can try it.”

“Okay.” Cisco came forward, stepping between Laurel on the table and Oliver. “I’ll take one of her hands and you give me yours.”

Oliver eyed it. “Then what?”

“You’ll have to reach out to her,” said Iris. “It’s hard to describe how, but you just- you just sort of know. That’s how it was for me when I brought Barry home.”

If anything, her earnest words seemed to make him more hesitant. “I don’t know if I…”

“Oliver, just do it,” Felicity said, her tone practically a command. Almost everyone turned to look at her. “We’ve come this far, and we know you — well, I’d like to at least have my friend back after everything.”

“Please,” Quentin added after a slightly tense pause. “If it’s gotta be you. She trusted you.”

Oliver nodded, and Mari caught a glimpse of his determined look before he turned back and took Cisco’s hand.

—-

Laurel didn’t know where she was. Not in a scary way, but this place felt familiar. Like it resonated deep in her bones somehow, like she’d known it her whole life without ever having been here before.

She walked through the dense trees, sidestepping undergrowth and other dangers alike. She wasn’t sure how she knew which patches of earth were safe and which meant trouble, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

A storm was coming, had been the whole time. The clouds had gathered and the thunder boomed in the distance, but it was yet to arrive here on this island. She wasn’t sure when she’d decided it was an island either, but she could hear the choppy waves on the shore behind her even louder with the storm on the way.

She paused at a sound, turning to see a cave she might have otherwise passed up. Laurel heard the sound again. Someone was inside.

It was the first she’d heard of another human being since she’d woken to this place. Laurel carefully approached the mouth of the cave, her eyes going wide.

Inside was Oliver. Not the Oliver she felt she had spoken to only just before and yet seemingly so long ago. This Oliver was younger, with shaggy hair and worn clothes. His cheeks were clean-shaven and wet with tears as he sobbed, curled in a ball.

How had she gotten here? She wasn’t a speedster. She couldn’t time travel, and she didn’t hitch a ride on a ship like Sara was doing. However this had happened, she probably needed to go.

She shifted back but snapped a twig under her heel. Oliver looked up.

“Hello?”

His voice tugged at her heartstrings. So lonely and scared.

“Is someone out there? I can’t see. It- it’s too dark.”

This was her Ollie. Caught on the cusp of changing; with all his innocence and all his flaws. She couldn’t help herself.

Laurel entered the cave. “It’s me, Ollie. I’m here.”

“Laurel.” He didn’t seem at all surprised, and that was maybe only the latest sign that this place wasn’t quite what it seemed. Was this a vision? Some kind of hallucination she was having in the hospital?

Oliver straightened up, and she saw what he’d been curled around: a small, handmade cage with a bird inside.

“What’s that?” She asked walking over and sitting on the ground beside him.

“Oh.” Ollie’s face fell. “It’s supposed to be food.”

“Supposed to be?”

“This guy, he says I have to kill it first. I don’t want to kill it. I’m not a killer!”

Laurel bit her lip. His desperate plea was hard to hear, knowing what she did.

And she thought he knew it, too, the more she looked into his eyes. This wasn’t the Ollie from nine years ago, not really.

She wasn’t sure why, but Laurel suddenly knew whatever she chose to say next was vitally important, unreal as her whole situation seemed.

“Killing a bird because you need to survive isn’t wrong, Ollie. It doesn’t have to make you a killer. It doesn’t have to define you.”

“I don’t want to be in this cave anymore,” he said.

“We can leave it if you want.”

Oliver looked at her miserably. “I wouldn’t know where to go. I don’t know what’s out there. What’s beyond the island. What if it’s just worse? What if I’m worse?”

“That’s the scary thing about change. You don’t know what will happen.” She took his hand between both of hers. “But that change is possible, Ollie. I know it. I’ve seen it.”

He reflected on that for a time. “Do you think...I could become the man you always wanted me to be?”

Laurel shook her head even as her lips curved in a half-smile. “That man was a fantasy. He couldn’t live up to my childhood dreams any more than I can be some kind of angel for you,” she said, gesturing to herself. “What you’ve become is someone I believe in. Someone I trust, that I choose to trust. You’re so much more than that man and, for all the mistakes we’ve both made along the way, I’m proud of and happy for you.” Her eyes were watering but she didn’t bother to do anything about that. She was long past being ashamed of her tears. “Never doubt that.”

He leaned forward, and for an absurd moment she thought he might kiss her — but instead his forehead rested against hers, his eyes closed. “I don’t want to do this without you.”

“You don’t have to. Come on.” Laurel pulled him up by his hands, leading him out of the cave. The storm had passed them by. The clouds lingered, but lighter gray and less dense. As they climbed, light filtered through some of the gaps in the cloud cover and the trees. They climbed until they reached a high peak, marked by a pile of stones.

“My father,” said Ollie, and his voice was low like the way she was used to him speaking after all these years. “I buried him here.”

Laurel reached out and cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry you had to do that alone.”

For once, he didn’t brush off the concern, the way he did when he felt he needed to shoulder all his own burdens plus a whole city’s worth. Instead he stepped forward, hugging her to him. One of his hands braced the back of her head while the other wound tight around her waist. It was the kind of embrace she’d long missed.

Then he drew in a breath and said the words that nearly shattered her. “I wish I knew how to love you better.”

Laurel’s grip shifted to his shoulder blades, holding tight. Her eyes squeezed shut. “It’s okay.”

“If I could have another chance—”

“Ollie, it’s okay.” She pulled back, not quite out of his hold because he wouldn’t let her, but enough to see his face. “I’m dead, aren’t I?”

His face crumpled.

“Laurel!”

She blinked and looked around. His mouth hadn’t moved but she’d heard Oliver’s voice—

Above them, the sky had turned a strange blue with constant ripples. In the middle of it all somehow stood Oliver. Short-haired and stubbled and tired. World-weary and so well-meaning. Still trying to change.

He reached a hand out. “Come with me, Laurel. Please, trust me.”

The younger Ollie had shrunk back in response to his double appearing, but she looked back to him. “I promise, you’re never really alone. Even if it seems like I’m gone, I will always be here.” She laid a hand over her chest. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Laurel!” Oliver shouted again. Stern, too. This was her Oliver.

Without a second thought, she took a run and jump off the cliff’s peak, her hand catching his and then another’s with her other hand—

Laurel shot up from a table, her hands grasped firmly by Oliver and Cisco and her heart hammering like she had just run a marathon. Her arms and legs were strapped down and she felt a bone-deep tiredness.

“What just happened?”

“Honey!”

“Dad?”

He was breaking through the crowd — and the more Laurel looked the more it seemed like a crowd, most faces she knew but some she couldn’t recognize — and wrapping her in a hug. She felt the buckles on her arms come off allowing her to return it.

“Oh, my girl,” her dad kept saying into her shoulder. She could feel tears leaking into the shirt she couldn’t remember dressing in. “I knew you’d come back to us, I just knew you would.”

“Dad, what’s — where even are we?”

“Welcome to STAR Labs,” Cisco told her with a big smile and teary eyes. Laurel’s eyebrows lifted; as many times as she’d spoken to her engineer friend and worked with his teammates, she’d never been to their base of operations.

Pinpricks of slight pain were starting to register, and with a start she noticed the number of IV’s poking into her. “These aren’t—”

“None of them are painkillers,” Thea assured her, and Laurel was very glad to see her friend had made it to her side. She was less glad to see the girl she thought of as a little sister also on the verge of tears. “Can we get these taken out so I can hug her?”

“Of course,” Caitlin agreed softly. She was gazing at Laurel with something like wonder. “This is fascinating, really. And of course, we’ll need to run that bloodwork to test for the gene right away but—” and here she clutched at Laurel’s arm after removing to IVs. “This is amazing! I can’t believe it worked!”

“It was pretty touch and go there,” Mari spoke up from one side of the room. Laurel was still trying to process how they’d all moved from Star to Central and gathered several of their friends to really understand what they were alluding to.

Caitlin and a young girl she didn’t know were each removing the IVs. The one inserted into her chest hurt the worst coming out, and she probably crushed her dad and Thea’s hands while it was removed.

“What exactly, um—” Laurel started to ask, her eyes searching over various people’s heads for where Oliver had gone.

But a whoosh of air and crackle of lightning announced Barry’s arrival.

“Did the pipeline work?” A woman asked. She came over to stand by him as she did so.

“Yeah. I wanted to know his plan, so I- I talked to him.” Barry turned to an older man with a striking resemblance. “He was after you, dad. He was gonna— I can’t believe I almost lost you.”

Father and son embraced, and Laurel averted her eyes from what was obviously a private moment. Except that in the next instant, Barry was suddenly hugging her.

“Thank you, thank you so much—”

“Uh—”

“I mean I have no idea how you did it, but you saved my father. I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“Yeah, how is that a thing exactly?” She finally managed to get the full question in. Everyone thankfully quieted down a little.

“Well, um, you had a complication at the hospital and they- they lost you, honey,” her father started to explain. Laurel nodded; that made sense. “So I started looking at ways to, you know, to get you back.”

“Right,” Laurel agreed with only a touch of irony. It was just their lives now that death was only a temporary setback, wasn’t it? She was too emotionally drained from everything that had happened between her and Oliver — both at the hospital and in that representation of what must have been Lian Yu — to really feel much shock over all this.

“Nyssa, she said the Pit was gone. But Darhk had some of the water. He’d taken it for himself years ago. So we took him on.”

Laurel quickly cast her gaze around the room. She’d seen her father, Thea and Oliver already — there was John and Felicity. She sagged in relief. “No one else was hurt?”

“Only Darhk,” said Mari. “He’s dead.”

“Oh.” She felt nothing really about that. It certainly wasn’t anything she would lose sleep over, at any rate. Darhk had been an evil hanging over her family for too long for her to care that he wouldn’t be facing legal justice. He’d had his chance.

“So with him gone, we got a hold of the water he had and went to these people for help,” her dad finished explaining.

A man in glasses stepped in to continue. “This mix of medical and experimental science along with Ramon’s ability allowing your partner to bring your consciousness back to your own body had a significant chance of failure and required a very specific set of circumstances to work out in your favor. There also appear to be side effects. I would not recommend anyone try it again in the near future.” He fixed the room with narrowed eyes for a long moment.

Okay, so she’d been dead. And they’d brought her back with Darhk’s stolen water. There was poetic justice in that, she could acknowledge. There was one thing she still wasn’t clear on.

“I wasn’t...when we went to get Sara’s, she was in a place, almost like Nanda Parbat? And she was trapped. That wasn’t what it was like for me.”

“It could just be the different representations of your souls. If I had to guess, your sister’s soul was truly lost when she was killed,” Mari said. “It’s amazing that you were even able to recover it. Your soul was supposed to be absorbed by Darhk’s idol like all his other victims, but…” she trailed off.

“Ollie was hanging onto it for safekeeping,” Thea supplied with a cheeky grin.

“What?” Laurel finally spotted him; he’d ended up near the back of the group, half-sitting on the edge of a table with a hand pressed over his mouth.

He took it away to answer, “It was an accident.”

“A lucky one,” Mari agreed. “I’d like to talk to this John Constantine myself about it, if he’s available.”

“Trust me, he’ll make himself available for you,” Felicity remarked, and Laurel had to fight a smile off her face. Then it really did fall when Felicity added, “So, if you were in Oliver — in the tattoo! I meant the tattoo. I mean...what was it, uh, like?”

It occurred to Laurel that if she’d been on Lian Yu and seen another Oliver, that hadn’t been a representation of her soul at all. It had been his. She met his eyes and said, “Actually, I don’t really remember much. It’s kind of slipping away from me.”

His eyes closed, relief plain on his face that fortunately no one else saw.

“You’re probably exhausted,” her dad said from his perch on the side of her bed. “Everything that happened. You need your rest, honey.”

Someone’s phone rang, and the woman standing beside Barry gave a start before answering it. “Dad? Yeah, we got a little held up. Well, it’s Bear. Don’t you expect him to be late by now?” She sent a teasing look back at the speedster before starting to usher the various members of Team Flash who weren’t doctors out of the room. Mari followed them after giving her a brief hug. John was next, though he stopped at her bedside to squeeze her hand and smile at her with watery eyes. Laurel returned it. Felicity approached with a hug she gladly returned, then followed John out the door.

Oliver finally walked up to join Thea and her dad at her bedside. He leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek, a whispered, “Thank you,” in her ear.

Laurel’s hands shook a little, but she managed a smile. What she had seen and learned about him in her time there was something she would keep private as long as he wished. Even if it was his loved ones asking, it had to be Oliver’s choice to share that part of himself.

He lingered, tucking a bit of her hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. His gaze left her feeling warm all over.

“We’re ready to move you to a cot, Laurel,” Barry’s father said gently, breaking the moment. Laurel ducked her head and allowed him and her own father to help her over to the medical cot. Her arms and legs worked fine, even if they felt a little stiff. Probably something that would heal with time.

After she slept, they had a lot to address. For one thing, she’d been resurrected as a metahuman.

“The blood transfusion from your doppelganger must have activated your dormant meta gene. We’d never tested for that sort of thing before,” Caitlin explained to her. “It’s honestly a fascinating discovery.”

“And she’s going to be sent back to Earth 2 for a trial, right?” Laurel checked. She really didn’t like the look of those tiny cells from what she’d been shown on the security footage.

“We’ll have to work out a way to transport her without risk of her breaking out, but yes. Her and the other metas from Earth 2 that we captured,” Barry promised.

She and her dad stopped by her mother’s house before they all got ready to leave Central, and she wasn’t sure she remembered the last time her mom was so emotional over seeing her.

“I’m the luckiest mother in the world,” she declared to them both. “My daughters always come back to me.”

“We always try, mom.”

With some edits to the medical records by Felicity, they created a cover story; she had been near death and had been transferred to an elite, private hospital where they had stabilized her and kept her for observation over the last month. It likely wouldn’t stop her from being bombarded by the press upon their return, but it would likely hold until some other bit of news distracted everyone again.

Laurel used the last couple of days of their stay in Central City to observe the changes in her friends, the old ones as opposed to the new ones she was making from Team Flash. It was hard to imagine that so much could have changed in so little time, but it had seemingly changed all the same. The biggest one was that they all seemed very aware of her presence and took to hugging her quite often. Laurel could only assume that would calm down once the reality of her being back had really settled in.

Stranger was the distance that seemed to remain between Oliver and Felicity. She knew Felicity was likely still upset for the same reasons she had broken things off with him, but Oliver seemed to have completely accepted this. They treated each other cordially the few times they directly interacted, and there weren’t the hints of pain in his eyes that had been there before. If anything, he seemed totally at peace.

He also seemed to find any excuse to be around her. Sitting by her whenever they took meals, watching her practice her new powers out at the abandoned airfield and providing words of encouragement. He seemed committed to embodying that hope she’d once told him he represented to the people of their city.

Oliver’s new outlook on life perhaps best expressed itself when he received a call from the City Council. “They want me to fill in as mayor,” he told them all once he got off the phone.

“What?”

“Really?”

“Yes. They need someone for the interim since Ruve left. I- I got the job.” A smile was growing on his face.

“Oliver, that’s wonderful,” Laurel said, intending to just give his shoulder a squeeze. Oliver seized her around the waist and spun her around in a hug, and if she hadn’t been practicing her control her yelp of surprise might have shattered a window. When he set her down, she patted his shoulders and stepped back a good foot, sure she had to be blushing.

What was going on with him?

The night before they left, she gathered the courage to ask. Laurel found him up on the roof of STAR Labs, seemingly enjoying the spring air. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he greeted her back, opening up his stance as a silent indicator she was welcome to join him.

“I don’t want to seem like I’m spoiling a good thing, but I can’t help noticing you’ve been a little different lately,” she observed.

He chuckled, looking down at the ground. “Yeah, I don’t know. Something about bringing you back, ever since then, I just…” Oliver shrugged. “Things seem better. Or maybe I just feel like they do. Watching us all come together to do this, to have you back, maybe it just finally sunk in, you know? That I’m not alone and I haven’t been.”

Laurel nodded, absorbing that.

“It was like, Cisco used his powers to let me get to you, and something just changed. I feel...lighter, like there’s this weight that’s been taken off my chest. I don’t even know how or why.”

“Oh,” said Laurel, something clicking in that instant.

He looked at her. “What?”

“I think I, um, maybe did something by accident. I was...that was your soul, where I was, wasn’t it? And I found you. Or a you.”

“The representation of me,” Oliver agreed. “Go on?”

“Right. Well, we talked. And I- I wasn’t trying to- to change your very being, Ollie. I swear,” she said, holding up both hands. “But I promised you that you weren’t going to have to keep doing things alone, and I...was that wrong?”

He stared at her for a long moment, incredulous. “If it was, I’m not sure I agree. I think maybe I’ve needed that. All this time I’ve wanted to, to let someone in and to believe you and the others when you try to reach me, but...there was always this wall. It was me on an island, and you all on the other side of an ocean. But you came and met me there. I’m...I’m grateful, Laurel.”

She sagged in relief. “This is crazy, isn’t it?”

“Maybe. But our lives have been that way for a while now. We should take the good with the bad.”

“I’ve broken you. You would’ve never said that before,” she maintained with a shake of the head. He snorted, and she followed suit. Then they were both laughing on the roof. She leaned on him and his arms went around her, the both of them trembling in this strange new embrace.

His laughter slowly subsided. “I’m always going to be grateful for you, Dinah Laurel Lance.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “That goes for you, too, Oliver Jonas Queen.”

They stayed like that until her father poked his head up from the roof access door, claiming she needed to get some sleep like she was still a teenager living in his house or something. Laurel didn’t really mind; wherever this was going with Oliver needed time.

Her dad insisted on helping her to put her things back in order once they returned to Starling — apparently he had started packing a bag sometime in the last month of all her essentials and they needed put away. Thea stepped out to pick up some Big Belly Burger for the three of them, so Laurel was surprised when there came a knock on the door.

She was even more surprised when she checked the peephole, though she immediately threw the door open. “Nyssa!”

Her friend’s smile was tinged with something like a scolding, as it often was. “I see my assumption was correct. Your family holds little regard for the dangers of the Pit as always.”

“Uh…”

“Who’s that?” Her father asked, stopping in the hallway at the sight of Nyssa. “Oh. Sorry, uh, about not saying. Wasn’t sure how to contact you.”

“I’m sure.” Nyssa reached into her pocket and withdrew a familiar looking vial. “Luckily, I made my own observations and prepared accordingly.”

“Is that…?” Laurel started to ask.

“More of the Lotus. I will admit, it was not easy to come by, and I have been asked to help the Crescent Order in exchange for it. This should be enough to cure you of the effects of the Pit’s waters.”

“But you- you shouldn’t have put yourself in debt just for me,” Laurel argued. She’d been worried about when the effects of the Lazarus Pit might assert themselves — she’d yet to go out in the field, so it hadn’t exactly been tested yet — but to know that Nyssa would do that for her was almost too much.

“Thank you,” her father intoned solemnly.

“I told you I would do anything for your daughter, did I not? It is thanks to your fortitude, and perhaps stubbornness, that I am able to uphold that promise.”

“Yeah, well anything you need from us, you never hesitate to ask, alright?” Her dad said. “You’re as good as family, far as I’m concerned.”

Nyssa blinked, her careful mask slipping for just an instant so that Laurel got a glimpse of the shock and happiness that statement caused. “I am honored,” her friend managed in her dignified way at last. Her gaze softened again, intentionally, as she looked at Laurel. “And I am glad to know you are back in the world, Laurel.”

“Me too.” She reached out and hugged Nyssa. “Thank you so much.”

“I am happy to do my part for the Crescent Order,” Nyssa told her after they broke apart. “Especially with the Magician gathering the remnants of the League to him, it is my responsibility to see their efforts stopped. That I was able to help a friend as well only makes this clearer to me. But I must take my leave and resume my duties.”

“We’ll see you again?” She asked as Nyssa turned for the door.

Her friend looked back. “You may yet.” She winked and left down the hallway.

“Well, that went better than I was expecting,” her dad remarked. “Best for you to take that right away, honey.”

“Mm-hm.” But Laurel tucked the vial away for the moment in order to turn and hug her father. “Thank you for not giving up on me, Daddy.”

“Well, how could I?” He asked, returning her hug. “You never gave up on me.”

There was still plenty up in the air, for both herself and her friends and family. But if she could borrow some of that hope she’d known Oliver always held inside, Laurel had a feeling they could handle it together.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #quentin lance #mari mccabe #nyssa al ghul #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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