#Recruitment Journey

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[maripr]

Sometimes a family is a misanthropic and suicidal practicer of dark magic, who has been taught from an early age to distrust and hate his fellow living beings and the tiny, traumatized little girl he unintentionally adopted and who ended up revitalizing his cold, dead heart, even in the dungeon of horror they had found themselves in. Oh, and the huge fucking cursed doggo they also adopted on their way.

[daydreamerdrew]

All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (2005) #3-4

[cadrenebula]

Junelezen - Day 7 Boat

[get-back-homeward]

I know it’s all just standards.

But Ringo’s Sentimental Journey is utterly charming.

We really should talk more about how he turns to this project as therapy as the band is falling apart. It’s pure nostalgia in a bottle but with Ringo jazz drumming and just having fun with it singing and adding these cute little improv bits. Blues Turning Grey Over You is a highlight for the “I just lost myself there, child!” laugh at the end.

It’s all utterly charming.

It’s a really cool collaboration too. He recruited different musicans arrange each piece (including Paul, who arranged Stardust, perhaps before the breakup drama heats up). George Martin produces and gets the big band together. They start recording more sporadically at first, starting Oct 1969. Night and Day, Stormy Weather (which got left off the final album but I love he tried it), Stardust, and Dream, all recorded before Christmas. The rest are Jan-Mar 1970.

It gets ripped to shreds by the rock cred sector. But Ringo using this as a grief project, sorta returning to childhood in the midst of a blow for comfort, feels more honest and healthy than he gets credit for. It’s also brassy af. This is the height of “fuck jazz,” and Ringo’s just like “so what? I’ll do what I like.”

George said he liked it. John slagged him off for it in interviews, but I bet he secretly liked it too. Not sure whether Paul ever commented on it given the dual release drama. He does his own standards album decades later, after it becomes a thing artists do. But when Ringo does it in 1970? No one was doing that.

[kuhli-mahou]

im thinking of changing my theme/outfit to be betta fish related! they symbolize good luck and fortune, and i've been thinking about how much i want to make a good future for people, so it just feel right :] it does mean i wont be the kuhli mahou anymore, but bettas are one of my other favorites so it all works out!

[beeftony]

Frieren being canon aromantic/asexual is really cool bc it means we won’t have to be subjected to age gap discourse.

[youngglittersoul]

Well, I re-watched Game of Thrones with one of my cousins. I didn't speak at all about Jonsa during S6, I decided that I would only ask after the parentage reveal. My cousin is not the average viewer, she is brilliant and she can immediately spot themes in the show. She even theorized that Jon Snow was Lyanna and Rhaegar's back in S2.

When I told her about the possibility of Jonsa, she told me that she did find the romantic tension in their scenes. She spotted it during the reunion hug, but didn't think much because she thought that this could just be the natural reaction of people who was apart for so long. Then she began to be confused because she remembered that they weren't even close, she told me she was a little bit weirded out by their scenes together (especially the cloak scene.) She remembered Ygritte and Jon's fascination with red-heads. She knew the Starks were not Targaryens or Lannisters to have sibling-incest and she was a bit terrified that the Jon and Sansa would go that route. So when the parentage reveal happened, she was happy that her theory was right and she was stoked about Jonsa because they made sense.

In S7, when the JxD scenes were happening I was really nervous. I told her the marketing about JxD being the Great Romance of the series. After S7, she told me that she didn't believe the "Great Romance" BS. She told me that she can see it in Jon's eyes that whenever he was around Sansa there are so many emotions of love, guilt, etc., but when he's around Daenerys his eyes seem lifeless. I told her about the Political Jon theory and she was able to connect that to what Sansa said about "being smarter than Robb and father."

She's not a Daenerys worshipper, she likes the character but she doesn't see her as a hero saviour goddess like most fans. Staring from S1 when Viserys was killed, she was already suspicious of the character. We talked about her ruling capabilities a lot during the seasons, and we pointed out how she never left the pyramid (in rare instances of public trials/executions or fighting pits), and that she doesn't understand the people and its customs. My cousin was disgusted by the former slaves wanting to be back to slavery, for her this just shows how incompetent Daenerys is at ruling. She likes how Daenerys can handle herself around men, but hates her overall attitude. We agreed that the "battle" in 7x04 was a massacre instead of a battle. We hated how she burned the food despite Daenerys needing that food for her army. She concluded that she wanted Cersei Lannister defeated, but she didn't want Daenerys to have the throne.

For Sansa, she was annoyed by her during the earlier seasons but my cousin came to respect her since S6 of the show. She was really proud of her character development and found her to be a capable ruler. For Jon Snow, she thought that he was a good man who always chose duty over love (over Robb and Ygritte). She has always liked his character as he was ascending to his leadership role. She really wanted Jon and Sansa to rule the 7K in the end.

During S7-S8, I pointed out that they will conceal a lot of the POVs particularly Jon. She noticed the weird cuts during the 8x01 reunion scene, and the weird love triangle framing. Since it was clear to her who Jon loved in S6-S7, she had no doubt about Jon's answer in the office argument. She lived for the drama in the office scene with jealous Sansa being too obvious about her feelings. During the "Who manipulated whom?" scene, she noticed that Daenerys only came for Jon and not for the good of the 7K. The manipulation theory solidified after that conversation between Sansa and Daenerys. She was entertained in watching Jon's facial expressions around Daenerys, she laughed at his disgusted face that time in the war council in 8x02 when Daenerys spoke.

When the Long Night episode happened, she hated that montage sequence. She thought that it was too long, particularly the part with the NK and Bran having stare down. We laughed so hard because one shot each of Bran and NK staring was enough, we wondered why did they have to repeat the same shots again.

She noticed the drama during the great hall celebrations. It confirmed that Sansa was in love with Jon, and that Daenerys knows it. But she was so happy that Jon turned around when Sansa left, and didn't look at Daenerys again. She hated how Daenerys kept on invading Jon's space and making him uncomfortable. She thinks Jon's "My queen" etc. has the same energy as Sansa's "My beloved Joffrey."

She was happy about Jon being a candidate for the 7k throne because she thinks he deserves it. She hated how Arya and Sansa's reaction to the parentage reveal was concealed since she was really excited about that moment. My cousin wasn't that surprised about the burning of KL, because she knew who Daenerys was. She wasn't surprised about Jon killing Daenerys, but she was weirded out by the dialogue during the throne room with "girl who can't count to 20." She thinks that came out of nowhere.

For the ending, she was surprised about Bran being King. Although Tyrion had points about Bran, she really expected that they would have chosen Sansa. She was really mad about Jon Snow being posted back to the Wall, because she thought that NW has no more purpose because NK dead and Free Folk are friends now. When she saw Grey Worm leaving, she said that Jon could just go home any time he wants once they leave. During the goodbye scene, she expected like a kiss between Jon and Sansa. She was really hoping for it, and got disappointed. I told her that the name of the last book that this season was based on was "A Dream of Spring" and that the ending wouldn't show the happy ending but a hope for a happy ending. I pointed out the last look between Jon and Sansa, and she is still pissed that the two people who saved 7K wasn't happy.

When we were watching the montage of the Starks, she noticed that Sansa was unhappy sitting in her throne. She was happy that Jon acknowledged Ghost again, but she was unhappy that he was going beyond the wall. She thinks that Jon deserves the throne and have lady wife and kids. She really wants a sequel just to see these two happy. She thought Arya had a good ending, but she wants the Starks to stay together!!

Overall, she thinks that the show was good. She noticed the decline in dialogue quality and quantity, and hated whenever there is a scene that pandered too long. She liked that the creators managed to create parallels from the last seasons, but she hated how they had to hide the point of views of characters in the story for shock value. She hated the ending for Cersei, Jaime, Brienne, Bronn (because he doesn't deserve it), Jon, Sansa, Bran, and Tyrion. She hated how S7 and S8 was shorter, and hated how they focused on Daenerys when the Starks were the heart of the story.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Thankful I didn't make the bet now on how long it'd take Doctor Who to go from its anti-military stance in Boom to being pro-military again because it only took one fucking episode with bringing Kate and UNIT back.

[meowww-ffxiv]

I make a single OC who's 100+ years old and I'm already oooo oooooo we can fit so much shit into this guy.

I think vieras who lived among other races and who outlived many of them would develop a kind of strange in-between of being a tired old person and being...well, their age, in viera years. And then if they had partners who passed before them...

Cooking, cooking.

[weekend-conspiracy-theorist]

an earlier entry in the tim & steph role swap au.

Bruce was trying to give her space. Stephanie knew that's what he was doing, but every time he inhaled like he was going to say something to her and then he didn't, it pushed her closer to the edge.

She'd spent her evening busting her way out of one of the Riddler's stupid puzzle traps, and when Batman had found her shaking out her left hand and standing over an unconscious heap of cheap green tailoring, he hadn't even had anything to say about her making that rookie mistake that had gotten her nabbed in the first place. He'd sucked in a breath. He'd let it back out. Stephanie had zip tied the Riddler's hands together and grit her teeth against the urge to throw a batarang at Bruce.

The last time things between them had gotten this bad--

Well.

The last time Stephanie had felt this trapped by the costume, the last time she'd kind of wanted to punch Bruce in the face just for glancing at her sideways, she had ended up tortured by the Black Mask in the middle of a gang war.

So she couldn't exactly blame Batman for trying to give her space, especially since none of this had anything to do with him. (Mostly.) But that didn't stop it from driving her nuts.

God, there was no way she was getting to sleep tonight.

Stephanie threw open the door of the Batmobile before it could pull to a full stop, ignoring Bruce's frustrated grunt, and cupped her hand around her mouth as she jumped out of it. "Hey, pipsqueak!" she shouted.

The kid seated at the big chair by the Batcomputer barely glanced in her direction. His chin just tipped up even further than it already was, and he gave a visible sniff of disapproval. Stephanie didn't care.

"Ten minutes," she told him, slamming the door of the Batmobile behind herself and pointing two fingered from her eyes to his. "Be ready to go by the time I'm in my civvies."

"It's three in the morning," Nightwing called down to her, equal parts vaguely disapproving and vaguely amused. He was leaned up against the desk next to Damian, his domino in hand but otherwise still in costume. She wasn't sure why he was in Gotham for the week, except maybe an eldest sibling instinct that Bruce was not really handling the addition of their newest family member all that well, but she supposed Blüdhaven had (somehow) held itself together for years before Nightwing ever made an appearance.

"Which is exactly why Damian should be asleep," Batman said, his voice heavy with disapproval, but both Nightwing and Robin flatly ignored him. Just like they'd been ignoring his mandates that the kid be kept out of the Batcave entirely.

"Waffle House never closes," Stephanie countered, "and I want an All-Star Breakfast."

"So you're kidnapping my little brother to feed him hangover food?" Dick asked dryly.

"Bruce is the one who keeps telling me that just because I still have parents doesn't mean I'm not 'family.'" Stephanie couldn't help the snide bite to her voice, even if it made Bruce sigh and Dick roll his eyes. "I'm taking the little assassin out. We're gonna bond."

"I do not want--"

"I could not care less," Stephanie said flatly. "Ten minutes, Damo. I just gotta get out of this suit."

Against the background murmur of conversation from the upper platform as Damian continued complaining and Dick told him to suck it up or whatever, Stephanie disappeared into the locker rooms to peel off the Robin suit.

It hadn't changed much over the years--not to brag, but she'd pretty much nailed it, first try. Red tunic/skirt with yellow details, green pants, black cape with yellow lining, chunky green gloves, yellow combat boots with a winged detail at the ankles as an homage to the traditional pixie boots. It was cute, it was comfortable, and it was really good for applying her fist to the face of any nearby criminals. The only thing she'd ever radically altered was how she did her hair.

Jason and Dick had both had boring, short dark hair the whole time they'd been Robin, so it had been a new frontier for Steph. A place for her to really leave her mark on Robin's image, even beyond the revolutionary addition of "pants." Naturally, she'd gone a little crazy over it.

Her first pass had gone for volume. A green headband with two points, reminiscent of the ears on Batman's cowl, and a teased out riot of blonde that stood up well against free falling off of buildings (by virtue of requiring an entire can of hairspray to achieve). It took forever to tease and even longer to wash and brush back to its usual silky smooth texture, but it had looked cool as hell.

Tim thought so, at least. And that meant Steph had stuck with it longer than she probably should have.

She'd later tried pigtails and promptly ditched them the first time the Mad Hatter made a weird comment; then she'd gone for a high ponytail, and then a bun, which were the most practical but also so fucking boring. When she was sixteen, she cropped her hair up to her chin just to try something different, and that length turned out to be so much worse when it came to getting hair in her face, since she couldn't really pull it back.

(She tackled the issue by breaking the hairspray back out for a while and doing her best version of Wolverine's classic hair-horns, which Dick had loved and Tim had hated and Young Justice had all begged her to keep doing forever and ever, amen. She didn't, obviously, but every now and then she would bring it back, just to watch them lose their minds.)

(Stephanie retired that style forever when the boys died. Cassie understood.)

So the Girl Wonder was sporting a simple french braid, these days. Practical, cute, and the pin at the back was a spare batarang. She'd also resurrected the headband, this time in red.

Stephanie dropped the batarang into her purse with trembling hands and shook her hair out of the braid, pulling it back up into a messy bun. She ignored the jeans and sweater she'd been wearing when she showed up for patrol in favor of raiding Cassandra's locker for a pair of sweats and an "Everything's Bat-ter in Gotham" tank top that she was pretty sure Cass had stolen from Tim. It was a little chilly for the tank, but she had a jacket in the backseat of her car.

She took the steps up to the Batcomputer two at a time, purse slung over her shoulder, and skidded to a stop behind the big chair. "Ready?" she asked. She did not resist the instinct to give Damian a knuckle noogie, even though he broke her hold and launched himself away from her almost before she could touch him.

A smile was there and gone on Dick's face, too quick for Damian to see before the kid turned around. "He's ready," he asserted.

"Good," Stephanie said, loudly, drowning out any further protests, and quickly shepherded the kid back down the stairs.

Damian glowered the whole way over to her car. "Grayson says that I am required to thank you for your generosity in inviting me along on this endeavor," he told her. He sounded not only begrudging, but also rather dubious, like he thought Dick was lying to him.

Stephanie stopped moving. She looked down at Damian; he glared back up at her. She raised her eyebrows and made a "get on with it" motion with her hand.

"Thank you," Damian ground out.

"You are so very welcome, Damo," Stephanie said, saccharine sweet, and she started walking again.

"You will cease using that nickname immediately," he ordered. It was cute how he sped up slightly to make sure he didn't fall behind her.

"Do you have a different one in mind?"

"Damian will suffice."

"No, it won't."

"It is my name."

"And therefore," Stephanie drawled, "it is not sufficient as a nickname. They serve different purposes." She grinned, ruffling his hair as she stepped around him to open the passenger door for him. "I'll live with Damian for now," she compromised, "as long as you start thinking about an option you wouldn't hate."

"I will hate anything you can think of," Damian informed her.

"Then I guess I'll have to get creative," Stephanie said dryly. "Get in the car, wild child."

She was expecting it when Damian looked at her car, wrinkled his nose, and then looked back at her. That was pretty much the same reaction Tim had had the first time he'd seen it, too. "Is this vehicle safe?"

"Boyfriend rebuilt the engine for me last year," Stephanie told him, cheerfully. "It just looks like a piece of shit. Camoflauge. This is Gotham, Damian; you don't drive a nice car unless you feel like making a charitable donation to the nearest chop shop."

"Tt."

But with one last distrustful glance, Damian got in.

Stephanie closed the door behind him, biting back a grin as he immediately reached for the seatbelt, and fired off a vague wave as she jogged around to the driver's seat. "We'll both come back in one piece," she promised Bruce.

He nodded, a dubious expression on his face, and Dick elbowed him and muttered something Stephanie couldn't hear from the far side of the cave. Honestly, Bruce should be thanking her; it wasn't often he got quality time alone with his eldest these days.

The nearest Waffle House to Wayne Manor was about a fifteen minute drive back towards the city, where Bristol's sweeping hillsides gave way to mixed-use and commercial zoning. Stephanie let Damian enjoy his stubborn silence for the lengh of the drive, listening instead to the left rear window where it rattled in its frame and humming idly to herself.

Pretty much all Waffle Houses were the same, full of brown tiles and white tables and the heavy smell of grease rising from the open bar top, but they all had their individual quirks, too, and Stephanie knew this particular WaHo by heart. She and Tim used to come here all the time as they snuck in and out of Bristol under Batman's nose; it had a great view of the bus stop right across the street. They could get food and keep an eye out for their ride all at once.

Stephanie would ditch her domino and gloves and pull a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants on over her costume; sometimes she stayed that way and rode the bus alongside Tim, but more often she'd change back to Robin and lay flat against the roof to surf it all the way into the city, while Tim begrudgingly paid his fare and made small talk with the driver.

Stephanie took a moment to pull her jacket on in the parking lot. Out of the corner of her eye, she could almost see two skinny kids yelling and sprinting down the street, one waving their bus passes in the air, the other with yellow combat boots peeking out from beneath oversized sweatpants.

It felt like a lifetime ago. It felt like yesterday. Tim hadn't even lived in Bristol since he'd finally gotten a judge to agree to emancipate him.

She shook her head and shooed Damian away from the car. "Hey, Allie," Stephanie greeted, and she held the door for Damian in such a way that he was forced to walk under her arm to enter the building. He jabbed at her with his bony little elbow in retaliation, but Stephanie didn't even flinch.

The waitress glanced up from the receipts she was counting on their little spike next to the register. "Hey, honey," she said, with a genuine smile. "Ain't seen you in a while."

"Senior year is kicking my ass," Stephanie told her dryly.

"I don't envy you." Allie offered a bright smile, flicking through the last couple of receipts and then pushing them back flat against the counter. "Who's the kid?"

There was no cover story that Steph would be able to offer that would would sufficiently explain their presence in a Waffle House at 3:37 AM, so she didn't bother to come up with one. "This is Damian," she said. She poked him in the shoulder and raised her eyebrows.

He rolled his eyes, but said, "Hello, waitress."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Her name is Allie. That's how you're going to address her," she told him, calm but unyielding. "Go pick a booth."

Allie just shook her head. "Cute kid." For some reason, she sounded like she meant it.

"He's a work in progress," Stephanie sighed.

"He's got a good woman in his corner. And such pinchable cheeks." Allie grinned, pinching her thumb and forefinger together repeatedly as she watched Damian beeline for the back corner, picking the side of the booth where his back would be against the wall.

Stephanie couldn't help her own grin, tucking her hands in her pockets. He had picked the laminated menu up from the table and was studying it with a frown. "I guess he is pretty cute," she said thoughtfully. She hadn't thought about it, much. All she could ever seem to find herself doing when she looked at him was check for knives and catalogue every little hint of the Bat in the shape of his jaw. "He definitely gets it from his mom," she added, even though Bruce wasn't around to hear her making fun of him.

He probably had a sixth sense for that kind of thing by now, anyway.

Stephanie let Allie wave her off, promising she'd be by their table in a moment, and dropped heavily into the booth across from Damian. "Anything look good?" she asked, with a light kick to the bottom of his sneakers.

(Fifty-fifty on whether Alfred had bought them for him, or Dick.)

"This is all inedible," Damian said flatly. He kicked her back, much more forcefully.

"It's Southern American diner fair," Stephanie corrected. "Lots of salt and a bucket of grease. It's delicious." She hesitated, watching his scowl deepen, and added, "You can just get a waffle if you aren't that hungry."

As they ordered their drinks and food--Damian got the waffle--and fell back into overwhelming silence, Stephanie came to the realization that she didn't really have any idea how to talk to Damian. She was good with kids--great with them, even, but the usual go-to topics of school and Disney movies didn't really apply to eleven-year-olds raised in the League of Assassins.

"What do you even do all day?" she asked, her own frown stealing across her face. "Hang out with Alfred?" It wasn't like Bruce was letting the kid tag along to WE; he still hadn't made any official announcements to the press regarding Damian's existence. Stephanie had the niggling suspicion that he was procrastinating, at this point.

Damian glanced up at her through the fringe of his bangs, two parts suspicious to three parts cagey. "Pennyworth is acceptable company," he told her, carefully.

"Fuck yeah he is," Stephanie agreed, more cheerfully than she necessarily felt. She had the sudden sense that she was treading water with no sense of just how deep it was going to get. "Alfred's the best. But what do you guys actually do?"

"Why do you want to know?" Damian demanded. "I follow Father's instructions. I do not--" his eyes glanced aside towards Allie-- "enter his study unattended."

Stephanie held up her hands in a show of innocence, leaning back against the dingy vinyl of the booth. "Not an interrogation, kiddo--Damian," she corrected herself, before he could do more than inhale. "I'm not spying on you for Bruce. For one thing, it would be incredibly hypocritical of me, considering I never listen to a word he says. But more importantly, I just wanna get to know you, Damian."

He nodded, slowly. "And being appraised of my actions will allow you to form a more cohesive picture of my character."

"Finding out what you do all day and then asking you how you feel about it will get me a good sense of your personality," Stephanie corrected. She kicked his foot again. "I know your character. You're Bruce's kid, through and through. You have a goal--" she put her hands up next to her head, index fingers extended, to mimic the ears of Bruce's cowl-- "and you'll run yourself into the ground to achieve it."

Damian studied her, his green eyes narrowed, and a frown line traced between his eyebrows. He looked so fucking much like Bruce did when he was working on a case. That annoying silence stretched between them again.

Stephanie sighed, hugging her jacket around herself and waving a vague hand. "Or you could ask me questions to get to know me," she invited gently. "If you don't wanna talk about you."

She leaned forward, her voice pitched too low for Allie to hear, and told him, "You're not the only one with a complicated family life and a parent who would've loved for you to fall off the deep end and inherit their criminal endeavors, for one thing. Actually, that applies to me and Cass. You guys have even more in common than you and I do, honestly. But I want you to be comfortable talking to me, if and when you need to."

"Cluemaster--" he said it with a truly incredible sneer-- "does not compare to the realities of the Demon's Head."

"I know," Stephanie sighed. "I'm just sayin', Damian."

She let her head thunk against the back of the booth, hugging her jacket even more tightly around herself. This had been a stupid idea, she noted, tapping her feet idly and feeling the way they stuck to the floor. Damian was locked up tighter than Fort Knox, and banging her head against his walls wasn't making her feel any more settled.

(What had she thought? That they'd have some kind of breakthrough and suddenly she'd be so sure that he needed, he deserved, Robin that she could just--

Decide to walk away?

Stephanie was coming to the same realization that she thought Dick might have, years ago: Robin was a child's game. Robin was Batman's partner, but they weren't equals; Robin had a lot of autonomy--and Stephanie's Robin had even more than Dick's or Jason's had--but ultimately, Batman still watched Robin's back. Batman still called the shots.

Maybe she was a little bit tired of it. Maybe she felt like she was trying to fool herself into being someone she hadn't been for a while now, every time she pulled on the pixie boots. Maybe she didn't really want to do it any more.

But Batman needed Robin. Bruce needed Stephanie.

He wasn't her dad, not like he had been for the previous Robins, because Stephanie had asked him not to be. She already had a dad, and he was a complete sack of shit. She didn't want Bruce to step into a role that had only occasionally brought her happiness, and had mostly brought her furious anger and bitter disappointment. But in that screamingly dysfunctional way that characterized all of Bruce's relationships, he was still--they were still--family.

Bruce needed family. He had ever since he was eight years old, watching his parents die in front of him.

But somehow that made things with Damian more complicated, not less.

He certainly had the technical skills to be Robin, but Stephanie knew he needed Bruce, he needed his dad, and not Batman, more desperately than either of them were admitting (and maybe more than either of them could even recognize) right at that moment. Would it make things worse, to add the layer of Batman and Robin on top of that already fraught relationship? And if Stephanie walked away from Robin now, would Bruce even try to make it work with Damian, or would he just catastrophize and self-sabotage his relationship with his son?

Could she stand to play a part in that?)

Damian cleared his throat, and Stephanie blinked, lifting her head to look at him. He was rather carefully not meeting her eyes, pulling paper towels off of the roll to spread them across his lap as Allie set their food down in front of them.

"How... did you spend your day?" he asked, somewhat awkwardly.

Well, Stephanie thought, as a smile crept its way onto her face. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

***

Stephanie was breathing heavy, and every muscle in her body was screaming in protest, but she couldn't just give up.

She leapt the gap between buildings with the ease of long practice, her cape and braid both whipping behind her, and landed on the ledge with the satisfying crunch of grit against concrete. Batgirl was barely a step behind her; she landed with a pather's deadly, silent grace, and Stephanie rolled fluidly to avoid the jab of her gloved fist.

("I've got something to talk to you about," Cass had said, crouched on the fire escape outside of Stephanie and Crystal's living room. "I haven't figured out the words yet."

Stephanie shrugged. "We'll try the other kind of talking first, then.")

That was why Batgirl hadn't connected yet; Stephanie was good, years of training with Batman--and with Batgirl--making her fast, and strong, and smart, but hand-to-hand combat was never going to be her primary forte. But for rooftop tag, it didn't matter; they weren't trying to one-up each other.

Cassandra would end it when she was ready to talk, and not a minute before.

Robin sprinted, sure-footed, along the concrete wall rimming the apartment building's roof, then suddenly dove to the side, tucking and rolling to absorb her momentum. Batgirl leapt past her, towards the gargoyle on the corner of the rooftop, and pushed off of it, throwing herself high and far enough to cut across Stephanie's chosen escape route.

Stephanie cursed, dropping to one knee to avoid the fluttering fingers Batgirls left trailing behind herself, and pivoted back towards the way she'd come. This was the endgame, she recognized; Cassandra was pushing her faster, cutting closer.

Robin kept a few steps ahead of Batgirl for two more direction changes, and then they were near the center of the roof, and it wasn't about speed any more. They were almost sparring, Batgirl throwing punches and jabs and sweeping out with her legs as Robin dodged and weaved and whipped out a back handspring to avoid her.

And--

Thud.

The heel of Batgirl's palm connected, dead center, with Robin's chest, and Stephanie let herself be knocked a step backwards by the force of it.

"Nice one," she panted. She reached up to squeeze Cass's hand, and Cass squeezed her right back, briefly.

"You, too," she promised, and Stephanie tried not to be disgruntled that she wasn't even out of breath.

"Gummies?" she asked, pulling two packs out of a pocket of her utility belt and wiggling it towards Cass.

"Please," Cass said, delighted, and Stephanie tossed some to her.

Cass rolled up her mask as Stephanie led the way back towards the gargoyle, and there was a big grin on her face as she poured the gummies out into her palm. "I didn't know they made these for the JLI."

"Neither did Batman," Stephanie snickered. "Why do you think Booster's front and center on the packaging?"

Cassandra laughed, hopping up to sit cross-legged on the ledge, leaning back against the gargoyle, and Stephanie straddled it, one leg dangling to either side.

"So," she said. "What's cookin', good lookin'?"

Cassandra snorted, but she didn't answer for a long moment, sorting her gummies by color. Finally, she popped a little green flame into her mouth and said, "I know you've been thinking about what comes after the R."

Stephanie froze.

She swallowed, looking down at her own unopened pack of gummies, and smacked it lightly against her palm. "That obvious?" She tried to sound cheerful about it. It fell a little flat.

"Tim told me."

"Ah."

("I could just quit," Stephanie said. She was lying on her side on Tim's couch, knees hugged to her chest and her cheek squished up against the thigh of his jeans. "I mean, I only ever started doing this to stick it to my dad."

"Yeah, all those space aliens you fought with Young Justice really stuck it to ol' Arthur," Tim said dryly.

Stephanie ignored him. "I'm not Bruce's kid. I don't live in his house. I could just quit, and I would only ever have to pull all nighters to finish writing lab reports or whatever, and none of it would be my problem, forever and ever amen."

"You're not gonna quit," Tim said, firmly, as he unnecessarily jerked his PS4 controller and made an annoyed noise as his character got eaten by a zombie.

"I think I am."

"You're not gonna quit," Tim repeated. "You know me better than I know me, right?"

"I know you're about to die again."

Tim growled, jerking the controller again, and continued, "And I know you better than you know you, and I know you're not gonna quit. Steph, you didn't quit when Batman tried to fire you--"

"I wasn't even Robin yet, he had no authority over me," Stephanie muttered.

"--and you didn't quit when Azrael kicked you out of the Batcave, and you didn't quit when you got pregnant, except temporarily, and you didn't quit when you got tortured by Black Mask, and you didn't quit when your predecessor came back to life and tried to kill you, and you didn't quit when your dad went to jail. You don't just quit. You were--" he paused the game, gesturing wildly. "You were made for this. You love it. You love helping people. And you love being Robin, you're just..." Tim shrugged, brushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear. "You're ready to move on."

Stephanie pressed her nose more firmly into his thigh. "I think I'm scared," she admitted, a little hoarse. This was going to be really hard for Bruce, and she'd spent more than four years watching Batman's back. She didn't know how to just turn that off.

Tim's fingers stroaked through her hair again. "The zombies aren't real, and they aren't going to get you," he teased, and Stephanie shoved him off the couch.)

Cassandra sat forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and admitted, "I've... been thinking about what comes after Batgirl, too."

Stephanie choked on her own spit. "What?"

"A lot has happened," she said, soft. "I did a lot of things. I'm not the same, now."

"You weren't you," Steph said, frantic, and she reached out to catch Cassandra's hand, squeezing it tight. "None of that--Cassie, you can't blame yourself--"

"I don't," Cass assured her, squeezing her hand back. She let go to reach up and push her cowl the rest of the way off, letting her short dark hair catch the slight breeze. "But it still changed me. And..." she prodded at the gummies in her other palm again, mouth slightly tight as she searched for the words to explain herself.

"Batgirl was my first real identity," she said slowly. "But Oracle has been begging me for years to learn to be someone... outside of the mask. I think maybe I'm finally ready to do that, properly. And I think... that once I know who Cassandra Wayne is, that it might be nice to... reinvent the mask, too. For both sides of me to be identities I discovered for myself. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Steph said softly. "It does."

Cassandra ducked her head, her eyes crinkling with a bittersweet smile. "It's going to be hard," she said. She laid a hand over the bat symbol on her chest. "I'm going to miss this. I'm... worried Barbara won't understand why I need to do it... like this."

There was a lump in Stephanie's throat. "That I definitely get," she managed. "But Babs gave up Batgirl before she ever even dreamed of becoming Oracle. I don't think you need to worry about it. Not... not like I need to worry."

Cassandra watched her as she swallowed, turning to stare out across the glittering Gotham skyline. "Bruce is going to feel like I abandoned him," she said softly. "Batman needs a Robin. And Damian's right there, and just the right height for it, but... I don't know if they can be what each other needs when it comes to Batman and Robin."

And to Stephanie's surprise, Cassandra nodded. "I... agree," she said, quite simply. She dumped the gummies out onto the concrete wall to free both of her hands. "But I have... an idea. It's what I really wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" Stephanie asked, frowning.

"Batman needs a Robin," Cassandra told her. She held up one hand palm flat. "But something that I think... maybe we've all overlooked over the years..." She held up her other hand. "Is that Robin needs a Batgirl."

Cassandra poked Stephanie in the center of her chest, right where she'd connected the heel of her palm to end their game of rooftop tag. Stephanie hadn't noticed the bat symbol sticker, then. She stared at it now, wondering, as Cassandra said, "You could help them both figure it out. You've already started trying."

"Huh," Stephanie said, thoughtfully.

***

(Stephanie never got the chance to explain it all to Bruce. She was still his Robin when he died.)

[ivycrowned]

Am I writing a bunch of short stories and epistolary things for the dnd campaign I’m working on when I run next? Maybe.

Don’t ask me why but I loooooove writing letters and diary entries for fictional characters and to world build. I love it so much.

[manasastuff-blog]

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Dubai Job Consultancy in Dubai — Top Recruitment Agencies, Nursing Staff & Headhunters

Dubai Job Consultancy in Dubai: Your Gateway to Career Success

Introduction

Finding a reliable Dubai job consultancy in Dubai can be the key to unlocking numerous career opportunities. As the job market evolves, so does the need for professional recruitment services. In this blog, we will explore the top recruitment agencies in Dubai, the importance of nursing staff recruitment, and the role of headhunters in Dubai.

Top Recruitment Agencies in Dubai

Recruitment Agencies Dubai

Dubai's job market is highly competitive, with numerous recruitment agencies playing a pivotal role in matching talent with opportunities. Recruitment agencies in Dubai specialize in various industries, ensuring a perfect fit for both employers and job seekers.

Importance of Recruitment Agencies in Dubai

Recruitment agencies in Dubai streamline the hiring process by connecting skilled professionals with potential employers. They offer services such as resume building, interview coaching, and job placement, which can significantly enhance a candidate's job search experience.

Leading Recruitment Agencies in Dubai

Dubai is home to several leading recruitment agencies that cater to diverse industries, from finance and technology to healthcare and hospitality. These agencies have extensive networks and resources to help candidates find their ideal job.

Choosing the Right Recruitment Agency

Selecting the right recruitment agency is crucial. It's important to research and choose an agency that specializes in your industry and has a proven track record of successful placements.

Nursing Staff Recruitment in Dubai

Nursing Staff Recruitment

The healthcare sector in Dubai is growing rapidly, increasing the demand for qualified nursing staff. Nursing staff recruitment agencies play a vital role in ensuring healthcare facilities are staffed with competent professionals.

Why Nursing Staff Recruitment is Crucial

Nursing staff recruitment is crucial to maintaining high standards of patient care. Recruitment agencies help bridge the gap between healthcare providers and skilled nurses, ensuring quality care for patients.

Leading Nursing Recruitment Agencies

Leading nursing recruitment agencies in Dubai focus on sourcing, vetting, and placing nurses in various healthcare settings. They ensure that candidates meet the necessary qualifications and standards required by healthcare providers.

Challenges in Nursing Recruitment

One of the main challenges in nursing recruitment is finding candidates with the right skill set and experience. Recruitment agencies use their expertise to overcome these challenges and provide healthcare facilities with the best candidates.

Role of Headhunters in Dubai

Headhunters Dubai

Headhunters in Dubai specialize in identifying and recruiting top-level executives and highly skilled professionals for organizations. They play a critical role in the strategic hiring process of companies.

Benefits of Using Headhunters

Headhunters provide several benefits, including access to a broader talent pool, time savings, and the ability to find passive candidates who are not actively looking for a job but are open to new opportunities.

Top Headhunters in Dubai

Top headhunters in Dubai have a deep understanding of the local job market and industry-specific requirements. They use their networks and expertise to find the best candidates for senior positions.

Selecting a Headhunter

When selecting a headhunter, it’s important to consider their industry expertise, reputation, and success rate in placing candidates in similar roles. A good headhunter can make a significant difference in finding the right executive talent.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Dubai job consultancy in Dubai is essential for career growth and organizational success. Whether you are a job seeker looking for opportunities or an employer seeking the best talent, recruitment agencies, nursing staff recruitment services, and headhunters in Dubai are invaluable resources. By leveraging their expertise, you can navigate the job market more effectively and achieve your career or hiring goals.

Read More.....

Author Bio: Simi Gajala has been working in digital marketing since 2018, amassing 6 years of experience. Currently Working as a Digital Marketing Executive at H.R. International UAE. Simi specializes in SEO, SMO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and blogs & content writing, Boosting Brands, Increasing Visibility, And Enhancing Online Performance.