#Rooftop Walkway

[chemeytechsolutions-blog]

Chemey is preferred Global Supplier of safety railing systems, Hard yet portable Barricades, fall protection solutions and safe access equipment for working at height.

[patiossydney]

We are specifically talking about the roof of the patio. When it comes to roofing materials, people usually look for options that match the theme and style of their property while being easy to maintain. These covers come in different materials, sizes, and shapes, which can sometimes confuse even experienced buyers. Before selecting the right cover, there are a few factors to consider, which we have covered in this article.

[dlyarchitecture]

[misswynters]

Tag you’re it!

— short drabble

featuring. ekko x reader

Ekkos super lucky to have a cool and awesome partner like you in his life. He gives you his jacket <3 and i absolutely need him fr fr.

Zaun’s night was alive, a symphony of life and danger. Neon lights buzzed erratically, painting the streets in streaks of vibrant pinks and greens. The air was thick with humidity and the acrid stench of fumes rising from the ever-churning pipes of the undercity. You stood alone on one of the higher walkways, gazing down at the labyrinth of narrow streets below. It wasn’t safe to linger in one spot too long, especially not for someone with your reputation.

You adjusted the sleeves of the pink and black leather jacket you wore, Ekko’s jacket. It hung loose around your shoulders, the fabric worn and patched in places but still carrying the faintest scent of him. The shorts and cropped tank top you paired with it left your legs free to move. And an essential choice given your weapon of choice: rollerblades strapped snugly to your feet. It was fast, so fast that it left pink marks on its wake.

Below you, Zaun moved like clockwork. People shuffled between stalls, exchanging goods, whispers, and the occasional stolen glance over their shoulders. Somewhere in the distance, a fight broke out, the sound of shouts and the shattering of glass punctuating the night. You exhaled deeply, brushing a strand of hair from your face.

Your girls weren’t with you tonight. The Indigo club, a group you’d built from nothing, had made a name for itself in Zaun. You helped the downtrodden, fought back against the gangs and chem-barons in your own chaotic way, and had fun doing it. For tonight though, you’d sent them home. Sometimes, the quiet helped. But it wasn’t working. The memories pressed against the edges of your mind, unrelenting.

The Enforcers had come without warning. You were only seven, sitting at the dinner table with your parents and siblings, laughing over some silly story your brother had told. Then came the shouts, the crash of boots against the door, and the sharp, metallic ring of gunfire.

Your family’s blood had stained the floorboards, and you’d been left alive, frozen in shock, staring into the lifeless eyes of your mother. That was when Silco had found you, a trembling, hollow child, and taken you under his wing. He’d molded you into something sharp and unbreakable, but even he hadn’t been able to keep you tethered. You’d escaped his world, too, carving out your own existence in Zaun’s shadows.

A sharp sound brought you back to the present.

“Gotta say, you wear that jacket way better than I ever did.”

You turned, a smirk tugging at your lips. Ekko stood a few feet away, his Z-Drive glowing faintly at his side. He looked at you the way he always did, like you were a storm he was more than willing to stand in the path of.

“Yeah?” you teased, placing a hand on your hip. “Could’ve fooled me. It’s a little big.”

He grinned, his gaze sweeping over you. “It’s not the jacket, it’s you. You make anything look good.”

“Smooth,” you replied, rolling your eyes. But you felt the warmth creeping up your neck.

Ekko stepped closer, his expression softening. “You okay? You’ve been out here alone for a while.”

“I’m fine,” you said, your voice steady. “Just needed some air. It’s been quite a day.”

“More like a life,” he muttered, his tone bitter. He reached out, brushing his fingers against your arm.

You looked away, the weight of his words pressing down on you. “Atleast i’m not alone. I have my girls, and I have you.”

“And yet, here you are, by yourself,” he said pointedly.

“Maybe I wanted some company.” You shot him a sideways glance, a challenge in your eyes. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I heard someone was lurking on the rooftops in my jacket,” he replied, smirking. “Thought I’d check it out.”

“Well, now that you’re here,” you said, stepping back and adjusting your rollerblades, “how about a game?”

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What kind of game?”

“Tag,” you said simply, your smirk widening. “You and me. I’ve got my wheels, and you’ve got your fancy time-travel thing. Let’s see who’s faster.”

Ekko crossed his arms, a playful light in his eyes. “You’re seriously challenging me? You know I can rewind time and i have a hoverboard, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, waving him off. “We’ll see how much that helps you when you’re eating my dust.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, you’re on. But don’t cry when I win.”

“Keep dreaming, Z-man.”

The game was chaos, pure and simple. You darted through Zaun’s twisting streets, the wheels of your rollerblades clattering against the uneven ground. Ekko chased you with his hoverboard, his Z-Drive whirring faintly every time he rewound a moment to close the distance.

You weaved between stalls, leaping over crates and sliding under low-hanging pipes with practiced ease. Ekko wasn’t far behind, his agility and quick reflexes keeping him on your tail.

“You’re not bad for a guy who can rewind time!” you called over your shoulder, laughing breathlessly.

“Ha! You’re not bad for someone I’m about to catch!” he shot back, his voice filled with exhilaration.

Just as he was about to grab your arm, you executed a sharp turn, ducking into an alley and out of his reach. His frustrated groan echoed behind you, and you couldn’t help but grin. The chase continued until you reached an open courtyard, the neon lights reflecting off the slick pavement. You skidded to a stop, panting but grinning triumphantly.

“Give up yet?” you teased, leaning on your knees.

Ekko appeared seconds later, breathing just as hard but with a smug look on his face. “You wish.”

Before you could respond, he lunged, wrapping an arm around your waist and spinning you around. You laughed, the sound echoing through the courtyard, as he set you down and held you close.

“I fucking adore you” he said, his forehead resting against yours.

“I know you do,” you replied, your breath mingling with his. For a moment, the world seemed to slow. His eyes searched yours, and you felt the weight of his gaze, the unspoken connection between you.

“You’re it,” he whispered, tagging your side lightly.

“Cheater,” you murmured, but there was no heat in your words.

“That’s me,” he said with a grin, his hand slipping down to intertwine with yours. He knew he can never be on your bad side, i mean with the way he always looked at you. With those cute puppy brown eyes. Absolutely cute. Absolutely handsome indeed he was. You were lucky to have him in your life, treating you with the outmost respect and kindness you didn’t think you deserved.

taglist. @diffusebread @xxblairslairxx @thesevi0lentdelights

banner. @anitalenia

[nhlclover]

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 | 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

— cozytober masterlist !

summary: your first halloween spent in your new house together becomes unforgettable after a trick-or-treater brings unexpected joy for you and jack

warnings: literally so much fluff it's crazy, jack kind of having a revelation

word count: 1.36k

notes: tenth and final fic of cozytober! hope you enjoy i thought this was such a cute idea.

As October settled in, the air grew crisp, carrying with it the scent of fallen leaves. Your neighborhood began to glow with an eerie charm — orange and purple lights strung along rooftops, spider webs draped haphazardly over bushes, and grinning jack-o'-lanterns perched on porches, their flickering candles casting shadows on the pavement. It was your first Halloween in your new home, and excitement buzzed in the air. You and Jack had spent the last few weeks transforming your house into a Halloween wonderland, determined to embrace the spooky season in full.

“This is going to be such a good Halloween,” you said, standing in the kitchen surrounded by packages of candy. You poured another mountain of treats into the bowl, feeling like a kid yourself.

Jack, lounging against the counter, raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You know we’re probably gonna be that house, right? The one that gives out so much candy the kids talk about it all year?”

You grinned back, unbothered. “Good! We never got to do this in the apartment. We’re going all out.” You tossed another bag of chocolates into the mix, the bowl overflowing now.

Your previous apartment building didn’t have many kids, and handing out candy was never part of your Halloween traditions. But this year, nestled in a family-filled suburb, it felt like you were finally getting the Halloween you’d always wanted — the decorations, the costumes, the eager trick-or-treaters. You could hardly wait.

When the doorbell rang for the first time, you practically leapt off the couch. “They’re here!” you squealed, racing to the door like a child on Christmas morning. Swinging it open, you were greeted by a group of tiny witches, superheroes, and a very tiny dinosaur with a tail too long for his legs. Their eyes widened at the sight of your candy bowl, and you couldn’t resist giving them extra, their excitement contagious.

You watched them scamper off down the walkway, their candy bags bouncing, before collapsing onto the couch next to Jack, who had Ghostbusters queued up on the TV. “There was this little dinosaur, and his tail kept dragging behind him,” you laughed, snuggling under his arm. “It was adorable.”

“Is that what happens every time the door opens? You’re going to give me a recap of all the costumes you see?” Jack smirked, pulling you in closer.

“Absolutely,” you grinned, poking him playfully. “I don’t want you missing out on all the cuteness.”

And that’s exactly what you did. Each time the doorbell rang, you bounded up, eager to meet the next batch of trick-or-treaters. After every encounter, you’d return to Jack, excitedly recounting the different costumes — witches, zombies, fairies, and one memorable kid dressed as a very squishy marshmallow. Jack would laugh at your eagerness, but you could tell he enjoyed each one of your recaps.

Between the rounds of doorbell dashes, you and Jack sank into the movie, the Halloween vibe settling in like a comfortable blanket around you. The evening was perfect — the glow of the porch lights, the hum of neighborhood excitement, and Jack’s arm wrapped around you, making it all feel just right.

As the night began to slow and fewer knocks came, the doorbell rang one last time. You jumped up, still full of energy. “I’ve got it!” you called, already halfway to the door.

Opening it, you were greeted by a sight that made you freeze — a kid fully decked out in hockey gear, pads, helmet, gloves, and all. But what caught your attention was the jersey. The black, white, and red jersey stood out in the dark, the 86 on the sleeve glimmering under the porch light.

“Trick or treat!” the small voice squeaked from beneath the helmet.

Your jaw dropped as you let out a small gasp. “Oh my gosh, you look amazing!” you gushed. “Hold on—there’s someone who has to see this.”

You darted back into the living room, grabbing Jack by the arm. “Come on, you’ve gotta see this!”

Jack, confused but curious, paused the movie and followed you to the door. The second he saw the mini-hockey player in his own jersey, his eyes widened in surprise. The kid looked up, eyes shining as he recognized Jack.

“You’re Jack Hughes!” the little boy said, his voice filled with awe.

Jack crouched down to the kid’s level, smiling. “Looking good out there, bud,” he said, adjusting the boy’s helmet so it wasn’t covering his eyes.

The kid's dad, standing at the end of the walkway, waved his phone. “Would it be alright if we got a picture?” he asked, clearly as excited as his son.

“Of course,” Jack grinned. He knelt beside the kid, who raised his hockey stick proudly. You quickly snapped a few photos, capturing the pure joy on both their faces.

Before they headed off, you grabbed two fistfuls of candy and dropped them into the boy’s sack. “You get some extra candy for having the best costume we’ve seen all night,” you told him, smiling as he skated on his roller blades down the walkway.

Jack stood there for a moment, still processing what had just happened. You could see a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he watched the boy skate off.

“That was seriously cool,” Jack admitted, sliding his arm around your waist.

You nudged him playfully. “You’re a little stunned, huh?”

Jack chuckled, his eyes still lingering on the street where the kid had disappeared. “Yeah, I mean, it's one thing to see people wearing my jersey at games, but that little guy was really into it. He looked like he was having the best night of his life.”

There was a warmth in his voice, a mix of pride and disbelief. “It’s gotta feel pretty surreal seeing a kid look up to you like that,” you said, guiding him back into the house, his eyes still going back to the kid who was far down the street now.

Jack nodded, his smile widening as you took your places on the couch once more. “It just… it reminds me that this whole hockey thing is bigger than just me, you know? Seeing him so pumped, dressed as me for Halloween… it kind of makes it all feel worth it in a different way. A way that’s not just for me.”

You could tell that moment meant more to him than he let on. His eyes glinted with that same spark he had when he was passionate about something, and you loved seeing him like that.

As you both settled back onto the couch, you leaned your head on Jack’s shoulder, feeling the warmth of the moment settle in. “You made that kid’s night,” you said softly, glancing up at him.

Jack’s arm tightened around you, and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I think he made mine too,” he replied, his voice filled with a contentment that made your heart swell.

As the credits rolled on the movie, you sighed happily. “Best Halloween ever,” you murmured, smiling to yourself.

Jack chuckled, resting his chin on your head. “You always say that,” he teased.

You laughed, looking up at him. “Well, this time I mean it.”

He grinned down at you, his eyes twinkling with affection. “Good. Because I kind of want to make this our new tradition. Decorating, handing out candy, watching you light up with every costume… I could get used to this.”

You leaned up and kissed him softly, feeling that familiar, comforting warmth between you. “Me too,” you whispered. “Me too.”

As you both sat there, the last remnants of Halloween fading into the quiet night, you couldn’t help but think about how special this first Halloween in your new home had been. It wasn’t just the decorations or the candy or even the costumes — it was the moments, big and small, that made it unforgettable. Moments like Jack seeing a kid in his jersey, or the way you both had embraced the evening together, fully present and happy.

And you knew that no matter how many Halloweens came after this one, this would always be the one that set the bar.

[kedsandtubesocks]

Satoru Gojo appears out of thin air before you, blocking your path. The smuggest most annoying grin dances on his face. You glare at him.

“Yo.” He beams.

“Don’t you have assignments to work on?” Huffing, you walking around him.

“Come on! Didn’t you miss our meetings like this?” Gojo pouts. You flat out reply no and he sobs dramatically.

“Didn’t you hear? I got married a few weeks ago.” Gojo says bright and excited, walking in step with you.

“Oh? Congratulations. I’m sorry for the poor soul that got stuck with you.” You deadpan.

“Rude!” He exclaims horrified. You dully glare at him.

“Oh wait? Are you perhaps jealous?” Twirling on his heels, Gojo keeps his covered gaze on you now. He practically walks backwards like the show off strongest sorcerer he is and smirks unbearably smug.

“I’m not.” You steadily reply. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’ll have to let my husband know.” You add. He gasps incredibly loud.

“Husband?! You have a husband?!” Gojo screams.

You shush him, a hissing reprimand. There were others still here at the school trying to work.

“So what’s he like, huh, huh?!” He inquires eagerly.

“Someone who can kick your ass.” You tell him simply approaching the assistants offices.

Gojo barks a bright incredulous laugh. “Really now? I’d like to see that fight.”

One of the newer assistants warmly greets you as you hand her your paperwork for the week. Thanking her, you ignore how Gojo practically swarms around you pestering for more information about your husband.

The assistant blinks a bit confused turning to you with a confused smile.

“Um, have a good rest of your day Gojo-san.” Nodding brief, she bids you goodbye.

You can’t even nod back before a lanky arm snakes around your shoulder, and in a blink you’re gone. When you arrive teleported to a high rooftop, you shriek smacking at Gojo’s arm.

“You can’t keep doing that! We have work to do, Satoru!”

“I still wanna hear about that husband of yours.” He says amused sliding his black blindfold up to reveal his crystal sky blue eyes that twinkle.

“Won’t have much to say because I’m actually thinking about divorcing him soon if he doesn’t stop bothering me!” You hiss.

“Aw!” Gojo sobs. “Why can’t you just let me enjoy newlywed bliss?!”

You’re about to open your mouth about how he very much already throughly enjoyed all the newlywed bliss, when suddenly his large warm hands slide up your cheeks. Satoru draws your face to his.

He kisses you with the most delicate tenderness, like you might flutter away from his grasp at any moment. You instantly melt into him. These soft kisses really are beautiful reminders of how your soul is so irreversibly bonded to this headache.

“Get back to work Satoru,” you sigh against his lips.

“Yeah, yeah.” He huffs drawing back with a pout. He’s too handsome for his own good. So maybe wanting one last goodbye for yourself, you pull him down for a deep kiss. Greedily, he drags you close.

“Let’s go mess around in my office.” Satoru mutters dark, and you laugh a bright no.

“Fine.” He groans defeated. In a blink, you’re teleported back in the walkway. Before he pulls his blindfold down, Satoru winks at you.

“See ya at home, Gojo-san.” With the biggest pride shimmering bright in his eyes, your husband grins disappearing into the wind.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

So, this home has been taken off the market, more than likely b/c it hasn't sold. Built in 1994 in Prescott, AZ, Falcon's Nest is on very rocky terrain and stands right beside Thumb Butte. It's 10 stories high, and a hydraulic elevator goes up 6 floors with stair access to the remaining 4. it has 3bds, 4ba $1,862,700.

This looks like the living room. It's so large and has a small corner fireplace with a seat on both sides. A little weird. There are also benches along the walls and a balcony.

Looking up, this is what you see.

And, this is that balcony. I really don't know what this is for.

The top of what we were looking at from the living room, is this. A walkway to other rooms.

Some of the flooring is missing in this room. There's also a corner fireplace in here.

The kitchen is disappointing. It has the same flooring that the living room has, plus a dining area.

The upper levels have glass walls and ceilings, like this bedroom. The bed is built in and there's a lot of seating.

The en-suite is angular and has a glass wall looking over the bed.

Behind the bed wall there's a sitting area with a fireplace. Those must be the stairs to the upper levels.

If anything, it looks like a restaurant up here.

There's a kitchenette on this upper floor.

Across the way it looks like there's a bar.

Besides a dining area, there's also a sitting area with a wood burning stove in the middle of the floor.

One of the other baths.

And, here's another kitchenette.

Plus a half bath.

On this level there's a large rooftop deck.

And, a terrace goes around this level.

That must be Thumb Butte.

The lot is 1.08 acre.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2365-Skyline-Dr-Prescott-AZ-86303/8744604_zpid/?

[toulousewayne]

Catching Strays Pt:1 🐈‍⬛💎✨

Red Hood x male!reader who’s a cat burglar with a similar M.O. to Catwoman who’s on a crime spree.

Summary:Your a Cat Burglar who’s dressed similarly to Catwoman. You enjoy the thrill of the chase.

—————

“I don't know about you, Miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier.”

Red Hood stood perched on a rooftop overlooking the Gotham Bay. He sighed and leaned against the wall.

“Someone seems bored.” Oracle’s smug voice filled his ear com. He lowered his head toward the bustling streets below.

“Yeah well the same week the Bat takes a trip out of town, the crime goes along with him.” He grapples several building down the street until he can see a row of prestigious jewelry stores and clothing stores.

“It’s not everyday Batman and Catwoman get to team up to take on a drug lord in Paris. I heard it’s nice this time of year.” She teased.

“Barf.” He jumped down several feet onto a nearby rooftop. “Well if that’s the case I may as well call it a night—“

“Too slow, silent alarm just went off at jewelers at your location. Ruby’s.” Red Hood looked at the store across from him and grappled down to it.

———

A few minutes before 🐈‍⬛✨

A figure leaps and jumps throughout the Gotham City rooftops. The leap to a larger building and quickly ascends it using claws and acrobatic movements to gracefully pull themselves up to the rooftop. Below is Ruby’s Jewelry Store.

“To easy.” His voice purrs. He free falls down fifty stories towards the roof before using a whip to break his descend.

He looks down at the skylight and sees a security guard walk down the hallway. The thief takes his hand cuts a medium sized hole in the glass. Using his whip he lowers himself halfway into the building before removing three small pellets from his belt. He throws them and they release a blue gas the unveils red lasers. He tucks on the whip and lands on his feet a few inches from the first row of lasers.

He flips, sprints,cartwheels through the laser. Until he is in a diamond exhibit. He begins with the small diamonds putting them in a velvet bag. Next, he finds a diamond and gold necklace.

He begins to cut the glass and removes it from its display. He turns down a hallway and sprints down it until he finds himself in front of a sapphire cat statue. He lifts the glass dome over it and picks it up, unknowingly tripping an alarm.

“Shit.” He secures the statue to his belt and takes off. He finds himself in lobby where several security guards are with weapons.

“Freeze thief!” They point their pistols at him. He takes his whip and disarms them.

“Morons, if it were that easy I wouldn’t have been so quick to get out of here. Now who wants to go first?” He cracks another whip and the guards scatter.

“Pussies.” The thief climb up a pillar and onto a walkway. He jumped up to the skyline he entered and climbs up.

“Going somewhere?” A deep voice questions. He turns to see Red Hood several feet away from him.

He smirks,”And looked what the Bat drag in. Was he too busy to get me himself?” Y/n stood up from the window and eyed the man before him.

Jason drew one of his pistols from its holster. “Give me the goods, I won’t break your hands.”

“That’s kinda hot Big Red.” The confused face Jason had under his helmet would have his brothers laughing for days. The thief used this moment of stun to leap off the roof and lasso a gargoyle and use it to make his escape.

Red Hood chased after him and the two leaped and rolled across the rooftops util Y/n landed on a moving train. Red Hood landed not so gracefully onto a car.

“Get back here!” Y/n smirked and jumped off the train. Red Hood mumbled under his breath before jumping and landed onto a rooftop.

“Gonna hand over the jewelry?”

“Gonna give me a kiss for em?” Jason began firing at him, Y/n swiftly and quickly dodged each bullet and back flipped off the roof. Red Hood walked to the ledge to on then be yanked off himself.

Y/n crouched before him as Red Hood used one hand to hold his full body weight up from falling 75 stories to Gotham’s streets.

“You little—“

“I’m Stray.”

Red Hood scoffed, “Well Stray, how about I send you to the pound for bad little thieves.” Stray eyed his hand before grinning down at the man.

“Y’know Big Red I’d love to watch you get flustered tonight but I’m late?”

Y/n stretched and felt his side before looking around till he looked at Red Hood how had the cat statue in his free hand.

“Looking for this?” Stray hissed at him before an alarm on his watch buzzed.

“You can keep it Red, I’ll be back for it.” He cartwheel down the ledge before leaping off it and using his whip to glide from rooftop to rooftop.

——-

“Sounds like you had a thrilling night.” Roy laughed to himself while feeding Lian apples. They were on video chat on Jason’s laptop. Jason tossed his jacket on a nearby bench and grabbed a beer from his fridge.

“It was anything but fun Harper,” he took another sip before sitting it down and watching the screen. Lian was stuffing her face with apples and yet still kept a tight grip on her chocolate milk.

“I think someone wants Uncle Jay’s grilled cheese.” Jason let a smile slip. “Now we both know it you that wants that.”

“I plead the fifth.” Roy replied. Jason stretched and glanced at his gear and cellphone on the table.

“Any idea who he is, or why he’s picking up where Catwoman would normally go?”

Jason took a few short steps and took his cellphone before dialing a number.

“Let’s find out,shall we?”

———

Stray slip throw the window. A choir of meows and soft purrs welcome him home. “Hello,nice of you to welcome me.” A black cat purrs and circles his legs.

“I’m going.” He opens a cabinet and pulls out several cans of tuna and opens them.

“Here you go.” The three cats run and begin to eat from the cans.

“Spoiled brats.” He sighs and places his bag down on a worn out soft. He checks his watch and again and huffs as he crosses the small studio to a dresser and peels off his suit stuffing it in a drawer under his bed. He opens a door and enter the small bathroom, he quickly gets into the shower.

Several moments later he emerges with a towel around his waist and grabs open a drawer from his dress and puts on his clothes.

He puts on eyeliner and tugs on a jacket, he stuffs his keys into his pocket and leaves the apartment through the front door.

———

He rushes inside the club and puts down his bag and jacks behind the bar. The club is packed and the other two girls at the bar are running around take orders, taking payments and cleaning up for the next few customers.

“You’re late again Y/n.” A girl with a dark pixie cut grins pour three shots of fire ball and passing it to a man who hands her a fifty.

He grins, and grabs a rag tossing it onto his shoulder. “Y’know the train is still back up on fifth and Seventh.”

She shrugs and grabs a trap and places a few drinks on it. The other girl with a blonde bun comes back with several empty and half drunk glasses sets it down before grabbing two bottles.

“You sure you weren’t going to see a guy?”

Y/n rolls his eyes and hands two beers to a young man. “Don’t kid yourself Stella, I’m laying low.”

The two women share a look before laughing and going back to work.

“Yeah well just try to let us know that you’re running late, Mr. Cobblepot was looking for you earlier. Something about a meeting up in his office.” Y/n cussed to himself taking a tray and several glasses with a bottle of Whiskey.

He rushed into the office as Black Mask and Penguin held a stare off.

“Sorry for late arrival Mr. Cobblepot, I got caught-“

“Nevermind that Lad, so this nice gentleman and his friends out. There just leaving wasn’t ya?”

Black Mask’s fist are in a tight grip as he gets to his feet. “Yeah, this place is started to smell like a fish market.” He throws a twenty on the tray Y/n’s holding. “Keep the tip kid.”

He leaves with his goons and it’s just Y/n and Penguin. Penguin poor himself a glass of Scotch and sighs.

“Kid, I don’t what took so bloody long, but I’ll let it slide this one time. Now get the fuck out of my office.” He barked while rubbing his temple. Y/n made himself scarce and finished the rest of his shift until early the next morning when the Lounge closed.

———-

“I can’t believe you got your ass handed to you.” Jason reloaded his pistols and walked away from the goons he just beat up from a robbery. He gets on his motorcycle and races down the street.

“Y’know come from the same person who got mind controlled from a plant, I don’t see how you’re in any position to talk.” He turned down a busy street earning several honks from oncoming drivers.

“Low blow little wing, low blow.”

Jason grumbles to himself as he races down the road turning onto a main intersection and flies further into the city.

“Hood, I think I found your cat burglar. Sending the location now.” Oracle’s voice filled his ear for the hundredth time tonight.

“He’s not getting away tonight.” He barreled down the street toward the location on his bike.

“Good luck little wing.” Nightwing sang in his ear before Red Hood switched his com offline. He looks up and stops in the alleyway. He grapples up the building until he finds a window with a cutout on the 54th floor.

He enters quickly and draws his gun. “Here kitty kitty kitty. Here boy?” He scans the room until he finds a door cracked open down the hallway of an office building.

He creeps down the corridor and pushes open the door. It’s an office and at the desk his Stray taking pictures of different files and paperwork.

“I don’t think the owner would take kindly to you snooping.”

Stray’s head shoots up and he grins.” I see you missed me.”

“Unlikely.” He strolls over to him and grabs his wrist prying the camera from his hand.

“What are you doing,give that back?”

“Not till you tell me why you’re here, then I’m dropping your ass off at jail.”

Stray smirked taking his free hand and lightly dragging his claw down Red Hood’s helmet. “You’ve been thinking about my ass?”

Red Hood stuttered,”That’s not—I’m not thinking—“

“Shush.” The two stand still as footsteps and men can be heard from the hallway.

“Find em, I know someone’s here!”

Stray and Red Hood looked at each other before Red Hood dragged him by the hand towards the door.

“If you think about escaping I’ll shoot your knee caps out.”

Stray playful grinned. “Whatever you say.” Red Hood looked around the corner and a group of goons with assault rifles searched the floor. One turned around and spotted him and began firing.

“Your dead rat!” And soon the rest began to fire. Red Hood pulled stray further into the room. There was only one way out and it was being fired out.

“You’re bleeding.” Red Hood glanced down at his arm and turned back toward the door. “Just a flesh wound, we’ve kinda got bigger fish to fry.”

Stray took off his backpack and took out a can of tear gas. “Get ready to run red. He tossed it out the room and the goons shouted before a small explosion rocked the building.

“What kinda tear gas?” Stray took Red Hood’s arm and pulled him out the room. They ran through the office filled with smoke. They pushed open a door and bolted up the stairs.

“Are you trying to get us killed?” Stray pushed open the door to the rooftop before sticking wood under the door.

He began to run with Red Hood not far behind. He looked at the door which was being kicked down.

“Jump.” Red Hood snapped his head toward him. “The fuck are you trying to accomplish?” Not waiting for a response he pulled Red Hood down with him and the two fall several stories until the landed on a moving train.

“And that’s how you get out of that.” Red Hood sat up from falling on his back.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Stray blew him a kiss getting to a crouching position. “You’re very welcome.”

The train came to a halt and Stray jumped off the train car on top of rooftop and Red Hood went after him.

“Hey,stop!” Stray turns to him with his arm crossed.

“What is it now?” Red Hood grabbed him.

“You nearly got us shot up, did you think I wasn’t serious about taking you in?”

Stray grinned,” I wanna see what’s underneath that helmet, I bet I really just get under your skin don’t I?”

“I will shoot you, I don’t care.” He warned.

Stray yawned. “So you want that looked at or you could get an infection?”

Jason was ready to snap him in half. For whatever reason Stray knew how you just irritate him like nothing he had experienced before.

“I have a guy.”

Stray looked hurt, “Damn, I thought I was special.” He began to walk toward the edge of the building. “Come in red I don’t bite. Much.” He whispered the last part.

He jumped and for whatever reason that was yet unknown to him Red Hood followed jumping onto a fire escape. He entered the apartment and turned to see three different cats.

“Are you so kinda Catwoman cultist?” Stray returned from wherever he was with a me medkit.

“Ha ha, funny. Take off the jacket and armor it’s not doing you much favors.”

“I’d have to remove my helmet, I don’t think I want to do that.”

Stray placed his hand on his hips.” Then continue to bleed but you’re not getting it all over my apartment.

Jason looked at his arm and while it did hurt the bleeding hadn’t stopped either.

“Fuck me.” Stray grinned as his removed his helmet and pulled it off. He pouted though when he saw the red mask covering Jason’s face.

“Who knew the big bad Red Hood was a looker.” He took out supplies as Red Hood began to removed his jacket and armor.

“Just hurry up.” He hissed at the pain in his arm. He could see that it was not a flesh wound and was shot in his arm.

Stray peeled off his cowl and goggles and began to clean the wound.

“Don’t get to excited, you’re still not off the hook.” Red Hood hissed when Stray began to clean the wound.

“You don’t trust easily.”

“I don’t trust anyone, what’s your point?”

“Nothing at all Red. Hold still this is gonna hurt.”

“Your enjoying this aren’t you?”

Stray grinned taking his arm and began to remove the bullet. “Red you sure know how to show a fella a good time.”

“Fuck my life.” Red Hood groaned.

[blueiscoool]

Former Nazi Bunker Turned Into Luxury Hotel in Germany

At 58 meters tall - just a little taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but with considerably more heft - the St. Pauli bunker in Hamburg, Germany, has dominated the city skyline for just over 80 years.

Built using forced labor during Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, it’s a relic of the darkest period in Germany’s history - but this concrete hulk has had a surprising rebirth.

The relaunched Hamburg Bunker is now packed with two restaurants, a five-story Hard Rock Hotel and a newly built pyramid-like rooftop bar and garden from which greenery flows abundantly over the concrete facade.

The REVERB by Hard Rock is a fitting addition to a city with an impressive musical history – this is, after all, where The Beatles began their career at the start of the 1960s.

The Karoviertel neighborhood in which the fortress-like bunker sits is a cool enclave filled with stylish coffee shops and vintage stores, plus the Knust nightclub in a repurposed abattoir.

The amenities

Rooms in the 134-key REVERB range from 180 euros for a classic room, with amenities including a 55-inch flat screen TV and Alexa in-room assistant, to 269 euros for a suite with sweeping citywide views.

The hotel also has the kind of modern details you’d expect in any self-respecting hip hotel, such as self check-in, smart technology and co-working spaces.

You don’t have to be a hotel guest to enjoy the bunker’s amenities, however. On the ground level, there’s the Constant Grind coffee shop and bar, and a Rock Shop for those seeking Hard Rock merch.

Bar-restaurant Karo & Paul, by German TV chef Frank Rosin, opened as a bar in April 2024 and occupies the first three levels of the building. The restaurant area is still coming soon.

The restaurant La Sala – Spanish for living room - is open for business on the fifth floor, offering lofty views and an international menu.

Finally at the top is the Green Beanie roof garden, with bar and walkway looping round the building, which can be accessed by the public for free.

The challenge

The Hamburg bunker was one of eight flak towers – above-ground anti-aircraft bunkers which doubled as air raid shelters - which Germany built after British air raids on Berlin in 1940.

The history the Hamburg Bunker wears is heavy, but a 76,000-tonne concrete behemoth with walls 2.5 meters thick can’t be easily demolished or ignored.

The only flak tower to have been completely destroyed is one at Berlin’s zoo, as the others are in heavily populated areas where the explosives involved would be too great a risk, AFP reports.

“The idea of raising the height of the building with greenery was to add something peaceful and positive to this massive block left over from the Nazi dictatorship,” Anita Engels, from the Hilldegarden neighborhood association which supported the project, told AFP.

The association has helped with this new chapter in the Hamburg flak tower’s history by collecting testimonies from people who lived in the wartime bunker as well as records of the hundreds of forced laborers who built it.

An exhibition on the first floor now tells the full story of the building’s history.

By Maureen O'Hare.

[reaper2187]

Caitlyn x female prisoner reader

Prisoner's help (part 3) pev next

Y/N and Caitlyn stood poised, their bodies tensed for action. The imposing figure before them was unlike any they had encountered so far. His presence exuded authority and danger, a combination that made it clear they were in over their heads.

“Who the hell are you?” Y/N asked, her voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The man smirked, his eyes glinting with malicious amusement. “Names are unimportant. What matters is that you’re trespassing in my territory.”

Y/N and Caitlyn exchanged a quick glance. This had to be one of the Chem-Baron's key operatives, if not the Chem-Baron himself. Y/N’s mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. They couldn’t afford to get caught, not now.

Before she could say anything, Caitlyn moved, quick as lightning. She lunged at the man, aiming to disarm him. He was faster than he looked, dodging her strike and countering with a swift kick that sent her sprawling. Y/N didn’t hesitate. She followed up, launching herself at him with a series of rapid punches. He blocked most of them, but one caught him on the jaw, making him stagger.

Caitlyn was back on her feet in an instant, joining the fray. The two of them fought in perfect sync, their movements fluid and coordinated. But the man was strong, too strong. He fought back with a ferocity that left them both struggling to keep up.

As the fight raged on, Y/N spotted a group of the man’s henchmen entering the warehouse, drawn by the commotion. “Caitlyn, we need to get out of here!” she shouted.

Caitlyn nodded, ducking under a wild swing from their opponent. “Agreed. Follow me!”

They broke away from the fight, sprinting towards a stack of crates that led to an upper level. The henchmen gave chase, firing shots that ricocheted off the metal walls. Y/N and Caitlyn scrambled up the crates, reaching the upper level just as the henchmen closed in.

“Up here!” Y/N shouted, pointing to a narrow walkway that led to a skylight. They ran across the walkway, the sound of gunfire echoing around them. Reaching the skylight, Caitlyn smashed it open with the butt of her rifle, and they climbed through, emerging onto the roof of the warehouse.

“We need to lose them,” Caitlyn panted, scanning the rooftops for an escape route.

“There!” Y/N pointed to a series of interconnected rooftops that led deeper into the maze of Zaun’s buildings. “If we can get over there, we can lose them in the alleys.”

They sprinted across the rooftops, jumping from one to the next with practiced ease. The henchmen followed, but Y/N and Caitlyn had the advantage of knowing the terrain. They ducked into an alley, weaving through the narrow streets until they were sure they had lost their pursuers.

Finally, they stopped to catch their breath in a dark, secluded corner. Y/N leaned against a wall, trying to steady her racing heart. “That was too close.”

Caitlyn nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. “Agreed. We need to regroup and come up with a new plan.”

Y/N’s mind was already working. “We need more information. Orin mentioned the Chem-Baron had connections in Piltover. We need to find out who those connections are.”

Caitlyn frowned. “Easier said than done. We can’t just waltz back into Piltover and start asking questions. We’ll draw too much attention.”

Y/N considered this. “There’s someone I know in Zaun. An old contact. SHe might have information we can use.”

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. “Can we trust her?”

Y/N shrugged. “As much as you can trust anyone in Zaun. But she owes me a favor. It’s worth a shot.”

The contact in question was a woman named Jinx, a former associate of Y/N’s from her more reckless days. She was known for her erratic behavior and love of explosives, but she also had a network of informants that rivaled any in Zaun.

They found her in her makeshift workshop, a cluttered space filled with half-finished gadgets and weapons. Jinx was tinkering with a grenade when they arrived, her wild eyes lighting up at the sight of Y/N.

“Well, if it isn’t Y/N!” Jinx exclaimed, her voice a manic mix of excitement and amusement. “Didn’t think I’d see you again. What brings you to my humble abode?”

Y/N smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Need your help, Jinx. We’re looking for information on a Chem-Baron operating in this area. We think he has connections in Piltover.”

Jinx’s expression turned serious, a rare occurrence. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Y/N. This Chem-Baron… he’s bad news. But I might have something for you.” She rummaged through a pile of papers, pulling out a crumpled note. “There’s a meeting happening tonight. Some bigwigs from Piltover are supposed to be there. Could be your guy.”

Caitlyn stepped forward. “Where?”

Jinx handed her the note. “An old factory on the outskirts of Zaun. You’ll have to be careful. Security will be tight.”

Y/N nodded. “Thanks, Jinx. We owe you one.”

Jinx grinned, her usual manic energy returning. “Just don’t blow yourselves up. That’s my job.”

As night fell, Y/N and Caitlyn approached the old factory. It was a massive, dilapidated structure, its windows broken and walls covered in graffiti. They could see lights inside, and the shadows of people moving around.

“We need to get closer,” Caitlyn whispered. “Find a way in without being seen.”

Y/N nodded, pointing to a side entrance. “There. Looks like it’s not as heavily guarded.”

They crept towards the entrance, slipping inside unnoticed. The interior of the factory was a maze of rusted machinery and debris. Voices echoed through the halls, and they followed the sound to a large room where a group of men were gathered around a table.

Y/N recognized some of them as prominent figures in Zaun’s underworld, but her attention was drawn to a well-dressed man at the head of the table. His polished appearance and air of authority marked him as an outsider—likely one of the Chem-Baron’s Piltover contacts.

“We need to hear what they’re saying,” Caitlyn whispered, moving to find a better vantage point.

They positioned themselves behind a stack of crates, close enough to overhear the conversation. The well-dressed man was speaking, his tone commanding respect.

“The shipments will continue as planned,” he said. “Our operation in Piltover remains secure. The Enforcers are none the wiser.”

Y/N’s heart sank. This was bigger than she had anticipated. The Chem-Baron’s influence extended deep into Piltover, and they were only scratching the surface.

Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed. “We need to get closer. Get some proof of what’s going on here.”

They edged closer, careful to stay hidden. As they did, one of the men at the table glanced in their direction, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Y/N froze, her heart pounding.

“Did you hear that?” the man asked, standing up.

The room fell silent, and Y/N knew they were seconds away from being discovered. She glanced at Caitlyn, who nodded. They had to act fast.

Caitlyn sprang into action, launching herself over the crates and tackling the suspicious man to the ground. The room erupted into chaos, with the other men scrambling for their weapons. Y/N followed, her fists flying as she took down another thug.

The well-dressed man tried to make a run for it, but Y/N was faster. She caught up to him, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall.

“Who are you working for?” she demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

The man sneered, but there was fear in his eyes. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“Try me,” Y/N hissed, tightening her grip.

Before he could answer, a deafening explosion rocked the factory, the shockwave sending Y/N and the man sprawling. Dust and debris filled the air, and Y/N struggled to her feet, coughing.

Caitlyn was beside her in an instant, helping her up. “We need to get out of here!”

Y/N nodded, grabbing the well-dressed man and dragging him along. They made their way through the chaos, dodging falling debris and disoriented thugs. Finally, they burst out of the factory, the cool night air a stark contrast to the heat and smoke inside.

They didn’t stop running until they were far from the factory, the sounds of sirens in the distance. Y/N released the man, who collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Now,” Caitlyn said, her voice cold. “You’re going to tell us everything. Who you’re working for, what the Chem-Baron’s plans are, and how deep this goes.”

The man looked up at them, his defiance fading in the face of their determination. “Alright,” he said finally. “I’ll tell you everything. But you have to protect me. If they find out I talked…”

“They won’t,” Y/N said, her voice firm. “But you need to start talking. Now.”

As the man began to spill his secrets, Y/N and Caitlyn exchanged a glance. They

were uncovering a conspiracy that reached into the highest levels of Piltover, and there was no turning back now.

[m4iya]

team player

Hinata Shoyo

“Wow.. that would’ve blown my arms off…”  Shuddering, you sit upright, eyes glued to the screen as a serve flies off the arms of the receiving team.

For as long as you can remember, you’ve been pretty active and sort of athletic. Not in a professional, local or school sports team kind of way, but more-so for keeping yourself fit and healthy. It definitely pays off, since you tend to claim first place in individual sporting activities during PE; and you feel better off watching group games from the sidelines.

Though sometimes you can’t help but crave the satisfaction you’d get from jumping into a team and scoring that crowd-roaring goal yourself.

As of recent, a lot of your attention has been poured into volleyball. With the boys’ volleyball team at your school advancing to the national level, you began to wonder what was stopping you from putting yourself out there on the sports scene a little more. But your nerves wouldn’t allow you to achieve your budding dreams, as instead of trying out for the girls’ volleyball team, you opted for your own mini practice sessions behind the gym instead.

With none other but.. the wall.

It wasn’t like you weren’t having any fun though. Each day you’d practice a new technique or skill, whether it was receiving, volleying, or serving. Doing what you could on your own, you developed small activities like keeping the ball up for a whole minute or switching between a receive and a set. You weren’t completely confident in your form, and you’d mess up a lot. But it was still fun.

Besides, it’d help once you eventually try out for the team, right?

With the weather cooling down quite a bit, snow began to graze the tips of the rooftops, softly sprinkling over the tall grass outside the school building. Putting on your scarf and coat, you head outside the classroom towards the school gym after the last bell to begin your ‘self-practice’ even though it was pretty cold. Though you came prepared – layering under your uniform just in case this happened.

Today was the girl’s team’s day to practice, causing you to worry that one of them might see you playing around near the gym. But you just had to make sure no one saw you.

Tossing your bag to the wall, followed by your coat and scarf, you took out the volleyball you had brought from home and began tossing it up, practicing your makeshift sets. You continued like this, switching up a little every few minutes.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay like this, playing on your own.

After a while, you began doing small serving exercises you had seen online, attempting to imitate the instructor’s movements as well as you remembered them from the night before.

While you were focused on making sure you didn’t receive with your face, a flurry of quick footsteps pacing across the concrete floor approached the gymnasium, suddenly stopping before reaching the open doors.

“Wait.. Theres no practice today!” A voice shrieked.

You had been so engrossed in your mini exercises that you hadn’t noticed that another person was standing immediately to your left, on the platform-walkway that led to the gymnasium.

It seemed that he also didn’t notice you until he turned to leave, wearing a disappointed expression.

“Oh.. Sorry” He apologised, turning to face you.

Out of all people, it was him? Well, given who he was, you weren’t surprised. You recognised him as the #10 from some of the recordings of the boy’s team’s volleyball matches you had seen before. It was pretty hard to forget a person with orange hair.

“It’s fine!” You nervously assured him, worrying he might catch the attention of the girls inside the gym. Though, he seemed more interested in the fact that you were holding a volleyball despite the fact that a gym full of them was right in front of you.

“Are you practicing? Why aren’t you inside?” He curiously asked, walking towards you.

“Um.. Yeah.. It’s a little complicated” You chuckled, looking down at the ball in your hands in an attempt to avoid his somewhat intense gaze.

“Do you need someone to practice with?”  

Your eyes shot up, wide with surprise. He didn’t seem to wait for an answer as he was already removing his earmuffs and scarf, setting his backpack down near yours on the wall.

“Are you sure? Don’t you have to practice with your team?”

“Nope, we’re off for today. So, show me what you’ve got!”

Previously, you’d noticed a hyper-energy emitting from him whenever he made a play in the recordings you’d watched. But to see it this close up was completely different.

Looking up, clouds engulf your view, and the crisp Winter air stung your cheeks and nose. The season had just begun, so where was this warmth that you felt coming from?

After positioning yourself a few metres back, you tossed the ball up and with the swing of your arm, hit it to him. Bringing his hands together, he received it, hurling it back towards you. It seemed a little low, so you thought to go for another receive to send it to him again.

Leaning forward with your arms out and the fingers on your right hand clasped over your left hand (which was in a fist), you bumped the ball with your forearms. Though, instead of it flying towards him, it flew to the side, hitting the wall.

“Ah sorry!”

“I’ll get it!”  

He grabbed the ball and instead of standing where he was before, he walked towards you and placed it in front of him on the ground.

“Hey, show me how you receive”

“Oh.. sure” Nervous, you positioned your hands the way they were before.

“No no, it’s more like this” You watched as he positioned his own hands in the correct manner. “When the ball goes woosh! And flies at you, you gotta bring your hands together like this, and bump it up like bam!”

You felt genuine excitement radiating from him as he spoke. Following his interesting explanation, you gave it a go.

“Like this?” Somehow, you found the positioning to be harder than it looked.

“Hmm.. that’s not how you do it. It’s more like..” Reaching out, he grabbed your hands, gently sliding the fingers of your left hand in between the index finger and thumb of your right hand. Your breath hitched, eyes widening as their gaze peered through your lashes, landing on his face.

His features were so delicate. Skin speckled with the faintest freckles and a nose like a button that wore a red hue. The corners of his lips slightly upturned as he focused on this short, menial task. He then softly pressed your thumbs against each other before squeezing your hands together in place.

Despite having removed your coat and scarf, you remained wearing gloves since your hands weren’t too warm. Though as he guided them together, you felt the warmth of his own palms soothing yours.

“There!”

The sudden burst of his voice brought you back to reality as you immediately looked back down at your hands, embarrassed from yourself.

“O-Oh..! So that’s how, huh.. hmm..” You stumbled on your words in an attempt to play it off, but the newfound warmth within your hands happened to have made its way to your face as well. You ‘examined’ your hand placement, leaning in closer to ‘see it properly’ in an attempt to hide your rosy cheeks.

“You’ll be able to do it super-fast after you practice it tons!” He chirped. “And also, one more thing” Your gaze shifted back towards him.

“I don’t know what your reason is for not playing in a team, but volleyball is a sport that’s played in teams. You can’t do everything on your own”.

He had a certain look on his face. One that made you think he’d been there before.

“Besides, I think our girls’ team wouldn’t hesitate to help you out!” He added with a wide smile. You couldn’t help but wryly smile in return.

“You think..? What if I don’t fit into their formations..?”

“Hey, teams change around a lot! One new member isn’t a big thing” He jokingly scolded.

His straightforward, yet simple way of breaking down a situation took you by surprise. He didn’t use any fancy words or tactics, and he wasn’t trying to soothe a wound; he seemed to say what came to him in a way that left no room for ulterior motives.

For someone who preferred to stay on the sidelines, always benching a skill once you’d learnt it; you never thought you’d see your motivation in a new light.

One that was bright-eyed, sparkly and bouncy.  

other works

[gaarasfiance]

Cardigan

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem Reader (version of jason isn’t mentioned but i wrote it with his original storyline death from Batman: A Death In The Family, not a later, retconned version)

Warnings: angst but also fluff, reader is a famous singer, use of Y/N, pet names (baby, sweetheart, princess, lmk if i missed any), swearing, makes references to other songs (Lover by Taylor Swift, Lucky People by Waterparks, and Favorite Record by Fall Out Boy), i reread this like 8 times but i couldve missed things so don't flame me if theres any fuck ups in there lmao

Word Count: 4,175

A/N: (yes i know cardigan is part of the teenage love triangle songs, yes i made it into somewhat fluff because i fucking wanted to, whats it to you? I was just listening to cardigan (by taylor swift if you were unaware) in the shower and had this beautiful idea of like what if rather than it being about getting cheated on, i make it about the reader experiencing Jason’s death (and resurrection)? also i color coded the dialogue which is something i normally don't do soooo fun little touch i guess.) (originally posted may 22, 2023 on an alternate account)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Italics mean it’s a flashback, bold and bigger means it's a song lyric, regular text means it's happening in real time. (with very obvious exceptions) Cool? Cool. also, real quick, THE FLASHBACKS ARE NOT IN PERFECT CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER!!!!

“HELLO GOTHAM CITY!” The crowd roared in excitement. Y/N was excited too, it was her first show in Gotham in a long time. This was her first tour in a long time. Of course, she let the public think that it was just because she was a teenager focusing on school, not because when she was 16 her first love the love of her life had been brutally murdered…

“It’s really nice to be playing a hometown show, and since this is my first one in forever, how about I play you something brand new?” Screams erupted in the audience, people pulling out their phones to get the first recording of a brand new song. 

“This one means a lot to me, it’s about someone very special to me, and how he came back to me when I needed him most. This is a quieter one so I'm gonna need you all to listen, and please don’t judge me if I cry during this. Alright, this one’s called ‘cardigan’ everybody!” 

Rows and rows of people buzzed with excitement as the music began to play.

~

Vintage tee, brand new phone

Y/N and Jason walked in, strutting about as if they were models in the new vintage tees Y/N had bought for them at the thrift store just days before. They strolled about the mall, eventually making the stop to get Jason a new phone, he had dropped his from a rooftop on patrol the night before. Oops. 

“Jay, baby, you can’t just use Bruce’s credit card without asking all the time” Y/N smiled, knowing Jason wasn’t going to listen to her 

“Says who? Besides, I told him I was taking it. If he didn’t want to pay for me to get a new phone, he should’ve given me a secure pocket in the suit for it like I asked.” Jason shrugged. He wasn’t atrociously rebellious at all times, but he knew Bruce had more than enough money for him to get a new phone, and to treat his girlfriend, and best friend, when he wanted to. “Plus, if I didn’t take his card, I wouldn’t be able to spoil you, would I?” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her temple as they walked out of the store.

High heels on cobblestone

Y/N’s heels clicked loudly against the cobblestone walkway as she made her way to the entrance of the Wayne gala, arm linked with Jason’s. 

“Are you sure I look alright? I’ve never worn a dress this fancy Jason. Should I even be at a Wayne gala I mean–” Jason cut her off.

“Sweetheart you look perfect. And if anyone tells you otherwise I will personally ask Bruce to kick them out.”

“Jay, you can’t do that.”

“According to who? I have adopted Wayne privilege and you’re the one who’s Bruce’s favorite”

“I am not Bruce’s favorite!”

“Yes you are, princess.”

He dragged her into the gala, excited to spend a night with her, and after that, her first Wayne gala was nothing but history, as she attended every single one at her lover’s side.

When you are young they assume you know nothing

“That boy is a delinquent Y/N! I doubt you even know anything about him, has he even told you how he came to meet Mr Wayne?” Y/N’s father shouted. He’d never liked Jason, despite him being Y/N’s best friend for years before things ever became romantic. She used to be able to avoid it, but when her mom moved out of state for work and Y/N wanted to stay in Gotham… well this was her only option.

“Yes dad, I know how he met Bruce! You realize I knew him long before he was adopted by Bruce Wayne right? That I didn’t just go for him because he was rich? You assume because I’m young that I know nothing!”

“Clearly you don’t know anything if you would choose to be with a boy who is a thief! He tried to steal Mr. Wayne’s tires!”

“He was trying to steal them because he was living on the streets and needed money to fucking eat, Dad! Clearly you’re the one who knows nothing here!”

She stormed out of the house, furiously texting Jason and trying to will away the angry tears. 

Sequined smile, black lipstick

Y/N grinned at Jason, her black lipstick fresh as they prepared to go to a party. Bruce had cleared Jason of Robin duty for the weekend and they’d decided to take time to enjoy being normal teenagers. 

“What do you think?” She asked, still smiling

“I think… I’m really tempted to kiss that lipstick right off of you”

“Come do it then.”

Sensual politics

“Do you ever think about sensual politics?” Y/N looked up at Jason, her head in his lap as he read a book.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘sensual politics’?”

“Like the politics of being flirtatious or like building a relationship with someone, but like also kind of a play on sexual politics and people’s perception of the difference’s between men and women and the politics of it, you know? Like they’re both very different things but you can name them the same thing”

“And you’re calling that sensual politics?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“I wish I could understand what’s going on in that brain of yours. You’re such a nerd, princess”

When you are young they assume you know nothing

“Jaybird, if you hurt her, I hope you know I’ll have to break your legs” Dick shrugged as if this was common knowledge.

“I won’t hurt her, Dickwad. She’s the best thing to happen to me.”

“Okay, but you’re young and stupid, anything could happen.”

“Just because you knew nothing when you were young doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

But I knew you

Years ago, Y/n was 11 and Jason was 10. Y/N was on her way home from the school when she saw someone she recognized. 

“Hey! You’re the boy from the library! You showed me my favorite book!”

Jason flushed, unaware that she’d remember him, or that she’d take the recommendation he’d once given her seriously

“Yeah uh, hi. My names Jason, Jason Todd.” He stuck his hand out to shake.

She placed her hand in his and shook. "Y/N."

Dancin' in your Levi's

Y/N and Jason slow danced in her room, her record player spinning some old collection she’d snagged from Wayne manor.

“I was unaware that Levi’s were ballroom attire, Monsieur.”

“And I was unaware your bedroom counted as a ballroom, Mademoiselle”

Drunk under a streetlight, I

“Jason you’re drunk.”

“No I’m notttt. Please Y/N pleeeeaaassseee be my girlfriend.”

“You’re drunk Jay, if you weren’t then you’d remember I already am.” She laughed, watching her lover shoot up in excitement

“Really? That’s so cool!”

I knew you

"Y/N what do you think? Do you think he'd like this for his birthday?"

"Why are you asking me? You're his brother!"

"Yeah but you know him better than anyone else"

Hand under my sweatshirt

"Jason Peter Todd get your cold ass hands out from under my sweatshirt!"

"What do you mean princess?" He dragged his freezing cold hands further up her back

"Eek!"

Baby, kiss it better, I

Y/N carefully finished wrapping the bandages around Jason's waist.

"I can't believe you got stabbed!"

"Kiss it better?"

"Dork." She pressed a kiss to his bandages, before making her way up to his lips.

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan

Under someone's bed

You put me on and said I was your favorite

“What’s got you down princess?” Jason quirked an eyebrow, the moment Y/N entered the manor there was an unhappy energy on her, like she was faking her smile. He knew her all too well. “Come here”. He opened his arms to her, gesturing that she should come lay with him on the excessively large couch (rich people bro) and she happily obliged, latching onto his side like a koala with her head on his chest.

“It’s just… I don’t know, sometimes I feel like an old cardigan, under someone’s bed. Just… forgotten.”

“I could never forget you. Sometimes people lose things that are important to them. If you’re an old cardigan then I’m finding you and putting you on because the whole time you were my favorite.” He pressed a kiss to her hair.

“How poetic” She could feel his chest shake as he laughed.

“What can I say? I’m a man of literature. Speaking of which! Do you want to watch Pride and Prejudice?”

“Again?”

“Yes, AgAiN”

Y/N looked up at her boyfriend, beaming. “Always.”

A friend to all is a friend to none

“You can’t keep acting like nothing is going on Jason. You love her, so why are you friends with someone like the asshole who ruined her reputation?”

“Dammit Dick, I didn’t even know that he was the one who did that until a like week ago!”

“And you’ve hung out with him twice since then! A friend to all is a friend to none, Jaybird.”

Chase two girls, lose the one

Surely all of Gotham had heard them arguing from their favorite spot on the roof of the library.

“Jason I understand that you want to go meet your birth mother, but why does that mean you have to not be in touch for an undetermined amount of time? I don’t understand why finding her means leaving me!” Y/N hadn’t meant to shout. She wasn’t actually mad at him. She understood why he wanted to go, but that didn’t make him leaving hurt any less. Why should she have to lose contact with him, let him run off to another continent without any knowledge of if he was okay?

“Sweetheart I’m not leaving you, I’m just trying to find my mom…”

“Yeah, at the expense of me! Jay I will never prevent you from doing something this important to you but that will not change the fact that this hurts me. That I’ll be lying awake at night not knowing if you’re okay or if you’re even going to want me when you come home! Not even being able to ask Bruce if you’re okay because you plan on doing this without his knowledge! For fucks sake Jason do you realize how that would feel?”

“God dammit Y/N why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“Because you’re LEAVING ME. You know what, go ahead and go Jason. You’re choosing to chase two girls and you’ve lost this one.” She made her way down, trying not to let her hands shake from all the emotional turmoil, at least not until she was on the ground again. There was no way she would know how much she’d regret saying that to him.

When you are young, they assume you know nothing

“It’s your first heartbreak Y/N, you’ll get over it. It was teenage puppy love, something was bound to happen.” Her father had no clue. It had been days and she hadn’t heard from Jason. Last she checked with Alfred, Bruce had followed him out to the middle east somewhere. 

“This was, this is so much more than that. You’re doing it again, assuming that because I’m young I must know nothing.”

“Clearly you don’t know anything.”

But I knew you

“When were you gonna tell me that you being a literature nerd was knowledge Dick wasn’t supposed to get his hands on?” Y/N gave him a look. The look that says ‘i didn't know this was a secret so you can't be upset i spilled’

“Shit, princess, please don’t tell me you told him… he’ll never let me live it down!”

“Oops?” She shrugged. He started to say something else but she kissed him before the words could escape. “It’s alright Jay, it makes you a romantic. And it means I know you better than him.”

Jason smiled. “I guess you’re right…”

Playing hide-and-seek and

“Do you wanna play hide and seek?”

“Sweetheart, aren’t we too old for that?”

“Who said that? Come onnn"

“Y/N.”

“Hm?”

“You know I can’t say no to you.”

Giving me your weekends, I

“You know we don’t have to spend every weekend together right? You can hang out with your friends or your family if you want.”

“Why would I do that when I could give you all my weekends?”

I knew you

"How did you know to tell Bruce I wanted adjustments on the Robin bike?"

"Because I'm just cool like that. And i know you. Now come on, let's take it for a spin!"

Your heartbeat on the High Line

Y/N pressed the side of her head to Jason's chest as a stranger took their photo on the High Line. The trip to New York had been spontaneous, something they'd decided to do for spring break.

After taking her phone back from the kind stranger and thanking them, Y/N turned to her dear boyfriend.

"I could hear your heartbeat you know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you'd think it was our first date or something." Y/n grinned.

"Because you make me feel... I don't know, like Pip if Estella was actually good for him?"

"Did you just reference Great Expectations at me as a way of expressing your feelings?"

"Maybe?"

"Kiss me."

Once in twenty lifetimes, I

Y/N often thought of how her mother had once told her that true teenage love like the one she had with Jason only came once in 20 lifetimes. Although, in retrospect maybe it's twice in two lifetimes, or once in one, for the partner who didn't die.

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan

Under someone's bed

You put me on and said I was your favorite

"Would I still be your favorite person if I was a worm?"

"Well no cause you wouldn't be a person anymore, but you'd be my favorite worm-"

"You know what? I'll take it."

"You'll always be my favorite."

To kiss in cars

"Jason Todd, you are a menace to society."

"What? How?"

"You brought me out to Bruce's Rolls-Royce to make out."

"So?"

and downtown bars

"Who would've thought the boy wonder had a fake ID?"

"Maybe his girlfriend who's cousin made it for him"

"What? Which one?"

Jason smirked at her, knowing it was going to eat her alive not knowing yes im projecting how nosy i am onto the y/n "Sorry princess, that stays a secret"

Was all we needed

You drew stars around my scars

"Jason, it's just an old scar from scraping my knee a little too deep, it's no big deal!"

He continued drawing small stars around any scars he found on her, gently dragging the red marker along her skin. "I didn't say it was!"

But now I'm bleedin'

When Jason hadn’t come back, Y/N had done one of the only things she promised him she would never do: taking up vigilantism. She told Bruce it was only temporary. She told herself it was only temporary. But the longer she was in the game the more attached to it she became.

"FUCK!" Y/N yelped as she sat on her bathroom counter, pressing a damp rag to her wound, carefully wiping it off. "God dammit, I used to be patching up Jason's stab wounds, not getting stabbed..." She picked up her phone, dialing the only number she cared to call anymore.

"Yeah, Dick? Can you come over real quick? Need you to make sure this stab wound doesn't kill me..."

The audible "WHAT" echoed throughout the bathroom, despite the phone not being on speaker.

'Cause I knew you

"How'd you know I'd be here?"

Y/N found Jason at their spot on the roof of the library after Dick informed her that he'd had a particularly rough argument with Bruce.

"Because I know you better than anyone else."

Steppin' on the last train

Jason dragged Y/N towards the last train of the night, what they never knew would be their final date before everything went astray.

"Come on! The last train is the best one!"

Marked me like a bloodstain, I

The image of Jason, dead, being carried away by Bruce was forever marked in Y/N's head. He was dead. There was nothing else to say.

I knew you

Speaking at Jason's small memorial was never something Y/N saw herself doing.

"I uh- I really don't know what to say. You all always said I knew him better than anyone else, and I just wish I could've known the way to prevent this."

Tried to change the ending

Y/N tried so hard to change the ending of her story. Make it so she wasn't just the girl who lost herself in grief. But until unless she saw Jason again, nothing was going to happen.

Peter losing Wendy, I

As she sat there writing 'Cardigan' it occurred to her that Peter losing Wendy was a choice, and her losing Jason never was, but it fit. Their love was a magic only to be found in Neverland.

I knew you

"Hey Red, do I know you from somewhere in civilian life? You seem familiar..."

"No way, too new in town, sorry."

She knew she knew him. She just couldn't place why...

Leavin' like a father

Even though she'd told him just to go, Jason still stopped by Y/N's house before he left to find his mother.

"Please don't leave me, Jay." She cupped his cheeks, pressing his forehead to hers as tears streamed down her face

"Don't cry, baby, I'll be back before you know it."

Running like water, I

Of course, Y/N hadn't known the identity of the Red Hood the first time she'd spotted him. All she had time to think was wondering why such a large man, with guns nonetheless, ran from her like she was out to get him.

And when you are young, they assume you know nothing

"Why do people love to assume that because I'm young I must know nothing about love or heartbreak?" Y/N had asked one day. No one answered. No one knew. They only knew that they were all too aware of just how much she truly knew about both of those things.

But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss

"I want a blue jay on my forearm. Full color. Can you do that?"

Y/N had walked into the tattoo parlor like she owned the place. She needed a way to let him permanently linger. The kiss of a needle in her skin the only way to physically represent him.

I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs

"What if I had made him stay?!"

"Y/N there's nothing you could've done that would change things."

"But what if—"

"There was nothing any of us could do."

The smell of smoke would hang around this long

"Thought you told me that you quit smoking years ago Red."

"Yeah, well, old habits die hard."

"Rough day huh?"

"Yeah. Girlfriend from before all this almost saw me in the library today. She doesn't know about me."

"About you being a vigilante?"

"She thinks I'm dead."

"You know, maybe I'll do this and be totally mistaken and realize i'm delusional, but I swear to whatever fucking god is listening if i tear off that domino mask and Jason Todd is under there I will be pushing you off this rooftop."

"If I've been hanging out with Y/N this whole time I'm throwing myself off."

'Cause I knew everything when I was young

Y/N was playing a show in Los Angeles, touring at age 15 was insane, but then again, she never thought anyone would listen to her music.

"Alright everyone, I may be young, but I also consider myself to be quite versed in romance, who knows, maybe it's my lovely boyfriend, or the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic, but either way, this one's called Favorite Record!"

Even at a young age, she'd known everything she needed to about love, because it encased her every moment she spent with her favorite person.

I knew I'd curse you for the longest time

She sat at Jason's grave in the Wayne family plot for more hours than she could count, swearing at his headstone

"God dammit! Why didn't you come home? Why didn't you come back to me?" Sobs wracked her body. "I was waiting for you to come home."

Chasin' shadows in the grocery line

Every once in a while Y/N would see someone and think someone was him. Maybe it was her brain's sick way of coping. She reached towards the stranger in front of her.

"Excuse me-"

But when he turned around Jason was gone. It was just another high school boy who had vaguely reminiscent hair.

I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired

A knock came on Y/N's bedroom window. She opened it warily before the Red Hood came clinking in.

"Thrill of letting me think you were dead over?"

"Y/N please-"

"Did you sit and watch as I grieved? Stand by while I lost my mind because I thought I'd lost you?"

"Sweetheart, just let me explain–"

"Don't fucking 'sweetheart' me. Get out. Get out of my fucking room."

And you'd be standin' in my front porch light

"Get off my damn porch Jason." He was standing in civilian clothes, shuffling his feet nervously as if he was a little kid again.

"Not until you let me explain!"

"Fine. You get to come in for five minutes. See if you can explain to me how there is any way you can justify this."

And I knew you'd come back to me

Y/N sat with her jaw slack in shock after hearing Jason's story. How saying he died wasn't even a lie, how he'd been brought back, the madness he'd experienced, the resentment for nobody killing the Joker. (she flat out told him she would've if she thought she could do it without getting herself killed in the process)

"i'm such a fucking asshole."

"No you aren't"

"No you went through this whole traumatic experience and I've just been a dick to you!"

"And it's been totally justified! You should've been the first person to find out I was back. Honestly I'm surprised Dick or Bruce didn't tell you..."

"I'm going to ignore the urge to castrate both of them and just be happy you came back to me."

You'd come back to me

"I'll always come back to you."

And you'd come back to me

"Make sure you come back in one piece?" They were on the same mission, much to Jason's dismay, but they had to be split up.

"When have I ever not come back to you?"

"...."

"Don't answer that."

And you'd come back

They'd made it out of that atrocious mission. It all worked out in the end but it certainly had taken longer than they planned.

"hey, you came back in one piece, just like I asked."

"I always do, just for you."

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan

Under someone's bed

You put me on and said I was your favorite

Y/N heard Jason coming in. His duffel bag clunked loudly against their closet floor, and she assumed he changed out of his gear at a safehouse before returning to their apartment. She flipped over the edge of the blanket, making room for him to crawl in bed with her. Once sufficiently comfortable behind her, arms wrapped tightly around her waist, Jason spoke.

"Hey Y/N?"

She turned around in his arms so she could face him. "Uh oh, you didn't call me any kind of pet name, just my name, whats up?"

"Nothing I just... I just wanted to let you know you're still my favorite."

~

The tears were flowing freely by then. The audience screamed, cheering at the sweet song. “My favorite person didn’t get to be around for a while, but… he came back to me, and that’s all that matters. Now that's enough crying, I’ve got some much more fun songs, ARE YOU READY GOTHAM CITY!?” And with that, the show went on.

Hours later, Y/N made her way backstage, where she was immediately enveloped by the arms of a mystery man. She wasn’t scared though, she knew who it was. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he spun her around. 

He sat her down gently, beaming. “You wrote a song about me?” “Jay… baby a lot of my songs are about you.” 

“What?”

“I’m going to ignore the fact that you managed to not know that even though I’ve told you before.”

“I just assumed you weren’t serious!”

“... You really think that Lover or Lucky People or Favorite Record, could have possibly been about anyone else?”

“And if I just like hearing you say it?”

“Then I’ll tell you forever.” When their lips met, it was a promise, one that this, this feeling in this moment, was real, and that it wouldn’t ever go away, because they knew everything when they were young. 

[imawreck]

Torture

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Original Character

Author’s Note: Hey 😬, I am alive, fortunately. I’m SO sorry I was gone so long so here’s an update my lovelies 🫶🏻 Thank you SO MUCH for those who left comments! I really appreciate your support and love ♥️♥️♥️

Summary: The avengers are faced with an impossible task; find Max. While their efforts fail each time, the team’s spirit depletes, especially Bucky’s.

Warnings: Torturing, grief, angst, body mutilation, depression, the whole nine yards. It’s rough, y’all, so be warned!!!

Word Count: 5,270

Bucky-

Torture.

That was the first thought that entered into my mind as the screams rang through the meeting room. Everyone flinched, but Roman remained steadfast in his happiness.

They were bloodcurdling. Not even in my time with Hydra had I ever heard screams as terrible as this. Roman waved to his side and a cart was wheeled in behind him, the sight of its contents had most of the team turning away and paling as white as sheets. 

Bones, still covered in muscle and blood, laid atop the surface on a sterile mat. Some were crushed and cracked, shattered completely, while others were still whole sections linked by the bloodied flesh. They... they were spinal segments.

The contents of my stomach spilled out onto the floor beside me as I hurled over the chair. They had gotten one of their weapons back and it wasn't me. Those bones, those screams, they belonged to Max. My stomach squeezed again.

"Ghost had quite the injury. The Hulk was a wonderful test subject for my new toy, thank you for lending him to me." Giles clasped his hands, "I wanted to let you know that Ghost is alive and well." He snickered at that, "For the most part, anyways. I'm sure she will be back up and running in no time. It's her purpose after all.

“The other reason why I wanted to phone you, was to inform you that Hydra will no longer cower from the mighty Avengers. Not anymore. It is far past time for our reign to commence." His smile grew, "You are on the losing side, Sergeant. If you join us once more, your little Ghost will be elated to see you, I'm sure. Perhaps we will spare you if you come willingly, maybe even cease the brainwashing for good measure."

Tony scoffed, "No one wants to join your little terrorist group, Frankenstein."

Giles's gaze remained trained on me through the screen, "Then you all will die." Another one of Max's screams tore through the speakers once more, but Giles remained unfazed. "I'll be seeing you again. We will be such wonderful acquaintances." 

The call cut off and the screen sizzled with white noise. No one moved, I don't even think they breathed as another beat passed. My body shook from the exertion and my empty stomach, from the anxiety and fear seizing control of my limbs. 

Max was with Hydra. 

I felt my breathing rattle in my lungs, "Did you get a location?"

Tony shook his head slowly, eyes vacant. "They had it blocked and pinging around."

"So, we have nothing?" Bitterness laced my words, "We don't even know vaguely where she might be?"

Another shake of his head.

The rest of the team sat with their heads slumped and eyes staring at anything but the screen or each other. I shoved up onto my shaky legs, stumbling out of the meeting room and slamming the glass door so hard behind me that it shattered in my wake. I marched to the elevator and punched the rooftop, letting the doors close me off from the rest of them. 

The silence was nearly suffocating, so unlike the many times I had allowed it to sooth me when things got too much. The elevator tolled and I shoved out onto the paved rooftop. Car horns and the soft thrum of traffic drifted up from busy downtown New York below, and the lights of the buildings around us illuminated the night and snuffed out the stars above. I was tired, but my body moved to the edge, leaned itself over to take in the people meandering the walkways below. 

I recalled the day I had wandered up here to find Max, sitting with her while she cried. I remembered the way my sweater had swallowed her up and fell from her shoulder. She had smiled at me like I was the best thing in the world. That was one of the first times I had felt like a hero, a real one. Her smile was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Now... now she was gone, and we didn't have the faintest hint where she could be.

I leaned my elbows against the cold concrete, letting it chill my bones along with the emptiness in my heart. I had failed her. I thought she had died, and the last thing I had said to her was so filled with hate. 

I curled my fingers into my hair, tugging at it as I let the tears fall once more. Max was in pain and suffering because we were too ignorant. I was too consumed with false hatred to prevent her from this. I had—no, needed— to make this right. The ache in my heart turned into something hot and burning, angry.

I was going to get her back, no matter what it took.

_____

Steve-

A week passed quicker than it ever had before. With the team wrecked by the Hydra attack, we all were more stressed and overextended than ever. When a mission came up, the least number of avengers needed were sent out and the rest of us were ordered to look over known Hydra locations or rumored movement.

Tony had gone into overdrive trying to find Max. He was constantly in front of a computer screen tracking any indication of weapons movement or any hint of action from them. He was determined nothing was going to get past him.

Since the attack, the security had tripled. More SHEILD agents walked the halls and monitored the building like hawks on a wire, watching and waiting. It was nearly suffocating. 

I had plenty of time to wallow in my own guilt as well. There wasn't a moment my own narrow-minded distaste towards Max didn't haunt me and torture me in every waking moment. Sure, she was the embodiment of my complete opposite. Ruthless, cold, and unrestrained. She was selfish when it came to Bucky like I was. Protected him. It was her sole mission when she sided with Hydra, and she had stuck to it even after leaving them. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him. Nothing, no matter how bad or wrong it was.

Max would save him over anyone else.

I had hated her the moment I realized that. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she would let hundreds die, innocent people, in order for one person to live. I loved Bucky. He was my oldest friend, but the lives of those innocent people mattered more than one man. Bucky would want them to live. 

Max didn't care though. She would kill all of them if it meant he would live, no matter how much he would hate her afterwards.

But she cared. Even though she would kill and maim those innocents, she would mourn them. I had seen her display her kindness with that young boy and his mother so many months ago. Even as her face remained cold, her eyes gave her away. She wanted to protect people. The way she cared for the team was apparent in the way she laughed with them, checked on them when something would happen, or a rough mission shook them up. 

She was simply human like the rest of us.

Guilt swelled in my stomach at the memory of my harsh words, the slight flicker in her eyes as they hit home on her heart. I had been kind to her in the beginning. I had encouraged her to pursue a relationship, friendly or more than, with my best friend. I'm sure my change in heart was jarring to her, perhaps it stung.

It was always on my mind no matter what I was doing.

Bucky had been avoiding me along with everyone else. He began filling his time with training every chance he had. He had only gone on one mission since the video broadcasting, and it had been ugly. Bucky had slaughtered every agent that had come in contact with him. Every single body laid out on the dirt was mangled in some way, evidence of a slow death on each and every one of them. Tony refused to let him leave on another when he requested again.

He trained and trained. I was sure he was going to cause Tony to go bankrupt due to the number of punching bags he had destroyed just this week alone. Max's absence was taking its toll on him, and everyone could tell.

He never spoke, and when he did it was short and clipped and vacant. It was like part of him had been ripped out when she was taken.

Today was no different. When I walked into the training room, Bucky was already pounding into a bag strung up in the middle of the room. Sand was piled on the floor at his feet and the pile of discarded bags told me he had been at it for several hours now. It was only 6:00 A.M.

I steered clear of him, giving him his space as I grabbed my own bag and strung it up alongside him a safe distance away. The echoes of his fists hitting the bag was the only sound other than his occasional grunt and the heavy breaths leaving his body with the effort. His metal arm hummed and shifted with each powerful movement. I was sure it was hurting him, but he showed no sign of pain as he continued his onslaught.

I began my own training, keeping an eye on him as I went. I tried not to make it obvious; I knew that it made him anxious when we watched him. He didn't acknowledge me for the two hours I remained in the room with him. About an hour after I arrived, he took to throwing knives much like how Max used to. He used the metal dummies, moving fast and precise the same way she did to send the blades flying hard into the metal. Often, they clattered to the floor, but some found their home in the targets.

The week after that one went much like the first. Whenever any of the team members would visit the training room, Bucky would be there. He never stopped training, and it was beginning to show. Due to the serum pumping through our veins, it was easy for us to gain muscle faster. Bucky was growing at an alarming rate, and it seemed he was doing it on purpose. 

His shirts began to cling to him a little tighter, and more and more agents began to whisper about the way his frame filled the doorframes a little more, how hard it was becoming to avoid bumping into him in the slim hallways. 

I had begun to worry more. He still had not talked to me, not unless he had to for a meeting or update from Tony. He isolated himself in his room more often, and frequented Max's empty rooms in the middle of the night. Friday had reported to Tony one evening when he had asked her to locate Bucky. The AI had reported that he was in her rooms, admitting that he was there most nights and often went through that poetry book she always clung to. 

One particular afternoon, Tony went as far as asking Friday to pull up camera feed of Max's room. He never used those camera's unless it was necessary, respecting our privacy unless it could be harmful and with the way Bucky had been acting these past few weeks... all of us were on edge.

Bucky was laid out on Max's bed, a small blanket discarded on the floor next to one of the pillows missing from the delicately made bed. Max's poetry book was clutched in his metal hand as he ran his flesh one over the faded cover, ever so gentle with it. A single pressed flower was set on the corner of the nightstand next to a hat that I was sure he had given her. Max wasn't one to buy things that weren't necessary, but she cherished anything given to her regardless of its usefulness. 

We watched him set on the bed, the mattress dipping as his weight settled into it. For a long while he just stared at the cover, dragging his fingers over it every once and a while and turning it in his hands. When he opened it, every movement was made as if it might disintegrate in his palms. I could tell from the glimpse of the page as he shifted and flipped through them that nearly every page held delicately printed notes, some covered in more than the others. He read them, mouthing them to himself as he traced them over with the pads of his fingers. 

I felt like I was intruding on something private, intimate. "Turn it off," I muttered as I turned away from the display and leveled my gaze at Tony. It seemed that he too felt like he shouldn't be seeing it as he instantly sent the feed away, a grim expression set on his face. 

His fingers tapped on the keyboard as he spoke to me. "He goes over that book every night."

"You shouldn't stalk him, it isn't right." Even as I said the words, I knew I would do the same.

Tony sighed, "He hasn't ever acted this way, even when he was worried sick about Hydra taking him back, he hadn't been this bad. I'm just concerned he might do something reckless."

I knew the feeling all too well, but even I couldn't bring myself to confront him about it. "He loves her." We all knew it. Even if he hadn't yet admitted to himself how he felt about her, we knew.

Tony just nodded. The two of us remained quiet for a long while. I sat and went through files containing new reports, all of which held nothing useful in finding Max. Tony continued to type away on his computer for who knows what, but it was obviously as fruitless as the papers lying on the desk before me.

We both jumped when Friday announced that the tower was receiving another video call.

Tony was instantly ordering her to call the others and it wasn't long until we all surrounded the table in front of the monitor. Bucky had been the first through the doors, eyes steely and trained on the empty screen. 

The team waited in utter silence as the feed fizzled to life minutes later and my stomach dropped at the display. A cage took up most of the screen, and a body slumped in the center of it clad in a dirty hospital gown.

Giles entered the screen moments later dressed in a crisp clean button up shirt and his lab coat, that jarring smile plastered across his features. "Hello again, did you miss me? I certainly missed you." He stepped aside to let us see the body again, "We have a guest with us today. She's a little tired though, some guards had some fun with her earlier."

Bucky's arm whirred as his fist clenched two chairs down from me.

Giles's smile only widened. "These meetings will occur every two weeks. I want to keep you updated on our progress with our lovely little Ghost."

"You won't get very far, you sick bastard." Giles turned around at the sound of her voice, gruff and low in the speakers.

The scientist just laughed. "Silly girl, we will break you. It's what I do best."

"Come a little closer and I'll show you what I do best." Max snapped her teeth, and I swore I saw them lengthen as they caught the light. Something whirred steadily in the background.

Giles clicked his tongue, "You shouldn't threaten me. I've been kind."

Her scoff grated against my ears, vicious and filled with violence. "When I get out of here, I'll return that kindness." Max lifted her head, eyes flashing behind hair that was still covered in the dirt and blood from the mission two weeks ago.

Tony spoke up, "Get on with it."

Giles tsked, shaking his head. "So impatient, Mr. Stark." There was movement on the other side of the camera, echoing from where none of us could see before a group of soldiers flanked the sides of the cage. Max watched them with a guarded expression, taking each of them in. I glanced at Bucky, watching the way his shoulders rose and fell a little faster. Panic bloomed in his eyes as they all gripped the guns slung across each of their chests. Giles grabbed a syringe from off screen, the silver liquid churning inside it. "This will be our first test of the serum on a Super soldier. The Hulk was an excellent test subject, but Ghost is something else entirely. She was made to withstand many outstanding elements, and her healing capabilities allow her to burn through medication more rapidly than anyone else. We altered her that way so she would not be able to be contained like we're doing now. We've taken some extreme precautions, of course."

One of the guards raised his gun, pointing it straight for her and fired. My heart dropped to the floor and Bucky leapt to his feet as he shouted out. Giles chuckled as Max cursed quite colorfully, yanking out the tranquilizer from her thigh and launching it back at the guard. It sank into his neck, and he fell to the floor. Bucky planted his hands on the table in front of himself and let a breath loose. I could hear his heart pounding a mile a minute from where I sat.

Max swayed in the center of the cell and her lids seemed to grow heavy as she desperately tried to blink away the gloss on her eyes. 

"The strongest sedatives we have," Giles commented, "still cannot take her down. Remarkable, isn't it?" At his words, her body swayed and slumped to the ground. Giles's smile faltered only a little as he motioned for one of the guards to check on her.

We all watched as he stepped up to the cell, nearing the bars and leaning into peer over her body, attempting to catch a glimpse of her face under the locks of hair. It didn't take but a few seconds for her to snap up, gripping the front of his uniform and pulling him into the bars. He screamed as she sank her teeth into the skin of his jugular. It was quick, and then she shoved him away and watched on weak legs as he fell to the ground and began to thrash around. The other guards had raised their guns, eyes wide and flitting between her and their fallen comrade. Someone came to drag his body away as he continued to choke.

Blood dripped from her mouth, slipping down her chin and splattering on the floor of the cage as she turned her cold eyes to Roman who merely shook his head as if condescending a child for acting out. "Come closer Roman, since you want to play so badly." Her smile made my blood run cold.

"That's no way to act in front of them." He pointed lazily at the camera, "They will think so lowly of you. What will your beloved Sergeant think of the way you're acting?"

The smile on her face didn't hold at his words, but her eyes still held him as she came to his side of the cell. Her fingers gripped the bars as she pressed her face between them, eyes catching the lights once more as the pair of moons glowed in the lense of the camera. "They already think of me as a monster. There is nothing you can do to lower their opinions of me. I was simply a strong asset to have around like I've always been." She paused, only for a moment, and pain flickered in her eyes under the blank mask of indifference she held up. "As for Seargent Barnes... He hated me more than all of them combined."

I swore I heard Bucky make a sound, something like pain, but when I looked over I could only find coldness on his features.

"They will not come for me. They will not try and save me. The Avengers will protect those who are helpless from any and all threats. It won't matter what you do to me, you will not capture them. They will kill me just like they do any villain and terrorist, and then once I no longer stand between them and you... They will slaughter you too." A wave of grief passed over the room as we all soaked in her words, the belief held within them. Max really thought we would not come for her, that Bucky would not spend his every waking moment looking for her.

Something cracked, sending our attention towards the left side of the room. Parts of the table where his hands had gripped crumbled from his clenched fists. Giles took note of the noise, his eyes lingering on the screen where we knew he was soaking in the reaction. "I don't believe you are correct."

Giles handed the syringe to one of the guards closest to him, politely folding his hands as the guard loaded it into his gun and cocked it. Max pushed away from the bars, every inch of her displaying the exhaustion I was sure ate away at her. She remained standing though, unwilling to waver under their hateful eyes.

I admired her bravery, I realized, and perhaps I had envied it while she stayed with us.

Tony leaned over towards Bucky and muttered something I couldn't decipher, but whatever he had said had Bucky's fists relaxing and his face returning to that void mask. The team watched with dread as Giles nodded, and the guard shot her once more. Max tried to catch it, to deflect the needle, but her limbs moved too slow. The needle sank into her side and the contents were already halfway drained by the time she managed to pull it from herself. It clattered to the floor as she began to shake her head, her eyes seeming to focus and then blow wide as she blinked rapidly. 

Max careened into the bars of the cell, her bones clanging against the metal hard enough to make me flinch. Silver swirled in her irises and Giles watched her intently. A snarl tore through the speakers and Max bared her teeth savagely at him as her eyes flickered solid silver and back to normal, shifting between the two rapidly. Her hands came up to grip the sides of her head as she cried out, collapsing to the floor with a cry of anger as she folded into herself and kicked as if she was fighting against some invisible enemy. 

Perhaps she was, I thought, none of us knew what that serum really did.

I risked another glance at Bucky only to find him stalk still. I wasn't even sure he was breathing as he beheld what was happening on the screen. Tony was vigorously typing away on his arm under the table beside him. Bucky didn't even spare him a glance as Max let out another shout of pain, slamming her fist weakly against the concrete right as I turned my head towards the screen too. She clawed at the ground so hard blood trailed after her fingers. 

Giles echoed from the other side of the bars, "Just give in, it'll be less painful, dear."

Max only snarled at him, tugging the strands of hair between her fingers. Her back heaved up and down under the thin layer of the hospital gown and it finally dawned on me that she was walking and standing like her spine hadn't been shattered just two weeks ago. I studied her crumpled form as close as I could through the screen, noting the sharp bumps that lined down her back. They shifted with her body as she writhed on the floor, nothing noticeably wrong.

After a dragging twenty minutes, it seemed that Max had cleared her mind of whatever the serum had done. She hauled her body up once more, stumbling over to the farthest corner and slumping against it. Her eyes were unfocussed as she side eyed the camera, her expression grim, before they snapped over to a very disappointed looking Giles. "Better luck next time." But her words didn't hold the same ferocity as they had before, and her breath was still bated. 

Giles sighed, shaking his head. "How disappointing. I really wanted to put on a show for them." He whipped towards the camera, "Anyways, no matter. We will improve for next time. Did you enjoy seeing your beloved Ghost, Sergeant?"

Bucky didn't grace him with a response, not a verbal one anyways. He only stared the man dead in the eyes with the burning embers of rage igniting in them.

Giles didn't seem to mind. "Ghost, say goodbye to our guests, would you?" He stepped aside to let her come into frame again.

She had curled up against the metal, the gown had rose enough to allow us a glimpse of the bruises littering her legs. Bruises that we all knew shouldn't be there. Max's eyes lifted from the cage floor and held the camera with her stare, waves of emotion finally breaking through on her face. Pain, longing, sorrow, and anger. But mostly fear. I had never seen Max afraid, and it unsettled something deep within me. When her mouth opened, her voice was soft and broken. "If you get the chance, kill me before I can hurt anyone else."

Pleading, her eyes were pleading for just a moment and then it was gone. She curled back up against the wall and said nothing more.

Giles scoffed, "So dramatic. They'd never kill you." He turned back to the camera, clasping his hands, "It was a good talk, friends. I look forward to seeing you in two weeks' time." With one last smile, the video feed cut off.

_____

Max-

I was never left alone, not truly. The guards' heartbeats thundered right outside the closed door, and I was certain that they listened to everything I did. I had been here for a long while, the only real telltale marker of my time was the video's Giles forced me to participate in. So far, there had been two to my knowledge. The recent one... and one I had not been in the room for. I wasn't sure I had even been fully conscious the first week here. Hydra kept me heavily drugged, hardly able to keep my eyes open. 

I remembered the pain, the scalpels and the scent of alcohol in the air. I remember the echo of metal and the cutting, screaming pain in my back. They had not been kind enough to numb my shattered spine before they cut it away. They had machines to do it, to avoid severing anything important, but there were others there too. I had listened to them when my mind wasn't completely consumed in my own agony, when the nerves went numb for a few moments before the IV they had inserted replenished my stores of energy to heal enough to feel the pain all over again.

I still woke up on the cold floor with the echo of pain skittering over my skin.

They had done something to me, changed something about me I couldn't see. I could feel it though, hear it click with every move I made. It nearly drove me mad. I had tried to reach it, to trace my fingers over the base of my neck, the place just where my shoulder blades began, but I couldn't. The thing just whirred, adjusted, and clacked together. I clawed at the skin, uncaring whether the skin bled or scarred, I just wanted it off, off, off.

Giles would leave me in the cage for days without food. He only ordered a loaf of stale bread be brought to me once every three days. The cup of water that was sat on the rim of the cell floor at the end of every day was the only liquid I was allowed for that day. It was hardly half a cup. The grey plastic rolled next to me on the floor empty. 

I was spent, completely and utterly spent. After my little show during the last video to the Tower, Giles had punished me with no water and a harsh beating by the soldiers who now guarded the door. My body ached with the bruises that still tried to heal on my arms and legs, but Giles had ordered them not to touch my back.

Everything was cold, and the lights above the cell were dim and hardly did anything to illuminate the room. Someone laughed in the distance, a cruel sound. I sat with my knees tucked into my chest and focused on the absence of feeling where my back touched the bars. When I moved, something scratched the metal. Metalic, whatever they had done to me was metalic.

The door cracked open to reveal the pair of soldiers there, and another body made its way down the bright corridor behind them. I knew by his lanky frame and blonde hair that caught the white lights that it was the madman himself stalking towards me. I didn't even have the strength to push off from where I sat slumped against the far wall.

In his hand hung a long slim case. He muttered for the soldiers to close the door behind him, and they obeyed immediately. I shuffled away from him, trying and failing to ignore him when he spoke.

"I hope you are faring well." His fingers unclicked the latches of the case one by one. A taunt if there ever was one.

I hardly recognized my voice as it left me, "Go to hell."

Giles shook his head, his hair falling over his eyes before he brushed them back into place with a sweep of his hand. "That's no way to treat a superior."

I couldn't help but snarl at him, "There is nothing superior about you."

He tsked, "I happen to think the opposite." The case flipped open, and a blue light emitted from whatever was held within it. I couldn't see what it was from my spot on the floor. "You should have seen the look on your poor Sergeant's face. It was priceless, darling."

A sound foreign and inhuman tore at my throat. Giles just chuckled at it and pulled the glowing thing from its place in the box and let the lid fall shut. The grin on his face was nightmarish as he beheld the metal handle of the scepter that I knew to be Thor's brothers'. It was otherworldly, and I knew that it was powerful. I could feel it emanating from the blue hue from the orb held at the tip of it.

"I hope you're ready for some fun. It made those two siblings so powerful and different. Who knows what this will do to you?"

I could hardly breathe at his words.

He took a step forward, then another, fear holding me in place with the exhaustion that felt like lead in my limbs. 

No, not this.

 I couldn't even form words.

 Please.

But there was nothing to be done, not as that scepter glowed brightly and Giles placed it upon my chest.

Tags <3

@greatenthusiasttidalwave / @blackbirdwitch22 / @imdoingathingmom / @cjand10 / @hzdhrtss / @calwitch

[graycats-arcane-blog]

Lightcannon Week, Day 8 Fic!

Prompt: Free day (wingfic)

Title: Shooting Star

Rating: T

Length: 3.3k words

AO3: link

@lightcannonweek

Synopsis:

Lux feels defeated after a mageseeker's net pulls her from the sky.

Meanwhile, Jinx is looking for a shooting star.

Reference:

A blue jay, seen from the back. Photo by Brian Kushner, Audubon Photography Awards

A white-tailed kite in flight the wings are mostly white, darkening to gray on the primary feathers, with a dark marking at the curve of each wing. Photo by Matt Davis, Macaulay Library

. . .

Everyone had a little magic in them. No one would get off the ground otherwise.

Magic was the force that made people weightless when the sky called them. It stole the heft from the most cumbersome pieces of the human torso, causing each long, leaden leg to float like a feather rather than dangle like a pendulum. There was a shift in weight, a shift in strength, as if all the power in one's body were gathering around the muscles of their second shoulders where their wings attached. Without magic, no being in Runeterra, no matter how broad nor how swift their wings were, would have the strength to launch their bodies into flight.

Lux was born with far more magic than the small amount needed to fly. Her power ran dangerously deep, as far as Demacian opinion was concerned. In other regions of Runeterra, those with strong magic were admired, especially when their arcane skills proved to be useful, but Demacia, on the other hand, never forgot nor forgave the terrors that magic had wrought in wars of old. Any Demacian with strong magic was imprisoned, or worse, trained to hunt and harm their own kind.

That was why Lux had needed to flee.

That was why she had been chased.

That was why, just when she'd dared to hope that her pursuers were falling behind, one of them had tossed a net threaded with beads of petricite into her path.

No mage was allowed to escape Demacia. No mage was allowed to fly free.

Dazed and entangled, Lux plummeted. The light in her luminous kite-wings blazed in one last show of defiance before fading into darkness.

. . .

When she woke, Lux was hanging in the net, breathing slow mouthfuls of cold, sour air. Some of the beaded ropes had snagged onto a bit of rusty gutter cutting out awkwardly from a sloping rooftop. The roof tiles were broken along the telltale trail where her body had landed and rolled down.

Groaning, Lux swept her bleary eyes over her dark, derelict surroundings. She'd fallen into some sort of vertical city built layer over layer, so high - or, perhaps, so deep - that the top wasn't visible. About three stories up, a gauzy haze fuzzed the air, hiding the starry sky from view. If it weren't for the flickering streetlamp standing just past the gutter, Lux wouldn't have been able to see a thing in the darkness.

No sooner had she wondered if the city's residents might take pity on her than a glimpse of masked figures descending from the fog dashed her hopes.

The mageseekers had tracked her descent, and now, they'd come to collect their quarry.

One of them landed heavily on the walkway next to the streetlamp, shaking out his dark, glossy starling-wings before furling them against his back. He looked up at Lux, cocking his head to the side. "I'm glad you survived your fall, Lady Crownguard," he said smoothly. "I know you don't understand it now, but we only want to help you. You'll be grateful, in time."

Another two mageseekers landed on the rooftop, one on either side of Lux, their smoky petrel-wings long and gloomy. They reached for her net, their hands shod in thick, leather gloves, and didn't falter when they grasped the ropes beaded in petricite.

"Haul her up," the leader of the hunt called to his fellows as more mageseekers landed beside him. "I know it's been a long trek, but we must return Lady Crownguard swiftly. With the wind under our wings, we may cross back over Demacia's borders in a week's time."

Magic-draining weakness riddled Lux's body. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

Why couldn't they just let me fly away?

As her captors tugged her bonds free of the gutter and dragged her up onto the roof, she could feel her feathers fraying and getting caked with dust from their rough treatment. She shivered - the air was as chilly as it was dark. It was easy to let despair overtake her in this state, to let her mind go numb and lose focus of her surroundings.

She'd almost dissociated completely when a note of song snuck into her ears.

It was comforting and light, fluttering softly like a friendly spirit in the darkness. Instinct told Lux that these notes spoke of hopefulness and excitement, of anticipation, of a search for something wonderful. The song reminded Lux of her own search for freedom, and although her hunt had failed, she felt better for having this song in her hazy mind. She would have to remember the tune when the mageseekers returned her to Demacia - perhaps it would comfort her in her imprisonment.

“Save your songs for when we’re back in the air,” The leader of the hunt called up. “Let’s avoid attracting the attention of the locals. This strange place doesn’t sit well with me.”

“The song isn’t ours,” one of the petrel-winged mageseekers called back. “One of the locals may already be near.”

To Lux's dismay, the song trailed off. However, she had little time to mourn before an unseen voice said, “Oh, the local is near alright!"

The voice that echoed eerily around them as if it were flowing through every pipe and gutter in the vicinity, coming from everywhere, pinned down to nowhere. Lux could feel her captors’ grip on the net tighten as they turned their heads, searching for the source of the voice.

“Who goes there?” shouted the leader of the hunt. “Step into the light and state your name!”

“Hmmm…" The voice's hum thrummed through the rooftop, making Lux's feathers tremble. "Nah, I’m good.”

The leader of the hunt straightened his back, flaring his glossy, speckled starling-wings. His wings assumed a tense, half-furled position, partially on display, partially wound-up as if he intended to punch someone with his wing-joints. This was a show of threat. “This is no game, dark-dweller,” he warned. “By order of the Mageseekers of Demacia, reveal yourself!”

“Tell you what,” The voice replied, her tone far more playful than a response to a threat display ought to be. The voice had seemed to speak from atop the opposite building, but when it resumed speech a moment later, it resonated from under the walkway. “If you can answer a suuuper easy question, I’ll let ya get a good look at me, just like you asked for! How’s that sound, stranger?”

Lux could see the feathers lifting along the head hunter’s back as he cautiously eyed the metal panels beneath his feet. “I don’t entertain riddles.”

The voice laughed, and the laugh bounced all over the walls and rooftops, haunting in its pervasive presence. “my question isn't a riddle, silly!” she chuffed. “I just wanna know where the star fell!"

“… The star?” The lead hunter said slowly.

“The shooting star!” The voice became incredulous as she continued, “Even you dumb-dumbs had to have seen it! The light trail hit the fog just above here; it must’ve flown right by ya! C’mon, tell me where it went!”

Understanding filled the hunter’s face, and his mouth curled into a derisive scowl. “The light you saw is no concern of yours," he spat harshly. Tipping his head up to show of the condescending gleam in his eyes, he added in a magnanimous sneer, "Leave this place, and think of the light no more.”

“Awww, but I reeeally wanna have it,” The voice complained. Her petulance was almost childlike, if a child could make their voice resonate through the street as if their words were spoken by the shadows themselves. “If you tell me where it is, I might even let you live!”

At that ominous offer, the wings of all the surrounding mageseekers flared into threat displays. Most of those wings, well-trained over years of hunts, were stiff and steady. However, the youngest mageseekers’ wings were trembling. “Don’t test us, dark-dweller,” threatened the lead hunter. “Leave, and keep your life!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Those are some fighty words for a bird out of their element. Didn’t anyone ever tell you…”

The voice vanished suddenly, echoes of it rustling like a dying wind over the metal walls of the buildings. More mageseeker wings began to tremble. The voice had been spooky, but the silence was somehow worse.

Then, there was a hiss, almost more feeling than sound, which seemed to slither straight up Lux’s spine.

“... There’s monsters in the dark,” the voice whispered, and, suddenly, she was right in front of Lux.

Wings spread wide open – no, not wings, but a giant, monstrous face, flashing out of the dark with wild, round eyes and neon fangs. The petrel-winged mageseekers on either side of Lux shrieked, leaping back. Light glinted over metal as something attached to their armor, and then…

BANG!

Twin bodies of fire fell, howling, from the roof.

The mageseekers below screamed, some in fright, others in fury. A few of them launched themselves toward Lux and the monster, but the terrible face twitched, then growled in staccato like gunfire and madness. The mageseekers fell. Others tried to fly away, but they fell too, blood blooming red over skin, clothes and feathers.

Lux watched them fall numbly. Did she feel numb because of the petricite in her bindings, or because her body didn’t know how to react to the sudden presence of a monster? Maybe it was both.

In time, all went quiet. The gunfire-growl ceased, and the mageseekers on the walkway were silent as the grave. Not knowing what else to do, Lux turned her glazed eyes to the face of the monster looming over her.

How strange. The face was folding – like wings.

As the neon feathers furled away, Lux saw the small woman who’d been tucked between the halves of the monster’s face. Her wings had been so eye-catching that Lux hadn’t noticed there was a person between them. Judging by the satisfied grin on the woman’s face, that had probably been by design.

“Well!” Releasing her minigun so that it pitched down on its strap and bounced against her hip, the woman clapped her hands in finality. She shook her head, sending a pair of long, blue braids swinging. Her vibrant, magenta eyes landed on Lux. “ You don’t look too cozy!”

Lux doubted she’d find mercy at the whims of the woman who’d just gunned down an entire dispatch of mageseekers, but she pleaded anyway in a frail, tired voice, “Please… I’m not with the people you killed. Could you please set me free?”

The woman tipped her head to the side. Lux didn't know what to make of the eerie smile on her face, if it was meant to be friendly or unsettling. “Depends,” she chirped. “I’m lookin’ for a shooting star. Did you see where it went?”

Lux had a bad feeling that, if she were to say no, she wouldn’t have long to live. “… I can take you to it,” she agreed, trying not to think too hard about what would happen when the woman realized that there was no star. “ Set me free, and I’ll show it to you. ”

A broad, excited grin swept over the woman’s face. “Alrighty! Fair warning – if you fly away, I’ll put a bullet in that pretty spine!”

Wincing, Lux nodded weakly. “Okay. I won’t run.”

As the woman procured a knife from one pocket and began sawing cheerfully through the net, Lux hesitantly inquired, “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you need a shooting star for?”

“I heard they’re full of reeeally rare metals!” the woman announced eagerly. “Top-tier stuff! I’ve been itching to get my hands on star-metal and see if it’s any good for making explosives with. I mean, stars burn super hot when they fall, so star-metal's gotta pack some heat, right?”

“… That makes sense,” Lux tentatively agreed.

Damn it, this woman would be ticked off when she learned that there was no star.

“Those are some sleek wings,” the woman commented. Lux felt her prod a secondary as she pulled the net away. “What are you, some kind of falcon?”

“A kite,” Lux shared, her tone growing more sure as the net finally came off. Wings above, it felt amazing to have those petricite beads off! Euphoria trickled through Lux's veins as she stretched her strong, sleek wings out as far as they would go, showing off their backdrop of downy white and trimmings of smoky gray. As she stretched, warmth returned to the channels in her body through which magic flowed. She furled her wings back in gingerly, letting them rest at her back.

Eager to keep their conversation away from stars, Lux returned the woman's interest in wings. “Your wings… I’ve never seen anything like them. What type of bird has a neon face on its wings?”

“Ha!” The woman’s laugh resounded over the rooftop. “It’s paint," she announced proudly, extending her left wing. Lux was prepared for the monster's face this time and didn't flinch at the sight of a vivid eye and pointed teeth. "Feather-safe and glows in the dark. I made the stuff myself!”

“Wow!” Lux was genuinely curious now – that, and focusing on the woman’s artistry felt much better than focusing on her gun. “Decorating your wings? That’s a really cool idea!”

If possible, the woman’s grin grew even wider, preening under Lux's attention. “It is a good idea, right? You’d be surprised by how many people don’t get it! They all run away screaming; hardly anyone takes the time to admire ‘em!” The woman let her right wing join the left, showing off the entirety of her handiwork. “I just decorate the underwings, since those feathers are kinda boring and dusky. My back feathers, though…” She spun around, showing Lux the backs of her wings. “Look at ‘em! Cool, am I right?”

They were indeed cool, such an intense, vibrant blue that they rivaled the Demacian sky at noon. The woman's wings were interlaced with trimmings of black, white, and cyan, seeming iridescent in their vividness. To Lux, who's mind had been dredged in darkness ever since she'd fallen into this strange place, the feathers' beauty might as well have been hypnotic.

Lux forgot the red of her pursuers' spilt blood, and the red of her own highly-spillable blood as well, as her mind sunk into the enrapturing blue. Thoughtless, she trod closer, reaching out a hand. “They’re lovely,” she murmured as her fingers gently traced the shaft of a long, vibrant feather.

Lux was so enthralled by the woman’s wings that it took her several moments to realize that she'd overstepped.

Oh, shit. Had she really just touched a complete stranger’s feathers, uninvited? A stranger with a taste for murder, no less? Mind, this woman had some of the loveliest feathers Lux had ever seen…

… But now was not the time for the bird-side of Lux’s brain to start showing interest in a stranger's feather display!

Lux forced herself to step back, tucking her hand to her chest as a wave of mortified embarrassment swept through her. “Um… Yeah,” she choked out, shifting her weight awkwardly between her feet. “You have really nice feathers.”

At some point, the woman had turned her head to watch Lux over her shoulder, her back still facing Lux. The woman's feathers trembled slightly, as if ruffled by a breeze, and there appeared to be a faint blush of pink on her cheeks. The woman turned to face Lux, furling her wings back in, then cleared her throat. “ Uh … Aaanyway!” Her fingers twitched restlessly at her sides before she shoved her thumbs into her shorts-pockets. “You owe me a shooting star! Lead the way, kite!”

Lux’s spirits plummeted.

Right. The star.

“… Very well," she acceded as a sour, sick kernel of dread formed in her gut. "Just… Don’t freak out, please?”

Jinx tilted her head to the side. “ Freak out? About what?”

Lux bit her lip… Then, she spread her wings out as far as they would go, letting her feathers puff out.

The woman noticed that this was a display pose rather than a takeoff pose. Had the color in her cheeks darkened? “Hey, uh…” The woman stammered. “Just ‘cause I gave you a good look at my super-awesome wings doesn’t mean you've gotta…”

Lux pushed her magic into her wings, heat rushing through her as her light shimmered to life.

The woman’s eyes went wide. Lux could see her light reflecting in them, brightening the magenta irises even as her pupils went wide.

“Woah.”

Now, the woman was the one stepping forward, arm outstretched. Lux didn’t stop her as she pressed a thin-fingered hand into Lux’s pale underwing, and didn’t push her away even though the woman’s twitching fingers were a bit ticklish. “Shiny,” the woman murmured, her eyes not leaving the luminous feathers. “I thought angels were just a myth.”

A warm blush rushed to Lux’s cheeks. “I’m not an angel,” she said quickly, “just a mage. A light mage.”

The woman’s hand trailed down over Lux’s shining feathers. “You look pretty angelic to me. A light kite, huh? A bright-light-kite...”

Unlike Lux, the woman didn’t awkwardly pull her hand back after moments of staring. When she raised her gaze back to Lux’s, her hand was still pressed tenderly to Lux’s wing.

“I’m guessing you're the star, then,” she said.

Lux dipped her head sheepishly. “I’m sorry I can’t give you the metal you’re looking for. You seemed really excited about it.”

“Aw, it’s fine… I bet another star’s gonna roll through eventually,” the woman deflected. “It’s just a matter of time before I get my hands on some star-metal! So... where are you off to, now that you’re out of that net?”

It sounded like the woman wasn’t interested in killing her, which was nice. It was, admittedly, also nice to be near someone who didn’t look at her magic-filled wings with disgust - who was willing to touch her, even. “I don’t suppose you could recommend a place for a newcomer to find shelter?” Lux asked hopefully. “Those people you… took care of… chased me here. I’ve never traveled this far before, and I don’t know where to find a place to spend the night.”

The woman’s eyes brightened. “You know what? Seeing as how I freed you and all, I feel kinda responsible for you. Why don’t you come stay at my digs for a while?”

“Really? You’d let me stay with you?” Lux was caught off guard by the woman’s boldness. “You barely know me.”

“Well then, this’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better!” She spread her arms, gesturing to the darkness around them. “What do you say, Light-Kite? Feelin’ up to spending the night with one of the monsters in the dark?”

A strange, fizzy sensation bubbled in Lux's chest.

Be careful, warned the logical side of her brain. She set you free, but she's a killer.

Go for it, encouraged her bird side. Such nice feathers... Pretty bird... Pretty bird...

It took a massive effort for Lux to keep her cheeks from heating like the sun.

Well... Seeing as how she didn’t have any other options, she supposed that she might as well spend the night with the killer who seemed refreshingly fond of her illuminated wings. This was preferable to a night on the street, right?

Lux took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. “Lead the way,” she accepted. “By the way, it’s Lux, not Light-Kite.”

“And I’m Jinx! Jinx the Jay! The Mad Bomber! The Loose Cannon of Zaun!” Grabbing Lux’s hand, Jinx tugged her across the roof, away from the streetlight’s yellow gleam. “Welcome to the shadows, Lux the Light-Kite!”

As they dashed into the darkness, Jinx hummed a song of excitement and discovery...

... And Lux, feeling her spirits lift, joined in.

[asharaks]

kissing your lover after believing you’d lost them for lysanderirenna … OR… a kiss shared on a rooftop while the sun sets for jasper/dealers choice? OR. neck kisses that turn into love bites. for kasi :3

“Having fun?”

He gets the pleasure of watching the Marquis’ mouth twist beneath his mask, lips parting to greet the man who's appeared at Dorian's shoulder. Watches him realise the use (none) and close his mouth sharp over the words. And then he stops watching him, because — well.

“I am,” he purrs, turning (rude, intentionally) to put his shoulder to the Marquis, twisting towards the Inquisitor. Doesn't bother to watch the angry flush rise: he'll never get tired of the Herald's brusqueness (southern heathenry, from the holiest man on Thedas) but — he's sure — there are more interesting things to look at.

“Come on.” Kasimir doesn't spare the Marquis a glance: beneath my notice, not important enough to warrant a greeting from the Herald of Andraste. Dorian drains the remainder of his warming wine, feels it settle beneath his skin, and bows.

“Do excuse me, Marquis,” because he can never resist twisting the knife, because the man's been talking down to him for the past thirty minutes and he's sick of being asked about Tevinter wines by a man who clearly wishes he had the courage to ask about blood magic, who's going to go home and brag to his servants about spending the night playing the Game with a Tevene magister — because Kasimir calls, and Dorian answers, but that doesn't mean he has to be gracious to these people. “Sacred duty, and all that—”

“Inquisition business?” the Marquis’ eyes widen comically. “Surely not here—”

And then Kasimir — the Inquisitor — puts his hand on Dorian's shoulder, and the conversation ends with a look. He's lead away, into the cool, jasmine-heavy shade of the covered walkway, and Kasimir's hand is heavy on Dorian's shoulder the whole time.

“Is it, really?”

“Really what?”

“Inquisition business.” The Herald's arm keeps brushing his side. Velvet snagging, imagined heat. Dorian swallows. Kasimir pauses — halts their steps, the soft click of boots on stone ringing with the blood in his ears. In the gloom, his eyes are pitch and quicksilver, royal blue turned black by candlelight. Dorian exhales, and watches Kasimir's head tilt. Watches his lips curl, that sideways smirk, never-quite showing teeth.

Andraste's Herald, lilywhite hair gilded in the candlelight, looking at Dorian (Tevinter, magister, the snake in the shadows) like devouring.

“You looked bored,” he says, and Dorian shudders. There's a note in his voice that Dorian can't place: softer, more intimate than is technically appropriate; he licks his lips (slower than reasonably necessary, just to watch those eyes dip) and smiles.

“So it's a rescue mission?”

“Something like that.”

Kasimir's eyes are still on his mouth. His lips sting like lyrium, like veilfire, like oh-Maker-please, and when he (bites) (shows teeth) (takes the bait) he does so with a sense of drowning.

It isn't the first time. Nor is it the dirtiest thing they've done, a slow, (somewhat) chaste kiss hidden in the eaves of the Winter Palace, but it twists inside him like a blade. Like possession, something inside him coiling sharp. Hands at his hips, drifting upwards: a hand at his throat, thumb over his pulse, feeling it race. Then the wall's at his back, and there's teeth in his lip, and he thinks:

Kasimir, negotiating with the Empress of Orlais with Dorian's blood on his teeth,

Kasimir, wearing Dorian's marks on his skin,

Kasimir, and he breathes it out silverblue breathless, and the hand in his hair tightens and tugs and his head tips back.

Teeth in his throat. Dorian sees stars.

This will leave a mark. Kasimir bites (Dorian gasps) and his teeth are blunt and unrelenting. His nails score Dorian's scalp: his fingers bruise Dorian's waist. Dorian presses into both, the hungry, hurting touch, and it thrums through him like a wardrum, slow-building thunder. He shifts, presses his thigh between Kasimir's legs, and Inquisitor-Herald-Kasimir makes a low animal sound that hits Dorian like a blow. Knocks the air from his lungs, knocks his legs out at the knees, and he pushes at Kasimir's shoulders, hands greedy, grasping, spins them around so he can lean on Kasimir leaning on the wall and—

—the Inquisitor lets him, pliant and passive, tilts his head back so Dorian can drop a kiss sharpedged on his bruised, curling lips. An indulgence, an allowance: it shivers through him, that lazy unsubmission, that heady promise of what else he might be allowed.

The bruise on his neck throbs like a heartbeat. There isn't enough blood in his body, vision silver around the edges. He breathes hard into Kasimir's mouth, and feels the ghost of his teeth at his lips.

Having fun, indeed.

[stargazerlion]

3 dimensional cities I love you. Walkways above ground level connecting different vertical components i love you. Bridges i love you. Climbable towns where the enterances are on the roofs i love you. Mazy corridors along rooftops that have been built around and over so its hard to quite say if you're inside or outside i love you