#This is so hard to image describe when the whole point is 'she's smiling.' | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

necrotic-nephilim · 1 month ago

Note

WOAH Bruce not only feeding that assumption in steph but planting the seed of it by saying something about Jason while he’s behind her and they’re looking at the memorial case together. Like this being after a build up of like you said him being harsh with her training “you didn’t match those fingerprints fast enough they could’ve matched 50 in 40 seconds you took almost twice that” but being kind while he’s physically touching her. Bruce standing behind steph, not to the side but directly behind, with his hand on her shoulder and the hand drops down to squeeze her arms and steph looks down at it and turns around and kisses him. I think if steph sent a post coitus pic to Bruce he wouldn’t even get mad he’d just get horny thinking about them together. Thank you for the photo steph can I get one in your robin costumes next time

(based on this post and this post) oh my god. your vision anon. i was going to just build off of this with headcanons but the scene you described i cannot get out of my head so uh have a fic that's 6k and far longer than it should've been with vanilla sex that somehow is very dead dove anyway, also crossposted on ao3. ily i would guard you with my life- <3

When Stephanie thought about Bruce, she remembered skin that tasted like salt and brimstone. She remembered warm hands that held her more gently than she'd probably ever be held again. She remembered a cold voice that was more cruel to her than anyone had ever been.

Which, given who her father was, Stephanie personally found that to be a pretty fucking impressive feat.

She remembered a lot of things about Bruce. So many memories sat on her tongue and threatened to spill out whenever she opened her mouth.

Memories like Bruce's hand on her shoulder, giving her another lesson she never got to use before dying.

"You didn't match those fingerprints fast enough," Bruce said. He was unforgiving, and Stephanie didn't have to be looking at him to know his features were painted in disappointment. She scowled and focused harder on the slides in front of her, ignoring him. When she didn't answer, he twisted the knife deeper. "Tim could've matched almost fifty in forty seconds. You took twice that."

It was always Tim being dangled like a carrot in front of Stephanie's face. So many times had Stephanie wanted to twist around and snap at Bruce that he wasn't the only one who lost someone when Tim had to quit being Robin. Bruce wasn't the only one with a gaping hole in his chest that couldn't be filled.

At least Bruce had Stephanie trying to fill his loss. It wasn't like anyone had stepped up for her.

Stephanie's grip on a fingerprint slide tightened until she was sure the glass would crack. "Did Tim have you breathing down his neck the whole time, making unnecessary commentary?" Her snark could cost her this role she fought so hard for.

After hours of useless training that didn't even involve punching things, Stephanie wasn't sure if she cared about that.

It took a silent, brooding moment before Bruce answered. "In the field, you won't always be afforded an undisturbed working space. But you also can't tune out distractions that could cost your life."

If she could, Stephanie would punch Bruce. If she thought her fist had the slightest chance of actually connecting with his face before he dodged or deflected it, there would already be a satisfying crunch of bone against bone echoing through the cave. Just the mental image of it made Stephanie almost smile.

She took a slow breath.

"Point taken," Stephanie said carefully. She set the glass slide down, flexing her hand that still itched for violence. Another cruel comment was on her lips when Bruce's hand started massaging her shoulder. The touch was so gentle it forced tension out of her muscles, and Stephanie sighed. "Are we done?"

"No," Bruce was icy, lacking any emotion. "We need to go over your lackluster decoding skills again." His other hand came to rest on her other shoulder, massaging in tandem. It was an electric touch she wanted to lean into.

"For fuck's sake!" Stephanie threw her hands up, then dropped her head into them, rubbing her temples. "What has it been, four hours? We haven't even eaten."

The shadow Bruce cast over her just seemed to grow, engulfing every inch of Stephanie's existence. "This job isn't one that comes with luxuries. And it's a job you asked for," he reminded her. His thumbs were working into Stephanie's neck, perfectly pressing out a stiffness she'd been harboring for weeks. She couldn't stop herself from pressing into the touch. "If you lose even once... you lose things you can't afford to lose. Things I can't afford to lose."

Stephanie looked up from the desk. Her gaze snagged on the memorial case that loomed over her every time she walked into the case. The name that was carefully carved into the plate at the bottom of a boy she never even got to know.

Because he was what Bruce lost.

"You're not going to lose me." Stephanie turned her head to face Bruce, giving him a much kinder look than she'd been wearing just seconds ago. One of Bruce's hands drifted down to hold her bicep. "You know that, right? I know what you've already lost, but I can be better than that."

It was gently possessive. Like, at any moment, she could evaporate, and he would be alone again. For all his flaws, Bruce sure as hell knew how to tug on Stephanie's fragile heartstrings.

"You have no idea what I've lost." Bruce's voice actually broke, like he was a marble statue cracking, every grove held a story. Real emotion, real pain beyond her comprehension. That was a rare thing. Stephanie studied the way his face shifted. She tried to remember all the training he'd given her about noticing small changes and what they meant.

Sorrow and pain in his brow. Worry and tension in the thin pressed line of his mouth.

Love in his eyes. A familiar love Stephanie knew better than anyone.

But he wasn't looking at Stephanie. He was looking at the memorial case.

"Oh," Stephanie realized out loud, eyes going wide. "I didn't know- oh. I'm so sorry, Bruce."

Bruce's gaze snapped away from the case all too abruptly, as if he'd revealed far too much to Stephanie in a single instant. His eyes were guarded again, and he stared down at her with a tense expression, stroking her skin with his thumb.

It was stupid, that Stephanie had never considered this... thing with Bruce to be a unique thing. Maybe she liked the naivety of feeling special in how Bruce showed her attention. She was never going to be the only Robin, definitely never going to be the best Robin, but she had always assumed she was the only one Bruce loved, like that.

The lining of jealousy calling her bones was put out by sympathy for Bruce. The loss of Jason was worse, if that was how he and Bruce were. It was more than losing a sidekick.

It was losing a lover.

Was Tim the same? Probably. Undoubtedly, Stephanie decided. And Dick, the way Bruce talked about them. She'd always known Tim and Bruce were weirdly entangled in ways it wasn't her business to understand, but now, the pieces clicked further into place.

And in one way or another, Bruce had lost all of them.

Now here she was.

No wonder her training was thankless. She could die or leave him at any moment, in Bruce's eyes.

Stephanie properly turned around, spinning her chair. Facing him fully, none of Stephanie's concern was hidden from Bruce. He answered it with a frown, running his fingers through her hair and cupping her face. Stephanie looked at the hand as it lingered on her body. Like Bruce couldn't force himself to pull away. Like he knew he was being selfish, putting her in danger.

But Stephanie wasn't fragile. She had what other Robins didn't. Experience on the field, doing this on her own without Batman. Who knew how strong she could be under his touch, how she’d blossom.

Stephanie stood up and touched Bruce's face. She had to stand on her toes to do it, but she kissed him. Gave him the moment he always needed to go from stiff and overthinking to melting into Stephanie's touch. He kissed back and licked his tongue into her mouth, like she was a decadent food he was savoring.

How he always tasted the same, salty and earthy, Stephanie would never know. She'd add it to the tally of mysteries about Bruce Wayne.

Bruce's hand drifted down to Stephanie's waist. Then, like something out of a movie, He brushed aside all the fingerprint slides, letting some clatter to the floor so he could pick her up around her hips and set her on the table. She was raised up enough that she didn't have to strain to reach his mouth now, letting them deepen the kiss.

For a while, they stayed like that. Kissing and hands wandering. Stephanie slipped her hand under Bruce's cotton t-shirt, feeling against hard muscle and a bandage over a deep cut that had needed stitches only a few days ago. A part of Stephanie wanted to push her fingers under the medical tape, just so she could feel where the cut was. Press her fingers up against the painful wound, exploring where Bruce's flesh ripped open and paid the price for his sloppy actions, as he would put it.

But she didn't. Stephanie did her best to keep the more inhumane parts of herself out of reach from Bruce so he wouldn't scrutinize them and make her feel like more of a failure.

Bruce ran a hand up the inside of Stephanie's thigh until he found the zipper of her jeans and just rested his thumb there. His other hand was cupping one of her breasts in a hold that wasn't nearly tight enough for Stephanie's tastes. It was such a cruel thing, how he was rough and unforgiving with his words, but treated her like a doll about to break whenever he fucked her.

Just once, Stephanie would give anything to fuck the Batman and hear words from Bruce Wayne. Not the other way around.

If she told Bruce that, there was a non-zero chance he would throw her in Arkham for it. He'd told her at length how relationships with women like Catwoman failed because they wanted him to be gentle in places he couldn't be.

He found gentleness for Stephanie in those places, though.

Bruce trailed kisses down Stephanie's throat. She tilted her head back to give him better access for sucking colorful marks into her skin, making her shudder. Her body begged for more where her voice failed her.

"Are you hungry?" Bruce asked, his voice vibrating against her skin.

Stephanie's head was swimming. "What?"

She swore she felt him smile against her throat. "You pointed out we haven't eaten. Do you need dinner, Stephanie?"

"Oh, you bastard." Stephanie smacked his arm, and he let her. "Later. We can order Chinese or something after this."

"Good." Bruce's voice dropped a dangerous octave. He always found some covert way to ask for her consent without directly asking for it. Just another part of his mind games she would never understand.

His hands pushed under her shirt. He pulled away from the kiss long enough to pull it up over her head, exposing Stephanie's plain white bra. She fantasized about being the type of girl who wore fancy lingerie for an older man like Bruce, but that wasn't something for Stephanie's shallow pockets.

She knew she could ask Bruce. He'd probably fall over himself for the chance to buy her lingerie. He always said yes when it came to money things, and even offered her a debit card attached to one of his smaller accounts. Which, in Bruce's language, meant an account with only a couple million instead of hundreds of millions.

But Stephanie always said no. She needed some side of her life to keep to herself without Bruce influencing it.

She needed Bruce to know she could still hold herself above water without him.

Her fingers buried in his short hair, carding through the soft, dark strands that still had the scent of his sandalwood shampoo. If he grew his hair out, it would probably have a faint curl pattern, like the pictures Stephanie had seen of Martha Wayne, from back in the day. It was a shame he kept it so short.

"How are your ribs?" Bruce asked, his fingers brushing over the still purple bruise and making Stephanie wince.

"Fine," she insisted, wiping the pain off her face. She had been the one stupid enough to take a punch from a Riddler goon, of all people. She didn't need Bruce pointing out her failures now.

He didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't push it. Bruce just bent over to press soft kisses over the marks, like he thought his love could heal her. If it could, it would've by now. Just the thought made Stephanie shiver and relax more into his touch.

One of his hands snuck behind her to undo the clasp on her bra. Stephanie shifted her shoulders, and it fell to the ground.

Bruce latched his mouth around one of her nipples. Stephanie groaned and pulled his hair. He always let her be rough, if she needed it. Her nails left angry red marks down his back, and she held onto him so tightly there were bruises. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Stephanie was pretty sure Bruce liked the marks as much as she did, proof that she'd laid claim to him as much as he'd claimed her.

Their relationship was one of reciprocity if nothing else.

It was a maddening tease to have Bruce's mouth on her flesh. He kneaded her other breast with a strong hand that had crushed bones, brushing across her nipple until it was standing upright and there were goosebumps on her flesh. She wanted to stay like this forever, having the goddamn Batman worshipping her skin.

She needed more, though.

Stephanie unbuttoned her own jeans and shimmied them down. They were barely past her hips when Bruce grabbed her wrist.

"What have I told you about patience?" Despite everything, he used the same tone he would've if he was scolding her about rushing into a mission too quickly.

"You're a bastard," Stephanie was breathless just from the few touches he'd given her. Heat was pooling between her legs and she needed to alleviate the pressure somehow, like expressing an infected wound. Sometimes, Stephanie's cunt felt less like a sacred hole for pleasure and more like a bleeding gash that she needed Bruce to provide triage for. He fucked her with the same intimacy that he dressed her stab wounds, finding the gaping flesh and pressing into it until there was finally relief.

Bruce probably didn't see it that way. Stephanie didn't care.

He dared to laugh against her skin, deep and rough. "Relax. Trust your body. Trust me." His voice was so steady and firm, it was hard not to lean against.

Stephanie huffed, but bit her tongue. "At least take your shirt off. Fair is fair."

A gruff hum came out of Bruce, but he complied, pulling away to shuck the garment and give Stephanie one of her favorite views. Like watching a sunset over the Gotham horizon, every time she saw Bruce's naked skin was just a little different. The same gorgeous sight, but if her eyes wandered she would find all the new little scars, the older scars that were fading more, the ever-shifting wall of muscle that didn't look one bit human.

Stephanie groped his chest, running her fingers over coarse hairs that Bruce sometimes shaved, and sometimes didn't. She preferred the natural look, the same way she preferred when he went a few days without shaving. It made him just a touch animalistic.

He went back to devouring her skin with his mouth and hands. Stephanie was at Bruce's mercy as he kissed, sucked, and licked his way across the dips and valleys of her body. He was reverently gentle over her scars with soft kisses. Then he sank his teeth into sensitive places Stephanie never knew she had. The skin under her breasts, the stretch marks over her hip dips that had never quite gone back to normal after she gave birth.

The world spun around them and somehow, Stephanie was the only thing that mattered to Bruce.

When Bruce seemed pleased with the soft marks he'd covered her in, his hands finally pushed Stephanie's pants down the rest of the way, and he helped her kick them off with her shoes.

Then, he got on his knees.

Stephanie's eyes were wide, and her face turned a soft shade of red that matched the hickeys on her chest. "I haven't waxed-"

Bruce arched an eyebrow at her and pushed her knees open. "I don't care."

She didn't know what it was about Bruce, but Stephanie was always too shy about her body around him, expecting him to scrutinize it for the same faults he found in the rest of her. The first time they kissed, she started waxing that same night, from her pubic mound to her asshole, just so she would be smooth for him. She shaved more often, bought a nicer perfume, and tried her hair in styles she never would've worn before. It made Stephanie feel childish, but she could never stop herself.

She needed to be good for him.

Proving the point in his words, Bruce started kissing Stephanie's thigh. He left marks there, too, working his way closer and closer to her cunt. Stephanie could feel her heart rate spiking as the cold air hit her vagina. She was digging her nails into his scalp, too deeply, she realized. But like always, Bruce didn't seem to mind.

Finally, he made his way to his destination.

Bruce's tongue was hotter than a brand over Stephanie's cunt. She gasped and jerked. Every time, it never failed to make her dizzy. It was a reminder how inexperienced Stephanie was at sex. She offered to give him head and without fail, Bruce always said no.

Yet, he did things with his mouth that Stephanie didn't know were fucking possible.

Bruce licked his way inside of Stephanie, pressing his tongue as deep as it would go and flicking upward. A groan ripped out of Stephanie, and she was practically grinding on Bruce's face for more.

He used his hands to pull her folds open for better access. If Stephanie tried closing her legs, Bruce just pushed them back open with his elbows. He forced her on display for him, whining and squirming for desperate pleasure from his mouth.

"Bruce," Stephanie moaned, eyes fluttering. It was a simple pleasure, but an overwhelming one, hard to even look at Bruce without losing herself to it. Every time Stephanie looked down, those piercing blue eyes were locked on her, drinking up her reactions.

It was fucking intimidating, was what it was.

He moved his mouth upward and Stephanie shattered. Chapped lips wrapped around her clit and sucked until Stephanie's eyes were rolling into the back of her head. He flicked and twisted his tongue in ways that shouldn't have been humanly possible to send sparks up her spine. It was like getting shocked over and over again.

His fingers pressed inside of her hole, arching up. It was nothing like being finger banged by a horny teenage boy behind the bleachers and all the other clumsy sexual interactions that crowded Stephanie's youth. This was a touch with experience, fingers curling inside of her with movements that went for precision instead of speed or force. Like Bruce knew he didn't have to rush Stephanie's pleasure, he just had to find the right spots to tug at until he unraveled her.

"Fuck, Bruce!" Stephanie grabbed onto the end of the table and thanked every god that she didn't have super strength, because if she did, the metal would've crumpled under the force she put behind her grip. "You... you're going to drive me fucking insane... Bruce-" She canted her hips up to chase more pleasure. Her body was greedy, making up for how shy her mind wanted her to be.

There was a gleam in his eyes when she managed to look down again. She could see how smug he was about knowing it was only his touch that could reduce her to this, naked with pleasure dripping out of her.

She was going to make a mess of the table. The last time she did that, Bruce gently guided her to her knees and pressed her face into the slick puddle until Stephanie got the message without a single spoken order. Licking up her own cum while Bruce had fucked her behind, a hand around her throat.

That memory was one she still jerked off to. It was too rare for Stephanie to get those wilder, kinkier inclinations out of Bruce, no matter how much she begged for his dirty fantasies she knew he was thinking about every time he looked at her.

One day she'd convince him to do whatever he was thinking about the time he stared at her a little too hard when she was trying to get out of those handcuffs.

The thought of that alone had Stephanie's pleasure rushing toward its crest, and her noises got higher and more desperate. Bruce couldn't say anything, with his mouth locked around her clit and still working it so well, but he stroked her thigh with his thumb as if he was encouraging her to let go.

It may as well have been an order.

And Stephanie obeyed.

She pulled hard on Bruce's hair and clamped her thighs tight around his skull, holding him there. Bruce didn't force them open this time, he just let her body take what it needed. Stephanie was almost positive a third finger pushed inside of her to join the first two filling her as she hit the peak of her orgasm.

A scream tore free from her lungs. She kicked uselessly, one foot accidentally hitting one of Bruce's shoulders. He was a concrete wall, though, not moving or even flinching from it. He just kept licking and sucking and looking through his dark curls to stare at her as she howled. Stephanie tried to say Bruce's name, she tried to tell him how good it felt, but all the words got lost in translation. All she could do was hold onto him and ride through every electric wave, hoping he understood.

Of course, he did. He always did.

Just as Stephanie reached the peak of pleasure and tipped into overstimulation, Bruce pulled off of her clit. He looked almost disappointed by it, staring briefly at her soaked, pink folds. Like he wanted to stay there and make her suffer and beg for reprieve.

If Stephanie had any sense to her, she would've pouted about him not doing just that.

At least his fingers stayed inside of her. They weren't moving anymore, but they were a warm pressure, keeping her full and satiated as her body went boneless. Bruce studied her and watched Stephanie hold herself up with her arm to keep from flopping onto the table and passing out right there.

"Fuck me," Stephanie said, already knowing that Bruce was debating it. Sometimes he fucked her after he ate her out, sometimes he didn't- no matter how she begged for it. Even when she could see the tent in his pants. The time she'd begged particularly hard, he laid her out on his bed and told her to stay still and just jerked off on her tits, as if to prove some kind of point she didn't understand.

She did understand, though, how fucking hot it had been to have his spent pleasure against her skin. Perverse and disgusting, but hot. She had scooped it up with her fingers and sucked them clean in front of him, the only time she ever got to taste his cum. It earned her a scowl as he carried her into the shower, practically dropping her into the tub.

Of course, she did manage to get Bruce to properly fuck her in the shower. So it was a happy memory, no matter how Bruce's disapproving stare the whole time tried to taint it.

A healthy collection of memories. And still, Stephanie's greedy hands wanted more. She wanted, craved more than just his fingers inside of her.

"Please," Stephanie added when Bruce was quiet for too long. She did her best to appear submissive and doe-eyed, looking at him through her lashes and spreading her legs. "I want you to feel good, too. Let me take care of you." When the soft, sultry tone she used didn't do anything to make him budge, Stephanie sighed and grabbed his wrist, pressing her thumb against the pulse point to feel his hammering heartbeat. "Take what you need, Bruce. I'm not going anywhere."

Bruce groaned and Stephanie felt it in her core.

He pushed himself to his feet, fingers still buried inside of her. When he grabbed for one of the drawers to a nearby desk, Stephanie practically preened, knowing she'd won.

"We don't need a condom," Stephanie said. She tried this argument every time. It never worked. She never stopped trying. "I have an IUD and we both get tested regularly-"

"It's not up for debate," Bruce nearly growled. He pulled a condom out and ripped the package out with his teeth. Stephanie squeaked at the sight.

"Let me put it on, at least?" Stephanie said, trying to get her voice out of the higher register he'd startled her into.

Bruce didn't put up a fight as Stephanie opened his jeans with her hands and pushed them down just enough to pull his cock free. He handed her the condom and watched with rapt attention as she stroked him a few times. It got no reaction from Bruce, and Stephanie didn't expect one. She just enjoyed the feeling of his stiff, hot flesh underneath her touch. All the little places only Stephanie got to touch and hold.

She worked him until his cock was twitching, and he grabbed her thigh again and squeezed with warning. Hypocritical bastard. He got all the time he wanted with her body, but she was always rushed when she got to touch him, sliding her hand over his cock and rubbing a thumb over the slick head.

The condom was rolled on as Stephanie imagined putting it on with her mouth. She'd practiced the skill on a dildo more than once in anticipation of the day she finally got to show it off to Bruce. She licked her lips at the thought.

"Good," Bruce grunted when the condom was snugly on his length. It was a coveted, rare praise that made Stephanie almost choke. And somehow, he said it like it was nothing. Like he didn't even mean to. Like he was unaware of how it made her react.

She liked to pretend it just slipped out because he was so caught up in her, but the realist in Stephanie knew that, like everything else about Bruce, it was calculated. Still, she took what she could get.

Bruce tugged Stephanie closer to the edge with his grip on her thigh. It was practically manhandling, and she couldn't stop the moan at the rough treatment that begged for more. Instead of giving her more, Bruce just gave her a sour look and pulled his fingers out of her cunt, and pushed them into her mouth to keep her quiet.

To make her taste the pleasure only he could bring her.

Stephanie mewled and sucked on Bruce's thick, calloused fingers as he lined himself up with a guiding hand. The push in was a blunt pressure, then a fullness that made Stephanie lean back until Bruce wrapped his arm around her shoulders to give her support.

Their bodies were flush together. He buried his face into her neck and breathed in her scent while she tasted his skin, savoring the flavor she only found on him.

Salt and brimstone.

Bruce fucked her at a controlled pace. He never let go to push her body to the limit the way she knew he could. But with how overwhelming it was to be fucked by him, maybe that was a thing. Bruce was thick and long, driving air out of Stephanie's lungs every time he drove in.

He pulled his fingers free from her mouth, and she mourned the loss with a soft noise. His hand trailed down to press against the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know where the hell Bruce learned the trick, but the slight pressure on the outside of her body somehow made the thrusts more intense and filling. It made sure his cock assaulted her g-spot with every stroke and her back arched.

"Bruce, Bruce," Stephanie chanted his name, clawing at his back, not caring that her nails were catching on sensitive scars. She felt like she couldn't think. She locked her legs around his waist to pull him impossibly closer.

Her back arched until her head was practically hanging upside down, all while Bruce kept his face buried against her collarbone. So he couldn't see where her gaze fell and what made her stuttered noises get more guttural.

The memorial case danced in front of Stephanie's eyes, even from this upside-down shaky view, grounding her to the moment even as she was soaring through pleasure.

Stephanie didn't know much about Jason Todd. She didn't know his hobbies or his favorite books. She didn't know what jokes would make him smile and what worries clouded his head when he was trying to fall asleep.

But she knew they shared this. She knew, in this way, they were always going to be connected. Bruce had been buried deep in Jason the same way he was buried in Stephanie, chasing his pleasure. And just like Stephanie, Jason must've liked it.

How could he not, when being loved by Bruce was like being on a direct path of a meteorite? Fleeting, but brilliant in the chaos.

Stephanie tried to remember what Jason looked like, from the pictures. She tried to imagine how Bruce liked to fuck Jason and what Jason looked like under Bruce. How his dark hair got sweaty and his ocean-blue eyes squeezed shut. What type of noises he would make and what kinds of pleasure he liked.

Did Bruce suck him off? Eat his ass out like he ate Stephanie out?

Did Jason love the fall into absolution the same way Stephanie did?

All the mental images overwhelmed her as the Robin suit danced in front of her eyes, bright colors blurring together. The thought of Jason bent over the same table Stephanie was getting fucked on made her moan and her eyes squeezed shut.

In another universe, maybe they got fucked by Bruce at the same time. Two Robins for the price of one to finally get Bruce to go over the edge and take what he wanted from both of them.

For now, though, Stephanie would have to do the work for both of them. For all the Robins and this torch she carried.

She clenched down around Bruce as best she could. Her second orgasm was already too close. Usually she needed Bruce to stroke her clit to work her to the edge, but now, lost in all her fantasies of a boy she never knew, Stephanie was lost to it. She started to shake.

"Close," Stephanie warned, even when she didn't need to. Her noises were hitched and broken, lost in every thrust.

Bruce didn't speed up, but he did fuck her harder, giving her just a fraction of more force from his strong hips. It pulled a scream out of her, and Stephanie shattered.

The pleasure took its hold on her. Toe-curling and mind-numbing and every other cliche Stephanie thought only happened in porn. She clamped down around Bruce, so tight she didn't know how he managed to keep fucking her.

"Stephanie," Bruce whispered, so softly she almost convinced herself she hallucinated it. It was the only sign she got that Bruce had come, burying himself to the hilt just as her orgasm came to an end. He shivered and exhaled, and nothing else. No loud noises, no sexy dirty talk.

Just unspoken simplicity. Stephanie could appreciate it for what it was.

She nuzzled into him, pressing her head against his and holding him tightly. It would've been a hug if he wasn't still buried inside of her. She even dared to stroke his hair, like a mother soothing a child after a nightmare.

After an orgasm was the rare time Bruce allowed Stephanie to take care of him in these little ways, and she never squandered the chance. She hummed softly, carding her fingers through his curls and rubbing his back.

It wasn't a long moment.

"Chinese?" Bruce asked, pulling away from Stephanie's skin.

Stephanie rummaged around inside her worn mind, trying to find her cockiness. "Worked up that much of an appetite?" She gave him a sharp smile.

"If you don't give me a straight answer, I'll order Pizza Hut," Bruce threatened.

"Oh, gross." Stephanie made a face, afterglow sufficiently killed. "They have the worst pizza, don't you dare."

Bruce gave her a rare smile. He leaned in and kissed her one last time before they had to separate and be real people again.

That was where the memory faded off, for Stephanie. It bled into all the other little almost-domestic moments she had with Bruce.

It was a memory that stuck out because it was the first real time Stephanie had ever thought about Jason. And now, it was a fitting one to mull over as she was curled up against Jason’s chest, enjoying an entirely different afterglow.

And a much more sore body.

Because Jason didn't hold back all the things they both wanted more than anything.

"Say cheese," Stephanie said, holding up her phone to take a selfie.

Jason, whose head was propped up by his arm, looking perfectly serene, cracked an eye open. "What are you doing?" He sounded suspicious, watching as Stephanie twisted and turned the phone, trying to find the perfect angle.

She needed to make sure both of their bare chests were in the picture, with all the bruises and marks covering them.

She needed to make sure there was no mistaking what the photo meant.

"I'm sending this to Bruce," Stephanie hummed. She didn't smile for the picture, but there was an unmistakable smugness in her eyes as she snapped a couple of pictures, giving her options to pick from before pulling the phone back to her face.

Jason snorted. His grip on her hip tightened. "Why?" He didn't protest the idea.

Stephanie just shrugged. "It'll piss him off."

"You like kicking hornets' nests that much?"

"You've got no room to talk. How many heads were in that duffel bag again?" Stephanie gave him a deadpan look before going back to her phone. She debated on a message to send with the selfie, before ultimately deciding on none.

After all, Bruce was a man of few words. Surely he would understand.

Jason made an annoyed noise but didn't argue. "Tell me what he says back," he said, closing his eyes again and adjusting to get more comfortable in bed. This was his base they had chosen to fuck in.

The first place they fucked on was a rooftop. But of course, the lighting there wasn't the best for a selfie, so Stephanie had to hold off on taunting Bruce.

Sleeping with Jason was a lot more dangerous than sleeping with Bruce had been. She heard all the warnings and stories about what he was capable of and how he wasn't the sweet boy he'd once been.

Maybe she liked the danger. Maybe she needed someone who would finally stop treating her like a doll.

And just maybe, she needed to gloat.

The message was marked as read nearly as soon as it was sent. The three little dots indicating Bruce was typing appeared and disappeared no less than a dozen times. It made her smile, imagining him sputtering and cycling through emotions as he tried to figure out a response.

Just as Stephanie was sure she wasn't going to get any response, a message appeared on her screen.

Thank you for the photo. If you plan to send more, I still have your Robin suit. You can wear it in the next one.

Stephanie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She elbowed Jason in the ribs and showed him the screen.

Jason grunted and looked down for a moment, silent. "I'd fuck you in your Robin suit," was the only input he offered.

"Only if you're wearing yours too," Stephanie rolled her eyes at how unhelpful he was.

Jason gave the thought a hum, considering. "Ask Bruce if he still has it, and I'll think about it."

She had no idea if he was serious or not. It was always hard to tell, with Jason. She had no idea if Bruce was serious either. Maybe he was playing some kind of cruel joke on her too, trying to outsmart her in some game of chess just because she'd dare to mock him with the picture.

At the very least, she could be pleased she got under his skin either way.

Stephanie smiled and typed out what Jason had said, hitting send.

She always did like calling people's bluff. Whatever the outcome was, one thing was sure.

The game was on. And Stephanie wasn't stopping until she got the last fiber of Bruce's control to snap.

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jimsandfruit · 1 year ago

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Sharp

Distortion!Jon oneshot

Spoilers up to episode 47

Summary: Jon decides to go in and save Helen himself. Turns out saving two people out of the spiral is even harder than saving one.

TW: depersonalization

Jon wasn’t going to just sit there after watching an innocent woman walk straight into the belly of the beast! He had just heard her panic. He had just listened to her give her whole story and what she endured. How could he just… leave her there. Alone. Doomed to feed those halls. Trapped with that thing. ‘Micheal’.

The thing was standing in front of him right now. His hands were so long and pointed that his fingertips would probably be dragging against the ground if he didn’t talk with his hands so much. Jon couldn’t help but imagine how easy it would be to poke someone's eyes out with those things. The thing's long blond hair curled and shifted in ways nothing that actually exists was capable of. His smile brought the image of a shark to Jon's mind

He would not let this thing consume Helen. He would not just sit here, learn about all these horrors and not try to stop them.

Before ‘Micheal’ could process what Jon was doing, before Jon could question his own decision, he got up and ran to the door the thing had emerged from. The door that wasn’t supposed to be there.

He flung it open, and disregarded the things laughter “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Archivist”

“Well, you’re not me,” Jon snapped, before running into the hall. It was exactly what Helen had described barely twenty minutes ago. If he ran, maybe he could catch up to Helen before she wandered down any branching paths. So that’s exactly what he did. He ran dead sprint forwards. Not that it was hard, given the fact he had no doubt Micheal was following.

The mental image of that toothy-grinned distorted freak hot on his heels made it surprisingly easy to run faster and longer than he ever had. Occasionally the creature's laughter would fill the corridors. That unnerving chuckle echoed and felt like it ricochet around Jons head, multiplying and becoming more unbearable with every passing second.

It wasn’t too long before he started to hear another sound though. Or, he didn’t think it was too long. Helen hadn’t exaggerated how hard it was to estimate time here. Not that it mattered right now. The sound he heard was Helens' sobs. The true distress of someone who thought they were free from hell, only to tumble back in. Jon wouldn’t allow it.

He followed the sounds of the woman's sobs, eventually finding her “Miss Richardson!” He said, relieved that he had been able to find her. “We need to go, I think it's following,” Jon said, quickly grabbing her hand.

Helen looked at Jon, obviously shocked that he followed her in. She quickly wiped her tears with her free hand and started to run alongside Jon, understanding the importance of not wasting a second. Not with that thing's laughter indicating it was far too close for comfort.

“You said… it was a… a mirror… that got you out… last time.. Right?” Jon asked between gasps for air. He couldn’t help but feel like he should start taking up running as a hobby if things like this and Jane Prentiss were going to be so common.

“Y-yes. A mirror w…. Without him in it” Helen responded, seeming a bit out of breath as well.

“Keep your eyes… peeled… jump in without hesitation… when you find it… don’t wait for me. I’ll follow” Jon responded, starting to grow exhausted, and feeling that stabbing pain in the side that happens when someone who never runs tries to run too long and too hard. But stopping wasn’t an option.

Jon wasn’t sure if they were running for hours or minutes. It was honestly jarring to realize just how relative time was. How easy it was to become lost in it and for those numbers people tracked their life to become so abstract. Eventually, though, They spotted a mirror that didn’t hold some nerve-wracking reflection of the figure following them.

True to plan, Helen didn’t hesitate. Unlike Jon had planned though, once the woman had thrown herself at the empty mirror and had fallen through it, presumably into the real world, the mirror disappeared. Turns out they were only a one-use-only thing.

Jon felt his stomach drop. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could run. How long before the adrenaline couldn’t force his legs to carry him anymore? How far away would the next clear mirror be? How far back was the creature?

“I told you, Archivist… this wasn’t a very good idea” The creature's voice bounced through the walls, and Jon had a sneaking suspicion that the creature could have caught up to them all along. He felt his legs wobble and had a feeling his body may give out any second. But he started running again.

Was Micheal just trying to exhaust him? Trying to bide his time while Jon found it harder and harder to move?

“Oh, Archivist… I knew you were supposed to be nosy, but I believe you’ve gone too far. What a shame. We were going to have so much fun. Oh well…”

Jon tried to ignore the things words. Tried to not focus on understanding them for now. He had to run. He had to just focus on runni-

The Archivist's legs gave out, causing him to tumble to the ground. No matter his terror or desperation to get up, he couldn’t force his body to move and run.

The creature came over, walking at a meandering pace that pissed Jon off. The smugness rolling off the creature made Jon wish he could just strangle it.

“Oh the memories… I.. he was like you, you know…”

“Who is ‘he’” Jon demanded

The distorted figure laughed. A laugh softer than the others. “Micheal Shelly, of course. Gertrudes assistant.”

“W… what does Gertrude have to do with any of this!?!”

“Oh Archivist, you’re so… new” ‘Micheal said, amusement and smugness dripping from his voice. “It’s alright.” The creature said, squatting down. “You’ll understand. Perhaps not the way they intended for you, now that you’re here… but you’ll understand”

“Just explain it to me! Stop spitting these riddles! Just kill me or let me out. Whatever you're doing, just get it over with!”

“I’m doing nothing, Archivist. This is all you” The oddly angled creature said, its laughter growing louder and more intense again. It caused Jons head to throb. And maybe he was just imagining things, but he felt the oddest stabbing pain in his fingertips…

It was too much. Too loud. Were the colors swirling now? Where was Micheal? The laughter wouldn’t stop.

Jons head felt like it was about to explode in pain. A burst of color filled his vision before he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

—

Jon (was he? For some reason the name sounded wrong in his head. Like trying to put on a jacket you had back in middle school) Woke up, who knows how long after.

He felt like he should care about how long it had been. He knew he should probably find another empty mirror. He should be keeping an eye out for Micheal. He should be trying to make it back home.

But… he didn’t want to. No, why would he? What was at the Archives? A staff that he was struggling to get work done with, and who might even want him dead? Endless horror stories that seemed so traumatizing and yet so pointless? A boss who wouldn’t listen? A house, empty and cold?

What was so bad about these halls anyways? Micheal was no longer anywhere to be seen. No laughter. No sign he was ever even there. Jon got to his feet and made his way over to a mirror, wondering if the creature was still reflected in them.

Some deep part of him knew what he saw should horrify him. It was his own reflection, but to say it was Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute in the mirror would be a blatant lie.

He was smiling, which is something you would be hard-pressed to see Jon doing. His teeth were jagged. Sharp. Shark like. His hair twisted and moved on its own, almost as if it was floating underwater. He brought his hand up to his face, only to find they were much longer than he remembered. Sharper. He could probably poke someone's eyes out with them.

Jon felt a chuckle tumble out of his throat. Micheal was right. Jon did understand, now.

#sam21 writes #the magnus archives au #the magnus archive fanart #the magnus archives #tma jon #jon the archivist #jonathan sims #tma oneshot #the magnus archives oneshot #the distortion #micheal tma #micheal the distortion #tma au #tma #tma fanfic

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winchesterszvonecek · 2 months ago

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I See Red 18+

Chapter 18 - I’m Not Going Anywhere

Word Count: 9474

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

For the last twenty four hours, Selina had been an unwilling participant in what she was describing as mind-numbing, and constant, speculation about how she managed to control Crowley’s hound. To tell the truth she couldn’t care less about the hound itself let alone how she controlled it – as she had already kind of guessed the answer to that question.

It had to have been because of Crowley, who was pretty much the only thing, or person rather, that she actually cared about right now, which is why she was doing her absolute best to block out the incessant ramblings of her brothers and their many theories. Some of which ranged from her having once “bathed” in the blood of a fellow hound, her having walked directly into hell as opposed to only her soul going, and the more plausible of them all, her being Lucifer’s vessel.

Obviously none of those were even remotely true, but Selina couldn’t exactly tell the truth about how she controlled the hound without exposing her relationship with Crowley, so she simply continued to ignore them and instead tried to focus on how she was going to go about fixing said relationship.

Or worse, how she was going to end it.

Ever since she told Crowley to go, Selina had been debating with herself constantly, about whether being in a committed relationship with the King of Hell really was a good idea after all. She knew from the very moment she started having feelings for him that it probably wasn’t, hence why she had resisted Crowley until she physically, and emotionally, couldn’t anymore. And even now she still wasn’t fully convinced that their relationship wouldn’t end in anything other than heartbreak but at the same time she wanted to be with him. Hell, at this point she needed to be with him, as every single second of the day that she wasn’t with him felt like agony.

Especially now, when all she could think about were those text messages, which would then morph into disturbing images about him and some other woman that left her feeling sick to her stomach.

Selina knew exactly why this whole ordeal was so hard for her. Why the thought of ending the relationship, regardless of any suspected infidelity, was utterly heartbreaking. She was in love with him. She was so deeply, so madly in love with Crowley that even the mere thought of losing him was enough to make her feel utterly paralysed and at this point, she had absolutely no idea what to do next.

“Hey,” Sam said softly, giving Selina a gentle nudge which forced her to fall out of her thoughts and back into the real world, allowing him to continue, “are you doing okay? You’ve been picking at your food since you sat down.”

“Yeah,” Selina exhaled, forcing a weak smile that she knew Sam would see right through yet she didn’t have the energy to care about. She pulled her hand back from the table, where it had, indeed, spent the last… however long since Dean and Castiel brought the food home, picking at her fries. “Yeah, I’m okay. I guess I’m just not that hungry.”

“Rowena did say that the side effects of such powerful magic can cause loss of appetite,” Sam replied, as though trying to ease his own worries as under normal circumstances, Selina would have demolished that burger and fries. And sent Castiel off for seconds.

“I still can’t believe you called Crowley’s mother for advice,” Dean muttered, shaking his head briefly as he shoved the last of his fries into his mouth and subtly eyed up Selina’s untouched meal.

“Crowley thought she could help,” Sam said in defence – of his own actions, of course. He’d never defend Crowley, regardless of the strange friendship he had with Selina that prompted him to recommend Rowena to them in the first place.

At the mention of Crowley, Selina’s stomach began to churn so much that she actually slid her entire meal across the table towards Dean, whose eyes widened like a child opening presents on their birthday. She then stood up, downing the last of her soda as sometimes the fizziness would help settle her stomach and she was really hoping that would be the case here as she truly couldn’t take feeling like this anymore.

And yes, she knew how to stop herself from feeling like this – by talking to Crowley. But she just wasn’t sure whether she could manage to do that right now so instead she’d opt for soda.

“I’m just gonna take a shower and then go to bed,” Selina said around a fake yawn, ignoring Castiel’s eyes that had been glued, almost suspiciously, to her since the moment he brought her home yesterday. She had a feeling he might have figured out the truth about her and Crowley, therefore she had been avoiding him like the plague in order to avoid that conversation.

Leaving the room before anyone could so much as bid her a goodnight, Selina walked as quickly as she could down the corridor, in hopes that she could get away and be by herself for the rest of the night in order to wallow in her own self pity. However, to her everlasting and unfortunate luck, Castiel had decided to follow after her and just seconds before she could slip into the shower room, he called her name and she immediately froze in place.

Here we go, Selina thought to herself. Here was the dreaded moment in which he told her that he knew her dirty little secret, and was giving her one chance to either break things off with Crowley, or to come clean to her brothers about their relationship – neither of which Selina was overly fond about doing.

“I know you wish to rest so I’ll make this quick,” Castiel said, stepping around Selina in order to face her as it didn’t seem like she was going to turn around herself. He noticed the way she held her breath, as though she knew what he was going to say – which didn’t surprise him as she was very intuitive. Although in this case, she seemed to be a little off in what she was expecting as his next words took her greatly by surprise. “Back when I was working with Crowley, I quickly came to learn that he hates pretty much everyone. But the way he is with you. The way he looks at you… There’s no doubt in my mind that he would ever be unfaithful towards you.”

“I…” Selina began, about to babble out some nonsense about how she had absolutely no idea what Castiel was talking about, but given the fact that he could easily sense when someone was lying and the fact that Selina didn’t have the energy to lie, all she did was sigh, “How did you know?”

“I had my suspicions for a while now, but I, uh, I heard you both arguing yesterday,” Castiel confessed, watching as Selina nodded her head gently and fiddled with her necklace – part of him wondering if she even knew the truth behind it or whether she thought it was nothing more than a simple ruby.

“I don’t know what to do, Cas,” Selina said, her voice a little shaky and the second she felt the lump rise in her throat she quickly swallowed it down as she would not allow herself to cry again. Although she wouldn’t lie, it did feel nice to finally have someone she could be honest with as truthfully, keeping this secret was becoming mentally exhausting.

“Do what you think is right.”

“None of this is right,” Selina admitted, trying her best to keep her voice down as words tended to travel easily through the bunker corridors. She didn’t like admitting to herself, let alone anyone else, that what she was doing was wrong, but she just couldn’t deny it any longer. “Crowley is a demon. There’s nothing right about this at all.”

“At one time I would have agreed with you, but the more time I spend on Earth the more I come to realise that things don’t always have to be right. Sometimes, they just have to make you happy.” And with that Castiel walked off, as in his mind he’d said all he needed to say in order to hopefully get through to Selina.

Unfortunately though it would take a lot more than that to get through to her. She’d spent her whole life giving up her own happiness for the sake of others, so to her there was really no difference here as chances are she’d never be truly happy. In her mind there were only two options: one, she stays with Crowley and most likely loses her brothers in the process or two, she chooses her brothers and in turn loses Crowley. Either way, neither of those ended with her being truly happy so really all she could do now was think about which one of those options would be the easiest to live with.

In a perfect world she’d be able to talk to Sam and Dean about it – or rather, in a perfect world she would be able to keep both her brothers and Crowley but given that God hates this world and likes to watch it suffer, that wasn’t a viable option here. Anyway, she really wished she could talk to Sam and Dean, as both of them had, at one point, given up someone they loved for this life, which she knows isn't exactly the same as her scenario but it’s as close as she could ever get it to be.

However, given who it was that she loved and how that would play out should she tell them, Selina decided she couldn’t risk opening that door and instead opted to carry on with her night alone and go for a shower.

Showers normally brought Selina a sense of comfort and peace, meaning she ended up staying in them until her skin went wrinkly and the steam made her lightheaded. But in this case, it only offered her ample time to be alone with her thoughts and given what those thoughts were revolving around and how badly they made her want to curl up into a ball, she decided to cut her shower incredibly short and head back to her room where hopefully, she could distract herself with one of her comfort movies.

Closing, and locking, her bedroom door behind her, Selina allowed her towel to drop from around her and grabbed her robe from the back of the door, securing it tightly around her waist as she delved further into the room. She went to undo her hair, as she often tied it up for showers in which she didn’t wash it, but the second her hand touched the top of her head she remembered – she hadn’t needed to tie it up as her hair was now short enough that it wouldn’t get wet in the shower.

And truth be told, that only gave her another reason to be upset.

Dropping her hand back down to her side and resisting the urge to just scream until she started to feel better, Selina grabbed her remote from her bedside table and switched on the TV. She went instantly to the app Charlie had installed for her, allowing her to watch anything she could ever possibly want and meaning she had each and every one of her comfort movies on stand-by. She even had a brand new documentary she could watch about penguins, as she loved penguins, but chances are it would make only her cry and she really didn’t want to cry, therefore a comfort movie was the safest option.

And after scrolling for a few minutes she quickly decided on her all time favourite, and guaranteed to distract her, comfort movie – Saw 3.

The movie began to play as Selina dug around in her drawers for a pair of specific pyjamas, and by specific she meant her biggest, baggiest t-shirt and the comfiest pair of shorts she owned. Most of her pyjamas were comfortable, don't get her wrong, but sometimes you just really want that one specific pair and in this case, Selina didn’t need anything else irritating her tonight so the less chances she gave herself of that happening, the better.

After locating the pyjamas and quickly throwing them on, Selina settled on the edge of her bed and ran both hands down her face, stretching out her skin with how hard she’d pressed down in order to feel something other than pain and tiredness. She was utterly exhausted as she hadn’t slept a wink last night, and something told her she wouldn’t tonight either as there was a hell of a lot more on her mind than there had been yesterday.

Part of her was tempted to ask Castiel to simply put her to sleep but chances are he’d make talk to Crowley first as that would be “more healthy” than an angelic coma, but she wasn’t feeling up to arguing with him about it and instead, she simply accepted her fate. She tossed the remote aside and shuffled back onto her bed, glancing behind her to make sure she wasn’t about to sit on Kit, who was actually on top of her wardrobe. When she looked forwards again, she was immediately greeted by Death, who was now standing at the edge of her bed and had made her jump so much she was pretty sure she had levitated for a second.

“Motherf…” Selina began, before she pressed her lips firmly shut as she never liked swearing in front of primordial beings in case they didn’t like it and scattered her atoms across the universe. “Don’t you people ever knock?”

“Do you?” Death said in retort, unphased by her attitude as he’d grown used to it over the years. He raised his eyebrow, swapping his cane from one hand to the other as Selina simply rolled her lips in response, choosing not to reply as he had a point. She had walked into his library unannounced and uninvited, so she really wasn’t one to talk about manners.

“Why are you here?” Selina asked instead, wanting to speed things along as she had some torture to get back to watching and as fond as she was of Death, he wasn’t the black suit wearing supernatural being she really wanted to see right now.

“I’m here because I’m fed up with your incessant moping.” Death said, as he never was one to beat around the bush.

“My moping?” Selina repeated, her eyes widened. “Why do you care if I’m moping? No actually, wait a second, how do you know that I’m moping? Are you spying on me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Selina, I have far more important things to do than spy on you,” Death replied, as coldly as ever. He took a step forward, glancing briefly towards the screen where he wasn’t at all surprised to see what was playing and had been wondering how long it would take before she buried her emotions in violence.

“Then I’ll ask you again, how do you know I’m moping?” Selina asked, a little fed up. And to tell the truth, a little offended that he was accusing her of moping – which she was, but shush, she didn’t need to hear it out loud.

“Because I can feel it.” Death told her, to which Selina’s eyebrows dipped from utter confusion. “And quite frankly, I’m sick of it.”

“Wait, you can feel it? What? Are you saying we’re connected or something?” Selina said around a nervous chuckle.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Death replied, and due to the fact that he didn’t lie, nor did he have much of a sense of humour, Selina didn’t think he was joking.

“Yeah, I don’t think I like that,” Selina said, crossing her arms and running her hands up and down the sides of them as her entire body seemed to shiver. If they really were connected and he really could feel her moping, then what the hell else could he feel?

“Tough,” Death said bluntly, taking a final step forward to where there was no longer a gap between his legs and the end of her bed, making Selina shuffle back a little as he seemed a lot more intimidating now than he’d ever been. “You should have thought about that before you agreed to wear my ring in order to save your brother’s soul. Not to mention having not only been to my library, but owning the key as well. Now because of all that, we have the unfortunate issue of sharing a connection and let me just say, I am far more aggrieved by it than you could ever be.”

Selina went to reply, more than likely with something snappy, which is probably why Death cut her off before she could so much as get out the first syllable of her first word as he didn’t have the patience to deal with her attitude, not when he’d felt enough of it yesterday.

“I have an important role in this universe, and in many others, but I can’t exactly play it when all I can feel is you moping around here like a teenage girl having a strop, now can I?” Death finished, finding himself a little taken aback that Selina hadn’t mouthed off to him in response like she’d been about to.

Instead she had closed her mouth fully and dropped her eyes to her lap, where her fingers fiddled anxiously with a loose thread on the hem of her shirt as unknown to him, his tone of voice had thrown her right back to her childhood and for a second, all she heard was John.

“Selina, I know what you’re dealing with,” Death said, with a surprisingly softer tone than one might have thought possible from him, causing Selina to look back up at him now that he no longer resembled her father. “I know that you have trust issues. I know that everyone around you, your family included, has lied to you about one thing or another, and that would give anyone the right to be doubtful. But I also know that Crowley cares for you. That he has put his entire life on the line for you and if you think he would jeopardise all that by fooling around with some low-level demon then you’re a lot less smarter than I thought you were.”

“If you know I have trust issues,” Selina began, ignoring the rapid beat of her heart beneath her rib, “then what makes you think I’m gonna believe anything you have to say to me?”

“What would I possibly gain from lying?”

“Peace,” Selina said bluntly, shuffling herself up a little further against the headboard. “You just said I was annoying you with my moping. But if I’m no longer moping, then you get peace.”

“If all I wanted was peace, I would simply sever the connection by killing you,” Death said plainly, and Selina wouldn’t lie, she considered asking him to do that just so she would get some peace of her own.

“What else do you want then?” Selina asked curiously. “If not only peace.”

“I want you to be happy,” Death replied, before he suddenly teleported directly in front of Selina and lightly placed two fingers to her forehead. “So close your eyes, and watch.”

Selina’s eyes closed, whether by her own volition or Death’s she had no idea, but she didn’t get much chance to think on that, not when her mind suddenly fell out of the grey swirl of nothingness it had currently been in and landed smack bang in the middle of the one place she longed to be – Crowley’s bedroom. For a second she felt sick, as though she might see her worst fear come to life in the shape of Crowley and another woman, but when she scanned the room and found the bed empty, she slowly started to relax.

A few seconds passed by until eventually, Crowley returned to his room. She knew this must have been before her accusations of infidelity as he seemed to be a lot happier than she suspected him of being now, especially since his eyes were glued to his phone, and when Selina shuffled forward a little to peek over his shoulder, her heart nearly burst at what was displayed on screen.

Her.

Crowley was staring at the last picture she had sent him before their fight and in that moment Selina knew she’d been crazy. She knew Crowley would never cheat on her, not with the way he was currently gazing at a simple picture of her with what she could only hope was love in his eyes, as with each slowly passing second she found herself falling deeper in love with him and it really would crush her to learn he was incapable of loving her back.

In fact, Selina was so fixated on Crowley and his potential inability to love that she hadn’t even noticed that someone else had entered the room, not until a faint, muffled voice pulled both her own, and Crowley’s, attention towards it. She couldn’t hear anything this new addition was saying but it wouldn’t take a degree in rocket science to come to the conclusion that this was Lola, wearing the body of an attractive and curvy brunette woman, who would have caught most men’s eyes within minutes.

But when it came to Crowley, he didn’t even look at her twice. He barely answered her either, his eyes continuously flicking down to his phone where Selina’s picture still resided. And it wasn’t until Guthrie entered the room a few moments later, looking a little flustered and if Selina had read his lips right, as for some reason she couldn’t make out anything they were saying in this… memory, or whatever it was, then she was fairly certain he had muttered something about a hellhound.

At that, Selina caught the scheming way in which Lola smiled, and when Crowley absently set his phone next to his discarded coat before following Guthrie outside the room, she slipped a hex-bag into his pocket. Seconds later, Crowley’s phone pinged with the very message that had started all of this and from that moment, Selina finally knew the truth.

The world around her started to fade and before she knew it, Selina was back in her room. She blinked a few times, trying to stop her head from spinning and once it did, not only did she notice that Death was now gone, but that the pain she had felt in her chest was now surpassing the point of unbearable. She knew what she had to do. She had to talk to Crowley, she had to tell him she was sorry and that she knew the truth but at the same time she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get the words out without crying.

So instead, Selina grabbed her phone, opened up her text thread with Crowley, deleted the previous messages in order to put them behind her and then, she began to type.

Selina: I don’t know if you even want to hear from me but I need you to know that I know what really happened. I know you didn’t cheat on me and I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you but instead I blew things up like I usually do and for that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, and I understand if you’ve had enough and you want to call it quits but I just want you to know that I miss you… and I really wish you were here with me right now.

Chewing anxiously on the skin of her lip and never once drawing her eyes away from the screen, Selina waited… And waited… Until eventually, those three little dots appeared on screen, indicating that Crowley was typing and helping spark an ounce of hope in her chest that perhaps she’d just been over dramatic in thinking she’d ruined everything, and that maybe Crowley could forgive her for blowing things out of proportion.

However, as the dots continued to bounce up and down and as each painstakingly long second passed by, Selina’s heartbeat started to increase and her stomach began to churn. And when those three hopeful dots disappeared, with no message following behind them, she was pretty certain that she had well and truly fucked things up.

With a faint click her phone screen went black and she tossed it aside before slouching down against her headboard, wishing she had more than four pillows so she could bury herself away in them forever. She knew she never should have made Crowley go without hearing him out first and now, because she had done just that, she was paying the price.

Selina turned onto her side, her back facing away from the TV screen that was still playing as she pulled her duvet up as far as she could, until only her face was peeking out from beneath it — she never could fully hide away underneath it as it always made her feel like she was suffocating. And speaking of things she could feel, her eyes were already starting to sting with tears and she very nearly gave in in allowing them to fall.

Until she heard him.

“I’m here, Selina.”

The duvet cover almost went flying across the room with the mere force in which Selina threw it off herself, part of her having trouble believing it was actually Crowley she heard and not her imagination being cruel and twisted. But when she saw him standing there, looking a little more dishevelled than she’d been in the memory, her heart nearly burst in her chest and those first few tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. She didn’t even bother getting off the bed and instead shuffled down it on her knees, falling forward instantly when she knew she’d be met with Crowley’s chest and not the cold, cement floor beneath them.

“I’m sorry,” Selina whispered, burying her face in the crook of Crowley’s neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Like seriously, he could have snapped her in half with how much strength he was using. Not that Selina minded though, she was just glad to see that she hadn’t ruined things like she’d originally thought. “I never should have told you to go.”

“It’s okay, darling.” Crowley said assuringly, soothingly. He was about to raise one hand up to stroke the back of Selina’s head the way he knew she liked before she lifted it, her eyes glassy and he could tell by the dark circles beneath them that she’d been beating herself up since the moment he left.

“No, it’s not okay,” Selina shook her head as she removed her arms from around his neck, instead curling her fingers around the lapels of his coat as though she were afraid he’d leave. “I should have listened to you… I should have let you explain what happened instead of being difficult…”

Crowley then went to speak, more than likely to explain that he hadn’t meant what he’d said and it had just been in the heat of the moment (and thank God it wasn’t Tuesday). But before he could do so much as let out a breath, Selina raised one hand and lightly placed her thumb on his lips, stopping him from going any further as he wasn’t the one who needed to explain himself here.

She was.

“Don’t,” she said softly, slowly drawing her thumb down his lips to land on his chin before the rest of her fingers splayed out over his cheek. “You were right. I was being difficult and I know that now. I know I should have listened to you. That I should have trusted you, and I do. I trust you with my life but sometimes…

“Sometimes I can’t help but be sceptical about whether or not something is real. I mean, look at my past. Look at how many times I’ve been lied to. How many times I’ve been betrayed… These days I barely even trust myself, and when I saw those messages, and with what happened after I guess… I guess that part of my mind was just scaring me into believing that maybe none of this was ever real.”

“Selina, this is real,” Crowley said seriously, taking her face in his hands and wiping away the few lone tears that continued to slide down her freckled cheeks. “What I feel for you is real.”

“I know. And that’s what scares me,” she replied, her voice barely even a whisper. But it was loud enough for Crowley to hear, and loud enough for him to narrow his eyes a little in question, prompting Selina to add, “My whole life I’ve never had… this. I’ve never been in a serious relationship before and I was fine with that. I was fine with never having known what it felt like to be in love but now… Now that I finally know what that feels like…” Selina took a breath, which trembled lightly as she watched Crowley’s eyes slowly widen at her confession. “That’s what truly scares me because I don’t know how to love someone. All I know is that I do… I love you… And it’s totally okay if you can’t say it back…”

Before Selina could say anything else, Crowley placed his thumb on her lips, just as she’d done to him only moments ago, cutting her off and stopping her from rambling on as something told him she was about to. And as much as he’d normally love to listen to her ramble on about things, he really needed her to be quiet. Otherwise, he might never have been able to gather enough strength to say the next four words that slipped past his lips.

“I love you too.”

“You do?” Selina said, and with how soft her tone sounded, not to mention the way in which her eyes danced with hope, Crowley knew for certain that she’d truly needed to hear that.

“I do.” Crowley nodded briefly, lightly drawing his thumb across the length of her jawline before his fingers travelled up the side of her face and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I have for some time now only I never knew how to say it out loud… I had simply hoped that my actions were enough to help show you that I did.”

“I had hoped that you did,” Selina confessed, dropping her eyes a little as she always hated how pathetic she felt whenever she showed any sort of vulnerability. “But then again, I’m not as good at reading people as I think I am. Mainly because half the time they’re saying one thing yet they mean something completely different.”

“I mean what I said,” Crowley said seriously, almost sternly as though he were trying to make sure it sunk into her, honestly stubborn, head. The last thing he wanted was for her to be living with doubts her whole life — as that’s how long he intended to be with her, until the harsh reality of humanity stole her away from him — so he really needed her to know that he meant it. “I love you, Selina. Only you.”

“And I love you,” Selina whispered, followed behind by a short, shaky breath that might have been a full on sob had she not managed to compose herself a little. She’d never had a non-relative say they loved her, so to have not only the person she loved say it back, but for that person to be Crowley? It was all a lot for her to take in right now.

However, she didn’t get long to think about that, or about how she was going to come out and tell her brothers who she was in love with before Crowley pulled her in for what she could only describe as the kiss of a lifetime. On one hand his fingers were tangled in her hair, gripping it gently to keep her firmly in place against his lips. His other fell to her hip, where his fingertips were slowly dipping deeper into her clothed flesh, causing Selina to arch her body towards him and hum softly into his mouth.

“God, that sound alone is enough to make me never want to look at another woman again,” Crowley breathed out, taking Selina’s lips in his again before she even had a chance to breathe let alone say anything in response.

Not that she even knew what to say, her mind was too far gone with the mere touch and taste of Crowley that she hadn’t even realised he’d lowered her back onto the bed. It wasn’t until her body sunk into the mattress and her leg absently hooked around the back of his, did she pick up on where he so clearly wanted this to go. But no matter how addicting the feather light brushes of his fingers across her thigh were, and as much as she wanted to experience make-up sex for the first time, as she had a feeling it would be something else entirely and that she’d reach even higher peaks than ever before, she simply couldn’t.

“Wait, wait,” Selina gasped out, as Crowley had chosen that exact moment in time to sink his teeth into the skin of her neck. “Fuck… Stop, please, stop.”

Crowley stopped instantly, removing his wandering hand from beneath her shirt and instead using it to hold himself up, remaining towered over her as she had yet to push him off. She had also yet to remove her leg from around his, so he was pretty certain that she was okay with that particular part of the situation. Though, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a little worried. That maybe he might have been going too far too quickly. Or worse, that he had hurt her.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Crowley asked, bringing his free hand up to lightly brush his thumb over the spot on her neck where he was convinced he’d bitten too hard.

“No, no, you didn’t hurt me,” Selina said quickly, assuringly, and with a sweet smile that remained on her face even when she leaned up to place a soft kiss to his lips, feeling the way his face, and body, softened with relief. “You did everything exactly right, I just,” she let out a sigh, dropping her head back onto the bed and glancing up at him, “God, I would love nothing more than to have make-up sex with you right now but I can’t.”

“Are you worried your brothers might hear us?” Crowley asked curiously, watching as Selina’s face suddenly dropped as though she’d just remembered exactly where she was and who was around her.

“I am now,” she huffed out around a nervous chuckle, and suddenly she was glad she had locked her bedroom door as explaining their current position to anyone who barged into her room would not be fun. “But, uh, no. No, that wasn’t it. I uh, I’m sort of… on my period.”

“Ah, I see,” Crowley replied plainly, making no move to pull himself back off her in disgust like she assumed most men would. “Although I must say, that’s never bothered me before and now that you mention it, I do recall reading a little something about how an orgasm can do wonders for a woman’s cramps.”

Selina laughed softly, “Oh, did you now?”

Had this been anyone else she might have felt inclined to bring up how cocky it sounded in him assuming he could pull an orgasm from her, but given that it was Crowley, who never failed to do so, and more times than one she might add, she didn’t even stop to think about that.

“I did,” Crowley said quietly, leaning down to kiss her gently, feeling her hands lift up to his face and when she began to run her thumbs along the lining of his beard his heart very nearly exploded in his chest as for a time there, he wasn’t sure whether he’d feel that again. “What do you say we try it out?”

“As tempting as that sounds,” Selina began, craning herself up to take his lips in hers again and quietly murmuring against them, “I just find period sex too uncomfortable to want to do it… Especially when Saw 3 is playing in the background.”

“Is it?” Crowley said in genuine surprise, glancing over his shoulder towards the TV and catching the final breath of life leaving some guy after his limbs were twisted from his body. Guess the sounds of torture where nothing more than white noise to him now. Although… the manner in which this particular character died was intriguing, therefore he mumbled aloud, “Huh, perhaps I should be taking notes instead.”

At that, Selina couldn’t help but chuckle as she gave him a playful nudge on the arm, drawing Crowley's attention back to her, where once he saw that intoxicating smile of hers again all thoughts of torture left his mind and he couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her, wanting to feel said smile against his lips before it disappeared.

“But maybe you still want to stay the night?” Selina asked, almost timidly yet so full of hope that she thought she might drown in it.

“Darling, you don’t even need to ask,” Crowley replied, placing one last kiss on her lips before pulling back. He then took Selina’s hand, helping to lift her back to her previous position and once she was settled on her knees he slipped his arms around her waist and held her as close to him as he possibly could, needing to feel her heartbeat against his as had things gone differently yesterday, Selina’s heart may never have beat again.

“Crowley?” Selina murmured against his neck, hearing a faint hum leave Crowley’s lips in response as he did nothing but rub slow circles on her back with his hand. “Why did Lola really try to kill me?”

“Because of me,” Crowley said around a sigh, pulling back just enough to be able to look Selina in the eyes and when he saw that hint of sadness, mixed with jealousy, lingering behind them, it prompted him to correct himself, “or rather, because she hates me. And would find immense pleasure in crushing my very being.”

“Then why not just kill me herself?” Selina questioned, ignoring the flutter of her stomach over hearing that her death would crush Crowley's entire being. If he hadn't already confessed his love for her then that sentence alone would have done it for him as just knowing that she was his weakness, and that his demons knew it too, was enough for any lingering doubts Selina may have had in her mind to swiftly fade away. “Why go through all that trouble?”

“I believe she thought she could maximise my pain and suffering by having you die by my hands,” Crowley explained, to which the realisation soon clouded over Selina’s eyes – she hadn't thought of it that way. “She released my hound not only to lure you out of here, but in hopes that I would blame myself for it having torn you to pieces, and that I would have to live with the belief that you died thinking I was responsible. Or in this case, that you had died believing that I had been unfaithful.”

“You think she somehow knew that you would accidentally leave your phone sitting out?”

“No. Despite her reputation as a homewrecker I believe that was simply a case of her being in the right place at the right time. An added bonus if you will. And as for the hex-bag, it was nothing more than a back-up should Juliette have failed in taking you out. Just another way she could pin the blame on me for your death.” Crowley explained, and Selina gently nodded her head, yet she continued to chew anxiously at her lip. “You don’t need to worry about Lola anymore, darling, I took care of her.”

“No, I know. I figured you would, but it’s just…” Selina sighed, slumping back to rest against her heels which caused Crowley’s arms to loosen from around her and fall back to his sides. “She was on your phone.. She saw your background, she saw our messages… Our photos… What’s to say she hasn’t told your entire asylum about us? What’s to say my brothers aren’t finding out about us right now from some random demon looking for immunity from them?”

“They have to find out about us sometime,” Crowley said softly, settling himself on the edge of Selina’s bed and taking her hand, placing a light kiss against her knuckles. “We can’t live like this forever.”

“I know,” Selina sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. “But I wanted to be the one to tell them. I didn’t want them to have to find out by having some demon send them screenshots of our messages.”

“Now you’re just getting ahead of yourself,” Crowley shuffled closer to her, placing his hand aside Selina’s face and turning it to face him properly. At the same time his other landed atop hers, stopping her from tapping it against her thigh in a fluster. “Chances are Lola didn’t even think to do anything with what she saw… Why would she? She assumed her plan would work and that you’d be dead, so in her mind she wouldn’t have needed to expose us. Especially when it would only give your brothers added ammunition towards hunting me down and we both know Lola didn’t want me dead. She wanted me to suffer and I couldn’t exactly do that if your brothers killed me now could I?”

“I suppose,” Selina reluctantly agreed. She knew Crowley made a valid point but it still didn’t help ease the pit that was rapidly growing in her stomach. “I guess I’m just scared to see how they’ll react when they do find out.”

“Well unless you’re planning on telling them now, you needn’t worry,” Crowley said, gently bringing Selina’s face towards him in order to place a soft kiss to her forehead in hopes that it would help her relax, as oftentimes, it did. And in this case it was no different as the second he pulled back from her he could already tell that she was a lot more relaxed than she’d been a minute ago. “Oh, I almost forgot to say… I love your new haircut.”

“That makes one of us,” Selina mumbled, dropping her eyes to where the ends of her hair now lay splayed out across her shoulders and hating having been reminded of it. Though that didn’t mean she didn’t smile just a little, as she never could resist it when Crowley would compliment her – which was damn near all the time and something told her he did if that often simply because she smiled like that.

“You don’t like it?” Crowley asked curiously, lifting his hand to run his palm down the length of her hair, allowing him to feel the softness of her loose curls beneath it as she timidly shook her head. “How come?”

What Selina meant to respond with was a made-up story about how she’d gone to the salon and the stylist had cut it a lot shorter than she would have wanted, but when she opened her mouth she quickly found that it had chosen to go against her mind and before she could stop herself, she was telling Crowley everything. And by everything, she meant everything. From what had happened to make her have to cut her hair, to why doing just that had upset her so much – aka, her deep seated issues of childhood trauma.

It didn’t stop there though, as once Selina got going in talking about her childhood she found it rather difficult to stop. She guessed it was due to the fact that she never spoke about it to anyone, whether it be her brothers, who obviously knew about it but just hadn’t actually heard about it from Selina’s own lips, or whether it had been Bobby, or perhaps even a therapist — who it probably should have been but at this point it was probably too late for that. Whoever it may have been, she had simply chosen not to have to burden them with her own issues as she was well aware they all had their own. But when it came to Crowley, she just couldn’t seem to stop herself and honestly, by the time she got done telling him about her abandoned stuffed bunny, she didn’t even want to stop.

“To this day I still think about that bunny,” Selina carried on, not even bothering to stop for breath half the time as she knew it would only make her crumble. “His name was Sir Hops-A-Lot. Childish I know, but I was five years old at the time so I thought it was appropriate. I still remember the day Dean got him for me. He’d spent the last of his own money trying to win him for me in one of those giant claw machines, instead of using it to buy himself pie or whatever it was that he had wanted.

“I don’t recall whether I had cried when Dean gave it to me but I certainly remember crying when my so-called father grabbed him out of my hands and threw him from the car window. I’ll never forget watching as we drove away from it. When I was trying my hardest to cry in silence so John wouldn’t shout at me again.”

At that point Selina finally took a second to breathe and when she did, it suddenly clicked in her mind that she had been rambling on and on about her childhood for a good twenty minutes or so. Obviously, she hadn’t intended to say any of that out loud, especially when all Crowley asked her was why she didn’t like her hair, but there was just something about having him with her that made her actually want to tell him everything. Not only because she thought it might help her feel better about it and that maybe she’d start to heal from it, but because she knew it wouldn’t scare him away once he found out how messed up she truly was.

“Sorry, you just got a lot more than you bargained for there,” Selina said through a nervous chuckle, wiping at her eyes as at some point during her confessional, they’d started to water.

“Don’t apologise, love,” Crowley said softly, despite the anger he felt over hearing how she had been treated. He may not have been the best father himself and he was definitely a lot worse than Selina’s had been but that didn’t make him feel any less hatred towards John Winchester – who he would absolutely be visiting in Hell in order to torture him personally.

John may have climbed out of Hell once that Devil’s Gate opened but there was absolutely no way he was getting into Heaven after the things he’d done and once he helped take down Azazel, he was swiftly thrown back to where he well and truly belonged.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” Crowley continued, using his thumbs to wipe Selina’s tears away. “I may not have the best advice to give you on whatever the subject may be but I’ll always listen. And I’ll always be here to comfort you afterwards.”

“It’s a little concerning how two of the things I go to for comfort are directly related to torture.”

“Are you telling me that Saw 3 is your comfort movie?” Crowley asked, his eyebrow raised a touch and when all Selina did was press her lips together, answering that question without the need for words, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

“You just heard how fucked up my childhood was, what do you expect?” Selina defended, and Crowley couldn’t help but agree with her. “Honestly it was between that and this documentary that came out recently about penguins but that probably would have made me cry and I’m feeling fragile enough as it is so I went for the safest option.”

“Do you want to watch the documentary now?” Crowley asked, ghosting his thumb down Selina’s chin as he honestly just wanted to give her as many comforting touches as humanly possible, which was funny given her previous hatred for actually being touched. But he was just assuming that he didn’t count in that as any time he so much as brushed against her, she wouldn’t hesitate to gravitate towards him.

“You want to watch a documentary about penguins with me?” Selina asked, her eyes a little widened as Crowley exactly didn’t strike her as the documentary type.

“Darling, I would watch paint dry with you,” Crowley said without hesitation, making Selina smile sweetly as she leaned closer to him, her gaze continuously shifting between his eyes and his lips.

“And they say romance is dead,” Selina replied with a touch of humour, before cutting off Crowley’s motion to smile with what he was now calling the sweetest kiss she could have ever possibly given him. She pulled back just a little, taking a second to simply gaze into his eyes before adding, “I don’t know if what we’re doing is right, and I don’t know if it’s a good idea either… But what I do know is that you make me happier than I’ve ever felt before, and according to a very wise angel that's all that truly matters.”

“Wait, are you saying…?”

“Cas knows about us,” Selina said, with a rather sheepish smile as she wasn’t sure how Crowley would take that news as one of the last times he saw Castiel, he had just dug his hand into the angel’s chest in order to pry the angel tablet out from beneath his ribs. “But I don’t think we need to worry. He didn’t seem like he was out for blood, more so that he was just glad to see that I was finally happy.”

At that, Crowley’s face softened, “I’m glad I make you happy, my love, and I’m glad I don't have to worry about murderous angels either.”

“I wouldn’t lower your guard just yet,” Selina teased, ignoring the swarm of butterflies that were currently overriding her stomach over hearing Crowley call her my love. “At least, not until I tell him we’re back on good terms.”

“Well, I shall watch my back,” Crowley said humorously, pecking a soft kiss to Selina’s lips before the two of them climbed into her bed and began to learn all there was to know about penguins.

Or rather Crowley was learning, as it appeared as though Selina already knew all there was to know about penguins and even took it upon herself to tell him her favourite facts about her favourite types of penguins anytime there was a moment of silence in the actual documentary.

Crowley didn’t have a single interest in penguins but when it came to Selina not only would he watch as many documentaries as she wanted, but he would also gladly listen to her babble on about Emperors until the day he died if it made her happy.

After another few documentaries and a trip to Selina’s favourite burger place as she’d grown hungry throughout the evening and was demanding cheese fries, Selina eventually fell asleep. Honestly, Crowley was surprised it had taken her so long as she had been yawning ever since she first laid her head on his chest and at one point had nearly drifted off into her milkshake before jolting awake.

Nevertheless, he was just glad to see her eyes had finally closed as he could tell by her dark circles beneath them, and slightest redness within them, that she more than likely hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, therefore he was really hoping that nothing would wake her up until late the next morning.

However, at around 3am when Crowley was playing a game on his phone with the brightness fully down, he began to hear a strange noise. He had no idea what the noise was, as he’d never heard anything quite like it before. So, he quietly set his phone aside and as gently as he could, he shuffled up the headboard a little more, freezing the instant Selina stirred in her sleep as he thought he’d woken her. But when all she did was nuzzle closer to him, he allowed himself to relax and instead refocused his attention back on the strange noise.

It sounded almost like scratching. Perhaps shuffling even, as though there were a large rat or possibly a raccoon inside the walls, but considering the impenetrable fortress made out of literal cement that Selina lived in, it was highly unlikely that that was the case. The more the noise continued though, the more Crowley kept thinking it was an animal, and just when he was about to click his fingers in order to get rid of any potential critters that might be within the bunker walls, that’s when it hit him.

Selina had a cat.

Lowering the hand that might have almost snapped Selina’s cat out of existence, Crowley sighed. The noise was still going and the more he listened, the more he realised that it was coming from beneath him, confirming his suspicions that it was, indeed, Kit, as he seemed to recall seeing the feline lounging atop the wardrobe all night and only coming down when Selina offered him fries.

Obviously Crowley didn’t want to wake Selina, not for something she was probably used to given that she had had Kit for some time now but the noise was starting to drive him crazy. And so, after a quiet sigh to himself, and a prayer that Selina wouldn’t hate him for waking her, he gave her a gentle nudge and she quickly began to stir.

“Darling, I’m sorry to wake you,” Crowley whispered, cringing to himself when Selina let out a groggy groan that told him she’d been in a deep, peaceful sleep, “but that bloody cat of yours is driving me crazy.”

Selina groaned again before rolling away from Crowley and hanging her head over the side of the bed in order to look under it. It wasn’t hard for her to spot Kit, as even in complete darkness she could see his glowing eyes staring over at her, from where he was no doubt lying with his back was on the floor and his paws on the wooden slats as sometimes during the night he liked to climb under the bed and act as though he were crawling upside down on it.

“Bed. Now.” Selina said sleepily, yet sternly. She waited a few seconds, until reluctantly Kit shuffled out from under the bed and leapt up onto the wardrobe, from which he proceeded to stare menacingly at Crowley for stealing his spot on Selina’s bed and being the reason he was doing this.

He couldn’t even switch things up and lie by her feet, not when she shuffled around so much in her sleep that she would only end up kicking him off. Therefore, he had no choice but to sleep on top of the wardrobe, where he had meowed from until Selina got the hint to place his bed up there as he liked the height advantage when it came to pouncing on Dean.

“Sorry,” Selina whispered, lifting herself back onto the bed properly and returning to Crowley’s side once Kit had settled. “Did he wake you?”

“No, I wasn’t asleep,” Crowley replied, returning his arm around Selina’s shoulders in order to keep her as close to him as possible as one of the only things that brought him comfort these days was feeling her breath puffing out over his chest as she slept.

“Oh,” Selina murmured, biting at her lip a little before she added, “if there’s other things you could be doing then you don’t have to stay.”

“Nonsense,” Crowley said softly, his heart warming terribly over how innocent Selina sounded right now. “There’s nothing else I’d rather do than stay here with you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Now go back to sleep, my love, I’m not going anywhere,” Crowley said assuringly, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of Selina’s head. “Not now… Not ever.”

Chapter 19 ->

#supernatural #crowley #supernatural fanfic series #crowley x original character #crowley x oc

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akufiwaku · 6 months ago

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St4rdom MC: @st4rdom-if

Name: Areum "Ara"

Surname: Moon

Gender: Cis Female

Eye color: Dark brown (light brown with contacts)

Hair color: Raven black (Dyed silver with indigo & purple ombre)

Skin color: Natural tan/Honey brown

Height: 5'4"

If you can describe Areum in only one word, it'd be versatile. Being able to switch from sharp and nearly untouchable to elegant and refined depending on the theme and role is an impeccable ability to have in the entertainment industry. Despite such an image under the spotlight, she's actually quite gentle, especially in regards to how angelic her voice can be, which attracts a lot of people.

On-stage Areum is well known for her more cold and quiet persona to contrast Nari's cute and bubbly one, being the youngest members of ST4RDOM they're often paired a lot in songs, which she doesn't mind, Nari's her best friend! Though there are certain songs where she expands her range, which is where she TRULY shines. Along with being one of the very few dark-skinned KPOP idols in the industry, she's more than happy to be able to bring hope to people like her who wish to perform on stage.

When the camera's are finally gone, Areum softens up BIG TIME from her more persona and into the awkward introverted woman she truly is. Her smile's smaller and her voice goes higher in comparison to the deeper tone she often uses for a bunch of ST4RDOM's songs, which can be quite a shock if you were to see out off-stage.

Despite being well aware of how talented she truly is, she can't help but feel insecure about her entire character as a whole. Often not being able to "fit" in her group both dynamic wise and appearance wise; given the many comparisons to her groupmates and the constant whitewashing of her skin isn't really helping either, it can be stressful for a girl who did everything to get to this point and have an existential crisis over her entire personality. But it's fine, maybe things will get better during the tour....right?

Other trivia

Areum often likes to draw in her free time while listening to music, ideally with rain pouring outside of her dorm to make everything much more relaxing

She's trilingual and knows how to speak Korean, English and Filipino (mainly from her mother)

Secret soft-spot for murder mystery's and thrillers; she has a bunch of books centering that genre

Closeted bisexual, poor girl is a wreck when it comes to her love life please help her-

Her full name is actually Areum Harmony Castillo Moon, she used a shortened version of her name when enrolling into INDIGO as to keep some part of her name exclusive to her family

Despite what's stated in Wikipedia, she isn't really tan; in fact, she's a lot darker than that! However it's hard to find a candid photo of her on the internet that isn't heavily photoshoped (which is quite odd..)

She may not look like it, but Areum is a sucker for cheesy, sappy love stories. It fills the void in her poor single heart that oh so desperately needs to be filled

ALMOST had a crush on Seung-ho during her trainee days, but he had already left for Kmonarchs before she could even sort out her feelings. She looks back on it now as a silly joke, but the thought's still there (and maybe it might resurface during Europe)

#st4rdom #areum #character profile #IF MC

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alanshee-keeper-of-realms · 11 months ago

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What is your opinion about Disney? Not just talking about the company, but about it in general.

Disney as a whole it has a special place in my heart it is what gave me my very first inspiration for animation art and storytelling

I was raised on the 90s and early 2000s films and TV (Phineas and Ferb was my first fandom) I remember finding flip books and just being fascinated that a few images put together could make something move

That with these drawings that you can evoke emotion you can make someone laugh cry be angry or disappointed and that is a powerful gift

And there is just a beauty to animation that I cannot describe I love going through movies and seeing all the hard work of the animators because I know especially nowadays how hard they work

My beloved wife Kai we were seeing into the spider-verse not a Disney film but technically Marvel and she was giggling so badly because I was picking the film apart pointing out details that I'm pretty sure the animators thought nobody would see

Disney to me is Magic because if you know the story of Disney not just of the company but the people and the joy that wants was felt when anybody heard that name

You just had to say the name Disney and it would bring a smile to any child's face and still does it's only us adults that have the other mindset

Personally Disney is a moment a pause in time where you can let your inner child out you can laugh like you're 10 again you can cry like you're three and with Mickey Oswald and all of them entering into public domain you can now even tell your own stories and invoke people's emotions with these beloved characters yourself

For me Disney is childhood it is the Hope and wonder of everyone yes to me Disney holds a special sort of magic somehow that no other conglomeration of people or ideas has been able to invoke.

#walt disney #disney #mickey mouse

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linalilia · 2 years ago

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[meet the prisoners!] prisoner 004: chiba naomi

hi, i physically cannot draw characters who are older than, like, 24-25 years old. they always end up looking too young 😭

anyway, meet the oldest prisoner oc i have! she's basically gonna be everyone's mom friend because someone needs to watch over these guys and take care of them and they won't do it themselves.

(prisoner 001's profile)

(prisoner 002's profile)

(prisoner 003's profile)

General info:

Name: Chiba Naomi (千葉直美) ("Chiba" means "thousand" and "leaves" and "Naomi" means "direct" and "beautiful")

Age: 30 y/o

Gender: Female

Status: Prisoner 004

Birthday: December 26 (Capricorn)

Height: 178 cm

Blood type: A

Image color: #9DD1D1

Occupation: Elementary school teacher

Personality: Naomi is a very caring and understanding woman who is always here to help other prisoners and even the guards. She believes that she has to guide other prisoners and give them advice because she's the oldest one here and these guys really need someone to rely on. She also has a lot of experience because of her job, so she's good at dealing with the younger prisoners, even though she does look a bit anxious whenever she has to talk to the youngest criminal here who is only 11 years old. Maybe it's because she thinks that he doesn't belong here, so she has no idea what to do to help him? Or maybe her reason is completely different? But no matter how hard Naomi tries to stay strong and act as a reliable "mother figure", she often looks and sounds tired. Whenever her crime is mentioned, she starts visibly panicking, but she's able to calm down quickly. She's definitely one of those prisoners who actually regret committing their crime.

MV info:

Which canon Milgram song she would cover: Weakness. I actually wasn't sure which song I should give her at first but then I listened to Weakness again and for some reason I feel like the voice I imagine her to have would fit perfectly?? I JUST KNOW HER COVER WOULD SOUND SO GOOD. Also I accidentally made her pose almost just like Trial 1!Haruka and her MV/crime has similar themes, it would be weird for me to assign her any other song at this point, haha.

Which DECO*27 song she would cover: Liar Dance. It just sounds good in my head, okay?

If she could cover a song by a different Vocaloid producer, which one would it be: The Day I Was Away From School by Kikuo. It describes the events that happened before her crime really well :)

Her MV description:

Her MV starts with Naomi waving goodbye to her students who leave the classroom and smiling at them. The colors are warm and soft at first, but they become darker and colder when the music starts playing. The classroom is completely empty now, but for some reason Naomi still doesn't want to leave yet. She sees that it's raining outside and she looks a bit more annoyed now. She tries to close the curtains so that she doesn't have to see what's going on outside, but she still can see a lightning strike and she hears a very loud sound of thunder right after that. She gets scared and she almost falls on the floor, but she still can't leave the classroom. She also keeps looking at a particular empty desk, but she tries to distract herself from it. The lyrics mention that she can't go home yet even though it's dangerous for her to stay here.

It slowly starts to rain even more and when Naomi sees another lightning, she notices that the classroom is getting flooded and she finally decides to leave. But as she tries to leave the building, the water just keeps following her and the whole school is becoming more and more flooded. Naomi is finally outside and she gets in her car and she calms down for a moment until she realizes that even her car is becoming flooded. She starts to panic even more and the lyrics mention her getting really angry at someone and hating them so much that she wants them dead.

Another lightning strikes and Naomi opens her eyes to see that same classroom, but the colors are warm again this time and her students greet her and smile at her the same way she smiled at them in the beginning. She starts crying tears of joy and she feels like she's finally free, but then she looks around and realizes that everyone is way too happy. For some reason she doesn't like it and she looks at that empty desk again. She looks lost and confused and she doesn't understand why everyone is still so happy. She walks closer to the desk even though she doesn't want to and notices that something is written on it (but we can't see it that well). She tries to read it and after that she starts crying again, but not out of happiness this time. Her students get worried and try to comfort her, but she just keeps crying and looking at that desk.

Her Trailer 1 Voicelines:

"Ah, hello there. My name is Chiba Naomi. So you two are the guards of this prison.. Aren't you a bit too young for this? Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sorry if that sounded rude. But.. are you sure you can handle a job like this?"

"CAN YOU SHUT UP FOR AT LEAST ONE SECOND? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? WHAT DID I EVEN DO TO YOU, I ALWAYS TRIED MY BEST TO BE KIND TO YOU NO MATTER WHAT YOU DID! SO WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH??"

Trivia.

She thinks she deserves to get voted guilty, however, unlike Shidou, she doesn't want to die, she just wants "someone to tell her that she's guilty". She refuses to explain what she means by that.

Her murder was her only crime and she had only one victim.

She wants to become friends with all the prisoners if possible, but she's not as obsessed with it as Aimi, she just wants to have a good relationship with them and that's all.

If Akio and Aimi's theme is "reputation", then Shun and Naomi's theme is "expectations". I want to talk about it more, but it would be a huge spoiler for Shun's crime and backstory.

#i just realized that her color palette is very similar to haruto's congrats aurora i found your boy's mom /j #BOTH OF THEM WERE BORN IN DECEMBER TOO.. THIS IS SO FUNNY #tbh i think she's one of the most sympathetic prisoners here and her crime is pretty easy to solve #DON'T WORRY THE NEXT PRISONER IS GONNA BE MUCH WORSE #milgram #milgram oc #linagram

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violetswritingg · 2 months ago

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Canary Cry

Robin/Nightwing (Dick Grayson) x OFC!

Description: Her violence was silent. Until it wasn't.

"I'm fine."

"Fine is just another word for drowning."

Rating T-M (mentions of blood, child abuse, mental health, cannon situations of violence and the like. Loss of parents, hard of hearing/deaf character, poorly written fight scenes lol)

Want to read the other chapters?

Click here

STAR CITY

July 22, 14:00 PDT

"Today is the day." Dinah smiled in pride, going straight to fixing Kate's outfit. The teenager practically the spitting image of her mentor. Just younger.

Pulling on the sleeves of her leather jacket – an item from her past that Kate had refused to let Dinah replace. It was too small in the shoulders but it acted like a weighted blanket. Dinah continuing on to try and pull the wrinkles out of Kate's shirt, to little success.

"You're gonna be great." Oliver grinned from behind Dinah with a thumbs up. Their words of encouragement did nothing to quell the nerves and dread in Kate's stomach. This would be the first time she had ever spent time with the protégés without Roy, and there were two new faces apparently. All of which had been bonding as a team for weeks at this point. She didn't have any idea how it was going to go.

"Relax Kate, everything is going to be fine." Dinah read the girl as she straightened out the velvet choker around Kate's neck.

"Shouldn't I wear my mask?" Kate signed, not vocalizing.

"You won't need it; you can trust the team." Dinah sighed, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind Kate's ear, exposing one of Kate's hearing aids. She almost didn't want to let Kate walk through the zeta beam, suddenly feeling like she was throwing her into the lion's den. Like she was abandoning the girl. It didn't sit right in her stomach at all.

It was like Oliver could read her mind in that moment, the man placing a calming hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Like Dinah said, you're gonna be among friends so you won't need the mask. But you will need to talk to them to get to know them better. You think you can do that?" Oliver tried with an easy going smile. Pulling Dinah back into his side gently while he spoke.

"Y-Yeah." They were looking at her with so much joy, so much hope. Kate didn't want to disappoint him, to disappoint them. She had to at least try.

"All we can ask is that you try. If you feel overwhelmed at all you can leave at any time, okay?" Dinah almost sounded panicked, Oliver squeezing her side in comfort.

"Okay." Kate nodded with a small smile, wetting her lips as she turned to face the large zeta tube that looked into the Arrowcave and put in her code like Dinah had showed her.

"Recognized; Goldfinch, B-0-4."

"I'll see you later."

"Pizza tonight, from Little Italy." Dinah promised as the light swallowed Kate whole. It was so odd; that was the only way Kate knew how to describe it. Kate hadn't gotten used to being transported by Zeta beam in the handful of times she had had to with Dinah. But before she knew it her feet were on solid ground once again, while also feeling as if she never left it.

~~*~~

MOUNT JUSTICE

July 22, 17:03 EDT

"Recognized; Goldfinch, B-0-4."

Wally elbowed the Boy Wonder with a smirk and the shorter male only glared at his best friend while red creeped up the back of his neck and ears. When the light around Kate faded and she could see again, she was greeted by Aqualad, Wally, Robin, and who she guessed was 'Miss Martian'. All standing in a line, waiting for her.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Robin smirked.

"It's been a while Goldie, looking gorgeous as ever." Wally flirted, using his speed to appear in front of her and grab her hand before she knew what was happening. Robin running forward and knocking the older boy away.

"Don't call me that."

"Don't call her that."

The two youngest shared a look, Robin grinning wide, Kate shifting on her feet. Wally on the floor. Kate's reprieve didn't last for long though.

"It's so good to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you!" The Martian girl flew up excitedly. Reaching forward and grabbing onto Kate's hands in a tight, excited grasp, "It's nice to have another girl around now! I'm-"

"Miss Martian, I heard." Kate interrupted, rocking back on her heels and extracting her hands from the Martian girls grip. Heart beating just a little faster at the sudden crowding.

"It's good to see you Finch. Welcome to the team." Aqualad spoke up from behind the group, the only calm among the storm she could find.

"Thanks." It was clear that she was uncomfortable, with how she took a step back almost running into the Zeta tubes control panel in her search for space.

"I imagine you might want a tour." Aqualad offered, gesturing to the cave she had yet to really see. And Kate, desperate to find a way out from under the large smiles and watchful eyes of the people who were now her teammates, agreed. Just as they were about to set off the Zeta tube came to life.

"Recognized; Batman, 02."

The Dark Knight stepped out of the light, his cape swishing behind him as he walked to the middle of the room and brought up the holo-screen.

"Isla Santa Prisca, this island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal neo-steroid," Batman spoke, bringing up the files to brief the team, reports and maps constantly shifting over the blue glow.

Kate was not prepared for this, if this is what she thought it was.

"A strength enhancing drug sold under the street name Venom, Infrared heat signatures indicate they are still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where this team comes in."

Batman turned to the group, now Joined by Superboy, his eyes stopping on Kate for a second before continuing. Kate swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest. She was not prepared for this. She hadn't even seen the library yet.

"This is a covert recon mission only, observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervein it will," Batman stressed to the group of teens, turning back to face the holo-screens, "The plan requires two drop-zones."

"So, who's in charge?" Robin asked, Kate looking between ever member present. Already knowing it shouldn't be her. It wasn't Robin or Wally either. Realistically, there was only one logical choice here. Batman and RT shared a look while Kate tried to calm herself down. She had just arrived and was going on her first mission.

This was fine.

Don't embarrass Dinah.

"Work that out between you." The Bat said, Kate too in her own head to see the smirk on the Boy Wonder's face. "Your dismissed, get suited up."

Oh God.

"Finch, you coming?" Robin called to the girl who hadn't moved, the others stopping as well to see what was wrong.

"I- uh-" She wanted to die. Please. Anything was better than admitting to being underprepared in front of Batman and her new team. How would this reflect on Dinah? Batman looked her way over his shoulder, she could picture the raised eyebrow and it sent her straight to her grave. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."

"How exciting is this! Our first mission, with the team all together. This is gonna be awesome!" Robin raved, his hands balling in front of him as he spoke with his hands. Picking up his pace Kate was left with nothing but to follow and keep up.

Upon entering the girl's locker room Miss Martian smiled at Kate so brightly she almost covered her eyes. "I think that's yours." Kate followed the girl's gesture and saw the black case given to her by Dinah. "I'm M'gann, by the way. But you can call me Megan."

She wanted to ask how her suit got here, but figured it was better not to.

"Right. Uh, Kate" Kate mumbled, sitting on the bench beside her case, her back to M'gann as she pulled herself together. Get over yourself, this is what you signed up for.

"So, how long have you been working with Black Canary, Kate?" M'gann asked excitedly, already changed. Noticing the widening eyes of Kate she laughed, "My clothes are organic, they follow my mental commands. Like my Bio-ship, which will be our transportation to Santa Prisca."

"Right. Of course." Kate nodded and stood, unlatching the case and laying it open on the bench.

"So?" M'gann reminded and Kate almost jumped.

"Uh, six, seven months." Stripping her jacket, Kate paced the worn fabric gently down and moved to unlacing her old sneakers.

"And you have the same abilities, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Kate hesitated taking off her shirt and M'gann realized she should give the girl some space.

"I'll see you out there." M'gann beamed and flew out of the room. Leaving Kate to finally breathe.

~~*~~

CARRIBEAN SEA

July 22, 20:08 ECT

"We're approaching Santa Prisca." Miss M said at the helm of the Bioship, decked out in her suit like the rest of the team. Kate sitting in between Superboy and Robin, leg bouncing. The familiar feel of her suit helping to calm her down somewhat, but not enough to fly under the radar of those paying attention. Superboy's ears filled with her heart beat, Aqualad keeping an eye on the newest member on the sly.

"Drop-zone A in thirty," Miss M's voice brought Kate out of her head, watching as Aqualad stood from his chair, it melting back into the floor as he activated his stealth tech.

"Ready."

"Putting Bioship in Camouflage mode." When they got a little closer a hatch opened up in the floor and Aqualad swan dived out into the water below.

"Heat and motion sensors are patched, data is now on a continuous loop, move in." Aqualad's voice came over the comms in the Bioship, Kate taking a deep breath.

"Drop-zone B." Miss M announced, the rest of the team standing, their chairs melting like Aqualad's did. Miss M giving the young heroes lines that would drop them safely to the ground, KF, Robin, and Kate connecting it to their belts and activating the stealth mode of their suits. Kate's fingers lingering on the wings that acted as the buckle, her symbol.

The only thing that changed for Kate's suit is that the yellow sleeves became less yellow, more muted and darker – almost brown. And the gold accents went from metallic to matte. Everything else stayed the same.

"Hey Supey! Not too late to put on the new stealth tech!" KF called to the clone, who stood in a black t-shirt with a red superman shield. Opting for cargo pants instead of the jeans he was in earlier, that were less mission friendly.

"No capes, no tights. No offense." Superboy crossed his arms over his chest.

"It totally works for you," Miss M said, not hiding her attraction to the clone very well. Kate bit her lip, wanting to laugh as the Martian started backtracking to save some of her dignity, "In the sense that you can totally do good work in those clothes!" The clone not giving her any response, just looking forward, making Miss M throw up her hood and camo herself in embarrassment.

Kate, feeling a little lighter than before, but still nervous as her feet hit the forest floor. She had done recon with Dinah plenty of times, this wasn't new. Everything would be fine.

Miss M, KF, Robin, and Kate landed silently and looked around the jungle they found themselves in. Scattering when they saw Superboy coming straight for them. The clone's landing causing a slight tremor and a crater under his feet.

"The hell..." Kate muttered, getting up from where she had thrown herself.

"Knew I didn't need a line." Superboy smirked.

"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert," The Boy Wonder snapped, Kate glancing in his direction and then the full perimeter.

"Aqualad, drop B is go." Miss M said over their comms from her spot in the air.

"Head for the factory, I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Rodger that!" Robin loudly whispered, all of them looking over the map one last time and memorizing their route to the factory.

Kate was easily keeping pace with the group, nervous energy and adrenaline keeping her alert and moving. This is what Dinah had been training her for, this is what Goldfinch was meant to do. Her pace only faltering when they had to free climb past a small cliff face by a waterfall.

The rock slippery from the water spray, with a wild river hundreds of feet below to welcome you if you fell. She was used to rooftops and alley ways, with fire escapes and dumpsters. Hell, even high rises and glass window panes. This was something new.

"Finch, come on." Robin snapped at the girl and her hesitation from a couple feet up. Wally and Superboy latching onto the rock beside her and starting to climb as she eyed the drop, her head starting to spin.

"You gonna listen? Or am I going to have to throw you over the edge?" The older boy's grip on her collar loosened and she felt herself start to fall. Sharp whimpers falling from her closed lips as her hands clung to his wrist. Eyes darting in panic between the fall to the alley below and the dark eyes of the cruel boy who had made it his mission to make her miserable.

"Come on, be a good doggie and speak." He laughed, shaking her and laughing even more at her reaction. The other boys behind him, except for one, all howling in chorus at the sight and terrified sounds of the silent little Kate. Eyes that she could never decide were more brown or green staring at the sight horrified, but peer pressure kept him from speaking out.

"Goldfinch." Miss Martian spoke quietly beside her in camouflage mode, making Kate flinch and almost slip.

"I'm coming." The boys were almost half-way up, she couldn't slow them down.

"It's okay to be afraid Kate. In fact, it's good that you are, it means you're smart. You just can't let it control you."

Letting Dinah's words guide her, she got to the top. Kate taking a second to breath and look over the edge, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Continuing with the group with more confidence in her step.

"Did you hear that?" Superboy asked, stopping in middle of the bush that surrounded them.

"Uh no... wait, is this a super hearing thing?" KF questioned quietly.

"You do have great ears." Miss M complimented the clone, and Kate had to fight off her second-hand embarrassment, Great ears?

"Okay Rob, now what?" KF and the other's looked in the Boy Wonder's direction, or at least his previous direction as the boy had done what he does best and disappears. "Man, I hate it when he does that!" KF whisper shouted.

Me too Kid, me too.

"Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked." Aqualad ordered over comms. The two doing so and crouching behind some rocks.

"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming." KF said, Kate and Miss M ducking down with the boys.

"Two squads," Superboy added, Kate making a mental note to ask for an upgrade to her mask when she got home, not liking feeling blind. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

Gunshots filled the air and Kate was almost comforted by the sound. The pop pop pop was a normal thing to hear where she grew up, but was not a good thing in a situation like this.

"Well, no super hearing required now," KF quipped, turning off the infrared in his goggles.

"Swing wide and steer clear!" Aqualad's voice came over the comms.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." He ran off, like he always does, and Kate wanted to hit the speedster with a frying pan. But truly believed that even that wouldn't knock some common sense into the red-head. And he had been doing this how much longer than her?

She couldn't explain it but she just knew that this was going to turn into a disaster. Quickly.

Great. Just great.

And she was only proven right when Kid managed to trip right into the middle of the fire fight between the thugs, Superboy rushing in with Miss M right behind him, leaving Kate with no other option other than to follow.

Kate was immediately ganged up on by three guys in red hoods. Their guns trained on her. It was like time slowed down as she stuck first. Reaching forward she grabbed the barrel of a gun and pushed it up and threw her leg back to nail the guy behind her in the stomach with her steel toed boot.

Using her grip on the gun, she pulled the man attached to it towards her and twisted. Using him like a shield as the third member of the little party fired. Throwing the injured hooded man into the third and backing away.

Kate finally tuned back into the chaos around her just as Robin dropped in a couple feet away from her. The third guy from before getting back up and joining a friend and coming at her again. Ducking under one's wide swinging arm and letting it sail into his friends face, Kate flipped behind him. Kicking his back, making him face plant into the dirt. Knocking him out with a blow to the head with one of her batons.

"What is wrong with you guys? Remember covert?! Why didn't you follow my lead? Vanish into the jungle."

KF knocked out a guy, backflipping and landing a kick to his jaw, landing solidly on his feet before turning to his best friend, "That's what you were doing? Way to fill us in, we're not mind readers you know?" Miss M threw a guy into the tree behind KF, "Er, I'm not anyway."

"You said I could only read the bad guy's minds." Kate getting distracted at the multiple people arguing, was surprised by a burning sensation as it scraped past her right shoulder, yelping quietly and automatically going into evasive maneuvers and taking cover. Checking the site of pain when she had enough distance, seeing the torn fabric and blood.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Kate seethed, rolling out from behind her cover and leaping at the attacker, using two large rocks by her as platforms to boost her up and locking her legs around his shoulders. Using her momentum and body weight she twisted down and pulled the man to the ground. Locking him into a sleeper hold with her legs. Kate got up with a dark expression on her face, toying with the tear.

Aqualad finally rendezvoused with the team, dropping in and electrocuting the last of the rival gunmen. Fixing the group of teens below him with a look that made Kate want to shrink into nothing.

~~*~~

Once they had restrained the gunmen to trees, Kate silently fuming over her suit being messed up. The suit itself was a tragedy of design and she hated it. Most days she wanted to burn it in one of the uncountable fireplaces in Queen manor, but didn't because Dinah and Oliver had designed it for her. It was what made her Goldfinch. It was hers. And it was messed up now. It would never be the same.

"I recognize those uniforms; they belong to the cult of the Kobra." Kate now knew the name of – what she had deemed her arch-nemeses', promising herself that she would make every last one of them unable to hear their own thoughts over the ringing in their ears.

"I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if a dangerous extremist group was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Aqualad said, his arms crossed, obviously not very happy.

"Agreed, and since there's clearly no love lost between the cultist and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off." Robin theorized, his chin resting in the palm of his gloved hand as he spoke, no filter between his thoughts surrounding the situation and the words coming from his mouth.

"We get it, Kobra wanted super-cultists, mystery solved, radio Bats and we can be home in time for-" Robin interrupted KF with a glare.

"These cultists aren't on Venom, Kobra is hoarding the stuff! We don't leave, not until I know why."

"Until you know why?" KF started getting defensive, leaning down patronizingly to match Robin's height.

"This team needs a leader!"

"And it's you? Dude you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word!" Robin laughed humorlessly at KF.

"And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover first chance you got!"

"Don't you want to lead Goldfinch?" Miss M asked the blonde who stood beside her, albeit at a small distance, with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"No thanks." Kate looked to the Martian like she was, well, alien.

"What about you Superboy?" Miss M asked Superboy, the clone only shook his head no.

"You?" He redirected.

"After the Mister Twister fiasco?" Superboy smiled at the Martian, Kate had no idea what the 'mister twister fiasco' was but could say that was the first time she had seen the clone smile before. Wow.

"You did alright," Miss M looked away with a blush, Superboy clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Mister Twister?" Kate asked.

"You had to be there." Superboy explained looking to her with a shrug and Kate nodded neutrally, not even able to feel like she belonged with 'the outsiders' of the group.

Laughter cut off Robin and Wally from fighting any further, "Such clever Niño's, but you only know half the story," The rest of the team came over to look upon the thug who was talking. "Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

Kate narrowed her eyes at the muscular man, not trusting him or his info as far as she could throw him. She knew guys like this one, drug dealers, made promises that only helped themselves in the long run. There were plenty in the Glades, which caused a lot of disputes over territory within the gangs who ran the area.

"There is a secret entrance but, he's also hiding something." Miss M said, reading his mind and trying to dig deeper.

"Not surprised." Kate huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. Leaning into her hip, her boots sinking into the vegetation on the ground.

"Ah, ah, ah, Bane is not that easy." The man, Bane, taunted.

"Ugh! He's mentally reciting Football scores, in Spanish, this could take a while."

"It's not complicated, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Kate looked to Aqualad, seeing him nod and holding back a sigh. She could feel it in her bones that this was a bad idea.

~~*~~

A/N: This is her starting suit, I like to design outfits like this when I have the time so I did.

#young justice #dc robin #dick grayson #kid flash #artemis #heroes #DC #aqualad #miss martian #growing up is hard #orignal character #batman #young justice fanfiction #dinah lance #black canary #green arrow #found family #angst #hurt/comfort

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inevitablemoment · 11 months ago

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12 Days of Ellex Day 3 - Memories

Word Count: 329

Warnings: Past parent death, grief/mourning, implications of psychological trauma

Fandom: Family Ties

Pairings: Alex P. Keaton x Ellen Reed

This is actually part of a headcanon that I shared two years ago. You can find the whole post here.

Also, I know that this turns into a bummer fic, but... it's just how I've been feeling since Monday night. I'm sorry.

————————

Ellen looked wistfully at the picture in her hand as she sat on the edge of her bed. While at times it was so hard to believe how much time had passed since it was taken, it actually felt like it had been an entire century since then.

A part of her sometimes wished that she could go back to that time, when she didn't have to worry about anything else. When it would have been considered okay for her to be unaware of the world around her.

And more importantly, when she had her mom.

Then, she would look over at the young man next to her-- the same young man who would wear a jacket and tie everywhere he went (except for train stations at three in the morning, of course)-- and she would be grateful to be where she was.

"I never told you about how I found ballet, have you?" Ellen asked Alex.

"I don't think you have," Alex replied.

She smiled, showing him the picture. "When I was three, the local ballet troupe was doing a production of The Nutcracker for Christmas, and my mom took me to see her. And I... I just fell in love."

That wistfulness, with a hint of reverence that she had for her craft, returned as her smile grew a bit wider.

"It... This is a weird way to describe it, but it almost felt like how I feel born-again Christians find God," she said. "And one of her friends was the dancer who played Clara, so Mom took me backstage to meet her. She ended up being my first dance teacher."

She pointed out the costumed young woman in the picture, holding toddler-aged Ellen in her lap with Ellen's mother at her side. Her smile slowly faded from her face.

"I miss her," she suddenly said, tracing her fingers over the image of her mother's face.

Alex wrapped an arm around her, kissing her temple. "I know."

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summer-azure · 1 year ago

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Abt previous post but both depressing and not really relevant so I'm posting it seperately:

When I worked at a shitty call center, they at one point had me helping to monitor another team. Without paying me extra of course.

There was this kid who I adored. It's a little mean but me and the other team lead would sit back against the wall and talk about how he was the best one on the team. He was barely 17 and he loved cars and bikes. I had a Honda Metropolitan (another 50cc scooter, a little more sleek) at the time, and he had a Ruckus. I loved it, I would tell him how cool it was that we matched that way. Every morning he said "Good morning, miss" when I passed by his desk (I wasn't out at this job).

One day he took off of work early and ended his life in a Walmart parking lot. My boss whispered it to me, but he wasn't telling me. He said "I need to tell [my coworker] that [the kid] died last night, it's going to be hard, she really liked him". He was never quite attentive to me. He watched while I went from smiling to confusion to tears.

(Un) luck would have it, an aquantince I had on Facebook was there after it happened. Right when I was starting to cope with everything, she posted this whole post about how traumatic it was for her and described the scene in more detail than I ever wanted to learn. I can't get the mental image out of my head.

It was one of the only funerals I've ever been to. His sister was raising him, and she couldn't walk by herself. I can't get the sight of him being lowered into the ground out of my head.

But I also always think about how happy he was to talk about his Ruckus. How happy I was that we had this thing we shared. I wish he was still here. I'd love to talk to him and show him the simplest thing of a character in a show I watch using his bike.

Idk. It's weird.

#tw suicide

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here4theheartbreak · 1 year ago

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Look at all those pretty photocards!! Amazing~~! The bread ones are sooo cute! 🍞 I HOPE YOU CAN GET/TRADE FOR ALL THE ONES YOU WANT ✨💛 I don't collect photocards because I think it would drive me insane and it might become the start of my villain origin story. Although, I am contemplating buying the fan kit this year because of the tarot-type cards. It's crazy how the kit is £12 but the shipping is £30. Still, I might get it, we'll see.😩🤣

It's so tragic but so true! Someone being... or appearing to be... a decent celebrity is SO rare that it's both thrilling and baffling when you find someone that seems genuinely good. The bar is THAT low. It's lower than low. It's like we're measuring it from the other side of the planet. You've gotta go through the core of the earth and back out again to discover how low the bar actually is.

It honestly seems pretty easy not to use gendered language in songs? Especially in Korean songs? Because it doesn't seem that necessary linguistically? I mean, you don't even use she/he/they to describe your pets, it's always just 'the dog', or 'our cat', or their actual name. 🤷‍♀️

I also agree that using 'girl' in fan songs feels especially alienating. I was actually thinking about this at the Yongguk concert last week. My man was singing 'all my girls be smiling, all my girls be wilding' with his whole chest at the fans and I'm like 'but bro I can see at least three guys from here'. It felt like such a shame in a way? I know it wasn't his intention, but it feels exclusionary to me (and I'm saying that as a part of the 'target' audience). In the future, I hope more artists make their music gender neutral. 🧡✨

Plus, in love songs, let's be real, you can just use 'you' or avoid using pronouns altogether. It's not that hard? And it instantly makes your song a song for everyone?? And it makes it a song that your fans can sing thinking about anyone?? It makes so much sense. In fact, it actually makes MORE sense to do that.

That's the dream! That's the K-pop utopia. Honestly, I wish every fan, of every group, would be seen (and treated) as a fan first and foremost — regardless of their gender identity and/or their presentation. (And the same goes for things like age, race, appearance etc.) A fan is a fan. It SHOULD be that simple. Everyone who's buying albums, going to fansigns, waiting in line, showing up at shows, they're all there for the same reason, with the same heart, and the same passion. It seems so simple and so obvious to me that it's always jarring to realise, over and over again, that that's just NOT how it happens a lot (most?) of the time.

We've learnt the hard way! 😂 Vetting and investigating a group is basically ingrained in me at this point. It's future damage control. It's at-the-door vibe checking. I just don't want to actively support/invest in someone I wouldn't support in my actual life, I don't want to support someone who wouldn't support me, I don't want to support someone who I believe wouldn't stand up for a marginalised person, I don't want to support someone whose persona/personality I have to keep making excuses for. I'm not an idiot. I know they're all normal people. I know even the 'good' ones are almost certainly gonna make a few 'mistakes'. BUT some of these people... jfc.👀 And I don't mind listening to artists casually, and not caring about their 'brand', as it were, but if I'm investing in someone I want to feel confident(?) comfortable(?) at ease(?) in doing so.

THIS! Seeing someone for yourself tells you/shows you such a lot. Going off secondhand accounts is never ideal for building up an image of someone and/or their behaviour. Videos reveal a lot, especially when that person doesn't know the recording is going anywhere. Personally (secondhand account incoming), I knew Ateez were good since their hi touch back in the day because my mom loves ateez, and she went before me in the line, and I got to see exactly how they treated her, and how they spoke to her, and how they looked at her as she moved on to the next member. And they were not only super excited to see her but they were also VERY polite and took a little extra time to say hello. So, from then on, I was like, if nothing else, they have impeccable manners. So, let that be confirmed once and for all... 😂🌸

That's actually SO true. They could easily be more neutral in their support. They never had to do any of those things to that degree. They could definitely do less and still be seen as decent people. Very decent people, even. Honestly, you only engage in that way, that consistently, if you genuinely want to. (And I hope they do lose a few anti-lgbt fans every time they engage with the community. Byeeeee~!)

I forgot about the whole 'the group colour should be a rainbow' thing! 🌈🥺 I loved the thanxx styling so much! I would get a little rainbow coloured 'thanxx' tattoo in a heartbeat. What a great thing that was. All those tiny rainbows everywhere. We were so blessed!!

Ateez are not afraid to play boy/boy when they do those kinds of things. You never really know what you're gonna get! I love that they'll just do it. And that it's never the basis of a bad joke. They just enjoy it and have fun, and no one is thinking too hard about it. It just is.

Yeosang, our strong but tiny man. The members. The company staff. Most of the fans. We're all just out here waiting to do whatever Kang Yeosang wants us to do. Everyone's desperate to be of service. He tells us to jump... and we're all clamouring to find out how high.

THE NEW HAIR COLOURS!!! The return of blonde Yunho? Red-brown Jongho?? Red San??? Neon green Yeosang???? AMAZING. A M A Z I N G 💚

Also, I saw that clip of San complaining about how Atiny draw him again this morning and it really makes me laugh every time! The man is so serious and so offended... but it looks exactly like him when he smiles?? Good job Atiny. You're absolutely right. ✨🎨

Someday I will be able to answer an ask in a reasonable amount of time I stg.

Anyways. Oh I was very weak. And ended up with a whole new stack of Outlaws 🙈 - in my defense! I was ordering sth from a KR shop that I like for a couple of my friends and the albums are so much cheaper over there (like 14 usd for a regular version and like 10 usd for a platform) - it’s just the shipping that is high, and since I was already placing an order for folks, it didn’t actually raise the shipping all that much to add in a few >.> more albums… And I may or may not have broken down and gotten a lightstick. (Again - so much cheaper from KR, esp if you’re already placing a big order, it only bumps the shipping up a few dollars.) I also ended up getting a couple platforms; a few of the pcs in them (the album ones in particular) are so cute and I figured I’d grab a couple random ones and see what I got.

So here’s my new set of pulls >.> I’m delighted with the SanSang unit pcs - I was already eyeing buying them bc they’re so cute, the scream I let out when I pulled them.

And bc my friends all collect these other members I’ve been able to trade for a few more that I want >.> Including peeking Wooyoung 😭.

The platforms tho - cracked me up - random, ofc - but I got San for one pack, and was so delighted - I also pulled Wooyoung’s sticker in that pack lol. The second pack I pulled was Wooyoung and believe it or not… I pulled San’s sticker in his! 🤣Apparently can’t keep them apart even in random album inclusions lmao - Here’s those sets.

Honestly - I was looking at PC templates last night to see who/what all I wanted and I realized that if I was to collect all of these pcs I would 100% lose my mind, there’s like 60 per member per comeback what the fuck. So Instead I’ve made a list of the few that I find really really cute and want and will slowly gather them over the months.

I ended up lucking out in a major way last week and found someone selling a lot of about 25 albums, with all inclusions except pcs, for what amounted to under 6usd per album. They span from debut to Fever pt 3; there’s a number of duplicates but I don’t mind that so much, since it lets me pick and choose which version I want, and then I can easily resell the ones I don’t need, or gift them to my friends. It’s the entire Treasure series tho, which I have been trying to find for a decent price for weeks V_V

Even a couple of duplicates of some of them, I was so excited bc I know a couple folks in my friend group here that are looking for some of the ones that are duplicated so I can offload them pretty quick. So once that comes in, I think i’ll have all their KR releases (and I don’t collect JPN albums for any group but SHINee bc they simply don’t display as well in jewel cases 🤷🏻‍♂️ - and I collect for display and also bc I do genuinely like looking through the phonebooks more than once, so JPN releases usually are lacking that anyways unless you get the limited ones.

Anyways - I saw the fan kit! I love the tarot type set up, it’s so cute. I absolutely adore tarot cards and prophecy type cards and collect fun decks, so I knew I needed to have it, I ordered it last week - I’d been intending on getting the membership anyways. I’m so used to excessively high shipping bc I tend to order my stuff from KR when I can (it usually arrives way faster and the price over there plus shipping is about equal to the price from US based shops bc they raise the price of the item to cover their import fees anyways, so it makes sense to pay a couple bucks more and have the album a few days after release instead of saving money but waiting months for the US shop to get it in and ship it.

It is so so easy not to gender KR songs from what I’ve seen; and very obvious since most of the time when they gender it, they add in the english word instead like… Please don’t?

Honestly I would have gotten so uncomfortable hearing that tbh (Yongguk). My instant thought would’ve been like oh, he doesn’t want me here, I wonder if he sees me if he’ll be uncomfortable :/ I hope he doesn’t notice me standing here — which is literally the opposite reaction you want at a concert - afaik you want your idols to see you! (Except Rie at the OOO concert - could have done without him seeing me and my friend absolutely ugly crying over him but life goes on lol). But yeah no, especially since idols are aiming more for international appeal these days, they really should start considering that there are a lot of fans that don’t match the stereotypical KR fan, and they’re gonna fall flat in a lot of areas if they don’t broaden their appeal to a variety of people - ages, genders, etc.

Also yes - I don’t expect idols to be perfect. Tbh if a celeb has never had a misstep I might side eye them as hard as if they were horrible - bc nobody is perfect and if they’re that good at hiding everything, what are they hiding, you know? Like I want someone who’s a good person but a real person - not someone who’s a master manipulator either.

Awww - it’s so sweet that they were nice to your mom! Sometimes older fans get overlooked (or hated on in fandom itself) so it’s always super nice to see when they’re treated well. I mean, lbvs - who do the idols think are actually paying their bills? It’s not the 12-15 year old fans, for the most part - it’s those fans’ parents and the adult fans who set aside their own income for this 🤣

And yeah no - their support is very obvious and I think very genuine. Their willingness to work with queer folk too - that trans comedian the members do a show with sometimes (I can’t recall her name, but she’s hilarious and so brash. The way my heart soared when Wooyoung called her noona with zero hesitation). And then the few doing the collar with Pentatonix, who don’t hide their queer identity, etc. - I think those sorts of behaviors show a far more honest comfort and ease with people of different walks of life and communities and it’s just so nice to see. 😭

I think the thanxx rainbows are so adorable; I have one photo that I adore with San with the rainbow on his ear - it’s so cute V_V - I like that song a lot too, I think the meaning vibes well with queer folks too in a way. It’s unfortunate that the song has been soured with the CA issue, bc I feel like it get overlooked for that and the meaning is actually really good and the song is really well put together.

I desperately want an ateez tattoo; I have a perfect spot on my arm for it to link together my sleeve but I need to decide which design I want and which song bc there’s a good number I’ve got ideas for and only so much skin left lol. (Normally I get a tattoo for each concert I attend but I might get this one a bit early lol.)

Ah - I am of the minority here but I cannot take Yeo seriously with that hair 😂 the black stripes stripes made it so much worse - this kid walked straight out of an early 2000’s hot topic and definitely writes his aol messages with ‘rawr’ and has far too many x’s in his profile name. 14-16 year old me would have been absolutely enamored with him and think he’s the coolest guy ever. But I do absolutely love San’s hair. That shade of red is either a perfect match or a horrible nightmare on idols - and most of them fall to the nightmare side of things - he manages to pull it off so delightfully imo and I love it. I’m so late on this ask that Yunho has already changed his hair 😂 - I do really like the dark kinda grey-blue he’s got now too. Also Mingi! I love what he’s done with his hair! The cut really suits his face and I actually really dig the blonde and black look he’s got going on.

And omg that video - I found that super early on when I was getting into them and it made me love him so much. He takes zero shit from fans and has no problem calling them out on things - I love it so much and it made me so endeared to him… But now that I’ve watched more of their stuff… Sorry man, atiny is right, you do smile like that - it’s absolutely precious - but it’s also accurate. 🤣

#answered #ask #daegu-flowjob #long post

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