#and drinking out of one of my several batman mugs

[asteria-argo]

you know considering batman is my special interest and has been since I was about five it's ironic I've only just started talking about it with any kind of frequency on tumblr

[salemofthe0pera]

you against yourself ; mark lee smau

[viii tequila rose]

mark genuinely thought if God zapped him right then and there he'd be fine with it. after many awkward introductions the group settled into cliques amongst the living room. renjun, winter and hyuck took the couch closer to the wall whilst chenle, jeno and jaemin took the one adjacent to it. jisung took the liberty of the recliner in the corner, stretching out his limbs across the faux leather and loudly claiming his height meant he got a seat to himself. for whatever reason that could correlate...

which left mark with the floor which just so happened to be where y/n had perched herself as she wanted to save all the comfy seats for her guests. mark swallowed thickly, his nerves and saliva chasing down his throat as he stiffly sat a distance away from the girl.

y/n gave him a side glance, confusedly noticing his stiffness. she scooted over, tossing a blanket over the pair and leaned back against the couch. "we had history freshman year together."

"yeah haha, you're right." mark gulped, his voice coming out a shaky squeak.

"and english sophomore year."

there was the kicker. mark squeezed his eyes shut, an embarrassed flush covering his cheeks. he reached behind to scratch his neck and then subconsciously touch his nose.

"your nose seems better, that's good."

mark laughed at her sarcasm, feeling a weight off his shoulders as he turned to look at y/n. "thanks, i'm mark."

"yeah dude, I know." she snickered, shaking his outstretched hand.

her smile was familiar and warm to him. a sense of relief washed over him and they both turned to look at the tv as the movie, that chenle forced everyone to agree on, started playing.

his thoughts wandered as the characters moved across the screen. his junior year had been a blur of homework and music, it seemed like he barely had time for himself anymore. he couldn't remember the last time he'd hung out with friends or relaxed in the slightest. the hobby that used to be an escape had turned into something he wanted to escape from. he sighed softly, zoning back into reality as the climax of the movie began. he stood from his seat, moving to the kitchen to get some water and stretch his legs.

y/n was perched on the counter when he turned the corner, legs tucked underneath her in a criss crossed position. her sweater swallowed her frame as she drank a steaming drink from a halloween snoopy mug.

"you okay?" she asked mark, looking up from her phone.

"umm, yeah im uh im okay." he breathed. "was just gonna get some water."

y/n nodded, opening the cabinet behind her and grabbing him a cup. mark curled his lip up at the batman emblem plastered on the side.

"what? you a superman fan or something?" y/n laughed at his disdain.

"spiderman is more my forte." mark smiled, taking several gulps of water. he polished the glass, going back in for another cup.

y/n laughed softly through her nose, gesturing to his shirt with a quirk of her eyebrow. "yeah I can see that."

mark froze, glancing down at his shirt to see his spiderman graphic tee. he mentally faced palmed, he'd totally forgotten to change out of his shirt before heading over.

"the fit is a tad atrocious." y/n smiled into her mug.

mark laughed, looking at his clothes the back up at her. a big, red spiderman t-shirt hung over his baggy cargo shorts. the blue nike dunks on his feet did not match his red crew socks. he kind of did look a bit ridiculous he thought, like a mess of spray paint graffiti.

"okay okay, maybe I did forget to change but at least my outfit has color. some of us look like an endless void." mark joked, gesturing to the all black ensemble y/n was wearing.

y/n raised an eyebrow, a smile dancing on her lips. she fluttered her black knitted sweater with her free hand. "what's wrong with black?"

mark flushed, scratching his scalp once more, a nervous tic he'd had since middle school. along with picking at his shoelaces and pant hems, hence the frayed ends of all of his pairs of bottoms. "nothing dude, I like it. I think it's cool."

y/n smiled again, content with the response and hopped down from the kitchen counter. "your hair makes up for the atrocious clothing choices so I guess its fine. come on we're gonna miss the ending of the movie."

with that she breezed past him, leaving him to think once more. they'd known of each other for awhile now, mutual friends and shared classes however weren't enough to connect the fully.

he hadn't spoken to her since english, pre-nose break. once sophomore midterm exams ended she didn't really talk to anyone around her anymore. mark had study groups with the grungy girl but he never had the chance to get to know her. suddenly always so closed off and reserved, she only talked to her roommates and occasionally their mutual alumni friend taeyong.

mark placed his cup in the sink, running a hand through his fresh black undercut. she said his hair was cool.

"gi, i swear it wasn't on purpose girl. come over right now!" winter said into her phone as mark circled back to the living room, she flashed a peace sign and duck lips at the boy before talking into her phone again. she hung up on the mystery caller with a kiss before padding back over to the group. they'd finished the movie, now chatting amongst each other.

"the queen giselle is on the way everyone!" winter announced, her sweater paws raised in the air.

chenle perked up from his seat, and by seat he was sprawled across jaemin and jeno's laps. he glared at winter and then huffed dramatically. "oh hell no, she and I have beef."

"yeah, beef because she rightfully slapped you because you said her contour was 'giving tire marks'." y/n hummed, she had taken the open spot on the couch beside renjun.

"okay? so what if it was, she needed to blend it."

y/n rolled her eyes, sipping the last of the contents in her mud before reaching over to give chenle a soft hit on the top of his head. he yelped dramatically, and flopped across an unsuspecting jaemin's lap. he whipped his phone from his pocket, opening his camera and then pointed behind jaemin at the wall.

"yo, jaemin whats over there?"

jaemin's dumbass turns, unsuspecting of the rapture that's about to happen, hears a shutter click! he freezes, slowly turning back around to look at chenle. there's an unmistakable look of utter disbelief and anger in his eyes and then he lunges at chenle.

"oh you bitch!"

a shrill scream erupts from chenle as jaemin tackles him to the ground. chaos and noise bursts from everyone in 9301 as half the group laughed and records and the other, responsible, half attempt to break them apart.

"word star!!!" jisung laughs, recording the pair of boys as they scuffled on the carpet.

y/n has a tight grip on jaemin's shoulders, hugging him form behind. "ill shave you bald if you dont stop!" she threatens.

"do it! it'll take care of the cowlicks!" chenle giggles behind mark earning a slap upside the head from jeno.

a knock on the door interrupts the noise, everyone freezing to stare at the dark, wooden door.

winter hops up to open it, revealing a newly ginger haired giselle holding a bottle of tequila rose in one hand and her duffel bag of a purse in the other. "mother has arrived bebes!"

y/n drops jaemin to the floor, he hits the ground with a thud and a groan as the culprit practically jumped giselle. the ginger squealed, hugging both her friends before ushering herself into the living room.

"I brought tequila rose so we could play a game." she said happily, setting the black bottle down on the coffee table with a giant thud.

renjun gave her a side eye, inspecting the unopened bottle of liquor before nodding in mock approval.

"wait isn't this the shit that tastes like peptobismal." jaemin piped up from his place on the floor.

"no you bitch, it tastes like strawberries and cream." gigi retorted, grabbing 9301's collection of shot glasses from the kitchen.

giiselle was once a tenet of 9301, moving out over the summer to live down the road in a townhouse with her boyfriend and friend karina. jaemin was a fortunate replacement however, y/n always said meeting the man at their old job was a stroke of luck from God Himself.

"tequila rose tastes like my pussy." winter ( attempted more like) whispered to giselle with a stifled laugh. earning a chorus of groans and words of disgust, making winter and giselle laugh harder.

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[9.24] {hey gang I added giselle bc I need mother representation besides renjun, also # plot is forming}

1.4k words

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[pennamesmith]

It’s “Crack (Friend)Ships” time for @spop-palentines again, so here is a sequel to last year’s Adventure Time crossover, Parallels :p

Intersections

“So anyway,” Simon said, “That’s the story of how my fiancée turned into a gigantic unknowable god of chaos.”

Hordak nodded sympathetically. “That is abrasive, my friend.”

They were both perched on the sofa at Marceline’s house, drinking mugs of hot cocoa while Entrapta and Bubblegum sat on the floor sorting through the bits and bobs that used to be Marcy’s electric amp. In theory they were only trying to add a 13 to the volume control, but the project had stretched on so long and the two scientists were speaking to each other so rapidly that by this point nobody else really knew exactly what they were doing.

Marceline floated in from the kitchen. “‘Sup Simon. ‘Sup Batman. Anyone need refills yet?”

“No thank you, Marcy, I’ve got plenty!” Simon chirped. “Oh, um, it’s gone a little cold, though.”

“I will gladly have more,” Hordak declared, holding out his empty mug. “You may inform Catra that her recipe is improving dramatically under your tutelage.”

Marceline took both their cups and drifted back into the other room, where a cat-eared woman was quietly cursing over a saucepan.

“How did the video make this look so easy?” Catra muttered, furiously stirring the chocolate.

“Your dad says you’re doing a good job,” Marceline offered, adjusting her altitude.

Catra blanched. “Hordak is not my…! Oh, whatever, it’s fine. You know, when your geek girlfriend and his geek girlfriend fell into each other’s science projects, I didn’t exactly expect it to lead to this.”

“Nothing ever goes the way you expect it to,” Marceline shrugged, slowly somersaulting in midair. “But that’s not always a bad thing. It can be nice to be surprised. Plus, between us? Your girl loves it here. If you want I can show you where the best dungeons are for date nights.”

Catra seemed to seriously consider this. Then something occurred to her and she looked around in sudden confusion. “Hey, where is Adora, anyway?”

“Outside on the deck playing Dare or Dare with Finn. It’s a hero game.”

Catra looked out the window where Marceline was pointing. Sure enough, both headstrong blondes were there, squaring off in honorable combat. Several crushed cans of Super Porp littered the boards at their feet.

Adora held a squirming thing with too many legs out towards the boy. “I dare you to eat this bug!”

“Ha! Thath eashy!” Finn smirked through a crunching mouthful. “I dare you to do a kickflip off the roof!”

“I dare you to fight me with one hand! Wait, sorry.”

“I dare you to name your first-born after me!”

“All right, I think that’s enough,” Catra said, hurriedly climbing out the window to retrieve her girlfriend.

“But Catraaa,” Adora whined as she was dragged inside, “I made a Royal Promise!”

Back in the living room, Entrapta and Bubblegum had reassembled the spare parts into… something. It didn’t look like an amplifier, but somehow they’d managed to plug Marceline’s ax into it anyway. The setup vibrated with unstable energy.

Entrapta bounded over and held the guitar out to the vampire. “The gelatinous one and I have completed our improvements! Test it out!”

“Hang on a hot sec before you do, though,” Bonnie cautioned, donning blast goggles and a pair of massive earmuffs.

Marceline noticed that Simon and Hordak had left the couch to build a sandbag bunker in the middle of the room. Everyone else hastily climbed inside and disappeared from view. A moment later, a purple ponytail in the shape of a thumbs-up popped back over the top.

“Okay, we’re secure! Give it a shot!”

Cautiously, Marceline plucked at the smallest string. The walls shook. Oh well, she thought. I have been meaning to remodel this place.

She struck a chord.

“Wow,” someone said, after all the dust and wreckage had finally settled. “Music really is powerful, man!”

[themaribatpit]

Saturday Challenge: Continue a Fic You Wrote for Jasonette July

Written by: The Maribat Pit  @jasonette-july-event Prompt: Continue a fic you wrote for Jasonette July Rated: M (for violence and strong language)

Then Perish : Part 2

Marinette tossed the helmet aside, she glanced over at the desk and grabbed a letter opener.  She tried to take several swipes at him, all of which he evaded with ease before grabbing her by the wrist.  Marinette tried to drop the letter opener into her other hand but he caught it before she did.  “Nice try, mind telling me why you’re so desperate to kill me?” he asked, Marinette could just about hear him smirking under the mask.  Up close, she noticed that, in addition to his dark hair,  there was a white streak of hair framing his face.  His eyes were still covered by the domino mask as they looked down at her.  “You killed my parents,” she growled. “So is that what this is all about…tell me, what makes you so sure that I did it?” he asked. “I saw you, I saw people begging for their lives just before you killed them.” she recalled, “I saw you standing over their dead bodies.” He pushed her back with very little effort, but before she could charge at him again, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.  He tossed it to her and she caught it, the cold metal felt heavy in her small hands. “If you are so certain that I’m the one who did it,” he said, “then let the punishment fit the crime.” Marinette looked down at the gun in her hands, she knew exactly what he was asking her to do.  She took aim with the gun, her hands shook as she pointed it at the Red Hood. Her eyes were wide, her hands were shaking, she tried to steel herself.  She tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her that something wasn’t right.  It couldn’t be this easy, there had to be a catch, a struggle, something.  She brought her other hand to the gun, trying to hold it steady. She hoped he couldn’t hear her heart hammering in her chest, she tried not to think about how frightened or nervous she was at that moment.  Meanwhile the Red Hood remained calm, beckoning her to shoot him. “Come on I’m right, here, need me to draw a bullseye?” he taunted. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger, she heard a loud BANG, followed by silence.  She slowly cracked open an eye to see her target. “You missed.” Red Hood remarked. Marinette tried to make another shot, but the gun went CLICK, it was empty.  She looked down at the empty gun in her hand, before glaring up at the Red Hood. 

“Look kid, you’re after the wrong guy. I’m not the one who killed your parents.” he explained.

Marinette eyed him suspiciously “More lies.” she scoffed as she glared at him.

“Fine, but the camera doesn't lie,” he walked over to the laptop on his desk and pushed a button. A projector screen appeared and began playing footage from a camera during that fateful shootout. Red Hood continued typing away, until he found the right camera to see the events unfold. “There, camera 5.” he finished typing and turned to watch the footage with her. 

Marinette stared at the footage, her eyes widening in shock. She saw their final moments and it made her heart ache. She watched them go looking for her while she was helping other people as Ladybug. She wondered if she had left those people to die in Park Row, would her parents still be alive and well? She watched her parents run into some mobster with a gun, he tried to mug them. Her father tried using his large size to threaten the mobster, but he had a gun and her father didn't. Tom Dupain was then shot in the head, Sabine held his dead body begging for the mobster to spare her. 

Upon hearing her mother’s cries of mercy, Marinette dropped the gun and fell to her knees.  Her hands were balled into fists, trying to latch onto the carpeted floor beneath her.  There were tears dripping down to her cheeks and clouding her vision. Even so, she could not bring herself to look away, she had to know who this man was. The man then shot Sabine in the head. He ran away, just as the Red Hood showed up on camera to inspect the unfortunate couple who walked past Park Row. 

Marinette wailed as the video footage ended, “No more, please no more,” she cried. “<Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry.>” she cried to herself in French. 

Jason watched the girl cry her heart out after watching her parents get murdered. He couldn’t blame her, no one could. He sat on his desk, as she continued crying. He brought up zoomed camera footage and a mugshot up on screen. Once he was done he stepped in front of her.

The Red Hood standing right in front of Marinette was enough to stop her from crying, she looked up. “You want the man who killed your parents?” he asked. Marinette could only nod. “Luca Angelo, known associate of the Falcone Crime Family.” he stepped aside and pointed to the mugshot. “Last spotted in the Falcone Slaughterhouse.” 

“You want him? We’ll go together at sunrise.” he told her. Marinette stood up and nodded, wiping her tears on her sleeve. “All right Suzie’ll bring you back to your room, they’ll pick you up again later.” Marinette then left the room, escorted by Suzie Su.  

Jason looked over at his window viewing the Gotham Skyline. “I know you’re there Batman, come on in, it's unlocked.” Batman emerged from the shadows. 

"Isn't she the French girl that was in GCPD a few weeks ago?" Asked Batman, staring straight at Jason.

"Yup" said Red Hood, "Sent back to Paris, if I remember correctly. Came back to Gotham thinking I was the one to kill her parents." Red Hood shrugged and sat on his chair, feet resting on his desk.

“She could have killed you.” Batman pointed out. “It’s nice to know you care, Bruce.” Jason said sarcastically, “You saw what happened there, she couldn’t even get a scratch on me.” he explained. “Not without her powers anyway,” he thought.  “She could have killed me...just like how I could have killed the Penguin.” Jason told him.  Batman sighed, remembering how Jason explained that the Penguin didn’t really die the night that he shot him.  One of these days, Jason was going to give him a heart attack with all the elaborate stunts that he pulled. 

"Why are you two going to the Falcone Slaughterhouse?" Batman asked, as Jason poured himself a drink. 

"Closure." Jason told him,  "You and Dick should know how important closure is when you lose your parents." 

"Luca Angelo is dead." Batman stated, "That gang war was unsanctioned by the Falcones, they killed him to appease you and the Maronis."

"You're right, but she'll need to learn that herself.” Jason nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his drink.  “At that moment she’ll have to make a choice, whether or not she wants to find peace or let her vengeance spiral out of control?” “That’s quite a risk to take,” Batman pointed out, “what makes you so sure she won’t choose the latter?”  His eyes fell on the helmet that lay discarded on the floor. “Call it a calculated risk,” he said “sometimes you just have to give people a chance.”  Batman narrowed his eyes, Jason looked back at him over the rim of his glass as he took another sip.

"Fine," Batman relented. "but I'll be there to watch you two." “Say hi to Yo-Yo Girl for me, next time you see her.” Jason said nonchalantly, “She was a huge help getting people to safety that night.” “Yo-Yo Girl?” Batman asked, Jason looked up and cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry, thought she was one of yours,” he said, before finishing the last of his drink.  Batman decided not to ask anything more about it, before he crept back into the shadows and vanished. That morning, Marinette opened the Miracle box and took out Tikki’s earrings.  Tikki gave her a sad look, “Are you sure about this, Marinette?” she asked in a soft voice. “I saw the man who really killed my parents,” Marinette told her, “if I let him walk free, all this would have been for nothing.”  Tikki sighed but had no choice but to comply.  “Spots on” she said, she transformed into Ladybug, ready to face the real culprit. When she stepped out onto the rooftop, Red Hood was waiting for her.  He turned to see the Yo-Yo Girl who was getting civilians to safety that night, it explained how she managed to avoid meeting her parents’ fate that night.  Still, this should be interesting. “So you got a name or is it really just ‘Yo-Yo Girl’?” he asked. “Ladybug,” she told him, “let's get this over with.” she said.  Red Hood grappled away and Ladybug followed with a very creative use of her yo-yo.  

Later, Red Hood and Ladybug snuck into Falcone Slaughterhouse.  The pungent smell of blood gave Ladybug the sinking feeling that livestock wasn’t the only meat that was cut up here.  They quietly knocked out the guards as they made their way in. Red Hood pointed to the door with a sign above the said "Foreman". He then kicked the door down, and they quickly subdued the two guards in the room.

"What the fuck?!" cried the foreman as Ladybug ran up and bashed his head with an ashtray.

She wrapped the string of her yo-yo around the foreman's neck. "Where is Luca Angelo?!" she yelled.

"Rat-faced Luca? Motherfucker's already minced meat by now!" the foreman laughed.

"W-what?" Ladybug stuttered, “No, you’re lying!” she yelled.  This had to be a trick, he was probably hiding somewhere, relishing in the memory of making her parents feel helpless.  She would not be so easily defeated.

"Are ya deaf? He's dead." The foreman drew a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Ladybug. A shuriken then hit the gun, knocking it away from his hand.

Ladybug tightened her grip on the wire. As she was strangling the man her hands shook as rage consumed her. The man gasped and struggled for air, but she held it tight. “Please” he croaked, “have mercy.” 

“Why should I show you any? My parents were shown none!” Ladybug growled, baring her teeth. She pulled the string tighter, as if she was garroting the man. She pictured how her parents had suffered, her mother’s cries for mercy echoed in her mind. 

“Please...I..have..a..daughter.” The foreman barely managed to speak, he tried to paw at the wire with his hands but it wouldn’t budge.  Ladybug paused, she looked at her reflection in the window. She had seen what she had become. 

Shame and guilt filled her as the man became limp. She let go of her yo-yo, and released the man.  She brought her hands to her mouth as she stumbled back in fear and guilt. What would Tikki, Alya and her parents feel if they knew she had blood on her hands? Her breathing became more rapid as panic set in. 

Red Hood calmly walked over, placed two fingers on his neck. “He ain’t dead.” he commented. Ladybug ran, tears streaking down her cheeks. Red Hood didn’t follow, he knew she needed time alone to think. He hoped what she saw was enough to give her closure. He tried to be optimistic that Ladybug would not walk the path of vengeance, but he wasn’t known for his optimism.  Roy would have known what to say to her, but thinking of Roy at all made his heart sink. 

Ladybug ran, she had no clue where she was or where she was going, she just needed to be alone. She didn’t know how long or how far she had traveled, she just found a secluded rooftop. “Spots off” she muttered, Tikki didn’t say a word as she looked up at her.  They sat on the edge of the roof, watching Gotham at night. They both sat in absolute silence, as Marinette came to terms with the tempest of thoughts, guilt and anger that stirred in her mind.  She wondered if she could bring herself to use the Ladybug Miraculous again? If she could trust herself not to lash out at innocent people? A part of her began to question if she was even fit to be Guardian of the Miraculous?

“I almost killed an innocent man,” Marinette croaked, tears welled up in her eyes. “I don't know what to do Tikki, the man who killed Maman and Papa is already dead. It still hurts.” she cried harder. 

Tikkie floated in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette didn’t even try to look at her through the sheen of tears in her eyes, “Marinette, I know, everyone needs time to grieve and move on.” Tikki told her, trying her best to comfort her.

“How, how can I move on? What should I do now? Go to Shanghai and live there?”  Marinette asked.

“Maybe I can help,” came a voice from behind. Tikki zoomed straight to Marinette’s pocket and hid in there. The figure walked up to her and took a seat beside her on the edge of the roof. 

The man wore a leather jacket, looked like he was a few years older than her, and he held a takeaway bag with him. She was about to ask who he was until she recognised that distinctive white streak of hair. Her eyes widened as he handed her the bag. 

“Go on, dig in,” he said, pushing the bag towards her. She apprehensively took the bag from him until the scent of freshly baked bread hit her nose. “I had a friend make those for you, he’s an amazing chef and baker.” he told her, “Don’t eat his waffles though, they taste like paste.”

Marinette gave a small chuckle at his joke, “Thank you” she quietly said. She opened and tearfully ate the baked goods. They were just as good as her father’s baking. 

“There’s not much left for you in Paris, and I know you don’t want to go to Shanghai. Why don’t you stay here in Gotham?” He asked. 

Marinette paused to think, she had no plans on what to do after she had her revenge. She had just spiraled into obsession. He was right, she had nothing left in Paris, and Shanghai would be a struggle to start all over. 

“I know you’re underage, why don’t I be your Guardian until you’re 18?” He suggested, “Then you can swing away and do whatever you want.”  Jason thought she could do a lot worse for a Guardian, besides, Batman and Catwoman weren’t the only ones who were allowed to take orphans under their wing.  

Marinette stayed quiet, thinking of her options. It was either Shanghai or Gotham. After a few minutes of contemplation, she nodded her head. 

“Name’s Jason, Jason Todd.” He held out his hand. 

Marinette shook his hand, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but I guess you already knew that.” 

“You don't have to call me ‘Daddy’ unless you want to,” Jason Joked. Marinette wrinkled her nose and playfully shoved him away. For the first time since her parents died, she actually smiled. “I’m already a Guardian myself” she said, “but I always wanted an older brother.” “I have one, trust me it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he said. They sat in silence for a long moment, “so what’s the story with you and Ladybug?” he asked. “I helped one old guy across the street, and he decided that was a good enough reason to make me a superhero.” she explained, “I had to fight against a villain who was using people’s negative emotions to control them.” “Well, good thing he hasn’t found his way here, plenty of those going around in a city like this.” he said, trying to make her feel better. “How about you?” she asked, “Were you always this big bad crime lord?” She said the last part as if it was merely a facade or the stuff of legend.  “My dad was sent to jail when I was a kid, my mom didn’t last that long after that,” he told her, “so I spent a few years living on the streets of Gotham.” “Was it always like this?” she asked, her childhood in Paris was already looking rosier by comparison. “Gotham? Almost certainly.” Jason told her, “When I was 13, I thought I’d be joining my old man in prison sooner or later, before I met the Bat himself.”  Marinette’s eyes widened, she remembered hearing Alya gush about Batman and his various sidekicks over the years.  “I thought he’d just beat me up for trying to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile, instead he gave me a hot meal and a place to call home.” he told her.  “You’re looking at the second Robin,” he said. Judging by the sad smile he had on his face, Marinette could tell this story didn’t have a happy ending.  “So, what happened?” she asked cautiously, he took a deep breath as he tried to find the words.  On the one hand, the last thing he wanted, the last thing anyone needed, was this girl making the same stupid mistakes that he did.  On the other hand, she had been through enough, it would have to be a story for another time. “That’s a story for another day,” he decided “but I promise you, one day I’ll tell it.” Marinette looked down at the city streets before her, it was a far cry from Paris, but maybe one day she would come to see it as home. Batman watched the two of them from a distance and smiled slightly.  Maybe this girl would keep Jason from going too far down the treacherous path he was on, much like Tim had done all those years ago after he lost Jason.  Only time will tell if that proved to be true, but for now he was pleased to see the two of them getting along.  He grappled away, leaving the two of them to talk, laugh and joke with each other.

[catxsnow]

NERVOUS J.T.

Request: Hello! I would love a fluffy Jason x reader where he goes and buys a engagement ring and says 'I'm rly nervous what if she says no I'm not good enough for her' and dick says BOI JUST DO IT and he does and fluff and crying (from both reader and Jason?!!! :000).

Warning: fluff

A/N: I’m losing followers + Raptors won tonight so HA suck it Celtics 

Word Count: 1.8k

Jason and Dick didn't always see eye to eye. They had their fights and disagreements. Neither of them could be in a room for too long together before one was storming out in rage and frustration. At the end of the day, they were brothers, as much as they didn't always want to be.

So, when Jason showed up at Dick's apartment, out of the blue and in civvies, he was more confused than anything. Jason didn't just come by to have coffee and a chat, he came by for business and that was it. Nonetheless, Dick invited him into his home and offered him a drink.

The couch shook as Jason bounced his leg up and down nervously. It was rare to see him like this - he always exuded confidence. Dick handed him the mug of hot tea and sat on the chair across from him. Without evening having to ask, Jason started to spill why he was so antsy.

"It's (Y/N)."

"Are they okay?" Dick asked, suddenly concerned. He had been the one to introduce you to Jason all those years ago. The two of you clicked instantly and it hadn't taken long for him to fall in love with you. You and Jason had been through lots - running with the Outlaws, fighting along side the Great Batman, the two of you have even been to hell and back

No matter what it was, you were always at Jason's side - and he at yours. Dick had never seen such a perfect couple together, he didn't know what Jason would be like if he didn't have you. As the two of you grew, so did your relationship. You became a more mature couple, not just the young, reckless kids you used to be.

Crime fighting was no longer the priority, it was each other. Jason was always going to keep you safe, whether it was day to day life or stopping crime. You had each other's backs constantly. Now, it was time to make that a little more permanent.

Jason rustled his hand in his pocket to find the small velvet box that he had picked up several weeks ago. To be honest, he had impulsively bought it. Now, he was unsure of what to do with it and nervous as hell about what you would think of it.

"Holy shit, man," Dick's eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful engagement ring inside the box. He grabbed the ring from his brother to look at it better. If he knew you well enough - which he did - Dick knew that you were going to absolutely love this. It was exactly your style. "This is amazing!"

"You think they'll like it?" Jason nervously asked. He had not once brought up the idea of marrying you. For years, you thought that he was just content on how your relationship was - not that you thought any differently. Marriage never seemed like an option for either you, your lives were far too busy.

Jason hadn't thought about it for a long time. He didn't think that he needed to marry you to prove his love to you. But, as he passed that jewelry store, all he could think about would be how stunning you would look walking down the isle. As soon as that image popped into his head, he knew he needed to make it a reality.

"I think they'll love it," Dick confirmed. He handed the ring back over to Jason, who tossed the box around in his hands. The first Robin could tell that he wasn't quite convinced by his answer. "You don't think so?"

"I don't know," Jason admitted. "We've been together for so long, but what if that's just because it's easier this way. What if they don't actually love me? What if they say no? I don't want to lose them just because I want to take this extra step."

"You're not going to lose (Y/N), Jaybird," Dick assured. There was no one more perfect for Jason, than you. Everyone knew that, the second that they saw you guys together they assumed that you had already been married. Hell, half the time you acted like it. "They love you, more than anything. Besides, (Y/N) is the best thing to have ever happened to you, there's no way you'll give up on that love so easily."

"Has (Y/N) ever talked to you about a wedding?" Jason asked. He knew that you were friends with Dick for a long time, if there was anyone that would hear about your secrets, it was him. As much as he didn't like you being friends with his older brother, there were times that he was thankful for it.

"No," Dick shook his head. You had never even toyed with the idea of marriage, or maybe you had just kept your thoughts silent. Either way, neither of the men had a clue about what you thought of it. "They're happy with you no matter what. Propose to them, they'll be excited. I know it."

"I hope you're right, Dick."

><

In all your time that you had known Jason, he had never seemed nervous to you.

Jason was always confident in everything he did - or at least showed that he was. Whether it was beating the ever living hell out of someone or flirting with you, he showed that he knew exactly what he was doing. That was one of the things you loved about him - he was confident.

In all your time that you had known him, Jason proved every day how much he loved you. Whether it was making you breakfast in the morning, buying you flowers out of the blue, or being the hidden romantic that he likes to be. There has never been a time that you doubted his love for you.

For the first time in a long time, Jason had offered to take you on a date. The two of you got dressed up all fancy and headed to some expensive restaurant that you weren't sure you could afford. It was a pleasant surprise to see Jason dressed up in a suit. He looked handsome, but when didn't he?

Throughout the entire night, Jason wavered been the utmost adoration for you, and a state of anxiety. You could see this struggle within him, and upon asking why, he didn't give you a straight answer. Jason often shrugged off his feelings, even when it came to you. It wasn't a surprise when he did it again.

In the end, you had a delicious meal, and an excellent time with Jason, even though you were still worried about him. You hadn't noticed, but Jason continuously shifted the small velvet box in his pocket. That was the reason he had been so nervous.

Jason had full intentions to ask you while you were having your dinner. He had chickened out at every opportunity that he had gotten. Now, the two of you were walking hand in hand as the sun set in the sky. Your home wasn't far away, and instead of hailing a ride, you decided to walk. Any peaceful time spent with Jason was well worth anything.

"You've been acting off all night, Jay," You brought up, again. Jason's hand tightened around yours for a brief moment. "Are you sure you're okay? Bruce isn't getting to you again is he? I'll got talk to him, he doesn't scare me, you know." Yes he did.

Jason chuckled at you, just another thing that he loved about you. You were always willing to protect him against all odds. "No, I haven't talked to Bruce in months," Jason assured you. He stuck his hand in his pocket once more, the heat of the box burning through his skin. "I love you."

"I love you, too," you reached up to kiss him. Jason smiled into the kiss before pulling away. His smile quickly turned into a frown. This had only made you more nervous about what was going through his head at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just," Jason stuttered over his words. Seeing him nervous like this, it wasn't something you were used to. "I love you, more than anything in this world. And I know that this life that I'm trapped in isn't ideal, and I'm sorry for dragging you in it. But, I wouldn't change anything if it meant I got to have you for the rest of my life.

"You mean everything to me, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the person that drives me to be better, to come come home every night. You're the reason that I smile and laugh. I guess what I'm trying to say is... (Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me?"

Jason pulled out the box from his pocket. Just as he was nontraditional in every sense possible, he was with this as well. Instead of getting on a knee, Jason held the opened box towards you, an obvious tremble in his hands. He was far too nervous to move from his spot and get down to the ground.

Tears stung your eyes, never had you imagined Jason would want to get married. You always assumed that he was happy with your relationship and never needing to conform to society's wish of marriage. You were content with that, but marriage was always something you wanted, only with him.

All the words you wanted to say were stuck in your throat. You wanted to scream to the world that you were going to marry the man you loved. You wanted everyone to know just how lucky you were. Instead, all you could manage was a head nod and a massive grin on your face. Jason's nerves finally broke.

He matched the grin that you had and wrapped you in his arms. Without any effort at all, Jason hoisted you off the ground and spun you around. As soon as your feet touch the cement, your lips were on his. he had been beyond excited that you were just as happy as he was about this step.

Jason plucked the ring from the box and smoothly slid it on your finger. It suited you just perfectly - as much as he didn't want to admit it, Dick was right. Jason wiped the tears streaming down your face, followed by wiping his own.

"I love you, Jason," You kissed him once more. Jason no longer cared that you were in the middle of the sidewalk. People walking by as you were completely engrossed with each other. He couldn't bare the thought of letting you go, feared that your acceptance of his proposal was nothing but his imagination.

"Dick was right," Jason chuckled. You raised an eyebrow at him, confused as to why he was bringing up his brother at a moment like this. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

[anotherspnfanfic]

Holy Muffins, Batman

Summary: She needs somewhere to work, Dean has just the place.

Pairing: Dean x reader

Word count: 1612

Warnings: none, it’s all fluff

Squares filled: Cafe owner!Dean for @spnchristmasbingo, burgers and fries for @spndeanbingo

A/N: I kind of love how this one turned out. 😊

~~~

She walked into the cafe and smiled when she saw her favorite corner booth was empty. As she slid into her seat, she pulled out her laptop.

“G’morning, sweetheart. You’re here early today.”

She looked over and spotted Dean headed her way. “Yeah, tell me about it.” She stifled a yawn. “But I have a deadline. I stared at a blinking cursor for at least two and a half hours yesterday. I figured a change of scenery might do the trick. My editor will hunt me down if she doesn’t have something from me today.”

“So extra large on your latte then?” He was already slowly backing away from the table to go prepare her drink.

She nodded eagerly. “Please, and keep ‘em coming.”

He returned a couple minutes later. He set a large mug on the table and a plate with three muffins. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“Holy muffins, Batman.” She laughed.

He chuckled and shrugged. “Blueberry, your usual. The others are a gingerbread and a, uh, lemon cranberry.” He sounded uncertain. “Jody made them. Something about us needing Christmas-themed options. Figured you could test them out and let me know what you think.”

She lifted the one with cranberries and smelled it. “I think I can handle that. They smell amazing.”

“I’ll let you get to work. Let me know if you need anything.” He smiled as he turned and walked over to greet a recently-occupied table.

Sipping her latte, she looked around the cafe and watched as a handful of people came in for their morning coffee and promptly left again. She pulled off pieces of each of the muffins, munching as she people-watched. When she had finished off one muffin, she finally opened her laptop and powered it up.

Accessing her previously saved Word document, she heard Dean laugh. The sound drew her attention to where he stood behind the counter, joking with a couple placing an order. She couldn’t help but mirror his infectious smile. She turned her attention to the screen in front of her. Before she knew it, she had several paragraphs written and the inspiration was, finally, flowing freely.

Some time later, she reached for her mug that had been nearly empty when she’d last taken a sip. Instead, she found a new, full latte in its place. She wondered when that had appeared and how she had missed the delivery. She looked up and spotted Dean wiping down the table two over from her. “Thanks, Dean.” She lifted the mug as she spoke. He winked before resuming his task. She felt the blush creep over her cheeks as she turned her attention back to her writing.

She finished a chapter and was emailing the document to her editor when a hand waved between her face and the computer screen. She looked up to find Dean standing beside the table with a plate in his hands.

“I think you’ve looked away from that screen once in the last four hours,” he started. He set the plate down. “And that was ten minutes after I brought you a fresh latte. I figured you might be hungry, but I didn’t want the burger to be cold before you noticed it.”

“It has not been…” She trailed off as she looked at the clock. “How has it been four hours?!”

He shrugged.

She picked a fry off the plate and ate it. “Well, you were right. I am actually starving.”

He chuckled. “We can’t have that. Is there anything else I can get you?”

She bit her lip to contain her smile. “Hmm, yes. Some company would be nice.”

He smirked mischievously. “Sure. I can send Jody over. You can tell her what you think of the muffins.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not who I had in mind. The boss does give you a lunch break, right?”

“I think he can make an exception today,” he teased. Both of them knowing he was talking about himself. “I’ll be right back.”

He came back two minutes later with another plate with his own burger and fries. He set the dish on the table before sliding in across from her.

As he settled, she took a bite of her burger and moaned loudly. He raised his eyebrows, amusement playing across his features. “Sorry,” she mumbled, quickly covering her mouth.

“You won’t ever hear me complain about getting a woman to make that sound,” he said with a cocky smirk. He winked before lifting his own burger off his plate.

“Smooth.” She took another bite and waited until she had swallowed to continue. “Seriously though, I hope you know you’ve ruined burgers from anywhere else. These are incredible.”

A small, proud smile replaced his smirk as he broke eye contact momentarily. “Thank you.”

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Munching on the remaining fries, she asked, “Do you have any fun plans for Christmas?”

He nodded as he finished chewing. “Kind of. Just dinner and gifts with my brother, his wife, and our parents. What about you?”

“Pretty much the same. Dinner and gifts with my sister and parents.”

“Just the one sibling?” he asked.

“Yup. Just me and her. Just you and your brother?”

He nodded. “Older or younger?”

“She’s older. I’m the baby of the family.” He stole a fry off her plate and she smacked his hand. She scowled the best she could while trying not to laugh.

“Sammy is four years younger than me.” There was a fondness in his voice that told her how much he loved his brother.

“So you torment him.” It wasn’t a question.

Dean chuckled. “Well, it is in the older sibling handbook. It’s actually required.”

She finished her fries then lifted her napkin to wipe her mouth. She set it on top of the empty plate.

He watched as she eyed her laptop quickly. “What exactly is it you’ve been typing away at all morning?”

“The beginning of my next book. It’s the third of a series,” she explained.

“Wow. What are they about?”

“Monsters.” She watched as his eyebrows rose in surprise. “Werewolves, vampires, changelings… you know, all the things that go bump in the night.”

He cleared his throat, letting the information settle. “I don’t know what I was expecting but that wasn’t it. Please, tell me more.”

She shook her head. “You are just going to have to read the books if you want to know more.”

“Okay.” He reached toward the laptop to try and pull it over to himself.

She pushed his hand away. “No, no, no, nice try. I was referring to the published ones.”

He pouted. “Fine. I guess I should let you get back to it.” He stood and picked up the empty plates.

“Thanks for joining me.” She pulled her laptop in front of her and was back to writing before he was ten steps away.

Several hours and lattes later, she finished sending yet another email to her editor before starting to shut down her laptop. Glancing around, she noticed most of the tables had the chairs set up on top. Dean was sitting at a table near the window, Christmas lights now lit in the trees outside. She smiled at the view for a moment. She could see his concentration as he typed something. Pulling her eyes away from him she finally noticed everyone else was gone, including his staff.

“Where is everyone?” she asked, causing him to look over at her.

He checked his watch and chuckled. “I actually closed up about twenty minutes ago.”

“What?” She closed her laptop and put it back into her bag. “Why didn’t you kick me out?”

“You looked like you were on a roll.” He gestured toward the surface in front of him, littered with papers. “And I wasn’t ready to head out anyway.”

Grabbing her bag, she stood and moved towards his table. “Don’t you have a perfectly good office for all of that?”

He gave her a lopsided grin as he glanced back down at the table. “Yes, I do, but I didn’t want you to look up and find no one here.”

She shifted her bag on her shoulder. “I appreciate that, and thank you for letting me camp out here all day.”

“You are welcome to camp out here anytime you want to, sweetheart.”

She blushed. “So, what do I owe you?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “On the house.” She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest. “I insist.” He reached forward and pulled down the laptop screen, smoothly closing it.

She groaned. “Fine. If you insist. Thank you, again.”

He stood and placed his hands on both of her arms. He tipped his head down and looked her in the eyes. “Any chance you want to go get some dessert somewhere? I know a place that has great pie.”

She looked down at the table. “I thought you said you weren’t ready to leave yet.” She looked back at him and watched the smallest smile appear.

“Did I?” He feigned innocence. “Huh, well I can finish this later.”

She considered his offer. “On one condition. We also walk around downtown to look at all the Christmas lights.”

“Sounds like a deal.” He offered his hand for her to take. As she took it, he ran his thumb across her knuckles. He took two steps backwards before turning toward the door and pulling her with him. He flipped the lights off and locked the door as they left.

Enjoying each other’s company, they slowly strolled hand-in-hand down the sidewalk toward their destination, taking in all the lights and decorations along the way.

~~~

Tags: @deanwasscaredbyacat @babypieandwhiskey @muchamusedaboutnothing @defenderrosetyler @akshi8278 @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @thoughts-and-funnies

[fluffybluekitten]

Akkakaka hypothermia with Bruce being the one getting it because pain.

@badthingshappenbingo

Here it is, fill for hypothermia

I really like this one

Read it at https://archiveofourown.org/works/31843678/chapters/79634398

or here

The headache hits first, an all too familiar throbbing filling his head and radiating out through his body. Then cold, biting in his hands and feet. When he attempts to draw them closer, blankets above him shifting, even that small movement is enough to make him want to keep his eyes closed and drift off again to wherever he was.

But he can smell something, a scent his mind registers as both pleasant and dangerous. He opens his eyes to a thankfully dim room. Shadows flicker across the wooden ceiling, crackling and spitting above a distant hum. He remembers being very small, winter nights with his parents, watching flames dance while falling asleep in front of the fireplace, and then floating in space. He forces his eyes open again, and gathers all his strength to roll towards where the light is coming from.

Coarse fabric brushes against his bare cheek as he comes to rest on his side. But nowhere else. He’s still wearing his suit. Gloves too, he sees as his hand moves into his field of vision. Water flaked with snow drips from between his fingers, but the skin’s dry underneath. Suit still intact, though the heating has clearly failed. Moving, even thinking, is exhausting. He stares into the fire like it’s a puzzle, and it dawns on him that in this state he’s unlikely to be the one who lit it.

Adrenaline jolts through him, and it’s certainly needed. He raises his head enough to glance around the room. He hasn’t been making an effort to move silently until now, but he supposes it’s second nature. The Riddler sits just a foot away, on the same rug he’s laid out upon, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and gazing into the fire. Bruce stares. His brain raises questions he can’t process fully right now. He settles for assessing his surroundings. They’re in a room. The windows are bright. Snow. Edward looks different when he’s still. Tired, almost as much as Bruce feels.

He needs to cough. He tries to supress it, but a shiver runs through him and Edward looks over.

Cover blown, he struggles to sit up. Edward uncurls from his seated position and shifts towards him, and Bruce pushes the last of his strength into moving, and leans forward and coughs, hard. A lot.

When he’s able to look up Edward is leaning over him, cheeks red from the fire.

Bruce plants his hands on the floor, takes a deep shuddering breath and looks around for a handy piece of furniture to pull himself up on.

Edward stands. “You’re in no condition to move.” He walks past, and Bruce tenses, turning to keep him in view. But he only grabs a couple of large cushions from a fireside armchair.

“I-”Bruce attempts to get up anyway, of course, but the connection between brain and body isn’t working well enough yet. He just needs a little time, but he can’t afford that now.

Edward drops the couch cushions behind his back and disappears further into the cabin. Bruce watches after him, but the light in the room Edward walks into is too bright, almost blinding him. He blinks, he can hear that hum more clearly now, quiet voices from another room.

When Edward returns Bruce is leaning back against the cushions, gathering his strength. He still wants to sleep very badly, his head still thrums, and every moment has the blurred distance of a waking dream. He forces himself to keep his eyes open.

Edward carries two mugs, and hands him one. Their fingers brush as Bruce takes it, Edward’s are pale, and Bruce watches him sit and wrap his hands around his own mug, moving closer to the fire. Something’s gone wrong, and Edward needs his help. That explains why he’s still alive. Edward can be sensible when it comes to his own survival. But if there’s other people here… that means… He shivers. No, he doesn’t know what that means.

Edward is watching him, and Bruce braces for a riddle, but instead Edward sips his drink. Bruce looks at his own cup. Looks at his shaking hands struggling to hold it upright. He breathes through the next shudder and focuses on the steam rising from the mug, the smell of herb and lemon. It stands out against the musty smell of the layers upon layers of blankets covering him. He supposes he might as well drink. It seems unlikely that the Riddler would poison him now. Redundant.

The tea tastes bitter and then sweet, and it replaces the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. The liquid’s warmth flows through him. He watches Edward drink too, and sees him shiver for the first time, is he trying to suppress it too? He looks back at that white window, the inside of the cabin dim compared to it even with the fire. He remembers snow, filling his vision, blinding and covering.

“What happened?” His voice comes out only a little croaky.

“You fell. Considering the time you spent in the snow, and the time it took to drag you back here, it doesn’t take a medic to diagnose hypothermia. And you must have received a severe concussion to knock you out for the best part of an hour.”

That’s worrying. He attempts to use the sensors on his suit to check his body temperature, but all higher functions are out. Then he realises what Edward is saying. “You saved me. Why?” He glances round as he speaks, checking the cabin a second time now he can look at it without his eyes watering, and realises the voices from the next room are the radio. Edward is likely correct about the concussion.

“What else could I do? What an anti-climax for my greatest rival to die from his own clumsiness.” Edward stands up quickly. “Now your vital signs were normal last I checked, except for a ridiculously low pulse, but then I expect your baseline must be low. I suspect your GCS score will have improved at least.”

When Edward steps toward him, Bruce puts out a hand to stop him.

Edward glares at him, but sits back down. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll test your brainpower in a different way. Riddle me this - How do you warm up in a cold room?”

Bruce’s hand has gone from firm to shaking already. He raises it to his face. “My mask, it’s still on.”

Edward’s glare intensifies. “Of course. Now Batman, my riddle.”

Bruce finds he’s already forgotten it.

“As I suspected.” Edward sounds resigned. “Well, you’re no use to me for now.” He leans back on his elbows and closes his eyes.

“You’re tired,” Bruce says. He’s not sure if it’s countering anything, but it’s a fact he can clearly identify. He’s not the only one not at his best here.

“Yes, dragging your mass around will do that. But don’t get any ideas, I’m doing far better than you.”

“What are you listening to?”

“Hmm? Talk radio. Useful to keep up with the news up here.”

“It’s quiet.”

“Do you want me to turn it up?”

“No.” He can’t think why he pointed it out. Why he’s even making conversation with the Riddler. Only that his instincts are screaming at him that this is an opportunity he can’t ignore.

“It’s useful to have some background noise. Solitude is valuable, a relief. But even short periods of absolute silence can induce auditory hallucinations. It says nothing about my sanity.”

“I’m aware. It seems a sensible precaution.”

“It is.” Edward sounds defensive, which is usual for him, and the way he’s looking at him is searching, evaluating, also usual, but there’s something else too, a caution Bruce isn’t used to seeing on his face. It is strange talking to Edward like this. Even this short conversation must be the longest they’ve had without riddles or threats. “Good to hear your mind’s at least partially intact,” Edward adds.

“I suppose I have you to thank for that.” It sounds like a question. But he doesn’t have time to find out the answer now. The fog keeping his mind in this cabin is clearing a little. He needs to get back to Gotham.

“Don’t get any ideas, I still intend to destroy you when you’re well, speaking of which, will you at least consent to me checking your temperature.” Edward holds up an ear thermometer. Bruce raises his hand once again to check that his mask is in place. “Not the type recommended for hypothermic patients, but I suppose we’ll have to make do.”

“No.” Bruce presses forward, gathering himself under him. He needs to get up, keep moving, that’s what will finally get him warm, get him back home. Once upright, he’s able to stand without swaying after only a few seconds. Edward watches from the floor. “Get up. You’re coming with me.”

“You have no chance of taking me anywhere at the moment.”

Bruce grabs Edward by the arm and tries to lift him, but Edward seems stuck to the floor, all Bruce’s pulling just putting himself off balance. Maybe he should leave him here for now and come back later. The important thing is that he gets back to Gotham now. But Edward’s grin looks about to turn into a laugh, so he puts all his strength into one final heave, and succeeds in pulling the other man to his feet. For a moment they balance there together, and then the world tilts. He’s falling forward, crashing into Edward, feeling arms around him in the moment before everything disappears.

[uncpanda]

Strange Bedfellows: Part 4

Description: Being best friends with Bruce Wayne is never boring. Out of order snippets of your life with your best friend. Also, the parts taken from Pride and Prejudice are obviously not mine.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The anniversary of the death of Bruce’s parents is never easy. In most cases Bruce turns into Batman for a full twenty-four hours and the boys stay with him in their own suits. This year that isn’t an option. Jason is in some safe house, Tim is with the TItans, Dick and Bruce are in the middle of a fight and Damian. . . well Damian isn’t the most comforting person in the world. 

So, when the twenty four hours is up, and Bruce trudges back home, you’re waiting. You toss him a pair of jeans, a long sleeved tee-shirt, and wait for him to change. He appears ten minutes later, limping slightly. You ignore it. You nudge him gently in the chest and order him, “Be a gentleman.” 

He offers you his arm and you take it. You lead him to your jeep, the one you’ve had since high school, the one Bruce hates, the one he’s tried to replace several times since he got back all those years ago when he found it still sitting in your driveway. 

You drive away into a rundown part of Gotham. It’s not completely safe, but you’re not too likely to get mugged either. You park in front of a dive bar and lead Bruce in. You can see the disgust on his face, especially when he sees people throwing their peanut shells on the ground. You shove him further in. 

You sit at the bar, order two beers, and you drink. You watch the college basketball game that’s on TV and occasionally one of you comment on the game. More beers are consumed, and not one person comes up and asks Bruce if he is the Bruce Wayne.

 Eventually he asks, “How the hell did you find this place?” 

“I worked here.” 

His eyes go wide, and he chokes on a peanut. You slam your hand against his back, and wink at Rodney, your old boss. “You worked here?” 

You nod and introduce him to Rodney, “I had to make money somehow when my parents cut me off. I worked as the cook here.” 

His face blanches, “They serve food here.” 

You nod, “Dishes I invented, and they follow the health code too.” 

Rodney snorts, “Threatens to call the health inspector on us if we don’t. Likes to show up and do surprise inspections too.” Bruce’s jaw hangs open. 

“I’m not letting all of my hard work go to waste.” 

ROdney laughs, “The beer gets people in the door, the food keeps them coming back. Every once in a while she’ll come in and work a night. That’s when the place is full of the regulars.”  

Rodney disappears to go help someone else, and you start pointing out people to Bruce. Each of them wave hello, a few come up and talk to you. And Bruce just shakes his head, “I can’t believe Alfred let you work here?” 

You raise an eyebrow at that, “Let me?” 

“You know what I mean. It’s a miracle you aren’t dead.” 

“Says the man who dresses up and fights crime.” 

He rolls his eyes and you order two of the special.You eat with a little more small talk before you head out. It’s nearly six am when you step back out onto Gotham’s streets. Instead of going to the car you go down the street and pick up two bouquets of flowers. When that’s done the two of you get back in the jeep. When the engine turns over a few times before growling to life. Bruce gives you the look. You ignore it and drive. 

You reach the outskirts of the city in under an hour. This time Bruce offers you his arm freely, and you let him lead you to their graves. Together you brush leaves away from the headstones, remove the old flowers, and replace them with new ones. 

He stares at the headstones and you quietly admit, “I started doing this the year you left.” His eyes flicker to you, “I drink a few beers, watch a ballgame, think about your parents, and then drive out here and put new flowers down. I’d talk to them, read them the letters you sent. It made me feel better, like they were watching over you.” 

His arm wraps around you and he kisses the crown of your head. Quietly he admits, “Sometimes I dream of what could have been, if they’d lived.” 

You smile, “I’m going to regret this, but what do you dream about?” 

He stares at the headstones, and surprises you when he answers, “We would have taken that step. By my estimation I would have finally admitted my feelings for you around homecoming of senior year. We would have continued at Yale together. You’d still be a chef, and I would have actually become a doctor. My parents would talk yours out of disowning you for that choice. 

“We’d be busy but we would have this weekly date night. We would have gotten this rinky apartment with dreams of making it on our own. I would have gone into pediatrics. You’d work for this hard ass chef. And then, one night while we were exhausted on the couch I would have proposed. You would have said yes, and we’d have an actual wedding not one of those play ones from when we were kids. It would have been big for our mothers. 

“And after I was finally out of residency, we would have started trying for a baby. It would have been a little girl. And somehow the boys would have still found their way to us. Damian would have been ours somehow. We would have gotten them help, and made them feel loved, and they’d call us mom and dad. And we’d have family nights where we all carefully listen as my mother read Pride and Prejudice.” 

You don’t say anything. If you did, you might cry. Because that sounds like heaven to you, and you want it. So instead, you turn your head into his shoulder, and allow him to wrap you in his arms, while you mourn his parents and what might have been. 

[sickslickman]

Welcome to the Table States

Been thinking of doing this for a while, just a cast list for Welcome to the Table by main, major recurring, minor recurring, and guest spots. Let me know if I missed anyone. Also I don’t know sports teams worth a damn, so if I don’t name the state’s jerseys as they should be, that’s why.

Main cast:

(These are characters that premiered in the first episode and appear in most if not all of the episodes. Note: unless otherwise mentioned, all characters in this series are portrayed by Ben Brainard)

DC: The District of Columbia. Runs the meetings. Acts as the leader, but occasionally the shady side of politics comes out of him. Trying desperately to keep his sanity amid the virus, BLM, and everyday American life. His appearance goes from wearing a polo shirt to a suit and tie. Appears in every episode.

Call: “I’m about to do something drastic!”

Florida: The Sunshine State. The Mr. Hyde to DC’s Dr. Jekyll, he is all for absolute chaos and fun over order and following guidelines, and basically comes to the meetings solely to ruin DC’s day. Knows how to call every state because everyone eventually moves to Florida. His appearance is usually a tank top, shorts and a bucket hat. Believes that the coronavirus is a hurricane (or a tropical storm, it varies from day to day). Appears in every episode.

Call: “Duval!”

Texas: The Lone Star State. Usually represents everything the conservative side stands for (guns, politics, religion, women’s rights, big government, you get the drill). His appearance is a red button down shirt and a black cowboy hat. Appears in most episodes.

Call: Sing lines from “Who Put All My Ex's in Texas” by Willie Nelson

California: The Golden State. Usually represents everything the progressive liberal side stands for (abortion, anti-police, anti-fascism, anti-confederacy, BLM, you get it). His appearance is hipster based with beanie and thick-framed glasses. Appears in most episodes.

Call: “Hey Human Torch!” (Unknown if that’s official call or if it just worked because of the wildfires currently ongoing in California)

New York: The Empire State. Tends to be gruff, abrasive and sometimes hostile with his arms almost always folded. Politically is sort of the middle ground between Texas and California; mostly would rather be doing anything else. His appearance used to be a winter coat and hat but has since switched to a Giants jersey. Appears in most episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time, but does react when someone claims their pizza is better.

Major Recurring:

(These are states that make frequent appearances and/or have a strong presence)

Louisiana: The Pelican State. Florida’s best friend and main partner in crime. Very laid back. Only character that speaks with a Cajun accent. His appearance was initially a bucket hat and suspenders with no shirt, but has gradually shifted to wearing LSU gear. Loves daiquiris and gators. Appears in most episodes. His premiere episode is the most watched episode of the series.

Call: “Who dat? Who dat?”

(Note: At this point he has appeared in as many episodes as the main cast, considering bumping him up to main.)

Georgia: The Peach State. Always acts like he just got out of bed, and is almost never seen without a mug of coffee. His appearance has gradually shifted from pajamas to Panthers gear. About as chaotic as Florida, but more out of being dim-witted than out of desire for chaos. Appears in many episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time

West Virginia: The Mountain State: The only state to appear in the pilot episode that is not a main character. Appears very infrequently. His appearances usually involve following coronavirus guidelines and his usage of the word “f***.” Initially dressed in Amish clothing, he has since changed to a Mountaineers football shirt and hat.

Call: Unknown at this time

Washington: The Evergreen State. As the American spread of the coronavirus originated in Seattle, he is almost always coughing but passes it off as “allergies.” Usually wears a dark short-sleeved button down and hipster glasses with ear buds. Appears in several episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time

Massachusetts: The Bay State. Appears frequently and loudly. Has a love-mostly-hate relationship with New York. Tends to be a very abrasive and loud voice of reason. His appearance has gone from a Celtics jersey to a Bruins one.

Call: “Is that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck?”

Utah: The Beehive State. His appearance is a dress shirt and tie and he usually carries a Bible. He is a Mormon and very religious. Has an antagonistic relationship with Florida, who constantly belittles him and inquires about his multiple wives (which Utah does not do anymore). Appears semi-frequently.

Call: “I wish someone were here to tell me about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”

Kentucky: The Bluegrass State. Usually wears a dress sweater and carries a picture of Governor Andy Beshear with him everywhere. Tends to be a voice of reason and one of the least problematic states at the table, which is surprising given who his senator is. Appears semi-frequently.

Call: Pronounce “Louisville”

The Carolinas: Both make frequent and strong appearances, and both have a rough relationship with Florida. Both wear T-shirts reflecting their states.

South Carolina: The Palmetto State. Likes to remind Florida of the Jameis Winston crab legs incident. Gets annoyed if you say his barbeque is trash. Loves college football and is always talking about Clemson.

Call: “Carolina BBQ is trash!”

North Carolina: The Tar Heel State. Although he has only appeared in the series fairly recently, he has already become a recurring character. Loves barbecues and basketball. Tends to get hit with a lot of natural disasters.

Call: “It’s bo time!”

Colorado: The Centennial State. Wears a blue T-shirt and a ski hat with goggles. Is usually high all the time and constantly talks about weed. Appears semi-frequently.

Call: Howl like a wolf

Alaska: The Last Frontier. Has only appeared a couple of times but has made a strong impression. Wears an “Alaskan grown” shirt and winter hat. Speaks in a slow but patient voice. Likes to be left alone. Has a friendly rivalry with Texas on account of size. Is a little weird but friendly enough.

Call: None. He is always there. Like Batman.

Minor Recurring:

(These are for characters that are more like supporting characters. Note that although several of these states have had episodes focusing on them, their overall presence is less than that of the major recurring)

Indiana: The Hoosier State. Has only appeared twice. Has trouble coming to terms with Mike Pence’s alleged homosexuality. Not much else notable about him.

Call: Sing the Indiana Jones theme (Although he would prefer “Hoo hoo!”)

Pennsylvania: The Keystone State. Appears semi-frequently but is mostly a slightly less abrasive New York or Massachusetts. Wears an Eagles jersey in most appearances. Constantly asking for a drink. Constantly asking people to choose between Wawa or Sheetz.

Call: “We are!”

Wisconsin: The Badger State. Wears a giant foam Swiss cheese hat on his head. Is perpetually drunk. Argues in favor of the rights of the people (although not always in the best ways). Hates Illinois and especially the Bears.

Call: “Anyone need anything from Quik Trip?”

Illinois: The Prairie State. Mostly just known for Chicago and not much else. Wears a Cubs jersey and hat. Seems rather old fashioned and does not like alcoholics. Everyone in his state seems to hate each other. Hates Wisconsin and has arguments with New York in regards to who makes better pizza.

 Call: Unknown, but seems to react to someone insulting the Bears.

Ohio: The Buckeye State. Loves skyline chili and wine at two o’clock. Begins just about every sentence with “ope.” Used to dress like a rapper wannabe, but now dressed in Ohio State gear. Hates Michigan and given the chance would kill him himself.

Call: “O-H!”

Michigan: The Great Lake State. Wears a Lions jersey and hat and brings a bottle of Vernors with him everywhere. Hates Ohio and wants to beat Ohio State at football.

Call: “Liberate Michigan!”

New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment. Appears very infrequently. Speaks Spanish on top of English. Is intelligent to a degree but will throw down if necessary. Mostly talks about cultural things. Wears a blue hoodie-looking sweater.

Call: Unknown, but responds when someone claims to have better green chili.

Mississippi: The Show Me State. Claims to be the “Harvard of the South.” Carries a water bottle with him wherever he goes. Gets into arguments with California over Confederate momentos.

Call: Unknown at this time

Alabama: The Cotton State. Mostly appears in the weekly recap videos. Represents the philosophies of the Deep South. Not much else known about him.

Call: Unknown at this time

Arizona: The Grand Canyon State. Appears mostly as a semi-frequent character in the weekly recap videos. Not much else is known about him.

Call: Unknown at this time

Missouri: The Show Me State. Appears semi-frequently in the weekly recap videos. Not much is known about him other than he likes barbeque and has a feud with Kansas over Kansas City.

Call: Unknown at this time

Oklahoma: The Sooner State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos but has made other appearances too. Tends to be rather sarcastic and blunt, but is prone to overreaction at times. Hates Texas.

Call: Unknown at this time

Tennessee: The Volunteer State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Tends to be high-pitched and melodramatic.

Call: Unknown at this time

Oregon: The Beaver State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Was very active during the BLM protests and was vocal against the use of police brutality and unmarked abductions.

Call: Unknown at this time

Minnesota: The North Star State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Was very active during the BLM protests and in support of defunding police and reallocating resources. Tends to be a voice of reason.

Call: Unknown at this time

Connecticut: The Constitution State. Has only appeared a few times in the weekly recap videos. Tries to avoid dealing with Florida as much as he can.

Call: Unknown at this time

Maryland: The Free State. Wore a T-shirt in early appearances but is now decked out in crab gear in recent ones. As abrasive as a northern state, but with as much pride as a southern one. Early episodes had a running gag of Maryland’s issues regarding coronavirus tests.

Call: “Anyone have any Old Bay?”

The Dakotas: Appear infrequently. Only have about thirty-six people among both of them.

North Dakota: Has only appeared a couple of times. Not much is known about him.

South Dakota: Has appeared more often than his brother, but usually only talks about the Sturgis Bike Rally. Also is trying to fight meth.

Call: “Who’s the better Dakota again?” (will call both of them)

Iowa: The Corn State. One of the biggest running gags in the series is that no one seems to know where he is or how to get in touch with him. Tends to come and go from meetings whenever he sees fit.

Call: Unknown at this time

Background characters:

(Characters that only appear once or have no real significance to the series)

Nevada: The Silver State. Has only appeared once. Dresses like a Vegas dancer.

Rhode Island: The Ocean State. Has only appeared once to discuss his name change.

New Jersey: The Garden State. Has only appeared once. Doesn’t like it when New York keeps visiting him.

Wyoming: The Equality State. Has only appeared once when Florida insulted his name.

Nebraska: The Cornhusker State. Has appeared a couple of times but has had no real significance.

Kansas: The Sunflower State. Has only appeared a couple of times. Tends to feud with Missouri over Kansas City.

Idaho: The Gem State. Has only appeared once(?).

Arkansas: The Natural State. His only real appearance was in the poker episode when everyone told him he couldn’t play on account of he never shuts anything down and can’t weigh in with anything.

Delaware: The First State. Has only appeared twice. Like the state itself, nothing of significance has yet been noted.

Virginia: The Old Dominion. Has only appeared a couple of times, and his only notable role was in the mask debate.

States that still have not made an appearance:

Montana

Vermont

Maine

New Hampshire

Hawaii (Note that Brainard has stated he wishes to find a Hawaiian native actor to play this character.)

Other characters in this series:

CDC: The Center of Disease Control. Originally played by Ben Brainard, the role has since been taken over by comedian Drew Lynch. An overworked, underappreciated man who tries to get the states to adhere to coronavirus regulations. He has a bad stutter and has not slept in weeks. He may be being kept alive purely on coffee and good intentions.

International DC: Played by Elana Rose. Has only appeared once. DC’s sister and the international relations part of the federal government. She’s not very good at her job and tends to act very “mean girl.”

Mother Nature: Played by Liz, aka “lozclaws”. The goddess of earthling weather. Has an on-again off-again relationship with Florida.

Claire: Also played by Liz. Mother Nature’s...roommate? Mother? Not entirely sure. Tries to be a voice of reason to a pair with very little reason between the two of them.

The National Guard: The national army. Has only appeared twice, once to bodyguard Maryland, the other to discuss the BLM protests.

The 3rd Amendment: The third amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Only appeared once. It was very confusing.

Virginia: Kentucky’s sign-language interpreter. Only appeared once. Was deeply offended by Florida (as we all are).

Greg the Sound Guy: The guy who handles the audio and holds the mic boom for the show. Only appeared twice. Probably doesn’t get paid enough.

[ribcage-rodents]

So I finally finished the first script of my au...

The JL tower floating in space, stationary, inside:

Scene

The JL tower in the meeting room. The leaguers had just finished discussing monitor duties and the leaguers were dispersing. Wonder Woman grabbed a mug of coffee and Batman went over to the monitor so when she settles down for her turn they can gossip. Other leaguers start to small talk, Black Canary and Green arrow are discussing dinner plans in the background. Flash runs over to Wonder Woman and pokes her shoulder.

Flash

“Hiya! Diana, so your little sisters comin’ over from ya island to learn the way of the princess warrior, right?”

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman looked at him skeptically, setting her coffee down on the small counter serving as a drink station, answered hesitantly.

“Yes,”

Flash

Flash smiled and placed both hands on his hips. His face brightened.

“Awesome! Can you tell me about ‘er!”

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman’s confused expression slowly grew more aggravated.

“No.”

She picked up her coffee and walked past him, heading over to Batman.

Flash

Flash zoomed in front of her with a placating hand motion.

“Awe come on, please! It’s just Wally’s always been kinda awkward and he’s really bad at making friends! He always says that his aunt and I are his best friends and the only ones he needs, and don’t get me wrong I love being so close with the kid. Warms my heart everytime he says it. But still I want him to have people outside our family that he trusts and can spend time with!”

Flash pulled out puppy dog eyes and pouted slumping forward with pleading hands.

“I was hoping maybe your little sis could become his friend. We could put ‘em on a simple mission with us as guides, and then maybe he wouldn’t be so sad and lonely,”

A couple of moments passed with Wonder Woman looking unimpressed and Flash in the same pleading stance.

Flash

“Please….”

He asked, elongated and drawn out.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman stood still, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Allowing our apprentices to create strong bonds within this brutal job is a wonderful idea.”

She laid a hand on his shoulder and her smile widened.

Black Canary

Black Canary walked over to them, leaving Green Arrow to look affronted in the background. She laid her hand on Wonder Woman’s shoulder announcing herself in the conversation before placing both hands on her hips.

“Teaching our young heroes how to successfully complete a mission together while also creating companionship, is a wonderful idea. In fact, I think we should incorporate all of the sidekicks to help them build these skills,”

Black Canary sent a side glance at Batman and lowered her pitch.

“God knows one kid’s gonna need it,”

Green Arrow

Green Arrow walked closer to the group looking annoyed.

“Yeah, well Roy isn’t much of a ‘team work’ kinda person.”

He moved his arm to wrap around Black Canary’s waist.

Black Canary

Black Canary subtly slipped out of the way. And faced him.

“More the reason to do this,”

Aquaman

In his booming, egotistical, voice Aquaman chimed in.

“I’m sure the others could learn much from my people.”

All members looked towards Batman who was typing on the computer looking at possible cases.

Batman

Batman, without returning their looks, answered in his typical deadpan Batman voice.

“No,”

Black Canary

“Why not?”

Black Canary asked, her usually soft face hardening.

Flash

The Flash zoomed up next to him.

“But Bats, Robin is like one of Wally’s idols! He’d love to meet ‘im”

Batman

Batman only glared angrily at him until he let up and left. The others soon also gave up on Batman’s participation and dispersed.

Scene 2

On a well lit suburban street a flash of red went by leading up to Barry and Iris's house, the same red flash rushed through the door into the kitchen, magically changing into Barry, where Iris is cooking dinner. A shocked look took over her face as Barry was even more energetic than usual.

Iris

Iris, shaking garlic powder over a baking sheet of oily kale, questioned her husband.

“Why’re you so happy?”

Tilting her head to the side and setting the garlic powder down, Iris then moved towards the sink to wash her hands before placing them on her hips.

Barry

Barry looked very excited like a child who got a gold star in school.

“Oh, nothing, just me being the best uncle ever!”

He ran over to the staircase and started shouting Wally’s name.

Iris raised an eyebrow but an amused smile was on her face. Wally came zooming down the stairs also looking confused.

Wally

“What’s up Uncle B?”

Wally reached up to scratch his forehead.

Barry

“Best. Uncle. Ever!”

He said tapping his chest at each word.

“I got you a playdate!”

He said enthusiastically, although his overly joyful smile fell off his face once he realized Wally looked horrified.

Deflated Barry poked Wally’s cheek before asking,

“Hey, what’s wrong. I’d thought you’d be happy.”

Wally

“I appreciate the offer uncle B, it’s just…. I’m almost sixteen and I have to have my Uncle find people to be my friends. It’s pathetic!”

Wally punctuated his sentence by throwing his arms up into the air.

Barry

Barry placed his hand on Wally’s shoulder.

“Oh come on kiddo. You’re not pathetic, it's just that at school in keystone no one liked science or superheroes. And now you don’t feel like you can make friends. But these kids think superheroes are cool enough to try and become ‘em. You’ll fit right in!”

He said moving his hand to pat Wally’s back twice before rubbing between his shoulder blades.

Wally

Wally looked down at his feet and answered, his voice quiet and self-conscious.

“Ya think?”

Barry

Barry once again rubbed his back before wrapping him up in a hug.

“I know.”

Barry answered.

Wally looked back at him with a tentative smile.

Scene 3

Dianah walked with purpose, heels clicking against the hardwood floor of Oillie’s apartment above StarLabs headquarters. Ollie, who was wearing a lime green sports jacket and tan cargo shorts, trailed behind her looking anxious and irritated at the same time. She knocked crisply three times on a bedroom door decorated in caution tape and road signs. Roy answered the door dressed in sweats and a hoodie also looking annoyed.

Roy

“What.?”

Roy deadpanned giving Dianah an annoyed look before trying to glare down Ollie over her shoulder.

Dianah

Dianah placed both hands on her hips ignoring Ollie’s quiet comment on how this isn’t gonna work because Roy never does anything asked of him, causing their stare down session to become more intense. In her ‘no room for argument’ voice, she says.

“You are going on a mission with the other sidekicks. You are not going to go out on your own, you are not going to disobey mission orders, and you are not going to behave like a jerk to the other kids do you understand?”

Roy

Roy glared at her for a few minutes before running his hand down his face groaning loudly.

“Yeah. Whatever, fine.”

Dianah smiled sweetly before leaning forward and kissing his cheek thanking him. Roy sent one final glare at Ollie before shutting his door.

Ollie’s face morphed between shock and confusion despite how many times he’s seen this almost same exact scene play out. Dianah started walking away, her heels clicking again.

Ollie

Ollie, questioned her quietly.

“How?”

Dianah

Dianah answered from over her shoulder.

“Because we have mutual respect for one another. Remind me to set you two up for a group therapy session. Now go get dressed, I’m not leaving this house with you looking like that.”

Scene 4

Underwater a school building with a logo of several fish swimming together mounted to the roof. A door is banged in as Aquaman, their king and hero, is standing in the doorway. Several teenagers practicing water bending looked up immediately saluting their leader.

Aquaman

“Garth.”

Aquaman called his name in a grim voice, he swiftly turned around and worked to the exit. The students all stared at Garth while a dark look overcame his face, quietly he gathered up his materials, storing them away into his bag and finally following after their eccentric king.

The two entered Aquaman’s private study at the castle, Garth held on tight to the strap of his bag eyeing the king cautiously. Aquaman was busy admiring his treasures from far away lands.

Aquaman

Holding up a glass ball filled with what looked to hold a shimmering sunset, Aquaman spoke for the first time since entering the study about five minutes ago.

“Do you know what this is Garth?”

His voice was no longer commanding but Garth still had his guard up. When Garth refused to respond, Aquaman continued.

“It’s an extremely rare prize from the Republic of Lenong. An alien world that worshiped the sky, their atmosphere was an awful lot like Earths. And this,”

He carefully set down the glass ball and instead picked up a long silver sword bedazzled with shining jewels.

“I earned this from a fight with the league of shadows.”

Putting away the sword he turned to Garth quickly striding across the study so he could seat himself across from him.

“You see Garth, I am very interested in other worlds and learning how they work. Learning their weaknesses and the true nature of their relationship with Alantis. I've studied the land-dweller’s world, they are intriguing and ridiculous, like children. I want to put you on a team with the land-dwellers’ babies, to learn from them and more importantly teach them. If this works then hopefully the land-dwellers will become more intelligent and competent.”

Garth

Garth stared back at the king, his gaze turning hard with hatred.

“King Aurther, aren’t those’ babies’ heroes? I don’t know how to fight,”

Aquaman

Aquaman gave him an enthusiastic look.

“You can waterbend,”

Garth

Garth opened his mouth to speak but Aquaman held up a hand to silence him.

Aquaman

Aquaman raised a single eyebrow as his mouth formed into a thin line.

“Do you want this mission or not? Because I could find someone else to fill the position.”

Garth

Panic sweeped over Garth’s face, his eyes shot to the side anxiously.

“No! I would be honored to take on this mission.”

Garth finished quickly nodding at Aquaman.

Aquaman

At that a wide smile spread over Aquaman’s face.

“That's good to hear my boy!”

Aquaman clapped the newly anointed sidekick on the back.

Garth

“Thank you King Arthur.”

Garth bowed to Aquaman and booked it out of the castle. Garth hurried down a side alley, knocking on a rust colored door of a seedy, run-down building.

A slit slid away to reveal two eyes, Garth leaned in and whispered the password. He took a step back to allow the door to open. He entered silently.

Evil Fish Guy

“Garth? Why are you here during the day?!”

Asked an enraged voice seated in a throne shrouded in darkness.

Garth

“I think I have a way to destroy the land-dwellers and King Arthur sir.”

Garth leaves the building making quick work of his walk home. As he enters his home multi-colored bubbles burst from the walls revealing Garth’s parents standing below a giant congratulations banner.

Garth’s Mother

“Sweetheart! We are so proud of you!”

She beamed warmth emanating from her eyes.

Garth

Garth took a deep breath, a conflicted look filled his eyes as he smiled at his parents accepting their praise and hugs.

Garth’s Father

“I can’t believe we are the parents of the King’s chosen protege!”

He called squeezing Garth tighter.

Scene 5

A delicate waver passed though the bright sky as Diana flew to her home island, the sand of Themyscira was crushed as she landed. She exited the plane trekking through the jungle towards her mother’s temple, as Diana entered the alcove Donna’s peering figure slinked behind the edge of the building.

Diana

Diana bowed briefly to her mother before meeting her in an embrace. They hugged tightly, Diana burying her face in her shoulder. Once separated Hippolyta returned to her throne while Diana stood in the center of the temple.

“Mother, the league is putting many of our young heroes into a team of their own, I want Donna to be a part of that team.”

Hippolyta

Hippolyta sighed softly drumming her fingers lightly against her throne.

“I'm not sure if I feel comfortable sending Donna to the mans world,”

She said pensively her hand moving to grip the arm of her chair.

“Would there be other women on the team that Donna could form a bond with?”

Diana

A tight smile overcame Diana face,

“There are no other women but I work mostly with men and they can be very useful in battle and perceptive to sensitive matters,”

She paused to send a meaningful look at her mother.

“In fact I believe that Donna would be a good influence on those boys.”

Hippolyta

Hippolyta sighed heavily rubbing her forehead before she looked at Diana, a tired, weary look on her face.

“You can take Donna,”

She held up a held stopping Diana from celebrating just yet,

“But I want weekly updates, if Donna or myself feels that she needs to return she will do so immediately.”

Hippolyta punctuated her sentence with a stern look, Diana nodde, a sweet goodbye on her lips as she left.

Donna

Donna jolted turning on her heel she ran through the village hopping over carts and pivoting between villagers. Her movements were erratic and messy as she rushed home. Donna rounded the corner leading to her neighborhood smacking into Diana.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?”

Alcohol and some swearing are included in this.

Two days before Halloween found the group of friends hanging around Jack and Kat’s bonfire. The fire was toasty and bursts of laughter was common. Curled up in her chair in Jack’s hoodie, Kat’s eyes were wide as she watched her friends greet one another. “What’s got your sitting all alone over here?”

She pulled her eyes from the group Jack was greeting and looked up at Race with a grin. “Just watching everyone and reminiscing.”

“Reminiscing on what?” Race pulled up a chair and faced his sister-in-law.

She smiled, taking a sip of the warm cider in her mug. “Halloweens gone by. Jack and I found a box of old photos and were laughing at the ridiculous costumes we used to dress up in.”

“What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?” Race took a sip from his own solo cup, grinning at memories.

Kat pursed her lips, tilting her head as she remembered all of the photos her and Jack discovered. “I was Belle one year, yellow dress and all. My mom curled my hair and pulled it up so it was elegant. I was like 6 at the time. Yours?”

“What are you two discussing over here that you’re so serious about?” Spot asked, leading their friends over to the fire pit. Everyone settled down in chairs before looking at Kat and Race.

The two grinned. “Discussing favorite Halloween costumes from our childhood. Mine was Belle and I just asked Race his.”

“I think I was 4 and I was Spider-Man. I had the web shooter as well. It was awesome.” Race’s eyes lit up.

Jack laughed. “He wouldn’t take the costume off for days. Momma had to bribe him just so she could wash it.”

“You’re one to talk, Cowboy.” Race gave him a look. “You wouldn’t take off your Cowboy outfit for weeks. That’s all you wore!”

Jack ducked his head, a light blush on his cheeks as Kat reached over and patted his knee. “Awwww Jack. Was that your favorite costume as a kid?”

“Probably. That was the one I vividly remember.” Jack shrugged. “Albie? What was yours?”

He was quiet for a moment before he lit up. “I went as Ron Weasley one year and it was amazing. Finchie went as Harry Potter that year.”

“That was just a few years ago.” Race called out. “We’re talking about childhood costumes.”

Albie gave his best friend a look. “We were 17; technically it was our childhood.”

Kat threw her head back, laughing, while clapping her hands. “He got you there, Racer.”

“Shuddup.” Race huffed, shaking his head. “Romeo, what was yours?”

Romeo grinned. “My parents dressed me up as a mini Romeo one year. I got so many kisses on my cheek and so much candy that year.”

Bursts of laughter floated around the fire pit. “Dude how old were you?”

Romeo looked at Blink as the question was asked. “Uhhh like 5 or 6. It was awesome.”

“Specs?” Jack asked, looking around the fire. Kat giggled, taking a sip of her drink with a grin.

Specs grinned, shaking his head. “My sister was an angel one year but I wanted to go as a devil. My parents loved the idea so that’s what we did.”

“Why a devil?” Kat asked, raising an eyebrow.

Specs laughed. “That was a nickname of mine - as I caused trouble wherever I went.”

“Ask him when he grew out of the nickname?” Romeo wheezed while he laughed.

Specs shoved his boyfriend. “Not until I was 16 but every now and then my mom will call me that.”

“Hmmmm would’ve never expected that.” Race shrugged, looking at Specs. “Might need to dig that nickname out occasionally, you little Devil! Blinkee you’re up.”

Blink looked at Mush with a pitiful look. “I don’t know. We usually dressed up with crap around the house. I went as a ghost one year.”

“Is that the year you walked into the lamppost?” Jack laughed, shaking his head.

Blink gave him a look before flipping him the bird. “How do you remember all the insignificant shit but can’t remember important stuff?”

“It’s a gift.” Jack grinned. “So was it?”

Blink nodded, taking a sip of his beer. “It was. That bruise and goose egg lasted for weeks. It was awful. What was yours, Mushie?”

“Uhhh …. I went as a construction man one year. Dad was working one of his odd jobs so I dressed up like him. Everyone thought I was a crossing guard and would wait for me to tell them it’s okay to cross the street.” Mush said as the entire group busted out laughing.

Race, wiping tears from his eyes, laughed a bit before calming down enough to speak. “Dude, you win. That’s amazing.”

“How much candy did you get that year?” Albert asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Mush groaned. “That was the worse part, I got barely anything. Stole a lot of my brother’s though.”

“Finchie?” Race took a sip of his drink, watching Finch’s eyes go wide.

“Uhhhh … I was a doctor one year - had a real stethoscope and everything.” Finch grinned.

They all dissolved into laughter once more. Race’s eyes went wide, looking around the fire until he landed on the one person they hadn’t heard from yet. “Spottie, snookums. What was yours?”

“Batman when I was 7.” Spot grinned. “My dad dressed up as Robin and we went out together. It was a lot of fun.”

Race’s face softened as Spot talked. Spot didn’t talk much about his dad but the memory made him smile. Race laced his fingers with Spot’s and squeezed them.

Kat smiled at the two of them before clapping their hands. “I made you guys something.”

Protests sounded around the fire as Kat pushed herself to her feet. “Knock it off. I know I didn’t have to do it but I did.”

Jack grinned, looking around the fire pit at his friends. Race looked at Jack with a grin. “What did she do?”

“She wouldn’t tell me. Just said that she was working on a project.” Jack took a long sip from his beer bottle, keeping an eye on the porch for Kat’s return.

Walking out of the house with a box in her hands and Basil at her side, Kat laughed as several of their friends jumped up and offered a hand. She waved them off with a laugh before walking back to her seat, setting the box down.

Picking up the little pumpkins, she looked at the tags before handing them out. “Just a little something to celebrate Halloween.”

Thanks and cheers were thrown out as they each opened them to find a handwritten note and their favorite candy inside. “Happy Halloween guys.”

Jack pulled Kat into his arms, placing a kiss on her forehead as she giggled. “Love you Kat.”

“Love you too Jack!”

Happy early Halloween everyone!!!!

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: No Bat Signal, But Close

Summary: Detective Weaver meets his informant Lacey on a rooftop, and the conversation takes a turn away from police business. 

Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling moodboard prompt, available here. 

Rated: T

No Bat Signal, But Close

“You know, I feel like Batman whenever we do this. The Caped Crusader meeting Commissioner Gordon in the shadows to exchange information on Gotham’s seedy underbelly.”

Weaver had to laugh at Lacey’s summation of their situation. He held out the coffee he had brought for her, and they looked out over Seattle’s lights together as they drank. 

“I never had you down as a Batman fan, Lacey.”

“Oh, there’s a lot about me that you don’t know, Detective.”

He caught her wink in the darkness, and a part of him sighed inside. Lacey was right. There was so much about her that he didn’t know, and desperately wanted to know it. 

She had come onto his radar a while ago, a little spectre at the edge of the shadows like so many of his other informants - needing the security that he provided but not ready to come out of the dark fully just yet. He didn’t know what she did to make ends meet, but she was all too familiar with the underworld, and for the moment, her information was too valuable for him to look too deeply into how she had come by it. 

“What about you?”

He was drawn out of his sombre reflections by Lacey’s voice again. 

“Sorry, what?”

She laughed. “Honestly, you can’t make a very good cop if you’re in a world of your own all the time. I asked what about you? Are you a Batman fan?”

Weaver shrugged. “I guess. I don’t really have any strong feelings about him one way or the other.”

They fell back into silence again. Lacey wouldn’t have requested the meeting with him if she didn’t have something to tell him, but Weaver didn’t exactly have to go anywhere, and he was happy to spend this time in companionable quiet with her until she was ready to break her news. 

“We need a Bat Signal,” she said presently. “A Lacey Signal. Just light it up whenever you want an update, or you’ve got information for me.”

“And what would the Lacey Signal be, since bats are already taken?”

“I don’t know.” Lacey drained her coffee and looked up at the heavy clouds above them. “A lace pattern wouldn’t really show up all that well, I guess.” She turned to him, a mischievous smile playing over her lips. Weaver liked to see that smile; she didn’t wear it all that often and it was always good to see that despite the hard existence she found herself in, she still had her sense of fun. “What do you associate with me, Detective?”

“Hideously overpriced coffee. I don’t know how you can drink that stuff with all that cream and sugar and syrup in it. It’s barely coffee; it’s a caffeinated milkshake.”

Lacey laughed. “You’re just boring, with your standard black filter. You know, you should try it one time. Live a little. Maybe I can convert you.”

Weaver shook his head in vehement denial and took another sip of his own unadorned beverage. 

“A rose,” Lacey said suddenly. 

“A rose? For your Bat Signal, you mean?”

“Yeah.” Lacey gave a nostalgic sigh, and as she looked out over the city lights again, Weaver knew that she wasn’t seeing them. She was far back in her own past, reminiscing on good times gone by that were but a distant hope for the future. “When I was younger and first getting into superheroes, that was going to be my superhero name. ‘The Black Rose’. A masked heroine roaming the streets of Seattle at night, taking out the bad guys and vanishing without a trace, leaving behind just the scent of rose perfume.” She gave a scornful huff of laughter and put her coffee down to rummage through her purse, holding out a dog-eared brown envelope that contained the information she’d wanted to hand over tonight. “Obviously, that never came into fruition, but I like to think I’m doing what I can.”

“I think that you’re doing more than you realise.”

“I guess. But it’s tiring, Weaver. I’m not sure how much longer I can go on like this. Nothing ever seems to get any better, no matter what we do. People are still dying, people are still getting mugged, and the organised crime rings are still going. Maybe you don’t see it as much, but I live in it every day. It feels like everything I do is pointless when I can’t see the results.”

Weaver didn’t think that he’d ever seen Lacey so despondent. Normally she was sharp and sassy, and they sparked off each other, always leaving their rendezvous in, if not good spirits, then at least not maudlin ones.

He didn’t know what he could say to raise her mood. It was all very well reassuring her that the information she brought him was invaluable and was being put to good use in several longer term operations, but he could hardly ask her to hang on and wait until they came to fruition, which might not be for several months down the line yet. She needed to see the results at grass roots level; she couldn’t wait for the trickle down from the top. Even once they finally started to take down the syndicates, the people on the street, the people like Lacey whom she was trying to help and look out for, well, they wouldn’t reap the benefits until even further in the future.

It was with a heavy heart that Weaver realised just how much he wanted to take Lacey out of this oppressive and downtrodden existence that she had found herself in. If he could just sweep her away and take her to a nice safe place, then he would do so. He never really thought of himself as the knight in shining armour type, but he would do it for Lacey. He hadn’t really noticed just how much he enjoyed their time together until he was thinking about the possibility of it coming to an end - because that was the only way out that he could think of for her. If being his informant was causing her depressive funk because she didn’t think that it was making any difference, then letting her go was the kindest thing that he could do. 

“You don’t have to keep doing this, if you don’t want to,” he said. “We can switch the Bat Signal off for good if you want.”

Lacey shook her head. “No, I’m in it now. I’ll stay. Besides, I don’t want to know what’ll happen when people find out that I’m an informant. At least if I’m actively on your books then I know I can sort of rely on you for protection if my cover gets blown. I’d rather not have you cut me loose and leave me to fend for myself at this stage. It’s dicey out there. I know I’m self-sufficient but part of that comes from having a very highly attuned sense of self-preservation.”

“I will always protect you, Lacey.” Weaver was alarmed by how vehement he sounded. “I would never leave you out in the cold like that, you know that.”

Lacey looked over at him, and he knew that the dark circles under her eyes were more exhaustion than running mascara. She looked so tired, so done with the world. 

“Would you really?”

“Yes. No matter what the police protocol might be, I would never let anything happen to you.”

“Even if I stopped bringing you information? Stopped having value to you?”

“You will always have value. You’re important to me, and even if you never said another word to me, you will still be important to me. You’re a remarkable individual, Lacey, not just as an informant but as a person in your own right.”

The corner of Lacey’s mouth quirked up in a little smile, and it was good to see. 

“You know, that means a lot, Detective. You’re important to me, too. As a cop, I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you, but as a person in your own right, to borrow a phrase, I would trust you to look after me.”

“Then let me look after you.” Weaver had no idea where the words had come from, but they were out in the open now, and he could not take them back.

Lacey shook her head. “Not right now, Detective. For all I might complain about this life and for all it might get me down, I can’t leave it. Not yet. There’s still too much for me to do.” 

There was a long, screaming pause, and Weaver wondered where Lacey was going with it. There was indefinable tension in the air, broken with Lacey’s next word. 

“Soon.”

“Sorry?”

“Soon. Not now, but soon. You can look after me soon.”

She took a step closer to him, and then her cold hands were cupping his face and pulling him in towards her, her lips chapped and tasting of coffee and vanilla as she kissed him, deep and full of longing. Weaver was all too happy to acquiesce, slipping his arms around her middle and pulling her in closer. He knew that he shouldn’t; relationships with informants were frowned upon to put it mildly, but Lacey was different. Lacey was, well, Lacey. Lacey was important. Not that the rest of his informants weren’t important, but Lacey was important to him personally. He would miss her if she were no longer in his life. 

“Soon,” Lacey said again once she broke away, taking her coffee cup from the railing where she’d left it and melting away into the shadows once more, leaving just a trace of rose-scented perfume lingering on the air.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Instinct (Part 2)

Summary:  In which the paladins are unprepared for the strength of Keith’s instincts and Pidge is taken off guard by her own feelings. Pairings: Keith/Pidge; background Shiro/Curtis

Also posted on AO3 (note: I no longer post to fanfiction.net)

-

It has officially been too long since I last had a chapter of anything ready to post. Sorry, everyone! I got a little wrapped up in my project for the Kidgezine, but now I have a slight bit of time to get back to work on this.

-

Part 2

It was good to have Keith home.

Shiro hadn’t realized how lonely it was without him nearby until he was back, filling the void left in his life. He suddenly had a reason to look forward to returning to his apartment in the evenings, and waking up in the morning no longer meant hitting the snooze button until he absolutely had to get up. His little brother was home and he was going to enjoy every second until he had to leave again.

It wasn’t that he didn’t find enjoyment when Keith wasn’t there - those moments when he and Curtis spent time together were always wonderful and he looked forward to many more of them - but Keith being home made things feel normal. Better, in some ways.

Shiro woke up before his alarm to the smell of coffee in the air. He slid out of bed and gave himself a once-over in the wall mirror before deeming himself presentable enough. 

“Morning,” Keith greeted as Shiro walked into the kitchen.

“You drink coffee now?” Shiro asked, already heading for the pot.

Keith shook his head and held up his mug. “Nah, this is chocolate milk. The coffee’s all for you.”

Shiro wasn’t even aware he had chocolate milk, but he shrugged that off in favor of pouring himself a large cup of coffee, adding an unhealthy amount of sugar and a little cream. “Any plans for the day?”

“Figure I’ll check in with my team later and make sure everyone is comfortable with their rooming situations. I sent Kosmo to Acxa with a note, so I should hear back from her soon about who wants a tour guide,” Keith said.

“Veronica will appreciate that. I asked her to put together a list of people who would be willing to do it. Curtis was right when he said she’d be happy to see Acxa again.” Shiro sat down at the table with his cup and took a sip, but it was too hot, so he set it aside to cool a little. “I have a presentation to give to one of the classes this morning, but I’ll be free after lunch if you want to do anything.”

“Day in or…?”

“Whichever you’d like. We could go driving, just like the old days,” Shiro suggested. 

Keith’s expression was soft as he took that into consideration. “I’d like that.”

There was a quiet ‘poof’ as Kosmo suddenly appeared with a letter tucked into the collar around his neck. Keith reached over to give him a pat and then removed the paper, looking it over before passing it to Shiro.

“Looks like everyone’s interested in a tour guide. Give Veronica my contact info and tell her if she needs more details, she can call me,” Keith said. He glanced at the clock on the wall and quickly drained his milk before standing up.

Shiro watched him wash it out and set it in the rack to dry. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“I told Pidge I’d go running with her this morning. I’ve got to get going if I want to meet her in time.”

“Pidge? Running?” Shiro asked in disbelief. He couldn’t have heard that right. Sure, she went to the gym once or twice a month, but it was always later in the day.

That wasn’t the only weird thing. 

“Keith, what’s with the Batman shirt?”

Keith turned around, looking confused. “It’s not. This is mothman. Pidge got it for me when we went out yesterday.”

Once Shiro took a better look, he could see the differences. While the typical Batman logo was yellow with a black bat symbol, the one on Keith’s shirt was bright red, and instead of a bat, the silhouette was of a moth. “Ah, I see now.”

He really didn’t. What was mothman and why did Pidge get Keith a shirt of it?

“Have fun running with Pidge.”

Keith beamed, clearly not hearing the confusion in Shiro’s voice. He headed out soon after, clearly excited to meet up with her. Kosmo trotted at his heels, leaving behind Shiro to puzzle over what was happening by himself.

He felt like he was missing something important.

---

Healthy body, healthy mind.

That was what Pidge tried to keep in mind as she and Keith made another lap around the outdoor tract. She could feel her calves burning from exertion, but kept pushing on, determined to keep up with him. She thought she was still in good shape, even with her infrequent trips to the gym, but clearly she was mistaken. 

She glanced at Keith, who’d barely broken a sweat. She was pleasantly surprised to see him wearing the shirt she bought for him and wished that she’d worn hers as well.

They exchanged them on their arrival back at the Garrison after their shopping trip. Keith had laughed in delight when she presented him with mothman, right before digging through one of his bags to hand over the one he picked for her.

The shirt itself was a super soft material and dark green in color. Printed on the front were the words “Hide ‘n Seek Champion of All Time” in silver font. At first she wasn’t sure if there was anything more to it, but then she saw it. Under the right lighting, there was a subtle difference in color to reveal the Loch Ness Monster.

Pidge loved it.

“Getting tired?”

“Never,” Pidge gaped out, hating how hard it was just to speak. She really needed to take up running in her spare time.

Keith huffed out a short laugh and slowed his pace. “Why don’t we take a break? I don’t want you to get hurt because you’re trying to keep up with me.”

“I’m not-!”

“You are,” Keith interrupted easily. “Pushing yourself is good, but not when it means you’ll be in too much pain to walk by this evening. Trust me, it’s not fun.”

Pidge begrudgingly admitted he had a point. She could already feel the ache settling in her legs and remembered the way she felt after the intense training Allura put them through in the early days. She had no desire to go through that again.

She slowed to a brisk walk and Keith matched her pace so they could cool down from their run. She focused on her breathing until she could speak without gasping for air. (She resolved to add more gym days to her schedule.)

“Any plans for today?” Keith asked.

“A few,” Pidge responded, thinking back to her meticulous, color-coded board of notes. There were so many projects she was eager to get started on, and some that she really needed to get back to work on, but Keith probably didn’t want to hear about those.

“I’m expecting a video call from Coran today, so I’m going to work on a few things while I wait for him. He sounded excited in the message he left for me last night, which either means he has some new discovery to share with me, or he needs me to do something for him. What about you? Anything fun planned?” she asked.

Keith smiled. “Yeah, Shiro invited me to go driving after lunch. I’ve been dying to try out a few maneuvers that my mom showed me. Maybe this time I’ll be able to win our race.”

“Just a ‘drive’, huh?” Pidge nudged him playfully.

“There’s driving involved!”

Pidge laughed at the indignation in his voice. “Good luck with your race. I get the feeling you need it.”

Keith was awful at faking any emotion, which made it all the more fun for Pidge as he tried to act mad. His lips twitched up into a smile and he looked away from her to hide it. “You’re probably right. I bet he has a new trick or two he’s been waiting to use on me, and that’s why he suggested a drive.” He shook his head fondly. “Do you remember when this all started? When you three interrupted my rescue of Shiro and we were lucky to escape?”

“How could I forget? I think that was the most scared I’d ever been up until that point,” Pidge said.

“Shiro taught me how to make that jump.”

It shouldn’t have shocked Pidge as much as it did. Shiro always tried to present himself as the mature, responsible one, but after all of their time in space and seeing firsthand his sense of humor, it was clear that he was just as childish as the rest of them. Really, if she thought about it, driving a hoverbike off of a sheer cliff for the fun of it was purely a Shiro move.

“You two need supervision,” Pidge said.

“Probably. You volunteering?” Keith asked.

Pidge shook her head. “No thanks. I think I’ll leave that up to Curtis, though I doubt he wants the job either.” She paused to rethink her statement. “Or else he’ll cheer you on.”

Keith laughed as they reached the lower loop of the track and headed back into the main building. Several cadets stopped to watch them, whispering and pointing, but Keith and Pidge ignored them.

“So you said something about a call from Coran? How is he doing?” Keith asked.

“He’s staying busy organizing everything on New Altea. Romelle and Tavo are helping him, or doing their best to help him. I get updates at least once a month from Romelle, so I know he’s eating and getting the bare minimum amount of sleep. Or the bare minimum as far as any of us know.”

Keith moved out of the way of a group of cadets, brushing in close against Pidge’s side and stepping away the moment they were clear. “I’m glad they’re watching out for him. I’ve been meaning to visit, but we never have time to stop whenever we’re nearby.”

“He’s like that. I would go, but… it’s just not that easy without the Green Lion,” Pidge said.

She missed her Lion. The freedom that came with her ship was something irreplaceable, and the bond it represented between her and the other paladins was a hard loss. Sometimes, if she focused hard enough, she could almost hear the purr of the cockpit.

“So, I hear from Lance and Hunk on a near weekly basis too,” she said, swiftly changing the subject. “Hunk likes to start up conference calls and won’t take no for an answer. And you I get updates on through Shiro. You know you’re allowed to call just to chat, right? Because anytime I hear you and Shiro on call, it sounds like you’re giving a mission report.”

Keith at least looked embarrassed. “I guess I’m so used to giving Kolivan updates that it bleeds over. Shiro keeps teasing me about it too.”

That wasn’t entirely her point, but at least Keith knew the way he sounded over video call. Pidge took a moment to consider emphasizing her original point, which was that he was the only member of the original team who she didn’t talk to regularly, but in the end decided against it. If Keith wanted to talk to her, he would.

She changed the subject instead, asking him about some of the more interesting planets he’d been to. Before she knew it, she was at the door to her family’s quarters.

“You still have a while before you meet up with Shiro, right? Do you want to come in and see what I’ve been working on?” Pidge asked.

“Sure,” Keith agreed with a shrug.

Pidge typed in the code and led the way inside, keeping an eye out for anyone else. It looked like they were all out, likely hard at work. She took off her shoes and placed them near the door before walking over to her room, which required a code of its own.

(And maybe that was overkill, but part of her felt the paranoia was justified, given everything happening with the WLC. She wasn’t going to risk anyone that she didn’t trust learning about her personal projects until she was good and ready to show them off.)

“If you ever need a place to relax while you’re here, the number is five-one-four-two,” she told him.

Keith looked at her in surprise. “You’re trusting me with that?”

“You’re my friend. And after everything we’ve been through together, of course I trust you,” Pidge said. The lock clicked and she pushed open her bedroom door, remembering a little too late the mess that was slowly accumulating. At least her dirty laundry was properly in the basket, waiting to be washed.

Keith looked around curiously and then smiled softly, reaching for a pile of junk in the corner nearest the door. When he pulled his hand back, he had one of the green nebuloids. The fuzzy creature vibrated happily at the attention.

“What are you working on that you wanted to show me?” he asked.

“It’s an upgraded version of the program my dad uses to keep track of project progress. The one their using now is useful for keeping track of who needs to do what and what parts are finished, but I think it could be better. I know it can be better. What I want to do is make it so he can input what supplies they already have and it will calculate what can be worked on based on that and what parts are already done,” Pidge explained.

Listening to her dad and Matt complain about their current work predicament was her inspiration. She doubted she would be able to finish it in time to be useful for their current project, but hopefully it would be ready for the future.

“That sounds really useful. I think Kolivan has something similar to keep track of members of the Blade of Marmora, but it’s not quite as in depth as that,” Keith said. “If you hit any roadblocks, he might be able to help. Or he could direct you to someone who could.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Pidge moved to her desk to pick up her tablet so she could show off what she had so far, and that was when she saw it.

Another package wrapped in brown paper, bearing her name in green ink. It was larger than the last one, roughly the length and width of a shoebox, but not as deep.

“How did that get there?” she muttered, staring at it with a frown.

Keith moved a little closer. “Is something wrong?”

“This is the second time I’ve come home to find one of these, and I don’t understand where they’re coming from! Only a few people know how to get in, and half of them are off planet. I swear, if this turns out to be Matt’s idea of a joke, he’s going to be in so much trouble,” Pidge ranted.

Once again, she found herself struggling to put the pieces together, and once again she had no answers that made sense.

“You… don’t know who it’s from?”

“No,” Pidge said bluntly. “There’s no note. No indication of where it came from. There’s just my name, and I swear I’ve seen that handwriting before, but I don’t remember where.” She slumped her shoulders and glanced at Keith to find him staring with a worried expression.

She cleared her throat, feeling the need to put him at ease. “It’s just weird, is all. Clearly it’s someone who I know and trust well enough that they can get in here, but the mystery of it is really bothering me. I can’t think of a good reason why someone wouldn’t give it to me directly. Why go through the hassle of waiting until I’m not here?”

Pidge picked up the package and was surprised by the weight of it.

“Are you going to open it?” Keith asked. He walked over to stand right next to Pidge, slowly petting the back of the nebuloid, which continued to vibrate.

“Someone’s curious,” Pidge lightly teased, though she didn’t blame him. She was curious as well.

She picked at the tape on one end, before making up her mind and tearing the paper away to reveal a sturdy metal box with beveled edges around the top. There was a simple clasp on the front and she squeezed either side of it to release the lock and lift the lid.

Inside were crystals of various colors, cuts, and sizes, all small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and carefully nestled in individual compartments. Pidge took one of them out and found a note beneath it. In the same green ink was the designation of a Balmera.

“Balmera crystals,” she breathed. “But who? Why?”

It was too much. The hair pins were one thing, but crystals from different Balmera across the universe? The effort it must have taken to do such a thing, only for it to be quietly left on her desk for her to find, left a heavy feeling in her chest. 

She needed to know who it was.

Pidge turned to Keith. “Do you think I should put up security cameras around my room?”

Keith took a moment to consider her questions while he looked around the room with a critical eye. “The door is the only way in or out, so I think that’s all you need to focus on. Or you could change the code to get in and see how it goes after that.”

“That does make sense,” Pidge agreed, mentally scaling back the number of cameras she could place. “Okay, one camera to watch the door, connected to my personal network. That shouldn’t take too long to put together, as long as I can get the parts for it. Want to help? Or, no, quiznak. You’re hanging out with Shiro today.”

“I am, but I could come by tomorrow and take a look,” Keith volunteered. He stroked the nebuloid one last time and then walked across the room to deposit it back in the corner, where one of the pink ones crawled out to see what was happening. “Or we could go out and put it to the test.”

“Lunch?” Pidge suggested. She knew of a cozy bistro that Keith was bound to enjoy, simply because it never saw a heavy crowd despite the delicious food. It even had Hunk’s approval.

Keith nodded. “I’ll meet you here and we can walk together.”

---

The next day passed without incident.

It took Pidge a few more hours that morning to cobble together a working security camera to keep watch over her door, and then she put it to the test by going out for a light lunch with Keith. She returned to find nothing on her desk.

A review of the footage showed that the camera was in perfect working order, and after a few minor tweaks, she spent the rest of the day polishing up something she’d been working on for Coran.

During his video call the night before, he revealed that he was ahead of schedule on some big secret project. He would arrive on Earth in the next few days to pick up the prototype camouflage device that he asked her to design. It was based on the cloaking she used with the Green Lion (which in turn, had been based off of particle shield technology), but used far less power as it was only meant for blending in rather than being rendered nearly invisible.

She spent a few hours running small-scale tests and it was only when her speakers chimed to indicate a call coming in that she took a break.

“Pidge!” Hunk shouted the moment she answered his call. He was beaming at her through the camera. “Oh man, you’re not going to believe this, but I got a call from Iverson yesterday - or I think it was yesterday. Time kind of gets away from me out here… Anyway, he asked if we wanted to run a food stall at some festival the Garrison is running? So we’re coming in tomorrow so we can talk about the details!”

It took Pidge a minute to remember that she already knew about the festival; her dad told them about it a few nights ago over dinner. “Hunk, that’s great!”

“We’re planning on stopping near Lance’s place to pick him up and put in an order for extra food supplies, so once we get there, it’ll basically be a Team Voltron reunion! Y’know, just missing Keith and Coran.”

“Actually, Keith got in a few days ago,” she told him. “And Coran says he’s going to come by sometime this week.”

Hunk looked absolutely delighted. “This is officially the best week ever! Okay, so we’ll see you all tomorrow, depending on what time we get in. I’ve gotta go clear a few things with the others before we reach Earth. Could you tell Shiro and Keith for me?”

Pidge nodded. “We have our monthly dinner at Shiro’s tonight, so I can tell everyone then.”

Hunk looked away as someone shouted to him, and it quickly became clear that he was needed elsewhere, so Pidge let him go with a quick goodbye and made sure her phone was set to vibrate if he sent anymore messages. It was high time she left her room to assist her mom with dessert, as was tradition.

Once a month, the Holt family and Shiro would take turns hosting dinner. The host would make the main course, while the guests would prepare a dessert to bring over. They tried to make it more fair for Shiro, but he insisted he didn’t mind, and so they swapped places every month.

There wasn’t much for her to help with when she peeked out of her room, and Colleen quickly shooed her off to redress in something nicer than a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt. Pidge figured she had a good point and swapped them out for jeans and the shirt Keith bought for her, adding in one of the decorative flower hair pins to spice things up a little more.

Less than an hour later, they were all seated at Shiro’s dining table, relaxing and talking about their days. Pidge found herself between Matt and Keith, listening to Shiro talk.

A few minutes into Shiro’s story about sitting in on a simulation run for the newest batch of cadets, Keith leaned over to whisper to Pidge.

“You’re wearing the shirt I got you.”

“I think it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve worn since I lost my old sweater after… well, everything,” Pidge said honestly. Her lounge clothes were comfortable as well, but the shirt was warm and soft in a different way.

“We lost a lot then,” Keith acknowledged.

Pidge tuned back into Shiro’s story and steadily ate her food. She hardly looked at her plate, only glancing down when she needed to spear a new piece of chicken or scoop up some of her dad’s favorite peas.

She didn’t notice the way she went through most of her meal without running out of her favorites.

Shiro noticed.

And just as he felt befuddled by the news that Pidge was willingly going for a run with Keith, his confusion rose even higher with every exchange between them that he witnessed. 

The way they leaned toward each other whenever they spoke.

The ease with which they cleared the table together at the end of the night.

The way Keith subtly added food to Pidge’s plate throughout the night, seemingly without anyone else noticing what he was doing so.

Shiro had a theory, but he would need to observe them for a little while longer, just in case.

---

Keith was settling into bed when his phone beeped, indicating an incoming call. He picked it up and when he saw that it was Pidge, quickly answered.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“I found another one. It was sitting on my desk when I got back.”

It took Keith a moment to catch on to what she was saying. “Another gift? What is it this time?”

Pidge made a frustrated sound. “It’s… I don’t know. Like a snowglobe? But instead of a winter scene it’s a tiny galaxy contained in a sphere?”

Keith sat back against the headboard. “That sounds like a cosmolabe. They’re used more for decoration than navigation now, but Kolivan keeps a few on hand any time we travel someplace that interferes with advanced technology.”

He could hear her thinking through her silence and gave her a moment.

“Interesting… Would you show me how it works? I could probably figure it out on my own, but if you already know how to use them, then that would be easier. I want you to come over anyway and help me look over my plan for new surveillance cameras. Watching the door wasn’t enough or else they found some way to hack in and delete footage from when they were here,” Pidge said.

Keith frowned. “I thought you said it was secure.”

“It should be. I’m going to look everything over tonight. You can come by tomorrow, can’t you? Sorry, I know I just assumed earlier, and if you can’t, that’s okay.”

“I’ll be there,” Keith promised.

[aleteia-ff]

A Decade To Find You - 3

Also Read On: AO3 | FF.net

Thank you everyone for the support! Unfortunately, school started again, so this update came in a bit later, but I'm definitely finishing this story! My current expectation is that it will end at 5 chapters, perhaps 4. This one turned out a lot longer than I'd anticipated, hence me coming back from my earlier estimate of 3 chapters!

I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Astrid didn't think much of the guy she bumped into just after midnight on January 1, 2010. It was just a hasty apology, a quip and a lop-sided grin from his side. It wasn't supposed to be special.Hiccup felt the same way. That was, until he locked eyes with her again one year later. And the year after that. And the next.But somehow, their destinies only seemed to intertwine that one night a year... On New Year's Eve.

Hiccstrid, New Year’s Eve Fic. Spanning the entire past decade.

Chapter 3: New Year’s Eve 2016

December 31st, 2016

Life came with a lot of difficult choices. Hiccup knew that all too well. Batman, Superman, or simply admitting that the DCEU, especially after Suicide Squad, didn't quite hold a candle to the MCU? It was a shame, really. He'd always loved Batman, had reread many of his old comics since 2014, even saw the humour in George Clooney's Batnipples. But perhaps Justice League would prove everyone wrong in 2017. Hopefully.

At least it hadn't been difficult to choose between Team Cap and Team Iron Man. As much as he adored Spider-Man, his father's opinion was simply more important. And Steve Rogers was their guy.

He felt silly to be spending energy on those dilemmas, but after all the shit he'd been through, it was a breath of fresh air to be worried about stuff that was simple. To have his life on the rails, to no longer be forced to sort through his father's will and figure out how to handle all the insurance and ownership documents. He'd even felt comfortable enough to go and study abroad, having spent the best part of the last half year in Melbourne while Gobber, Snotlout and Uncle Spite took care of what was now his house.

Uncle Spite had told him that it was fine if Hiccup wanted to sell it, that he would find a trustworthy real estate agent who got him his money's worth. It would allow Hiccup to buy an apartment in Hopeless, closer to university, and leave Berk and all the painful memories there behind.

He'd seriously considered the change of scenery, because of course it was difficult to forget what had happened when so many people around him knew. Not just the small family that remained. But also Mrs. Ack from down the street, who kept bringing him leftovers, because his thin frame had led her to assume he wasn't feeding himself properly. The Bog family, who lived a few houses away and whose eldest daughter, Camicazi, frequently stole his garbage bags long and put them at the side of the street for the truck to pick up. Everyone knew what had happened to him, and wanted to do their utmost best to support him. He didn't need it, and had told them to stop several times, painfully elated and awkward, rubbing the back of his head so hard he was surprised he hadn't gone bald yet. But Berkians were stubborn, and persisted nevertheless.

And the more time he'd spent in Australia, the more he'd started to miss Berk. He didn't know what it was about the town that had been his family's home for seven generations. But the moment he'd set foot in it again after returning from the other side of the world, it had simply felt like home. And for now, he had no intention to leave.

He didn't know what it was, exactly. Tuffnut and Ruffnut weren't around much, their band now touring the country and only returning as a service to Gruffnut, who had given them the necessary spotlight by booking them last New Year's Eve - although the way the twins told the story, it was Gruffnut who owed them, not the other way around. Fishlegs was studying at the Hopeless Institute of Technology - the name of which was a HIT with students in exam weeks - like him, so Berk wasn't where they saw each other most. Hiccup had grown closer to Snotlout however, some of his cousin's obnoxiousness having faded after his father passed away. Or it was simply being channelled into the roles he played with Berk's local musical theatre company.

Still, Hiccup felt something was keeping him in Berk. He didn't mind it, not in the slightest, it felt good, like he'd finally found a fragment of inner peace. But he didn't know what it was exactly.

And he didn't have time to think about it, since a voice snapped him out of his tragically derailed train of thought.

"What's on the menu?"

He had only heard it one time before, seven years ago. Yet he recognised it immediately.

He turned his head, looking right into the beautiful blue eyes of the woman next to him. He had to look down at her now, unlike on the first day of 2010, but felt incredibly tiny nevertheless. He'd thought he'd blown it when she'd fled from him last year, having rejected her himself the year before that one. But here she was, smiling at him with a teasing smirk on her face and making the ground underneath his feet disappear, sending him into a free fall.

"Hey - uh - hey -" He laughed sheepishly when he finally remembered how to form words, rubbing the back of his head, and her grin only widened. "Hi," he concluded more sternly, as if it would miraculously make up for his earlier stammering.

She bit her lower lip, laughing still and making his insides contract because he'd thought she couldn't look cuter, a dark blue beanie pulled over her ears, but of course she kept surprising him. "Hey."

For all the times he'd imagined spending time with her, he now realised he'd put embarrassingly little effort into what exactly he would say to her when the stars finally aligned.

There were a million thing he could say, but now that he had the chance, he couldn't come up with anything. His eyes flicked back to the wooden stall in front of him, to the choice he'd been trying to make, and he finally realised that she had already asked him a question he still had to answer.

"All of this is on the menu," he told her, widely gesturing at the space in front of him, a holiday market stall selling all kinds of New Year's treats and drinks from around the world. "I don't even know half of it, but I figured I should try something."

"How about you let me pick?" she proposed. "And I'll pay for it too, in case it's horrible."

"Only if you have it with me," he smiled, her smirk contagious. "And let me buy you a drink in return."

"Deal," she nodded, instantly stepping forward to examine the shop's showcase, her brows furrowing as she focused. Occasionally, she made an adorable sound when she not-so-silently judged the different kinds of food, and Hiccup found himself staring at her, cherishing the moment.

Because she hadn't disappeared yet.

He quickly pretended to be studying the sign that listed the available drinks when she glanced over her shoulder, shooting him another smile.

"Glühwein?" he asked, his voice shooting up as if he'd gone straight back to puberty.

"Nah." She shook her head, looking away from a moment. "I don't drink." She paused before adding: "Not anymore."

"I can respect that," he nodded, thinking back to the times he'd seen her considerably less sober. Despite only catching a glimpse of her, he was sure just last year had been one of those. And he couldn't deny that while he respected anyone enough to let them make their own decisions, she hadn't looked as well as she'd done the years before. As if there had been a little less light in her otherwise bright eyes.

She pulled up an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, gesturing at his head. "Hangovers suck. Kills your brain too. And booze doesn't even always taste as good as people pretend it does."

"I'm glad you agree," she hummed.

"You make it sound like I'm special."

She took him in for a moment, as if she was seizing him up. "I guess you are. Most of my friends at university disagreed."

"Seems like you need better friends."

"Which is why I'm here." Her lips settled back into a smile. "And I think you still owe me a mug of hot chocolate."

He couldn't help but grin. "Sounds like a plan."

He ordered two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top while Hot Chocolate Girl - her name, he had to ask for her name - picked out a snack she liked. They walked away from the stall with what she laughingly informed him were called 'Dutch doughnuts' - huge balls of deep fried dough with raisins in them, covered in about a pound of powdered sugar.

He asked her if she wanted to sit down.

"Of course," was her simple answer.

They zigzagged through the crowd, her leading so he wouldn't lose sight of her - not again - until they reached one of the market's squares. He thanked the Gods Luktuk had gotten spiteful and had organised its own winter market this year. Meaning it was a lot less busy and that there were actually some free spots. He had already started to dread the prospect of having to go and sit back with Snotlout. Not that Snot wasn't good company, but from the corner of his eye he could easily see his cousin, already sufficiently drunk, draw Barney Stinson's hot-crazy scale in the air, challenging Fishlegs and the twins to determine where Hot Chocolate Girl would land.

So much for Snotlout losing some of his obnoxiousness.

They sat down across from each other at one of the wooden picnic tables, and for a moment, Hiccup felt himself caught in how unreal the situation felt. He had thought of this girl for years, imagined what she might be like, chased by the notion that seeing her every year on one specific day couldn't be a coincidence. And now he had the chance to confirm that suspicion.

He laughed at himself for his superstition. He had no idea if she even had the same ideas about him. But she chuckled, too, and their eyes met again.

"What's your name?" he asked, curling his fingers around his mug.

"Astrid. Astrid Hofferson." She - Astrid - slowly moved her spoon, mixing the cream into the hot chocolate. "You?"

He blinked, somewhere surprised that she didn't know it already. That he had forgotten that she knew as little about him as he did about her. "I'm -"

He was going to offer her the formal introduction he gave any stranger. But that didn't feel right.

"People call me Hiccup."

Astrid - such a pretty name - pulled up her eyebrow. "Hiccup?"

"It's a nickname," he shrugged. "People close to me have been calling me that for as long as I've known. I was quite small as a kid." He held out his hand next to the table, at the same height his hip would now be. "Dad called me a little Hiccup, and it stuck. First with my cousin, who was in the same class as me in elementary school… And you know how kids are."

"Assholes," she noted.

"Definitely."

She reached for her pocket, whisking out her phone. She bit her lower lip as she started to type. "Are you Hiccup on Facebook too?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "No, I actually don't have Facebook. Nor Instagram. Or Snapchat."

"Whoa. What century did you come from?"

"I'm not much of a social media guy," he tried to explain. "Not a fan of Mark Zuckerberg getting his hands on all my data."

"Yeah, he is a bit of a creep," Astrid nodded. "Shame I can't go without Messenger."

"Call me old-fashioned, but I can give you my number instead," he proposed. "I do have WhatsApp."

She frowned. "Didn't Facebook buy WhatsApp like two years ago?"

"Just an introduction to how consistent my principles are," he quipped.

"At least you have some. I'm just a regular sell-out." She swiped around on her phone for a moment, before handing it to him. She had opened a new contact, the name already filled out.

"Fake Foot Guy?" he laughed.

"It's not much worse of a nickname than 'Hiccup'," she shot back.

She'd had a nickname for him too. "Can't argue with that."

He typed his number into her phone and handed it back to her, feeling awfully giddy at how easy it was to talk to her. Astrid tucked it back into her jeans, and pointed at the curious snack in front of her. "After you."

"Whoa, Astrid," he objected, putting his hands up in the air. "You picked it out."

"Fine, I'll be the brave one," she joked, and lifted the doughnut, making a toast with it. "Bon appetit."

She took a bite, looking pensive as she chewed calmly before finally publishing her verdict. "It's not too bad, actually."

Encouraged, he began to eat as well, taking a big bite to show he wasn't a coward.

"You're right, not as bad as it looks."

"You doubted me?"

"Not even for a second."

She shook her head at him, working the rest of the doughnut down with impressive speed. She propped her head up on her hand as she waited for him to finish, playfully cocking her head and tapping her fingers on the table while grinning to herself.

"Hey, at least I'm taking the time to enjoy my food," he defended himself.

"Oh, that's now why I'm laughing," Astrid grinned. "You just have some sugar on your face."

"Where?"

Astrid gestured to her own face, drawing a circle in the air. "Everywhere."

Way to make an impression, Haddock. He hastily grabbed his napkin, but when he looked back up he found Astrid leaning over the table, tentatively reaching out to him with hers.

He sat there, frozen when she carefully wiped the tip of his nose as if it was the most obvious, the most natural thing to do. With her so close, he could count the few freckles on her cheeks, her entire presence kissed by the sun in a way people in Berk so rarely were. His eyes fell to her soft, pink lips, slightly chapped by the cold, and he considered hooking his finger underneath her chin and finding out if she still tasted like sugar too. But he figured she always did.

It felt like it was supposed to. It felt right. As if he'd never done otherwise. As if he was lucky enough to get to gaze into her beautiful blue eyes every single day.

While the truth was that he hardly even knew her.

"What do you do?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Huh?" Astrid blinked, then looked at her hand, her eyebrows shooting up as if she hadn't realised it belonged to her. "I'm sorry -"

"No, don't be," he told her as she backed away, already missing the closeness and sheepishly cleaning the remaining sugar off his face to occupy himself. "I just meant, what do you do on, you know, other days than New Year's Eve?"

"Oh." She sat down, wiped off her hands and tucked some of her hair back behind her ear. "Mostly volunteer work, these days. Trying to help people where I can."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, it's very satisfying." Her voice trailed off, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Sounds like there's a 'but'."

She smiled slightly. "It's not exactly long-term. I need to find an actual job eventually so I can move out and become an actual adult."

"Any ideas on that yet?"

She shook her head. "That's the issue. I went to uni to become a doctor so I could help people, but it wasn't for me. So this past year, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do instead."

"I don't see how that's an issue."

"Because it's not the way it's supposed to go!" Astrid exclaimed. "I always thought gap years were a waste of time, and now here I am, doing exactly what I vouched I never would."

"Life hardly ever goes how it's supposed to," he shrugged, taking a sip. "And it doesn't seem to me like you're not doing anything."

She cocked her head at him. "What makes you so sure?"

Because I feel like I've known you all my life. "You don't seem like the kind of person to lie in bed watching Netflix all week."

"Of course not," she snorted.

"And you probably volunteer like ten, twenty hours a week…" he murmured, trying not to grin.

"Thirty. At least," she corrected him. "Fifty maybe, if there's a kickboxing tourney in town."

"Okay, public service announcement, don't pick a fight with Astrid," he quipped, painting the words in the air. "Although it's unlikely kicking your ass fits her schedule, because she works so godsdamned hard."

Astrid gave him a determined look. "I can always take time out of my day for special cases."

"Lucky me, people have been telling me I'm very special all my life," he mock-gaped. "What are the odds!"

"About the same as those of living in a town with one hundred thousand people, but nevertheless seeing the same person eight New Year's Eves in a row?"

He froze and looked at her, the way his blue eyes peered into his, searching for something. "You realised it too," he gaped, his voice suddenly a lot softer.

"Of course I did," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I may be a drop-out, but I'm not stupid."

"Didn't meant to imply you were, just…" he laughed at himself. "I thought I was the weird one."

"I don't think you're weird," Astrid reassured him. "Just a dork."

"Do you…" he started, his throat suddenly dry. "Do you think it's a coincidence?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

He was staring at her again, wondering if leaning across the table and kissing her would be an acceptable way of 'figuring it out'. If she would find it inappropriate, or if she would wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him back until their position inevitably became uncomfortable.

He could get up and walk to the other side of the table, sit down on the bench next to her and pull her into his lap, curl his arms around her and hold her until the clock hit midnight. So she wouldn't vanish, not this year. Ask her to come home with him, or meet him again tomorrow, because they had only barely talked and he already couldn't imagine never hearing her voice again. Because it had been enough to catch a hint of how she was brave, passionate, selfless, and smart. And he wanted to know everything else there was to learn about her.

He was snapped out of it by Astrid clearing her throat. "So what about you?"

He blinked profusely and sat back, not even realising he'd been leaning forward. "Huh?"

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I -" He took a deep breath, trying to push away the heat in his cheeks through sheer force of will. "I'm still studying. Trying to become an engineer."

"What kind?"

"For a long time, I wanted to do something with aviation," he elaborated, studying her face for a trace of boredom but finding her eyes opening up instead. "Like, my room is full of sketches of rockets, air planes, flight suits."

"Flight suits?"

"Yeah, you know, so people can fly themselves." He moved his arms, demonstrating the idea until she laughed and made him realise how stupid he made himself look. "It'd probably be a regulatory nightmare though, given that airports already aren't happy with people flying drones." He grinned. "So naturally, I got myself one for Christmas."

Astrid leaned forward, giving him a knowing look. "Does it fly yet?"

"No, but -" He continued, despite Astrid's chuckles. "That's only because I'm making some modifications."

"Sure," Astrid teased.

"It's true! Sticking to the basics takes all the fun out of it."

"Basic planes do sound a lot safer to me, you know," Astrid countered.

"Well, you're in luck, because that's what I was getting to," he explained. "I've loved planes all my life but recently, I've been giving a lot of thought to this thing. You know, what gave me my superhero name." He grinned, vaguely gesturing to his left foot. "The longer I live with it, the more ideas I get to improve it. So maybe I should do that instead." He shrugged. "Help people like me."

Astrid smiled softly. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Me too."

He could only smile back as a silence settled between them. It wasn't uncomfortable - on the contrary, he felt he could do this all day, simply look at her, the sounds of the busy market around them seemingly non-existent. Suppress the urge to reach out towards her, unwrap her delicate fingers from around her mug just so he could study them.

He felt like Tarzan - minus the dreadlocks, broad chest and any other kind of muscle definition - wanting to pull off just one of the gloves of his Jane. Not that she was his, of course, he barely knew her name, for years he had known nothing more than that her smile warmed his heart and that every moment they shared seemed to last forever. Besides, he was a 21st century man who didn't believe women to be his property in any way. In fact, he didn't mind a woman who looked like she could kick his ass instead.

But he cherished the thought of carefully taking her fingers in his, treat them delicately despite her obvious strength, and press their palms flat against each other. To get a sense of just how real she was, her warm skin against his, treat her as if she was the first woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Because in a weird way, it felt like it. Then again, everything about this was weird, but in a way that made his heart beat faster.

He could do it. Take her hand, wrap his fingers around it and simply hold them. He would settle for that, and not let her go for the rest of the night. Not even when the fireworks started. He wasn't concerned with those. He was just wondering if they would also go off in his head the moment he kissed her.

Or he could finally realise he was staring at her like a fool, way longer than any sane person would. He blinked profusely, and she cocked her head at him, clearly amused as she took another sip.

He cleared his throat, trying to come up with something smooth, or another topic, but he found himself speechless. "There's so much I want to ask you," he laughed, embarrassingly awkward. "But I can't think of anything."

"Really?" Astrid teased. "Nothing?"

How old are you? Do you prefer dogs or cats? Sushi: overpriced raw fish or actually quite okay? How do you feel about Brangelina getting divorced? Who is your favourite character in Friends? Will you think less of me if I admit I exercised almost every day last Summer, but that ninety-nine percent of that was walking around town catching Pok émon? What even is Brexit?

Do you feel like there 's something here too? Do you like me, even a little bit?

"I just don't know where to start," he shrugged.

"Perhaps you could Google it," she grinned, seemingly content with letting him drown.

"You know, there are actually lists for that," he pointed out, pulling another useless fact out of his repertoire. "Questions to ask on dates."

"Oh?"

He treasured the fact that she didn't ask whether this was a date. So he leapt again. "Yeah. Like a list of 36 questions that 'guarantee' two people will fall in love with each other."

She snorted. "Now that sounds like yak dung." He opened his mouth to agree, but she added: "So go ahead."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, like a confused goldfish, not having expected to get this far. "I don't know them by heart…"

"You don't do this often?"

He liked the twinkle in her eyes, the way she consistently teased and challenged him. No, he loved that.

"But there was this one question that stuck with me, regardless," he continued. "If you were able to live to the age of ninety, and retain either the mind or the body of a thirty year-old for the last sixty years of your life…. Which one would you want?"

Astrid answered nearly instantly. "Body."

Well, if I had yours, that's what I'd pick too.

"And that's not to sound vain," she elaborated before he could comment. "It's not about that at all, but the thought of becoming so old that I can no longer move around on my own, that I'd need help to get everywhere, or that I simply don't have the energy to do the things I love anymore… I'd hate that. I would lose my independence, my freedom. I don't know what it's like to be thirty yet, of course, but if I got to live the next sixty years feeling like I do right now, but with more and more experience as time goes by, I'd sign up for that." She grinned. "And of course, not getting any wrinkles, or menopause, is an upside too."

"Not sounding vain, right?" he quipped, earning him a punch in his shoulder.

"I gave you a serious answer!"

"I know, I know!" He put his hands up in the air. "But hey, don't blame yourself for being gorgeous."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hiccup…"

He liked the way she said his name. He hoped she would do it again. "Look, if you can't take a compliment, that's not my fault."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "You're not bad yourself either."

He tried not to bask in that comment, in the knowledge that she might like him, even a little bit. He did his best to wipe his grin off his face and continue where they left off. "But I get what you mean, I suppose. People say that you need three things to live a happy life." He counted on his fingers. "Time, energy, and money. If you're young, you have time and energy, but no money. When you're a proper working adult, you have energy and money, but no time. And once you've retired, you've finally got time and money, but no energy. So I don't think your choice is that strange at all. Let alone vain."

"Well, that's one way to get depressed," Astrid huffed.

He gave her a wry smile. "Leave it up to me to brighten the mood, I guess."

"No worries, it won't keep me up at night," Astrid shrugged. "So what about you? What would you pick? If you remembered the question, you probably thought about what you'd answer too."

"I did," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "It's… interesting, but I always thought the answer was obvious. Then you made some really good points, and -"

"And I'm interested in yourreasoning, not your backpedalling."

"Okay…" He shifted, pushing his bangs back. "I'd choose mind. I'd never thought about those things you mentioned, about the whole 'walking around with a walking frame' part of getting old. Especially with my leg and all." He vaguely gestured beneath the table. "Whenever I think about reaching those ages, my mind always goes to the documentaries, the news reports about people with dementia. Because I just find them so incredibly… scary."

Astrid nodded at him and he briefly chewed on his lower lip before he continued. "The thought of getting Alzheimer's, of digressing until you forget yourself and the people around you… I don't think it runs in my family, at least not the early version of it, as far as I know, but I know that doesn't make me immune and it's just -" He sighed. "I know we all die eventually, that's inevitable. But I wouldn't want to go like that."

"Me neither," Astrid softly said, glancing at her hands. "Can I still change my pick? No use in feeling fit if you don't remember what to do with it."

"Or we could team up," he joked, wanting her to smile again. "One preserved body, one preserved mind."

"Sounds like a plan," Astrid laughed. "When I'm old and senile, you just tell me what to do and I will carry you around when you can no longer walk yourself."

"Perfect!" he agreed, grinning. "Match made in heaven."

Astrid cocked her head, observing him as her lips settled back into a slight smile. "It'd seem that way."

Had they both just implied they'd still be in each other's life years from now? Was he reading too much into that? Into the way Astrid's eyes seemed to soften the longer she looked at him, in how he was struggling to remember the last time he'd felt both this excited and this at ease?

He should just ask her. Show that he wasn't afraid to step up and declare he liked her more than he should like anyone he'd talked to this shortly.

"Do you -"

He was interrupted by a loud crash, a shout coming from the other side of the square, the world suddenly larger than just the two of them. He twisted his head to see a guy with fiery red hair stumble backwards, reaching for his eye.

"Dagur!" Astrid jumped up, sprinting in the direction of the sound as the man - Dagur? - balled his fist.

And punched the guy Hiccup only now recognised as Snotlout right in his nose.

"Fuck," Hiccup muttered, rushing after Astrid.

Snotlout recoiled, grasping his nose, blood seeping out from between his fingers as he ran into Dagur shoulder first. Ruffnut and Tuffnut cheered as the two fell over, crashing into the bench Fishlegs had been sitting on until a second ago. What the Hel had they gotten themselves into?

Astrid reached them before Hiccup did, shouting in exasperation at the men rolling around on the ground. "What the fuck are you doing!?"

No one gave her nor the small crowd that had gathered the answer they were looking for. Astrid rolled her eyes, digging her nails into Dagur's leather jacket and pulling him off Snotlout with a show of strength that seemed to surprise Dagur too and left Snotlout on the ground, wide-eyed.

Dagur tried to rush back in, but Astrid yanked him back. "Nope, you're not ruining my night, not this year." She twisted his arm behind his back when he moved again, making him yelp. "You can go berserk in your own time!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Dagur sputtered, his left eye blue with something Hiccup didn't know was a bruise or a tattoo. "He hit me first!"

"You were asking for it!" Snotlout yelled, coughing as blood streamed into his mouth from his obviously broken nose.

"Nah." "Not really." The twins countered instantly, crossing their arms.

Hiccup rushed over to Snotlout as he got back up, and put his hands on his shoulders. "Whoah, Snot, calm down."

"Move over," Snotlout insisted. "Let me at him!"

"Dude, your nose's broken," he argued as calmly as he could, trying to use his height advantage to prevent Snot from moving.

"You know him?"

He looked back over his shoulder at a sceptical Astrid, her eyebrow pulled up, Dagur's efforts to squirm out of her hold futile. He didn't know whether to yell at Snotlout or simply stand there and be impressed with how well she handled guys two times her size. Make a bad and inappropriate joke about her handling him, sometime…

"My cousin," he shrugged, trying to make clear that he also didn't ask for this. Out of all the nights Snotlout had to be, well, Snotlout…

"Nice family you got there," Astrid snorted.

"Right back at you."

"Nope." Astrid shook her head. "Best friend's brother."

"Oh my Thor… You broke my nose!" Snotlout suddenly yelped, as if he'd only just realised it.

"Heh. You kind of sound like Hiccup, talking through your nose and all," Tuffnut commented.

"You gave me a black eye!" Dagur yelled.

"I'm gonna sue you!"

"Playing the lead role in a local production of Grease doesn't make you an American, Snot," Hiccup bit, trying to glance over Dagur's shoulder, where Astrid was trying to hold her grip. "Astrid -"

"Is there are doctor around!?" Snotlout whined.

"I hope so, cause you need one, to fix your head!" Dagur bellowed.

"Guys, fighting doesn't solve anything, please stop…" Fishlegs tried weakly.

Dagur surged forward with such force that the last thing Hiccup saw was Astrid tumbling backwards on the ground, right before Dagur collided with him and Snotlout. They landed in a pile of limbs, both real and fake, Hiccup's elbow landing right in Snotlout's stomach and Dagur's knee digging into his thigh. He cried out in pain, trying to push Dagur off him but ending up as the heavily abused third wheel, caught in the crossfire while neither Snotlout nor his assailant paid any actual attention to him.

"Alright, fine, then we'll try it this way."

His misery was interrupted by a few flashes of blond, followed by pained yelps from Dagur. Finally free, he sputtered and rolled off of Snotlout. He pushed himself up, glancing around to thank his saviour and finding Astrid next to him, perched up on Dagur, holding his arms behind his back as he was lying face down on the floor. Looking uncannily comfortable, as if she was doing this every day.

"We should probably get out of here before the cops get here," she casually remarked.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were currently undercover," he grinned, distractingly offering Snotlout a not-so-helping hand while keeping his eyes on the most badass woman in the world. He was happy she wasn't with the police though. He didn't need the idea that she could end up like his father.

"You caught me," she laughed. "I'm trying to get a breakthrough in the curious case of cute guys who only appear on New Year's Eve."

He could feel his face change colour. Along with his hand when Snotlout gripped it, leaving it sticky with blood as his cousin hauled himself up.

"Geez, can no one hand him a tissue?" he asked, agitated. Ruffnut shrugged as if there was no other sensible option, zipped open her coat and tore off part of her shirt, handing it to Snotlout, who promptly pressed it to his nose.

"Astrid -"

"Oh Gods," Snotlout gasped, glancing at the piece of fabric and seeing how red it had gotten in mere seconds. "That's a lot of blood."

"- this is not how -"

"Am I dying?"

"- I thought this would go -"

"I'm definitely dying."

"- but thank you, and -"

"But I'm too young and handsome to die!"

"And I think you should get your charming cousin to the ER," Astrid smiled, softly patting Dagur's head when he struggled again.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup tried. So this was how it ended. His first true chance in seven years.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Astrid reassured him with yet another smile.

That phrase stayed with him as he told her goodbye, dragging Snotlout away from the crowd, the others following in his wake. It was echoing through his head when the clock hit midnight in the waiting room of the hospital and Snotlout lamented this being the worst New Year's ever, his complaints unheard because Hiccup himself simply disagreed. He was on cloud nine despite the hospital smell, despite having to explain to the twins that bringing booze into the ER to 'have a bit of a party after all' wasn't socially acceptable behaviour, despite being semi-traumatised by Fishlegs Googling every single medical condition a nosebleed could be a symptom of. No matter how often Hiccup pointed out that there was a direct correlation between the position of Snot's nose, the unstoppable force that had met it and the voluminous amount of blood.

Astrid's words were still with him when he woke up the following morning, feeling like he had a hangover despite not having drunk any alcohol. But in a good way. The best way. The kind that made him giddy and excited, anxiously glancing at his phone while he tried to go about his day.

And they didn't leave him until by the end of January, Astrid still hadn't called.

[merry-melody]

umbrella academy s2 thoughts

Or you can read here if you prefer. Formatting’s probably easier there and this is like 4k, so be warned.

So, was not much of a fan. (Wasn't surprised to learn none of the S1 writers were retained into this season, either!)

I feel like it's a little early for this show to be separating the siblings into New Lives, considering how little they interacted throughout the first season.

I would have liked more childhood flashbacks, having an additional Reginald subplot in a show stuffed with seven (or six and a half) leads seems a choice when it didn't link into the siblings in any meaningful way. 

It also made all the siblings curiously less sympathetic, as Diego and Luther in particular, but also Vanya and Klaus to an extent, are berated for showing any kind of effect of their upbringing; but without much 'showing' of said upbringing (or emotional impact at all from the last season - Vanya's obviously out for that own with the hackneyed amnesia plot; Diego is completely over Patch's death - and Grace's, for that matter, although she does at least get acknowledged; and Klaus for some reason seems to have stopped seeing ghosts 99% of the time.) 

I'm very mistrustful, as I mentioned in my S1 notes, that the show will in any way support Reginald's abuse, whether it be the siblings furthering their patterns of copying him without learning to recognise and address this; or by some kind of time loop casuality bullshit.

This season didn't really allay that, just with the general tone - the line Vanya had about sarcastically saying he was loving, or Five calling him 'no boy scout' just seem tonally a very different vibe from S1, like there were already aspects of that where it felt like none of them except Klaus really acted like they'd been raised by a guy who outright harmed them so much as a tough Professor type; and here it seems to double down on that idea. 

Five in particular was almost his father's yes man to an extent, he had several lines about how right their father was; although it was intriguing to see Diego reference how Reginald may have become even worse after Five's disappearance with that 'golden years' remark.

I was intrigued by the lizard reveal, though.

So, Luther wise...hmmm.

Also, on shallow notes, the hair and fashion was really lacking from last season, like apart from Allison/Emmy who looked lovely in the 60s clothes (and Five, Ben and Vanya, who remained pretty much the same), everyone looked worse (even Luther had a little Tintin grown out hairdo going on!)

Didn't love the toilet humour, either, but again, YMMV.

He was a little more likeable than S1, I appreciated how he acknowledged his own failings (which iirc, no one else but Vanya really did all season, and since she didn't recall hers at the time, there wasn't as much emotional impact) - although the cocked gun lessened it a little, lol. And the return of that lovely musical score during, too, nice touch.

It was good to see at least two scenes with him and Vanya interacting, and for them to return to the Five/Luther duo.

It was also interesting to see how Luther, like all his siblings, projects his own feelings onto others, (like his first instinct being that Vanya's pulling some 'bullshit game' when obviously, Vanya was pretty upfront when she lost it; whereas it was Luther who was the one scamming her into the hug-n-choke.)

I liked them bonding over Five being an asshole, too.

(Although I think once again, the lack of trust between the siblings was almost contrived, like Luther in particular seems genuinely pissed off that Five didn't, what, let them all die in a fiery death? I get that they grew up in an environment that promoted mistrust and that they don't really seem to understand their own powers or each others, and Five never explains when he makes a mistake, anyway, but I'm just not sure what Luther's ideal outcome here was.)

I'm clearly an asshole also, because the 'Rooming House for Solitary Men' sign made me laugh every time they showed it.

I feel like some of his characterisation was unsubtly telegraphed (although that's a complaint over all, not just him specific) - like they decided 'sensitive' was their key word there, and just jam in everyone referring to him as that rather than showing it. (...Is Luther sensitive? Like, not dragging him, I'd just not pick that at all for him as a description.)

I also didn't much enjoy the pairing of him and Diego, like to be honest, it was never a pairing even from S1 that I was particularly fascinated by, it's such a well-worn dynamic; and while at least they weren't bickering over numbers, the dude bro banter ('women, amirite?!') and matching lack of IQ (I never thought I'd say Diego seemed dumber than cracking a raw egg to posture, and yet...) was just kind of lowhanging fruit.

I also feel like the goon for Jack Ruby stuff seemed inserted purely for plot contrivance to link to JFK.

(This is also a universal complaint, but I really felt for the actors doing promo, like they come up with all these well thought out explanations about why their characters are making these choices, but the work doesn't really show up in the writing or what was shown onscreen. IIRC, Tom Hopper was talking about Jack Ruby as a replacement father figure and how it's Luther's first stab at independence in terms of supporting himself; and there's this whole thing of Ruby saying he treated Luther like a son, when really, he's in like, two scenes and Luther is very clearly a paid goon. Which isn't to say that's not supporting yourself, a job's a job! I just felt like it didn't really go anywhere.)

I liked the idea that he's the only one who looked for their dad; I liked him still eating his feelings, funnily enough, it's just a good character note.

I don't particularly have investment in him and Allison one way or another yet - I don't care about the moral indignation; I just feel like when they're together, it seems one part them being smug about the others, one part yearning based on the same plot as S1 (she's moved on but seems to want to keep Luther as her back up guy.) Like, I'd love to see those two actually interact over something based on their disparate characters (what would Allison have said if she'd heard Luther's little defense of the Feds to Five?)

There's also a return to that odd juxtaposition from S1 of Klaus' drinking with Luther taking drugs cheerfully and to no effect. (I'm not expecting a DARE commercial, it's just all over the place in tone. That, and I thought Luther 'waSN't ReADy for THaT!')

(This isn't Diego specific, either, but they also do that thing I hate in TV, where they purposefully reference someone specifically in the episode before they rereturn, and Diego got the short straw on that one with the Pogo mention apropros of nothing, so we know we'll see Baby!Pogo shortly.)

Diego: Again, lots of telegraphing. (Do you think the writers want to get across Diego has a hero complex? I wasn't clear after he cat leaps through dimensions, stops a mugging, obsessively stalks JFK, and almost everyone he meets literally holds up placards mentioning 'DIEGO HAS A HERO COMPLEX'.)

Diego got a lot more time onscreen, which is a plus, but the haircut combined with his role as plot monkey made it a neutral point.

I also think Castaneda got the short straw on some of dialogue this year, oof, that Luke Skywalker 'it's a great reference' dialogue felt a bit try hard. 

(Sheehan also took a body blow later with the 'Sexy trash!' one, ouch, like that felt very Designed to Retweet/Gif. 

No one's topped S1 for blatant exposition yet, though: 'You haven't been sober since you were a teen! Not since you started taking drugs to block the ghosts out.')

Randomly, I liked the decent English accent he pulled out of nowhere. And again, David Castaneda I believe, mentioned Patch's death, so it's neat that he thought about the impact of her death on his character, even though it wasn't evident in the plot.

As I mentioned up top, I think Diego kind of suffered from the same thing Klaus did last year, where upon he seems to be the only one who recalls they were actually brought up in an abusive environment; and yet here the focus seems more generic to Diego's a baby (right down to constantly talking about 'bad guys' like a three year old) who has masculinity issues about his mean pop (who tbh, seems to be presented as entirely correct in labelling him a fuckwit, since he behaves like one pretty much all season: 'We chop off his trigger finger!')

(Also there's that contrived Batman style ethics that came up with Luther last year, where they're like 'We can quip over bodies and we grew up literally murdering people', but for some reason, Diego won't 'kill a man before he's committed a crime' (he can stalk one, and cut off his hand, though?)

Likewise, there wasn't a ton of interaction between him and Allison, like in S1, I enjoyed how they kind of overcame their initial mutual dislike with small moments of bonding; whereas here he has to be prompted to talk to her (and that was an adlib, which again, means the actors were considering something the writers overlooked.)

Last year I talked about how much I enjoyed Diego's character and how they walked a very fine line between him combining his desire to be the stereotypical macho figure with his innate sensitivity, so naturally this season we get him butchified to a factor of ten ('I'm the man, here!' 'You're a big pussy!') and almost zero interactions with Klaus, the person besides Grace who brought that out the most last year.

(What happened to those two, last time we saw them they were pretty much the closest in the family besides the Allison/Vanya link; here, Diego's almost contemptous. Has he levelled up in his mind now he's bffs with Luther?) I wanted to find the scene with him and Ben endearing, since we get so few interactions with Ben and any one besides Klaus, but it wasn't even that personally linked to them beyond 'Remember our one specific memory? Anyways, lolz, u should keep Klaus' body, idgaf.')

Allison Allison I think suffers from a lot of the same problems as she was introduced with - like Vanya, her powers are kind of linked to a lack of control in a way that the guys aren't; and a lot of her development is offscreen.

I actually really enjoyed the episode focusing on her, though, I thought it was one of the strongest of the season.

Her husband got a bit OTT with his catchphrase - where Diego's was 'JFK', Ray's was very clearly ' the movement!' and I found it odd how easily all the siblings but especially Allison gave up on returning to their own time and committed to another relationship built on lies (albeit this time of omission - baby steps!) but I kind of like that, like that's Allison, kind of co-dependent and self-deceiving.

Really, I feel like Allison's more interesting when they plunge into her darker side, I was riveted in the 'more!' scene, as well as the 'I heard a rumour you killed your brother'.

I think it's especially important as she's a WOC, which this season focused on more, like, it's very important not to fall into the common writing trap where the guys are allowed to be vindictive or needy or selfish and the women are there to be the moral guidance (for the same reason, I also loved the Five/Vanya stand-off); and that goes double for the model minority bit.

I was worried that they'd fall into the trap of Allison needing to be twice as good not just with how the sit-ins were portrayed but also generally (she speaks seven languages! She makes extensive notes on the state of race relations with specific regard to Dallas in the 1960s!) and once more, it seemed like Emmy Raver Lampman was trying to put across a more interesting read on Allison in terms of how isolated she was from any awareness of oppression in the outer world, first in the Academy and then through being a powerful celebrity and the contrast that creates for her in Dallas which didn't quite get met by the writing/direction.

It was great to see how she got to become part of a community in a way the others didn't, also, and particularly being protected by the beauty shop ladies when she arrived; like, the imbalance of genders as well as races in the Academy genuinely made it refreshing to see.

(The relapse is also very up and down in tone, like they make attempts at pathos, but it's also accompanied by the Styx soundtrack/60s light effects...)

Klaus and Ben - Probably my least favourite aspect of this season.

There was a bunch of telling not showing (Klaus' three year sobriety being expressed in Ben's expository sentence and that .5 second shot of him turning down a joint) and once you remove the biggest impacts on Klaus' character (the addiction and his power) without explanation, you're basically left with 'Klaus causes problems for himself for comedic value.' 

I don't really care about who fights well or which powers are developed (didn't read the comics, don't plan to) but it seems to be like the best portrayals of superheroes show the powers as metaphors for their lives - Vanya struggles to control her emotions, Ben feels powerless, etc. If you take away the powers, you take away the reasoning behind the character.

Why is Ben pretty much the only ghost (particularly when in S1, they seemed ever-present)? How or why did Klaus learn to summon them in the alt-apocalypse?

I liked the scene of Klaus interacting with Ray before they find out he's married to Allison, that was cute.

I also liked seeing him interact with Vanya and Allison (there was an interesting shot where Allison says she has a life she worked for, and Klaus smiles - is that because in contrast, he doesn't? I'd have liked them to acknowledge the link between cults and celebrity, tbh, those two have a lot in common. Or is it because she isn't using her power and neither is he?), and I thought it was cool to note how when the group are reunited, they fall into a power structure right away.

Like, right away, Klaus sells out Vanya and Allison to the guys ('It's usually Vanya!' or mentioning how Allison's being 'involved in community politics'.) Likewise, everyone kowtows to Five, then Luther, over the rest (like when Five says they won't go with Vanya to the farm) and no one speaks up for Diego in front of Reginald.

I want to give the others the benefit of the doubt and say they were kind of shitty to Klaus in particular in this season because they were in a group, because it's a huge downgrade in compassion (especially since Allison was like, covering him with a blanket when they're alone.) 

Like, I get sibling culture, I have 'em, but I feel like when you're bringing possible 'seizures' up, you're sort of skirting what's then played as comedic (Luther dragging him, the 'check please' line), especially Diego's: 'He's probably having an overdose.' (Kinda seeing why no one rushed to join Team Zero.)

Like, he and Klaus do just kind of seem contrivedly not communicating - I would think after the isolation, you'd crack through boredom if nothing else.

Ben's kind of an odd duck - I feel like with Steve Blackman's comments, he's supposed to be this philosophical voice of reason; but tbh, he seems as self-involved as Klaus, and if anything, they mirrored each other (that line in S1 about Klaus being cowardly plays a little differently after the revelation 'He was afraid to go into the light'...) rather than separating him into his own person.

I mean, I don't want Saint Ben (or St. anyone!), but Ben does kind of irritate, like it's not like he even particularly gets much wit or personality in his lines (and I doubt Justin Min would be short of inspiration there, so it does seem to be a writing choice) or they give him much warmth or concern (I still like that shot of him walking off in the sixth episode of S1, though - where is he off to?!) In S1, we do at least get to see him panicking and how helpless he must feel that he can't alert the others to danger etc. He doesn't really offer opinions that offer a personal philosophy beyond 'Stop being a junkie' (he was willing to shut off Grace - was that to tick off Klaus for taking the opposite opinion, or is he super pragmatic generally?) or 'Admit it, Klaus, Luther's Okay!' (Again, is this nostalgia for the other siblings, or what? It would have been nice to have Ben interact with all his siblings, considering they included the whole possession plot for less than necessary stuff like 'Ben kisses a girl!' and 'Vomit shenanigans!')

I just feel like his personality was kind of an afterthought still, and it made his sacrifice for Vanya, touching as it was, feel a little unearned.

Why doesn't Klaus tell Ben he wants to go back for Dallas for Dave? Why doesn't Ben tell Klaus he wants to go back to San Francisco for Jill? Was Ben in Vietnam? How come he's gone from using Dave as A Reason to Get Clean to a 'fling' - dark reading of Ben, tbh, like does he want Klaus clean purely for his own gain, and now he is, Dave's of no further value? What does Ben think Klaus is looking Dave up for - he says it's 'selfish', does he literally think Klaus is just there to hook up with Dave pre-death? It's hard to parse whether Ben has a low opinion of Klaus in particular or whether he, like the rest of them, has kind of adopted to a point Reginald's views - it was neat to see a comparison of the two there.

The possession stuff was a cool parallel, as well, if underused on the whole - Ben's happy to take advantage of Klaus' body despite his clear ambivalence and then outright refusal; Klaus is happy to take advantage and have sex with his own cult followers. 

The cult stuff was even less strong, imho - I said last year how I'd enjoy a darker reading of Klaus, as S1 I felt sometimes was unfair to the others in that we see them being impatient with him; but never how his addiction would have impacted upon them negatively; but here, there's no real exploration of Klaus' narcissism or manipulation (in fact the plot seems to play out exactly the same as Allison's in S1 - we start with all the action about why they pursued fame etc. dealt with offscreen, and begin when the lead has already tired of it all.)

I mean, Klaus is self-destructive, as we saw in S1, but here it's an odd combination, like he's at once both cowardly of physical harm (in a way he wasn't really in S1, even post-Dave, so it doesn't seem to be in reaction to his death) but also running a cult for the attention, but the attention is presented as negative almost exclusively throughout.

Like, I'd get it if it was an interest in money and the finer things in life, even, you could make an interesting point there (and iirc, Robert Sheehan and I think Emmy Raver Lampman have) about how while the Hargreeves were abused, they were also 'spoilt rich kids'; and reflect on that; but it's literally just there for gags.

There's no real explanation for the cult itself (they literally just regurgitate pop culture references) or an exploration of Klaus as a con artist (again - here's where you could show some kind of progression in character, whether it's forward or backwards, and use the powers; and have Klaus working as a shady medium, but nope, it's physical comedy only.)

You could delve into his refusing to even tell the others about Ben's presence, but that's handwaved as much as ever (Five didn't go 'Huh, well, Ben was there when the Soviets came...') not just from the other siblings, but also Ben and Klaus themselves.

‘Cause I could see how Klaus would feel guilty about saying that, regardless; but then Ben's all 'Well, I was chicken to go anyway' 

It might have been a little more affecting if Ben's motivation for possessing Klaus wasn't Jill, a character we know exactly zero about, but talking to his family; not to mention a lot more sympathetic towards Ben himself. As it is, it plays more like he's petty and jealous Klaus gets to be alive, rather than frustrated that Klaus is essentially silencing him.

And again, that's fine, maybe that is Ben, he stopped aging at 17, after all, but I'm not sure what the point is of a plot where we don't really get to see much exploration of either character.

Like, what did we learn about Klaus from this specific sub-plot? We knew in S1 he felt guilty that Ben died young, and that he was happy to allow his siblings to believe Ben is gone.

Likewise, Ben? We knew in S1 he was envious of Klaus being alive, and bitter that his position was so powerless.

It was nice to see the teenage actors (did they dub Teen!Klaus??? Odd.) post Ben's death, but it kind of didn't resolve much, really - it seemed like Klaus was supposed to be bullshitting about the 'golden light' and whether or not you can just...'go' whenever you please, but then it seemed like it turned out to be true?

(Might want to have mentioned that, then, like I get he's a Hargreeves and therefore a fail at interpersonal relationships, but you'd think it wouldn't take a smart guy to figure that if your brothers already toying with self-destruction in his teen years, it might not be the most genius move to additionally allow him to believe you're trapped in the 'real torture' of berating him endlessly solely due to his advice; if for no other reason than your one link to humanity is then going to keep up the booze and drugs that blocks you from his presence.)

I was inclined to like the Dave subplot a little more than I did last season, just because something was happening at all (and we got some tiny semblance of Dave's personality, even if it was basic as hell - he likes hamburgers!), but I feel like the Dave recasting thing really stretched credulity.

I would guess it was written backwards, in terms of if Dave was the clearly fully grown adult we saw in S1 a mere five years later, why wouldn't he just go 'Oh, thanks for the tip, dude, I'll avoid all that military jazz'? And why wouldn't Klaus just be like 'Fuck it, can we not just...date now?' Aha, we could make him a little younger, chuck in a Mean Uncle, throw in some manufactured conflict, and zow-pow!

It definitely wasn't the most contrived plot ever or anything (or even on this show), but I did feel like it's weird that again, via the cult, we're kind of asked to see Klaus as this expert manipulator of people, when he seemed almost purposefully stupid here (like, even compared with Luther and Diego.)

Why act as if the only chance you'll ever have to see the guy in the same timezone as you is right that second in front of his crazed uncle? Why say you've tried everything when you met the kid three times (once instigated by him, and I have to say, it's sort of odd, like Klaus is just drinking throughout, like you'd think this would be the one opportunity he'd take to truly and honestly engage without that) and basically just asked him twice, and in the least convincing way possible.

Shoot him in the foot! Burn down the recruitment office! Use your international platform and pull with local government to influence your huge movement towards stopping the war in Vietnam! 

Like, if what you're going for is that Klaus is defeatist and unimaginative, fine, but I'm not sure it's not just that they kind of didn't write beyond the circular 'telling him only made him sign up sooner' casuality because it's so Tragic. 

(Also, I feel like they're overplaying the iconography of those damn dogtags, like at this point, Klaus looking sadly at the dog tags has still probably had more screen time than Dave himself.)

I liked the scene with him and Vanya facing off? 

Five I think didn't really get much more development than S1, he drives the plot forward, but not much else. In fact, in S1, he probably was more interesting, in that he interacted with all of his siblings and showed moments of vulnerability and care (knowing Claire's name, telling Luther not to waste his life, asking Klaus if he was okay) and got to properly react to his siblings' deaths.

Um...it was cool to have two of him? 

It was nice and kind of ambigious where he lied to her about the cause of the apocalypse, like you could go by what he said about how he wanted to avert her anger, or you could wonder if it's a rare moment of kindness in his old age, lol.

I also loved it when he said to Luther about whether he could talk to her 'without squeezing her to death'.

I found Sissy probably the most interesting of the new characters (probably her and Lila more so than Lil!Dave and Ray, tbh.)

Vanya I probably have the least to say about. I was satisfied with how they portrayed the culpability of the others, particularly Luther, without erasing Vanya's part in the apocalypse. (I really, really hope this'll end the endless discourse on her emails book now, that got tired fast.

I could also do without the endless 'lolz, Ellen Page was so bad at playing straight they had to write Vanya as gay'. Ellen Page is pretty convincing as an actor - I bought her raping Rainn Wilson in 'Super', for god's sake, I doubt 'heterosexual' is a challenge.)

The amnesia plot was pretty cliched, and it did mean we didn't get so much actual interaction between the 'real' Vanya (so to speak) and her siblings but I really enjoyed the dream sequence of her in the academy.

[sassycassie-s-series]

All My Fault 34

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Damian Wayne/Batman

Rating: PG-11/T- (for violence)

Notes: (Masterlist) At some point I don’t think I’ll be able to link all the chapters because Tumblr hates me. Anyway, I’m rising from the void because quarantine. Enjoy!

Tag List (Open): @batboys-and-other-messes @welovegroot @probsjosh  @spooder-moon​ @lostredrobin @haylo4ever @na-n-na @rachelmorganroth  @reclusive-chicken-nugget​

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33

^^^^^

I sat on the stairs in the foyer, idly browsing my social media feeds like it was the morning paper—my Cloudburst account was always hopping—and waiting for Bruce to come home. Jon’s Superboy account was logged into finally and he was responding to every Tweet I’d made as Cloudburst, apologizing for not getting on and seeing earlier. Remarking it was nice to see me again after so long. I was smiling at his definite overuse of excited emojis but he was a sweet kid.

The front door opened.

Bruce and Alfred both came in.

I jumped up immediately. “Hi!” I greeted.

“Morning Nora,” Bruce said, sounding like he hadn’t had any coffee yet.

“Good morning, Miss McCloud,” Alfred agreed as I rushed across the foyer to hug them both.

“Morning,” I replied. I dropped onto my heels after tilting up onto my tiptoes to hug Bruce since he was so tall. “How was Metropolis?”

Bruce shrugged. “Hm. Boring,” he said.

I nodded. “I see. Y’know, I'm surprised Clark didn’t come keep an eye on us while you were gone,” I joked.

“Who says he didn’t?” Bruce mumbled, heading straight for the kitchen.

Well, crap. Hopefully Clark didn’t see anything between me and Damian if he did keep an eye on us and report it to Bruce before I could say anything.

“Huh. Fair point,” I relented. “Hey, listen, Bruce? Can we talk?”

“Those words are never followed by good news,” Bruce said, looking grumpy, as he found the half-emptied coffee pot and a mug.

I rolled my eyes. “No. ‘We need to talk’ is never followed by good news. I asked if we can talk and I was careful to phrase it that way,” I retorted. Bruce eyed me irritably over the top of his mug as he took a long drink.

“Okay. Talk,” he said after he swallowed.

I shook my hair out of my face and pushed some of it behind my ear. “Welp, long story short I don’t want to go back to the past, anymore,” I said.

Bruce coughed on his next gulp. “What?” he asked.

I was half-tempted to pull a cranky teenager and say, “You heard me!” but I didn’t. Instead I just shrugged. “I don’t want to go back to the past anymore. I know we still need to close the Time Bombs case and reopen the timeways but once they’re opened I still wanna stay here,” I said. Bruce lowered his eyebrows.

“Why?”

“There are a couple reasons,” I said, trying my best to maintain my cool as my ears grew warm. I covered them with my hair as subtly as I could. Messing with my hair was a quirk of mine so I doubted Bruce would even notice. “One of them is… I think my disappearance is, like, a fixed point in the timeline. Kinda like how in every timeline where Jason meets you as Batman, he ends up dying. Like if I went back to that Time Bomb attack eight years ago, I’d go missing some other way. Maybe then I’d never return.”

“And the other reasons?”

“I don’t want to go back and screw up this future now because messing with time scares me and I don’t know what would happen to you guys,” I continued. Bruce started taking another drink. I waited till he swallowed to continue. “And, lastly, there’s no two ways about it: I’ve fallen in love with Damian and I don’t want to leave him.” I rushed out the last part so it ended up sounding more like, “I’vefallenlovewiDamiananIdonwannaleaveim.”

Bruce had to just stare at me for several long moments while he figured out and processed what I said. During the silent moments I felt my heart rate rising and my hands start sweating nervously.

Once he understood what I said, the staring continued. But this time with raised eyebrows as he figured out what to say.

Finally, he seemed to gather his thoughts. “You’ve… fallen in love… with Damian,” he said.

“Yes,” I said plainly. I kept my sass out of my tone because I didn’t want to provoke him into a parental freak-out and/or a Batdad lecture.

“What?!” he demanded. “When did this happen?”

“Relatively recently,” I answered. “While you were gone.”

“Nora, don’t you think you’re jumping into that lake a little too fast?” he asked.

“B, there’s been attraction between he and I since I got here,” I said. “We just kept staring and sharing these moments of profound closeness and then fighting the feeling that we wanted to be together and I just… I can’t do it anymore.”

“Does he know?”

“I should hope so. The kiss was mutual,” I said, purposely leaving out everything else that happened between his son and me. Ease him into it.

“Oh so you kissed,” he stated.

“Mmhmm,” I said.

There was a pause.

“Are you mad?” I asked finally.

Bruce regarded me for another moment while I twisted a piece of my hair nervously around my fingers. He took a deep breath, set his coffee down, and sighed. “No,” he decided on. “I'm not angry.”

I wondered if I was supposed to ask what he was feeling about the idea of me and Damian dating. Or if he was feeling anything. I wondered if I even wanted to know.

Ultimately, I decided not to say anything. If Bruce wanted to say more, he would.

He took another long drink of his coffee—finishing his mug before pouring himself another one. I picked at the scabs on my knuckles while leaning against the kitchen counter and waiting for him to say something else—to express his approval or disapproval. I licked my lower lip and chewed on it with a crease between my eyebrows.

“Nora, relax,” Bruce said after a moment.

“I…” I said before just trailing off and trying to smooth out my face.

When that didn’t work, Bruce just sighed. “I'm going to go have a word with my son,” he said, taking his coffee with him.

I caught his elbow. “Don’t yell at him, please. We both… we both want this.”

Bruce just set his free hand on the top of my head. “I'm not going to yell, princess,” he said affectionately.

“Promise?” I pressed.

Bruce ruffled my hair. “I promise,” he said before leaving.

I peeled a scab off my knuckles completely—making it bleed again—and headed for the Batcave.

^^^^^

“Madam, we know it worked,” a man at the table said. “Access to the time-stream has been completely locked down. No one can travel through time except at the normal rate. What more is there to fear?”

The shadowy figure at the head of the table sighed. “Two of the missing from the initial attacks eight years ago returned after the secondary attacks now. Nora McCloud and that vigilante. Stormy or whatever her name is. The short one with the blue accents that isn’t Nightwing. There is no guarantee that the others who went missing aren’t also going to return. The Flash. Impulse. Kid Flash. If the speedsters were to come back, time travel would open up again, meaning the changes we made could be undone.”

“So what do we do?” a councilor asked.

“We capture the vigilante. See what she knows. If she’s found out why we went back to the past, we wipe her memory or take her out.”

“And the McCloud girl? She was the daughter of—”

“We can’t touch her,” the woman at the head of the table snapped. “She is practically the Princess of Gotham. We get close to her and Brucie Wayne will find a way to tear us apart. Besides, she doesn’t know anything about the purpose behind the attacks. If she did, the press would have blown that story waaay up before we could stop her. As it is, they’re too busy debating whether or not she’s dating her foster brother—meaning Little Miss McCloud has no idea.”

“Are you sure about that, ma’am? I just want—”

“Silence! I have spoken to her myself. She knows nothing. We don’t need the fire of that pathetic playboy Bruce Wayne burning under us. Everyone in the city knows how overprotective he is of those kids he takes in.”

“Yes ma’am. Apologies.”

“And if Princess McCloud did know something, she would have told me.” The woman leaned forward, revealing her face in the light. “She doesn’t keep secrets from the people she trusts.”

^^^^^

Damian leaned against the table I was sitting at in the Batcave. “Did he yell at you?” I asked, not looking up.

He chuckled quietly. “No. However he did inform me that he promised you he wouldn’t yell at me. Father is not often in the business of making promises—especially ones he cannot keep. Unless those promises are to his girls. Grayson was right the night you arrived here with me. Father likes his girls more than his boys. He may love us all the same but he likes his girls better.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes. “So what did he say to you?”

Damian pushed off the table to find another chair. He sat down near me and took my hand. “He told me you told him how we feel about each other that we wanted to be together. He said he didn’t know what to think or feel about it. We both know it is not his decision on whether or not we choose to pursue a relationship, but I believe his approval and acceptance would be beneficial to both of us. I, for one, would feel guilty attempting to pursue you without his acceptance and I believe you would feel similarly. Though, please correct me if I'm wrong.”

“You’re not,” I said. He rarely was wrong. “I would feel terrible trying to be with you if I knew Bruce really disapproved. He’s like a second father to me and I’ve been trying for years to make sure I make him proud and do right by everything he’s ever done for me.”

Damian sucked the backs of his front teeth. “Tt. I understand and agree.”

Someone cleared their throat nearby. I jumped with a yelp. Damian wasn’t so easily startled and turned in the direction of the noise.

Bruce stood there, barely out of the shadows, arms folded over his chest and watching us.

Dang it, I thought. OG Bats definitely hasn’t lost his stealthy touch.

“Hooowww… how long have you been standing there?” I asked awkwardly, picking at another scab on my knuckles as anxiety took over again.

“Long enough,” Bruce grunted. He pulled a chair over and sat so the three of us formed a loose scalene triangle—none of the distances between us equal. He leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, hands hanging in empty space between them. “Kids, you two have grown up into mature, responsible young adults. I don’t say it enough, but I am proud of you. Both of you. And… if I seem…” He scrunched his eyebrows, searching for the right words. “Hrn. Hesitant. It’s because you’re my kids. And… and I want you to be happy but…”

“Not with each other?” Damian challenged, eyes narrowing slightly.

Bruce closed his eyes and sighed, reaching one hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose—something Damian had picked up from him, by the looks of it. “That’s not what I meant, son,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t approve. It’s just—”

OOOOOWOP! OOOOOWOP! OOOOOWOP! OOOOOWOP!

A siren started blaring through the cave. “What the heck is that?” I demanded.

—

Next (coming soonish)