#and i had at one point corrupted the files for these

[escyn]

Old Wounds Reopened[flood]: Kyoshi Warrior Sokka | Blue Spirit

Zukka Week Day 3 (id in alt)

+some close-ups bc I love them so

other things from ZW2024: Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

[prumanoenjoyer]

What if we ate Pocky together at some unknown remote location near some train tracks and we were both boys

227 fucking layers, actions in Ibispaint delayed by 3-4 seconds, phone threatening to overheat...The sacrifices I make to provide you guys with fresh PruMano content. Be assured the rest will not be as excessive as this one.

This time they're wearing my clothes! Or my shirts and belts, more accurately. The shorts are just generic shorts that I probably have somewhere. I've used that Drop Dead gore feast shirt since dad found it at a second hand store years ago, love it to bits. Been meaning to draw Gilbert in my more punk-esque outfits for a while now.

Hope you enjoy this last day of summer treat! 3pm sunset is coming 3pm sunset is coming 3pm sunset is

[icharchivist]

also it’s 100% on me on this one for the wording but when i say i have “memories” of things that happened in the past (definition of “the past” being either before the last past year or the last past month, still unsure) i generally mostly remember like. vibes. I remember some vague big events here and there if i try to remember them hard from the vibes alone but tbh i don’t fully trust most of my recollection of everything. it’s not like i don’t remember anything either but it’s mostly that most things are foggy ALKJDLKFJDFKL 

memory bad 😔

[whataboutsorcerysaga]

(Heya!)

(I'm not sure how much traffic this blog gets, but in case anyone's looking at this and going 'awww, this blog is dead'...)

(It shall return!)

(...I just need to get 100% first, or as close to it as possible.)

[flwrkid14]

Tim Drake’s Unhinged Power Move (ft. Marriage, Ra’s al Ghul, and an Uncomfortable Batfamily)

No one really understood how it started. One moment, Tim Drake was Red Robin—tired, overworked, and fueled by caffeine. The next, he was dropping a bombshell in the middle of a routine debrief:

“Oh, by the way, I married Ra’s al Ghul.”

The room froze.

Dick’s dumbbell hit the floor. Jason choked on his beer. Damian’s sword slipped from his hand. Bruce, staring at Tim like he’d grown a second head, barely managed a strangled, “Tim. What did you do?”

Tim took a sip of his coffee, utterly unfazed. “It’s a power move.”

Jason, wheezing with laughter: “Oh my god. You married Ra’s out of spite? Replacement, I’ve never been prouder.”

Tim smirked. “Something like that.”

-----------

It wasn’t really spite.

Ra’s had been obsessed with him for years. The offers of succession, the constant attempts to lure him to the League—it was never-ending. Tim was tired. Tired of being hunted, tired of the games. So, one day, he called Ra’s’ bluff. If Ra’s wanted him so badly, he’d have to deal with all that came with it. Including Tim’s unrelenting need for control.

Ra’s agreed.

And just like that, Tim Drake became the most terrifying in-law the batfamily had ever seen.

-----------

Talia didn’t know what to think at first.

She’d seen it all before—people manipulated by Ra’s, twisted into tools for his will. But Tim? He didn’t play by those rules. He sat at Ra’s’ desk, sifting through League reports like they were Gotham case files. He didn’t bark orders; he made suggestions. And then, the soup happened.

Talia returned from a mission, bruised and exhausted. Tim, barely looking up from his paperwork, said, “Sit. You’re hurt.”

She scoffed. “I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not pity. It’s soup.”

Talia stared. “Why?”

Tim shrugged. “You looked like you needed it.”

It became a routine. She’d return from missions, and Tim would be there. Not with judgment. Not with manipulation. Just quiet support. He listened. He offered advice. He treated her like a person, not a pawn.

Somehow, they started having regular bonding time. Shopping trips. Quiet conversations on the balcony. Tim became a person Talia could trust—a concept she hadn’t believed possible.

-----------

Damian was losing his mind.

“Drake!” he hissed, cornering Tim in the Batcave. “You’ve… corrupted my mother!”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Corrupted? She’s thriving.”

“She smiles at you!”

“I’m very charming.”

Damian’s finger trembled as he pointed. “This makes you… my grandmother.”

Tim smirked. “Respect your elders, grandson.”

“I REFUSE!”

-----------

Bruce was spiraling.

“Tim, this is dangerous.”

“Relax,” Tim replied, sipping his coffee. “I’ve got it under control.”

“You married one of our greatest enemies!”

“Think of it as an undercover op,” Tim said, voice calm and unyielding. “I’m playing the long game.”

Jason, from the sidelines, grinned. “He’s playing 4D chess, and you’re still on checkers.”

-----------

The Real Chaos?

Tim didn’t marry Ra’s to make him happy. Hell no. If anything, it made Tim sick to his stomach knowing Ra’s was smug about it. But if putting up with Ra’s al Ghul meant protecting Talia, stabilizing the League, and giving Damian a family that didn’t break apart at the seams?

He’d endure.

Because Talia was healing. Damian’s mother was smiling. And Ra’s… well, Ra’s thought he’d won.

But the real winner? Tim Drake.

Gotham’s most unhinged vigilante had just become the League of Assassins’ terrifying step-parent. And honestly? It suited him.

-----------

Damian, whispering to Alfred: “I need… therapy.” Alfred: “We all do, Master Damian. We all do.”

[hello-eden]

To Long Of A Wait

Tim hates being the one most well known for business on the civilian side.

Tim and Bruce are stuck at a dinner with Vladimir Masters. Tim has no idea who he's trying to impress; the sports team merch and Gothic Castle do not go well together. The two of them are there to find evidence of the money laundering and blackmail scheme that has all signs pointing to Masters.

The plan was originally for Bruce to keep him distracted and Tim to be able to search through the office but Vladimir Masters brought his heir with him. not much is known of his heir.

Daniel Nightingale is a 17-year-old transgender male who is Vladimir Masters' godson. He grew up in a small town with Amity Park That ended up going under lockdown because of some sort of sickness. 

Tim knows that the sickness is a cover story. It was some sort of Supernatural infestation but whether Daniel's parents were in the know or not he was sent away to live with his Godfather.

Daniel has been quite nice so far even if he looks very sick. Tim doesn't doubt that Vladimir is the one forcing him to go to this dinner.

Daniel waits only a few minutes after he is done before saying he is going to the bathroom. He is not even trying to conceal the fact he's trying to get as far as he can.

Tim waits 15 minutes before announcing he is going to the washroom too. Master's tries to offer for him to lead the way but Tim just says he remembers the tour and leaves.

—------------------------------------------

Tim turns into the hallway that has Vladimir Masters' work office. He's about to open the door when he hears the sound of throwing up. He waits there for a moment realizing that the bathroom Daniel is using is right beside the office. it is as far away from the dining room you can possibly go, which is probably why he used it. 

Tim hears the sound of washing hands and goes into the office. Behind him he locks the door and listens for Daniel to leave. He hears footsteps walk away.

Tim speeds quickly to the desk and looks over the files. He knows he doesn't have a lot of time especially if Daniel asks where he is. Tim doesn't find anything to concrete but he does find a couple of shady deals with an off branch of Cadmus and a few of the shader government departments. 

Tim takes a few photos and makes sure everything's in place before he walks out. He makes sure no one's in the hall and he walks back to the dining room. 

Tim goes on his phone making sure to hack into the security to corrupt the footage so that no one notices. they really should get better security Tim thinks before he hears talking. He hides behind the corner and hears is Daniel with who he assumes is a member of their staff. 

“I'm fine Trisha. it's just a little bit of morning sickness, I'm not dying” Tim can hear a little giggle at the end like they just told an inside joke

“ He shouldn't be making you go at all. You've had a very hard week." He hears a woman that he believes is Trisha start scolding Daniel.

 “It's not my first rodeo. I know what I'm doing. I have to last maybe another hour before I can get an excuse. I can last another hour.” Daniel tries to soothe Trisa.

 Tim is starting to think this is a whole lot more complicated

[undreaming-fanfiction]

I don't even have a clear storyline in mind for this, but I just really, really want to see a modern AU with Eddie as a detective who investigates the Harrington Pharma company. The company is huge and looks clean on paper, but Eddie has a nose for these things, he knows something is wrong. He knows that Richard Harrington ran some sketchy trials and some of Wayne's friends have lifelong health issues, Chief Jim Hopper included.

The company looks almost impenetrable, but Eddie digs. No detail is too small for him. He crosses paths with the owner's son and a board member, Steve Harrington. Eddie despises him. A fucking rich kid, making millions out of other people's misery. His public appearances are well rehearsed, but Eddie knows his type. A shallow, pretty partying douchebag who hasn't had to work a single day in his life. His PR manager Robin Buckley seems way too decent to work with such a bunch of assholes, but Eddie's seen what money can do to people. Either way she's corrupt too.

He meets the younger Harrington several times. The handsome young man is not openly hostile, but he's condescending, bitchy and he looks at Eddie as if he were dirt. "Good luck with your efforts," he sneers when he sees Eddie digging through the public records of Harrington Pharma. "But maybe get a real hobby instead? I hear golf is nice." Eddie wants to murder him.

Eddie cooperates with an investigative journalist, Nancy Wheeler, who keeps all her cards close to her chest, but she still points him in the right direction several times. He collects evidence, partners up with the public prosecutor Joyce Byers. He even meets her son, Jonathan, who is able to get the most damning photographic evidence. No one fully trusts each other, but that's okay. Harrington Pharma is their shared enemy and that's enough.

One day, Eddie makes a mistake. He sneaks into the Harrington Pharma archives and miscalculates the guard shifts. He's stuck hiding under an old desk for hours, he's slowly losing hope, he has no way to contact anyone, his legs are cramping and he's exhausted, but then he hears a familiar voice talking with the guard.

"Hi, Tommy. All good? How's Carol and the kids? That's wonderful to hear. I just need to verify some records for dad, it's not a big deal. Have you had your smoke break yet? You can go, stretch your legs. I'll be here for at least half an hour."

Shit. It's Steve fucking Harrington. Eddie tries to stay still and will his muscles to cooperate, and he thinks he's doing a great job, but then-

"You can come out now. He's gone."

Eddie freezes. How the fuck does he know?

Harrington's voice is quiet, urgent. "Damn it, Munson! You have ten minutes tops before he comes back, so stop playing hide and seek with me!"

He manages to get back on his feet, uncertain and wobbly, and when he sees Harrington leaning over the desk, he's half ready for a fight. But the other man doesn't make a move, doesn't call out to anyone. He just hands Eddie a folder, some of them are the files he selected, but some are new. "I added a few that you missed," hisses Harrington and leans into the corridor. "I'll go first, get Tommy to focus somewhere else. You run to the right and pray to anyone willing to listen. And most importantly," he says, and shit, Steve Harrington can sound serious if he wants to!, "I never saw you here. You heard me come in, used the opportunity and bolted. Clear?"

Eddie just nods. He watches as Steve extends his arm, probably grabbing Tommy by the shoulders and leading him to the other end of the building, he sneaks as far as he can and then he madly dashes for the hole in the fence he made earlier.

The files are it. With all the evidence Nancy, Jonathan and Eddie collected, Joyce can finally take that dark empire down. Eddie is there every day, watches the trial, but then he hears that there are two witnesses for the prosecution from inside the company itself.

It's Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley.

He sees Steve give him a wink from the stand and he wants to kiss the man. Eddie hears all of it in the following days - how Steve used to date Nancy Wheeler, but then her best friend Barb Holland died due to a mishandled drug trial for her condition by Harrington Pharma. How Nancy broke up with Steve, but even with no chance of rekindling their relationship, he vowed to stop his father for good. How he worked in the company for years, climbed the ladder, managed to make enough connections to get his friend Robin Buckley the position of a PR manager. How she helped him to keep up the charade until the very end.

When the Harrington empire finally falls, Eddie watches quietly as Steve embraces Nancy, whispering to her that she did so well, that Barb would be proud. "We finally did it, Nance. We're finally free."

And then, before Eddie can disappear, Harrington is walking towards him, the mask finally off. He looks younger now, his smile is genuine and Eddie can't help it, his traitorous heart is telling him that this is the single part of the Harrington case he'll never leave behind.

"Hi," says Steve. "I...uh. I just wanted to say sorry for all the nasty things I said before. I had to for my cover, but...I just want you to know, I really appreciate what you did."

Eddie just stares at him, blush forming on his cheeks and a crush blooming in his heart. "I'm pretty sure I just butchered your career," he mutters. "And you're thanking me?"

Steve shrugs. "I mean. I'm out of job, I'm a known whistleblower now and my dad's lawyers will probably try to sue me. So that's not great. But if you want to ease your conscience...take me out for a coffee?" Another wink, another squeeze around Eddie's heart.

Eddie fakes a deep sigh and takes Steve by the elbow. "I don't think a single coffee is going to get rid of all my guilt, but it's a start. Maybe a lunch tomorrow would help my healing process?"

Laughing, Steve nudges his side. "Anything for your peace of mind, Eddie."

[dandelionsresilience]

whether the internet becomes an intolerable surveillance state, ubiquitous subscription model, or unusably ad- or AI-ridden shithole, I think we need to remember

how to do things offline

either on your personal hard drive (just because it’s an app doesn’t mean the information is stored in your device) or on paper. I’m not saying the collapse of the internet is imminent, and I’m not suggesting we do everything completely without technology, or even stop using it until we have to. (to be clear, I also don’t think the internet will just blink out of existence, suddenly stop being a thing at all; rather I think it might continue to lose its usefulness to the point where it’s impossible to get anything done. anyway) but some people may have forgotten how we got by before the internet (I almost have!), and the younger generation might not have experienced it at all.

I figure most people probably use the internet mainly for communication with friends and family, entertainment and creation (eg. writing), and looking up how to do things, so here’s how to do those things offline:

First and most importantly, download everything important to you onto at least one hard drive and at least one flashdrive! files can get corrupted and hardware can get damaged or lost, but as long as you keep backup copies, you have much-closer-to-guaranteed access versus hoping a business doesn’t decide to paywall, purge, or otherwise revoke your access. I would recommend getting irreplaceable photos printed as well

download and/or print/write down:

anything important to you - photos/videos, journals, certificates, college transcripts

contact info - phone numbers and/or addresses of friends/family (know how to contact them if you can’t use your favourite messaging app), doctors (open hours would be good too), veterinarians if you have pets, and work

how-to’s - recipes (one, two), emergency preparedness (what do I do if… eg. I smell gas)

other things you might google: cleaning chemicals to NOT mix, what laundry tag symbols mean, people food dogs and cats can and can’t eat, plant toxicity to pets

and know offline ways to find things out - local radio station, newspaper, a nearby highway rest area might have a region map, public libraries usually have a bunch of resources

also, those of you who get periods should strongly consider not using period tracking apps! here’s how to track your period manually

free printable period tracker templates (no printer? public libraries usually charge a few cents per page, or you can recreate it by hand)

moving on to entertainment, you can still get most media for free! it’s completely legal to download your favourite movies to your own personal hard drive, you just can’t sell or distribute copies (not legal advice)

movies: wcostream.tv (right click the player) - the url changes every once in a while but usually redirects; I recently noticed that it’s hiding a lot of movies behind “premium,” so it may or may not work anymore | download youtube videos

music: how to get music without streaming it | legal free downloads

games: steamunlocked.net - doesn’t have every game and can be slow to update, but very reliable

books: free online libraries | legal free downloads

otherwise passing time:

active outdoor games

for road trips (social verbal games)

for when power’s out

for sheltering in place (not all offline, but good ideas)

board games (often found at thrift stores)

ad-free customisable games collection (mobile)

read, write, draw, or whatever your craft is, sing, dance, clean, reorganise, take a bath

go outside - excuses include napping (if safe), eating, reading, finding cool plants/animals/rocks, playing with the dog

places to go include:

zoos and museums can be surprisingly cheap

parks and nature preserves

library, mall, or game shop

and a few miscellaneous things for good measure:

time budgeting | household management

how to use a planner | I’ve had success with visually blocked-out schedules like these

please add on if you have any other offline alternatives to common uses of the internet!

[onmyyan]

Romantic DC yan, my time to shine (platonic is cute but I can't find any romantic ones this days T_T)

I bring to you a cliche, a new villain who uses her riches and ruthlesness in her quest to get a magical artifact in order to make her dream come true.

The bats have to stop her! But what is this! SHE’S TOO CHARMING?! (in a villain mean way, like comenting on Nightwing's as while they fight, or kissing Red Hood over the cowl before pushing him off a building)

Dangerous Woman

A/n: fem reader, yandere themes, canon typical violence, ft Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim

You're new to the villainous scene in Gotham but already kicking up quite the storm, you follow your own rules, killing corrupt men across the city, setting human trafficking rings on fire after freeing the victims, your crimes caught the gaze of Bruce and in turn the rest of the batfamily.

He saw a certain mercy in your actions, a quality of compassion he was certain he could pull out of you if he just got his hands on you.

But you're a slippery one, your teleportation abilities made you incredibly difficult to catch, and you seemed to relish in his growing frustration.

"You ever get tired of losing?" You ask sitting on a bank counter, money both burnt and unburnt scattered the floor around you, he hated to admit it but he was undeniably attracted to you, the way your suit hugged your form like a second skin, those long legs splayed out like a feast, heeled feet swinging as you toyed with a stack of bills.

"(Y/n) (L/n)." He states gruffly, his imposing form blending into the shadows. Of course he knows your name, you laugh to yourself before hopping off the counter and sauntering over, "ooh so scary." You snicker, "Your crimes warrant a trip to Arkham..but I'm willing to offer you something else. Rehabilitation."

Your smirk doesn't falter, "You can't save me." This only fuels his burning desire to do just that, those simple words seal your fate, he would have you under his care wether you liked it or not.

Tim is the second to become aware of your tantalizing presence, Bruce asked him to pull up anything and everything he could find on you, he couldn't help but become intrigued by your mysterious nature, any time you were caught on camera you had this knowing, mischievous grin on your lips, it was addicting, he found himself tracing the outline of your lips as he compiles a file on you.

Jason comes across you on his own, running into you after you successfully rob a museum.

Red Hood stared at you a gun pointed in your direction, "Stand down gorgeous." His voice was altered by the mask he wore, he was the latest of the bats to try and get in your way, to try and stop you from your goals, but he'd fall, just like the rest of them.

"You're not gonna shoot me Red." You speak coyly, hands up in surrender, your black domino mask hiding your pretty (e/c) eyes, your lips, painted red curl into a smirk at the sight of his hand wavering.

"Shooting you in the leg won't kill you." He chimes not lowering the weapon, "Yeah but I get the feeling you're not too trigger happy tonight."

"You've no idea what I'm capable of." He sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

You take a calculated step forward your red bottom heels clicking against the concrete rooftop, "C'mon big boy, you know there are actual bad guys who require your attention out there?" Your voice was like melted butter flowing into his ears and setting a warmth in his belly. "Robbing Gotham museum seems pretty criminal to me." He lowered his gun, holstering the weapon, "Can't you just slap a girl on the wrists?" You ask with a tilt of your head, the stolen goods in a satchel on your hip, "You know I can't just let you walk away." He responds, you close the distance making him take a step back, he wanted to reach out and touch you, claim you, and the closer he got to you the harder it was to resist.

You managed to back him on the edge of the roof, your hands trailing up his toned chest, landing on his shoulders, your claws digging into the leather of his jacket, "Just..stay outta my way." You whisper letting the tension build, pressing your plump lips to his mask you feel him shudder, without wasting another second you push him off the building. He falls for you harder than the garbage can he hit.

Dick is the next to come across you and the next to fall, and fuck does he fall hard.

He's got you corned in a dusty warehouse but damn if you aren't quick, darting around in him in blinks, teasingly touching him as you dance around, teasing him with every brush of your clawed fingers.

He's brought out of his inappropriate thoughts by a whistle from your pretty lips, "You're in that spandex boy!- nice ass." He feels himself flush, freezing on the spot as he sputtered for a response. You use his distracted moment to send a roundhouse kick to his head, one he just barely managed to block, "Don't lose focus now pretty." You chide smacking your teeth. Of course you manage to escape, which only fuels his budding obsession.

The trouble starts for you when they start working together, it's after a meeting Bruce calls one night, your file pulled up on the screen, they all have various reactions but one common thread is shared between the four men, burning desire.

Once they start coordinating it's only a matter of time before you come home, where they can tame you.

[matan4il]

Because I got asked by more than one person regarding the ICJ case, where South Africa was libeling Israel, then asking for (and getting denied) an extension to find evidence for its libel. They just submitted their case, it's apparently 750 pages long (but just because they talk a lot doesn't mean they're filing anything of substance. We saw the kind of misquotes of what non-policy makers said South Africa has presented as evidence before). Israel has until July 2025 to respond. I doubt we'll have any kind of ruling until 2026...

But that's kind of the point. It takes two seconds to wrongfully accuse someone of a crime they didn't commit, it takes years to prove it wasn't committed by them, and in the meantime, the very discussion of the case in a court can be used to create the impression that the crime was indeed committed. It takes two seconds to destroy and a lifetime to fix and rebuild, and South Africa's current government, which had been accused of corruption and incompetence, has been hellbent on destroying Israel to divert attention away from its own failings. Just like the ICC's chief prosecutor, who suddenly asked for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders exactly when it turns out he needed attention away from allegations against him for sexual misconduct.

Tell me you're wrongfully accusing Jews of heinous crimes, and I'll know you've got an unclean conscience.

Oh, and this is your periodical reminder that the UN is complicit.

In fact, since I mentioned that... you know how the world is raging about the UN's "peacekeeping" force in Lebanon, UNIFIL?

Yeah, they're complicit, too. And I say this from firsthand experience. I served on the border of Lebanon. The complicity was well known.

To give you just one example, UNIFIL soldiers would regularly touch the border fence on its Lebanese side "accidentally" (it happened way too often and too regularly to be an accident). It was pretty obvious that they were doing this because they knew IDF regulations stipulated that Israeli soldiers HAD to respond in person to every such incident, no matter what. Middle of the night? Doesn't matter, we had to get out of bed and respond. A storm's raging outside? Doesn't matter, we had to go out there. We knew it was UNIFIL, and not terrorists? Still, for the sake of Israeli citizens' security, we had to go respond to each incident as if we didn't know that. It was evident that UNIFIL was at best using this little trick to harass the soldiers of the Jewish state. After all, when roughly a quarter of the adult global population is antisemitic, and the "peacekeepers" of UNIFIL came from all over the world, that antisemitism would be expressed in how members of UNIFIL would act. However, it was pretty clear to most of us that this was the best case scenario, but that most likely, it didn't end there, and that UNIFIL was doing this because it provided Hezbollah with valuable info on IDF procedures and alertness. How long did it take us to respond? How many soldiers would arrive on the scene? How would they arrive? Was this influenced by any external conditions, such as the weather? And so on... Keep in mind that Hezbollah has managed to kill and kidnap Israeli soldiers on this border more than once. This was the info that allowed those crimes.

This is just a sliver of my personal account, there are undoubtedly many articles out there on the complicity of UNIFIL. For example, as the war with Hezbollah moved into a ground operation in Lebanon, the IDF has exposed Hezbollah tunnels and command centers built right under the "watchful eye" of UNIFIL, the organization that was supposed to keep that antisemitic terrorist organization in check. (vid below is from Israeli journalist Itay Blumental, of Kann News)

Because the UN is complicit. It is rotten to the core, it is infected with antisemitism, so every single one of its branches dealing with the Jewish state is infected, too.

For all of my posts about the UN and its different branches' complicity, click here. For all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here.

[mj0702]

The other Bronze – Epilogue

“You ready Bubs??” Lucy asked softly when you came out of the bathroom closing the dark blue suit jacket you were wearing

“Shouldn't I ask you that??” you looked up smirking while your fingers still fumbling with the last button

“I waited nearly forever for that day... of course I'm ready” your sister snorted and came over to you to fix your dark red tie “... still can't believe it I'll let you wear blaugrana”

“Yeah well... one of us has to look good” you shrugged your shoulders grinning

“Excuse me... it's MY day...” Lucy exclaimed but you saw it had no bite

“Yeah well... it's Ona day too...” you smirked and earned a hard slap on the shoulder

"She's gonna look beautiful.....” your sister said softly

“Oh I know... I saw her dress...” you hummed “... you hit the jackpot with her Luce... you better not fuck this up”

“I know I can't... she'll file for your custody and probably win.. I already lost half of you to Keira...” Lucy chuckled

“Meeh... not half... make it three quarters” you grinned and got hit another time

“Then how comes you always come to me for money?” your sister exclaimed upset but you felt that she needed that little banter to calm her nerves so you played along

“Your cooking is shit, you look like shit due to age and you still think you're in your prime days while you moan and groan every time you stand up from the couch... so... you're my go to for money...” you shrugged but then shrieked when Lucy pulled you into a headlock

“You take that back... I'm not old.. and I still am fit...” Lucy grumbled playfully pulling you around the room while you tried to escape her hold pushing against her hip

“Never... you know I'm right...” you huffed

“You know you shouldn't lie...” your sister gritted out having problems of holding you down

“Are you two serious right now???” you heard a voice and immediately Lucy let go of you holding her hands up in surrender and you stood up straight your head a little red your hair complete out of place “Can't you two lay off for a DAY???!!!”

“Hey Kei...” you smiled waving at her

“Don't “Hey Kei” me.... both of you are unbelievable... and not in the good way....” Keira huffed fixing both of you with an angry glare

“We didn't do anything” you exclaimed

“I came in here and you two were roughhousing” the blonde shot back

“We weren't...” Lucy threw in “... we had a... disagreement”

“You had her in a headlock Lucy...” Keira continue to glare at both of you

“She called me old!” your sister exclaimed pointing at you

“You are!!” you shot back and immediately Lucy had you in a headlock again

“STOP IT!!!” Keira said and you both heard that she was getting angry “It's your wedding day Lucy...!!”

“I know... I was there when Ona set the date” your sister said not letting go of you

“Then get going...” the blonde pushed “... everyone is waiting for YOU”

“Oh shit” Lucy said horrified when she glanced at the clock “... I'm late for me wedding”

“Say it was your dementia and you went the wrong way” you panted out once you came up again getting hit a third time in 10 minutes

“GET. GOING!” Keira sneered pushing Lucy forward

“Jeez woman... shouldn't you try to corrupt my wedding as my ex??” your sister said shocked at Keiras forceful demeanor

“God no... we're not filming a soap opera here... I'm VERY happy Ona actually agreed to take you off my hands when she accepted your proposal” the blonde snorted “.. I have my hands full with your mini-me... one Bronze is enough”

“OY!” you and Lucy exclaimed outraged and Keira started laughing pushing both of you out the room

“Hey Luce...” you mumbled standing next to your sister waiting to get the sign to go outside flanking her right as her best woman

“Yeah?” your sister said a little strained her nerves showing a little

“You look good you know...” you mumbled keeping your eyes forward watching as the last guests – namely Mapí – taking their seats

“Thanks Bubs” Lucy said smiling softly her hands clasps behind her back her eyes also transfixed forward

“I'm proud of you” you said softly as you changed your stance a little getting some weight of your right leg

“No Bubs... I'm proud of you...” your sister said just as soft not missing how you transferred your weight to the left “... I'm proud of the person you became... I'm proud calling you my sister... I'm proud for what you'll achieve in the future next to Alexia at Barca... I'm proud of how you grew with G... how your relationship grew... I'm proud having you standing next to me right now... and one day I'm gonna be proud to stand next to you as your best woman”

“Stop being a sap old woman” you sniffed a little bit hanging your head to collect yourself

“Not old... experienced” Lucy grinned bumping her shoulder into yours

“Okay... you two ready?” Keira asked from behind you ending your little moment

“As we ever be” you said taking a deep breath “.... we better get going before Lucy drops dead... you know... already lived her life and everything”

“You little...” your sister grumbled flicking your ear

“Ow!!!” you exclaimed ducking your head away

“Oooookay.... come on... let's go” Keira immediately interrupted pushing both of you forward before you two starting to roughhouse again

You felt Lucy stiffen next to you her eyes fixed on Mariona who has the “honor” to officiate the wedding when she heard the first notes of the classic Wedding March which announces Onas arrival

“Calm Luce” you mumbled under your breath taking a glance down the aisle “... she's beautiful... I know you're more nervous than you ever where... but trust me... she looks beautiful and I know from the bottom of my heart there is no one else on this planet that makes you as happy as she does”

“Mhm” your sister hums back her face stoic her right hand which was hidden from the guests clenching and unclenching the whole time

“Relax Luce...” you mumbled again this time more serious “... take a breath and remember why we're all here... because you love her... I swear if you made me dress up for nothing and try to run I'll tackle you over Millie style”

“I'm just nervous” Lucy mumbled back

“Why? You know it's the right thing... the best thing...” you kept your voice low “... for god sakes... how slow can someone walk... she fucking Lightning McQueen on the pitch and now I could put new soles on her shoes while she walking”

“What if I forget me vow? What if I hold her back to find someone better?” your sister stressed and you suppressed the urged to hit her

“There is no one better than you... you two are that ying-yang-thing... you balance each other out perfectly... and IF you forget your vow I'm here... I got it saved in me head...” you grumbled glancing back at Ona who looked just as nervous as Lucy “Okay... that's getting ridiculous”

“Bubs wha...” Lucy asked panicked when you turned on your heels walking towards Ona several shocked looks from guests following you

“You mind walking any slower?” you asked when you reached Ona in a low voice “.... if you don't stand next to her in a minute I'll pull you out of bed tomorrow morning at 4 and make you run from San Sebastian Beach all the way to Montgat Norte five times while following you with a quad kicking your ass every time you slow down”

“I..” Ona looked at you shocked

“I don't care.. you two are made for each other... you are nervous... so is she.. kick in first gear and start walking....” you sneer lowly “... by the way... you look absolutely beautiful... and I love you... now walk”

You turned around again marching back up to stand next to your sister and with a small smirk you saw how Ona picked up a slightly – still graceful – faster pace

The wedding was just as beautiful as imagined and you even found the time to sneak out with your girlfriend to have a little.. private time. That was until you heard Keira calling out for you making Georgia jump away from you in fear immediately fixing her dress discreetly whiping her fingers on the fabric while you just groaned annoyed

“What?” you yelled back as you fixed your trousers before stepping into Keiras sight

“Don't tell me...” Keira looked at you her eyebrow raised

“What you want?” you grumbled your girlfriend still hiding behind the small beach cabin

“If I'd go around that corner...” the blonde mused “... would I find a Stanway there?”

“Most likely...” you deadpanned not seeing the point in denying it

“It's time for your speech” Keira rolled her eyes “... fix your shirt before you come back in”

“You could've waited another four minutes to tell me that” you grumbled stumbling behind her through the sand fixing your shirt buttons on the way

“No details...” the blonde said flatly “... come on G”

“Coming” your girlfriend yelled quickly

“Apparently not” you snorted and it earned you another slap up the head from Keira

“Okay folks...” you said loudly to get the attention on you “... I don't WANT to do this but Lucy paid me good money for getting a dig on her... so... why not?”

It earned you a round of chuckles while your sister threw you a playful glare

“.... I want to start off with thanking everyone who had the patience to wait for Ona moving down that aisle... it was truly... extravagant” you threw your sister-in-law a glance and she rolled her eyes playfully “... but we came to an agreement in the end and now we can all enjoy getting drunk so we don't have any memory in the morning about these two getting all lovey-dovey... but now enough of being mean to Ona... Lucy is used to it....”

“Hey!!” your sister exclaimed loudly

“Shut up...” you smirked and now turned towards them “... can I ask a little something from you?”

“I still won't let you watch” your sister smirked getting a dig back at you which made you heave loudly and everyone around bursted out laughing

“I WANTED to be nice.... not anymore” you said when you got yourself back under control “... Ona... hand on the table....”

“Why?” the small spaniard said confused

“DO. IT” you sneered and immediately Onas hand slapped on the table and you smiled sweetly “Thank you.... now... Lucy... would you please mind laying your hand on top of Onas?”

Lucy did as you asked and you took a deep breath before continuing

“Now... look at each other...” you said softly as Ona and Lucy looked deep into each others eyes “Ona... tell Lucy how you feel”

“I love you” Ona said softly smiling

“Luce...” you made a gesture

“I love you too” your sister smiled lost in her wifes eyes

“And THAT Ladies and Gentlemen...” you said smiling seeing several tears in peoples eyes as you took a dramatically pause “.... is a very special moment... we all just witnessed something magical... we witnessed the last time Lucy had the upper hand or the last word”

It took a few seconds for people – the bridal couple included – to realize what you said but then the whole room interrupted in hysterical laughter including Ona while Lucy sported a stoic face knowing you got her good. What no one realized you took small little notes over the years that you now put down in your best woman speech. Little notes about situations where you saw Lucy getting older with Ona... small notes about little loving things them two did without even realizing it... notes of the whispered “I love you” during the years. Notes of how often you walked in on them starting with the day you officially met Ona all these years back. That particular memory made Lucy groan again – followed by a groan from Alexia when she remembered how the two of you met and how you nearly ended up with a broken nose... probably face. You recalled the day after a trainings session when Lucy fell into the chair next to you leaning over to untie her cleats and while she was doing that casually asking you if you have something planned for the afternoon because she needs someone to go ring shopping with. You just as casually answered that you had nothing planned but you wanted ice cream payment knowing fully well Ona would lose her plot when the two of you would come home with stomach aches again because of too much ice cream. Finding the ring was one of the easiest task you ever had. Lucy and you entered the first Jewelry Shop looked around – you starting on the right side of the shop, Lucy on the left – for meeting in the middle spotting a ring and both of you pointing at it saying “That one”. It was a simple silver band – delicate even – with a small diamond that sparkled brighter than the sun.

The proposal itself was just as beautiful and as usual Lucy included you. You got the task of distracting Ona that day so your sister was able to set up everything. It wouldn't be you if you wouldn't go all out with your task resulting in Ona having to take you to the emergency room because you cut your head on a stone under water when you fell of your surfboard needing seven stitches on your forehead. When Ona finally made it home the candles already burned down, the food Lucy ordered (you joked that you told your sister to order from the fancy place instead of poisoning Ona before she got a chance to ask the question) cold, your sister snoring on the couch. The moment Ona saw the little box next to Lucys plate her breath hitched and you panicked and pushed your future sister-in-law further down the hallway telling her over and over again that she saw nothing. Next morning Lucy did get her chance to asked and just as she went down on one knee – in boxer shorts with a tank top while Ona only wearing underwear and a big t-shirt – you stumbled into the kitchen mumbled how both of them should just ignore you as stomped on Lucys foot on your way to the coffee machine. When the small blonde spaniard got asked later in interviews or from friends she said it was the perfect proposal

Your speech included all the little family moments you were lucky enough to share with all your favorite people like Christmas four years ago when Ona and Lucy gifted you your first car – a black Cupra Leon 2.0 TSI. Needless to say you got held up by the police a couple of times because you pulled out the 300 Horsepower that this car provided as you were late for training because you decided to sleep longer than you should have. THAT again caused you another problem called Ona and Alexia who ganged up on you giving you a last warning speech and told you if you wouldn't behave Alexia herself would make sure your car wouldn't drive faster than 80 km/h.

After your speech with lots of laughter, tears and smiles you opened the buffet even if it wasn't your job but damn you were hungry.

“Hey Bubs...” you heard Lucys voice through the phone that was locked between your head and your shoulder as you picked up some cones from the trainings session

“You bored already??” you chuckled into the phone “... you just retired a half a year ago... didn't you steal your wife away to... how did you call it... conquer the world vacation style?”

“Retirement treats me well...” you heard your sister smirk

“Yeah I saw...” you teased as you tossed the cones into a bucket “... looked like you gained a few pounds”

“Love you too” Lucy huffed “... no... there's another reason I call.. you wanna come round tomorrow afternoon or do you have training?”

“ALE!!” you shout across the pitch and Lucy pulled her phone an arm length away from her ear winching

“Sí?” Alexia looked up where she was explaining something to a new young player

“Can I have tomorrow afternoon off? The unfitter Bronze is on the phone” you yelled waving your phone at Alexia to bring your point across

“Sure...” the catalan shrugged her shoulders going back to her task

“Yeah... coming round tomorrow...” you said into the phone “... Luce?”

“For gods sakes...” you heard your sister huff “... why don't you kill me hearing?”

“I tried...” you smirked “... but Ona screaming at you probably toughened you up”

“You know... I was about to offer you Burgers tomorrow but know I'll ask Ona to make one of her knew recipes... she has lovely healthy stuff” Lucy deadpanned and you groaned “... life's a bitch Bubs... you should've learned by now”

“Gonna tell Keira...” you grumbled

“Go on... do that... you know how much she HATES it if you eat healthy” your sister laughed

“What you want Bronze...” you grumbled

“Tomorrow 4PM our place... you bringing Stanway?”

“No... she needs to train... what she delivered today was horrendous” you huffed thinking back at how Georgia performed today in training “She seriously lost control over the ball twice and got Ale... once back of the head once right shoulder... and THEN complained that it was a handball”

“Yeah.... sounds like G” your sister laughed

“She misses you on the pitch you know” you said leaning against a rail

“We all know it was the best time...” Lucy said and you could hear a little smile in her voice

“Didn't make it any easier” you pointed out

“I know...” your sister smiled

Lucy retired end of last season after the last match of Barcelona. Alexia who took over from coaching from Jona last season stood there next to you and left you with the decision of subbing Lucy off or let her play the final whistle. Even at half time you couldn't tell her what your going to do because you genuine didn't know. Barcelona had a comfortable lead going into the second half and around the 60th minute you pulled Ale aside telling her you would sub Lucy out in the 67th minute with no sub. Alexia understood immediately why you weren't using a sub since there was no one who could replace your sister. So as the board went up in the 67th minute Camp Nuo was shocked to see the number 15 in red and no number in green. It took Lucy about five minutes to come off the pitch saying goodbye to every single teammate (even Keira and Ona), shaking hands with the opponent team and the referee. When she walked over to the sideline – towards you – she took off her Jersey and you exchanged it for a new one. No number just a name. Bronze-Batlle. No need to say Lucy broke the internet that moment. She went first to Alexia and after a moment of staring at each other they just hugged the biggest, strongest, tightest bear hug you've ever witnessed both of them having tears in their eyes. After shaking hands with the rest of the staff, hugging some now former teammates your sister came over to you. You were crying big tears already feeling a little lost knowing you'd never see her sprinting down the line again, going in for tackles or play catch with Athenea or Carmona laughing when they got frustrated with her. You knew you'd never see her making an Air Bronze header goal ever again. You knew you never see her laughing again when the opponent team got frustrated with Aitana and Keira. But you also knew you never have to get scared again when she was tackled and stayed on the ground a second longer than she should. You knew you'd never have to see her clutching her knee again and you knew that this was the goodbye Lucy wanted. She pulled you into a hug mumbling sweet nothings against your hair swaying both of you from side to side while you clutch at her Jersey like it was the only thing that keep you from drowning. You knew it was the best goodbye and the end of a career that Lucy deserved. Still you felt like you couldn't breath in that moment but like always Lucy was there for you. It was her day but she was there for you. She also didn't realize until after the game why she was subbed out in the 67th minute – quiet an odd time for a sub – that you were the one subbing her off. Lucy smiled at the question and answered that her career started all these years back in England in the 67th minute against Japan. That night Lucy took her time with the fans and supporters letting you and Ona wait at the tunnel. At least Ona was already showered and non smelling when she pulled you into her side smiling slightly when you fell against her now feeling the tiredness catching up. There was a picture of the three of you later that night online. A fan made the picture with Lucy to your right, Ona to your left as you made your way inside the tunnel. Lucy had her arm around your waist while Onas arm was across your shoulders with you wearing Lucys last game Jersey. The picture was in black and white and it was Alexia who send it to you. You FBIed the fan online – some would call it stalking you call it cross checking – to ask her if you could use the picture for your social media and what it would cost. The fan immediately answered that you of course could use the picture and you spontaneously invited her to a trainings session where she could meet all the players.

You watched your girlfriend emerge from the pool and behind your sunglasses your eyes darkened slightly. She was a goddess and after five years of relationship you still weren't tired of seeing her in less than more clothes. You where currently in a Hacienda in Stiges about an hour outside of Barcelona enjoying your two week vacation after the season ended and Georgia would start training again. By all means you made sure she kept up with her cardio but it was time for that vacation. You now worked officially with Barcelona as an assistant coach still partaking in all the shenanigans Mapí, Pina and Patri come up with – like the initiation of the new players. You didn't care if they were youngsters or known name. Everyone had to go through it. Tooney came as a loan for half a season and you didn't let it be taken from you to welcome her in Barcelona yourself – with a big bucket of waterbased glue. Mapí ripped up two pillows at home (much to the NOT amusement of Princess Norwegian) and the second Tooney was glue covered threw the feathers at her. Pina waited around the next corner with a paper beak and the moment your best friend entered the pitch running after the four of you everyone died laughing since she looked like an angry Stork. Georgia didn't renew her contract with Bayern Munich for next season still hoping that Barcelona would approach her. You already knew they would but where's the fun in telling your girlfriend instead of watching her sprinting to her phone every time it rings. Which you used for your own entertainment a few times casually calling her and then hang up as soon as she was about to answer the “call”. Your girlfriend on the other hand calls you everything under the sun when you made her run without a reason again.

When Georgia approached you at Christmas break about your annual vacation spot you told her you didn't want to fly far away this year. You traveled the world quiet a bit in the last few years and this time you just wanted to stay home. Home in Barcelona. You looked at your girlfriend like she was growing a second, third and fourth head when she told you that she's okay with staying in England for the summer as long as you were there too.

“England??” you asked dumb folded

“Yeah?” Georgia said looking down at you where you were laying in between her legs on the couch as you watched some trash TV and she was reading

“Babe... are you alright? Do you have a headache? Did you run against a doorframe again?” you looked at her curiously

“No... why??” your girlfriend looked confused

“England? Where it rains about... 300 days a year...” you tried to clarify

“Yes... England... me Mum already threatened to disown me if I visit even less... so... we can spend Summer here” Georgia shrugged her shoulders

“I'm NOT spending my ONE week summer vacation in England... next thing you come up with is Iceland or something...” you said seriously before mumbling “... you must have hurt your head somewhere”

“Babe Pleeeaaaase...” your girlfriend whined

“Tell you what... you get your fam to Barca they can take our flat and we look for something outside of Barca for the week... I'll give Joanne a key to Keiras home so she can invade Keiras private life and we're good” you looked at your girlfriend expectantly

“Sounds good... Kei will hate you tho...” Georgia laughed

“She could never... how often did I take the blame now when you fucked something... or someone... up?” you smirked

“Good point” your girlfriend blushed furiously

Now here you were watching her walking over to you in that little piece of clothing she calls bikini and you call tease

“You know this is private here right...” you waved your hand around not bothering to move from your lounge chair in the shade

“I do indeed... why?” Georgia smirked as she picked up a towel

“I don't know why you see the need in putting on... that” you raised your eyebrow at the bikini

“Says the woman who's laying here butt ass naked” your girlfriend grinned back pointing at your shorts and bikini top

“I burn quickly” you shot back

“Oh and I don't? Also... you're laying in the shade” Georgia threw her damp towel at you “... you should cool off in the pool you know... it's really nice”

“I have a really nice view from where I am thank you very much” you grinned giving your girlfriend a once over

“Pervert” your girlfriend laughed as she used her foot to push you a little to the side at your hip so she could lay down next to you

“There's another one over there” you pointed at the second lounge chair

“Too far away...” Georgia mumbled as she pulled you into her side and you could hear that she started to think about something again

“What's on your mind?” you asked softly

“What if it was a mistake to not renew my contract... I mean I had a save good contract with Bayern and I said no in the hopes of getting one here to be closer to you... Keira is getting old and she'll probable has like... two three seasons left and I'm a middie too so I thou...” your girlfriend started to ramble and you interrupted her with a kiss

“Stop thinking...” you mumbled kissing her again “... everything will turn out like it's suppose to be... don't think about next week okay... stay with me here... right here... our vacation...”

“Yeah sorry I know” Georgia took a deep breath “... but sometimes it just comes to the surface”

“Don't worry... I'll push you right under the surface again” you smirked

“Excuse me?” your girlfriend sat up a bit looking shocked

“It... the insecurities...” you quickly corrected smirking

“Yeah yeah... love you too...” Georgia grumbled “... asshole”

“Arsebiscuit” you shot back laughing when you heard her ringtone go off once again

“If that's you again I'm gonna tell me Mum you messed up Sugar and Salt at Boxing Day” your girlfriend threatened you

“I swear I'm not...” you held up your hands and the second Georgia realized it wasn't a prank call she shot off the lounge chair sprinting into the house

You got quite concerned when she didn't return after 30 Minutes so you stood up to look for her. You found her in the kitchen frozen in place her phone still in her hand her face pale.

“Babe... you okay? Did something happen? Do we have to leave?” you asked softly but firmly knowing it was the only way to get her out of her trance like state

“They offered me a contract...” Georgia said her voice barely above a whisper “... Barcelona really offered me a contract”

“Told you it'll turn out like it suppose to be” you smiled relieved that nothing bad happened

“Marry me” your girlfriend looked at you her voice now serious

“What?” this time it was you who was send into a shock freeze

“Marry me” Georgia said again even firmer “... I want you to become my wife... not just like... saying it... I want you to legally become my wife..”

“What?” you asked again still not catching on

“Wait here..” your girlfriend quickly said before sprinting into the bedroom when she came back a minute later you were still rooted in place

“I actually planned it different but we both never work on plans... so... Y/n Lucia Tough Bronze.... I just got the second best thing in my life... I got a contract offer from the best club in the world where my girlfriend is working and now I finally can move in with her for good and we'll save a ton of money on flights and we'll save the environment because no more flying... I said the second best thing in life because the best thing in my life is standing right in front of me... so would you do me the great honor and marry me?” Georgia said and for a second you thought she'd drift off into the environment topic but seeing her holding out a small black box with a simple silver band in it that had a small but beautiful light blue stone in the middle was something you didn't think off when you booked this house.

“What?” you asked a third time out of shock

“Will you marry me?” Georgia asked her voice soft and loving knowing she kinda sprung it on you

“Like... now?” you asked bewildered

“Not now now... like... I don't know.. next year” your girlfriend shook her head a little lost

“Ask again” you pressed her your breathing picking up

“Y/n Lucia Tough Bronze... will you marry me?” Georgia asked again and brought the ring box a little closer like she tried to bribe you with it

“Yes.... yes I will” you said your voice breaking as you cried and laughed at the same time when your girlfriend yelled out a “Fuck yeah” before she pushed the ring on your finger

It was a beautiful ring and the second it slid on your finger Georgia already took your face in her hands pulling you close to kiss you

“I'm not telling Luce” you chuckled later when both of you were laying on the lounge chairs again watching the sunset over the ocean and you kept lifting you hand to inspect your hand

“Well... I'm not telling her either.. she'll kill me” your girlfriend huffed out

“Please tell me you did indeed prepare her in any kind that this could happen at some point” you said flabbergasted

“Course I did... she even told me I got good taste... then hit me when I asked in rings or woman” Georgia grinned and you laughed “... you know why I chose this one and not the typical diamond?”

“It's the same blue City had when we met...” you said when you held up your hand once again

“It is...” your girlfriend smiled and pressed another kiss to your lips “... ready to break the internet?”

“One picture.... comments disabled... phones get turned off right after” you said and Georgia smirked

“Us kissing... sunset in the background... your hand on my shoulder” your girlfriend shot back and you nodded

“Deal” you held your hand out for her to shake

The picture made it through all the social media channels faster than an Australian Wildfire with fans swooning, teammates congratulating and Lucy trying to get hold of you or your girlf... fiancé... your fiancé for three days. It was Keira who found out where you two were hiding and she didn't let the opportunity pass to bring Lucy with her so she can have “her words” with Georgia while you where laughing your ass off when she chased your fiancé out of the bedroom through the house into the garden and into the pool where Georgia was stuck for an hour until Keira showed mercy on her best friend and pulled Lucy away.

“You look beautiful Cari” Alexia smiled from behind you adjusting your veil

“I don't know if I can do this...” you said your breathing speeding up fast

“Deep Breath... yes you can... I've never experienced anything like the two of you... what you share is pure love... the love other people search their whole life for...” the blonde catalan spoke softly seeing how the nerves getting the better of you “... you fought the biggest fits for so long Cariño... and finally you get to settle down and enjoy what you have”

You knew she was right. When your relationship with Georgia got discovered there were a lot of bad mouthing mostly targeting Georgia. It got so bad that you made a public statement on how it wasn't Georgia who made the first step – it was you. No one knew that you've already been together for three years at this point and no one ever will. Not the people who weren't close to you or that you trusted with your life. It calmed down after your statement (and all your friends and family – blood or not – standing up for the two of you). Some comments came back after Georgia won the World Cup with the lionesses and her first way was to you kissing you for the whole world to see until Sarina cleared her throat loudly to break you two up. It still to this day felt weird for you to kiss your fiancé in front of your Mama. Your own mother wouldn't be at your wedding since she expressed her feelings about the relationship of the two of you during a Christmas dinner. It got so bad that you fled the place Georgia running after you and Lucy getting into a fight with your Mother. Sophie later told you that Lucy really got in your Mothers face and ended the discussion with the sentence “You know... you could be so lucky to know your daughter in safe hands... because in me opinion everyone needs a Georgia in their life”. You did got emotional over it and Lucy – big bad ass sister that she is – played it down as usual.

“This is more nerve wrecking than this bloody Champions League final against PSG last year...” you huffed trying to take deep breath

“And even there we won... all odds against us but we won... you'll be okay Cari...” Alexia said softly looking at you through the mirror “... I get to see you grow into the woman you are today... and even if I want to strangle you at least once a week for interrupting my trainings plans and throwing it all out the window... I am proud and thankful that I was there to witness you growing up and facing the challenges you had to face and come out on top of them all... also... if you try to run away I'm still faster than you”

“Thanks Ale” you said softly looking down on your hands

“You want me to get Keira?” the spaniard asked just as soft

“No... I don't want her to see me in me dress before...” you smiled slightly “... I want her to see me the same time as Lucy does... these two brought me up so it'll also be their moment to share”

“So... you do a first look with Lucy and Keira and then with Georgia?” Alexia asked

“Just Luce and Kei...” you nodded slightly “... G will see it when I'm standing next to her”

“Then let's go shall we?” the blonde asked smiling knowing it would be better for your mind to get you going instead of letting you overthink things too much.

“Let's go...” you took another deep breath before turning around heading for the door

Lucy and Keira both had tears in their eyes when they turned around seeing their “little” girl in a beautiful white wedding dress standing in front of them. Thank god there was a photographer on site that'll give you the option to blackmail Lucy years later for crying over a dress. Your sister asked you since when a dress was an option for you

“I saw it and immediately fell in love with it” you shrugged your shoulders a little embarrassed

“You look absolutely beautiful Bitsy” Keira whispered as she took a step closer to look at the fine details on the dress “... like a princess”

“I don't know why but I just felt a connection with it” you said again getting even more nervous

“Absolutely stunning” Lucy said as she too took a step closer to press a kiss to your temple

“You ready Bubs??” Lucy asked softly as she had the handle of the door in her hand that seperated you from the beginning of the rest of your life.

[unconventional-lawnchair]

Hi! I've been thinking a lot about hufflepuff!fem!reader biting more than she could chew whilst practising new spells and opening a portal to a new dimension (think of the multiverse) and ending up in Gotham where she meets Nightwing during one of his patrols, where he was helping out the rest of the Batfamily pin point the spot where an anomaly created by her was detected...thanks! xx

Falling First

AN: I am SO sorry, I realised how long it was this will likely be a two parter- but OMG I dropped everything this idea was too cute

WC: 6077

CW: Use of {Y/N}, vivid panic attack, blood, rat mishandling

“Are you going to keep reading that dumb book?” Damien’s judgmental voice called over to Nightwing from the other side of the rooftop. He was practicing his form, swinging around Nightwing’s staff as if it was one of his swords.

Dick was leaning against the concrete wall, holding a soda and reading a book propped on his lap. The title? Hogwarts: A History.

“Dumb book?” Dick scoffed playfully, leaning further back. "It's fascinating!" He raved, not taking his eyes off the pages. "Besides, who doesn't want to read about wizarding worlds and magical creatures? The.. the interesting ways in which students have harmed themselves. I wonder if there is another volume..” He began to mumble.

Damien rolled his eyes, still twirling the staff with practiced ease. "We deal with real villains and real threats every day. I don't see the point in wasting time on make-believe. And did father even say you could take that here? It's evidence.”

Dick glanced up from his book, a smirk playing on his lips. "You know, some day, you'll learn to relax. It's just a light read. Helps keep the mind sharp and the imagination alive."

With a final, flashy spin of the staff, Damien stopped and faced Nightwing, raising an eyebrow. "Imagination? You sound like Grayson. Oh wait, you are Grayson.”

Dick chuckled, shaking his head. "And you, my dear Damien, sound like a mini Bruce with a side of extra grumpiness."

Damien huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just don't see the point."

"Well, in fairness, you do need a signal. Has it happened yet?” Oracle’s voice called out from their earpiece. Dick leaned back and pressed two fingers to his ear. “Not yet, it's still stable.”

Damien huffed and walked over, sitting down on the concrete wall and snatching the bag of open puffs. “We'll be here all night. What's the point?”

“To find more anomalies, Robin.” Barbara sighed and leaned back in her seat, spinning a bit from the large computer screen and sliding over towards a glass display, showing off several random items that had been appearing on the roof top for months now.

Scrolls, weathered and tampered. Random blue crystals, which Dick’s newest favorite book called ‘moonstones,’ quills, and even what seemed to be a wand carved from hazel wood. All of which had appeared on that rooftop with a spark of terrifying energy.

"Right, anomalies.” Dick smirked, sitting up a bit straighter and closing his book. "We can't have mysterious artifacts just popping up all over Gotham. That would be bad for business."

Damien gave a reluctant nod, munching on the puffs he had taken from Dick’s bag. "Still, I don’t see how reading that book helps us."

"Knowledge is power, Damien." Dick cheeked, taking a sip of his soda. "Even if it's from a 'dumb book'. Besides, it might give us some insight into what we're dealing with. These items don’t exactly scream ‘normal’."

Barbara’s voice crackled over the earpiece again. "He's right, Damien. Understanding the lore and history behind these artifacts could be crucial. It might help us figure out where they're coming from and possibly even how they are getting here.”

“Yeah yeah..” He mumbled.

“Besides,” Dick smirked. “Who's to say we can't have a little fun on the-”

Before he could continue, lifting the book, it began to spark and flicker in his hands. As if its very file was corrupted but somehow managed to manifest physical energy. The book glowed with an eerie yellow and pink light, and the pages began to flip rapidly on their own.

"Uh, guys?" Dick called out, his playful demeanor shifting to one of concern. "I think we might have another anomaly on our hands."

Damien immediately leaped up and snapped his attention around them, pulling his katana from his sheath and getting ready.

Dick got up next, taking his staff and looking around cautiously.

“We are getting it here too!” Barbara ’s voice was hardly audible, the lights around the city began to flicker and wave, as if he was staring at a terrible simulation on the break on destruction.

Barbara stood watching the other artifacts from the batcave, seeing them flicker and spark with life as they began to glitch from place to place.

Suddenly, there was a loud crackle from above Dick and Damien, and then a loud squeak.

“Shit.” Dick hissed and shot him, using his staff to propel him and catch whatever was falling before it hit the ground.

He found in his hand, a fat brown and white rat.

Just like that, the glitching stopped. The lights around them returned to normal, and they were left with a new friend.

Dick got to his feet, holding the rat much like you would a can of soda. Staring at it curiously as it squeaked and wiggled about in distress.

"Well, this is new," Dick remarked, raising an eyebrow at the squirming rodent. "Meet our latest anomaly." He showed Damien the squirming thing.

Damien sheathed his katana, looking unimpressed. "A rat? Seriously? This is what all that chaos was about?" He wandered over and held his hand out for it, Dick smirked and pushed his head away, stepping back with a chuckle as Damien tried to steal the rodent from him.

Barbara's voice came through the earpiece, much clearer now. "Dick, Damien, are you both okay? The readings just spiked and then dropped off the charts."

"Yeah, we're fine," Dick snickered and held the rat higher, still holding Damien off. "But it looks like our anomaly this time is a... rat."

“You're not holding it properly!” Damien hissed, muffled against Dick’s palm as he tried to get to the distressed animal.

"A rat?" Barbara repeated, puzzled. "That's odd. Any idea if it has any special properties?"

"Well, it did appear out of thin air." Dick noted playfully before he looked up at it, holding it flat on its stomach now. “Speak!”

It only seemed to huff in response and Dick shrugged. “Looks like a common city rat.”

“That's not a city rat!” Damien snapped. “Look at its patterns! It's domestic.”

“A pet rat?” Barbara muttered before she crossed her arms, confused. “So we started with random items and now a living creature?”

“Sounds like experiment progression to me.” Dick cooed at the rat before he lowered his arms. “Ima call him Mr. Squeakerson.”

Before he could stop him, Damien finally stole the rat from him, shielding the creature against his chest. "He's not a toy, Grayson," Damien snapped, glaring at Dick. "This is serious."

"Alright, alright," Dick relented, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

Barbara's voice came through the earpiece again. "Damien's right. If this rat is part of the anomalies, it could be important. We need to figure out where it came from and why it's here."

Damien nodded, cradling the rat gently, running two fingers down its back. "I'll take him back to the Batcave and run some tests. Maybe there's something special about this rat that we haven't identified yet."

"Good idea.” Dick agreed, his expression turning serious. "I'll keep an eye out for any more anomalies up here."

Barbara hummed. "I'll continue monitoring the readings. If anything happens, ring me, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Both Dick and Damien called into their ear pieces.

~~~

“No!” You sobbed out as the portal disappeared, staring at the middle of the shrieking shack in distress.

“We can always try again next full moon.” Luna Lovegood’s airy voice called over to you. You gave another groan, walking over to one of the discarded desks and sitting down.

“It's not working! I just don't get it.” You huffed, looking over the tomes and scrolls you both had splayed out on the floor and tables, ones you had pinned and scraped together, littered with muggle sticky notes and ink that traveled between the pages as if to etch out a map.

Tomes of old magic with modern magic, the deep theory of apparition. And even some old muggle studies of what they would call inter dimensional travel. You began to scatter over the pages, stepping over the moonstones you had gathered, the fine line of black sand that had now crystallized with the energy of the portal, making it almost glass.

“What a waste of Diricawl feathers.” You whined and let your head hit the desk, Luna reaching over to rub your head to try and comfort you.

It had been months, months of you trying to create a portable form of Floo Flames, something safer than apparition and more accessible to the masses. You were turning 19 soon, you were so close to having to leave Hogwarts behind, and thus all the free materials needed to continue your experiments.

Luna continued to pat your head gently, her presence a small comfort to fight off your frustration. "You got closer this time." She breathed.

You sighed deeply, lifting your head just enough to glance at the scattered notes and artifacts. Lazily lifting your hand to grab one of your quills. "I know, Luna. It's just... I was so sure this time. We've been working on this for months, and it feels like we're no closer than when we started."

Luna gave you a dreamy smile. "Progress isn't always visible. Sometimes, it's in the small things. Like today, we didn't lose anything to the portal.”

You slowly smiled, lifting your head. “I guess so.” You mumbled. “And it was bigger this time. I could almost put my hand through.”

“That's the spirit.” Luna hummed and stood up, waving her wand as she began to set the items to collect themselves from the floor. You pouted a bit and Luna turned to smile at you.

“Still miss your wand?”

“Deeply.” You huffed and sat up, fixing your tie. “And that history of Hogwarts book is going to set me back a few galleons to replace.”

Luna tilted her head, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. "Oh, I did forgot to mention. My father still has his old copy. He said he'd love to have you for tea, lend it to you. I can ask him if this coming holiday works."

You smiled at her, feeling your heart throb at her thoughtfulness. How could anyone hate this girl? "Thanks, Luna. You're always so helpful. I just hope we can figure this out before I have to leave Hogwarts."

Luna nodded, her brows furrowing. "We'll get there."

Just as she finished speaking, a soft glow appeared on the desk beside you. A small, shimmering portal flickered into existence for a brief moment before winking out. Both of you stared at the spot in surprise.

"Did you see that?" You whispered, as if speaking too loud would wake you up from a dream, your smile growing tenfold as Luna’s brows only furrowed deeper.

“It materialized! On its own!” You lit up and quickly got to your feet, scrambling for your journal.

“Oh that can't be good.” She muttered.

You paused, looking back at her with confusion. "What do you mean, can't be good? This is a breakthrough!"

Luna's expression remained serious, her eyes scanning the spot where the portal had flickered. "If it materialized on its own, it means the magic is becoming unstable. It might be reacting to something we don't understand yet."

Your excitement dimmed slightly as you considered her words. "Luna, it's a marvel!” You insisted. Luna hesitated, seeing her mother’s fire in your eyes. She took a steady breath and frowned a bit, turning into a pout, as you slowly relaxed your shoulders.

“It's a breakthrough.” You insisted. “And it happened after 3am, is that it? Did we have the witching hour wrong?”

As you began to scatter around the room, Luna watched with a worried look, before she could speak up about her concerns, you reached out your hand to your table. “Templeton! Quill!” You called out. But when the quill didn't hit your palm, you looked around confused. Where had your rat gone?

There was a moment of pause before you looked back at Luna. “Looloo? Where did Templeton go?”

Luna looked around the room before she slowly eyed the circle in the middle of the room. You felt your heart drop.

~~~

The majority of the day you had been moping. You missed your rat.

It was all you could think of, through every class, you couldn't shake the worry gnawing at the back of your mind. You had grown quite attached to Templeton, and the thought of him being lost somewhere unknown was unbearable. Was he alive? Was he eating? Was what he was eating safe? Was he safe?

Luna tried to cheer you up during lunch, but even her whimsical stories and odd facts couldn't lift your spirits. "We'll find him.” She tried to reassure you. "Maybe he's on an adventure of his own."

"An adventure?" You muttered, poking at your food. You had already started pushing the peas out of your food for Templeton. "I just hope he's safe."

As the day went on, you found yourself increasingly anxious. What if the portal had sent Templeton somewhere you couldn't reach? What if he was scared and alone? Cold and wet? What if he was missing you as much as you were missing him? The questions swirled in your mind, making it hard to focus on anything else.

---

Back in Gotham, Damien was busy running tests on the rat in the Batcave. He had set up a small, comfortable enclosure for the creature, complete with food and water. As the automated scanners did their work, Damien couldn't help but notice how the rat seemed oddly calm, almost as if it was used with all the testing.

"Any luck?" Dick asked, strolling into the lab area with a curious look. He was out of his costume, just in sweats and a black shirt.

"Nothing yet.” Damien mumbled, keeping his eyes on the monitors. "But there's definitely something different about this rat. It's too comfortable around all this testing. And his heart is on the wrong side.”

Dick nodded, looking at the rat with interest. "Any signs of where it might have come from?"

Damien shook his head, glancing at the rat. "Not yet. But the fact that its heart is on the wrong side suggests it might not be from around here. It's an anomaly in itself."

Dick frowned, leaning in closer to the rat. "So, it's not just any rat. That makes things more interesting. We need to figure out where it came from and what it means."

As the rat continued to explore its new enclosure, Damien's eyes narrowed. "... it's really friendly. Doesn't seem to like it kibble, keeps trying to eat what Alfred brings me."

Dick nodded. "I've been cross-referencing the data from the anomalies with our existing records over the years- wait, have you been letting it out of its cage?”

Damien flustered, stammering for a moment. “It's a small enclosure!”

Dick chuckled, shaking his head at Damien's defensiveness. "Seems like Mr. Squeakerson is already growing on you. What? Don't have enough strays?"

Damien scowled, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't get too attached. We still need to figure out where he came from and how he got here." Barbara's voice came from behind them. She pushed herself down the strip walk way in her wheelchair, getting back to her monitors with a yawn. Looking over to the cage and smiling as the rat seemed to get excited at her return. “He's smart. Very friendly.”

"Yeah, a bit too friendly for a rat that just appeared out of nowhere." Dick noted, watching the rat scurry around its enclosure with curiosity. "What do you think, Babs? Any theories?"

Barbara adjusted her glasses and leaned closer to the monitors, tapping a few keys to bring up the data. "It's definitely unusual. The heart on the wrong side, the comfort around humans, and now it's showing signs of higher intelligence. This isn't just any ordinary rat. That has only been seen once before.”

“... you mean when Lex Luther-”

“Exactly.” Barbarainterrupted and gestured to the display. “A wand. Stones, papers and tomes, even quills? All of them tie back to your book.”

Dick furrowed his brow at her and she then gestured to the rat. “What was it your book said? You could bring pets?”

“A rat, an owl, or a frog.” Dick mumbled before Damien seemed to catch one.

“Are they…”

“From another universe.” Dick concluded with a slack jaw.

“One where their organs mirror our own.”

Damien's eyes widened with realization. "So, you're telling me this rat might actually be from a parallel universe? One where magic is that common?"

Barbara nodded, her expression serious. "It's starting to look that way. The items we've found, the anomalies- they might all be connected to this other world. And if this rat is any indication, living creatures can cross over as well."

Dick looked thoughtfully at the rat, now affectionately named Mr. Squeakerson. "If that's true, then we need to figure out how these portals are opening and why. There might be more at stake here than just a few random artifacts."

Damien nodded and Barbara sighed.

“I think we need to call in the others. Tell Bruce what we know.” Barbara mused and gestured to the rat.

Dick walked over to the cage and opened it, a bit surprised when the rat ran up his arm and straight to his shoulder. Like it knew exactly what he wanted.

“Huh.”

“I'll call the others.” Damian nodded, turning before Barbara called over. “Don't forget Jason!”

She could hear his groan echo off the walls.

~~~

You were stressed, you were tired. You hadn't slept since Templeton fell through the portal. You went straight back to the shack after curfew, setting everything up once more.

Luna, ever the supportive friend, had accompanied you despite the late hour. She watched quietly as you frantically arranged the moonstones and black sand, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity.

"You need to rest.” She said softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. "You'll think more clearly after some sleep."

You shook your head, determined. "I can't rest, Luna. Templeton is out there somewhere, and I need to find him. What if he's in danger?"

Luna sighed but didn't argue further. Instead, she waved her wand, casting a charm that made the various components float into place more efficiently. "At least let me help you. Two minds are better than one."

As you both worked, the night crept into day. Luna pushed more firm this time, asking you to at least rest before you attempt anything.

You agreed to a nap, though reluctantly, knowing that your exhaustion could lead to mistakes. Luna conjured a small, comfortable cot in the corner of the shack, and you lay down with a sigh, the weight of your worry making it hard to fully relax.

Luna sat beside you, humming a soft, soothing tune. "Just a quick nap, and then we can get back to work. Templeton will be alright. I have a feeling about it."

You nodded, your eyes drifting shut as Luna's gentle voice lulled you.

As you drifted into a fitful sleep, Luna kept watch, her wand ready and her eyes scanning the room for any signs of magical disturbances. She hoped that a brief rest would replenish your energy and clear your mind for the tasks ahead.

---

Back in Gotham, the Batcave was bustling with activity. Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake had joined the investigation, each bringing their unique skills to the table. And, unfortunately, their unique attitudes as well.

"So, this rat just appeared out of nowhere?" Bruce questioned, his voice calm but with an edge of curiosity.

"Exactly," Damien replied, holding the rat gently. "And he’s not just any rat. His heart is on the wrong side, and he shows signs of higher intelligence. We believe he might be from a parallel universe."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, glancing at Barbara and Dick. "Any theories on how these portals are opening?"

Barbara nodded, pulling up a holographic display and gesturing out to each spike of energy. “We think it's intentional. Like they are testing portals.”

"Testing portals?" Bruce echoed, narrowing his eyes at the display. "That would explain the increasing frequency and the variety of objects appearing. But why?"

"Could be a number of reasons." Tim suggested, stepping forward with a thoughtful expression. "They might be trying to establish stable connections between universes, or perhaps they're searching for something specific. Like a person?”

Jason, leaning casually against a console, chimed in with a smirk. "Or someone pissed off the wrong wizard and now we're dealing with magical fallout."

Damien shot Jason a glare but didn't respond. Instead, he turned back to Bruce. “Whatever it is, we think it's on purpose.”

Bruce nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. "We'll need to be prepared for anything. If someone- or something- is intentionally testing these portals, it could be a prelude to something much larger."

Dick looked at Mr. Squeakerson, who was now comfortably perched on his shoulder. "And this little guy might be our best clue to figuring out what’s going on. We need to keep him safe and see what we can learn from him."

Barbara interjected, "I'll continue monitoring the energy spikes and anomalies. We need to pinpoint the exact locations and timings of these events. Maybe we can predict when the next one will happen. There may even be more than one at a time.”

Tim hummed and nodded. "I'll look into the possibility of any magical artifacts or entities that could be responsible for the portals. There might be something in our archives that matches the energy signatures we're seeing."

Jason shrugged, pushing off the console. "Guess I'll be on anomaly patrol then. Wouldn't want anything else to just drop out of the sky unannounced."

Bruce nodded in agreement. "Good. We need to cover all the ground we can. Dick-”

“I'll patrol with Damien.” He interrupted and Bruce narrowed his eyes for only a moment before he nodded. “Everyone's dismissed.”

~~~

You woke up to flashing lights around you. As you opened your eyes, you were greeted with a bright yellow light, more flashing, then, suddenly, you felt like you were falling.

There was a sharp surge of pain that rocked you when your back hit the rooftop. You gasped, the wind knocked out of you as you struggled to regain your bearings. Blinking against the harsh lights and trying to make sense of your surroundings, you slowly sat up, wincing at the ache in your back. The smell of the city- smoke, asphalt, and something distinctly metallic; all hit your nose at once.

You raised your hand as you felt something warm drip from your nose, only to feel another painful shock run through you. You gave a wail of pain as your body began to glitch, as if you were some kind of faulty Sunday cartoon.

It was unbearable, and you let out a throat tearing sob as the pain rocked through you. No one was around, no one near you anyway, and the glitching seemed to get worse. The lights of the city seemed to flicker in response to your pain, and after what felt like hours, you were able to lift yourself.

Your face was covered in blood, your uniform stained with the red fluid, and your head was light.

As your blurry eyes began to focus, you took in the city around you. It was nothing like you had ever seen before; the buildings were towering structures of steel and glass, illuminated by a myriad of neon lights and billboards- some brighter than the sun itself. The noise of the city was a constant hum, a combination of distant traffic, sirens, and the occasional shout from the streets below.

You staggered to your feet, clutching your head as another wave of dizziness hit you. "Where... am I?" you whispered to yourself, trying to make sense of the alien environment.

Were you in a muggle city? Where were your things? Where was Templeton?

Your breathing grew quicker as you realized, not only did you have no clue if you popped out where everything else had but that portal that brought you here was clearly unstable. You didn't summon it, nor did you think Luna did.

She was right, she always was.

You ran your fingers through your hair with a choked sob. Growing more and more frustrated with your own stupidity- you didn't have a wand, you hardly knew any nonverbal spells, you were in the middle of nowhere, and the backdrop of screaming and rowdy life of the city didn't bring any comfort.

Your breath started coming in short, rapid gasps, each one feeling more shallow than the last. Trying to calm your sobs, only worsening it with hiccups. Your heart pounded in your chest, a wild, erratic beat that echoed in your ears. The world around you seemed to blur, the neon lights and towering buildings warping and bending in your vision.

"I... I can't... breathe.” You choked out, your voice barely a whisper. Your hands trembled uncontrollably as you clutched at your chest, trying to will your lungs to take in air. Each inhale felt like you were trying to breathe through a straw, thin and insufficient.

You stumbled, falling back down to your knees and curling up against the concrete wall. Clenching your robe as the horrible and painful glitches returned, the lights and sounds of the city mocking you as the power flickered around with you.

Your mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once, each one more frantic than the last. Where am I? How did I get here? What if I can't get back? What if Templeton is gone forever? The questions swirled and collided, creating a cacophony of panic that drowned out any attempt at rational thought.

The ground seemed to tilt beneath you, making it difficult to keep your balance. You reached out, grasping at nothing, desperate for something solid to hold onto.

Your vision started to narrow, darkening at the edges as the pain rattled you into nothing but a trembling lump.

As your vision continued to darken and your breaths came in ragged gasps, you heard a voice, distant at first but gradually becoming clearer.

"Hey, are you okay?" The voice was filled with concern, cutting through the chaos in your mind. You tried to focus on it, using it as an anchor to the present.

A figure knelt down beside you, you couldn't make him out but he felt safe. He gently placed a hand on your shoulder. "Just breathe, okay? In and out, nice and slow." The voice was calm and steady, a stark contrast to the panic you felt inside. You tried to will away the tears that prickled your eyes.

You tried to follow the instructions, but your body was still wracked with tremors and your mind was a whirlwind of fear. The figure gently rubbed your back, trying to soothe you.

"It's okay, you're safe now.” His voice reminded you of something. Something soft, something gentle.

As you focused on the voice, you felt a small sense of calm start to push through the overwhelming panic. It was like a lifeline, something to hold onto in the midst of the storm inside your mind.

"That's it, just breathe.” The voice continued, steady and reassuring. "You're going to be okay. I'm right here with you."

You took a shaky breath, trying to match the rhythm the voice was setting. In and out, in and out. Slowly, very slowly, the world around you started to come back into focus. The neon lights were still bright, the city noise still loud, but they felt a little less overwhelming with each breath you managed to take.

As your vision cleared, you saw the face of the figure kneeling beside you. It was a large man. Well, certainly larger than you. He was in a blue and black uniform of sorts, and a symbol on his chest you couldn't make out with your hands in the way. You didn't realize that in your panic to find anything solid, you had reached out and grabbed him. Not that he seemed to mind, looking at you from behind his domino mask with such gentleness.

"Hey.” He said softly, his covered eyes tracing your face. He had such a sweet smile. "You're okay. I'm Nightwing, and you're safe now."

You nodded weakly, now gripping his arm for support. The tremors in your body were starting to subside, your breaths becoming steadier. Nightwing's presence was grounding, his calm helping to pull you out of the spiral of panic with so much ease you wondered if he had done it before.

"Can you tell me your name?" He prodded gently, not wanting to overwhelm you.

You swallowed hard, trying to find your voice, wincing as you tasted that copper flavor, your nose was still bleeding. "{Y/N}.” You managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper. "My name is {Y/N}."

Nightwing gave you a reassuring smile. "It's nice to meet you, {Y/N}. Pretty name for a pretty girl. Can you tell me what happened? How you got here?"

You took another deep breath, trying to gather your thoughts. "I... I don't know. There was a portal, and then I was here. I don't know where here is."

Nightwing nodded, his expression serious but understanding, his smile slowly falling. In your sensitive state, you felt your heart clench as you clearly disappointed this definite guardian. "You're in Gotham City. We'll figure out the rest. Can you stand?”

“I-I don't know.” You whispered, your voice shaking and he nodded.

“That's alright, you're alright. Can I touch you?”

“Seems only fair.” You whispered and began to move your hands from his arms.

Nightwing chuckled softly at your remark, glad to see a bit of humor returning to your voice. "Alright, I'm going to help you up. Nice and easy."

He gently placed one arm around your back and another under your knees, lifting you with surprising ease. You felt a bit of a jolt, but his steady confidence helped keep you grounded. As he stood up with you in his arms, you leaned against him, feeling an odd sense of safety despite the chaos around you.

As he carefully carried you towards the edge of the rooftop, you noticed another figure standing there, watching with a mix of curiosity and concern. It was Damien, still holding the staff, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene.

"Another anomaly?" Damien asked, his tone skeptical.

Nightwing nodded, carefully setting you down on a nearby crate, making sure you were steady before letting go. "Looks like it. This is {Y/N}. She came through a portal, just like the other items."

Damien approached, his expression softening slightly as he looked at you. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice carrying a hint of genuine concern despite his usual demeanor. You didn't notice Nightwing raising his eyebrows in surprise.

You nodded, still feeling a bit uneasy. Nightwing pulled out a cloth and held it out to you.

Raising it to your nose you started to stop the bleeding, watching as he put two fingers to his ear. “Oracle, we found something. Send a car.”

“Car?” You whispered and Damien narrowed his eyes at you.

“You must of hit your head pretty hard, huh?” He prodded and you turned to him with furrowed brows.

“Cars? Like the muggle death traps?” You pushed and the younger boy gave you the same confused look you were sending him.

“Muggles? The hell are muggles?” He pushed and your stomach sank.

Nightwing and Damien exchanged a glance, both clearly puzzled by your words. Nightwing crouched down to your level, his expression softening even more as he tried to understand.

"Muggles?" Nightwing asked gently. "You mean non-magical people, right? Like in the book I was reading?"

You nodded slowly, feeling a bit relieved that at least one of them seemed to understand. Then, your jaw dropped. “You read my book?” You pushed and he slowly nodded.

“I guess that was yours? You have a lot of explaining to do.” He slowly smirked at you and you couldn't help how your stomach fluttered at his look.

“Explaining?” You whispered.

“Those portals have been opening up everywhere. It's messing with our entire power grid.”

“What's a power grid?” You pushed again and his jaw clenched a bit.

Damien gave a huff. “This will be a fun one to explain.”

The second the car pulled up you fell quiet. Looking down the several story drop. You looked between the two boys curiously before Dick smiled at you and easily wrapped his arm around your back. “Go ahead and wrap your arms around me, yeah?”

You gave a small yelp at the sudden contact, making him chuckle, which made you pout, furrowing your brow at him. Still, you listened, and wrapped your arms around his neck. Pulling closer to him much like a cat would. He sent Damien a wink and the young boy groaned, rolling his eyes.

You peaked just past Dick’s shoulder and watched as he pulled out a bat shaped trinket, only for him to shoot it out and latch onto the side of the building. “Tighten that grip, I won't choke.”

“Keep teasing me and I'll actually do it.” You huffed before you gave a small gasp at you own tone, Dick just barked out a laugh in absolute delight at your snark.

Then he jumped.

And you prayed to Merlin for a proper savior.

You watched as the hook began to slow your fall, staring curiously around you with an awe strucken face. Nightwing helped you down again and let you in, instructing the younger boy to go home on foot, it seems there were only two seats.

The ride there was filled with mindless chatter. It was mostly one sided, as Nightwing spoke to a small device in his ear.

You sat in the car, your mind racing to catch up with everything that had happened. The city outside the window was a blur of lights and movement, a stark contrast to the more familiar and magical world you had come from. Nightwing's calm voice was a soothing background as he communicated with his team.

"Yeah, we're on our way to the Batcave." Nightwing said into his earpiece. "We have a guest who might be able to help us with the anomalies. We'll need everyone there."

You glanced at him, your curiosity piqued. You kept your voice low so as to not interrupt what was happening. "Batcave? Is that like your headquarters?"

Nightwing nodded, giving you a reassuring smile. "Clever girl. Yeah, go ahead and lean back, we don't know what happened to you.”

You nodded and compiled easily. You found yourself wondering how easy you would be to kidnap, just send you to a foreign place and send in a hot guy who called you pet names and you were done for.

Nightwing continued his conversation through the earpiece, his tone professional yet reassuring. "Oracle, make sure the med bay is ready. We need to check for any injuries or anomalies. And get Bats and the others up to speed."

You felt yourself slowly slipping, the exhaustion form it all catching up with you. As the car sped through the city streets, the combination of Nightwing's soothing voice and the gentle hum of the engine began to lull you into a sense of calm. The adrenaline from your earlier panic attack was wearing off, leaving you feeling drained and exhausted.

"Just hang in there a little longer." Nightwing pushed gently, noticing your drooping eyelids. "We'll be at the Batcave soon, and then we can get you checked out and figure out how to help you."

You nodded weakly, feeling comforted by his presence. The car finally came to a long tunnel, one you couldn't see a thing in. Finally, a light broke through the darkness showing a massive cave. Nightwing helped you out of the vehicle, his grip was firm and the last thing you remembered was seeing the symbol on his chest, much more clearly.

It was a bat- of course it was.

[odinsblog]

Worth re-reading

Rule No. 1: Believe the autocrat. I argued against the expectation that Trump would change in the months following the election, becoming somehow “Presidential” and abandoning his more extreme positions. This belief, it seemed to me, stemmed from the inability to absorb the fact of a Trump Presidency, and not from any historical precedents of similar transformations. The best predictors of autocrats’ and aspiring autocrats’ behavior are their own public statements, because these statements brought them to power in the first place.

Rule No. 2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. Most catastrophes unfold over time. Following the shock of a disastrous election—or a Presidential tweet—the sun rises again in the morning, and life appears to proceed as before. One adjusts, until the next shocking event.

Rule No. 3: Institutions will not save you. During the election campaign, one often heard the argument that institutions of American democracy are strong enough to withstand attack by Trump. A year ago, I pointed out that many of these institutions are not enshrined in law—rather, they exist as norms—and even those that are enshrined in law depend for their continued survival on the good faith of all actors. There is no law, for example, guaranteeing daily press briefings at the White House and media access to these briefings. I predicted that the investigative press would be weakened and that reality would grow murkier.

Rule No. 4: Be outraged. If you follow the first three rules, you ought to be outraged. But I know from experience how hard it is to be the hysteric in the room.

A year on, progress is mixed. Activist groups like New York City’s Rise and Resist, founded by alumni of the aids-activist organization act up, stage regular, vivid, act up–style actions. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the election, they vowed to begin weekly demonstrations demanding impeachment. The A.C.L.U. continues to file lawsuits; late-night comedians continue to amplify the painful absurdity of Trumpism. On the other hand, Washington has absorbed Trump, and so has the Republican Party. (It’s the other party whose national organization is imploding these days.) No single event or revelation has produced enough outrage to cause Trump to be removed from office, nor has one seemed to hurt his chances for reëlection. Not Charlottesville. Not the revelation of a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised to deliver dirt on Hillary Clinton. Not the regular revelations of past acts of corruption and of current lies. Not the continued spectacle of a government of haters and incompetents. The outrage dissipates, and Trumpism persists.

Rule No. 5: Don’t make compromises. I predicted that Republican Never Trumpers would fold and offer their loyalty to the new President. I also feared that a great many federal employees would face an impossible choice between staying in their jobs under a reprehensible Administration and leaving, forfeiting the chance to do good within a system that had started rotting from the top. Trump’s attacks on the institutions of government have been so fast and brutal, however, that many people made the choice without torment: they left. (Remember the President’s arts and humanities committee? Or the business advisory councils?) Still, a few people remain in what’s left of the State Department; some people have joined the Administration with the explicit goal of using their expertise to help minimize damage. But to watch General McMaster struggling to mislead journalists on Trump’s behalf is to see the built-in problem with the project of minimizing damage: one inevitably becomes an accomplice.

Rule No. 6: Remember the future. There will come a time after Trump. What will we bring to it? I wrote that the failure to imagine the future—to offer a vision in opposition to Trump’s appeal to an imaginary past—had cost the Democrats the election. A year later, the national Democratic Party does not seem closer to proposing a vision (or a candidate); instead, the last week has seen the Party plunged into a vicious re-litigation of the 2016 primaries.

(full article here)

[spinchip]

Concept: the Staff of Forbidden Spinjitzu doesn't whisper to Zane. Instead, its "whispers" take the form of popups along his HUD disguised as alerts or warnings. Things like "If you put me down now, your friends will never find you. [OK]” or “Killing these prisoners villagers will increase Vex’s approval and reinforce your reign. Proceed? [Y/N]”

(I like this particular flavor because it really leans into Zane's robotic nature: he can ignore whispers by turning off his auditory sensors or filtering noise, but he can't ignore system alerts.)

Also, the following scene has lived rent-free in my brain ever since I came up with the concept. (Italics are Zane's default OS. Everything else is the Staff.)

>IF YOU ARE GOING TO DESTROY ME, "ZANE" -Move File:"NeverrealmMemories" to Core Memory Functions-WARNING: Attempting to delete, move, or suppress File"NeverrealmMemories" after moving will cause total system failure. Proceed with move anyway? >[YES] -File transferred. -Permanently remove fatal combat safeguards? >[YES] -Safeguards removed. >THEN I WILL MAKE SURE YOU CAN NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU DID, SYSID:ICEEMPEROR

-Connection Terminated.

(I have a few more Ideas for the "Scroll Corruption looks like Computer Alert messages to Zane" idea-ones that really lean into Zanes Nindroid nature, as well as the tech-y appearance of the Dark Ice.) -The Staff did a lot more than just send alert messages: it slowly wormed its way into Zane's code like a computer virus, tweaking a few things. It took great care to remove Zane's combat safeguards, eventually deleting them entirely and ensuing he defaulted to lethal force. It never removed his core directive of "Protecting those who cannot protect themselves" since that was vital to his systems running, but it did reinterpret said directive as "Protect Dark Ice Network and everything connected to it, for it is fragile and cannot protect itself from outsiders". (It also couldn't delete his morality subroutines without causing a crash, so it instead made them a much lower priority and shoved them to the back of his digital mind.) -After 60+ years of being in the grasp of a mechanical being, the Staff now exclusively speaks in the manner of a computer, and cannot adapt to organic minds the way it used to. (The other Staff is not like this, as it's still attuned to organic brains.) -You know those Sci-Fi stories where people are plugged into computers and know every part of the ship/city simultaneously, and can send most of their awareness into certain parts of the network while still being aware of other locations? That's what's going on with the Never Realm during the Ice Emperor's Reign, with the Ice Emperor as the central guiding consciousness/core CPU of the Dark Ice Network. As such, he's not actually sleeping-rather, the Ice Emperor is always monitoring his domain through his Ice and leaving just enough of his consciousness in his body to be able to call the rest of himself back in case he's threatened. (The Staff is a combination of a computer virus and a wireless modem: it is corrupting, but it's also the main point of connection for the Dark Ice Network.) -Since the Ice Emperor can't recharge his power on his own in his current state, the Staff had to step in, tweaking the Dark Ice to drain the vitality of those imprisoned within. (You know wireless phone chargers, or Nikolai Tesla's idea to get electric power from the atmosphere? Similar concept, except with the power source being frozen people and the transmitter being Evil Magic Ice.) -Boreal is the Titanium Dragon, corrupted by the Staff's presence. It too is part of the Dark Ice Network, and serves as Ice Emperor's eyes and ears whenever the Dark Ice can't reach. (If the Ice network used computer program language, Boreal would be known as "Obj_DarkIceTitaniumDrake".) Killing Boreal caused a massive jolt to the Dark Ice Network that destabilized the Scroll's influence, and allowed an opening for Zane's Memory Defragmentation program to kick in. (It had started when Lloyd arrived in the throne room, but the Scroll had diverted that to a minor priority and was actively hiding that set of files until the word "Protect" slipped through, forcing Zane's systems to call up what had been defragmented.) -As a final act of spite for being broken, the Staff encoded Zane's memories of the Never realm to his Core Processing systems, meaning he cannot forget the Never Realm without completely frying his systems and rendering him a lifeless shell. (It might've also made a backup of itself amidst his various repressed memory files, but he doesn't need to know that. It's just sitting there, disguised as a normal .zip file, biding its time.) (I really like genre-blending Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and I thought the idea of "Magic Ice Computer Network" is rad as hell.)

(This song is a big part the inspiration for part of the "Dark Ice Network" idea, by the way. Granted, the Staff of Forbidden Spinjitzu doesn't assimilate Zane's psyche like Star Dream assimilates Haltmann's, but a lot of the ideas are still there-and the Staff does still integrate itself pretty deeply into the Nindroid's code as it slowly actualizes.)

I have no words for how absolutely awesome this is in every way. i just keep rereading this and being amazed. the "Dark Ice Network" idea is literally so cool, I particularly love the Ice Emperor being able to monitor the entire land while his body/the staff is the main 'hub' he has to protect. this is aweosme.

everyone look now please

[charliemwrites]

Uhhh this is sort of to get me back in the swing of writing since some people may have noticed I haven’t done much this week. It’s… it’s been a week, but that’s fine, those happen.

Anyway, concept comes from @ceilidho’s concept/drabble of “military asset Soap” and heavily inspired also by @391780’s Nikto version. Please go check out theirs because they’re brilliantly written.

(There will be a part 2 because this got longer than expected.)

Content: Verbal Threats, Dirty Talk, Objectification, Dub-Con, Name-calling. Please stay safe! 💕

You thought you were done with this.

Got out by making the best of a bad situation. Honorable discharge following an injury after your last base was infiltrated. “Data analysts” (hackers) can’t have unpredictable hand spasms in the middle of time-sensitive decryptions. So, you got out.

And now you’re all but being dragged back.

You don’t recognize the two stone-faced men flanking you, but you recognize the woman they sit you in front of.

“Laswell.”

She doesn’t look older, but she looks more tired. Like she hasn’t slept since she informed you of your discharge.

“It’s good to see you again,” she says without smiling. It’s good to see you; it’s not good that you’re seeing her. “I wish it was… I wish this wasn’t the situation.”

You arch your eyebrows. Have never known her to speak without measuring the exact dimensions of her words first. She always slides them into spaces perfectly designed for them, builds towers and forts out of syllables.

There’s a treacherous unintentional volume to the word “this” that prickles across your neurons.

“And what’s ‘this’ exactly?” you ask.

“A recently recovered asset,” she explains. You expect a dossier of some kind to be set in front of you. She links her fingers together on top of her desk and looks you in the eye. “He’s asking for you.”

You blink. Never was any good at staring contests with anything but a screen.

“And who,” you speak slowly, poking at the edges of whatever she’s hedging around, “is he?”

A pause, heavy enough to slowly start pressing the air from your lungs.

“Do you remember John MacTavish?” she asks.

You frown, rifling through mental files.

John MacTavish of Task Force 141. Soap. You remember liking him, even though he made a shy, anti-social part of you uneasy. He had a starting problem, and a smiling problem. Or maybe you were the one with the problem - with the way he would often stare and sometimes smile.

You taught him how to find files out in the field. How to take from the enemy and corrupt entire systems. He was good at it. A digital pyromaniac. Used to hand-deliver drives and disks to you, sometimes still bloody and bruised from getting them.

You heard through the gossip vine that he was MIA (or maybe went AWOL?) at some point. Was shipped out to your final assignment soon after.

“Is he the… asset?” you ask.

Her eyes do this funny flicker thing then, and the corner of her mouth tenses. You press your thumb into your palm as your fingers twitch.

“He’s asking for you,” she explains, “and he has information we need.”

Between the lines: we need you to get the information from him. The error code flashing in your mind demands to know why.

“Why?” you wonder.

Maybe you’ve been out too long; forgot that “why” is blasphemy to the government. The answer will always be “because we said so.”

You already miss being out.

“You’ll have to ask him yourself,” she answers and stands.

—

Laswell takes the lead, the same blank-faced guards bring up the rear. This doesn’t feel like you’ve been volun-told to do them a favor. It feels like you’ve been sentenced without a trial.

You’re led down silent, nondescript halls, through heavy gray doors, and into shiny metal elevators. Everything needs a keycard you’ve not been given. The quiet gets heavier, meaner the deeper you go.

There’s the vague sense that you’re underground when Laswell finally stops at a heavily guarded door. She pauses, steals a glance at you that starts a high-pitched alarm in your head.

“He’s different now,” she says finally, “I’m sorry in advance.”

A guard unlatches the door. She nods you ahead to enter first. You hesitate, don’t like the change in light beyond. Behind you, one of the guards shifts. Don’t like that either.

On tingling legs, you slink through the cracked door. It shuts with a gavel’s finality behind you. Alone.

The room you’ve been tricked into barely deserves the word. It’s more a tiny patch of sequestered floor, little bigger than an office cubicle. Clean linoleum and unmarked walls. In the corner, a camera blinks.

But in front of you are bars; a wall of them. A door interrupting the grid-pattern. Beyond, it’s pitch black. You almost make the mistake of stepping forward.

“Stay there,” Laswell’s voice commands. Staticky. An intercom.

From the shadows, a growl. Low, rough. Just this side of human. You plaster yourself to the door you came through, hair standing on end.

The lights come on. It’s only because you’ve frozen that you don’t scream, all of it trapped up in a constricted throat.

The man in front of you is not Soap. It’s not even John MacTavish. It’s a very convincing beast wearing his face. Sort of.

More scars than you remember. A thicker beard too. His signature Mohawk is just a suggestion in the dark brown mess of his hair - like he’s been running his hands through it and ripping out any tangles along the way.

He’s not moving now though. Not except the deep heave of his broad chest. Could be a statue save for that. He’s staring; his eyes are bluer than you remember. Bluer and blanker. Nothing in them except a flicker of something vicious, something covetous. Something that’s peering out from this man.

“We brought her, just like you asked.” Laswell’s voice again, wary and expectant.

Soap doesn’t respond. He inhales deep, gaze still locked with yours. It’s loud, purposeful. Your stomach twists.

“Just as sweet as I remember.” His voice is gravel on ice, resonates in his barrel chest. Fills up the room like a rockslide. You curl your fingers against the door behind you. “You remember me, bonnie?”

It takes your brain a second to realize he’s talking to you. As if he could be speaking to anyone else. Your shadow maybe; she’s always been braver than you.

His eyes twitch, narrowing ever so slightly. His patience winding down, tick, tick, tick.

You jerk your head in a nod. His eyes burn.

“Good.” He cracks his neck. It feels entirely inorganic that he can move just that part of his body. “Would have to punish you if you didn’t.”

You swallow, dig up your voice from the crevice it slunk into.

“Laswell.” Your voice is too high, too nervous. Soap bares his teeth, slams his fist against the all-too-bendable barrier between you two. It shocks you, frightens you. How he could be so still and then so alive all at once.

“John, we brought her. That was the deal.”

You feel sick with something unspoken as he shakes his head.

“No, the deal was you give her to me. Do you see my fuckin’ hands on ‘er? My teeth?”

“The information first.”

You feel sick with rage. Like you’re going to throw up with the disgust that poisons your blood. Your legs nearly give out as you slide to the ground, pressing a hand over your mouth, filling with saliva. Stomach rolling.

Force yourself to breathe through your nose. Would work better if you could close your eyes but prey instinct won’t let you, survival too strong to dare look away from the predator now pacing at the bars. He’s agitated, devolving quickly into anger. You’d tell Laswell to stop pissing him off if that didn’t mean tossing you to him. More than she has, anyway.

“We will take her back if you don’t deliver your end of the deal.”

Like you’re some reward to be given and taken at someone else’s will. An incentive for good behavior.

The military used to make you feel like a dog - sit, stay, bark on command. But you’d take that over being the training treat any day.

Soap snarls. He sounds feral. Spits out a set of numbers, eyes pinned to you. When he’s done, he crouches down. Knees against the wall of bars.

“S’alright, little bird. C’mere and I’ll make it all better,” he coos, beckoning you with two fingers.

You press your lips together against a whimper. His expression twitches. You suck in a breath—

“We’ll need to verify those coordinates first,” Laswell says.

The noise that rips out of Soap makes you shake. You didn’t know people could make sounds like that; like something with teeth and claws and blood matted in its fur. He stands, huge and terrifying.

He curses and threatens (awful, cruel) but Laswell doesn’t respond again. You doubt she’s even listening. And you just stay still and quiet, hoping to avoid his attention altogether, pancaked to the wall.

As is the pattern today, your reasonable hope is eventually dashed. Can almost feel the exact moment Soap’s attention refocuses on you. Like a the click of switch.

And he’s down again, crooning at you so sweetly. Like you didn’t just watch him come within a breath of destroying his cell.

“You know it’s not fair, don’t you,” he murmurs. “You know that I’m owed you. C’mere.”

“I’m not a thing,” you snip, still too high. Almost petulant if not for the frightened crack in the middle. He flashes teeth.

“‘Course you are, hen,” he says, almost laughing. You realize with a jolt that you’ve amused him. “You’re my sweet, pretty thing with the sweet, pretty cunt that I’m gonna fuck and breed.”

Your voice slithers back into the abyss, snatched away by the smoke and shadow promises in his own.

“And you know that’s what you’re for, don’ you?” he continues, voice dripping lower and lower. “You know that you’re mine.”

You shake your head, want to explain that you didn’t have a choice. Government goons have been shuffling you about from place to place, only the illusion of free will, like horse blinders. Keeping you docile and complacent.

You don’t think Soap cares about things like logic or personhood right now though. Or at all.

“Come. Here.”

Hard metal between you, and every atom in your body screams not to comply. So you don’t.

When you shake your head, he snarls and slams his fist into the barrier again. You squeak this time, can’t help it, and try to become one with the wall.

He rages for a few minutes. Demands you, your compliance. At some point you just have to draw your knees up to your chest and lean your head against them. If he could get through, he would have by now. Let his anger become a terrifying background noise, a soundtrack for fear.

It’s when he goes quiet again that the fear returns. Your head snaps up. He’s staring again, still. Just like before. His arms are crossed - biceps huge, straining. There’s a sizable bulge pressed against the bars. Obscene.

“Best get your rest now, little girl,” he rumbles. Even and deceptively calm. “Because when that door opens, I’m not gonna be nice about it.”

You squeeze your eyes shut. “Stop it.”

A puff of air. You can’t tell if it’s amused or annoyed. “Say it while you can, ‘cause it won’t make a difference later.”

You shudder through your next inhale, heart pounding. Try to wrestle yourself under control, convince yourself that Laswell won’t actually give you up to him. Not when she’s already gotten what she wanted from him.

A sound breaks you from your frantic meditation, slick and wet. You look up without thinking. Soap is fucking viciously into his fist, eyes trained on you. The head of his cock is flushed an angry red, dripping with precum, shiny and needy.

“Regret being a little bitch now?” he growls. “Now that you see what’s going in that prissy little cunt?”

You clench and cramp at the very thought. He’s massive, not just long but thick. You wouldn’t be shocked if your fingers didn’t touch wrapped around him — not that you should be considering those logistics. It’ll just freak you out more.

“Can smell your wet pussy from here, hen. Bet I’ll knock you up on the first try.” He squeezes almost cruelly, knuckles banging against the bars as his hips jerk.

You press your thighs together, trying not to think about it. Not to think about all that bulk pinning you down and using you. Big, rough hands and sharp, mean teeth while he—

“Stop,” you grit out, to yourself this time.

His breath shudders, a rough noise dragging up his throat. You twitch back as cum splatters the floor, coats the metal in milky drops. You stare at the mess, mortified.

“Well?” he rasps and your eyes snap back to his. “Going to lick it up like the bitch you are?”

You swallow and curl up tighter. He takes that for the denial it is.

“S’alright,” he says, “you’ll get a taste soon enough.”

Next

Masterlist

[min1check]

Leto! Joker x side chick! Reader ig…

1248 words

Barely proofread ts so i’m so sorry if u see errors

pt 2

Description: You work at one of Joker’s clubs and he starts to take an interest in you….

Every night there would be presents and money left on my small table in my small ass kitchen in this small ass apartment. 

It all started when I finally learned the real identity of my boss’s boss’s boss at the club I worked at. I really needed money desperately for my family who lived out of the country. I’m currently working on the papers so they can gain legal presence but until then I need to work hard and study hard. 

At the club I worked at, they paid me better than most places and I would be able to go to university in the daytime and work at night. 

The club was pretty high class, there were many high profile politicians who were VIPs. Given that they were even at a club, they were most if not all sleezebags who tried to hit on the staff to the point that I could file sexual harassment charges. But nevermind that. 

The club was so high class and full of VIPs that I didn’t expect it to be owned by the biggest crime lord in this city, the Joker. This whole city was corrupt in and out. Even if I tried to file those sexual harassment charges I would’ve been shut up instantly. 

When I saw this head of green hair and his pale deathly looking skin and his red lips that I couldn’t tell if it was lipstick or blood, I tried my best to not be noticed by him. 

Though he looked like a corpse he was extremely attractive. Maybe in another universe I would actually try to get at him. Well and if his fellow Clown Queen of Crime didn't exist. She frightens me even more than Joker. Well actually that’s a lie but as a girl I can say that we’re ruthless when it comes to boyfriends and husbands and such. Too blind and in too much love to use actual reason.

Harley’s beautiful though they genuinely look good together. 

I went over to Joker’s table where he was talking to (or more like taunting) his client to drop off the drinks. It seemed that everyone else already knew what his regular drink was and his client’s. 

I tried my best not to mess up or to not loudly drop the drinks because at this moment I could actually not stop my whole body from shaking. They continued talking about their deal without even looking at me. I kept a friendly smile on my face. 

I walked off a bit quickly because I was terrified. Yet I felt like someone was staring right at me. I quickly turned my head and all I could see in that moment was Joker with his usual devilishly grin looking straight at me. My blood ran cold. 

When I was out of his sight I closed my eyes and started to pray. 

‘Dear God, please forgive me for any sins I have committed for I do not want to die tonight. I have too much to live for so please don’t let me die. Thank you for everything you have blessed me with Lord, amen.’ 

I was crying internally. 

Literally was gonna kill myself right then and there. But I brought myself back to reality and back to work. 

Whenever I would come to work the Joker would be there with Harley. 

I literally think I’m going crazy because I think he keeps looking straight at me…. With his girlfriend/wife/partner in crime which was even worse. Yeah he was hot but cheating men are scum of the Earth. And Joker’s a mass murderer and other stuff. To be honest I kinda forgot I’ve been too busy with school to care about politics….

I finally got a shift off and a day off of school today. I’m just gonna sleep and lounge around and be fat. I got out of my bed to go get some more ice cream in my kitchen. 

It felt a bit unnerving when I was in the kitchen, like someone was watching me. I shook off the feeling because I had locks on every single window and door. The crime in my country is a bit bad so Gotham wasn’t that much different. 

As soon as I turned around to go back to my bedroom with my ice cream in hand…

“Boo!” 

“What the fuck?!” I screamed so loud that I dropped my bowl of ice cream and it shattered. 

“The look on your face doll… it’s so… funny!” The intruder was the Joker and he couldn’t and wouldn’t stop laughing at my reaction. 

“…” I just stood there in silence thinking about how that bowl was so expensive…

I didn’t want my floor to be sticky so I started picking up shards of the really expensive bowl. 

“Aww~ Are you.. mad doll~?” He teased me with his usual grin. 

“Not really, I’m just a little sad because this bowl was really expensive.” I sighed to myself. 

“If that’s it then here.” Joker tossed money at me. 

“Um… It’s okay I’ll just work for it back.” My mom always taught me that I shouldn’t accept money and that I should always offer to pay so I gave that money back to him. 

“Just take it Doll, think of it as my~ first~ gift~ to~ you~” he really emphasized on the last part like really. 

He got comfy and sat down on a table chair as I cleaned the floor from the sticky mess. 

That sounds a little wrong, I just mean my ice cream trust…

After cleaning it all, it occurred to me…

Why and how did the Joker get into my apartment…

My blood ran cold. I feel like I could turn into a reptile with how much my blood goes cold. 

“I liked seeing you at my club but I like seeing you in this shaggy apartment more.” He looked at me. 

“Um… how did you get in here?” I spoke quietly afraid I would somehow strike a nerve. 

“It was easy! I broke your window.” He spoke like he just finished climbing Mt. Everest. 

My mouth dropped to the floor. 

Like I tried to close it but it just wouldn't. 

“…” 

“What~? Cat got your tongue Doll?” He grinned. 

I’m actually going to kill myself. 

At this point I hope he pulls out the glock 19 and shoots me….

Wait but all my windows are barred up…

I looked into my living room and realized there was glass everywhere and the metal bar was stretched apart enough where it would fit the Joker perfectly. 

Calculating the cost in my head I actually started to cry. Tears ran down my face. 

I would be fine if I picked up a few extra shifts but I had to study more because finals were coming up. I’ll have to cut down on food and sleep…

The Joker awkwardly patted my back. 

“Here’s some more money Princess.” 

“I.. Cant accept it.” I said between sniffles and pushed his money back to him. 

He suddenly grabbed my head with both his hands and made me stare him in the eye. 

“Take. The. Money. Princess. Or else I’ll shove it down your throat.” His face was way too close to mine. 

“Thank you…” I tried my best to smile while he was still manhandling my head. 

He kissed me out of literally nowhere. 

My blood went cold again. 

I don’t want to be a mistress or some side bitch….

And Harley’s gonna kill me……

Yet it felt so good.