#but I like to think of it as the beginning of something new for Izzy

[slashingdisneypasta]

Hades x Reader || Drabble

Plot: He's a villain; So you would- could never, ever fall in love with him.

'Sooner or later you're gonna want it. And the second- the second that happens, you know I'll sup in; have myself a real good day.' - Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

... But he'll still wait patiently, for you.

Warnings: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Mischaracterisation?

Tagging: @asperol-with-izzy , @disney-android-foundation , @lady-love88 , @marinerainbow , @miss_understood , and @yesthetrashbin .

The instant that you see the villain in your house, waiting for you again lounging on your bed, smoke spread all over the floor; you groan. "Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- "

Hades only shows a flicker or irritation by your obnoxiously drawn-out moan, before its snuffed out with a roll of his shoulders and he gets up from your bed. Now his head grazes the ceiling but he comes here so often, asking you on walks with him and bringing you dinner you couldn't have scrounged for yourself with a weeks pay despite how many time's you've told him no, never, so you're past the fear of him setting the house on fire. His yellow eyes glow in the dim room and, like always, it causes a little warmth to spready in the pit of your belly- you ignore it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be gone in a sec, okay babe? I got places to be today, anyway. Just gimmie a minute, here."

"Why should I?"

"Uh- " This time real frustration passes over his face; settling for a few moments as he speaks. "Well you don't have that much of a choice, doya babe? So just shut up and listen, eh?"

Not-at-all scared, you just roll your eyes, setting your basket down on the side table and crossing your arms impatiently over your chest. "Fine. What do you want? I don't see any exotic fruits... another walk?"

Here, a smirk slips over his mouth; The flames atop his head give a happy crackle, and he gently shakes his head. "Not this time. Unless, I mean- you want to?? I can reschedule my meeting with the Fates, if you- " When he reads your expression, a familiar and cold 'hell no' written all over it, he sighs. Disappointed, but... not surprised at all, anymore. "Right. Right- uh, look babe. I just came here to let ya know, I... "

Hades? Lost for words?? That almost concerns you. Almost makes you lower your freezing cold exterior, and ask- ... but no. No. Instead, you tighten your arms over your chest and increase the impatient, expectant look in your eyes. Like, hurry up.

"... Okay. Look. I like you, (Full name). I might even go so far as to say I'm fallin' for ya- and thats new to me. I'm lost in some really unfamiliar waters, here," He chuckles, nervously, looking truly out of his depth for a moment. "Thats never happened to me before, this is new, and I- I- I'm tryin' to do it right. Sweep you off your feet; all that romantic jazz. Which I honestly think is kinda psychotic-... But uh... " His eyes lift from somewhere on the ground to your left, up to your eyes and he gives you another half-smirk. "I think we both know its not my thing."

... breaking your silence for a moment, you give a little tiny nod; not sure where this is going. "We do." You say quietly.

"Yea. Well, between you and me- its not workin' as well as you'd think, is it?"

"... no."

"Right, so," He rolls those broad shoulders again, giving his neck an uncomfortable stretch. "I'm uh- I'm gonna stop trying."

That gives you pause. " -What??"

"-not that I'm done here, exactly, no no no. I don't give up so easy, sweetheart. I'm gonna be here, or well- around. Waiting. And some day if... And someday when, you decide ya want me, then I'll come for ya. Just call."

Eyebrows furrowing, you suddenly remember something Hades said earlier. You'd almost forgotten it, because it seemed unimportant before, but now seems significant. "... Why are you going to meet with the fates?" Does he... know something? Is going to ask something?? What-

He just grins, infuriatingly. And his body begins to disappear into smoke, and your eyes widen- because- wait! "Remember what I just told you, babe. Keep it in mind, mull it over. I got nothin but time and I don't mind using it waiting on you. You're kinda worth it, eh?" -He didn't answer your question!

"But!- "

"Lookin' forward to your call, sweetheart."

"I'm not gonna call!- "

"Uhuh."

[alexanderlightweight]

Wednesday! It's my 1st time hitting the Ask button ever so... Anyway! More of the Cider-verse please?

oh!! welcome and i'm glad you did! hello <3 whether new to my page or just to asking, i hope you have a good time and enjoy! last bit of this verse here. this is after Alec has sent Jace and Izzy and Clary through to the Clave and had to also submit the paperwork that transferred Jace's punishment of mundane endangerment. and runing someone without permission.

<3 lumine

the choice of hope

Alec needs a break.

That’s the only thing on his mind.

He needs a moment to safely unwind and relax in his husband's arms and presence and then he steps into the loft. The air is heavy, not with magic but with energy and Magnus, who looks as perfect as when Alec left, is clearly unsettled.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, voice soft and gentle and the pressures of his rank and responsibilities fade away.  Because here and now, nothing is more important than Magnus.

And everything changes because Magnus is upset.

That much is clear and he’s pacing with the kind of tension that has his spine so rigidly tight that it will inevitable cause a headache. Alec would love to give him a preventative massage, but despite being very good at getting Alec to do what he wants, Magnus has a harder time tending to himself.

For Magnus luxury is simple, but self-care is far harder for him.

“Nothing darling, how was work?” Magnus tries and Alec raises an eyebrow, because really.  Magnus thinks that line will work, on Alec?

On Magnus own husband?

“Work was work.” Alec returns, because two can play this game and then he throws his jacket on the floor — because it makes Magnus’ nose wrinkle as he uses magic to snap it away somewhere properly — and then he hugs Magnus.

It’s a sneak attack.

Something shadowhunters are very good at.

Alec snuggles his chin on Magnus’ shoulder and pulls him close until slowly, Magnus’ heat transfers to Alec. Whatever has inflamed his temper and emotions begins to unravel, the tension throughout Magnus’ body starts to slowly seep out as he presses against Alec, like poison draining from a wound.

“You seem upset.” Alec murmurs, a gentle whisper and he rubs his hands soothingly up and down Magnus’ back.  “Is everything okay?”

Magnus looks torn and Alec knows that Magnus is worried, about Alec.

“I’m so done with shadowhunter business.” Alec bemoans quietly and while he actually wants nothing more than to complain about the Clave, he nuzzles Magnus’ jaw lovingly and murmurs. "Can you distract me with your day? Please.”

It works.

It always works.

Magnus buckles as if Alec is begging him for a kiss instead and well, Alec is hardly going to deny himself so he presses a kiss to Magnus’ hair as he holds his husband and listens to his tired and exhausted recounting of day.

“That’s a lot.”

Alec isn’t really sure what else to say when Magnus is done.  He tries not to have too many opinions about Magnus’ work, if only because he can’t be sure which ones are influenced by prejudice and which ones are overprotective.

Magnus snorts against his neck and Alec rubs his back, relieved that the tension is finally nearly gone.

“That’s your advice?”

“Oh if you were looking for advice, it’s stab them.” Alec means it, which makes Magnus’ wet, rough laughter even better. “Seriously. Stabbing is very helpful.”

“Your primary weapon is a bow and arrow.” Magnus snottily reminds him and Alec wishes he could wiggle his fingers and summon a handkerchief but instead he resigns himself to burning this shirt.  Or letting Magnus wash it.  Whichever is easier. Because if Magnus is going to rub his runny nose against Alec's shoulder than Alec is going to let him, because Alec isn't magical.

“Arrows stab things. Magnus.” Alec is trying not to laugh but it takes effort to keep his voice haughty, “from a distance.  It’s long distance stabbing.  Works perfectly.”

Magnus laughs again and presses a wet kiss to Alec’s neck that has him pleased with himself. 

Clearly, this is working.

“And then Raphael called me, about Camille.”

Alec doesn’t freeze — he has better control over his own body than that — but he does have to take some carefully deep breathes, inhaling lightly through his nose as to not give it away.

“Oh, well. That’s even worse.”

Magnus chuckles but it sounds painful and Alec reminds himself that he can’t stab Raphael.  Vampires are sensitive to stabbings. He might not make it. Camille however, is fair game and well, that’s one accidental assassination the Clave wouldn’t mind at all.

“Sweetheart, as delicious as you plotting murder while holding me is. You’re mumbling your battle-plans under your breathe.  Of course I’ll find out about an ‘accidental stabbing’.”

Alec carefully keeps his smirk to himself and sighs, as if Magnus calling him out is unplanned.

“Well then, maybe you should distract me." Because Alec isn't going to press about Camille here and now, that requires bed, cuddles and a few bottles of alcohol for Magnus and sobering-medication for Alec. "Was there anything good about your day?”

The long pause that ensues has Alec’s fingers clenching tight enough that Magnus’ breathe hitches with enjoyment and then Alec lets go.

Unfortunately.

However sex isn’t going to fix anything and he can always just, you know, seduce Magnus later. It’s not like it takes a lot to do. Alec can just, blink a lot or bite his lip and Magnus will be on board.

— Alec’s still figuring it out but he knows a few certain ways to get Magnus —

To be fair, Alec is also always on board with Magnus.

He just, needs to exist.

And Alec is more than ready though sometimes too tired.

In fact, Alec would like nothing more than to sink to his knees and give Magnus a very distracting blowjob, except Magnus is sad.

Sex doesn’t fix sadness.

It just postpones it.

“If I pick a place, will you portal us there?”

Magnus nods,curious and tired but trusting and Alec knows that Magnus has been here. Ragnor and Catarina have been communicating with Alec via fire message and the name of the small shop brings a smile to Magnus’ face even as curiosity grows in his gaze.

“Ragnor.” Alec tells him, because there’s no reason to keep it a secret and a few minutes later they’re across the world and ordering some of the smallest but most flavorful dumplings that Alec’s ever had. 

Each is a bite full of pleasure and Alec almost forgets his original goal — except how can he when Magnus is feeding him and Alec feeding Magnus in turn — until Magnus finally sighs and that last bit of weary exhaustion seems to fade from his eyes.

“Warlocks eat typically for pleasure and depending on how their magic works, power.” Magnus has told him before but Alec listens carefully, always eager to learn more or to ensure he hasn't missed something. “Sometimes I forget about the simply joy of it. I lived in decadence for so long, to numb out the pain that at some point, food began to taste less and less interesting and more and more like ash. I needed sharp, harsh alcohols, strong and made of magical ingredients to taste anything for along time.” Magnus smiles and opens his mouth, leaning forward to except the chive and cabbage dumpling. “I’ve remembered now, what it’s like to enjoy things. To feel the full flavor of life on my tongue and find beauty and meaning in the world again. Event the most simple of them."

Alec understands what Magnus is saying, even if they learned the same truth in different ways.

Alec didn’t really let himself enjoy things before Magnus. Oh there were stolen pleasures and hidden moments, but especially as he got older and used to things being taken away, Alec searched out enjoyment less.

If he liked something, it would be more likely that it would be taken away or destroyed.

He doesn’t fear that with Magnus.

Because Magnus will destroy whatever comes at him, without hesitation.

As he should.

AN:

i really adore this verse and malec continuing to just, be the best spouses for each other and holding each other up while the world goes absolutely bat-shit insane around them.

it's beautiful and soft and look, this isn't self-sacrifice. i can't tell you how many times being able to provide

like yes. sometimes you need to just be able to vent about your own day. but sometimes it waits and things aren't as bad - emotionally/mentally and it's like 'oh yeah. the ridiculousness of it all' but it's not as fresh. and taking care of a partner is very rewarding.

like having someone trust you like that is big. it's also uh, gratifying? to realize you have this kind of affect on someone? that you can make someone's day better just by being around the and listening to them and you know them enough to play around to lighten the mood

intimacy is great okay. i love it. doesn't have to be sexual/romantic either. intimacy is beautiful

[bcacstuff]

Sassenachs, get your handkerchiefs ready because STARZ has just gifted us something truly worthy of Lallybroch to celebrate Outlander Day in the best possible way! The streaming service has released brand-new photos from Outlander: Blood of My Blood and The Gathering, along with three exclusive sneak peeks of The Gathering. All of this will drop on June 1 on the official STARZ YouTube channel and the STARZ app, in honor of World Outlander Day—the day we raise our whisky (or Scottish tea) and toast Slàinte mhath to the Fraser universe. Ready?

Here we go!

The Gathering: Past, Present, and Future of the Frasers Collide

In The Gathering, STARZ achieves the unimaginable: bringing together the casts of Outlanderand its prequel Blood of My Blood for the very first time in an intimate, emotional, and deeply revealing tribute to the legacy of the last 11 years. The special features interviews with executive producers and cast members from both series as they reflect on what ties these stories together: love, lineage, and the unbreakable bonds between the Frasers, MacKenzies, and Beauchamps.

Top Row: Sally Messham, Conor MacNeill, Diarmaid Murtagh, Sara Vickers, Sadhbh Malin, Charles Vandervaart, Izzy Meikle-Small, Caitlin O’Ryan, Paul Gorman, Second Row: Matthew B. Roberts, Séamus McLean-Ross, Sam Retford, Rory Alexander, Tony Curran, David Berry, John Bell, Lauren Lyle, Maril Davis Front Row: Jeremy Irvine, Hermione Corfield, Harriet Slater, Jamie Roy, Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin. Courtesy of STARZ

And if you’re already feeling emotional, brace yourself—because the three sneak peeks released are pure magic:

In the first clip, we get to know Ellen MacKenzie, Jamie Fraser’s mother, and her fierce, tender spirit. Her strength and grace echo unmistakably in Brianna, her granddaughter—it’s as if emotional DNA is a Fraser family trait. The second clip introduces Julia Beauchamp, Claire’s mother, whose sharp intellect and boundless compassion leave a lasting impression. Watching her feels like reuniting with the Claire we met all the way back in Season 1. The third sneak peek is all about what it means to belong to the Fraser clan: the sacrifices, the deep emotional ties, and the beauty of a family that keeps moving forward through time and turmoil.

Blood of My Blood: Where Eternal Love Begins

The new photos from Outlander: Blood of My Blood are a visual love letter to the past, showcasing the epic romances of Ellen and Brian Fraser—and Julia and Henry Beauchamp—with breathtaking cinematography. The Scottish landscapes, the period costumes, the palpable chemistry between the new leads… it all promises a series as rich and soul-stirring as the original. Each frame carries a melancholic elegance, whispering that this story began long before Claire ever touched the stones.

The teaser includes a haunting quote taken directly from Diana Gabaldon’s books: “If my last words are not I love you, it’s because I didn’t have time.” And just when you think you can’t take any more, we get a glimpse of Jamie delicately kissing Claire’s hand with the tenderness of a man who knows time is his enemy, but love is eternal. It’s only a few seconds long—but it’s everything Outlander has ever been.

Outlander hasn’t just given us an epic story of love, time, and family. It’s shown us that roots run deep, that bonds are unbreakable, and that even goodbyes can be a form of everlasting love.

So this Outlander Day, celebrate with a rewatch, with your best friends, with a glass of whisky—or just by rereading your favorite quotes. Because Jamie and Claire, Ellen and Brian, Julia and Henry… they’re never truly gone.

Slàinte, Sassenachs. The journey continues.

The Gathering drops June 1 at 7 pm ET on the STARZ YouTube channel and the STARZ app.

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

Look, when Ed leaves with Jack it isn't Ed choosing Jack over Stede as the better partner/love interest. This is what Stede thinks is happening. Stede hasn't even entirely admitted to himself at this point that his investment in Ed is romantic, but he does treat it as a breakup, he sees Jack as a rival for Ed's attention/love, so from Stede's perspective, yes, Ed is leaving him for Jack.

Stede thinks he is in the romance novel plot and has to compete with his love interest's ex for his affections.

This is also what Jack is intending to make Stede feel.

Jack is playing a con. He is actively working towards Stede coming to the conclusion that Love Triangle Business is happening, but Jack's motivation isn't winning back Ed as a boyfriend from Stede. I don't think Jack does boyfriends. Jack does dalliances. He would probably agree with Lucius's "we don't own each other". And this would apply if Jack happened to randomly come across the Revenge and decide to fuck with Ed's new crush for kicks and giggles (which is what Anne and Mary do when in that situation!). But Jack doesn't come across the Revenge by accident. He is on a mission, given to him by Izzy. We don't know if Jack gets paid for it or if he does it because he's worried about Ed and doesn't want the Navy to get him, or some combination of both, but Jack is the only one in this equation who actually knows what is happening, and what is happening is a plan to drive a wedge between Ed and Stede to make Ed leave the Revenge so he's out of the picture when the Navy shows up.

But neither of this is what's going on from Ed's perspective. (This entire episode is a masterpiece in the "characters completely misunderstanding each other and what's going on" trope.) Ed doesn't really figure that he's been cast as the pivotal point of a love triangle. Ed isn't spending the episode trying to choose the better boyfriend candidate and then leaving with him.

Ed is busy having a personal identity crisis.

This crisis has been ongoing for a while when Jack shows up. With Izzy's pressure to pirate a certain way gone, Ed is freer to explore what Ed wants to do now and how he wants to live and who he wants to be. He is tired of the traditional pirate life, he wants to try something different. He also isn't ready to fully do a hard cut. He just figured out Stede might return his feelings during the treasure hunt. They just decided to co-captain. A lot of things are changing for Ed.

And then comes by a very old pal. Jack and Ed have history, they used to sail together, they survived their difficult youth under a cruel captain together. Jack represents a different type of pirate life than Izzy. Jack is fun. (Everyone but Stede thinks Jack is fun, and that's in no small parts because Jack is actively working towards making Stede uncomfortable but everyone else have fun and take Jack's side - this works on everyone in the crew including Ed!)

From the beginning on, Ed is struggling to make Stede and Jack get along and like each other. He's trying to somehow combine his old life and his new life because he doesn't want to choose between one of them. He wants to have the best of both worlds. He wants his old friend and his new friend/his ex and his crush to be friends and get along. He wants to keep what was fun about traditional piracy (as represented by Jack) but also move on to Stede's new brand of doing things. He wants fancy breakfasts, and then has to realise that Jack pours alcohol into his teacup. He wants to play coconut war like the old times, but has to realise Stede hates the idea. A big part of this episode, from Ed's perspective, is about trying to reconcile these two worlds and failing.

Ed's main problem, through both seasons, is that he doesn't really know who he is or who he wants to be. He struggles massively with self-worth and self image. He views himself as an unlovable monster and spends his entire life bending over backwards and wearing masks to cater to what he thinks other people want him to be. He plays up Blackbeard for Izzy, Blackie for Jack, and he isn't sure if who he is being with Stede is actually Ed or not. Ed thinks nobody can possibly like him, so he constantly tries to perform to whatever expectation his direct peers have of him.

Next to this main crisis, Ed is having another secondary crisis called "fuck I'm in love with this guy" and "does my crush like me back". This secondary crisis is heavily influenced by the first, because Ed thinks he is a terrible unlovable person, remember, so "does this guy who I think is the bee's knees return my feelings" becomes a lot more fraud than it would be for a person with a modicum of self-esteem.

Ed, who struggles with "who/what am I as a person", sees Jack as a person who is similar to Ed. They have a lot in common. They share a lot of backstory. They are both pirate captains. They used to do the same things. Ed always played Yardies and Whippies and Turtle Vs Crab, because really that's just pirate culture. The main difference between Jack and Ed is that at some point Ed outgrew this life, and Jack didn't. But Ed, who is bad at recognising himself as a person and to define his identity, is only sorta vaguely aware of that. In Ed's perception, him and Jack are very much alike.

So when Stede, Ed's new friend and crush who he already thinks is too good for someone like Ed, starts rejecting Jack and Jack's behaviour, and says things like "I don't like who you are around this guy", what Ed hears is "I don't like who you are". Ed hears Stede thinks Jack is a bad person, and because in Ed's head a) he and Jack are the same and b) Ed is a bad person anyway, Ed hears "you are a bad person".

"You were always going to realise what I am", says Ed, as he is leaving with Jack after Stede tells Jack to leave the ship. Note the dehumanising "what" instead of "who" Ed used for himself. Ed, who thinks he sucks and is an unlovable monster, thinks this is the other shoe dropping, and he's been waiting for it to drop all along, because someone great like Stede isn't for a guy like Ed. Stede was always going to see what Ed is.

Ed's leaving the Revenge/Stede is 100% down to Ed's abysmal self-worth. It's a self-perception born from childhood trauma that fucks Ed over several times during the show (and ultimately leads to his suicide attempt).

Ed is so busy having All That going on that he mostly fails to notice that Jack is playing him, or what exactly happens between Jack and Stede, that Stede perceives Jack as a romantic rival for Ed's attention/affection or that Stede too struggles with self-worth and that Jack is hitting him where it hurts all the time. Ed's headspace in this episode isn't "oh, two sexy guys I like, which one should I choose to be with". It isn't even "oh my old pal is being a real dick to my new friend who is feeling really insecure here". Ed's headspace is "I'm a terrible person and Stede is seeing it now and Jack wants me to do more pirate party stuff but Stede hates that so now they both hate me and I probably deserve that because I'm a monster".

Ed leaves for Jack as much as Stede an episode later leaves for Mary. It's the exact same situation. For Stede, his own trauma and self-worth issues show up in the form of Chauncey Badminton, telling him he is a monster and ruins beautiful things, and Stede's reaction is to agree because he already thinks that of himself, so he takes his horrible ruinous monster self away from beautiful things (Ed) and back to where it belongs (to a miserable life he was hoping to leave behind). And for Ed, no Chauncey Badminton is required, because he's already constantly thinking these things about himself anyway. From Ed's perspective, Stede tell him he is a bad person (just as Jack), so Ed agrees and takes his horrible self away from beautiful things he doesn't deserve (Stede) to a miserable life he was going to leave behind.

Neither Jack nor Mary actually feature into the leaving much. Neither situation is "leaving the new guy for the ex". They're both situations of "I have a fuckload of trauma and self-hatred and it destroys my actually pretty nice new relationship".

And this is very interesting as a parallel. It doesn't even end there! When Stede returns, and Ed hears where he went, Ed too goes to "you left me for Mary". Same as Stede went to "you left me for Jack". And neither of it is actually what was happening!

Stede doesn't leave Ed for Mary, and Ed doesn't leave Stede for Jack. They both decide, driven by very similar trauma, to leave because surely the other one is going to be better off without them.

[avelera]

I saw a really cute post the other day imagining scenes where Ed protects Stede. It was sweet and funny and heartfelt and for some reason landed all wrong with me.

Then I figured out why: I don’t think Ed has ever protected Stede. It’s actually kind of a big plot point in the show. Even when he should have. But when Stede protects Ed is when Ed fell in love.

It’s a bit of a nuance and I’m too tired to quite remember all the ways I’m probably wrong but… Ed often rescues Stede. But he doesn’t protect him. He doesn’t prevent him or try to prevent him from doing things that would harm him.

I think that was another reason the post nagged at me. Because the funny examples were around Stede’s failures at piracy. But Ed, unlike everyone on the show, including the viewers!, doesn’t see Stede as a failure. It’s almost weird how much he doesn’t. It’s endearing too. It’s why the romance works.

Ed thinks Stede is unorthodox. New to the game. A bit rough around the edges. But all those skills come with time and practice. Ed is bored of skilled, practiced pirates. He wants flare. He wants daring. He wants a person who does it their own way. The rest will come. But you can’t teach creativity. Ed doesn’t give a shit about a perfectly skilled pirate, that’s boring as fuck. He wants to see a creative one.

To go back to protectiveness… Ed doesn’t protect Stede because he doesn’t see Stede as incompetent. He doesn’t prevent Stede from doing things before the fact. But sometimes after the fact like on the Spanish ship or against the English, he’ll come in after Stede fucked up and chooses to join him in facing the danger and consequences.

In comedy terms, Ed is very “yes, and…!” with Stede. Whereas protectiveness implies a certain amount of ending the bit before Ed can see the crazy places it’s going.

By contrast, Stede is protective of Ed and when he’s protective, Ed melts. Stede tries to prevent Ed from being hurt by the nobles and corrects his errors and very publicly destroys them on Ed’s behalf. Ed fell or fell harder in love right there. But Ed never tried to prevent Stede’s run in with the Spanish.

Ed’s a bit selfish, a bit blind to how to take care of others. Part of it’s the life he led. It’s part of why he’s so fascinated by Stede and his brand of piracy. He doesn’t want to stop the craziness before it begins. He really only steps in if death itself, something that might end Strede’s craziness, gets close but even then. He doesn’t protect Stede against Izzy. He lets those consequences play out. He can’t bear to look but he doesn’t stop it.

I think there’s more nuance and a lot of scenes I’m sure I’m forgetting where Ed is more protective but my overall sense is that this is actually an interesting nuance between them. Stede acted out of protectiveness when he left Ed on that beach. Ed didn’t go looking for Stede. He didn’t and doesn’t try to protect him. Unlike everyone else, Ed always assumes Stede’s choices are deliberate and competently made.

[sturniolo04]

I Got My License M.S.

OlderBf!Matt x YoungerGf!Fem!Reader

Dividers: @bernardsbendystraws

You and the triplets have known each other for years and you being the youngest it always seemed like you were their younger sibling. So it came as a surprise that not only you started to have feelings for matt but him also reciprocating your feelings towards you.

Although at the time you were 17 at the time and he was 20 which was not necessarily the legal age gap for being in a romantic relationship. You two ended up compromising and waiting a year in which you finally turned 18 and him 21.

Throughout the years of of your teenage years from the time you turned 16 you always not only expressed to the triplets that you wanted to get your driver's license, especially to Matt since he was the only one out of the three of them to have his license. Your fear, however prevented you from acting on it at the age of 16 and 17 which brought you to now.

You took a deep breath as you successfully pulled your new car into the driveway of the triplets' house after successfully driving to the house itself without getting into an accident. You didn't tell Matt you got your license a week ago because you simply wanted it to be a surprise for the next time he saw you.

"Matt who the hell just pulled into our driveway"

chris exclaims as he is looking through the window in the front room.

"i dont know nick probably invited madison or something"

he states as he walks into the front room were they both were located.

"i didnt invite anyone over"

nick replies as he shifts is attention subtly away from his phone screen as Matt peers out the window Chris is still looking through.

"no fucking way"

matt exclaims as he sees you get out of the car walking up the driveway to their door with your new car keys around your wrist with your mint green Lululemon wrislet and matching mint green Stanley cup in the other. You ring the doorbell of the triplets' house as you are greeted by matt and chris.

" Izzy you can drive"

chris exclaims as he gives you a side hug.

"surprise"

you squeal as matt places his hands on your waist.

"when did you get it done"

nick questions coming over to you guys.

"last week i wanted it to be a surprise"

you reply as nick smiles at you.

"well are you going to offer us a ride we haven't gotten food today we can go to Mcdonalds or something"

chris questions and suggests to the group as you giggle.

"sure i dont see why not"

you respond as you set your Stanley cup on the the coffee table a few feet away.

"okay great i call front seat"

matt exclaims grabbing your hand leading the way to your car.

"of course you do"

nick states as he rolls his eyes.

You all hopped into your car as you begin to adjust your seat to be able to reach the pedals and gears, tucking your fluffy hair behind your ears showcasing the gold hoop earrings you wanted to wear today.

"ready"

you question looking around to see everyone buckled up with matt next to you in the passenger seat and chris and nick in the back.

"i think so"

nick replies.

"damn girl your short"

matt chuckles out as he noticed how close you seat was adjust to the wheel.

"matt shut the fuck up"

you squeal out putting your car in gear as a pink tint rises on your cheeks out of embarrassment knowing he is messing with you and knows how to get you flustered.

You pull out of the driveway and begin to head to the nearest Mcdonalds or so you thought.

"i dont want mcdonalds anymore lets go to canes or something"

chris groans out as matt and nick start complaining.

"chris you literally suggested we go there in the first place"

matt groans out as nick agrees with him.

"i know but i changed my mind"

he huffs out as you giggle focusing on the road in front of you.

"the fucking ridiculuous"

nick chuckles out.

"okay how about this we just go to the store and get ingredients or something to make something instead"

you suggest slightly gazing in the rearview mirror to the backseat.

"im down"

matt agrees with the suggestion.

"chris"

you question as he sighs and agrees with the plan.

you guys made it to the store and decided you guys were going to make burgers from scratch at home. you guys made it to the aisle to grab the buns for the burgers.

"those keys look good on you babygirl"

matt chuckles hyping you up as you walk a few feet in front of him recording you discreetly as you turn around to finally notice his camera.

"you think so- stop recording me"

you question and proceed hold your hand cutely over your face squealing noticing he was recording you.

"can you guys focus we need buns"

chris exclaims smirking as he finished his sentence.

"chris"

nick exclaims stopping in his tracks knowing he was trying to say in between lines.

"what nick"

he chuckles scracthing the back of his head grabbing what we needed.

you guys checked out your items as matt wraps his arms around you hugging you from behind, placing a kiss on your temple.

"hi"

you whisper to him turning around to face him within is grasp touching your nose with his.

"im so proud of you for finally getting over your fear"

he compliements as he leans his head in the crook of your neck.

"thanks love"

you reply running your fingers through his abnormally messy hair today.

Taglist

@mintsturniolo @wh0resstuff @dirtylittleheart333 @stayingstromboli @emely9274 @spicymuffins03

[katyspersonal]

Okay Lore Queen

What are your thoughts on Melina being the GEQ? Is there real evidence for it or was this another overblown “Miquella is Griffith” theory trend?

Awww, am I Lore Queen? 🥺

Okay, to be honest.. not only I am sure there is no solid evidence in the game itself for this, but also I completely missed the spreading of this theory, apparently fdhhfdfds The first time I ever heard that it exists and is popular was a video from Zullie! I don't remember which, but the line that 'many people suggested she might be Gloam-Eyed Queen herself' surprised me! Until that point I did not even consider the connection, I just thought that she was given Destined Death long ago just in case if things go BAD, or something along those lines?

As for the reasoning, there are a few things:

Maliketh is said to have sealed Destined Death, Gloam-Eyed Queen's power, and the seal on her eye DOES look like a clawmark! Melina only mentions that she will "give Destined Death" in Frenzied Flame ending, when this eye is unsealed, helping the assumption that the power of Destined Death was what got sealed in her until this point!

Her sealed eye is also pretty 'gloam'! More than that: her Japanese name is 宵眼の女王, and 宵 more specifically means nightfall, early night, late evening, twilight or dusk. Fun fact: her eye is similar to literal color 'Dusk'!

( x ) Not only pre-patched version mentioned her as Dusk-Eyed Queen first, but it also makes sense to name Fia's ending as 'Age of Duskborn'! Granted, I am not sure people thought under this angle, but even then, gloam means dark and Melina's eye still qualified :p

There is also that besides Marika, only her children got to be chosen as Empyreans: Ranni, Malenia and Miquella! So whereas some people believed GEQ was chosen by the Two Fingers as Greater Will grew dissatisfied with Marika (oh those pre-SOTE times...), others believed GEQ was a daughter of Marika who rebelled! Melina being daughter of Marika but strikingly "underwhelming" for a Demigod for the lack of better term could also mean that she had her true power taken! The Godskin prayerbook is also oddly found in Stormveil, so if we assume it was one of the treasures Godrick stole from Leyendell, what exactly was it doing in Leyendell to begin with? :p

Finally, the DLC added this bit:

So now we know Melina, rather than being given some sort of fire powers by Marika, was more likely naturally possessing "vision of fire"! Maybe cursed, or maybe it was just her nature connecting with the burning of the Erdtree!

So... yeah, these clues feel more like 'material for interpretation and speculation' than as a solid evidence that there IS something here, right? I think GEQ also feeling "too important" played its role! Fromsoft does have a strange brand of mentioned characters, so for me it was simpler to skip this theory as Elden Ring was not my first game from them! But they like to drop that mentioned character who feels so significant that the audience just CAN'T believe they only exist in memories and description but never were encountered in the game! Off the top of my head, Bloodborne for example has 'Suspicious Beggar is Izzy', and sometimes EVEN 'Rom is Caryll'! Again, as someone used to them doing the thing, I'd not be surprised that we never would meet GEQ!

OKAY you wanted my THOUGHTS, not just analysis, right? I think this idea is cool! It has to deal with several assumptions, but... most Elden Ring theories do anyway... 🙄 It would also make Marika giving Melina her purpose so funny fdfdsdh Just going "Hey, you wanted to slay gods once? Well I have good news-" before the Shattering fdshfhfds Personally, I go back and forth about it, and recently I am stronger on the side of not believing that Melina is GEQ!

My impression from GEQ is that she was an equal of Marika, chosen at the same time as her and on the same terms as her! Ancient Elden Ring not only featured Crucible and Divine Spiral, but also Destined Death Rune! Needless to mention that Destined Death Rune is opposite of Marika's Rune by concept, color and design!

This makes me feel as though GEQ and Marika were some sort of balance for one another: Marika was day, light and life and GEQ was night, darkness and death! GEQ's fire is God-Slaying Flame, something to ensure that nothing and no one can live forever. GEQ being a daughter of Marika does not have a very "equal" vibe to it. However, Marika wanted to be 'eternal' and believed herself to be worthy of seizing that power! She would decide who dies 'a true death' and how, and it sure would NOT be her or her children!

So, Melina was born with a curse for the same reason why Messmer was born with a curse. Karmic retributions for destroying GEQ, Fell God and what happened to Belurat where Romina is from respectively! Marika tried to deceive the fate and make a better world, but unfortunately as far as Greater Will was concerned back then, it made the world capable of "self-correcting". On the other hand, Romina is survivor of Belurat and it backfired on Malenia, whereas wraiths that haunt Omens are horned spirits so maybe Mohg and Morgott were result of victims of the Crusade cursing everyone living under Marika's light. No matter how much she tries, she can't remove 'dangerous', 'destructive', 'evil' things from nature.

Melina's eye also could imply something else!

(Images by Zlofsky) Shadowbeasts (Maliketh and Blaidd) do have this eye color as well! Maliketh doesn't have eyes, however Beast Eye he gives us as Gurranq is most likely his own! So, ignoring 'dusk-eyed' thing, what if his second eye was used to replace Melina's real one, similarly to how Marika used her seal to replace Messmer's real eye?

Alternatively, since Shadowbeasts are not just vassals of Empyreans, but also assassins in the situation if Empyrean resists the will of the Two Fingers, the similar coloration might be because conceptually Melina and Shadowbeasts are similar! Melina is our friend, helping us to grow stronger, but at the same time she is the one to come assassinate us if we fuck up big time, right?

I also agree with the idea that this statue likely depicts GEQ herself! Not just because non-optional Godskin Apostles, Wormfaces and actually guarded Destined Death itself are in Farum Azula! But also because these three wolves appear to be conjoined, which makes me think of a youkai Kamaitachi!

There is a youkai, Kamaitachi - a flying weasel spinning in whirlwhind and associated with strong winds in general that delivers sharp cut wounds but there is no bleeding or pain! Already sounds a bit like how Destined Death hurts in my opinion, especially seeing how some attacks of Godskins are also whirlwind-like! Kamaitachi's claws are also sickle-like! This is literally a name: kama is sickle and itachi is weasel.

So, unusual Shadowbeast for her! I also like to think that she had Scadutree like Marika had Erdtree. Removing Destined Death from the Elden Ring, and removing Shadow Realm, that IS the death realm, from the world's map..

I also question whether this statue's aesthetic is more akin to Rauh than it is to.. well, anything else:

There is an option Divine Beast boss fight in Rauh who, inexplicably, uses Deathblight in Phase 2 instead of storm-blizzard-lightning but there is NO Deathroot or Godwyn eyes in sight, so who knows?

______________________

So yeah, the theory does hold some weight and I can see that it is something fans could eventually come to even without communication with each other! It is not really just a fandom invention that became too popular! I just skipped through it because of how I read Fromsoft's lore personally, and now I bounce back and forth! I had a middle ground idea sort of, that it was not possible to kill GEQ but she became a baby and Marika raised her in order to control! (feel weaker on this one after Melina was called Messmer's just sister, not adopted or anything like that)

[neodafloof555]

I just had a dream

it wad calles hungry hermit life or something

there where many new people like Joe Hill's, ant frost, Izzie from dropout tv, and of course, bill cypher

at the beginning you got assigned an amount of lives with alsobmaybe an ability

then we flew across the server fortnight style and people dropped and landed in their teams

it was meant to be a longer form season

there was boogie man I think but with different rules

green and dark green where peaceful

yellows could kill greens or dark greens

rede could kill all

there was a way to get shulker boxes, maybe even through the end

the server was a lot bigger

I think it was still one session a week

each team was to like bunker in their base, maybe that's why it was called hermit life

there would be events every so often at least one or two a session that would force interactions,

I remember it having a really cool ui

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

What is Izzy supposedly right about? That Ed’s:

a twat

increasingly erratic

insane and unpleasant

a shell of a man

merely posing as Blackbeard

And Ed agrees here. Izzy only refers to two insults - twat, shell of a man - and Ed says no, don’t backpedal. I am those things, and in fact, all the rest too.

The best we can make is Ed doesn’t think these things at all, that he is simply manipulating Izzy into staying. But that in itself is problematic. To have to agree with your own debasement in order to stop your subordinate leaving is pretty messed up.

But, I think it’s worse than that. Ed is using the situation to stop Izzy leaving, and he thinks what Izzy says is likely true.

The fact that Ed then leads straight into retirement talk isn’t because he believes he deserves a well-earned rest after a successful pirating career. He’s ‘treading water waiting to drown’. He feels a pale imitation of what he once was. And in certain ways some of Izzy’s observations are possibly true. Yet they are not statements of concern, but criticisms to undermine and control.

I think an important part of Ed’s character journey is the change in his reasons for wanting to retire. He starts by running from something; and instead, over both seasons learns he needs to run towards something - Stede himself sure, but also what Stede’s character and ethos represents, as something Ed can have in his own life.

There still remains aspects of Ed’s need to run though - ‘to China… our old lives never were.’ Ed still hasn’t reconciled his fragmented parts. He cannot pretend his past self ‘never was’ because ‘wherever you go, there you are.’

Who Ed really needs to run towards is himself.

At the start of season two, Ed can no longer run towards Stede as a focus, but only run away again from himself, this time in a more intense and fatalistic way through perpetual, never-ending raids and suicide. And really the mess of this goes right into 207 when Ed is still ‘running from’ (being a pirate, fear of rejection, himself).

Until finally, in 208, Ed runs towards a new life, hopefully with Stede, no matter what that looks like. He is in the Blackbeard leathers again, and we hear the music strands that embody his love for Stede, his Blackbeard aspect, and his Kraken persona who will fight and kill for the people (person) he loves. As Ed runs towards Stede in the beach battle, he is also running finally, openly, toward his future self.

Ed can begin to quash those negative voices and perceptions. Not just those ideas around monstrous parts which should remain hidden, but also that the best times of his life are over, so cruelly voiced by Izzy way back in 104. Ed is not a shell of a man, or merely posing as a version of himself within his own life. Ed hasn’t yet had chance to live. His breakdown has become a break through, in which Ed begins to pull together his fragmented self into a changed person, viewing himself more kindly, more wholly.

Ed has a bright future, a chance at a second more authentic life, and he’s going to live the heck out of it with Stede.

[queerfandomtrifecta]

S2 is driving me nuts like anytime I try and find any sort of semblance of a tangible theme it’s just not there.

I thought it was gonna be learning how to heal from trauma correctly, because Ed’s whole Kraken era is a bad coping mechanism and we got what felt like this massive narrative plant in e1 with Frenchie saying there’s a box in his mind where he puts all the awful things and he never opens it.

Nope. Not that. Never addressed and everyone just gets over everything because “not moving on is worse”.

I thought it was gonna be atonement/apology/forgiveness, because of Stede’s “I think I hurt him pretty bad” and Izzy’s “you and me did this to him” and all the messed up ways Ed tortured the crew and everything he did to Izzy.

Nope. Ed forgives Stede after one(1) conversation and watching Buttons turn into a seagull. Influencer non-apology from Ed to the crew is just accepted by most of them. No apology to Izzy that takes accountability, but somehow a massive apology from Izzy, who has a long track record of already apologizing correctly so it’s not an arc, on his deathbed for something that had been resolved several episodes back in multiple ways and was barely even believable to begin with.

Identity in terms of being what you’re expected to be vs being happy was a massive theme in s1 but that was such a mess in s2. Like we sort of have that with Ed but not really. He threw away his leathers, then got them back. Stede is apparently trying to become a more effective captain, and aside from the fact that s1 already established his different way of doing things was what made him that already and that I’d never have known it if I hadn’t read it in an interview, he leaves piracy completely at the end of s2 so that very very forced arc for him doesn’t even play out.

The only actual arc that happened in s2 was for Izzy. He got a redemption arc, he suffered, he saved everyone, he was accepted seemingly as the leader of his new found family. It was done so well in episodes 1-4 for him. It gets hazy after that and ends in a way that doesn’t even make basic storytelling sense. He had to die for Ed to be truly free?? We wrapped that up multiple episodes ago. Ed hasn’t struggled with the “consequences” of Izzy pushing him to be Blackbeard since the end of s2e3, and we don’t even see that happening anymore in s2 at all. Izzy isn’t “feeding the darkness”. He actively tries to stop it in e1 and DOES in e2. If Jenkins hadn’t said in interviews what Izzy’s death was supposed to represent, it wouldn’t have been interpreted that way at all. And if you’re having to explain it because it’s not clear in the text, you’ve done a bad job conveying your story.

[femnoah]

More info on the different aus from the female Noah poll some more developed than others- I decided against the charm one since it's pretty similar to other ones. There's 2 parts

Princess curse. She's a Disney princess and she hates it. She always looks perfect, animals are always helping her, she can't physically swear(neither can those around her-not that they notice), she constantly passes out, she's not good at anything physical unless it's in self-defence, she can sing perfectly, when she's injured in any way she's miraculously healed/cured when a princely figure kisses her, she gets kidnapped constantly. It's pretty much Neha having to suffer through wacky shenanigans caused by her 'curse' that makes her the stereotypical princess. She's forced onto the show and figures out that dressing as a boy lessens the effects to an extent (it's the hair).

Courtney joins team escope. The idea was based on the song 'think pink' from 'grease:the rise of the pink ladies'. Team escope pretty much adopt Courtney into their ranks after defending her from Gwen and Duncan. Along the way she learns that Izzy plays up the craziness, Eva is surprisingly good with animals, Noah's actual name is Neha and she doesn't need to be the best to have value. Basically Courtney gets caught up in team escope's craziness and gains a loyal sisterhood out of it. Very wholesome and includes the girls tormenting Chris as much as possible.

Kokomi teruhashi au- technically its a bit of a saiki au but it's more centered around Noah being like teruhashi. Neha is the perfect pretty girl, God's favourite and things always go her way. There's one main downside to this however- the attention. She gets attention everywhere all the time and she hates it- her classmates signed her up for TD. Cue Neha doing her best to ruin things for herself (including pretending to be a boy, insulting everyone she meets and acting super petty) only for it to work out. After getting eliminated from WT she watches the previous episodes and decides she's going to get with Alejandro and finally embraces being God's favourite. This ends up with Neha getting back on the show and genuinely impossible feats while she tries to seduce Alejandro. Meanwhile Alejandro has been trying to figure out how to use his new power to his advantage. I mean, how was he supposed to know that standing on that weird blob in area 51 would lead to him being able to read minds... Yes Neha has a fanclub (workers on the show+people from her hometown), no she doesn't have a creepy brother- it's her old childhood friend who's an intern on the show.

Alejandro and Courtney time travel (dark). A producer turns out to not be what he seems and after Alejandro and Courtney are murdered by him after starting to unravel a mystery of some cast members going missing a year after after WT, they get sent back to the beginning of world tour. They originally thought that the missing members (they don't know who yet) had just hid to get away from public eye until they happened to overhear a conversation between Chris and Chef, they hadn't even known anyone was missing since they barely talk to the rest of the cast. After going back in time they decide to change things around (Courtney is on team Chris instead of Tyler) and solve the mysteries they keep coming across like why were they sent back in time? Who from the cast went missing? Was Noah always this paranoid? Why is Izzy so protective over Noah and why didn't they notice it the first time? What is going on between Chris, Chef and Noah? And why is Noah at the centre of most of these mysteries? Featuring Owen and Alejandro finding common ground, Courtney becoming close with Izzy and Noah (and eventually Eva) and Noah feeling like there's something going on with Alejandro and Courtney and 'he' needs to know what.

Idol au. She's Asia's sweetheart, looks adorable but can and will verbally destroy you. Neha and her brothers form an idol group where they're known for being everyone's type (like with the host club except less incesty and more of a public performance). All of her fans know she's on the show and despite her fame, none of the TD cast knows who she is. To be fair though, she is pretending to be the opposite sex (her fans voted for it). Now she's on the newest season, trying to keep her identity a secret for as long as she can, avoiding her fans in other countries, striking up deals to keep Sierra quiet and finding out what that new guy's deal is.

(part 2)

[luxaofhesperides]

greener on the other side.

Danny makes a habit out of hopping into portals and exploring he places he ends up. It just so happens that this time, he ends up in Gotham right as the Signal begins his patrol. Duke meets the strangest, funniest, cutest guy on the roof of the Gotham City Public Library. He knows Batman would not approve of literally anything he’s doing, but sue him, he wants a meta friend and this guy seems to up for it. – OR: how Duke and Danny got together despite having secret identities and living different dimensions.

chapter two: how it grows - 10.7k

read chapter one here or the entire fic on ao3.

here's the duke pov! one chapter left from danny's pov, then this fic is complete and i can get started on the rest of the series focusing on their relationship! . . .

Duke doesn’t like to make a big deal of things. He’ll try to handle things on his own and roll with the punches. As long as he keeps his cool, things will work out. 

Unfortunately, feelings are not one of the things that just ‘work out on their own’ and he has to admit that he might just need some outside help for this. The problem, then, becomes a question of who he can go to.

He’s come a long way since he was part of the We Are Robin gang and knows that he can rely on the rest of the Bats for help. He’s one of them, something that still feels surreal when he thinks about it for too long, but Duke has his place with them both in and out of the mask. He gets along well enough with Damian, trains often with Jason, bothers Dick for help when he gets in over his head, and makes fun of Bruce with Tim and Cass and Steph. 

They’re good people and he trusts them. They’re messy, with lots of history and fights between them all, but what family isn’t like that? 

They’re good people and he wants to ask them for help, but Duke can’t bring himself to go to the Manor. They’re all just… Some of the advice they give him for his civilian life is suspect at best. So instead, he’s going back to Jay’s house, hoping his cousin will have some normal advice for him.

Though he spends a decent amount of time with the Waynes, Jay technically still has custody of him; Duke doesn’t want to leave his family behind at all, not if he has any other choice, but he knows that looking after a teenager while being single and not having the biggest paycheck is stressful. Plus, it allows less time for any resentment to spring up between them with the amount of secrets Duke is hiding from him. 

As unprepared for him as Jay was, he still does his best. He’s waiting in the living room when Duke arrives, dropping his keys into the dish on the side table in the entrance hallway. A bowl of popcorn and two glasses of ice tea are set on the coffee table and Duke gladly takes one and drinks half in one go before he even sits down.

“Alright, man,” Jay says, “What’s going on? You never ask me for advice.”

Duke sighs. “It’s, uh… dating problems? I guess?”

“You guess?”

“I don’t actually know if it was a date or not and I need a second opinion.”

Jay gives him a long look. “Usually, just having to ask tends to mean it was a date and you just didn’t notice in time. You getting back with that Izzy girl?”

“No! We both decided to stay friends, and it’s not like we’ve been hanging out much at all since the break up. This is someone new.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Nah, he doesn’t live in Gotham.”

The smile falls from Jay’s face and he leans closer to Duke, suddenly growing serious. “If this is an internet friend, I’m going to have to lecture you on stranger danger. Come on man, I know you’re smarter than that.”

Duke shakes his head, pushing his cousin back into the couch. “No! No, no, definitely not! Do you really think I don’t know anything about internet safety? Not the point. The point is, he’s from out of town and he’s really cute and I spent most of yesterday just hanging out with him and took him to the best food trucks I could find. Was that a date?”

“Honestly? Sounds like it. Good for you man. Just make sure to let him know if you want the next one to officially be a date.”

See? Simple, normal advice. Jay is just telling him to communicate like a normal person. It’s not that simple, of course, since Duke isn’t going as Duke but as The Signal, but it’s still good advice. Once he finds the courage to ask Danny out on a proper date, he’ll do it in a way that leaves no confusion.

It won’t be any time soon, though. Not when they’ve just met and Danny doesn’t even know his name.

“It’s that easy, huh?”

“Sure is,” Jay grins. “How do you think I got all the girls when I was in school?”

“Is that also why you can’t get any dates now?”

“Alright, you little shit,” Jay laughs, throwing an arm around Duke’s shoulders to trap him in a noogie. “See if I give you advice ever again. Is this the thanks I get for looking after you?”

Duke can break free from his grip easily, but it’s been so long since he had a nice, easy interaction with his cousin that he just sinks into it, laughing. Time apart has made things better between them; there’s less stress involved with hiding his identity, and Jay isn’t worried out of his mind about raising Duke right while also making enough for rent and groceries. 

“You staying the night?” Jay asks, finally releasing Duke.

“Nah, the Waynes want me over for game night and I really wanna see them try to kill each other. But I got a couple of hours until they’re expecting me.”

“Up for a movie?”

“Is it another zombie movie?”

“You know it.”

Duke shrugs. “Sure, put it on and I’ll try not to laugh too hard when you get scared.”

It’s nice and lets his mind finally stop spinning in circles, going over everything he can remember from his not-date with Danny. He’s missed spending time with his cousin even if living away from him is a lot less stressful. As great as the Waynes are, they can’t give him this.

What they can give him is chaos and embarrassment.

“Caught you slacking yesterday,” Jason says casually as he drops onto the couch next to him. Both of them watch as Steph and Damian team up to kill Bruce for taking all their properties in Monopoly, and Duke suddenly has a feeling that he should have stayed with Jay after all.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replies, “I’m never slacking as the Signal. I’ve never done a single thing wrong, ever, in my life.”

“Didn’t you lead a gang?”

“Didn’t you decapitate eight men?”

Jason pinches his side in retaliation, making Duke jump. “So, you pulling a Superman? Flirting with a civilian you saved?”

They didn’t go anywhere near Crime Alley. How did Jason just happen to stumble across them? He probably should have expected someone to have spotted him. None of the Waynes care too much for other people’s privacy. 

“No,” Duke says slowly. He is flirting with a civilian, but Danny is not someone he saved. Danny is someone who helped him out when fighting crime, and is fun to be with. “I was just showing him around Gotham?”

Jason’s eyebrows go up. “An out of towner? Didn’t think they’d have the balls the stay in Gotham longer than a few hours.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not one to be scared away so easily.”

“And does this someone have a name? If he’s spending time with you, I wanna know his name.”

Duke side eyes him. “Why do you want to know?”

“Look, it’s good to keep an eye on any civilian that gets close to us. In case they’re a threat, and in case they get caught up in the bullshit that saturates every part of our lives. The longer they’re with us, the more danger they’re in. But I can help you look out for him. So: name?”

That is… a depressingly good point. Duke can’t save everyone despite how hard he tries. It would be good to have someone else looking out of Danny while he’s in Gotham, just in case. 

“Danny. His name’s Danny.”

“No last name?”

“I don’t know it. Look man, I only met him two days ago. He’s a meta like me and he’s not from Gotham. That’s about all I know.”

“That’s it?”

“Again, we literally just met. If he decides to keep coming around, then I’ll learn more about him.”

Jason gives him an assessing look, then gives him a sharp grin. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be coming back for you. Boy was giving you doe eyes the entire time he was with you. Don’t drag him along too much, yeah? Poor thing’s got it bad for you.”

“He does not!”

“I’m not blind, Narrows. And I know you saw it too.”

That’s the problem. He did see how flustered and cute Danny was around him, always finding some way to bump into him or have their arms brush as they stood around, always sticking close as they soared through the air almost close enough to hug. It was cute, so adorable that Duke wanted to squish his cheeks and also lie face down on the ground. But it wasn’t Duke who was causing Danny to blush was the slightest of touches. It was the Signal, the daytime hero, and Duke knows they can’t build anything good together when it’s built on a foundation of secrets. 

Danny’s got his own secrets too. Being a meta is only one of them and he’s not sure he’ll ever get to know those parts of Danny when the guy can just choose to never return to Gotham again. 

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to try. It’s stupid and reckless when they’ve only known each other for two days but no one has ever made him feel so normal before. Even in the midst of using their powers and hopping around Gotham fighting crime, there was a sense that they understood each other, that their lives rhymed and it made everything so easy and comfortable between them.

“And?” Duke sighs. “He doesn’t even know my name. It’s not really anything right now, okay? We just get each other and it’s nice to spend time with someone like that.”

“Want me to find him for you?”

“Please don’t.”

Jason shrugs. “Alright, your loss.” He looks back to where Bruce is calmly stealing Steph’s Monopoly money as she has her arms around his throat, trying to choke him as she clings to his back. Damian is trying to steal everything back. None of them have caught on to the fact that Tim and Cass have teamed up and have taken over the bank and are steadily taking properties on the board, fully and shamelessly cheating. 

He’s so glad he chose to sit this game out. 

Jason seems content with leaving the conversation there, so Duke cuts his losses and leaves before Tim and Cass have to fend off everyone else and turn this entire game night into a blood bath. 

It’s not like anyone’s going to win against Cass anyways.

Duke fully intends to go up to his room and get a full eight hours of sleep while everyone else goes on patrol. He’ll take some time to think about how excited he is to see Danny again when he brings his friends over next week, but only for a bit. His sleep is so important.

Batman could never compare to how much he values his sleep.

He’s got good priorities, okay? He’s not changing them for anything.

Instead of sleeping, though, he ends up laying on his bed for hours, all his thoughts swirling around in a restless tangle. This is why he can’t ask the Waynes for advice on Normal People Shit. They just make him overly paranoid and sure that everything is going to go wrong. 

Danny’s a mystery. He didn’t feel like one when they met; Danny was just an average citizen standing on top of a building, and the Signal had a duty to check up on him. 

But when Danny turned to face him, his eyes were a bright blue, practically glowing, and there was a light emanating out of his chest, as if he tucked a star into his ribcage. No normal human looked like that, and Duke would know. He’s seen a lot of weird shit with his powers, especially once they started affecting his eyes even more, but even people who dabble in magic didn’t look like that.

Danny had looked ethereal. Unreal. As if he wasn’t from this world at all. Like someone who had stepped out of a story and into the real world.

And he was fun.  

That’s what’s tripping Duke up. He’s met other metas before. They tend to either be 1) homicidal, 2) depressed and traumatized, or 3) serious and heroic. Sure there were some that had a sense of humor, but it was just to keep the mood light as they went around saving people and being more Hero than Person.

That’s what Duke had become, growing into his role as the Signal until he worried that it was taking away from Duke Thomas. The other Bats seemed to have no problem with their various identities, or enjoyed being in the mask far more than they enjoyed taking it off. Duke, as he usually was, is the outlier. 

It’s why he always has to wrestle with imposter syndrome, forcing himself to stick around until he can finally feel like he belongs with the heroes of Gotham. He can act unbothered as much as he wants. It will never change the fact that, at his heart, Duke is still the terrified and angry boy sneaking out of foster homes and orphanages to search for his parents, refusing to find a place in the world that wasn’t by their side.

As the only meta on the team, his powers are both a blessing and a curse. They’re another reminder that he’s the odd one out, the one who doesn’t fit in as easily as all the others, but also a tool that lets him help in ways no one else can.

He always has something to prove when he’s out as the Signal. He always has to make himself worth keeping around as Duke.

With Danny, all of that fell away.

Using his powers was fun with him. They darted around the city, from rooftop to rooftop, stopping crimes and teasing each other as they went. There was no pressure to conform or prove himself, just the easy joy of feeling the air rush by him as he swung through the skyline, hundreds of feet in the air. 

It doesn’t hurt that Danny is cute, too.

Sighing, Duke rolls over and shoves his face into his pillow. 

He hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he met another meta who wasn’t trying to attack him. Sure, he has other hero friends, but they’re either regular humans or not human at all. One day with another meta, just shooting the shit, enjoying their time together, makes him all too aware of how much he’s wanted something like this since his powers first manifested. 

Jason said that Danny was down bad, but Duke’s not doing any better, honestly.

He can’t wait until he sees Danny again.

It takes putting on some soothing music and trying not to let all his thoughts drift back to Danny before Duke finally feels sleep take a hold of him and gladly gives into its embrace. . . .

The glow appears suddenly, a flash of light in the distance, and that’s all Duke needs before he takes down two muggers and zip ties their wrists together quickly. “Stay safe!” he calls to the victim, quickly grappling away as she glares at her attempted muggers. She’s looking rather violent, and if she wants to whack them over the head, then that’s her right. 

Duke doesn’t need to worry about it. He’s already dealt with the problem and now he can make his way to Danny, falling into the familiar rhythm of catch, fall, and release as he chases after the cold star-glow of Danny.

He makes his way to the glow until he can see Danny standing on the roof of the mall in Diamond District. Duke stops a few buildings away, taking the time to catch his breath and make sure he’s in Signal mode instead of Duke Thomas. 

Then, as prepared as he’ll ever be, he shoots his grapple out.

Danny and his friends are already facing him when he lands, eyes flickering between him and his grapple gun.

Duke tucks it away and offers them a small wave, giving Danny a soft smile. 

“This is him!” Danny announces, turning to face his friends so he can do a little flourish and show off Duke. “This is the Signal, and he’s a legit hero here.”

A goth girl looks him over with an unimpressed gaze, then clicks her tongue in a way that reminds him way too much of Damian. “Too much yellow,” she says, “You should update your armor to be less… this.”

“Sam!” Danny says, smacking her arm. “Uncalled for!”

“What? I’m right. That’s way too much yellow.”

The other boy pushes his glasses up his nose and glares at Duke. “So you’re a hero, huh?”

Duke blinks and the sudden hostility, then nods. “Yeah, sure am.”

“And you save people?”

“I do my best.”

“Even if they’re not human?”

Oh, Duke realizes, they’re just being overprotective of Danny. It kind of sucks to be on the other end of it, but he’s glad to know that Danny has people that will stand by him. Being a meta without any support is awful and often dealy; human traffickers especially love to target vulnerable metas. 

“Even then,” Duke says. “If anyone needs help and I can help them, I do. It’s how I got into the hero business.”

“Quit the interrogation,” Danny hisses, then turns to Duke with a strained smile. “I am so sorry about them. This is Sam, and this is Tucker.”

“Well, welcome to Gotham.”

Danny hooks his arms with Sam and Tucker’s, pulling them closer to himself with enough force that they stumble. “Stop being mean, guys. We’re here to have fun, remember?”

Sam sighs, then gently knocks her head against Danny’s. “Yeah, alright. We’ll behave.”

“ Thank you. Let’s hit up Wayne Tower first, then the botanical gardens and maybe lunch after that?”

“Sounds good,” Tucker says, pulling his arm free from Danny’s grasp just to hop onto his back. With Tucker secured, Danny sweeps Sam up into a princess carry, and all three look at Duke like this is something totally normal that happens all the time. And maybe it is! It’s probably normal for them and Duke is not going to judge them because he wants to make a good impression and not be a hypocrite.

He’ll just… not talk about the Bats and how bizarre they all are. Duke himself is not exempt from this.

“You gonna be able to hold them both and fly around?” he asks, just to make sure. He definitely doesn’t want anyone falling to their deaths while he’s leading them through Gotham.

Danny just offers him a grin, the tips of his sharp canines just barely visible. The glow in his chest gets a little stronger and his eyes flicker from blue to bright green. “Don’t worry. I’m strong enough to be their Uber today.”

“We’re not paying you,” Sam and Tucker say at the same time, then high five. Danny rolls his eyes, and Duke can’t help but smile seeing their little routines.

They must have been friends for a long time to be so close.

Duke makes a mental note to spend a day just hanging out with his own friends soon. It’s been a little too long, hero work and school taking up all his time, and though they understand and try to keep him in their lives through texts, it’s all too easy to slip away from each other. 

Focus, Duke, he tells himself. Today is for Danny and his friends. 

He’s the Signal. There’s no time for Duke’s problems. He’s got crime to fight and three teenage tourists from who knows where to show around Gotham. He’ll deal with his own shit later.

“I’ll lead the way to Wayne Tower then,” he says, walking backwards to the edge of the roof. Danny lifts up from the roof, hovering a foot in the air, and it’s so hard to look away from him when he’s literally glowing, eyes bright and hair turning white. “Also, just as a heads up, I may have to leave for a few minutes to deal with crime, but I will come back. Just stick to the roofs and you’ll be safe.”

Sam looks around, assessing the city. “Lots of crime here?”

“We’re called the Crime Capital of America for a reason,” Duke responds wryly and she grimaces. 

“Well. At least the aesthetic is pretty nice. I’m digging all the gargoyles.”

“Wait ‘til you see some of our churches. Stained glass, dark stone, really Gothic. I think you’ll like it.” Then, to Danny, he says, “Ready?”

Danny nods, and Duke turns and jumps off the roof. 

Behind him, he can hear a gasp, and then he shoots his grapple out and begins swinging through Diamond District, trusting that Danny is following behind him as they fly above the busy streets. And sure enough, when he flips off the edge of another building, Duke catches a glance behind him and sees the shimmer of an invisible Danny flying towards him, with two additional little shimmers that must be his friends.

He goes back to grappling through the streets, keeping an eye out for any crime. 

“Come in O,” he says quietly, activating his comm. 

“Signal, everything good?” Oracle asks, hopping onto his frequency within a second.

“Yeah, I’ve just got a few visitors I’m escorting around Gotham. Can you keep an eye out for any crimes that need my attention? Just let me know where they are and I’ll deal with it.”

“Sure thing. Who are these visitors?”

“Out of towners. One’s a meta and they wanted to do a little sightseeing, and you know how this city is dangerous for people who aren’t used to it. And with meta human trafficking…”

Oracle makes a small sound of understanding. “Yeah, best to stick close to them while they’re here. Good call, Signal. I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if anything pops up, but so far, it’s all looking quiet.”

“Good to hear.”

There’s a pause, and then Oracle’s voice turns teasing, bringing more Barbara into the forefront. “Soooo,” she starts, and he can already hear the grin in her voice. “Making friends, Signal? Looking to start up your own team? It’s tradition, you know; we’ve all done it.”

“Nah, they’re not looking to join the cape scene. They just want to see the sights, hang out a bit. Are you looking for information on them right now?” He can hear her typing loudly, fingers flying across the keyboard. She’s supposed to be working in the library, but she’s also got her own office in there now that she’s the most senior employee. It would be just like her to pass off patron duties to the other libraries and bust crime rings from her office desk. 

Zero separation between regular work and night work. The curse all bats and bat-adjacent folk struggle with. 

“Who do you think I am?” Barbara scoffs. “If you’re making friends, then it’s my duty to make sure they’re good friends. At the very least, I can’t let you run off with villains in the makings, or cultists wanting to sacrifice you or something.”

“They’re normal civilians,” Duke hisses into his comm. He casts another glance behind him to see Danny flying off to the side. From what he can make out from the movement of the shimmer, like a heat mirage given form, he’s pointing something out to his friends. “And how likely is it that they are villains? I doubt anyone looking to hurt me is going to ask me for a tour of Gotham.”

Barbara hums. “You never know. Tim befriended Anarchy. And a couple of League assassins.”

“Tim’s a special case. He can befriend literally anyone. I mean, didn’t Jason and Damain both try to kill him? Now look at them. Thick as thieves.”

“He is something special,” Barbara agrees, amusement coloring her voice. “Say, can you tell me their names?”

“Who?”

“Your tourist guests.”

“Danny, Tucker, and Sam. Why?”

There’s a pause, even the clicking of her keyboard going silent. Oracle being stopped in her tracks is never a good thing and Duke is suddenly worried that she did find something that will connect the trio to some evil world domination plan.

“I can’t find them.”

“What?” 

“I’ve run their faces through the databases, I’ve searched for people matching their descriptions, I can’t find any tech on them that I can hack into… It’s like they don’t exist. Digitally, that is.”

Duke lands just a block away from Wayne Tower, staring up at it. The glass glistens in the few rays of sunlight that force their way past the clouds hanging heavy in the sky. It’s taller than any other building in the district, overlooking Gotham all the way to the bay. He hears the slight shuffle of feet as Danny lands on the roof behind him and sets Tucker and Sam down. 

He wants to keep talking to Barbara because he can’t recall a time she wasn’t able to find something. She’s ruthless in the pursuit of information, effortlessly hacking into even the most protected files, capable of finding people and vehicles and buildings and everything else someone might need for a case. 

The fact that Danny and his friends have hidden themselves from Oracle’s all seeing eyes has him on edge. 

He really hopes it’s nothing. He wants to be friends with Danny. He wants to trust him to be a good person just trying to live a quiet life as a meta. He wants just one thing to not blow up in his face. 

“Here we are!” Duke announces, showing off Wayne Tower with a flourish. “I can’t get you much closer to the tower without people noticing you pop in out of nowhere, so you’ll have to walk the last two blocks to get to the building.”

“Impressive place,” Tucker comments as invisibility slides off of him. Sam appears a moment later, followed by Danny, the glow in his chest softening and growing a little dimmer. 

“Wayne Enterprises is always striving for perfection,” Duke agrees. “Though, between you and me, I’m 99% positive that the only reason this building is as big and impressive as it is stems from Wayne’s need to be better than Lexcorp.”

“Lexcorp?”

“Rival company in Metropolis. Lex Luthor is the CEO and we all hate him for a lot of reasons.”

“I kinda want to pit Vlad against these guys,” Sam says, shooting Danny a grin.

Danny snorts and shakes his head. “Vlad has a cheese castle. I think he’s already lost.”

Duke is really interested in hearing about the cheese castle, but a quick glance at the watch hidden in his wrist gauntlet (put there only so he can dramatically check the time and leave with some insane excuse when criminals were complaining to him about their own poor choices) tells him that it’s nearly time for the next tour to start. 

“Alright, folks,” he says, “You’ve got around eleven minutes to sign yourselves up for the next tour, so if you want to make it, you’d better get moving!”

Tucker swears, then sprints for the edge of the building. “Danny! Get me down there! I’m not waiting another hour for a tour!”

Danny rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling fondly as he flies over to Tucker and scoops him up. They both disappear over the edge of the building, leaving Duke alone with Sam.

“So,” she says, and her tone could be mistake for conversational if it wasn’t for the coldness of her eyes. “You’re getting pretty friendly with Danny, from what I’ve heard.”

Duke smiles nervously. This is the beginning of a shovel talk, isn’t it? “I guess so. I mean, I’d like to be friends with him.”

“How old are you?”

“What?”

“How. Old. Are you?” she bites out, walking closer with a glare.

“Why do you want to know? I can’t just be giving out information about my identity, you know.”

“If you’re not a teenager, then I am going to have a few knives sharpened for when you make a wrong move towards Danny.”

“Wait, wait! I’m still in high school! That’s fine, isn’t it?” He definitely shouldn’t be telling anyone this, but if one of his friends said they were hanging out with someone they don’t know outside of a mask, or a username, or whatever, he’d want to make sure that person wasn’t a creep. Her protective anger is admirable, really. And besides, he gets it. If telling her his age (or age range) will reassure her that he’s not going to… groom Danny or something, then he’ll tell her. 

He’d never fault someone for looking out for their loved ones. 

“You better be telling the truth. For your own sake.”

“Cross my heart,” Duke says. 

Danny pops up through the roof a moment later, startling both of them, easily breaking the tension. “Come on, Sam, Tucker’s signed us up and doesn’t want to wait for you to get over there.” He picks Sam up, then glances between her and Duke. “Wait. Sam. Tell me you didn’t threaten the Signal.”

“Do you want me to lie to you?”

“I can’t take you guys anywhere, I swear…” Danny mutters, then flies down to the street.

Duke blinks at the empty roof, then decides that he’s just going to move on with his day and enjoy spending time with Danny. 

He grapples closer to Wayne Tower, following Danny’s glow to make sure they get inside just fine. It’s only a block, but anything can happen in Gotham; better safe than sorry. As soon as he watches them go into the building, Duke sets a timer to display on the corner of his helmet visor and gets back to patrolling, keeping watch over Gotham while he waits for the tour to finish.

“Signal,” Oracle says, and Duke snaps to attention, landing on the next building at the end of his grapple, hopping down from the ledge with ease. 

“What’s up, O? Got something for me?”

“Not quite. I’d like you to keep an eye on your guests. One of my drones picked up a strange reading that’s similar to magical residue.”

“You think they’re magic?”

“I think there’s something going on with them that we should keep an eye on. I know you said they’re just here as tourists, but you know we can’t take chances in Gotham.”

As much as he understands Barbara’s concerns, Duke can’t bring himself to be suspicious of Danny or his friends. They do have secrets, and none of them have even hinted at how they arrived in Gotham, appearing suddenly and without warning on a rooftop. But he’s always been one to give the benefit of the doubt. To try to talk things out, figure out a solution where no one needs to get hurt. Most of the time, it doesn’t work since whoever is causing problems really only cares about venting out their pain and frustrations through property damage and loss of life. Sometimes, though, the people causing problems need a little help, need protection, need some space to calm down and get themselves under control, and having a horde of Bats chasing them only makes things worse. 

“They really are just tourists,” Duke says. “I know how you feel. I get it, there’s definitely something more to the three of them. But it’s not causing any harm right now, so I say it’s none of our business.”

He hears Barbara sigh down the line, but she’s always been good at respecting boundaries (when it doesn’t come to privacy) and will let people do as they believe they should. It’s why she helps out Jason every so often despite his violent methods and familiarity with killing. It’s why she has her own group and leads them without controlling them the way Batman tries to. 

“Alright,” she says, “You make the calls since they’re your guests. Just be ready for me to say ‘I told you so’ when something goes wrong.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re always right, O. Let me make my mistakes in peace, alright? We’ll fix it when we need to.”

“This is why you’re my new favorite,” Barbara jokes.

He makes to respond, maybe poke fun at some of the others with her, when he catches sight of two guys trying to break the lock on a bike to steal it from the sidewalk. Dropping down from the roof, he casually walks up to them, then clears his throat and shakes his head in disappointment at them when they jump and whirl around to stare at him.

“Really?” he says, judging them harshly, “Stealing someone’s bike? In broad daylight?”

They both flush with embarrassment, scowling at him.

“Well, we gotta get home somehow!” one of them says, kicking at the bike in frustration.

“Can’t you take the bus or something? Walk?”

“We don’t have any money on us for the bus and we’re heading to Robinson Park. I ain’t walking that far.”

Well. At least they’re just trying to get around and weren’t planning on selling the bike off. 

“Two options,” he says, and both guys tense up immediately, prepared for a fight. He hates that that’s the reaction people have to Gotham’s heroes. As soon as they turn to a crime, no matter how petty, they’re prepared to be beaten down into submission. It’s a precedent set by Bruce that he’s never really liked and Duke does his best to embrace how different he is from the rest of the Bats to show the people of Gotham, criminals and all, that everyone can turn to him for help.

“I can buy a week-long bus pass for you both. Or, I can give you two a ride.”

They share a glance, slowly relaxing. “Can we do both?” one asks. “Get a ride from you and the bus pass?”

Duke glances at the timer in his visor. He’s still got forty minutes before he needs to go back to Wayne Tower. 

“You know what? Yes, we can do that. Let me get you those bus passes and then we’ll get going.”

The two men share an excited grin, stepping away from the bike and its slightly mangled lock. They follow Duke to the nearest bus station where a little kiosk is tucked under the awning. Barbara, listening in as she always is, buys the bus passes for him, getting them to print within seconds when they get there. 

“Sending your new motorcycle to your location,” she says as soon as he hands both bus passes to the men. 

As far as Duke knows, he only has one motorcycle. He wishes he could ask what Barbara meant with new motorcycle without anyone listening in, but he’s gotta give the guys his attention, keep them company while they wait. 

They make small talk for a bit, the two asking him what being a hero is like while Duke chats about life in Gotham and shares some Batfam gossip (mostly patrol blunders of one of them slipping while crossing the rooftops and eating shit). 

It only takes seven minutes for the motorcycle to arrive, appearing in front of them in the street as the cloaking turns off. 

“Woah,” one of the guys breathes, staring at it in awe. “Man, you heroes get the coolest shit.”

“Perks of throwing ourselves into the line of fire. Literally.” 

He sees why Barbara sent him an entire new motorcycle (!!!) because his original plan of having three people squeeze onto the seat of one motorcycle was clearly going to end in disaster. This new one, Signal Yellow as it should be, is more armored, a little larger, and has an extended passengers seat attached to it so three people can ride it easily.

Duke swings his leg over it, settling into the seat and grips the handlebars. “Come on,” he smiles, inviting the men to join him. They do, nearly tripping over themselves as they get seated, excited grins on their faces. 

It’s nice to know that no matter how old people get, a cool motorcycle is the way to most people’s hearts. 

And what a change it is to see two men, likely college students in their final years, go from scared and unhappy people to acting like kids again, jumping at the chance to ride a motorcycle with a hero. 

Small interactions like this, where everything goes right, is exactly why Duke is determined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, a chance to choose differently and be good.

“Hold on tight!” He revs the engine, then takes off, the men letting out whoops behind him as they rush down the street. The motorcycle picks up speed quickly and runs so smoothly it’s as if they’re flying, easily dodging all the cars around them. 

Normally, he’d go invisible and use the cloaking mode on his motorcycle to get around, but with two civilians riding with him, he’d rather be visible so cars don’t accidentally hit them.

The ride to Robinson Park takes fifteen minutes at the frankly dangerous speeds Duke was going, and he has no regrets about speeding because 1) it’s fun as hell and 2) the guys with him are clearly having a blast.

He slows down once they reach the park, then pulls over to the side of the road.

“Thank you for riding with Signal Wheels. Be sure to leave a review!”

“Five out of five!” one guys says as he gets off the motorcycle. His hair is a mess, completely windswept and tangled when Duke turns to look at him. “Holy shit, dude, I think I’d marry your motorcycle if I could.”

“Oh same,” Duke laughs, holding out a hand for a fistbump which is readily granted. 

The second guy needs a moment longer to get off, laughing breathlessly. “Ten out of ten,” he says, once he’s next to his friend.

“Trying to one up me, huh?” 

“Just being honest here.”

“Alright, well you two take care now,” Duke says, shifting his weight to one foot in preparing to kick off and head back to Wayne Tower. “And be sure not to lose those bus passes!”

“Thanks Signal!” they both call out as Duke heads back down the road, turning invisible as soon as he gets to a good speed.

He’s got just enough time to make it back to lead Danny and his friends to the botanical gardens. He cuts it close, but he makes it, pulling into an alley and hopping off the motorcycle.

“O, would you mind getting this back to wherever you piloted it from?”

“Not going to take your new friends on it?”

“Nah, I get the feeling they prefer flying.”

“You got it, Signal.”

The motorcycle pulls out of the alley silently, then heads down on road once cloaking is enabled. It’s gone just in time for his guest to walk out of Wayne Tower, trailing after Tucker who talks with his hands moving around energetically, too distracted to watch where he’s going as Sam and Danny pull him this way and that to keep him from crashing into other people. 

Danny spots him first, after he stops and his brow furrows, a look of concentration on his face. Then his head turns and his eyes snap onto where Duke leans against the wall at the mouth of the alley. He grins, the glow in his chest flaring brighter for a moment, and Duke offers a small wave, unbearably charmed by how cute Danny is, especially when he’s so clearly delighted to see him.

“How was it?” Duke asks once they’re close enough to hear him.

Tucker immediately launches into a rant about WayneTech and the R&D Lab and how he would give his liver to work there. Then he starts rambling about technology and coding and a few of the things he’s created and how he’d love to look through what WayneTech does. He doesn’t stop even as Danny flies him up to the roof, Duke following after with his grapple, Sam clinging onto his back. 

“So, so cool,” Tucker gushes, “I could probably take over the government in Amity with this kind of tech.”

Okay. Kind of a concerning statement to make, especially in the wake of Barbara’s suspicions of them.

Sam snorts. “You could take over the government in Amity now, if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, I could.”

“Not that you’d be good at it. What would you do as mayor?”

“Create a steak festival to celebrate steak and all the meals you can make with it.”

“Oh you little—” Sam lunges at them and Tucker falls back with a shriek. And then they’re tussling on the rooftop, arguing about meat and veganism and the farming industry, which, what a subject change.

Duke looks over at Danny, who watches them wrestle with fond exasperation. “Should we… stop them?”

“Let them get this out of their systems,” Danny replies. “They’ve been having this fight for years. I’ll stop them in a few minutes, and then we can go to the botanical gardens.”

So they stand together and watch Sam and Tucker roll around the roof, trying to choke each other out. And all Duke can think is, Man, I can’t ever let them meet the Bats. They’ll get along like a house on fire.

Or, it’s all he thinks until Danny shifts closer to him, just a few tentative steps. He’s suddenly starkly aware of how small the space between them is, how Danny’s close enough to touch, how much he’s been looking forward to this moment since Danny left a week ago.

Boy was giving you doe eyes the entire time he was with you, Jason had said. Duke saw it, when he was with Danny, reveled in it, basked in the attention. It wasn’t that he didn’t reciprocate, but he knows it can be hard to convey anything through his helmet, but there’s only so much action can do.

But it’s what he can do, so Duke shoves away his nerves and wraps his arm around Danny’s waist, pulling him closer.

Danny lets out a cute little squeak, cheeks filling with color immediately, and Duke is so, so endeared he wants to cry. 

“So, what’s the story behind this fight of theirs?” he asks, leaning closer to ask his question quietly in Danny’s ear.

“Oh! Um,” Danny blinks at him, visibly flustered, and Duke wants to squeeze his cheeks together, he’s so cute. 

Oh, he really is down bad. Damn. He hopes Barbara isn’t watching through his helmet camera, but he knows better than to expect her to not be collecting blackmail on him for this.

Which is whatever! Jokes on Barbara, he’s not at all ashamed of what he feels for Danny!

He could do without the ribbing from the rest of the Bats. They have no leg to stand on when it comes to relationships and being honest about their feelings. He’ll turn every conversation about Danny into improvised therapy if he has to.

“Well?” he prompts.

Danny glances at his friends, then leans into Duke and turns to him with a small smile. 

“So,” he begins, then launches into a wild story from his freshman year about Sam and Tucker splitting the school into two groups to have a mini civil war over meat vs vegetarian food. Which lead to eating grass (?!) for lunch, a ghost lunch lady attacking the school, and the teachers having their own hidden meat lunch kept secret from the students, which lead to more chaos once it was discovered.

“That was a wild school week,” Danny concludes, just as Sam and Tucker’s fight winds down.

“Dude,” Duke says, staring at Danny, unsure if he wants to laugh or ask follow up questions. “What kind of life have you been living? That’s so much. The only thing we’ve got here is shootings and so much crime. Also a zombie in the sewers.”

“See, you drop info like that on me and suddenly I’m convinced that my life is actually pretty tame compared to whatever’s going on here.”

“No, no, listen. In Gotham, you expect this kind of nonsense. But your story started so deceptively normal! ‘Just a fight between friends’ and then a ghost attack? Betrayal from the teachers? Grass? Danny, everything you said left me reeling.”

“It’s not that bad!” Danny laughs. “The ghosts barely cause any problem anymore. They’re just kinda like anyone else, now.”

“What’s this about?” Sam asks, brushing her skirt off as she stands. Tucker pushes himself up to his feet and takes a moment to wipe the lenses of his glasses.

“The first time we met Lunch Lady.”

Sam and Tucker make a sound of understanding, nodding. “That sure was something,” Sam says.

“To think we were so young and innocent back then,” Tucker says with a fake sniffle. “So innocent!”

“You’re still as insufferable as ever,” Sam replies, taking his smack to her arm with grace.

“You two ready to head to the botanical garden now?” Duke asks, getting them back on track. Danny moves out of Duke’s grasp, unfortunately, to return to his role as their personal Uber, this time getting Tucker in a princess carry while Sam clings to his back like a koala.”Well. Guess Danny’s decided you’re ready.”

His friends snicker while Danny rolls his eyes and mutters about their unending arguments, then nods at Duke to lead the way.

Giving him a little salute, Duke readies his grapple, then takes off, leaping off the building to return to the skies. Danny follows him effortlessly, a soft glow that occasionally passes by in front of him playfully, sticking close as they head north. 

The botanical gardens are a large spot of green in the otherwise urban landscape. It’s a few blocks away from Robinson Park, close enough that everything nearby is deemed Ivy’s territory, but far enough away that most people can pretend it’s like any other building and visit it safely. It’s been a long time since the botanical garden was attacked, or use for Villainous Purposes™, so Duke is comfortable letting Sam, Tucker, and Danny explore it on their own. 

Plenty of other people are also in the gardens, from what he can see a roof away. And no one’s run away screaming, which is definitely a good sign.

“Oh, wow,” Sam says once she hops down from Danny’s back. She stares at the gardens with something unreadable in her eyes, as if she’s seeing more than what’s there. “There’s so much…”

“Poison Ivy—one of our rogues who can control plants and is doing a lot better these days, don’t worry—she takes care of most of the gardens. The greenhouse in the middle is hers for studies and experiments with plants, but she lets the public walk the garden. She’s even added little informational cards for kids to read so they can learn more,” Duke says, walking up to where Sam is leaning concerningly over the edge to get a better look at the gardens. 

“That explains it,” she says, explaining nothing. “Do we have to pay to go in?”

“Just five dollars per person. It’s her income, and we’re all encouraged to leave a donation so she doesn’t turn to crimes to get enough money to support herself again.”

“Well!” Danny claps his hands together. “Let’s go, then. Jazz made sure we had cash on had, so it should be fine.”

“I can cover our tickets,” Sam offers, “Since this is for me.”

“Then I’ll cover lunch,” Danny says.

Tucker shoves his hand onto Danny’s face to push him away as he says, “No, I’ll pay for lunch. Danny, you’re not spending anything since you’re the one that scoped out this place last week for us. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. Thanks, guys,” Danny smiles, then turns to Duke. “Would you mind waiting here for a bit? I’m gonna check out the gardens for a bit, but then I’ll be back.”

“Sure,” Duke says easily. It’s a quiet day anyways, and he’ll take any excuse to spend more time with Danny.

“Great. I’ll be right back!” And then he wraps an arm around both Sam and Tucker’s waits, picks them up like they weigh nothing, and casually hops off the roof. 

Duke sits down on the edge of the building, watching as they cross the street and enter the botanical garden, Sam pulling out her wallet to pay for their entry. He idly kicks his heels against the wall, looking around the street, enjoying the rare Gotham peace.

No one is calling for help and Barbara hasn’t alerted him to anything. This is a good thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that Duke is bored.

He pulls out his phone, which he knows he shouldn’t have while he’s in the suit but it’s his day shift, he can do what he wants, and checks his friends (no Bats allowed) group chat and sees that Izzy is active. He opts to leave the chaos of the group chat to message her directly.

flashlight: hey izzy u know how we broke up

2(00)chains: oh boy. strong opening. but yes i am aware we broke up

flashlight: would u be mad if i started dating someone new or is it too soon?

2(00)chains: OMG DUKE??? WHO IS IT YOU NEED TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW

flashlight: izzy.

2(00)chains: babe u gotta give me something to work with so i can know if i should give u my blessing or not

2(00)chains: but also if u want to date and they make u happy, then yes u can date

flashlight: okay thanks!! wasn’t sure and didn’t know if it would be rude

2(00)chains: rude to date when ur single?? it would have been a problem if we were still together but that ship has sailed bby

2(00)chains: but duke PLSSSS i need deets. give me some tea… a girl is parched…

flashlight: lmao. so dramatic. but uuuuuuh

2(00)chains: little concerned by that pause there duke

flashlight: ok hes a meta

2(00)chains: ok strong start, u dont need to hide powers from him

flashlight: he’s not from gotham and doesnt live here so idk how well long distance would do

2(00)chains: duke. is this an online friend u’ve never met before.

flashlight: no!! i met him in person in gotham!! he’s just visiting!!!!

2(00)chains: ok ok go on

flashlight: uh

flashlight: he may only know me as the signal?

2(00)chains: DUKE. 

2(00)chains: i understand the need to keep ur identity secret

2(00)chains: but PLS do not be a superhero love story cliche. im begging here. u didnt even keep it secret from me

flashlight: he may also not exist in this world (universe?)

2(00)chains: .

2(00)chains: u know i think u can make it work

2(00)chains: u have my blessing! if he says yes when u ask him out (which he better do 🔪) then i demand to meet him!!

flashlight: u got it izzy

flashlight: thanks!! u always got my back ☺️

He only has a faint prickle on the back of his neck to warn him of Danny’s approach, looking up through gut instinct only just to see Danny’s fuzzy glow fly up to him.

Danny pops into visibility a moment later, pouting. “I was hoping I could sneak up on you.”

“It’s gonna take more than that, babe,” he laughs. “I’m hard to sneak up on.” Bar that time Cass… and Bruce… and Tim… Dick, also… Jason, too…

Okay, so anyone who isn’t a Bat won’t be able to sneak up on him easily.

“Babe?” Danny repeats, his voice suddenly much higher. Duke freezes and takes a moment to curse his loose mouth; he and Izzy love pet names and still call each other terms of endearment even now when they’ve broken up. And since he was just talking to her, habit made him put his foot in his mouth.

“Yeah,” Duke says, committing to it, “Babe”

Danny makes a little whine in the back of his throat, face going red, and then his hides his face in his hands and floats up higher, curling his body up into a small ball. The movement reminds him of the videos he’s seen of astronauts in space, moving in lazy circles in zero gravity.

“Sorry,” he adds on, “I was texting a friend and we call each other things like that, so I just… slipped up. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not,” Danny mumbles.

“What?”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

Duke smiles. “Alright. Wanna come down and join me, then?”

Danny continues hiding for a few moments longer, then reaches a hand down towards Duke. He doesn’t look at him, shyly turned away, still red in the cheeks. 

How is he so sweet?  

Duke has never met someone so cute, and full of light, and literally glowing. He never stood a chance.

He takes Danny’s hand, gently pulling him down to the roof, wrapping an arm around him once he’s sitting to make sure he doesn’t go floating away.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh, I was just… I really like hanging out with you and you’re super cool and I thought I should explain a few things about myself.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I do,” Danny says, resolutely. “First, I’m not from here.”

Duke stares at him. “Yeah, I got that. Kinda obvious after we spoke for the first time.”

“No, I mean. Really not from here. From a different dimension.”

Oh. So Danny’s just casually walking the multiverse, apparently, and chose to return to Gotham to spend time with Duke. That’s honestly really flattering. 

“Makes sense,” he says.

Now Danny’s staring at him, incredulously. “How does that make sense? Do you not have questions about what that means, or where I’m from, or how I got here?”

Duke shrugs. “Not really. Listen, there’s a lot of weird shit in Gotham. Like, a lot. Batman was lost in time once and presumed dead until Red Robin helped get him back. There’s incomprehensible magic and time travel and so many aliens, dude. This is not that out of the ordinary.”

“YOU HAVE ALIENS?” Danny shouts, then claps a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. And then, whispered, “You have aliens?!”

“Yeah, we have aliens. Some try to kill us and conquer Earth, some live here as superheroes.”

“No way,” Danny breathes. “Can I stay here forever? My dimension doesn’t have aliens. I really want to meet aliens.”

“If you stick around long enough, it’s kind of inevitable that you’ll get caught up in some crazy shit, and you’ll probably be able to meet Superman then. Or maybe Martian Manhunter, if he’s available.”

He watches Danny mouth Martian Manhunter in awe and is so charmed by him and his visible excitement about aliens. Most of this is just how he lives life, knowing all these impossible things are out there but have very little to do with him. It’s only mind blowing when he actually meets Superman and all, but that’s because meeting big heroes is like meeting celebrities and it never stops being cool.

“Wait, I’m getting distracted.” Danny shakes his head, then lightly claps his hands against his cheeks. “Okay, so. I’m from a different dimension. And Tucker has made a few phones that can work literally anywhere. But only to contact other phones he made for interdimensional communication. I had him make one for you so we could keep talking even when I go home, if you wanted.”

“I want it! I very much do want it.”

Danny grins. “Great! Perfect, okay.” He reaches into his own chest (?!) and pulls out a phone.

“Um.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can use my insides like a pocket dimension for extra storage.”

Sure. This might as well happen. Duke takes the phone and looks it over; it looks like a large, square flip phone, but when it opens, the screen and keyboard are both touchscreens the glow a faint neon green. He opens up the contacts menu, finds Danny, and shoots him a quick text that consists only of a smiley face. 

“Man, this is so cool,” Duke says. “Thanks for giving it to me! I really am glad I can talk to you some more.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you for giving me the time of day.”

Duke knocks his shoulder against Danny’s. “Come on, man, don’t say that. Anyone would be happy to spend time with you. Besides, I’m really not as cool as you think. I’m a normal guy outside the suit.”

“You still have powers.”

“I do, but I’m not the only one.”

“I know this is a bit of a bad question, and I do understand how important secret identities are! But do you think I’d ever get to know you when you’re just… you?”

Duke thinks about how much Batman would disapprove, the lengths Tim went through to protect his own identity as Red Robin, how everyone around him would become a target if anyone figured out who the Signal is…

But then he thinks about how much keeping this secret puts a strain on his relationship with his cousin, how much of a relief it is to have his friends in the know so he doesn’t have to constantly lie to them, how he’s the only hero Danny knows in this dimension and the only person who can help him while he’s here.

“I’ll tell you one day,” Duke says, “Promise. When we get to know each other a little more, yeah?”

“Yeah, alright, that’s fair. Thanks, Signal.”

“You need to get back to your friends?”

“Nah,” Danny shakes his head, “They can manage on their own. Besides, they agreed to one hour each place, and Tucker’s hungry enough to drag Sam out as soon as it hits that hour mark.”

“Well, in that case, why don’t you tell me a little more about your dimension while we wait? Or any other place you’ve visited.”

Danny grins, leaning closer, and says, “Have you ever met a yeti? Cause I have.” . . .

He doesn’t get to see Danny or his friends off when they return to their dimension. They’d been in the planetarium for hours, and Duke had to end patrol and turn in for the day to look over cases with Steph and Tim, then work on his college application. 

He does get a text from Danny, his new phone going off with a soft sound of a wind chime, in the middle of looking at different colleges and stressing out.

Danny: got home safe! off to fight dinner now 🤺

Danny: wanna talk more tomorrow?

Signal: sure! i’d love to!! good luck with dinner?

There’s a brief pause, and then Danny sends a blurry picture of a rotisserie chicken flying through the air towards a woman with red hair, holding out a steak knife, ready to attack. 

…Yeah, he’s going to question that tomorrow. For now, he just sends Danny a thumbs up emoji and goes back to staring at his list of potential schools he wants to go to with growing despair.

Does he want to stay in Gotham? Gotham City University isn’t all that bad, and he’s familiar with the campus. Or maybe Montclair State University. Rowan University and Rutgers University don’t sound bad either, and both are still in the state, so he wouldn’t be too far from Gotham. Maybe he could go to his parent’s alma matter; UCLA and Penn State are both out of state, though, and way more expensive, even if Bruce offered to cover his tuition.

What would he even study?

So lost in thought, Duke almost doesn’t realize that his regular phone is ringing until the noise cuts off. His head jerks up and he stares at it, wondering who could be calling him right after he finished eating dinner. 

Then it rings again, Barbara’s name popping up on the screen, and he lunges for it, worried that something’s going down in Gotham without him noticing.

“Babs! Is something wrong?”

“No. Should something be wrong? I was calling because you didn’t check in with me before you ended patrol, and you haven’t been responding to any of my texts,” she says, sounding distracted as the sound of her keyboard continues on steadily in the background. She must be working as Oracle already, preparing to assist the Bats on their patrols.

“Oh, sorry. Everything’s fine, our visitors were from another dimension and they really were just here to sightsee. Nothing to worry about.”

“I saw that you got a gift.”

Duke understands exactly what she’s calling about, now. He should have expected Barbara to fall to the siren call of new tech. “I did,” he says, offering nothing else just to mess with her.

“Duke,” she says, “It’s a matter of safety.”

“Just admit that you want to check out interdimensional tech.”

Barbara sighs, then says, “I want to look at interdimensional tech. Come by the Clocktower tonight and drop it off.”

“I don’t know, Babs,” he says teasingly, “I think Tim might want a look at it first.”

“I should have never believed Dick when he said you were well behaved. ‘The good one’ my ass,” she grumbles. “What do you want?”

“A favor to be decided in the future. No questions asked expect what’s needed to get that favor done.”

“Deal.”

“I’ll swing by soon. Do you think you could help me with my college apps while I’m there? I have no idea what to do or where to go.”

“Sure,” Barbara agrees, her voice warm, “I’d love the chance to big sister you. Jason hogs you too much.”

He does, and Duke doesn’t really understand why Jason gets along so well with him, but he’s not going to question a good thing. Street kids gotta stick together, after all. Even if neither of them are living on the streets anymore. 

It’s nice to know that the others are just as willing to help him out, even if he works separate from them most of the time these days. 

“Oh, and the phone I got from Danny has contacts already added to it. Please don’t text Danny or anyone else without saying it’s you.”

“That sounds like you’re giving me permission to talk to me.”

“I figured you’d want to talk to Tucker some, since he’s the one who built it.”

“Well,” Barbara says, and he can hear the smile in her voice, “Thanks for the permission. I’ll be sure to get as much information as I can from him.”

“Please don’t ruin this for me.”

Barbara laughs. “Oh, don’t worry Duke. I know how to be nice, especially with people you’re trying to impress. It’s Dick you should be worried about.”

She’s right. 

Duke drops his head onto his desk with a groan.

“I’ll see you later, Duke.”

“Yeah, alright. See you, Babs.”

She ends the call and Duke sighs, contemplating taking a nap before he heads out. But that would mess up his sleep schedule, and he’s willing to do a lot, but not that. Instead, he flicks through his phone to the group chat with his friends, and sends a quick question about when they can hang out again.

He’s missed them. Seeing Danny with Tucker and Sam reminded him of how much he loves his friends and spending time with them. He should take a page from Danny’s book and spend a day with them, just catching up and enjoying their company. 

And if they tease him about his crush on Danny, well, better them than the Bats. 

[honeyjars-sims]

Drag Superstar Episode 4: The Haunting of Hell House on Haunted Hill

[The queens enter the workroom]

Bridget/Vapore: Congratulations to Velvet on winning the photoshoot challenge!

Darren/Velvet: With a face like this, it was inevitable!

Michael B./Jacqueline: Why couldn’t it have been you with the hurt ankle?

[Everyone laughs]

Michael D./Lady Astrid: Valerie, how are you feeling? 

David/Valerie: I’m disappointed that I didn’t give the challenge my all.

Michael B./Jacqueline: That’s not the Valerie I know! You’ve gotta pick yourself up and do what you came here to do!

David/Valerie: [in a confessional] I came very close to going home last night. If I can’t keep my focus, I might not be so lucky next time.

Diamond: [entering the work room] Well, helloooooooo my queens! I know we’re all shocked by Vixen’s departure due to an injury, but the show goes on! Today you’ll be scaring up the drama in a horror feature called “The Haunting of Hell House on Haunted Hill.” I’ll be directing you on set, so be spooky and don’t forget to make me laugh!

[The queens are assigned their roles and begin rehearsing. Michael B. sees that David is struggling and takes him aside for a chat]

Michael B./Jacqueline: Okay, Valerie, what gives? It’s not like you to be so distracted.

David/Valerie: I know, I just can’t stop worrying about how things are going at home. I’m not used to being away from my kids and husband. 

Michael B./Jacqueline: You’re such a good dad, though. I’m sure your kids will be fine without you.

David/Valerie: I wish I could be sure of that. [crying] It’s just hard being here and not knowing what’s going on.

David/Valerie: [in a  confessional] My kids are good kids, but my son has been heading down the wrong path. [beginning to cry] You do the best you can for your kids, but sometimes it feels like your best isn’t enough.

[The queens get ready and head to the set for filming]

David/Valerie: [in character as Stacy] Now look at what you’ve done! You’ve awakened the–the…[breaking character] I’m sorry, I forgot my lines again.

Diamond: One more try and then we’ll have to move on.

David/Valerie: I’m sorry everyone. I’ll try to get it together.

Michael B./Jacqueline: You’ve got this!

[On the main stage, the final version of “The Haunting of Hell House on Haunted Hill” is shown]

Darren/Velvet: [in character as Beverly] Gee Stacy, having a costume party on the night a crazed serial killer is on the loose sure was a great idea!

David/Valerie: [in character as Stacy] You’re right, Beverly! And it’s even better that we’re having it in the haunted house my grandparents left me. I just hope that no one touches that cursed vase over there.

Bridget/Vapore: [in character as Maria] You mean this cursed vase? [reaches for the vase]

All: Maria, no!

David/Valerie: [in character as Stacy] Now look what you’ve done! You’ve awakened the evil spirit inside the vase! Michael B./Jacqueline: [in character as Didi] And look! Your grandfather's portrait turned into a scary but kind of sexy werewolf!

Bridget/Vapore: [in character as Maria] Oops!

Michael D./Lady Astrid: [in character as Brittany] Um, something’s coming this way! And it’s big!

[A large figure emerges from the shadows as everyone screams]

All: Yamachan???

Yamachan: [giggling] Yes, it’s me, Yamachan! I just stopped by to remind you all that my new movie Yamachan’s Big Adventure is heading to theaters soon! Don't miss it!

All: [laughing] Oh, Yamachan!

[The judges clap]

Diamond: Fantastic work! Judges, what did you think of “The Haunting of Hell House on Haunted Hill”?

Izzy: Everyone was so good that even I’m having a hard time finding fault with it!

Penny: You were all very funny, but Vapore really nailed her role! 

Diego: This group is really the best of the best. I don’t envy Diamond having to decide who goes home tonight.

Diamond: We’re really going to have to get down to the wire with this. It’s going to come down to the finer details. I will say that even though it didn't show in the final cut, Valerie was having a hard time remembering her lines in rehearsal.   Izzy: And wasn't she in the running for elimination last week? Penny: That's true, but I see a lot of potential in Valerie. I don't think it's her time to go yet.

Diego: Then who else do you think deserves to go home tonight?

Penny: I--I don't know.

I’ve made my decision. Vapore Lawave, you are the winner of this week’s challenge! Valerie Galloway, I’m sorry but it’s not your time to shine. You will be going home tonight.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

Vapore Lawave was created by @invisiblequeen! Lady Astrid and Velvet Envy are by @sirianasims!

[our-flag-means-love]

by popular demand (aka the 63 people who voted "yes" in my poll (six months ago oops) for whether or not i should do this)

here's why ofmd is a romcom, beat by beat

so for the purposes of this analysis, the ten stages outlined in this article are what i'm using for reference.

(and for the sake of everyone's dashes, i've added a cut because This Got Long. like, genuinely, 1.6k and 24 images. you've been warned.)

1. Unfulfilled Desire: something important is missing from the love interests' lives.

before the love interests meet, both of their lives are lacking in some way, often in a way they hardly realize. and this unfulfilled desire doesn't have to be romantic love in and of itself, and quite often it's not. and the things missing from ed and stede's lives are not romantic love. not at first.

what stede's missing is skill and structure. to put it bluntly, he has no idea what the fuck he's doing as a pirate, and without the guidance of someone more experienced, he'd likely get himself and his whole crew killed soon.

meanwhile, what ed's missing is interest. he's just about as bored with his life as anyone can be. every day is the same, and he needs something new—a new environment, a new challenge—to bring the spark back into his life.

2. Meet-Cute: the love interests meet, and at first, their personalities clash.

now, granted... in most meet-cutes, one of the protagonists isn't like three-quarters dead and nearly unconscious. but, as we know, ofmd is not like most shows.

but when we fast forward a bit to their real proper first meeting, we can quickly start to see how their personalities differ. in many meet-cutes, the love interests start off on bad terms, but in ofmd it's more of a contrast than a real clash, as stede and ed take a liking to each other right away.

in their very first conversation, stede is self-conscious and fretting, while ed is relaxed as can be. and as they talk, ed is in awe of stede's eccentricities, and stede is in awe of ed's powerful reputation.

and nothing exemplifies their contrast better than what they spend the rest of the episode doing—literally switching clothes and switching roles, getting a taste of what it would be like to be each other.

3. Happy Together: the love interests spend time together and grow to enjoy each other's company.

the classic honeymoon phase—not necessarily denoting romance yet, just a bond that continues to grow stronger the more time they spend together.

one of their first, biggest bonding events, just a few days after they met, is of course the fancy french party. while the night ends in disaster, the two end up much closer after the experiences they shared.

however, i think by far the best example of this stage is the montage at the beginning of episode 6, narrated by none other than my favorite (derogatory) terrible little rat man, izzy hands, who will become relevant soon. in romcoms, this stage is often shown through montages, so it only makes sense that that would be a great demonstration of it here as well.

4. Obstacles Arise: the love interests' original lives and obligations catch back up with them.

it's no longer possible to avoid the hard truths their happiness let them ignore. while both ed and stede go through this, i think stede goes through it differently and at different, non-linear times, so i'll talk about him first.

the pre-edward life that stede has been forcing to the back of his mind is, quite obviously, his wife and children back on land. and he's done a very effective job of ignoring it while he's been around ed.

he was fretting about it before—like in episode 2 with nigel's guilt ghost—but it doesn't seem to fully hit him again until he learns in episode 9 that he'd been declared dead. (in my opinion, the dreams/flashbacks in episode 4 feel less about stede's guilt, specifically, than these other instances do. but even if they are, that's still before he properly met ed.) so he does go through this stage, but it happens in slightly different ways and at different times.

ed, on the other hand, has a very specific and concrete obligation that catches up with him: a promise he made two weeks ago.

this is where izzy comes in. just as mary is the personified symbol of stede's old life, izzy is the equivalent for ed. whether ed initially intended to follow through on the plan or only said it to placate izzy is up for debate (and my personal take is that it's somewhere in between, but that's a story for another time), but izzy is going to hold him to it regardless.

and when ed can't bring himself to do it, because of both his growing feelings for stede and his trauma around killing people himself, izzy is determined to carry out the act for him.

5. The Journey: the love interests face and overcome the obstacles together.

what better way to overcome adversity than by getting thumbtacked to a mast by the same Very Angy Little Guy who's the source of the adversity in the first place? with izzy banished, the biggest obstacle to ed and stede's love is out of the way (for now).

stede still hasn't overcome his big obstacle, of course, but as i said, that happens very non-linearly with regard to the romcom structure.

the two also overcome other minor obstacles, like their bickering during the treasure hunt adventure. the key is that they face what's in their path and settle into a new normal with each other.

6. New Obstacles: despite solutions seeming effective, more hardships arise.

the next big issue thrown into ed and stede's relationship has a name, and its name is calico jack rackham, my favorite (affectionate) dumpster fire of a man. which makes sense—after all, his sole purpose in meeting up with them was to separate them before the english navy arrived. and he does a damn effective job of it.

and even once he's gone, they're still faced with chauncey badminton, stede's near-execution, and his and ed's eventual surrender to the english. they may have escaped chauncey's wrath (for now), but they bought it at the cost of their freedom.

and on top of all of that, now they finally confess their feelings for each other and make plans to run away together, and the choice—really, stede's choice—of whether or not to go through with running off to china looms in the distance. speaking of which…

7. The Choice: the love interests have to decide if the relationship can work.

a turning point is reached, and a decision has to be made. can they go through with it? are they really the best thing for each other?

the choice stede makes here is helped along in no small part by chauncey badminton, whose encounter just solidifies the beliefs stede already held—that he abandoned his family, and that ed is better off without him.

so stede makes the choice to run.

he goes home to his family, and ed is left to return to the ship alone.

8. Crisis: the love interests—now apart—ruminate and face the consequences of their choice.

the winter of their discontent. stede has made his choice, they've separated, and they're both worse off for it.

ed is depressed, retreating to his blanket fort and writing sad songs while eating marmalade.

and meanwhile, stede is back with mary and the kids, but learns that they'd all moved on and were much happier without him around. so he's left trying to force himself back into a space where he no longer fits, and all the while he misses ed more than anything.

and of course, ed takes it one step further by going full emo kraken mode. he's so distraught about stede leaving that he too forces himself back into the shell of what people expect of him—of what he was supposed to be before he even met stede—despite not fitting there anymore.

it's obvious that without each other, they're both in pretty rough shape.

9. Epiphany: one or both of the love interests conclude that they belong together and rush to reunite.

think of this stage as the person running through the airport to reach their love interest before the flight leaves.

in ofmd, it's clear who has the epiphany, because we watch it happen in real time. stede sits down with mary and asks her how it feels to be in love, and while she describes it, all he can think of is his time with ed. he finally realizes that what he's been feeling all along is love.

once he knows this, he knows he has to leave his family again, so he can reunite with ed. he and mary stage their fuckery, and stede rows off in a dinghy bound for wherever ed is, because he knows that as long as he's with ed, he'll be happy and everything will be okay.

10. Resolution: the love interests are reunited. desires are fulfilled, and all is well.

sooo… stay tuned for october 5th, i suppose?

[bcacstuff]

STELLA MCCARTNEY dress and GIVENCHY boots.

There’s something about Izzy Meikle-Small. It’s not just the delicate cheekbones or the quintessential Englishness that makes her a favorite for period dramas. It’s not even her enviable resume which includes her stepping into the shoes of some of the UK’s most luminous stars. No, there’s a quiet but resolute determination to claim her own narrative—shadowy beginnings, a taste for the unconventional, and a new era of artistic self-possession.

For years, Meikle-Small was cinema’s favorite time machine—a younger Carey Mulligan, a pint-sized Vanessa Kirby, a teenage Charlize Theron. Yet, there’s something deliciously ironic in her being cast as the precursor to these screen giants. “I don’t really look like any of them, but I’ll take it!” she laughs. “It was amazing to learn from them.” For a young actor finding her footing, the sets of those films were both playground and classroom. “Being on set as a kid can be really intimidating,” she admits, “but all three of them made an effort to make me feel really comfortable.”

Indeed, while her face was a canvas onto which casting directors mapped their favorite leads, Meikle-Small was watching, learning, absorbing. Working alongside the likes of Mulligan and Kirby wasn’t just a brush with greatness—it was a kind of mentorship. “We would have big conversations about the characters and the plot, and that helped me understand their process, which therefore informed my own and taught me how successful actors created their characters. I really appreciate the time that they took with me because it really helped shape my view of the industry and what it means to be an actor and a filmmaker.”

SACAI jacket and shirt.

Meikle-Small is no longer standing in someone else’s light. With her role as Rachel Hunter in season seven part two of runaway success historical drama series, Outlander (streaming now on MGM+ in the UK and Starz in the US) she’s stepping out of the shadows and into her own spotlight. “I’ve never joined a show which had such a pre-existing fan base,” she says. The Outlander fandom is nothing if not passionate, and Meikle-Small knows she’s shouldering the expectations of readers who’ve cherished Rachel on the page.

“Rachel is so sweet and pious and all of these things. She’s sassy, but she’s a really kind person, which is lovely to play, but I’d love to play someone with maybe a bit more edge. Maybe somebody in comedy could be fun, or something modern, where I could wear jeans,” she laughs. That’s not to say she doesn’t appreciate the role’s intricacies. “Rachel wears a bonnet, and that’s a lot to do with her religion but also feeling bound in. Doing period dramas, I feel like the history informs your character, and with Rachel being a Quaker living in the 1700s, all of these layers of history do add to your character.”

SACAI jacket, shirt, and boots.

And the audience reception has been equally rewarding. “The Outlander audience connects so deeply with every episode, and they’ve really welcomed me in with very open arms,” she says earnestly. “I was worried that people might not love me as [Rachel] as much as I would want them to.” For someone who spent her youth in roles that were more scaffolding than centerpiece, this level of engagement is a revelation. “When I was younger, I didn’t have a fan base in the same way. Because I was a kid, my exposure was different. Coming and doing this now is such a blessing.”

If Outlander marks Meikle-Small’s coronation, her ambitions reach well beyond bonnets and bodices. “I would love to do an indie British film,” she says. “In the last few years, we’ve seen some amazing films coming out of the UK. I think the new year will bring new freedom. I just started auditioning, so we’ll see what happens.”

This isn’t her first time coming out of the shadows and shaping her own destiny. “I got my first job at nine and my first movie at 13. By 18 or 19, I’d missed a lot of school. It got to the point where I was like, ‘What if I just went away, lived my life for a few years, was able to kind of grow up and mature physically but also mentally, and have some life experience?’”

UNDERCOVER dress.

She’s also drawn to the unexpected. “Genre isn’t really that important to me. There are genres that I prefer to watch as a viewer, but in terms of acting, I always want to do something different. I tend to be cast a lot in period dramas, and I think I just look very English, and that’s why that happens,” she chuckles at the inevitability of it all. “If I haven’t done a genre before, I’m more likely to be drawn towards it because it’s something that I’ve not done yet.”

For example, Meikle-Small is a dark comedy-fan, and since she specialized in medieval dark comedy in school, she’s grown incredibly fond of them. “I think that probably is one of my favorite genres to watch,” Meikle-Small admits. “It’s funny, but also it really normally packs a bit of a sucker punch message. It’s a clever way of concealing the emotional message to make it more palatable.”

While at university, Meikle-Small fell in love with producing, a role that seems perfectly suited to her thoughtful and measured approach. “I tend to work with a lot of writers who were actors who’ve turned to writing,” she says. “Because I am also an actor, they trust that I will understand and can see their point of view and that I can lead them behind the camera in a way that they’ll understand.”

If there’s one thread tying together Meikle-Small’s eclectic pursuits, it’s her deep love of stories. “I definitely would say I am a book lover,” she says, noting her background in English literature. “Doing period dramas feels natural because I love adaptations. It’s kind of my niche.” But she’s not content to simply bring existing narratives to life—she’s crafting her own.

UNDERCOVER dress and shoes.

“I have started writing, which feels a little bit scary,” she reveals. “There’s a short that I co-wrote with my friend—it’s not ready at all, but there’s something really interesting in the idea. There’s also a book that I’m trying to adapt to be a film screenplay.” For someone who has spent years embodying other people’s characters, the act of writing is an exercise in autonomy. “Whenever I’m writing things, I’m imagining myself playing the character that I would like to play, which always makes it more fun.” 

Her dream? To merge her passions into one cohesive whole. “The aim is to kind of get bigger and welcome bigger things. My absolute dream would be to act in something that I’m also producing and be able to have a kind of creative say in front of and behind the camera, especially on Outlander like watching Caitríona [Balfe] and Sam [Heughan] do that with such grace. It feels more tangible now, and I think I’d have less imposter syndrome.”

As Meikle-Small looks ahead, she’s taking stock of what she’s achieved and where she wants to go. This self-assurance radiates in her ambitions. Whether it’s an indie film, a dark comedy, or something completely different, Meikle-Small is ready to embrace whatever comes next. Izzy Meikle-Small is no shadow; she’s the whole picture.

All seasons of Outlander, including 7 Part 2, are available to stream on MGM+ in the UK and Starz in the US now. 

UNDERCOVER dress and shoes and JAEGER-LECOULTRE watch.

Photographed by Lee Malone

Styled by Karen Clarkson at The Wall Group

Written by Lily Brown

Hair: Grace Hatcher using Sam McKnight

Makeup: Irina Cajvaneanu at Caren using Lisa Eldridge Beauty 

Stylist Assistant : Maïlys Pereira

[follows-the-bees]

Stede Bonnet character study in 2x7.

What the audience sees and what Stede sees/feels/thinks are different, and I think that's a really important perspective to consider, especially with everything that happens in Man on Fire.

When Ed went to the party in 1x5, he was having the time of his life at first: dancing, making up stories, winning them over. And then when they turned, he had Stede. Stede came through using the "upper crust use cutting remarks" method.

In a direct parallel, in 2x6, this time Stede is getting recognition. His entire life he's been bullied, beaten down, laughed at and - just like Ed - he is having fun being the center of attention. This has never fully happened to him, even his crew - especially at the beginning - didn't fully respect him.

So, let's talk about Stede's perspective of Ed and his crew vs our audience perspective.

We know the crew loves Stede, he is their captain - for better or worse - but they continually choose to stay with him and use the methods he taught them to get through: the act of grace, Jim telling Fang the story of the wooden boy to make him feel better, the marooned crew continually to stick with him at Spanish Jackie's and saving money to buy a new vessel, using the safe space talk when the two new crews come together and the trauma makes them paranoid of each other. And of course, arts and crafts time to bring them together again as a crew but also to present Izzy the unicorn leg and welcome him unconditionally.

Out of all these instances, Stede only sees the act of grace and them sticking together and getting back to the Revenge.

Stede has been prioritizing his crew a lot more this season - even over his self interests (mainly, there is some stuff we can talk about how he immediately leaves after Ed is voted off the ship and then spends all day with him and brings him back.) But he kicks Calico Jack off, he saves the marooned crew from the island, and then for the Pirate Queen's ship, holding back his grief of Ed's death, only going to him after the crew is safe. And after he realized how much the curse was affecting him, he does ultimately give up the suit.

Now Ed. We of course see how much Ed loves him. I wrote a lot about Stede's perspective of Ed coming to his room after he kills Ed and how much that is a substantial moment for them. Not just because of the sex but because in the past Ed shuts down and leaves when Stede stands up (when he kicked Calico Jack off - Ed leaves, he doesn't do anything when Izzy challenges Stede to a duel, etc)! So Stede is afraid Ed will leave, but Ed doesn't, he shows up. He's there for Stede. Read that meta here.

But we also know what's going on with Ed's head, his insecurities coming back, his wanting to not be a pirate and seeing Stede become the biggest one right now. But Stede doesn't get it.

So everything spirals so quickly in 2x7, Man on Fire. As I mentioned previously, Stede is enjoying being the center of attention after a life of not having any respect from anyone.

And in his mind, him and Ed are partners. "But we're a partnership" it's already set in his mind, probably further cemented by them sleeping together and taking that next step. So he goes to Ed, realizing he's not by his side and Ed tells him he's leaving, already made up his mind, randomly mentions the fish - which Stede doesn't understand the meaning of - and then tells him that last night was a mistake. This has to be a mindfuck for Stede. Ed chooses to come to him and then immediately saying he regrets it - we know it's not the sex but the moving too fast - and is leaving, something that he was already afraid of happening and he thinks has happened in the past when Ed shut down. He tried to salvage it "well, you know, this can be whatever we want it to be."

So now, his boyfriend broke up with him and he's spiralling even more, and like Ed does when he is spiralling (hides under a blanket or in a blanket fort, or Stede's robe, getting comfortable and warm) Stede surrounds himself with people. His own warm blanket of loose acceptance.

But then he sees his crew getting supposedly poached. (I'm not sure if he actually knows anything about Olu and The Queen). And now everything comes crashing down again. Ed left him, his crew is leaving him, he doesn't think he's good enough. All those insecurities, things falling apart. And his self esteem issues are raging.

And then Steak Knife dies (I assume he is supposed to be dead) for him. Another person to haunt Stede's dreams.

Yes, you can read Stede challenging The Queen only as an ego trip, but in no way do I think that's all of what's happening. It is more of a frightened traumatized man at his wits end trying to save his family. "We've been through hell together."

Everyone is leaving him, he's got tears in his eyes, and he's doing something, anything to keep his family together. Even if it's something against an opponent he can't win against. Cause isn't it better to at least show his crew he's there for them again, than have to see everything he has built, he has loved, walk away from him?