#dick: listen i am JUST SAYING that last year you almost DIED A HORRIBLE DEATH a lot

[silverwhittlingknife]

can we have a hint about what the spring break tim patrol chapter of red letter day contains? (you kept having dick say "if the joker shows up" and tim's "he won't." for me to be convinced that goes off without any trouble)

i'm sure it'll be fine. :D

i am delighted you're enjoying the story <333 i haven't updated it in soooo long but i got some very sweet comments lately so i have been looking at my scribbles again <3

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

Alright, so if you've been following along with me, Supernatural season 3 starts out on a trio of episodes that are Really Fun, slides into some episodes that are Pretty OK, then takes a real nose dive into Bummersville. Hoo boy guys, I really hope that this season picks up. I mean, it won’t, but I can still dream. 2021 was maybe not the year to start watching this season. Fair warning.

The next three episodes for this season are just, like, real downers. First we get “Fresh Blood,” which, aside from the terrible title, starts out on a high note. Gordon (gross) somehow manages to catch up with Bela (HOW??) and threatens her if she doesn’t hand over the Winchesters. Bela, in all of her class and grace, won’t give them up because she has a high price point and Gordon is really lowballing her here. Just like, yes, ok, please stay forever, you’re amazing and I love you. And what a scene this is! You have two characters, one with a strict moral code (albeit one that allows for violence and winning at all costs) and the other with almost NO moral code, but an allegiance that can be bought with the best price and it’s such a fun back and forth until Gordon pulls out a gun. And then she pulls out her phone and just has Dean on speed dial and that’s maybe my fav part. Bela has run into the Winchesters twice and they maybe legit hate her but she’s very much like, oh yeah, my BFF’s the Winchesters, I love those idiots!

I love that we come back to this moment later in the episode when Bela, like, three days later, is like, Oh! I guess I should warn the Winchesters that some crazy guy is after them! She’s just so casual about it you kind of get the feeling that, even though technically Gordon was threatening her life, she doesn’t view him as A Threat. She gives the Winchesters a heads up just to be like oh yeah, you might want to watch out for this mild inconvenience, and she seems legit shocked when Dean freaks out. There’s this moment that plays across her face like, oh shit, did I...did I fuck up? And it adds a nice bit of depth to her character. She’s seems honestly worried, both for the lives of the Winchesters but also that Dean won’t like her anymore and that is just a charming bit of A C T I N G!

I am gonna miss her SO MUCH when she dies at the end of this season. WHY did we CANCEL HER???

But despite the fun beginning, this episode is about monsters and how people become monsters and how other people are probably the reason. Because our main baddie is a vampire who hunts to...well, listen if we look at the facts that he lays out in his monologue, it’s a little more tragic - he’s trying to replace the daughters that he lost hundreds of years ago, cool motive, still murder. In practice though, he goes around turning hot blonde coeds into vampires and then ?????? Who knows. I’d like to believe that this was a problem with the CW executives or maybe casting/directing and not with the writing, but it’s SPN and you really can’t be sure with anything. The fact is, this is a CW show from the early 2000’s and a lot of their extras are cast to type. And that’s maybe me exhibiting some girl-on-girl crime, but there are other episodes that did a much less blatantly gross job casting their extras/Very Special Guest Stars.

Anyway, the POINT of this guy is that he’s a monster because someone killed his daughter and he’s just been trying to fill that grief hole inside of him for centuries. This is not unlike Gordon, who ALSO has been trying to fill a grief hole that he’s had for decades, except he’s not killing people and resurrecting them as blood suckers, he’s just killing them. And then, when the Vamp decides to turn Gordon it’s a real sweet moment of comeuppance for like, a HOT second and then you’re like, awww dude, ya done f’ed up. That was a bad idea. You’ve made a HUGE mistake.

More importantly, our Vampire In Question finally runs into the Winchesters and get’s to say things like “I was desperate! You ever felt desperate? I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?” and also “I just ... I didn't care anymore. Do you know what it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like ... it's like being dead already.” and Dean’s v. much like, THIS IS TOO REAL ROY.

Sam may ALSO be feeling Too Real feelings because he is DONE dicking around with Gordon and honestly yes, I like this, this is good Sam development. It’s nice to know that Sam has a breaking point. And I admit I’m of two minds about this moment because 1) I love the idea of Dark!Sam this season and that maybe Sam’s decision to actually kill Gordon is just one step in that process but 2) I ALSO love the idea of Sam Lite finally having a breaking point and Gordon is IT. I don’t know which theory I like more in this scenario, but they are both good theories.

I think as much as this episode wants to draw parallels between the monsters and Dean (thank you artful editors), you can’t look at the “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved,” line and not think of Sam? Cuz he’s got one (1) person left in his life that hasn’t died horribly, so how desperate is he about to get through the end of this season? I’ve definitely been watching this season with eyes on all the ominous Dean foreshadowing, but the Sam foreshadowing is also there, just buried under the heavy weight of a thousand smulders and suicidal levels of denial.

And also, FUCK the tag on this episode! Guys, it is CUTE but it is also HORRIBLE. Dean starts teaching Sam how to fix the Impala and at first it’s all, “Oh! Adorable Brothers Being Brothers!” and I loved it but then I almost immediately hated it because you realize this is about making sure Sam can get along without him once he’s gone and Dean just accepts his own death with such casual ease that it’s just...INFURIATING!

This scene was rude and I HATE IT!

Cut to - “A Very Supernatural Christmas” Special!

Guys, I was so excited when I got to this episode. THIS is Classic Supernatural Shenanigans. Plus, you know a Holiday Special is the ultimate sign that this show has Made It, right? Or it could be a sign that they’re selling out, who knows, but I think we can say that at this point in the series, SPN is established enough to start having fun with their fans. That’s what this says to me. BUT THEN what we get is like...oh boy.

First - like, I’mma beat this horse to death, but what is WRONG with this FAMILY? John Winchester very quickly devolved into the sort of father that forgot about every single holiday and did not ever, even a little bit, make up for it. It’s not a surprise, but it kind of wrecked me seeing a flashback where Baby Dean is just so attached to a father who can’t be bothered to actually care for his children. I know he’s not in this episode because Jeffrey Dean Morgan was tied up in other projects, but the fact that John doesn’t show up at the end to button the flashbacks with a But then he DID show up for Christmas! just makes this plot line that more gutting. And despite Dean’s hero worship of their father, this is maybe the Christmas where Baby Sam stops believing in his own father. The only bright side to this is that it continues to enforce the fact that Bobby should have sued John for custody. Bobby should maybe STILL Sue for custody so that Dean at least would feel like someone wants him for once in his life, damnit.

And then we wrap this episode up with the Best Worst Christmas of all, because we see Sam start to...also?? accept that Dean is about to die? Cuz that’s what this episode is really about - Dean’s Last Christmas. And everything about that makes me ~ u p s e t ~.

So Sam decides to put his curmudgeonly grinchy attitude aside in order to make it a special day for Dean and ugh. UGH. UGHGHGHG. Season three is the worst guys, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until right this second now.

So let’s wrap this up with "Malleus Maleficarum", honestly an episode that is mostly forgettable until we get to, like, the last five minutes. Sure, witches and curses and selling your soul, woohoo whatever.

But then we get some real Ruby centric reveals and like, WHAT is happening?? First off, the scene where Ruby and Tammy have a moment is a real Moment. There is some baggage and tension here and it is heavy. And then Tammy drops the mic when she reveals that Ruby used to be human.

THEN, Ruby legit saves their asses by killing Tammy with a fancy magic knife. Ok, Dean does the actual killing, but Ruby brought the fancy magic knife. So between the hot and heavy tension with “Tammy” and her repeated attempts to keep the Winchesters alive, we’re left wondering what IS Ruby’s deal? I personally wonder how much of the show’s mythology the show actually has figured out at this point? Because interviews with Kripke definitely walk the line between “Oh we definitely have this whole thing worked out,” and “yeah, we’re sort of finding things as we go along,” which is maybe why it’s able to last as long as it does. More on that later.

Of course the big kicker is the final scene between Ruby and Dean. Dean is almost on board with Ruby at this point in the season, and much like his scene with the demon in “Sin City”, they share a kind of vulnerable moment together where Ruby admits that, yeah, she was human once and yeah, Hell will destroy you, body and soul, and yeah Dean’s worst fear will probably come true - he will become the thing he hunts, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And Dean knows that Ruby knows that Dean knows that there’s no way to save Dean from his fate, but they both agree that they can’t take Sam’s last ounce of hope away from him because, for both of them, Sam is their hope. Ruby and Dean both see the war happening around them and they know that with Dean gone, Sam’s maybe the last guy holding back the tide to save all humanity.

Which, honestly? Bull shit. Do you know how many hunters are out there? Neither do I, but this season seems to indicate that there are a LOT. We have barely scratched the surface on the hunter community and it’s a damn shame that they are all weirdo loners because there is a war going on. You know what works great in a war? An ARMY. Buncha mentally unstable, martyr-complex ijits who can’t put their differences aside for one damn MINUTE so that maybe, JUST maybe, the could actually defeat the evil they’ve spent their entire lives dedicated to fighting. And if Ruby and Dean wanted to help Sam, what they should probably do is get him plugged in to that community. I do believe that of all they backasswards, self-obsessed, painfully anti-social crazies out there, the Winchesters are THE WORST.

Listen tho, this was like, a solid scene between these two. Just a lot of work goin' into this and it paid off.

Anyway, back to the mythology for a hot second - This sort of loosey-goosey stumbling into your own world building is probably another one of those things that you’ll only really get in a show with this many episodes per season? It’s that room to play and experiment and just make stuff up as you go along. I think the slow drip method of releasing episodes ALSO helps in this scenario because you’re able to see what fans are reacting to in almost-real time. When viewers are binging episodes, I think you're less likely to see what specifically they’re reacting to and more wholistically they’re reacting to. And that’s not to say you won’t see those specific things that they like/love eventually, but by the time you get there, your season’s been produced in its entirety and you’ll have to bear that in mind for (hopefully) next season. But with SPN, they were writing and producing the show at the same time that some of the episodes were airing. That’s why they were able to make decisions on the fly, based on what fans responded to. And definitely by this point in the show, there was a sizeable and vocal fan base that made their feelings VERY well-known. We’re only in season three, but they’ve already had a number of con appearances and a pretty active online presence. That kind of feedback has got to be helpful, from a writing perspective, but it also allows for things like characters getting cut because nobody liked them for some dumb reason. BUT, if you’re fighting to stay on the air for 100 episodes or longer, responding to fan reactions is what’s gonna do it and that’s a fact.

[bluebellhairpin]

Something’s Not Right

Bruce Wayne/Batman X Batmom!Reader 

A/N: Oh dear, here comes the angst. (This is like 6+ pages on my google docs. Ha Ha ha oops) - Nemo

Warning(s): Blood, kidnapping, almost character death, mentions of miscarriage and infertility, not necessarily in that order. This could be distressing, so don’t read this if you think it could upset you. 

Summary: Ever since Batman’s third Robin, you’ve been know as the Batmom to Batman’s mask. But events lead you to break with not knowing what to do, and the only comfort you find is Alfred, who then tells you of something you never knew. With your newfound information, you set to work saving your family.

Listening to: “Something's Not Right” by Lily Allen 

Series Masterlist 

Masterlist 

You first met Batman when you were robbing a bank. 

In your defense, you were a little inexperienced, and he only knew you were there because he saw a shadow pass inside through a window. 

After that you kept running into each other, and ended up becoming each others first vigilante partners. 

You know, before he had a million Robin’s. 

You even came to know who was under the mask. Bruce Wayne the billionaire. 

When he brought home the first soon-to-be Robin, Dick Grayson, you were raiding his fridge in the Manor’s kitchen, having made yourself at home over the last few years. You looked at Bruce like he was crazy, he told you he’d explain later and you sure as hell made sure he did. 

You offered Dick some of the cereal you’d raided, and he accepted with a mumble and small smile. From speaking to Bruce later, that boy had been through a lot. 

You only hoped that Bruce wouldn’t push him too hard. 

We had forever We never got it together

Jason Todd joined a few years later, having been found by both you and Bruce trying to steal hubcaps. When Bruce brought him inside after the to had talked, you got the horrible feeling that Jason would become a Robin too. 

Your worries were confirmed when you caught Bruce and Jason sparring in the cave. You caught Bruce’s eye, and he froze. You shook your head at him and he knew he had more explaining to do.

After that, you become monitor of the computer. With Jason as the new Robin, and Dick starting to spread his wings off as Nightwing, you didn’t desperately need to be out fighting anymore. Someone needed to stay home, and with your relationship with Bruce becoming something more than friends, he felt better when you weren’t in danger. 

When he brought that up, you never once failed to play the card of “What about Dick and Jason?” 

Despite Dick being Nightwing and not living permanently at home, or Jason not really wanting to be in the Cave when he could have the house all to himself aside from Alfred, they always managed to be in the staircase of the cave when your voices started to raise in the same heated discussion. They knew it wasn’t anything to worry about.

You were protective, viewing them as the sons you could never have, and Bruce was too careless for his own good. 

But really what they stayed for was what happened after the yelling, the telling off, and the arguing. You always made up after, with softer words, a hug and a kiss. They’d never seen anyone else do that after a fight.

I waited for you For you I made it better

Jason's death hit you all hard, but Bruce didn’t get over it. 

Then, a couple years after Jason died, Bruce came home with another boy donned in Jason’s old Robin suit. He introduced himself as Tim Drake. He said he knew who you were, and you told him ‘Who doesn’t know (y/n) Wayne?’. Then he said he knew who you really were. 

'Valentine' was a name previously not spoken directly to you in over half a decade, and this thirteen-year-old seemed to know more about you than you thought possible. 

The next few years went on with their own struggles. Bruce got used to having a Robin again. Tim dealt with troubles and struggles in the form of his real parents. You got over the fact Tim was wearing Jason’s costume once he got his own. And Tim became a permanent residence of the manor. 

With Bruce and Dick protecting the city, Tim as Robin, and Alfred wanting to keep monitor duty with Tim, you gave up the vigilante life for good. 

Nowadays you only ever went to the cave to deal with injuries, last-resort monitor duty, and scolding Bruce or Tim for staying up too late. 

The one thing that didn’t seem to change was Alfred and Dick. They were always there, always a shoulder to cry on, and a listening ear. They knew how hard it got for both you and Bruce. 

Dick wanted to be there to show he was grateful for what you’d done in the past. 

Alfred was there because that’s where he belonged. 

They kept telling me that it was unlikely All I had to do was keep you beside me

Once everything seemed to be falling back into a semi-blissful state, the world served another harsh blow. The first was to Bruce, in the form of a vengeful and now alive Jason Todd. 

While Bruce had to serve every night going out to face the Red Hood, you went back to the monitor spending your days trying to track Jason down. Now that your boy was back you needed to have him home. Even though they didn’t know it, you knew that what both Bruce and Jason needed  was to be together. 

Naturally, once the initial tension disappeared, you were right. 

Even now, now that Jason is back, you can still see the haunted look in Bruce’s eye that makes you think he’s almost believing he is seeing a ghost.

The second blow was to you, in the form of Bruce��s long-lost son Damian. 

He came in silence, and for the first few days you barely noticed a change. It was mostly Bruce’s attitude and reluctance to let you in the cave that made you suspicious. Luckily for Bruce, he was around when you found Damian in the cave. 

Needless to say it took a good couple hours of conversation before everything was cleared up.

Damian listened from the staircase, and eventually Tim wordlessly joined. The new duo unknowingly recreating what their predecessors did before them. Alfred felt a wave of nostalgia from just glancing at them. 

What Damian couldn’t believe through the whole ‘discussion’ was how much you were blaming his father for him being in your home, not him. Even though you both were fighting over him being there, there wasn’t any hate in your words to him, only annoyance to Bruce. 

He wondered exactly how many times you had to deal with the same thing before, aside from Tim. 

Cause there aren’t many stars in the sky tonight

As far as you were concerned, having children of your own was never going to happen. One robbery gone wrong was enough to pull your chances of your own children from an already mere fifty to less than twenty.  

It was one of the reasons you were so good at welcoming each boy into your home with such open arms. As soon as they stepped through the threshold with a tired introduction from your husband, small faces and bleary eyes, you saw them as yours. Every time, without fail.

Naturally it came as a shock to you when the doctor told you to take a pregnancy test after you’d been horrendously sick for the past week. It came as a bigger shock when the test came back positive. 

Bruce’s excitement and yours was taken too soon. In reality, you knew it could’ve happened, but you didn’t think it’d happen so suddenly, or so easily. 

Dick and Jason were among those waiting when you came home from the hospital, and everyone would've much preferred if the trip happened nine months later, and you’d have a bundle of blankets in your hands rather than just a bag of clothes. 

Even Damian couldn’t help the horrible feeling in the bottom of his stomach. After all he still wouldn’t be a big brother. 

It had been a couple weeks, but you were starting to worry. While you had grieved, and in your own way moved on, Bruce seemed to stay the same. He didn’t react. When the news came he went straight into autopilot. 

In his life he’d lost a lot of people. His parents, Jason, many other residence of Gotham, and now your baby. You started to think that with every lost soul his lost part of his own too. 

Cause I know that it’s day but it’s dark outside

Your worries were well served. Not even a couple nights after you voiced your concerns to Bruce himself did he and Damian get captured by the Joker. 

Tim was monitoring the computers, instantly sending out and alert to Dick to go help, but he just got caught too. Tim then contacted Jason, telling him to meet him near Gotham Docks. 

You wandered into the cave to see the monitor set to where Tim left it. A camera from in an old warehouse displayed all five of your boys beaten, bloodied, and tied up with the Joker pacing back and forth in front of them. 

Near the monitor keyboard was a notebook, open to a page with words scribbled in Tim’s characteristically messy writing. He found writing down thoughts helped him get his mind straight. It cleared his head. 

“Knows fighting styles - been monitoring us for weeks to memorize patterns - new moves needed - Jason good idea - Mom the last resort.” you read a loud, sinking to the chair at the monitor.

As you processed what was happening, you knew time was running short. You felt Alfred behind you, placing his hands reassuringly on your shoulders.

“What am I supposed to do?” you said, resting your head in your hands, “The GCPD won't be able to handle it well enough, and I can't just contact Clark or Diana. And I got rid of my suit years ago - it’s not like I can just slip on one of Bruce’s suits and go fight myself.” 

“I think there’s something I should show you.” Alfred said, squeezing your shoulders. 

And I feel a weight in my heart tonight

All the batsuits were displayed on one of the walls of the cave, it was like a trophy wall. And while your old Valentine suit wasn’t there, there was a display photo of you mid-flip as homage to what you’d done. 

As you went passed the suits, both old and new, and the empty cases of the suits being worn by your boys, Alfred soon stopped near your photo. He pressed the logo of your photo-suit and the glass moved away, soon followed by the wall, to reveal another glass case.

“Mister Bruce has been working on it since you destroyed your old one.” Alfred explained, letting you walk forwards to inspect your pristine suit, “He figured you might need it, and if I’m being honest I did too.”  

“Who else knows?” You asked, running your fingers over the fabric and the slightly darker logo on it’s chest. It was a lot like Bruce's suit.

“No one, but Tim found out, nothing’s a secret from him long.” you smiled. That’s Tim alright.

The fabric was new, a material you’d never seen before, but looked a lot like miniature chain-mail. Knife-proof.

The chest where your signature V logo was along with around your torso sounded a metallic tap. Bullet-proof.

You noted that although the mask only covered your eyes it was embedded with reflective glass. Photo-proof. 

“He sure was prepared.” you said, turning back to Alfred with the mask in your hands. “Will you man the computers for me?”  

“It would be an honor, Valentine.” 

Something's not right

“Copy V? Guards ahead.” Alfred said. The mask was also fit with a com-link. Bruce seemed to put everything in your suit, from an oxygen mask, to a lock-pick.

“Copy.” you said, sulking along the side of the warehouse towards the guards. You knew this could get nasty fast, but over time you learnt from Bruce many ways to subdue without killing. The guards were out of it before they even knew you were there. 

Inside, Bruce and the boys were getting antsy. 

Once when Joker left Tim said to the others he’d left a note near the computer encase he and Jason were unsuccessful, in the hope either you or Alfred would find it and send help. It had been almost two hours, and they were starting to doubt. Especially now that Joker was back and pacing in front of them. 

An explosion somewhere in another warehouse made their tired heads, and the heads of the others in the room, move towards the noise. The familiar sound of batarangs flying through the air made their head turn back right as two of the dozen guards fell to the floor, soon followed by two more. 

Joker ordered to start shooting at where the batarangs were coming from, and the solid sound of shots firing rang out for a couple long moments. When a figure clad in black dropped to the floor from the beams, Bruce felt his stomach drop. 

He knew that figure. He knew that suit. 

“Search them. Make sure whoever it is, is dead.” Joker said, dismissive in his words but the boys could tell he was on edge. Joker had the Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood and the two Robins. There wasn’t anymore, right? 

The guard moved to the figure, nudging its shoulder with his foot, and with the second nudge the figure shot up, pulling the guard into a headlock, and the guard dropped down unconscious in less than a few seconds. The other guards were trained on the figure, and Joker smiled.

“Well, well, does Batsy have a new birdy?” he sang, and the figure stepped forwards out of the shadow to reveal you, donned in your Valentine suit for all to see.

“Oh no, dear Joker,” you said, matching his tone yet lacing it with as much venom as humanly possible, “I promise you I’m far from new.” 

Cause I know that it’s day but it’s dark outside

The fact Joker wasn’t expecting a sixth ‘Batman partner’ to show up helped with taking down the guards. And like Tim noted, he was tracking everyone’s fighting styles. Even if Bruce was in the right mind-frame he had little chance of coming out on top. 

You hadn't fought in the public eye for many years, so there was no recent footage of your style, and even so most of it was back when you weren’t working with Batman at all. 

You had tied up Joker when you set to work setting the boys free, and it came as no surprise that he’d somehow gotten away by the time you’d given everyone a once-over. 

Back in the cave Damian was the first. Once back in the confides of safety Damian practically flung himself into you. 

“Ummi, I thought-” he said, stopping himself with a sniff and burying his nose in your stomach. 

“It was a close call.” Dick added, his voice strained. With a look you pulled him closer, and one by one you managed to deal out hugs and just the right words. 

In the next few hours Dick and Jason were both sent off back home with food Alfred made, and the reassurance that you’d come visit. Tim was sent off to bed, being told everything from the past events would be waiting when he wakes up. Damian was also given bed rest, but only after he got one last hug from you. 

All that was left was to deal with Bruce, who’d been in the cave since you all went upstairs. 

Like the feeling of rain on a Summer light

“Bruce.” you said, reaching his place at the computer. He stopped rather abruptly, and turned to face you with an agonizingly slow pace. The look on his face made you pull him into you just like you did with Dick. And for the first time in so long, Bruce cried. 

He could’ve lost everything on top of the baby. The other boys. You. Himself. 

He knew what he did wrong, he knew he went in without a clear head, all because something wasn’t right.

[janeyseymour]

Escape- pt 23

pt 1. pt 2. pt 3. pt 4. pt 5. pt 6. pt 7. pt 8. pt 9. pt 10. pt 11. pt 12. pt 13. pt 14. pt 15. pt 16. pt 17. pt 18. pt 19. pt 20. pt 21. pt 22. 

Jane Seymour has stayed with Henry long enough. Cue Catherine of Aragon and the rest of the girls to save her (Aramour)

Shit hits the fan.

“Is that Thomas?” Catherine stared at a man in the craft store they were perusing.

“Lina, stop staring. It’s rude.”

“Jane, I’m pretty sure that’s Thomas. Don’t you- he’s-”

“I’m sure it’s fine. Now stop staring. You’re being rude.”

“I’m calling Beale.”

“You’re not calling Beale and dragging an innocent person into all of this.”

“I’m looking out for you and Eddie. I’m calling him.”

“No! You’re not! He called us two months ago saying someone resembled Henry. If either of them were still looking for me, or were looking for me at all, they would have-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence Jane. Come on. We’re leaving. I’m not having this conversation in the middle of a fucking crafting store.” Catherine grabbed the cart and led her to the checkout area.

“Give me my son. I’m going to the goddamn car.” The blonde lifted Edward out of the cart and stormed away.

“Women, am I right?” The cashier snorted.

“Fuck off,” Catherine sneered. “You have no right to say that.”

“I’m going to put Eddie to bed, and then I’m going to bed,” Jane muttered.

“I think we should-”

“Catherine.”

“Please. Just come back down. Please,” the hispanic pleaded.

“Fine.”

An hour later, Jane still hadn’t returned. Catherine picked herself up from the couch where she had been sitting watching television on mute for the past hour and walked towards Edward’s room. Jane was rocking back and forth in the rocking chair facing a window, Katherine at her feet and cooing at the small boy.

“Honey, please go to sleep. Mommy really needs to talk to Mama. Mama’s being crazy right now, and I’m not all that thrilled with her, but please know I still love her.”

“What’s happening with you and Cath?” Kat looked up at her mother curiously.

“We just had a fight. It’ll all be okay.”

“Okay, but are you okay?”

“I’ll be just fine love.” She turned her attention back to the baby in her arms. “I hope you find a love in this world that is unmatched. I hope you find someone who will shield you from this horrible world.” Eddie giggled a bit in her arms.

“No baby. Go to sleep. Mommy really needs to talk to Mama. I love you so very much, but as much as I love looking into your beautiful eyes, we all need sleep!” The baby boy yawned as his sister began to rub his belly.

“Yes Eddie, go to sleep buddy.”

“Go through this world, and be kind. I hope it gets you far- farther than it got me. As much as Nana and Poppop love me, they never told me why. It was just ‘You are mine’. I am going to let you know every single day why you are loved. You are loved because you are going to be raised to be a good person,” Jane sat in silence for a second before adding, “no matter who is taking care of you. Even if it’s not me.”

“What does that mean Mom?”

“Nothing love. Just, if anything were to happen to me again, I can’t escape death. But I know that with you and Cath around, Eddie over here is going to be just fine.”

“But I won't be.”

“Honey, you would be just fine without me. You managed it for how many years before you met me?”

“But now I have you, and I don’t think I can lose you. You’re my mama too, you know?” Katherine stared at Jane in a way that made her look like a small vulnerable child.

“Oh, I love you Kat.”

“I love you too Mom.”

“I love you because you are mine, but also because you have grown to be such an amazing young woman.” Jane looked down at the baby, now asleep in her arms. “Oh, he’s finally asleep. Do you think you could take Eddie and set him down? You’re always so good with him.”

“I can do that.” Katherine took the boy from her mother’s arms and began cooing, “Oh sweet Eddie. It’s Kitty, and I-” That was all Jane heard before she walked out of the room.

“Hey.” Catherine was waiting for her at the door. “I love you because you are the most amazing, beautiful, kindhearted person I have ever met. You never cease to amaze me with Eddie and Kat.” She kissed her wife softly.

“We have to hash this out.”

“Okay,” Catherine sighed, leading her wife to the living room. “I have to call the police. He could be dangerous. It’s better safe than sorry.”

“But what if it’s not him? What if we just drag a poor innocent person into this mess?”

“But it could be him though, and that’s what I have an issue with.”

“He was never violent before.”

“Was Henry?”

“No but-”

“Then Thomas could be too. What if you’re alone one day and-”

“I would be able to defend myself.”

“No. What if both of them-”

“I can handle that. I know I can. You know I-”

“What if you freeze?”

“I wouldn’t!” Jane’s voice grew a bit louder.

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do!” She was growing angrier.

“And what about Eddie?” Catherine continued.

“I can defend him too!”

“Open your eyes Janey! You haven’t even taken shooting lessons! You need to put all of this into perspective!”

“When’s the last time I’ve been alone?” Jane looked at her wife defiantly. “I’m always with at least one of you guys! And I am putting it into perspective! Stop! God, I need you to believe that I can do it! I need you too! Please!”

“Jane, are you mental? You have yourself so in your head, and you keep telling yourself everything is okay and that it’s all over. It’s not! If they have some sort of lead, he’s obviously still looking for you. Every day that I let this go is a day closer where I could come home to find you dead and Eddie dead or kidnapped! I couldn’t live with myself if that ever happened. And what about the other girls? We have to think about them too! What about Kat? Don’t you care if Kat’s in danger?”

“Fuck you!” Jane got into Catherine’s face.

“Fuck me? What’s gotten into you? Why? I literally just want you safe! That’s fucking it!”

“Fuck you Catherine! You’re so inconsiderate! My god! I just want to leave and get away from this life! I can’t even look at you right now, you selfish bastard!”

“What the hell?”

“You told me I wasn’t enough! You told me you couldn’t live without me when you know you could! Don’t fucking lie to me!”

“I-” Catherine lowered her voice.”I’m not lying when I say that I couldn’t live without you. When you almost died, I genuinely had to think about how I was going to survive this life without you. And you said it yourself, you can’t escape death the next time you’re faced with it.”

“But you are lying! If I didn’t drag you into any of this, you would be so much better off! You wouldn’t have to deal with me!”

“Except I wouldn’t be! I would still be pining over you and trying to convince myself I wasn’t still in love with you. I wouldn’t have married the woman of my dreams and have a son! Don’t you understand why I feel responsible for you?”

“Responsible?” Jane’s voice went cold. “Responsible?” she yelled. “Is that all I am to you? A fucking responsibility?”

“You know I didn’t mean it like-”

“Oh, like what?”

“Like that.”

“God! I really am just a responsibility to you! That’s all I am, right?”

“Jane, honey. Listen.”

“I don't want to listen! Fuck you! You don’t need to be a complete dick! Shit, I need to get out of here.” She wiped her tears hastily and walked out the front door.

Sitting down on the front stoop, she looked up at the sky and began to wonder out loud.

“What am I doing wrong?” She put her head in her hands. “What did I do to deserve this? I’m a good person. I’m nice to everyone I meet. I had good grades all throughout school and finished at the top of my class in both high school and college. I eat well. I know I get more than enough exercise. So, why does all of this have to come crashing down on me? Sometimes,” she choked out. “Sometimes I wish that if I had known this was what my life would turn into, I would’ve just let myself die that night. It would’ve just been easier, right?” She hoped she would get a sign from the universe.

“Mom?” Katherine spoke, making Jane jump.

“Jesus Kat, you scared me.”

“I-” The pink haired woman engulfed the blonde in a hug. “I hope you don’t mean that. If you had died that night, you wouldn’t have met me. And you fought for your life. You fought an angel, and you stayed even when you were faced with death.”

“I was just thinking out loud honey. I wouldn’t trade meeting you and the other girls for the world. I hope you know that.”

“I wish I could just take all of your pain away for you.”

“I wouldn’t want you to be in my place.”

“I was in your place though. I was in a really shitty relationship before I finally had the courage to leave. I was probably the most hated girl in my high school because of this guy. Actually, four different guys who all used me and then made me out to be a slut to the rest of the school. Then, in college, I was kind of in a situation like yours. He wasn't as bad as Henry, and I certainly didn’t have anyone like Thomas either, but I was in a terribly abusive relationship. And uh, I would go through it all again if it meant you didn’t have to. I know I would survive it. I can’t say the same about you, and that’s terrifying.”

“I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m also so terribly sorry that you have to put up with me and for putting you in this situation. I can’t imagine it’s easy watching me go through this when you’ve also lived it.”

“I was broken for a while, but then I met you. You built me back together.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Anne and all the other girls can back me up on that. I wasn’t myself until you came along. Since you’ve come along, I feel like myself again. I don’t put up with you either. For Christ’s sake, I call you my mom, and I didn’t ever think I would call anyone by that title again. When you came here, I made myself a promise that I would do anything I could to protect you.”

“That’s very sweet of you honey, but this is my battle. I can’t put you in a situation that could endanger you.”

“Just know, I would do it for you. You’re worth it.” The two sat in silence for a while before Kat fell asleep tucked in her mother’s arms.

Jane heard the front door squeak open, and she quickly tried to compose herself, having cried for a few minutes after Katherine fell asleep. Catherine said nothing. She sat next to Jane, and held her. Neither made any movement. Catherine carried both Kat and her wife to bed that night.

���Jane?” Margaret muttered into the phone.

“Mom? I need to come home.”

“It’s two in the morning hun.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think you could wait to do it in the morning?”

“I just need to come home,” Jane sighed before quickly adding, “please.”

“Are you bringing Eddie?”

“Yes. I have to.”

“When will you be here. Dad and I will be up waiting.”

“I don’t know. Six hours maybe?”

“Okay. We’ll be up. Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too Mom.” Margaret hung up and rolled over to shake John awake.

“What woman? I’m trying to get my beauty sleep,” he groaned.

“Janey’s coming home. It sounded pretty urgent. She’s bring Ed, but I don’t think she’s bringing Cath or Kat. We have to be up in five and a half hours.”

John had already sat straight up. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. She sounded scared and nervous.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“Hun, she’s probably packing and will be driving for the next five hours. Don’t distract her, okay?”

“Well, I’m up for the day I guess.” He began to push himself up from the bed.

“Why don’t you try to go back to sleep? Wake up in four hours.”

“I think I’m up for the day. It’s okay. I’m just going to go for a walk.” He kissed his wife’s forehead.

Catherine rolled over to embrace her wife, but she wasn’t there.

“Jane?” She called but was met with no response. She tried calling her name a little louder, but there was still nothing.

“Hello?” She walked into Edward’s room, but Eddie was gone too. Making her way out of the kitchen, she found a note.

Lina,

I needed some time to think. I love you, but I had to leave. Not forever, don’t worry. I took Eddie with me because he needs feeding. Last night, things got really real, and it opened my eyes to a lot of things. I know I can’t handle myself. That’s why you and the rest of the girls got dragged into the mess I get to call my life. I leaned on you a little too much, and now I need to lean on someone else. At least for a little while. Please understand that I am so grateful for everything you’ve given me, and I love you more than I can ever tell you. I just needed a break from the hecticness of my life

-Jane

P.s. Tell Kat that I love her.

Catherine read the paper over and over.

“Dammit,” she muttered, running up the stairs to pack a bag for the journey she was about to go on to find her wife.

“Cath?” A sleepy Katherine appeared at the door. “What are you doing?” Wordlessly, the hispanic handed the sleepy girl the note and continued on with packing.

“What the-”

“I don’t know honey, but I have to go find my wife.”

“Well, I’m going with you.”

“No you’re not. Go back to bed. I’ll bring her home when I find her.”

“She’s my mom,” Katherine raised an eyebrow, challenging Catherine to fight her.

“Fine. Go pack a bag.”

“I’ll be fine with what I have now. We have to find her.”

“This is Jane, leave a message!”

“Janey, it’s me again. I’m coming home. I don’t really know where home is right now, but I know it’s wherever you are. I’m- without you, I’m lost. I love you.” Catherine pulled out of the driveway, not realizing Thomas was a few houses back, ready to follow them.

“This is Jane, leave a message!”

“Mom, it’s Kat. Please pick up. Please”

“This is Jane, leave a-”

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Catherine hadn’t expected her to actually answer after evading all of her calls, and even evading her daughter’s. “I really-”

“Please don’t do this. I told you I need time. You didn’t lose me forever. We’re still married. All I need is time, and you need to understand that.”

“You can’t say I didn’t lose you forever. Henry or Thomas could get to you first.”

“Catherine I-” Jane went silent. Her daughter grabbed the phone from the hispanic’s hand.

“Mom, please. Just tell us where you are. I need you right now.”

“I- bye Kat.” The blonde hung up.

“She,” Katherine took a breath before continuing. “She hung up on me.” The girl in the passenger seat sounded so defeated.

Catherine groaned, calling her mother-in-law.

“Cath,” she answered shortly.

“Is she with you?”

“I-”

“Marge, come on. Don’t do this. I’m just trying to make sure my wife is safe.”

“Yes. She’s here, and she’s safe. You just need to give her time.”

“I already lost enough time with her Marge! What if even more time gets ripped away from me because one of those stupid fucking idiots gets to her first?”

“We’re going to-” Catherine’s phone began to ring.

“Hey, I’m sorry. It’s Beale. I’ll call you back.” She switched lines.

“Hello?”

“We got Henry. He was wandering the streets drunk, yelling about Jane. It was definitely him. He pulled a gun. He’s dead.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Well, here’s something that you might want to know. Jane left. She’s back at her parents’ house. I’m heading there now with her daughter.”

“Aragon, you know how dangerous that is.”

“Yes. I didn’t get to tell you yesterday either: I’m pretty sure I saw Thomas. It’s why she left.”

“Because she was scared.”

“Where are you now?”

“Somewhere between Parr’s house and the Seymour house.”

“Be careful. I’ll have the police in both areas on lookout for Thomas.”

“Thank you.” She hung up and called the Seymour house again. “They caught him.”

“They caught Henry?”

“Yes. He’s dead. But Thomas is still out there, and they don’t know much about his intentions. Please keep her safe until I get to your house.”

“Cath, she needs time.”

“I already told you: I lost too much time as it is. I lost twelve years! I can’t lose anymore.”

“When she kicks your ass for being here, I’m telling you I told you so.”

“Fine. Whatever. I don't care. I just need my wife back in my arms again. Please tell her-” The line went dead.

“So that was your wife.”

“Of course it was.”

“She just wants you safe, you know that.”

“She told me I was a responsibility. How is that-”

“That woman absolutely worships the ground you walk on! You told her at your wedding you would let her love you! Now, for the love of God, just let the woman love you!” John was done listening to his daughter.

“Dad!”

“Jane!” He mimicked.

“You know-”

“I’ll tell you what I know, and I want you to listen carefully,” John spoke with intention. “I know that woman loves you. I know that woman is in love with you. I know she can’t bear the thought of losing you because she doesn’t think she could ever go back to a life of not having you. I know she loves you more than you could ever even try to fucking-”

“John!” Margaret hissed.

“-more than you could ever freaking fathom. You made a vow to love her and let her love you. Let her love you with everything she has because, without you, she would think she has nothing. I refuse to watch her heart be broken again by you.” John went to tend to his grandson without another word. Margaret and Jane stood in stunned silence for a few moments, letting what the head of the household said sink in.

“You know,” Margaret sighed heavily. “He’s right.” She too went to tend to her grandson.

“Fuck!” Thomas yelled. He was almost out of gas, and quite frankly, he was exhausted. “Having a general idea of where they were heading, it didn’t take him long to figure out Catherine and Kat were heading to the Seymour residence.

“They can wait,” he muttered as he pulled into a rest stop.

[chromium7sky]

Damirae week day 2: fake relationship | I'm a sucker (for you)

"You suck, like seriously. "

Jason told Damian as soon as Damian explain the situation that become tangible. Oh how he did wish to turn back time and said NO but... This time,  he said yes. Especially to a girl who seems to come out of nowhere.

But seriously,  he involved in deep shit and know it seems all the media and reporter are trying to smell some scandal from the Wayne Family, especially from him,  the blood son of Bruce Wayne.

"That all you have to say? " Damian raised his brow.

"Well, there's much more of that, Dimwit but I was wondering. Why her?  Just because she has an animal and to specific,  a bird name, you fall head over heels for her? " Jason smirked as he teased the young heir while smoking at the open window.

Damian,  annoyed as always, took the cigarette from Jason's hand and put out it by pressing the lit against the window panel. "Where did you get that stupendous theory?" he sneered at the white streak lad.

"Come on,  Damian. The Bat and co. knows it. Tim,  Barbara, Cass, not to mention Dick and Steph keep screaming when they see both of you together. " Jason shrugged idly with annoying face as he remember the noise Dick and Steph made during their 'Stake out' for the young man.

"It wasn't even a real date!" Damian exclaimed.

"Well by the look of your face at that time, you seems enjoy it. " the red hood huffed as he show the picture where taken.

"You... Dare! " Damian were about to snatched but with Jason quick reflexes he quickly store in his jacket inner pocket.

"So tell me, little D. What is it? "

"It has nothing to do with you. " Damian grumbled as he sending death glare to Jason which the older brother seems to immune with it.

"Yes it does because I would really like to meet a girl who could make a brat fall head over heels for her. " Jason smirked and what he's really impressed is this haughty assassin prince seems to act gentlemen towards her like it was almost natural.

"So,  care to talk? " Jason played the good cop.

Damian sneered at him and lost in the end. "Fine. We talk at the balcony." as he quickly paced towards the area followed by Jason Todd.

As Damian sit at the chair in the middle of the balcony, he put his hands together and close his eyes as he tried to retrieved some information store in big brain of his.

"It was about a criminal I was after, rather a peculiar one. His name is Eric Forrester. I've been trying to track him for months after serial incident happen at rural area nearby Jump city. " As Damian explained.

"And? " Jason with his armed crossed as he listen his story.

"I've found the exact same pattern case nearby. Until.. "

"Until you met Raven? "

Damian silence for a while as the flashback playing on his mind like it was happen yesterday.

####flash back####

"Help me! "

"What?! " Damian were kinda busy at time when a girl suddenly appear as he walked down the street with coffee and bagel on his hands.

"Something happening to my roommate. " The girl mumbled and shivers. She pull his arm and ran towards a flight of stairs and God knows, the girl is really terrified.

As soon as they reached her apartment,  the door were wide open. Damian pulled the girl's wrist behind him incase something bad happen. As they slowly pacing in, they saw the girl's roomates,  blonde with attractive build now facing down and with bluish color skin.

Both of them were horrid and Damian quickly call 911.

*********

"I'm sorry about your friend. " said Damian as he stood besides the girl who is now, hand shaking while holding a cup of tea and space out.

After the interrogation session it seems that the dead girl were died but unnaturally. There's no trauma or force that apply on the corpse.

"Caroline...she has a bright future.  But why... " she cried as she used her sleeves wiping her tears.

"What happen actually?" as the young man sip his coffee, to warm his body in this cold weather.

"I was just gone back from art exhibition party at my college and as soon as I reached my floor. The door were wide open!  I thought,  it was burglary!! But nothing was taken,  and I found my roommate lying on the living room." as the scene still freshly painted in her mind.

Damian sighed as he sip down the black coffee. Well,  he tried to bite down his curiousity,  questioning her alibi and finding evidence because this, this is exactly the same case happen at the Jump city where the woman found dead unexplained in their home.

"I was hoping if you know more about what happen, i mean,  is there anyone your roommate met recently like colleague,  friends?" Damian stared at the blue haired girl.

She took a couple of sip and as if something came up on her mind. "Well,  there is someone she's kinda close in her workplace. I think that was her boss. " the girl rubbing her chin as she refreshed her memories.

"I did  stumbled some flower gift outside of our apartment. " she paused. "and its say from a guy name Forrester. I bet that's his name. "

Damian jolted as soon as he heard the named quickly turn to her. "Forrester?"

"Yeah. Probably a well-known playboy somewhere. His name kind of familiar. " she mumbled.

Damian has found his lead for the case. Quickly he finished his coffee and throw the cup into the paper recycle bin.

"Well,  I hope after this you need to move away from the apartment. I think you might in danger. " Damian turn to her as he advice her.

"I can't. This is the only apartment i could afford. " she cluthes her cup.

"Still,  your life is on the line,  miss." as his stared at her.

"I know. I'll just becareful. " she sighed and throw her empty cup to the recycle bin. "Anyway,  thank you for helping me. " she give out her faint smile.

"By the way,  I'm sorry to be rude for not introducing myself. I'm Damian. " as he held out his hand towards her.

"Raven Roth.  But you can call me Rav-" as she grab his hand she jolted and so as Damian. It was like a surge flowing between them.

What he sees in his mind is something sinister,  a clue,  ANOTHER murder. Quickly he pull of the hands and both of them gasping for air.

"What the hell was THAT?! " he spit out. What he felt is new and mystical, also prophetic.

"You,  felt it too? " her indigo eyes went large as if it was new to her.

"What do you mean you felt it too? " As Damian furrowed his eyebrows wanting some explanation about what happen.

"I--"

"Who the hell are you? " Damian start to feel hostile. His suspicious grew towards this girl name Raven.

"Please do understand me. I didn't cause any harm to anyone." Raven kept her cool face as she held both of her hands as the sign to pacify the current situation.

"I've seen horrible image in mind. Are you -" before he finished his sentence Raven snapped out as she knew what he going to say.

"I'm not what you think it IS! "

Both of them took time to breath in and out calming down themselves.

"What? " Damian still puzzled.

"I had a forecast about what happen to Caroline and rush towards the apartment. " her shaky hands at her sides. "I fail to save her. " again her tears rolled down.

Damian sees her vulnerable and somehow it reminds of him when he tried to save the children from Dr. Pyg in his old case. It's frustrating and guilt.

"Why didn't you tell to the police about that? " he was curious with her ability, this forecast thing.

Raven scoffed as she heard that. "They probably put me in asylum,  Mr. Damian."

"Just call me Damian."

"Damian... " as she corrected her last sentence. "But you saw what I saw just now..." her lips formed a solemn smile. "Its more than enough to prove that I'm not crazy. "

Damian silence as he heard her.

###flash back ends###

"Wait,  wait!"

Damian sneered at Jason.

"I haven't finish yet,  Todd. " Damian grind his teeth in annoyance.

"So,  both of you had the Zap thing and you guys dating each other because of that?! " as Jason try to understand the chronological of the event.

" We are not even dating! Its just a cover!  For her!" Damian sighed as he ruffled his hair.

"You're saying she's not your type? "

"Bullshit!  It was for her safety.  There's a maniac keep harrasing her in the college!"

"So you do like her! "

Damian just can't get with Jason who always on his nerve.

"By the way,  how about the maniac that makes THIS happen? "

"Already take care of it. " Damian crossed his arm.

"You kill him? "

"No. "

"Send him to authority? "

"Worse. "

"A 20 years sentences? "

"I ensured it. "

Jason pursed his lip in approval and nod slightly as he heard it. Don't mess with little D's girl.

A standard ringtone  breaking the silent atmosphere and Damian quickly pull out his phone. He glanced at the scene and answer the phone.

" Any new Forecast?"

Oh, that question made Jason grew excited! Damian were talking to HER! Quickly on his impulse he grab the phone from his little brother.

Damian wanted to protest but Jason quickly put his hand on the angry boy's mouth as he speak to the mysterious girl on the phone.

"Hey,  Raven right? "

At first there's silence but then she saying yeah to confirm her identity.

"Well, this weekend Damian is kinda having dinner at his house, Don't you mind joining in? " Jason casually invited her through the phone. Damian's 'What? ' at the background can be heard the moment Jason said dinner at their house.

"Uh,  I don't know. Who am I speaking to?"

"His Father. " Jason lied. He could hear she gasp on the speaker.

"Sorry to disturb you discussion between you and your son,  Mr..."

"Mr.  Wayne. "

"Mr. Wayne?"

"Yes. " Jason heard the conversation been cut off in a sudden. Jason then seen the screen shows call ended. "She hang up?"

"What did you do?! " Damian quickly snatch his phone back and saw the screen. Then he set his infamous death glare at Todd. "You scared her!! "

Jason amused with his reaction, the spawn of satan really like this girl.

The phone ring again, quickly Damian answer it. "Look, I can explain." Todd quickly at the other side trying to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Sorry to make you worry,  i was shocked that I dropped my phone. Did I annoyed your father for sudden hang up? " Raven's voice faintly heard.

"That fine.  He just need to go somewhere minding his own business. " Damian sneered at Jason then gesturing his hand to buzz off. "Anyway,  about the Forecast,  i got one about 1 hour earlier. And I could make out the name of the place,  Jackal's Sanctuary."

Damian pull out a pen and write on his palm Jackal's Sanctuary name. "Great. We'll met there within one hour. "

"On it! " Both Raven and Todd answer it. Damian then looked at Todd who has walked toward the door while holding the his phone. He sneered deducing that his brother is up to something.

"Damian,  is your father still there? "

"No...no. He went somewhere else. "  as Damian continue to glare at Jason who has gone inside.

Meanwhile,  Jason text on his phone about Damian meeting the girl at Jackal's Sanctuary on a group chat call The soaring Birds that has Dick, Babs, Steph, Cass, Timbo as active member. Duke tries to stay out of it but of course, Dick won't let any Bat and Co. left behind and sometimes Duke follow their investigation about the girl who Damian said having "fake relationship".

The picture of the group made Jason cringe sometimes. It was a picture of Damian and Raven capture from a far,  with motto written in cursive neon coloured "Make it come true."

[softbookboi]

Spin The Bottle (a snowbaz fanfic) Chapter 3 (last one)

Summary: The Eighth Years are playing Spin The Bottle at a party. When Simon sees that his ex-girlfriend Agatha cheated to kiss Baz, he decides to get revenge. During the next game, Seven Minutes In Heaven, Simon cheats and gets himself and Baz in the closet together. Oh my, what could they possibly do in the closet?

Simon

This is incredible.

Baz and I have never bonded as much as we did tonight. It's just...Merlin.

We were like best friends and he was so nice too. He kept complimenting me and I kept blushing and then he told me to not blush that much and I blushed even harder. He was even making jokes here and there and listening to me go on about the Mage and my life and responsibilities. He even gave me advice.

Course, his advice was to 'fuck them all' but it's the thought that counts.

I just couldn't stop thinking about how we had wasted all our lives by fighting and giving in to the war others created. Baz and I are still children and everyone is making us their pawns in the war. The Mage is using me and Baz's family is using him. I don't bring it up obviously though. That would be a sensitive subject for him, I suspect.

But I just can't believe what a huge mistake we made giving in to the war and the path others had set out for us. We could've been best friends (maybe even something more if he were gay) (or bi) (or pan) if it hadn't been for the citizens telling us what our roles were and plaguing our mind with the war. Even if they still did, we could've just not have listened to them.

I mean, if on the first day of school in First Year, when I held out my hand to Baz, if he had just taken it, then we would've become friends. And when people told us we couldn't be, we would've already known that being enemies would be a waste of time and we wouldn't have listened to them.

I don't know why Baz didn't take my hand. But if he did, then we'd be something much more different than what we are now.

As we walk back to the Mummer's House, he keeps talking about the most random stuff. Somehow, the conversation winds over to LGBT+ stuff.

"I'm just saying, I think everyone should come out, even straight people. It's only fair. Like, just say, 'Mum, Dad, I've been keeping this in for so long, but I can't anymore. I'm...straight.' And if someone is gay or bi or any other sexuality, it should be okay. The people should accept them and it would be alright. It would certainly make things easier for the LGBT+ community, like me."

I choke on air.

"W-What?" I ask. Did he just say that he was part of the LGBT+ community? Is he not straight? Is he gay? Or bisexual, like me?

"Are you a part of the LGBT+ community?" I ask, more directly.

"Yes. I am. I'm gay." he answers and I gape at him, but he's looking at the ground now (the stairs, to be completely accurate), his previous energy dissipated into thin air.

"I've already come out to my family. My stepmother and siblings don't mind, but...my dad's having problems. He doesn't even address it at all, just lets it hang over us as an invisible-but-actually-visible statement. Like how I'm a vampire."

We've now reached Mummer's House and we're walking up the stairs to our room when he says that and I almost trip.

He's a vampire?!

I knew, of course. I always knew. But hearing him confirm it feels bizarre. It's oddly unsettling. He just admitted to being a vampire, knowing that I can get him thrown out of Watford for this. It's either because he trusts me or is too drunk to think about what he's saying.

It's probably the drunk thing but it's nice to pretend he trusts me.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what he's just blubbering out when we enter our room and he just continues talking about it.

"It's really hard being one, ya know. I get this urge to drink blood so bad that if I don't do it every few nights, it gets unbearable. I don't let myself drain a person though. I would never do that. Just animals and legal game." He flops down on his bed without changing. "It's an abysmal feeling. Being one of those horrible things that killed your mother. And knowing that if she were alive, she'd be disappointed. So, very disappointed. She'd probably kill me herself. She killed herself because she got bitten. There's no way that she would hesitate to kill me."

At this point, I'm just sitting on my bed, listening to Baz sprawled out on his bed. Listening to him talking in a really small voice that breaks occasionally. (That really shows how insecure he feels about this). (It also amazes me that because of just a few drinks, he's letting himself be stripped of his walls, stripping his walls himself, and letting it all go. He's letting himself be so incredibly vulnerable right now).

I am just flabbergasted. I never thought Baz could feel like this. I always thought he was a confident, smart, perfect git. He hid the real him so well that I never suspected that he, too, probably had a lot of insecurities and walls. I think I'd like that Baz back now. The Baz that was a prick. I'm too unused to Baz being open and vulnerable like this (even if it is because of alcohol) to know what to do.

He keeps talking, clearly unaware of the crisis my mind is in right now.

"And Father. He's so strict and old-fashioned. He expects me to be perfect. And that means not being gay. But what am I supposed to do? I know he still loves me but he doesn't really like that I'm gay and he keeps trying to set me up with girls. It's all just so hard."

I finally get my bearings and open my mouth to try and comfort him. But I don't know what to say. What should I say? What can I say that'll make him feel better? I'm his nemesis. (Well, not exactly because of the sudden change of events but something to that effect.) I'm racking my brain for something to say when he starts talking about the last thing I wanna talk about.

"It's even worse that I'm in love with someone. I've been in love with someone since First Year. But I can't date him so it's more painful when my family brings up the idea of dating. Cause then my mind always darts back to him, the beautiful bastard."

My heart drops. Baz already likes someone. Baz already loves someone. And he has since First Year. I have no chance with him. (Not that I had one before.) But what did he say? He can't date him? Why not? I force myself to choke some words out and instantly feel horrible because of taking advantage of Baz in this state. He clearly wouldn't want me to know this. We're not even friends. But I'm desperate and pathetic. So I do ask him.

"What do you mean, you can't date him? Is it...unrequited love?" I ask, wondering which answer will make me feel better, then decide neither. I suddenly feel like I could throw up twice.

"Pretty much. He knows I exist. But we're not friends. At all. We can never be friends because he hates me. I've been a git to him all my life so I can't really blame him. I deserve the pain."

My ears perk up. What?

"What?" I quote my thoughts. Sweet Merlin, what did Baz say?

"I said I was a git to him all my life. It started First Year. He actually came up to me with a hand extended for me to shake and I was just staring at him. We were going to be roommates so I guess he wanted to establish a good bond. But I couldn't, for some reason. I was eleven, I had lost my mum and the Crucible gave me him. I was just admiring his soft bronze curls and his big blue eyes full of wonder despite the shit he went through and the constellations of freckles on his face which I was so sure continued down his whole body and I decided then and there that I would be a dick. I would be a dick to him because I thought that would prevent my feelings for him to expand. But it didn't work. Of course, it didn't work. Nothing I do ever works. I should've just died in the fire instead of my mum. She would've killed me anyway since I'm a vampire. Me dying would've been better for all of us."

I can't breathe.

Baz just told me he loved me. (Indirectly.) Was he seriously thinking that stuff when he was being a git to me? Did he secretly want to actually be my boyfriend and do all those boyfriend things? Is he kidding? No, he can't be kidding. He's full-on drunk. And you know what they say: A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts. But that would mean that he thinks about the other stuff too. About being a vampire. About being gay. About (gulp) dying in that fire instead of his mum because he thinks that he deserves it.

He doesn't. Even though I didn't really know this about Baz, I do know that he, in no way, deserves to die. Even before, I wanted to get him thrown out of the school but never die. Even I knew that he didn't deserve that. And he's never even bitten a person. He's not a bad person. Baz isn't a monster. He's just a boy who got terribly traumatized by his mother's death and his father's unsupportive actions about him being gay and being in love with someone who doesn't love him back.

Correction: Being in love with someone who does love him back, he just doesn't know it. (Did I just say I love Baz? Oh my God.)

I snap back to reality and look at Baz to find that he's buried his head in his arms and pillow and is silently weeping. I feel my heart shatter into a million pieces as I hear a whimper from him.

My eyes fill up with tears because of the sudden disclosure of overwhelming information I got tonight and I step off my bed and move farther up until I'm right in front Baz's bed. I climb into the sheets and lie right beside him. I pry him off the pillow softly and pull his head to my chest and cradle it.

I wrap my arms around him. One of my hands rests around his head, running gently through his pitch-black hair (no pun intended), and the arm covering his shoulders. The other hand is clutching tightly at his side, arm wrapped firmly around his waist. My chin is resting on his shoulder whilst his head is buried in my shoulder and his hands desperately grasp my shirt, silent crying turning into small, restrained sobs.

I can feel his wet tears on my shoulder as he nuzzles his nose further into the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. I can't help it. I start crying too. I'm not lightly sobbing like him but I can tell its loud enough for him to know that I'm weeping as well.

Somehow, I tighten my clasp around him and whisper in his ear.

"You don't deserve it, Baz. You don't deserve any of the shit life threw at you."

I know he hears me cause he quietens down a bit and starts sniffling. I move to try to change our positions and catch a glimpse of his tear-stained face as I'm lying down on the bed. His bed. As soon as I lie down, I pull him towards me once again and before letting him bury his face in my chest, I wipe the tears off his face and kiss his eyes. We both lie in silence with the occasional sniffle.

When I'm sure he's fallen asleep, I whisper faintly to the darkness surrounding us both.

"I love you too, Baz."

Baz

My head hurts like a bitch.

I wake up in my bed and hear the shower going on in the bathroom and assume that Snow is showering. (Which is weird; Snow showers at night, Ishower in the mornings).

I sit up and look around. Our room is just as messy as it was when I left it. To go to the party. The party.

Oh shit.

That must explain why my head is aching. I must be suffering from a hangover. A bad one. And I'm still dressed in last night's clothes, even my sneakers are still on. I guess I passed out before I could change. Can't say it's hard to believe, I hardly remember anything from last night.

Last night. I remember Snow. Snow coming up to me and sitting beside me and us talking. I remember complimenting him (oh Merlin) and insulting the Mage and joking with him. I remember him taking me home. Then it gets foggy.

Aleister Crowley, did all that actually happen? I think so, since the memory is fresh in my mind. I try to think about what happened after that. Because if I said something stupid, then I am done for.

I get out of the bed and try to ignore the pounding in my head (and my heart), which is proving to be quite difficult while trying to recall what exactly happened. I see Snow's face, shocked, flabbergasted, and I know I fucked up. I said something I really shouldn't have.

I'm having trouble breathing now. I need to know what I said. Now. But I was completely pissed. I don't remember anything else.

I run a hand through my hair and caress my scalp to try to ease the pain but it's not working. I shut my eyes and try to keep the panic attack in. I can't afford that right now.

And suddenly, I remember.

I remember telling him I'm a vampire. And him almost tripping on the stairs. I remember telling him how my mother would have killed me if she were alive, how I should've died in the fire. And him just sitting on his bed, eyes wide. I remember telling him how my father can't support me being gay and keeps trying to set me up with different women. And him looking at me with tears in his eyes, which I'm pretty sure he didn't even know were there.

I remember telling him about the boy I've loved since I was in First Year. And him looking at me with an unreadable expression.

Fuck. I'm screwed.

I also see a flash of someone hugging me tightly. Pulling me into their arms. Letting me sob into their shoulders. And saying something like "You don't deserve it, Baz." What don't I deserve? Did Snow say that? What did he mean? Surely, that can't be him. He never would've embraced me.

I feel tears profiling in my eyes and I try to hold them back. I can't cry. Not now, when Snow's just a few feet away and can hear me easily. He's probably already heard me pacing around. Fuck, fuck, fuck, I can't believe what I revealed last night. How could I have been so stupid as to get drunk? And where were Dev and Niall?

Just then, I see Snow coming out of the bathroom. He's in the school uniform, hair damp and messy. And he hasn't even worn the uniform properly. He looks like he put clothes on in a rush. He definitely heard me get up.

Seeing Snow standing right there, in front of me, and knowing how I feel suddenly feels like too much and I hate myself for going out in the first place. I should've known something like this would happen. When have I ever been lucky? When has my life ever been all sunshine and rainbows? Never.

He's supporting this look on his face, something between worriment and pity.

It's pity. It has to be pity.

It's all too overwhelming. He's standing there, knowing I remember last night and he's waiting for me react. He's waiting for a reaction so he knows how to pick up the conversation between us.

And suddenly the tears are coming out. I can't hold them back anymore, they're rushing out the speed of a bullet. But I don't make a sound. I stay silent. I see concern bloom on his face and before he can say anything, I turn around and start my way out of the room. I can't stay here anymore.

I hear him call out, "No. Wait, Baz, " and grip my wrist. And the next thing I know, he’s right in front of me, his mouth a few centimeters away. I can feel his breath on me and somehow that hurts even more.

I struggle against him, trying to break free but he doesn’t let go. I can’t stand this. I can’t stay here and listen to him go on about this. I just confessed my feelings last night, and not just that I love him, I also told him about what went on home, and now that’s made me more vulnerable to him than I’ve ever been to anyone else in my entire life. He has intense leverage over me now. My feelings for him are intensive and passionate and vigorous and they hurt. Goddamnit, they hurt so much because I love him more than anyone else, and I just can’t stand here and listen to him let me down and tell me how he doesn’t return them and how he hates me. I can’t deal with that. Not now, not ever. It makes everything seem too real and gives me a sense of reality, of how he’ll never like me, let alone love me.

And these thoughts force me to cry even more. I force out, “Let go, Snow” but it comes out weak and pathetic. I force myself to look him in the eyes and see that his brows are furrowed in worriment and for a moment, I lose myself in those blue, blue eyes. I let go of everything weighing me down and let the emotions filling me up to show on my face and I weep as his face contorts into one of apprehension and woe and awe as he looks at me breaking my mask of perfect control, letting myself be vulnerable to him willingly.

And then his lips are on mine.

The kiss is sweet and soft and slow and reassuring and I can’t help but let out a tiny sob. His tongue caresses mine and his hands are delicately placed on my cheeks, cupping my face as if to protect me. I let my arms sneak around his waist and then go up and run through his hair. I don’t want this to end. Never, ever. He lets out a soft moan and I know I was wrong. I was wrong about him telling me he hates me, and I was wrong about feeling infinite last night. This is infinite. With Simon kissing me like I’m the only thing that matters right now, I feel infinite. Truly infinite. And I just know that he won’t take advantage of me.

We go on like this for Merlin knows how long. I’ve lost track of time. It might be minutes, hours, or even days later when we finally break apart. We’re still practically glued to each other, his forehead resting against my nose. Panting, he looks up at me and says, “I won’t take advantage of you. I won’t hurt you. Never. Your love isn’t unrequited, Baz. Not at all. Your father may not accept and support you fully but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you accept yourself and love yourself. He’ll come around. Your mother wouldn’t hurt you at all, you’re her son. She would never try to kill you, even if she dislikes vampires. You’re not a vampire, Baz. You’ve never drank a human’s blood, you’re not a murderer, you’re not a vampire. You shouldn’t have died in that fire. You don’t know how thankful I am that you didn’t. You’ve been too deprived of love, Baz. You’ve gone through too much bloody shit, and you deserve none of it. You deserve love. You deserve nothing but love. And I’m here to give it to you. I’m not sure I completely trust you, but I want to. I want to so much. I like you, Baz. A lot. So much that I think I might love you. Scratch that, I know. I know I love you.”

Mid speech, I started to tear up again, and by the end of it, I’m bawling. I’m not holding myself back now from making a sound. And I’m pretty sure the people in the rooms next to us can hear, but I don’t care. All I care about now is that Simon Snow is here for me. Simon Snow loves me. And I love him. I try to tell him this, but I’m crying so hard that it comes out incoherent. He smiles, like he knows what I’m trying to say, and just leads me back to his bed. We both lie down and he lets my cry into his shoulder.

I get a sudden flashback of lying like this last night, and I know it wasn’t a dream.

Simon

We stay like that for hours. Literally. By the time we’re ready to get up, it’s time for lunch.

I could tell that Baz remembered last night. I could tell he was freaking out. I could see the tears. But I didn’t wanna overwhelm him so I stayed put and shut my mouth.

I should’ve figured he’d be overwhelmed anyway. Who wouldn’t be overwhelmed when they found out that the person they’ve been in love with (tingles) for 7 years now knows about it and they have no idea how they’ll react, considering they’re just standing there?

I couldn’t let Baz go so I pulled him to me and he struggled but I didn’t let go. I couldn’t. He told me to but his voice sounded nothing like how he usually is so I could tell he was this close to having a breakdown and was just holding it in because of me.

But then he let go.

He looked me in the eyes and let go. His vulnerability showed on his face and his tears’ pace fastened and he let out sobs. Seeing Baz drop his normal confident and snarky demeanor and then transform into this broken person deprived of love willingly was it for me. I stopped holding myself back and kissed him.

And it was everything. Baz let out cries during it and I could tell how sudden this was for him. Having all his feelings exposed to the one person he wanted to hide them most from. He had hardly had any time to get used to it. I tried to show to him that I wouldn’t take advantage and that I loved him too by kissing him. And at that moment, Baz was the only thing that mattered to me. Not the Mage, not the Humdrum, not Watford, not my uncontrollable magic, Baz.

And I felt infinite.

After the kiss, I told him the things he needed to know. I told him the truth. And he cried even harder. He tried to tell me he loves me too, but it just came out cute and incoherent. I led him to the bed and cradled him once again and stayed for as long as it took for him to adjust to what happened.

And now we’re here, in front of the eyes of every Watford student, holding hands tightly and walking over to the table. Our separate tables.

We talked before we came down here and Baz and I agreed that he’ll sit at his usual table today and then Dev and Niall and him will sit with us at dinner. After he’s told them about us. After he’s told them that we’re boyfriends. And we’ll sit like this from then on.

We decided that since nothing is kept from the ears of the Watford students, and how the ‘Snowbaz’ gossip is still young and jumping from student to student, we might as well basically declare that we’re dating. By holding hands while walking by the tables.

Every student’s stopped whatever they were doing and is focusing on us now. Even the teachers. They’re looking at us with wide eyes and whispering to their friends. I squeeze Baz’s hand reassuringly.

When we’re about to part our ways, I think about how everyone already knows about us. How they can’t do anything to separate us. How most of them actually like that Baz and I might be dating. Then I think, screw it.

And I take him by the back of his neck.

I hear shocked gasps around us and the whispers have increased in volume and amount now. When I pull back, I see the faintest blush on Baz’s cheeks and kiss it, whispering ‘bye’ as I walk away.

As I sit down, I hear his footsteps echo and know he’s reached his table. The whispering continues.

Penny’s looking at me with a smirk and I smile. I already know what she’s gonna ask so I just get right into the story. I tell her about last night, but I don’t specifically tell her what Baz told me, except for the love part. I only tell her that he said personal things. And I tell her that he was only lightly crying today. I meant it when I said that I wouldn’t hurt him, and I know that me telling other people about his breakdown will hurt him.

During the meal, we keep stealing glances at each other and beaming, and I swear a star is created every time Baz laughs.

Yeah, so we were supposed to be enemies and hate each other. We were supposed to loathe and despise each other. We were supposed to fight a battle to the death against each other, him representing the Old Families and me the Mage. But people are forgetting something. We’re just kids. We have no take in politicks. And Baz was right, the Mage is a coward. I’m the one who does the work, not him. And if the Mage has so many problems with the Old Families, why involve me into it? The battle with the Old Families is his, not mine. And I will not fight it for him. And Baz won’t fight it for the Old Families either.

We’re not enemies. We’re just two boys who got manipulated by politicks.

Baz isn’t my enemy and I’m not his. Our enemy is the Humdrum, and Baz and I will fight together to destroy him.

We’re not enemies. We’re just two boys who fell in love.

chap 1, chap 2

[thatemoredlion-archive]

[I am going to apologize again for lack of content lately. I know this isn’t a personal blog by any means, but not only do I feel like I owe an explanation to you all, but honestly my friends on here are currently some of the only people I trust. 

Being honest, my mental health has been shit. Not only because my schedule bounces between days and graves so I get no solid sleep schedule. Not only because my dad’s traumatizing death has triggered severe PTSD (fortunately the carpet in the bedroom got entirely replaced today so there’s no longer a huge chunk of carpet missing where he died). But unfortunately my exes are causing a lot of unnecessary drama and stress in a time where I am truly raw and don’t need it. 

What’s sad is my ex-girlfriend was highly involved in the passing of my father. She wanted to be there to support me, and now to due a heinous lie, she wants nothing to do with me. Normally, I wouldn’t care. Exes don’t always get along. But this lie is so far from the truth that it’s driving me mental, and I’m convinced the only reason it’s happening is because my ex-boyfriend was pissed I cut him out entirely while I kept her around, and he wanted to eliminate any risk of her leaving him for me. 

It all started on my ex-girlfriend’s birthday. Being the nice person I am, I reached out. I got a conversation about how “no one is doing anything for her birthday because no one cares.” I told her I would do something for her when I was back in town from Seattle. I asked her about dinner plans she does every year and was told it wasn’t happening because everyone had work. I found out later that it was happening, and called her out for lying. I was first told by her that she didn’t want me to know because I had plans that weekend and she didn’t want me hurt - I was then told it was because I’m a “stalker”, which made no sense - her and I had barely spoken since the funeral (which was almost two months ago). Maybe once every five days, if even. It turns out she claims I was a stalker because I “asked my friends details about her life.” First off - I didn’t. My friends are her friends and would tell me stuff whether I asked or not. Second - I’m the one that broke up with them and I think they tend to forget that. Why would I stalk someone I intentionally left for being abusive and didn’t want to look back??

So, they all go to her birthday dinner. Mind you, my ex told my best friend the night previously that she wanted no drama and not to bring me up. Guess who goes against her own word and brings me up? Turns out my other ex (who she is still dating) starts crying and saying that I pushed him into sexual activities while we were dating. Non-consensual sex? He’s basically calling me a rapist. The irony? Anyone who knows me knows I was disgusted by him. I only dated him because I had strong feelings for our other partner, and her for me. Which sure, makes me shitty, but definitely not a rapist. I wouldn’t even kiss him or tell him I loved him so he didn’t feel led on. 

I want to say the irony is that he was always sexual with me. Within a month of us dating he sent  me dick pics I never asked for, and continued throughout the course of our relationship. One when all I said was ‘cute’ because I wanted him to know it made me uncomfortable, he threw a fit that I didn’t call him sexy and didn’t want him physically. In fact, one of the last things he said to me after the break up was “I’m glad you told me because I just got a new packer and that would have been awkward.” To me that heavily implies that he would have sent me more pics. I have so many texts where he would tell me about nasty dreams about me or talk about how much he wanted my dick. I would screen cap this to show my girlfriend, who was entirely disgusted by his behavior towards me. Many of my friends have been appalled by how he talked about me or acted towards me. Hell, early on with us dating he sent me photos with a dildo up his ass - a dildo his girlfriend of seven years didn’t even know he owned. He would touch and grope me at cons and at their house around our girlfriend and everyone around me would see my discomfort and that I never reciprocated. My girlfriend heard me make up a thousand excuses (dysphoria, sickness, stomach cramps). I would pick up extra work shifts on days him and I were supposed to hang out so I didn’t have to be alone with him - all my coworkers knew that’s why I was working 70 hour weeks. I spent many hours at work crying because of how pressured I felt by him and how I didn’t want to be around him. When I backed off he started complaining how he missed my kisses, how I didn’t want him, and how he wanted to kill himself for it. My girlfriend told me he was catching on and I had to “pretend to like him so I didn’t lose her.” On nights I had work, I would only sleep on her side of the bed because I didn’t like sleeping by him. My dick move here, but I even told him once I wasn’t physically attracted to him, listed why, and told him that was why I never wanted sex. He sobbed about it to our girlfriend and brought it up to me often. He would take my shirts without me knowing and admitted to jerking off to it. He wanted to get me alone at cons so our characters could have sex. And a final kicker on this list? For my birthday, he made me a coupon book - one was for a quickie and one was a personal favor with a wink face. 

Him and I fucked around twice over the span of two years. Oral sex. He told me our girlfriend wasn’t allowed to know - of course I told her. TMI, but the first time he told me I was the “best person he tasted.” The second time he hurt me but I was scared to tell him so I jokingly asked if he was bored and he said “I could do this all day.” That’s why I avoided being home alone with him - I felt pressured. I felt responsible for his life. And the kicker? A week into dating, he pushed my girlfriend and I into a threesome, in which we both admit to being traumatized by. 

My ex-girlfriend knows all this and was witness to more than half, yet she believes him. She has been claiming for seven years that he’s abusive, and has wanted to leave him, yet believes him. She saw him send me twenty-five texts begging for me back the day after the break up. She saw him try to be the one to come to my house when my dad died and saw him break down, worried that I hated him. But now he’s claiming that I was abusive, manipulative, and pushed him for sex. And she believes him. 

She told my best friend she hopes she never sees me again. She’s telling whoever will listen how horrible I am. This is a girl I wanted to marry. Who I gave everything to. So yeah, my mental health is fucked. I’ve been confused and heartbroken about how she believes this when there is so much evidence against it. My own PTSD keeps flaring up because I have been assaulted four times, so to be accused of something that I know damages lives immensely is appalling. My anxiety is through the roof that they’re going to turn everyone against me. I’m scared to run into them and them do something vindictive. 

So yeah, I haven’t been well. I’m a train wreck on top of being a train wreck. I’ve had no muse, no motivation, all I want to do is hide under the blankets and sleep it all away and never wake up until this shitty dream is over. So, that’s my long story. Thanks for listening to me and being good friends that know I’m above all this toxic bullshit.]

[hellyeahrpmemes]

※ SHIT I HEARD AT COLLEGE ※

a thrilling saga of shit i’ve heard at college; these are all from my first semester of sophomore year. feel free to change names/pronouns/etc.! more ‘shit i heard/said’ starters!

“The porn industry is moving swimmingly.”

“We all need men. Go find them.”

“It’s not an opera, bitches, it’s a flight.”

“Don’t look! It makes their dick bigger!”

“I have my own place and I can light as many candles as I want.”

“I’m not a librarian, sir.”

“How’s your sack lunch, bitch?”

“Stab me in the ass and turn me into Kim Kardashian.”

“I stayed up another hour just to cry.”

“I just got a nude and I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“I’m gonna go stab my eyes out now.”

“We get it. You have a big truck and a small penis.”

“It’s an epidemic, Karter!”

“There’s no cups, so I’m using a bowl. To drink apple juice.”

“Fuck y’all, I’m eating Fruit Loops!”

“I don’t know my superhero name, but here I am with my can of Lysol and my plastic fork.”

“Your list of things to do includes making the best 2000s playlist of all time and fighting me at Cheesecake Factory.”

“This is borderline human abuse.”

“How do you feel about fluorescent lighting?”

“I’m sorry, I’m on a college budget, I’ll give you two nickels and a paper clip.”

“We couldn’t say hell, because… Catholic school problems.”

“I don’t want them to call me and be like, ‘we’re about to drill into your face!’”

“Ugh, yes, the hot TA, what club are you in?”

��My rat bastard dad? What about him?”

“I have an idea that I’m positive no other human has ever had: butter flavored ice cream.”

“I hate myself, but I’m funny, so…”

“This man loves puppies and he is not afraid to say it.”

“There’s just something about stale food that I really like.”

“I like how we’re watching our upcoming death on TV.”

“When I get wasted, I want to fight. It’s a problem.”

“My boyfriend got really drunk and started drinking nectar out of the hummingbird feeder.”

“He currently has a child.”

“That’s a good way of getting rid of a baby.”

“He can’t look at his dead parents or his alive children.”

“I can’t focus on reading, ‘cause I just wanna watch Drake and Josh.”

“My roommate loves manifestos. Especially the Communist Manifesto.”

“Have you studied his naked body or something?”

“Okay, we got our Greek tragic playwrights: there’s Sophocles… there’s Euripides… uh… Isosceles?”

“We’re so stupid we click things that say ‘click here for here’.”

“So there were just 95 loose pigs.”

“This is called shaming.”

“I can’t be the only person who says ‘meatballs and spaghetti’.”

“What could go wrong? …oh, shit, I’m on fire.”

“Don’t call Kourtney unless you wanna suck dick tonight.”

“There’s no one around. He’s talking to his dick.”

“Just ‘cause it’s Greek doesn’t mean it’s sophisticated.”

“I hate myself, but I hate her more.”

“I don’t know anything about it, but it has bread in the name, so I want to try it.”

“Just… don’t breathe this class.”

“Megan: secret crop top wearer.”

“I’m embracing my aesthetic while you’re embracing… Jon Hamm’s face.”

“What are we doing tonight besides homework? …and bread?”

“I’m witnessing a breakup right here in the Starbucks line.”

“I nominate Gushers as a snack suggestion, but, like, a lot of them. All of them.”

“I have a strong immune system.”

“I was so worked up about the bolo ties.”

“Also, I was wine drunk, so…”

“Does she hit him? I hope she hits him.”

“Only Matthew McConaughey drives Lincolns.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m totally a Republican… Pence is daddy…”

“After that… is the exact same thing… from a different angle.”

“All my life, I’ve been striving to be better than Kidz Bop.”

“Is ‘slaveitude’ a word?”

“Ted Bundy was attractive. People knew him.”

“I feel like whoever’s in charge of the Reese’s company is really high right now. Like, putting Reese’s inside of Reese’s.”

“One beer bottle on campus might be a problem, but if there’s 8, they’re props.”

“With elevators, it’s not claustrophobia. It’s that I don’t trust the government.”

“Headphones: in. World: out. Notes font: ugly.”

“You know that’s a felony, right?”

“That’s a… fourth or fifth impression kind of story.”

“That means she definitely fucked a member of Kiss.”

“I feel free, but also ugly.”

“This is my unassigned assigned seat, and if any of you take it, I will fight you.”

“I went to the Home Depot, bought a bunch of lights, put them up in the air, and said ‘this is art’.”

“Because I was a full New Yorker, I just kept walking.”

“We almost died, but our last meal would’ve been free, so…”

“What’s a funeral like in 2017? GIFs and memes.”

“I would like to thank not only God but also Tinder.”

“I sat through a 40 minute argument about how Justin Bieber started the Cold War.”

“I’m just walking down the hallway, thinking about ways to throw myself down the stairs and make it look like an accident.”

“Now, if it was Kidz Bop, I’d go see it.”

“Don’t name your kid Ethelwold.”

“Shoulders, chest, pants, shoes: a vision for America.”

“My dad’s not getting dick from anyone.”

“I’m a shady beach and y’all are my shady beaches.”

“Oh, no, don’t write that down…”

“At Chipotle, God himself picked those avocados and put them in the guacamole.”

“It should be a holiday: Ohio awareness day.”

“We should go to a nice place. A formal place. California Pizza Kitchen.”

“What do you do in geology lab? Dissect rocks?”

“What great weather for a mental breakdown.”

“He’s not computer generated; he’s actually that large.”

“I’ve done some soul searching and I think that ranch dressing is my favorite food.”

“I almost said his birthday was in 1926. It’s like, we got a little bit of an age gap.”

“Are you physically running away from the situation?”

“I will personally call Papa John to tell him that he’s the reason my life isn’t going right.”

“I can’t wait for middle-aged sex now.”

“I should’ve known, there aren’t two eclipses in a year!”

“I walked around with a bear taser for a year and a half.”

“I found out that the guy I have a restraining order against has been peeing on my car for two years.”

“He fought the devil in jeans and no shirt.”

“She threw my fucking pillow off of the balcony!”

“Tickets are for something fun. Paying the check is not fun.”

“It’s Halloween, calories don’t count on holidays.”

“Well, you know how I said we met in philosophy class? Well… Elise doesn’t take philosophy class.”

“You got it wrong. You said 56 point 2. The answer was 56 point 2.”

“Do I want that horrible sock tan line that I had for five years back? Yeah, I do.”

“I got drunk, threw up, got high, and came here.”

“It’s Titanic blue. I’m the Heart of the Ocean, bitch.”

“The only rat bastard in our lives is Russ.”

“The beats are so good, but the words are such trash.”

“I had to fight someone in the elevator yesterday.

“…I’ve awakened the Demigorgon.”

“We solved the great hiccup epidemic of 2017.”

“Watch out, Kansas, I’m coming for you.”

“Do not associate my birthday with math terms.”

“That’s some Hunger Games type shit.”

“Fuck y’all, I hope you trip and die.”

“I’m very confused and also cold: an American tale. A five part miniseries, this fall on HBO.”

“I am Mrs. Grey! Bring me the kink!”

“I really wanna make a shirt that’s all Comic Sans.”

“I was thinking about Panera’s mac and cheese in a bread bowl, and I started crying.”

“We’re gonna steal your WiFi, but it’s okay, because Panhellenic love.”

“I have confidence that you’re not gonna get pregnant within those two hours.”

“See if this card works. I mean, it should work, but, like…”

“I think my favorite part was slowly dying.”

“All they serve is chicken salad, so you really have to like chicken salad.”

“I have three papers and a test this week, I don’t have time for feelings to resurface.”

“I’m living a life. Not my best one.”

“When you write a report on a book you’ve never read.”

“Don’t tell me what to wear when you wear Crocs to the bar.”

“I have listened to literally nothing but Hallelujah and My Heart Will Go On all day today.”

“Oh my god, Elise, you fucking bitch, get your shit together, and write your paper.”

You know what I’m really devastated about? I’m all out of Fruit Roll-ups.”

“We’re gonna be teachers. We have school forever.”

“I don’t want your sympathy, I want your anger.”

“Clowns… doorknobs… the color yellow… ducks… I’m quoting Victorious…”

“Did you just say ‘hey Sophie’ to not include me? ‘Cause, guess what, bitch, I’m still here.”

“I live here, I know when we have salad!”

“I think Satan’s middle name is cumulative.”

“I will put up with my moose husband for however long I need.”

“I’ve literally been down here for an hour and a half waiting for these nonexistent cookies.”

“I’m keeping a detailed list of Elise’s hickeys.”

“I’m an adult, I say as I eat my Fruit Roll-up.”

“Oh, my practicum grade is in! Let’s see… 36.”

“SOS, I’m in bed and it’s so comfy, but I need to get up to study, what do I do?”

“Get up. Only a few more days until we can sleep all we want.”

“So you’re admitting you live in the woods.”

“I don’t know if it’s finals stress or if this is actually the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, but I’m crying.”

“It was optional, don’t make me feel bad for skipping class.”

“I’ve heard that, if enough people fail, they’ll have to curve it.”

“How do you even study for this?”

[lfthinkerwrites]

Regarding Jonathan Crane, pt. 3

Title: Regarding Jonathan Crane

Fandom: Batman

Rating: T

Warning: Mentioned Character Death, brief descriptions of past violence

Summary: Bruce is made aware of the situation and reflects on the events that brought them to this point.

Previous Chapters:  1/2

AO3 Link

Saturday, February 3rd

8:30 pm

Since he'd escaped from Arkham Island almost 24 hours earlier, Croc had kept a low profile. Bruce knew though it would only be a matter of time before he caught his trail somewhere beneath the city. Croc was predictable. Dick was already out scouring the Bowery for information, while Oracle and Tim listened in on any radio chatter. Bruce himself was driving into the Bowery, after giving Gordon his latest update.

"How goes your search Master Bruce?"

Bruce pressed the intercom on the car to respond. "No sign of Croc yet. I'm going to meet Dick now in the Bowery. According to an associate of his, Croc has a lair somewhere beneath the old Blue Line subway tunnels. We'll be checking that out first. How's everything back at the Manor?"

"As well as can be expected, though Master Damian is quite insistent that he should have been allowed to accompany you."

"No," Bruce said adamantly. "Damian's not prepared to take on someone like Croc just yet."

"You and Master Dick should exercise caution as well. I know how difficult your last encounter with Croc was for you sir."

Bruce's grip tightened on the Batmobile's steering wheel. His last encounter with Croc had been the night of the Arkham Riot, when he'd been down in Croc's lair to get the spore samples that would counteract Dr. Young's TITAN formula. His encounter with Croc had been difficult yes, but it was what had happened before that still haunted him at night, almost two years later...

...He's still fighting off the effects of Crane's latest toxin as he chases the Rogue down into the sewers. It's more potent than it's ever been. He should of seen this coming he thinks. Crane had been too quiet since Nigma went into his coma. That always meant that he was up to something. Finally, he reaches the door that leads into Croc's lair and goes through it. He stops and slowly walks in. Scarecrow is in control tonight, not Crane. That makes the situation even more dangerous.

He sees Crane at the edge of the water, holding his pouch above it. "Stay back!" He cries out, his usually deep voice high and tinged with mania. "Or this goes into the water supply!" He dangles the bag over the edge and Bruce pauses. There's no reasoning with him at this point. Any scraps of human decency that Crane had ever had had gone with Nigma. Bruce slowly begins to reach for a batarang from a back pouch on his belt.

"Don't! I warn you!" Crane shouts again. "There's enough toxin to drive Gotham mad with fear for a hundred years!"

"Don't do it Crane," Bruce says. Then he pulls the one card he thinks he has left, even if it disgusts him to do so. "Edward is still out there Jonathan. Will you doom him too?"

For a moment, Crane hesitates. "Edward..." he says. Then his voice hardens. "You took him from me. You"ll pay for that. This whole goddamn city will pay for that!" He raises the pouch over the water again and Bruce reaches behind his belt. He'll only have one shot, he needs to make it count-

Suddenly something rises from the water and grabs onto Crane. Bruce realizes it's Croc. Croc raises the scrawny man above his head and the pouch falls harmlessly onto the ground. Bruce races to pick it up before firing the batarang at Croc's shock collar. The collar goes off, shocking Croc, but he does not let go of Crane. With a growl, he plunges back into the murky depths, taking Crane with him.

Bruce should go after them. He's not sure what Croc intends to do with Crane, but he has to stop him. He's about to dive into the water when the Earth above him shakes. The TITAN infected plants are still growing. He needs to get the spores for the antidote or everyone on this island will die, to say nothing of what Joker will do if he gets into Gotham City. But if he doesn't go in, Jonathan Crane may die. One life, vs hundreds, potentially thousands... He takes one last look at the water, then he continues into the lair...

...That was the last time anyone had seen or heard from Jonathan Crane. As far as Gotham and the rest of the world was concerned, the man was dead. Bruce sighed. He should have been more resistant to the fear toxin. He should have been quicker to disarm Crane. He should have gone after Croc. Every death that happened on his watch, no matter whose it was, was his responsibility.

"Are you alright Sir? You've been quiet."

Bruce shook off the memory and focused back on the road. "I'm fine. I'll check in again when I meet with Dick." Bruce shut off the intercom and prepared to make the turn into the Bowery. Then his car phone rang. Bruce narrowed his eyes. That couldn't be Alfred or Barbara. He pressed the talk button to answer the phone. "Yes?"

"Bruce?"

Bruce's eyebrows raised under the cowl. "Selina? What is it?"

"I need to see you."

The almost desperate tone in her voice immediately set Bruce on edge. Selina's never desperate. "What's wrong?"

"It's Eddie. I think he's in real trouble."

Not Nigma. Not now. What could he have possibly gotten up to-Croc. Did Nigma-

"You look like Hell," is the first thing Selina says when he staggers into her apartment. He should go back to Wayne Manor to rest, but he needed to see her first. Selina can sense something deeper than exhaustion brought him here. "Bruce. What's wrong?"

Bruce takes a breath. "Jonathan Crane's dead."

Selina's eyes widen. "What? How?"

"I chased him down into Croc's lair. He was dangling a pouch of fear toxin over the water. Croc grabbed him and dragged him under." He should have gone after them. He knows now he had time. Why didn't he?

Selina sinks onto her couch. "Jesus..." her hand comes up to her mouth as she gasps. "Oh God! Bruce! Eddie! How am I going to tell Eddie?"

Bruce shook his head. "Where are you?"

"I'm on the roof of the Iceberg Lounge."

Bruce made a sharp u-turn. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

Selina was waiting alone on the roof of the Iceberg Lounge, just as she said she'd be. She looked visibly relieved when she saw Bruce as he approached. "Hey handsome."

Bruce wished he could take the time to exchange pleasantries with her. "What happened with Nigma?"

Selina sighed. "He's gone Bruce. He's not at his apartment or his office and he hasn't answered his phone for over 24 hours." Selina's eyes softened slightly. "When I was by his apartment earlier, he had a box of news clipping about Crane out on his coffee table. He's gone after Croc Bruce. I know it."

Bruce knew she was right. He remembered when Selina told him about Edward's reaction when she informed him about what had happened to Crane. He should have told Tim or Dick to check on him when they'd gotten word about Croc's escape. "When was the last time anyone saw or spoke to him?"

"Yesterday morning," she answered. "We didn't know he was gone until earlier this afternoon."

So Edward had potentially been gone for over 24 hours. Bruce narrowed his eyes. He could be anywhere underneath Gotham by now. He might be dead. He clenched his fist. He should have never let Croc take Crane. He should have kept a closer eye on Edward. He should have done better by both of them, but he didn't and Crane was dead. And Edward potentially was too.

He felt Selina's hand on his shoulder. "Bruce," she said gently. "What happened to Crane wasn't your fault."

"I'm responsible for it Selina. I could have done more to prevent it. I should have gone after Croc."

"Bruce, the whole island was going to Hell, you'd just been exposed to enough fear toxin to drive ten people insane and you were on Croc's home turf. If you'd gone after them, you would have died." She gently reached up to cup Bruce's chin. "What happened to Crane was horrible, but he knew the risks going down there. You can't make yourself responsible for everything. We can't bring Crane back, but we can still save Eddie."

She was right. Edward's safety was the priority now. He reached up to take her hand. "I'll find him Selina," he promised. "If Edward's down there, I'll find him before it's too late."

Selina withdrew her hand and smiled. "I know," she said. "I'm coming with you."

"Selina," Bruce warned. "This will be dangerous."

"Oh really?" Selina drawled. "Going down into the sewers to chase Killer Croc will be dangerous? You don't say." Her face grew serious. "Eddie's my friend. If we find him before Croc does, I'm one of the only people around who might be able to talk sense into him. We both know he won't listen to you."

Bruce didn't like the idea of Selina coming with him, but he conceded the point. "Alright, but be careful."

"Relax," she said, sauntering towards the edge of the rooftop. "I'll just grab Eddie and get out. I'll leave the fighting to you. "

Nightwing was waiting by the entrance to the Old Blue Line Bowery Station when Bruce pulled up in the Batmobile. He gave Bruce a quick nod of acknowledgement then did a double  take when he saw Selina exit the vehicle. She gave him a small wave. "Hi Boy Wonder."

Nightwing looked over to Bruce. "You wanna fill me in?"

Bruce locked down the Batmobile and walked over to Nightwing. "Nigma's gone after Croc," he explained. "We need to find him before he finds Croc."

Nightwing's eyes went wide under his domino mask. "Aw jeez..." He looked back towards Selina, who had joined him by the entrance. "I take it you're here to try to save Eddie from himself?"

Selina stretched her arms out above her head. "Try the key word there." She glanced at the entrance. "Ready boys?"

Nightwing stepped to the side and swept his arms towards the entrance "After you my Lady." Selina chuckled a bit and stepped through, followed by Bruce and Nightwing. The three descended the steps into the old station and walked out onto the old platform. Bruce winced as he saw the homeless gathered around meager fires, barely looking up at them as they passed. Budget cuts had forced the city to close down much of the shelters. Bruce would have to see that some of the Wayne Charity Foundation's budget went towards opening new ones. The three passed one older man who was sitting by the edge of the platform. He looked up at them with vague curiosity.

"You here for Croc or for Riddler?"

Selina looked sharply down at the man. "You saw Riddler? When?"

"Last night," the man answered. "Told him Croc was there. I warned him not to go down there. He didn't listen though."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. Edward had been down here for 24 hours. They needed to hurry. He jumped onto the tracks and gestured for Selina and Nightwing to follow him.

As they walked down the tunnel, the faint light from the fires on the platform completely dimmed. Bruce pulled a small flashlight out of a pocket on his belt and clicked it on, illuminating the tunnel before them. For a while, they walked on in silence, until Nightwing broke it.

"Going up against Croc...what's Eddie thinking? He's got to know he doesn't stand a chance against him."

"He's not thinking," Selina answered. "He's not being rational." She clucked her tongue. "He never really was rational where Spooky was concerned."

"I'll say," Nightwing muttered. "I never understood what he saw in Crane."

"Neither did I," Selina admitted. "But Eddie loved Crane. He still does love him. It doesn't matter what I think. And I think Spooky loved him back, in his own way. It wasn't like Joker and Harley."

Crane was a misanthrope who enjoyed the terror he caused, despite a token attempt to pass off his actions as 'pure research.' He disregarded all other concerns, including his health, as something completely beneath his notice. If there had been anyone on Earth that Jonathan Crane had truly cared for though, it was Edward Nigma. His always precarious grip on himself had slipped for good after that last fight in Metropolis, when Edward had finally bitten off more than he could chew. Bruce had been at that battle with the rest of the League, but he didn't see Edward go down. It wasn't until after the fight that he saw Shining Knight, standing over Edward's limp body. He almost didn't recognize him through all the blood. Shining Knight was still holding the bloody mace, stammering out apologies as Bruce had cradled Edward's body and yelled for a medic. Bruce suspected that Edward's earlier dip in the Lazarus Pit was the only reason he survived, even if his memories couldn't be salvaged. The only thing that comforted Bruce was the fact that Crane hadn't been there to witness it. Regardless, that had been the start of his final, fatal descent. Bruce felt his grip on his flashlight tighten. He'd had a hand in everything that had happened to Crane and Edward in the last few years. That was something he'd never forgive himself for.

Bruce paused when he noticed something up ahead. An open manhole, with the lid cast aside. He slowly walked over to the open space and shone his light down. It was about a six foot drop, with railings. Bruce went down first, shining his light  to make sure there were no surprises waiting for them. When he saw it was clear, he gestured for Dick and Selina to follow him.

"You think Eddie was here?" Selina asked when she joined him.

"Yes," Bruce answered. "Let's keep going."

"He's been down here for a whole day," Nightwing said. "What's he been doing? Do you think he found Croc?"

"He could have gotten lost down here," Selina argued. "Maybe we'll run into him."

Bruce doubted that and he'd be surprised if Selina actually believed that.

"So what's the plan if we do find him?" Nightwing asked.

"I'm going to try to talk him into going back up with me," Selina answered. "And if he doesn't listen, I'm going to need your help hog-tying him and dragging him back up."

Nightwing snorted. "Great. Just like old times. I'm sure he'll really appreciate it too."

Bruce's attention was caught by the sound of water. That and the smell told them that they were in the sewers proper.

"I really hate when we have to chase after Croc," Nightwing complained, holding his nose. "Just once, can't he hide out in a bakery, or a field of flowers or something?"

"Eddie must be driven to find him," Selina added. "That's the only reason he'd be down here."

Bruce didn't respond, leading the way forward. If Croc was down here, they needed to be on the alert.

"Either of you boys have the time?"

Nightwing pulled up the sleeve of his costume. "12:30. We've been down here for about four hours, I don't think we're in the Bowery anymore."

Bruce accessed the palm top computer embedded in his right glove. "According to my schematics, we're under the Diamond District."

"You think Eddie made it this far?" Nightwing asked.

"He's got to be down here somewhere," Selina said. "You don't happen to have a tracking device on Eddie, do you?"

"No." Bruce said. He'd considered putting one in Ed's cane when they worked together on the Sharp case last year, but he'd decided against it. There was too much of a risk that Edward would have found out and be set off by it and there was a part of Bruce that had wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. With everything that had happened since then, Bruce wished that he had. He'd promised himself when Edward had woken up and announced his intent to reform, that he'd do what he could to ensure he stayed reformed...

...The office Edward had chosen to set up shop at is small, but Bruce supposes it will do. He'd decided that morning to pay the former rogue a visit as Bruce Wayne. There were things he needed to know about Edward, things he didn't think he'd find out as easily if he went as Batman. The door to what he assumes is the waiting room was wide open, so Bruce walks in. He raises an eyebrow at the open boxes that litter the floor. "Hello?" he calls out. "Anyone home?"

He hears a noise and Edward appears, walking out of the room just beyond the waiting room. His eyes widen in recognition when he sees him and Bruce tenses. The moment of truth. Does Edward remember that Bruce Wayne is Batman?

"I know your face," Edward murmurs. Then a smile appears on his face, one that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course! You're Bruce Wayne!"

This is a good sign, Bruce thinks, but he's still cautious as he reaches out to shake his hand. "Indeed I am."

Edward takes his hand and shakes it, more out of a desire to be polite Bruce thinks. "I'm sorry for the mess in here. I just moved in."

"No worries," Bruce says. "I can only imagine how busy you must be."

Edward picks up one of the boxes on the floor and sets it on what will probably become a secretary's desk. "So," he says in a jovial tone that sounds just a bit forced, "How can I help the wealthiest man in Gotham today?" A look passes on Edward's face. "You're not here to settle a score with me are you? I don't remember if I've ever robbed you or not."

Either Edward is doing a very good job of mocking him, or he legitimately doesn't remember. Bruce is beginning to think it's the latter. Time to do another test. "I actually came to ask for your help."

Edward's eyes widen in genuine surprise then. "You-my help?" He recovers and claps his hands together. "Well then! What kind of conundrum do you have for me?"

Bruce takes the opportunity to study the man before him. Edward's put on weight since he's been released, looking healthier than Bruce had seen him for a long time. His eyes no longer have that manic gleam Bruce remembers from the last few encounters they'd had before Metropolis, but Bruce thinks they're a bit duller than they used to be. The purple shades obscure them somewhat. Bruce clears his throat and continues. "We've been having a rash of break ins at Wayne Towers in the past two weeks. I'd like you to take a look into it." Bruce had already figured out that a security guard was part of a robbery ring and was assisting his friends in breaking in. He wants to see if Edward can come to the same conclusion. He wants to know how sharp his mind still is.

Edward pulls out a pad of paper and a pencil from the desk drawer and jots this down. "Break ins...Do you have security footage?"

"Yes. You'll have access to everything you might need." Bruce pulls out his checkbook and writes an amount down. "I think this should about cover it."

Edward takes the check from Bruce's hand and his eyes almost bug out at the amount. "This-Mr. Wayne I-" Edward passes the check back. "This is too much. I can't accept it."

Selina told Bruce that Edward wasn't quite his old self just yet. Now Bruce fully believes it. "Mr. Nigma," he says. "Edward. Please. I want you to take it."

Edward eyes the check for a long moment, then takes it and puts it in his pocket quickly, as if he thinks that Bruce will change his mind and demand it back. "I'll get started on the case right away," he says. The man wets his lip and continues. "You must have a lot of options Mr. Wayne. Why me? I can't imagine your board at Wayne Enterprises would be too happy about this."

"No, the probably won't be," Bruce admits. "But I believe you really do want a fresh start. And I believe in second chances..."

"Bruce!"

Selina's voice jolted him out of his memory. Before he could respond, she rushed past him, running to what looks like a scrap of cloth on the ground about ten feet from them. A green scrap of cloth. Bruce rushed to catch up to Selina as she picked it up off the ground. When he was next to her, he got a closer look. It was Edward's green bowler hat. "He was here," Selina said. "I knew it."

"So what happened?" Nightwing asked. "Did Croc...?"

Bruce shone the flashlight around the immediate area. No blood. The water wasn't deep enough in this part of the sewer for Croc to have dragged him under either. His lair must be close by. "Come on," he said. "Stay behind me." He can hear Selina unfurl her whip and Dick ready his fighting sticks. The three of them continued on down the sewer. About ten minutes later, they hit a junction.

"Which way?" Selina asked.

"It's too dangerous to split up," Bruce said. He looked back down at his glove. The signal was weak down here, but he could just make out the map of the sewer system that Oracle had uploaded to the server for such an occasion. "The left leads to deeper water. The right's a dead end. We should go left."

Before either of his companions could reply, they heard a long, loud scream from the left. It was one of the most terrible noises Bruce had ever heard. It was a cry of pain, anger, and agony. Dick and Selina's eyes were both wide. "Was that Eddie?" Dick asked.

Selina stood frozen for a moment. "Oh my God! EDDIE!"

Without a word, Bruce ran towards the direction the cry had come from at top speed. He barely heard Dick and Selina behind him in full pursuit. He thought about Metropolis. He thought about the night Jonathan Crane had died. He would not fail Edward again.

[flirting-with-psychology]

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? 

Yeah, actually. It has occurred to me that I could be in a simulation. Also since I’m straight, white, middle class American, which is often seen as the “default” or “easiest level”

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

2

3. The person you would never want to meet?

Anyone who likes killing people

4. What is your favorite word?

Probably fuck

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

Not sure what they’re called but when their leaves fall they have this white velvety stuff on them

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

How flat my hair looked

7. What shirt are you wearing?

Blue patterned tank top with wood beading

8. What do you label yourself as?

Serial crusher

9. Bright room or dark room?

Bright

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Getting ready for bed

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

Maybe 18

12. Who told you they loved you last?

One of my parents

13. Your worst enemy?

Not an enemy per se but this one girl who is kind of a bully and we don’t like each other

14. What is your current desktop picture?

It’s a default mountains one. Not sure how that happened

15. Do you like someone?

Yeah kinda

16. The last song you listened to?

The criminal minds theme song

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

No one. I don’t want to kill anyone

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

No one really. Maybe myself sometimes

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

It would be an anonymous person who couldn’t be tied to me, and they would dig up dirt on people for me

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

Maybe my eyes

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

I actually did that Face App gender swap thing and apparently I look like 20 years older as a guy. I would probably explore my dick and what it can do

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

I know where all the shoes in the stockroom are 

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

Accidentally having shoplifted something without even realizing it

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

Peanut butter and jelly

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

Probably jewelry or clothes

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

Ireland

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?

Moscato D’Asti, the one I tried in Italy

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Live and let live

29. What is your favorite expletive?

Fuck

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

Damn, only one? It’s a tossup between my stuffed dog Bruno, my stuffed cat Muffin, and my crush log. Probably Bruno but who knows how I would feel in the moment

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Braces, on the condition that by erasing it I still get to have good teeth

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

I’d probably travel around

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

My friend Zach who died too young

34. What was your last dream about?

The last one I can remember was a few nights ago I was playing some game with my friends and ended up with my crush’s arm around me

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

I am good at some things

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

Yeah, for a couple surgeries, stitches, etc

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

Maybe?

38. What is the color of your socks?

Black

39. What type of music do you like?

Showtunes

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

Sunsets

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

Chocolate malt

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)

My school’s team

43. Do you have any scars?

Yeah, my most prominent one is on my neck from my thyroid surgery

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

I want to find something fun

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Better at making friends

46. Are you reliable?

Ehh

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

What career path do I enjoy?

48. Do you hold grudges?

Sometimes

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

A cat/dog, to end the debate about which one is better

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

One time my coworkers and I were discussing the ramifications of a groundhog-day scenario

51. Are you a good liar?

Terrible

52. How long could you go without talking?

I almost went a whole day but I fucked up once

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

Probably the bangs/ “bob” thing I had when i was little

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

Probably. Maybe not all by myself, but I’ve worked on it with my mom

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

I can kind of do british

56. What do you like on your toast?

Butter and cinnamon sugar

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

My mattress

58. What would be you dream car?

One that feels nice to drive

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

Yeah I sing in the shower or I act out conversations

60. Do you believe in aliens?

I believe in life on other planets, yes

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

No

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

S I guess

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

Dragons

64. What do you think about babies?

I don’t really get the hype tbh, I think kids are cuter and more fun once they’re toddlers

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of.

N/A