#i originally wasn't gonna do today but i doodled this and really liked it so

[nagitosstolenhand]

Aphtober day 3: Divine

biblically accurate irene my beloved

Aphtober prompts by @vyladromeave

[stoukadraws]

Happy 3rd Anniversary Chromatale, and Goodnight.

So its about time I say this: I won't be making any content about this AU anymore, so that unfortunately puts it into the discontinued undertale comics category xd

I just really lost the spark I had 2 years ago when making it, so the "little hiatus" that I thought was only going to be a few months turned into more than a year.

I'm sorry to those who were waiting and wanted to see more, but there is another reason why I'm doing this-

It's not gonna be an AU anymore, it's going to be an original story.

I really thought about it for a while and I decided that making it into an original story would give me more creative freedom and I wouldn't have to always stick to one storyline, I wanted to expand the world more as well as the characters, but since its all based on a game with a pretty much solid story, it was hard for me to insert some things that would be out of place or wouldn't make sense.

So, I hope you understand, this AU was truly a learning experience for both my art and my writing since I made it when I was really young and not very experienced, but I'm glad I was able to improve along the way.

Thank you for supporting this AU since the beginning and stuck around!

I plan to make more works surrounding this new story later on, so I look forward to it! And I hope some of you are excited for what's to come. (*^▽^*)

More in-depth explanation + some questions (near the end) :

This is gonna be a bit long so if you really wanna read this whole thing be prepared xd

This whole thing doesn't mean I'm quitting Undertale altogether, I'm still continuing the Strays Au, and I want that AU to be my main Undertale AU now since I've always intended on making it Undertale related and I'm already satisfied with it right now, so I don't intend on making it original or anything.

When I started Chromatale I was still a kid-ish, and I was at the toilet with my phone and idk how it started but I decided to doodle a Sans on my phone and thought "I can make an Undertale AU!".

And so I did. Chromatale back then was reallyyy different, it was a post-genocide story with Sans and Frisk trying to bring everyone back -yeah real original younger me

There was a comic I did on my phone but now its lost in time unfortunately, it went though like 2 rewrites until I decided to make it a full AU with my own story. And so some brainstorming later and the comic you all know today was made!

Again, I was still new to the whole comic making thing and my writing was pretty sloppy, I'm still surprised it got a lot of attention- I was full of passion and really worked my butt off to make each pages, even with school going on (it was online so it wasn't much of a hassle tho) I was determined to finish it and already had a lot of the comic planned.

That is until I felt a bit worn out, my motivation was getting lower until I could barely produce a page, so that's when I decided to put the comic on hiatus, I initially planned for it to only be a few months but then time went on and I still didn't feel motivated to continue it.

During that time I was just doing my own thing, making some OC art and different stories, making another Undertale AU, going back to school and a shit ton of projects to do- I felt like a little weight was lifted from my back, the comic had turned into labor for me and constantly doing updates wasn't very healthy, since during some updates I had to force myself to finish it.

The story was also changing in the middle of it, I had to rewrite chapter 3 since the first version was literally full of "fanservice" that I only noticed when I re-read the chapter a few months later.

I just wasn't satisfied with it, the story that my younger self had in mind didn't fit what I wanted now since I had grown more mature as time went on, the whole AU really taught me what to do and what not to do.

Initially I actually wanted to reboot Chromatale again and focus more on the concepts and solidifying the plot before engaging in a comic, but after some thinking I thought it would be better to transition it into an original story. I really wanted to expand the story more and again gain more creative freedom than being limited to a pretty much complete-ish story.

I wanted to do what I wanted instead of forcing it to fit with the fandom's liking and preference.

Although its going to be an original story some things will sorta be the same but I won't go into too much detail about it.

I won't promise a comic though, mini comics sure but not anything official. Maybe in the far distant future, but I doubt, I still got a lot of other stories I wanna make into comics >>

Now some things I would like to clarify:

"Now that you're discontinuing Chromatale can it be mine?"

-Unfortunately as much as you want to claim it, no. Chromatale still belongs to me. Even if its going to be original now there's still a lot about it during its UTAU days. I still own it, but I don't want to be heavily associated with it. I'd rather have others focus on the new version than the AU version, and I don't want all my other works to be overshadowed by it. I hope you understand.

"Can I still make fanart?"

-Feel free to still make fanart, I won't restrict anyone from still making any. But I'd still like to see fanart of the new version 👀

"Can I still dub the comic?"

-Sure, make sure to still credit me but please specify to viewers that the comic is now discontinued and its become an original story, I don't wanna give the viewers false hope. If your dubbing for fun then go ahead!

Any dub of the comic that has been published has my permission to still be up in public, I won't force anyone to take it down. But please don't use it for any profiting or income.

Now that's been settled, I'm planning on posting some concepts from the AU that I still have since I don't think I'll use some anymore and now that its ok to show now that I discontinued the comic xd

Again, thank you for following me along this journey! See you in the next post ✨

[paralyze-fic]

Paralyze.

Chapter 86

I gently bite the end of my pencil, careful not to break it or dent it too much while brainstorming ideas.

Izuku's Air Force works by basically "punching" the air, creating strong drafts and even wind bullets of sorts, something he had said was training with All Might the day of the Festival Cultural. I stared at my palm and closed my hand in a fist a few times, visualising using my quirk.

Fingers glowing light blue, storing the energy, and I made a flicker motion... It could work, theoretically.

There was also Katsuki's AP Shot, though thinking about it better, I really doubted I could adapt it to my quirk, although it was a good use of the whistle, repeated short bursts of energy.

A frown furrowed my brows as I realised I was just ripping off my friends' attacks and I wasn't being very original. Well... My quirk does depend a lot more on other people than it depends on me. "Damn it..." A deep sigh left my lips as I slouched on the couch, and I glanced down at myself.

Despite not doing much yesterday I got more injured than I would've hoped... Do I deserve to be an intern with Endeavour after all...? I mean, he called for me and personally asked me, so there was some potential in me and my quirk that he was able to see, something I've never really done in my life.

"Pushing my limits is the only way to improve, right?" Reaching for my notebook and pencil, I wrote down another idea I came up with.

Iida's Recipro. Of course, I don't have an engine on my calves, but adapting my costume to get those- oh! Like that old man, maybe? Like Gran Torino's boots?

Again, everything was theories, I was almost sure only Izuku's Air Force was gonna work out. And I had to continue practice that shield- fuck, it's too much.

I groaned and messed with my hair, closing my notebook with the pencil inside it and placing it on the coffee table, deciding to lie down on the couch as I felt the slightest headache come back. "Gotta rest and take it easy for today," I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, using the murmur of the TV as a lullaby to put me to sleep.

///////

I took a deep breath as I began regaining consciousness and a yawn left me as I began sitting up on the couch. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

I was very much still alone in the dorm, not a single sound that didn't come from the TV could be heard, however, the day had definitely gone by, as the sky had changed from the morning sunlight, it was more like afternoon, so I reached for my phone to check the time.

2 pm marked the clock. There was still some time left of class but they were almost done for the day.

I caught sight of my notebook so I picked it up again and opened it on the page I left. "Energy shield..." I mumbled to myself as I read my handwriting. I had used that shield during... The Shie Hassaikai, and I've not been able to recreate it ever since, or not to the point it turns transparent and has that patterned texture, like Eijiro's quirk, it just glows faintly and it goes out.

Made me wonder if there was another thing I had to do to be able to recreate it- I was about to get shot with a quirk-erasing bullet so maybe-

Wait... Bullet?

Chisaki made those bullets with Eri's quirk, awful reason and motivations, but as a villain, that's all he needed. Made me wonder if there was a way I could... Create paralyzing bullets or darts? It could give me an advantage in battle, especially in large groups and at long range.

...but I would probably have to discuss that with Aizawa and Nezu, I doubted it was ethical to create bullets with the quirk component in my blood.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Writing down my small ideas, I ended up getting distracted and drawing doodles of my classmates on the edges of the page and above their names.

I stopped once I finished drawing a very angry Katsuki screaming at an unphased Shouto and panicking Izuku, you know, the usual every day at U.A. and I chuckled at my doodle. I reached for the remote and I started changing the channels, trying to find anything to watch while waiting for everyone to come back.

Ended up leaving an anime about a dude with a little saw demon called Pochita and, while the opening played -pretty catchy- I stood up and headed to the kitchen, wanting to grab something to drink. I opened the fridge and grabbed some (water/coke/juice) along with a glass from the cabinet and poured it, leaving the bottle in the fridge and going back to the couch.

I watched the chapter, apparently the very first, and while it entertained me enough to get me distracted, I wasn't sure I liked it as much as I thought I would. Kind of a shame, seemed cool at first glance.

The chapter ended after 20 minutes, and another anime was announced to start soon, however, I stood up and went to rinse my glass before leaving it out to dry.

Reading the time on the microwave, I realized class would be coming back soon enough.

And they did. Right as I sat back down on the couch, the double doors opened and the sound of everyone's voices echoed off the wide space. I patiently waited until they rounded the corner and saw me sitting there, which took them about five seconds.

"Oh, (M/n) is back!" Kaminari was the first one to lock eyes with me, and his voice caught the attention of the entire class

"(M/n)-kun!" Izuku exclaimed as he walked up to me, followed by the whole class and I smiled at them.

"Hello everyone," exclamations of happiness followed, mentioning how glad they were that I was back at the dorm and mostly unharmed.

And of course, I noticed how silent Katsuki was, staring at me with a serious look in his eyes, he almost looked unbothered by the situation but I knew better than that, so I smiled at him, only at him.

He scoffed and stepped closer to me, "Why didn't you change out of this thing? It's burnt," he muttered while holding the burnt sleeve of my jacket, barely attached, hanging on by a couple of threads, he looked at it with anger and disgust, as if he knew who burned it. And well, I didn't doubt it, there was a brief scene of Dabi right as he fled the scene on the news.

"I guess I was just a little tired, Katsuki," was all I said, which wasn't a lie, but I also didn't feel like taking it off, mostly cause this was my favourite jacket to wear.

"You were all over the news, (L/n)-san," I looked at Yaomomo as she spoke, a hand resting against her mouth, a slightly worried expression on her face, brows slightly pulled together.

"Why were you even there, (L/n)-kun?" Iida asked in his typical class president voice, making sharp motions with his hands, and I chuckled, hearing a few more wonder the same thing.

I guess not everyone knew why I was there, after all. I took a deep breath and relaxed against the couch, "Endeavour wanted to meet up with me, it was just bad timing, Iida-kun, and they needed my help so... I helped," I responded with a shrug at the end, and he seemed to relax from his overly uptight persona.

At this point, Katsuki had made himself comfortable by my side, and as the class had grown used to how close the explosive blond and I had gotten, no one mentioned anything about it.

"What did my old man want, (M/n)?" Shouto asked, making me turn slightly to look behind me, the rest of the class was slowly getting comfortable too and finding places to sit as they listened to me talk, despite still wearing their uniforms.

"He wanted me to be an intern at his agency," I noticed everyone's eyes open wide, a unison 'huh?!' resonating in the room, even Shouto seemed surprised.

"And?! Did you say yes? He's the number one hero, (M/n)!" Kaminari was the first one to speak, earning a slap on the back of his head, courtesy of Katsuki who had Pikachu sitting on the other side of him. I looked at the electric boy, trying to hold back a chuckle at the way he pouted at Katsuki.

"I told him I wanted to think about it, but after yesterday... I think I will, Pikachu," Kaminari smiled at me, but before anyone else could get a word out to me, Iida spoke.

"Well everyone, let's go change out of our uniforms and let's allow (L/n)-kun to rest!" He mostly received grunts of affirmation but also one of annoyance.

I slowly reached my hand out to caress Katsuki's and his scowl almost fully vanished.

Everyone began making their way to their rooms and I was left alone in the common room as I waited for them to come back down.

In the meantime, I reached for my notebook and began revising my ideas, definitely hoping no one would get pissed at me for using them as inspiration for new attacks, and drawing a quick doodle of Katsuki's grenade gauntlets.

"What are you doing, (M/n)-kun?" Izuku was the first one in the common area with me, sitting by my side as he took a quick peek at my notebook and I simply handed it over to him.

He grabbed it and began reading through, his eyes widening slightly every few words, "I've been thinking about the advice Endeavour gave me yesterday, so I was trying to come up with ideas for new moves, of course, they're only theories for now."

"They sound interesting, (M/n)-kun, you used common factors you have with your classmates and tried to apply them to your quirk," okay, that was an interesting way of explaining my thought process, which I wasn't even sure I had to be honest.

I scratched the back of my neck and chuckled nervously, "Well, explained like that, it sounds like I'm just copying you guys' moves," and my words made the greenette male start panicking instead.

"No, no! That's not what I meant-! All of my moves are- used to- most of them are All Might's moves so-!" Even though I knew I shouldn't, I activated my quirk and stopped Izuku's vocal chords, otherwise he would never stop. He reached his hand up to his throat, his mouth opening and closing but nothing, then he simply stared at me.

"I was just messing with you Izuku, don't panic." He nodded his head repeatedly and I stopped using my quirk, "Would you mind helping me with training tomorrow?"

"Why do you need to train with Deku? I'm here," Izuku flinched at the sound of Katsuki's voice behind us and I tilted my head back, smirking at the blond who was frowning down at us.

"Why don't you join us then? I'm sure you'll enjoy blasting Izuku's face for a few hours, Katsuki," now he smirked while staring at me, and I could hear Izuku's scared panicking.

"Why would you suggest that, (M/n)-kun?!"

///////

The dorm was lively while dinner was being cooked, I was forced to sit and watch by Katsuki, so I was spending my time with the rest of the Bakusquad.

"How was school today? Anything fun happened?" Mina chuckled and nodded, smiling brightly.

"We had a rescue simulation with the Big Three today, they were the villains!" My eyebrows raised slightly at the information about what they did at school, "Hado-senpai is really pretty up close!" I held back a laugh at that, but I had to agree, Hado-senpai was really pretty, no wonder she won the beauty contest.

"Yeah, it was a great training, until..." Eijiro trailed on and Sero pointed at Katsuki, whose back was facing us as he was busy cooking with Sato and Yaomomo.

"Explody McBoomBoom got too into character and almost blew Amajiki-senpai into tiny pieces," I sweatdropped at Sero's words, and the rest of the squad nodded, disappointed expressions on their faces.

I could just imagine how scared Amajiki-senpai must've been, seeing Katsuki so angry and up close. "Everyone had an afro for the next hour or so after that explosion too," Jiro mumbled and I chuckled.

"Seems like you guys had a way more entertaining day than I did."

[danydarkly]

Hi! I just wanted to say, thank you so much for making the Red & Wolf comic. I just found it by accident and read through the whole thing in one night, I am seriously loving it so far. I'm autistic and I've always had a strong interest in wolves, specifically Little Red Riding Hood versions of wolves, and always wanted to read a story about the wolf having a sort of redemption or it being more than just "big bad wolf is evil and wants to eat the girl". There's hardly any content for me to dive into in regards of even just the fairytale itself, most stories are very gruesome, the short films online are incredibly dark and uncomfortable since those are the adaptations of the original grimm telling, or all of the red riding hood movies are horror films instead of fairytale adaptations. Or some sort of like... idk love triangle thing where it's all modernized or something for televesion where Red is wearing jeans and the Wolf isn't even a real wolf? But yours... this is like finding gold. I was hooked immediately and I couldn't stop reading.

Your story of Scarlett and Leikos... it's just so gorgeous, your art work has such clean lines and the way you draw eyes and hands especially is so beautiful. The design for Leikos' hair is my favorite!! And the panel you made where Scarlett is lying down on the grass/tree stump and she's blushing while Leikos is talking with her, oh my gosh, that's my favorite panel out of every chapter so far. Just... the vulnerability of these two growing closer, like... augh clutching my heart when Leikos is like "no don't cross the path you're gonna get hurt :(" and she's like "but I want to dance with you :)" like!!! she trusts him and he refuses to hurt her even when instincts kick in!! HIS BACKSTORY? BRO? I'M IN SHAMBLES?? Ugh your art is so GOOD and this STORY is so GOOD and I am just so thankful to be able to dive into a Wolf/Red story that has action, romance, suspense, all the good stuff. It's so perfect.

Thank you for working so so hard to make this comic. I'm an artist as well and I could never have the patience to upload one comic page, let alone several. Laying out panels is difficult and time consuming and not to mention you're shading and coloring the entire thing. Your poses are always fluid, never stiff, you have good perspective and composition, most ppl who make comics can easily just draw one single pose and one facial expression for 20 panels, but you've always had the expressions and body language shift and change and the camera view as well... and you gotta draw all those damn trees omfg. The flower meadow in the first chapter must have taken forever to draw too! Your hard work really shows in your art and I am so happy to have stumbled upon your comic. If you make any more merch for Red & Wolf on your Etsy, whether it's prints or charms or stickers or really anything, I would be more than willing to throw some money your way. Or if you open commissions as well someday, ahh, I love your stuff so much I would totally pay you to doodle Leikos hehe. Please have a wonderful day and take care! <3

AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa

What a lovely message! Thank you so much, Anon! I really needed to read this today <3 I'm truly at a loss for words, like you basically complimented me on everything I'm mad-insecure about?? It's really nice, like maybe I really am too hard on myself?? Whenever I look back on my old panels (which I've been doing a lot lately since reformatting Red & Wolf for print), I always feel like I put way too much effort and kind of only see what I did wrong, but if you and others recognize the effort and like what I did - then maybe it wasn't a waste of time after all. That makes me feel way better about it, thank you :' ) Also, your favorite panel is one of my favorite panels too, where I felt "dang, I kind of nailed it here" - which is SUPER rare for me, haha. I should read this lovely message whenever the impostor syndrome kicks in, it really lifted my spirits <3

[byulsgrease]

duly noted

you've never been one to obsess about your soulmate, assuming you'll figure it out when the time is right. but seriously, what kind of nonsense has yours been writing about recently?

(eventual moonbyul / wheein x gender neutral reader, soulmate!au, trainee/idol!au, ~1.2k words)

a/n: wheein bias wrecker anon! I might've had too much fun with your req and so this is gonna be my first soulmate au 🤠 while byul and wheein don't actually appear in this part (does that make this a prologue? idk), I promise they'll make their appearance soon enough :)

cw: struggles of being a trainee (weight + food talk)

The claps from your dance instructor ring out in the mirrored studio, calling everyone to attention before they send you off for the day. Everyone stands around listening to whatever niceties they're talking about, asking the rhetorical questions of whether all of you want this, how everyone needs to work harder, etc. How many years has it been now, almost three? Evaluations went pretty well recently and you've certainly demonstrated signs of growth since you started, but debut? Who knows. Does anyone, really?

But right now it's late and you're hungry, hoping that your growling stomach isn't loud enough to pierce through the lecture. You're respectfully tuned out anyway, since it's all old news. Nothing you haven't heard before. They clap again once their spiel ends and everyone disperses. Your eyes catch Hyejin's on your way out of the studio, sharing a funny face and an eyeroll before disappearing into the herd of trainees shuffling to the lockers.

Your locker opens with a routine spin of the dial, taking care to slow down and line up the numbers properly so you're not stuck having to do it over again. The inside's pretty cute for a metallic rectangle— it's really the only space of your own besides your notebook. Pictures of your family, old school friends, and fellow trainee friends line the sides beneath a tiny string of battery-powered fairy lights. It's not much, but always a humbling reminder of why you're here.

Unzipping your bag, you take out a pair of slides and drop them on the floor while stepping out of your sneakers. There's not much else in your bag, just a change of clothes and your notebook, of course. Everyone has one. Anything inside could be drawn, written, scribbled, painted. It’s your personal creative space and no one else's, but with two conditions:

You can't write your name in it, not even your initials. Of course everyone tried to as kids against their parents commands, but letters simply sink into the page, disappearing as if they'd never been written at all.

You can only mark up one side. Pages on the right side are for you, and the left side pages fill themselves. Fill themselves with what? you asked your parents. They gave you a non-answer, saying you'd figure it out someday. Great. Only other thing they bothered to tell you was that your right-hand pages were someone's left-hand ones. So someone can see what I put here? Their confirmation sounded rather casual, which you found weird. Someone out there was watching what you put in? But you got used to it, especially since every person owns one. It's a novelty for children anyway. Mark up a page however you want, knowing that someone out in the would will see, and sit back to watch whatever randomness shows up on the left side.

Your left side pages were actually empty for quite a while, save for the occasional "UGGHHH" followed by a typical childish annoyance scrawled messily across the entirety of the page in marker. Not that notebook use was mandatory, but parents usually encouraged it because it kept their kids occupied. There wasn't much you could do about empty pages, nor did you care most of the time, but it did leave you a little jealous of other kids at school who'd sometimes open theirs and be greeted with cute watercolor paintings, mini murals, or skillfully written poetry.

For you, the notebook's served many uses. As a kid it was random doodles and poorly-drawn fantasy scenarios— escapism, perhaps. In middle school it was angsty poems and random journal entries about the random happenings of your life. For the first half of high school it became your to-do list, keeping track of school assignments. And on the rarest occasion, song lyrics. Visual art was never your medium of choice, music came more easily. But drawing staff lines for music notation in the notebook usually ended up being too tedious, so your original stuff was mostly relegated to voice memos on your phone. And now? Who knows. Trainee life may as well be a blur. Sing, dance, talk, eat if you can afford to, sleep, repeat. It's hard to find the energy to write anything most days. Whenever you feel like checking, the left side has random jottings, nearly illegible most of the time.

It wasn't until you got older that you realized that whoever read your entries on the was the same person generating content on the left. And supposedly the person you're supposed to be with for the rest of time? What kind of system is that? I'm just supposed to trust blindly? having asked your parents in exasperation after figuring it out. Again with more non-answers— it had worked for them, didn't it? There's also the obvious question of why people don't just write directly to each other, but whatever. You're still young, no need to obsess over "the one" unlike some of your classmates. If it's meant to be, it'll happen, you figure. And it obviously is, you've got a notebook with (semi-)filled left side pages. What more could you ask for?

The cacophony of clanging lockers opening and closing starts to die down as people leave. Hyejin's head pops out from behind the locker door, laughing in your face when you flinch.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, one sec. Man, I'm starving,” you remark while slipping the bag straps on your back and closing the locker door. You don't even want to know how strapped for cash you are, probably in for another night of boiled eggs and canned kimchi.

“Wanna go out for food?” she immediately asks, eyes alight at the prospect of getting to eat something besides convenience store food.

"I wish. Actually, you wish," you smirk with longing in your eyes. The "no" doesn't even have to be said, weigh-ins are way too soon to risk it. She hangs her head, jokingly dejected as you swing an arm around her shoulder to walk out of the company building together.

~~~~

After scrounging up whatever food you call dinner, taking a shower, and flopping into bed, you open up your notebook and grab the random pen laying on your dresser, unsure of what you'll write about tonight. There's chicken scratch on the left page already, ballpoint pen. It's actually legible today, though: In my room every day I see your smile.

What the hell does that mean? Whose smile, yours? You haven't even met yet.

Call me everyday every night, hug me everywhere every time

Utter nonsense. Maybe meeting soulmates is just a huge game of catch-up once everything's finally revealed, surely yours will be. There’s just so many questions. Moving to the right side, you jot down a list of cheat meal ideas along with some assorted notes and pointers from practice that you want to work on tomorrow, drawing little characters next to each list item for fun. After accidentally drawing a random squiggle from jolting yourself awake and feeling the heaviness in your eyelids, you cap your pen and shut your notebook, placing it back in your bag. With the lights out, the last thought you have before sleep consumes you is why haven't you ever tried writing directly to each other after all this time?

[next]

[dumbkiri]

Hypnotic You

Second Series for Jason Todd

Request: Mixing up requests I got in submissions. 

Summary: [Name] has to come to terms that she really isn’t a fighter yet. Her mother, Diana Prince, left her in the care of Batman to help [Name] fight or at least learn how. Jason and [Name] have been partners for a long time and he is her mentor. But that all changes when he requests to go back to his team, The Outlaws. [Name] feels that she is left behind and comes across a new friend. 

But this new friend of hers is another enemy of the Justice League and a sworn enemy of her mother’s. [Name]’s body is resistant to some magic, but when Hecate awakens her godly form, is she able to control her dormant powers?

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem! Reader

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 2.5k, 6 pgs

WARNING(S): NONE???

The sun shined brightly onto Gotham City providing light and warmth in the cold season of Winter. The snow that piled up from last night's storm was gradually melting under the bright star. And [Name] witnessed the frost on her living room windows going away. 

     She watched her neighbors do their daily routine of mowing their luscious green grass. Their kids had the job of taking out the trash and recycling. The mother would usually watch on holding their newborn baby or she was wiping her hands on a dish rag. [Name] turned away from the normal scene and glued her eyes on the TV.

      "In Today's news, Batman and Robin had stopped another criminal last night. Despite the storm, the caped vigilantes stopped the Riddler from robbing one of Gotham's finest jewelry stores. The Riddler is now being sent to Gotham--" 

     [Name] turned the TV off knowing that the Riddler would just escape again from wherever he's being sent to. She stayed on her couch for a while and enjoyed snuggling with her warm blanket that she got out of the dryer. Her eyes closed in happiness and she began to wonder in her land of dreams. That was until there was a knock at her front door. 

     She grumbled in annoyance and got up from the couch. [Name]’s sock covered feet carried her to the door and she opened it with a kind smile. There standing on her porch was her best friend and partner, Jason Todd. He was wearing his signature red hoodie with black jeans and black adidas. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie and sighed, “Are you gonna invite me in?” 

     [Name] snapped out of her trance and opened the door more to let him in. She watched as he relaxed and walked into her house. He took his shoes off by her door where her own shoes were placed. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” She asked and walked in front of him to stop him from entering her kitchen. 

     “I’m hungry,” He responded and took his hands from his hoodie. He placed his cold fingers on her exposed waist and moved her aside. [Name] recoiled from his touch and giggled, “You should warm your hands up. Oh, I’ll make you hot chocolate!” 

     Jason stayed silent and watched [Name] run into her kitchen. He chuckled when he saw that she struggled to reach her mugs on the top shelf. But after a few seconds, she managed to get them. “I said I was hungry, not thirsty,” Jason grumbled and sat in the barstools at the kitchen island. [Name] stopped pouring the hot chocolate and looked at him, “Do you not want any?”

     “Let’s go grab a bite.” Jason asked suddenly. 

    “Are you asking me out to eat breakfast with you?” [Name] looked at him questioningly. 

     Jason sighed and walked over to her. He grabbed the mug filled with hot chocolate topped with cool whipped cream. He took a sip and relished the hot drink entering his freezing body. “I am asking you to eat breakfast with me,” He replied after setting the cocoa down on the granite counter.

      [Name] smiled and grabbed a napkin from the kitchen island. She wiped Jason’s mouth to get rid of the whipped cream. She made eye contact with the male and laughed, “Yes, I’ll go eat with you, Todd, so stop your glaring.” [Name] walked away and threw the napkin into the trash. “Gimme five minutes to get dressed.”

       It took her longer than five minutes to get dressed, but Jason wasn’t going to ruin her perfect mood. He looked at her outfit and he took notice how she wore gloves and a scarf. “What?” [Name] interrupted his thoughts and placed her hands on her hips, “I’m not going out there freezing my butt off like you, okay?” 

     Jason raised his hands up and looked away, “I wasn’t going to say anything about your fashion choices. It’s a smart idea to bundle up, I don’t want anybody blaming me if you get sick.” 

     “You really do care for me,” [Name] softly said and Jason scoffed, turning to the front door. He opened it and walked out. He was going to ignore her comment about how he felt toward her. Jason wasn't’ sure himself. There were days he wanted to shoot her because of her rash decisions of saving a petty criminal. Yet there were days he had the strong urge to protect her from those petty criminals. “I’ll buy breakfast!” [Name] shouted as she locked her front door. 

……

     “The reason why I brought you here was because we need to talk,” Jason lit a cigarette and before he could inhale the deadly toxins, [Name] was quick enough to snatch it from him. 

     “Smoking isn’t allowed in here and I want to enjoy my breakfast before we get kicked out.” She smiled at him kindly. 

     Jason grumbled under his breath as he watched the female put out the cigarette in her empty glass half filled with ice. He crossed his arms over his chest and began speaking, “I requested that we change partners or back to our original teams. Now I don’t want you to interrupt me because I need you to listen to my reasons.” Jason’s blue eyes connected with her [e.color] eyes. 

     [Name] remained quiet waiting for his reasons. She stopped messing with the crayons she got from the host and paid Jason her undivided attention. 

     “I feel as though I need to work with my team, The Outlaws, more than Batman’s sidekick. Roy said he needs some help with the team and that they’re breaking without my leadership. I am also needed on higher stake missions and not burglars who steal money from an ATM.” 

    “He didn’t just steal money from an ATM. He was stealing from homeless people!” [Name] whispered-yelled. She was a bit frustrated about Jason’s choice. 

     “Hey, I told you to not interrupt me,” Jason scolded and continued his explanation. His stare softened and his body slowly relaxed into a vulnerable state. “I’m needed with my team, [Name]. I helped you with a lot of your training and I believe you already make a fine Batgirl. You don’t need me anymore.” 

     “Yes, I do,” [Name] spoke up, not caring that she didn’t let him finish, “You help me make those hard decisions. You sometimes influence me, but most importantly you make me decide what I want to do. I never really had that choice with Batman and Robin. You help me a lot in those times, in our missions.” 

     Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, “Those aren’t missions, [Name]. I get it, you entered the fighting scene a little too late. But what Batman has us doing, what he has you doing is nothing compared to what I used to do with my team. We take down guys like Sionis. We take down actual criminals with dangerous agendas.” 

     [Name] felt small in her seat. 

     “And to be frank, I’m tired of dealing with those petty criminals. I want the real deal. I want to go back to my team,” Jason finished.  

    [Name] swallowed the lump in her throat, “Then be with your team, Jason. No one is going to stop you.” 

     Jason stared at her and was baffled by her response, “You-- Why are you not stopping me?” He was 100% positive that she was going to throw a royal fit. But here she was surprising him.

      [Name] pushed her plate of food away from her kid’s menu. She grabbed a red crayon and began doodling. Her attention was divided now and it was because she needed a distraction. She could no longer stare in his gunmetal eyes anymore. “You said you needed your team and that they needed you. Why would I stop you if you want to leave?” 

    “I don’t know, I thought you would have put up a bigger fight. It’s what you would usually do.” Jason replied back and watched her aimlessly draw on her kids menu. He didn’t know what she was trying to draw and honestly he didn’t care. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he quickly looked at who was calling him. It was Roy Harper. 

     [Name] pretended she wasn’t looking, but she noticed how Jason didn’t hesitate to answer the call. She put her crayon down and raised her hand in the air to call the waitress. Their waitress came by with a pretty smile. “Can I have the check please?” [Name] warmly asked with her own smile. The waitress nodded her head and handed the check to which [Name] handed back cash. “Keep the change.” 

     Jason watched [Name]’s interactions with the waitress carefully. He noticed the front she was putting up. After all, he spent a long time with her to notice how she was doing. He focused back on the call and listened to Roy’s words. Apparently, Sionis was still in the game while in prison. It meant that the criminal had connections inside the prison to make deals outside. Jason wanted to shoot himself twenty times right about now.

      [Name] waited patiently for Jason to end the call, so they can have a proper goodbye. It was rude to leave while he was on the call, but it was also rude to answer the phone when he was having a conversation with her. Yet [Name] didn’t have the confidence to communicate with him. It wouldn’t matter anyways because they were no longer going to work together. Maybe that is why [Name] felt so sad. She was growing attached to the male even if they did have their downs.

      “I got it, Harper,” Jason said with the roll of his eyes, “We’ll talk about it more later and plan from there. Alright, see you guys later.” He ended the call and gave a curt nod to [Name]. “Roy called about--” 

     [Name] waved him off and laughed, “Spare me the details and go get the bad guy.” 

     Jason sighed and gestured to her with his hands, “You’re mad.” 

    “I’m upset,” [Name] truthfully said with a shrug of her shoulders. Her eyes were downcasted to examine her scramble of a drawing. “I thought of us as a team, you know? So being sent back to a dynamic duo like Batman and Robin kind of makes me feel-- I don’t know,” [Name] laughed and looked up at him. She waved her hands side to side, “I don’t know what I’m talking about now, my words are going to be scrambled soon if we keep talking.”

     [Name] put her wallet back in her purse and flipped the straps on her shoulder. She was collecting her things. She scooted to the edge of the booth and stood up, “But thank you for teaching me the ropes and other important things. I’ll catch you on the flipside.” [Name] turned her back on Jason and hurried to exit the restaurant. She was really digging herself into a hole back there. 

     “Catch you on the flipside? God, what was I thinking?” [Name] scolded herself and lightly hit the side of her head with her palm. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” She helplessly muttered as she walked further away from the restaurant. [Name] walked past some people going about their business and easily dodged the shoulders of people not paying attention to their surroundings. She was surprised that she was able to notice the people around her when her mind was plagued with questions. 

     At this point, [Name] wanted to be home and enjoy her hot chocolate for real this time. If Jason really requested for her to go back with Batman then the caped crusader will call her if she soon. "I should go pick up Blue from the pet store. Ah, I forgot my poor baby had an appointment today,” [Name] hailed a taxi and got into the backseat while telling the driver where to go. 

     “Rough mornin’, miss?” The taxi driver asked looking into the rearview mirror. 

     [Name] gave him a small smile, “You can say that.” 

    The taxi driver whistled with his clapped lips. They seemed to bleed a little meaning that he was picking at the skin of his bottom lip recently. “The storm must have hit yer area hard or somethin’ if ya ain’t smilin’. The kids ‘round here are havin’ a field day! Throwin’ snowballs and jus’ havin’ some normal fun! Ya should join ‘em, put a pretty smile back on ya face, y’know?” 

    “I will when I pick up my dog from his appointment. Blue would love the snow and I’m sure the kids would love him,” [Name] replied looking out the window. She watched the buildings she recognized pass by with a blur. Then she averted her attention to the taxi driver. She noticed a purple ring surrounding his irises before it disappeared. 

     The taxi driver cleared his throat and clenched the steering wheel tighter, “He must've really hurt yer feelings.” 

    “Excuse me?” [Name] swallowed and stared at the man with a new sense of curiosity and suspicion. She scooted to the edge of her seat and asked again, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

     “I said he must’ve hurt yer feelings. Especially if ya have that sad look in yer eyes like someone ran o’er yer dog. What’s his name?” The taxi driver tilted his head to the side and a large pop resonated in the taxi. 

      Uncomfortable, [Name] leaned her back into the cushion of her seat. Her lips parted in uncertainty, “He’s only a friend and there’s no reason for you to know his name. You’re a stranger.” 

     “I’m more than jus’ a stranger, darlin’,” The taxi driver answered quickly. The car came to a stop and [Name] opened the door. She almost forgot to pay the man, but he stopped her with a creepy smile on his face.

      “No need to pay me, girl,” He said and leaned over the passenger seat, “I want ya to know somethin’.” 

    [Name] got out of the car and closed the door. She bent down to listen to him talk though. She didn’t know why she was staying any longer with this weirdo. Yet her curiosity wasn’t quenched, not now. “She’s always watchin’ ya. Said somethin’ about awakening yer true potential.”

     “Thank you for the ride, sir,” [Name] dismissed his words  and ran into the pet store where she felt somewhat safe. She picked her phone from her purse and dialed Jason’s number hoping he would pick up as quickly as he did for Roy. It rang twice then went straight to voicemail. Might as well tell him what happened to her. 

     “Hey, Jason, I called to tell you the strangest thing that happened to me. This taxi driver gave me the weirdest ride ever. I-- He knew that I talked to you? Actually, he doesn’t know you, but I don’t know. It was the oddest thing that’s ever happened. He knew what I was feeling. I mean he knew-- Whatever, just give me a call back?” She said with nervousness, “He said someone was watching me. I have to hear some advice from you.”

      She ended the call there and perked up at her dog barking happily. She hoped that the taxi driver was only crazy and that what he said wasn’t true. [Name] has enough to worry about.