#jason was shaped to be perfect and strong in his life but not strong enough to escape early death. bc it wasn't in his nature.

[somewhereincairparavel]

the saddest toa theory is that since apollo broke his oath of the river styx to save meg (carelessly saying that he'd never play instruments ever again or use a bow and arrow until he becomes immortal) was the culmination and confirmation of jason's death, after styx threatens apollo that there would 'be more deaths' in his quests.

if that's true, then jason grace, the ever so perfect roman, who was drilled to not make any mistakes in his life from the day he was born, died because of someone else's, and accepted his fate. embodiment of the perfect roman tragedy. born a roman, die a roman.

[lifetimeoftired]

Now I rarely do character design, or draw for that matter, but when it came to Anthem of Our Dying Day, I felt a little inspired. Sam and Dani (called Elli in-story) haven't shown up yet, and won't for a few more chapters still, but they and Danny got the most changes to their overall designs. Yes because it's been 7 years since the events of the show, but the changes are for reasons that will eventually be explained in-story. I have more designs in mind of course, but I gave my poor hand a cramp doing just these three. So I'll have to come back with Jason's ghost form and Danny's eldritch form (possibly an update to Valerie's look, but honestly her outfit in the later episodes was incredible I don't think I can improve on that in any way shape or form) at a later date.

Anyway, thoughts behind why I gave them the designs that I did are A Lot so I figured I'd ramble in a tumblr post instead of in the AN's.

Danny:

Listen to me. Listen. This man was raised on the vibes of the 90s and early 2000s. Long trench coats were PEAK fashion back then. We all saw the Matrix. Danny also was dragged to the Underworld movies multiple times while dating Sam (who's opinions on those movies are radioactive because they are cult classics and I'll die on this hill). So Danny absolutely thinks trench coasts are cool as shit and make him look cooler. And listen to me very carefully; They're still peak fashion. Slapping a leather trench coat on a mildly gothic character and you have cinema. Also he has a hood because hey! Hoods are so cool and perfect for us 90s kids.

As for the color choices, I didn't want to change too much from the classic black and white hazmat suit but honestly? He really makes it work. I also added the green because the color pop looked cool as shit but also because I felt like, as Danny gets older, he starts to produce his own ectoplasm in ghost form and, similar to how some ghosts have 'flaming hair' to show off their power levels, Danny's over production of ecto culminates within his outfit. This is in part due to him becoming the prince of the Infinite Realms, but also he's just a strong mfer.

Why's the coat torn? Spoiler reasons.

Sam:

I'm actually really pleased by hers turned out because she was the one I was the least set on. The main vibes I wanted from Sam (who's hero name is 'Nightshade' btw) was 'Mad Nature Scientist'.

It's not easy to see, but the mask is actually meant to be flower petals like her skirt. The buttons on her lab coat are also leaves. This is in reference to her time as Undergrowth's chosen and of course her love of the environment, but she's also liminal enough to have a special way with plants. Not to the extreme Poison Ivy does (much to her dismay), but they're important to her and she wouldn't have a hero suit without them I believe.

As for the science bits, in story she's working with the Fentons to study ghosts. Also helps test their weapons (all non-lethal and exist to help her keep up with stronger ghosts), as well as picking up a lot of science-related skills thanks to her years of studying various biology in college and working with Jack and Maddie for several years. While Danny tends to handle the big fights while she runs support, but she's also acting as the brains when it comes to ecto poisoning, making more ecto-dejecto and understanding how ectoplasm reacts with living beings.

The corset is, of course, because she's goth. Why cover her up so much aside from the tiny tit window? That's story-related reasons and we'll get there when we get there.

Dani:

My favorite outfit of the bunch tbh.

In-story Ellie (so I the writer don't get confused by two Dan-es) did eventually return to Amity Park and settled in to be adopted by the Fentons and go to school for realsies and in general get to live something of a normal life. But I maintain that Sam (Valerie too, but Sam was dating Danny and around quite a lot) was a big influence on Ellie once she settled in. She's more 'punk' than 'goth', but finding herself through changing up her fashion was heavily encouraged by Sam. And, of course, Danny's protective older brother dismay. Which is honestly a huge bonus to her.

Like Danny, she produces a lot of her own ectoplasm, but less than he does. And her's is a lot less pure so hers is a different green- She's not too broken up about it because it shows that she is different than her 'template', but also because it matches Sam's green better. (Sam and Danny might not be dating anymore, but Ellie still considers her to be an older sister figure and being more like Sam delights her). She does have 'fire' flicks on her clothes and tbh I actually messed up coloring those. I meant to stop coloring partway up to give a bit of a fade to white effect and make the flames white the same as her shirt, but, alas. I don't think the all black boots and gloves look bad at all.

As for the hair, Ellie's core has an element same as Danny's, but hers is Air. And being that her hero name in Wraith, I really wanted to go for, kind of a ghostly floating/flickering fire long streak. More like Starfire's big curly hair from the comics the shows are cowards give her the poofy hair back!. Also the 'non ghost' hair cut uuuh, I'm not an artits but it was supposed to be that side braid with bangs that fall over? But yeah that's her hair when she's in human form.

That's about everything for now! I'll definitely be coming back to this with more designs once I've jotted them down. Hope to get chapter 3 out soon but that fucker is fighting dirty :(

[lanryui]

arcane jasico au

where nico is jinx and jason is either jayce or ekko (U HAVE TO HEAR ME OUT ON THE JAYCE PICK FOR JASICO)

where characters have the same roles BUT don’t have the same relationship dynamics

SPOILERS for arcane (season 1 and 2)

we have either:

biana (in jayce-jason) or percy as vi (ekko-jason)

bianca: older sister of nico ofc, i think her huntress joining would be similar to like powder accidentally being left behind by vi, i think it’s a bit hard to put bianca in a major character position since you have to do a lot of the writing yourself and there’s less to base off of. i also think it’s harder seeing her embodying vi’s tough archetype but bc bianca is sort of clean state you could just make it up

OR

percy: older brother figure to nico, has to see him go from innocent kid to like suffering a ton, trying to reconnect w/ him constantly and feeling a lot of guilt for the past but also hugely distrusting him like vi to jinx. i think vi’s post-prison arc feels similar in vibes to percy in son of neptune trying to return to his old life, in a new environment, hostile of other things

annabeth as caitlyn

she just reads so piltoverian and i think they have a similar sophistication and intelligence. also somewhat enemies to lovers percbeth caitvi makes a lot of sense. ik annabeth typically fights w a dagger but she also makes a lot of sense as the collected sniper type. i think she is gonna be seen as capable and fit for leadership in universe while also getting babied for a bit by the other characters similar to how cait does and annabeth does like in the first series

nico as jinx

i really like this one. i think like, nico’s arc of being the innocent bright-eyed kid to being jaded, grief-struck and someone percy can’t quite trust really clicks well w/ jinx’s. instead of pink and blue and smiles and whatever i think he would draw w/ like, white & green. he’d draw skulls and ghosts and skeletons. and jinx’s voices kinda match nico’s talking to the dead. ALSO nico having a braid like bianca’s… whether she’s dead or still living… and him both feeling like feelings of betrayal and abandonment from percy & bianca. self-imposed feelings of doubt and like isolation i see it

hades as silco

ok while its kinda diff cause hades is technically nico’s biological father i think nico’s time in the underworld after bianca’s death and connecting w his roots kinda matches how jinx is shaped by silco. also hades has that whole like cast aside by his brothers and becoming the underworld leader thing. he has both enough redeemability and antagonism in him. ALSO leader of the undercity. king of the underworld. DO YOU SEE MY VISION.

chiron as vander

like how vander is the father figure to a misfit band of kids chiron is their mentor and stuff and i think it would make sense. also he would be a strong leader type holding the undercity together and uh. when he dies and gets experimented on singed he comes a mutant horse instead LOL

reyna as mel

reyna has that same sophistication and leadership and capability that mel has and i think she is also linked w/ gold in her whole like praetor thing & so i could def see her being a councilor of piltover also as a daugher of war:

bellona as ambessa

uhhh this one is a little hard bc bellona isn’t rlly developed but like bellona goddess of war and ambessa is a warmonger character. yeah

jason OR piper (ekko-jason) as jayce

jason seems almost a little too perfect. i mean, jayce-on, and like, son of zeus electricity = hextech. himbo w/ charisma but also intelligence and leadership. OKAY to make this jasico i think jason would be like close best friends w/ leo but they wouldn’t have that huge homosexual tension that jayvik have going on. also mel-jayce is fitting w/ reyna-jason although i don’t think they’d be together romantically but reyna would see jason’s potential and lift him to councilor status

piper is to keep the jayce role have a incredibly strong relationship w/ leo who is viktor. i don’t think she’s the inventor type quite but she would have jayce style charisma and reyna/piper together now i could see that.

leo as viktor

it just seems super fitting. the overlooked inventor guy who’s scrawny but super intelligent and capable. my friend and i discussed skye-calypso and perhaps some of his venture into hextech becomes like, him mourning calypso’s sacrifice and him becoming one w/ the hexcore he is together w/ calypso again and stuff

alecto as sevika

alecto would work as hades’ right hand like how sevika is silco’s it js makes sense yk. while alecto isn’t too fleshed out i think she could become an independent sevika character that would take up hades’ mantle in the end

daedalus as singed

this kinda messes things up a little because it messes w/ daedalus’ myth but daedalus fits so well as the ethically questionable scientist. i think he’d be trying to revive orianna-icarus, and instead of icarus having a bunch of ballerina morif, he’d have a bunch of angel motif.

hephaestus as heimerdinger

this one was SO hard. but he’d be very techy and i feel like haphaestus would be written to be silly here . i guess he’d be a yordle?

percy (jayce-jason au) or jason as ekko

percy as the boy savior idk just clicks. i think he could have an older brother dynamic with powder-nico and s2ep7 for him would be seeing nico as grown up and healthy and his little brother still. also the way that ekko is aggressive towards jinx until he sees what she could be in s2 kinda matches percy’s distrust of nico in the first series.

OR

jason’s leader of the fireflights thing and hoverboard thing fit pretty well. also timebomb is canon and this would probably easier to write than having jason as jayce cause then you gotta shift a bunch of plot elements around to write it jasico

for more side characters

jayce-jason au:

benzo - sally

percy’s mom <3

isha - hazel

just how hazel grounds nico in HoO, her being the golden-eyed little sister figure makes sense

salo - octavian

washed up blonde boy jealous of mel/reyna

marcus - luke

deal w/ the underside. betrayal

grayson - thalia

mentor for annabeth and a figure she looks up to. also ties jayce-jason w/ annabeth. she’s both their older sisters.

cassandra kirraman - athena

annabeth’s mom. dies

skye - calypso

more romantically implied with leo than skye/viktor

orianna - icarus

(mylo and claggor aren’t here in this au bc idk who they would be tbh)

ekko-jason au:

mylo - grover

it would fit rlly well w/ being percy’s childhood friend

claggor - bianca

i think this could fuel jinx-nico’s grief and make sense for like. his guilt

benzo - lupa

ekko’s dad basically. jason’s mom basically.

isha - hazel

salo - octavian

grayson - thalia

uhh. idk how jason and thalia are related in this one but she’s still like annabeth’s older sister figure who dies

cassandra kirraman - athena

skye - calypso

orianna - icarus

maddie - silena

the way silena is kronos’ spy like maddie working for ambessa. also imagine the silena-annabeth affair LOL

deckard - clarisse

the bully guy from s1 like how clarisse bullies percy in pjo

loris - frank

like how frank was percy’s new friend and rock in son of neptune, like how loris was vi’s friend in the enforcers . also he is big and buff and it matches. no frazel unfortunately

that’s all my bestie and i cooked up for now but i have a lot more cooking in my brain including a jinx nico design . I HOPE YOU GUYS SEE MY VISION.

ALSO for jayce-jason and jinx-nico to work out in my head jason, inventor of hextech sees this person in zaun making hextech work by themselves and is like. wait that’s so interesting and so he himself goes into the undercity to like check it out and that’s kinda how they meet. maybe there’s like nico threatening jason and jason to save his life is like “wait let me show you how you can make your hextech stuff better” and nico keeps him around and befriends him bc of it. i would then see like nico and jason joining forces to defeat machine herald leo but i’m not quite sure how the ending would look tbh

i think in ekko-jason i would give jasico a happy ending where nico becomes a firelight and helps jason rebuilds zaun. using his powers to build instead of destroy. it would unfortunately be at the expensive of piper and leo.

we also discussed like a jinx-luke and a silco-kronos. i could see a jayvik jasico but nico isn’t too much of the viktor type. but that kind of like saving each other from death and being so intertwined i could see that for jasico….

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Tues 8 June ‘21

Harry recorded a message that was played at the Stoneman Douglas High School graduation; SD is the school in Parkland Florida that in 2018 became the site of the deadliest school shooting in US history. Harry has consistently been a vocal supporter of the student activism to curb gun violence that followed the shooting (it was when he added the Stop Gun Violence stickers to his guitar and he spoke about it before when playing near there on HSLOT, for example, as well as signing on to things and donating money and talking about the bravery of the young women leading the effort in particular). “You are an incredibly strong group of people and I have no doubt that you’ll all do incredible things whatever you chose to do in the future, so good luck, love each other and be nice to each other and I hope at some point I’ll get to see you guys,” he said in the video.

A blurry blob in a blue hoodie in London last night was said to be him, out for a stroll, Don’t Worry Darling was announced to be set for release next year, and some fans literally chased Harry and Olivia down the street while filming them against their wishes (recently, not today, seems like she might be back in the US with Jason now that his filming is wrapped) and then people tried to blame their behavior on... larries?? UM did larries possess them and force them to literally chase a person asking to be left alone I DON’T BELIEVE SO, I am BEGGING you guys to quit listening to anything anyone on twitter says. My Policeman is filming in Hitchin, at a location reported by local media to be “shrouded in mystery”, but I’m pretty sure the hordes gathered to peep at filming have killed any aura of mystery at this point. They are working on location at a pool in Butts Close (YEAH I KNOW) and are apparently besieged with fans, some of whom managed to get more pictures of a blurry blob said to be Harry- this time in tiny yellow short shorts (2021/1950 version)!

Niall and Anne Marie’s Tonight Show performance aired! Anne Marie’s black and white cheetah print lined three piece outfit is amazing, like Niall is pushing the envelope a little with shapes and fits but her look takes center stage I’m afraid; anyway also they sound great and are cute, yes yes.

Liam has been in his discord lots, commenting on things and polling people. Current polls, yes no or wtf about NFTs, which landslide result (wtf) got him to say yeah okay I’ll make an explainer, and should we rename my fandom which resulted in a chat for people to make suggestions. About front runner Paynedora’s Box (Liam’s own amazing suggestion) he said “it came to me as I thought it meant every type of fan is a possibility, never know what you’re going to encounter.” Yes plus Pandora’s Box was full of demons! Apt indeed though Liam’s fans are sweeter than some, it’s true. He gives a little love to Champaynes too, which is good though given our boy’s struggle with alcohol addiction I’ll stick with my vote for the first one. He posted from an “impromptu night photoshoot” (about which his hair guy said “bringing the grit back, prepping for a very exciting launch…”), followed NFT co-creator Gabe Damast who later posted some behind the scenes talk about the making of Lonely Bug (with glimpses!) and the page for animated film Ron’s Gone Wrong, which he commented about (“this looks amazing!”), liked a Lonely Bug fanart of the bug with his face on it, and signed on to a UNICEF letter, along with 28 other celebs, asking the G7 (rich countries) to donate vaccines for distribution where most needed. And he was seen today at a Top Golf! An employee posted a distanced pic with him. Also btw those necklaces he’s been wearing all the time lately are apparently diamonds and are £50k each, but he wasn’t wearing them for golf time at least.

And additional bits from Liam’s interview from yesterday because it’s REALLY LONG, one recap wasn’t enough-- Liam said he definitely has not yet figured out what makes him happy (which makes me sad although also, normalize not having it all figured out in your 20s I don’t think that’s unusual) and talked about the difficulty of figuring out what to do when you’ve already accomplished your life goal so young, he mentioned the people speaking out against the X Factor and that he thinks there needs to be a care system for people in those shows, and said “find you a man who looks at you like Russell Brand looks at you when he’s listening to your stories, he looks into your soul,” and when host Steve talks about meditating naked says “now that’s what I want to think about!” (they’d been talking about what to focus your thoughts on for meditation). He said he wants to experiment with the way he does promo, specifically to wait to see if a song is doing well before doing press tours that might not have any point and that he thinks the industry is in a place where they need to throw out the old molds, and he talked about the industry wasting money on things they don’t need to do for promo. “You have your fanbase, grow it organically, properly,” he said, which is so much more true for any one of the 1D boys than anyone else, for sure, and it makes sense he’d say this stuff not just for the obvious reasons- we’ve all seen how badly labels have fallen short with post 1D solo stuff- but also because the 1D fandom always has been in a position out at the forefront of new ways that fan engagement work (as Liam points out, he talked about the perfect storm of the rise of twitter trends and of 1D) and modeling what will be next for other artists, so trying to fit it into old boxes doesn’t make sense, and it’s still true. Other solo artists simply DON’T HAVE the same kind of fandom these five do, and trying to market them the same way you would any random artist is just throwing away money and engagement! So it is exciting to see these guys take the lead on their own stuff and experiment with new ways of doing things, and Liam is smashing it at that.

[jostenneil]

🔥 dick grayson

i answered a question about him on twt once that i really liked so i’m just gna copy paste it here if that’s ok! idk if it’s an unpopular opinion per se but ig it explains why my perception of him sort of falls in the middle between the two camps of interpretation regarding him

ultimately i think it's incredibly interesting to see the way dick contrasts with bruce in terms of demeanor and coping mechanisms and how that shapes him as a leader to others, most obv the titans. i like that he takes the parts of bruce that he respects and adapts them to himself - the restraint, the careful planning, the resistance to kill - but that he also has the mind not to accidentally absorb bruce's non-ideal traits, too, like the emotional repression or miscommunication (not to say that he can’t revert to these tactics but it’s obviously something that comes out in very serious circumstances, mostly). dick isn’t a perfect person without flaws, but. . . i like that he's a better version of bruce that came to pass bc he didn't grow up alone, and that bruce's and alfred's and the titans’ presence in his life allowed him to healthily express himself so that he didn't become a recluse. yes, that childhood living in the wayne manor wasn't always ideal, and he stood his ground against bruce when he felt it was warranted, but i think it's the fact that he had someone to rebel against at all and friends to relate to in the titans that allowed him a healthy upbringing where he didn't inevitably retract into himself the same way bruce did. the fact that he more or less always surrounds himself with people who will inspire him and ground him is what makes him a good hero, i think, and i feel like it's why i would agree that he shines in team books over solo books as a result. he's got a really strong sense of self and it's why he shines as a leader, confidante, and mentor figure. along that vein, while i do agree with his titans-leaning fans that his focus ought to be with the titans as a whole, i do think he'd care immensely about how the other robins were doing under bruce bc he knows how bruce's issues can unintentionally create. . . more issues lol. like obviously the titans are his family first and foremost (aside from bruce and alfred) but i don’t think he would be indifferent to the robins because again he’s familiar with that experience of working with bruce and as the original rebellious robin he knows how to call bruce out on his bullshit when he happens to be dishing it. i'm not fond of interpretations where bruce is cruelly dismissive of and even gaslights dick, rather i prefer a bruce who internally respects his space and maturity but also struggles externally with missing dick and letting him go and not knowing how to tell him that without feeling like he's replaced him and blindsided him when he finds other robins. i think dick is someone who'd be smart enough to figure out some of that even if he has to chastise bruce a bit for being so in his head and not communicating properly with him so that bruce actually feels compelled to be honest and vulnerable with him as a father figure. and i think since dick is so used to calling bruce out on his bullshit that i would honestly see him being more defensive of the sidekicks than of bruce? like obv they share a moral code but idk with jason for example i think if the comics hadn’t been so set on pushing the “jason was reckless” agenda that dick would definitely have pushed back more against that interpretation of events and tried to get to the bottom of the truth and confront bruce about his mistakes in handling and processing the death.

ultimately i like that dick is someone who's intent to chart his own path but that he's also propelled by his compassion for others. he makes me think of a sober coach, in the sense that he's a hardass, but a loveable one who's straight with you because he gives a damn and he knows you can be better

[rockislandadultreads]

Black Authors: Select Fiction Titles for Black History Month

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Running. That's all that Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But never for a track team. Nope, his game has always been ball. But when Ghost impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to a race—and wins—the Olympic medalist track coach sees he has something: crazy natural talent. Thing is, Ghost has something else: a lot of anger, and a past that he is trying to outrun. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed and meld with the team, or will his past finally catch up to him?

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'. In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear 'out back'. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion, 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors. The tension between Elwood's idealism and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

Mireille Duval Jameson is living a fairy tale. The strong-willed youngest daughter of one of Haiti’s richest sons, she has an adoring husband, a precocious infant son, by all appearances a perfect life. The fairy tale ends one day when Mireille is kidnapped in broad daylight by a gang of heavily armed men, in front of her father’s Port au Prince estate. Held captive by a man who calls himself The Commander, Mireille waits for her father to pay her ransom. As it becomes clear her father intends to resist the kidnappers, Mireille must endure the torments of a man who resents everything she represents. An Untamed State is a novel of privilege in the face of crushing poverty, and of the lawless anger that corrupt governments produce. It is the story of a wilful woman attempting to find her way back to the person she once was, and of how redemption is found in the most unexpected of places. An Untamed State establishes Roxane Gay as a writer of prodigious, arresting talent.

[palmett-hoes]

Do you have any fan casts or strong takes/feelings on the foxes’ appearances? Fandom tends to use the same Pinterest models, which feels wrong to me.

i do in fact! i've actually been meaning to make a post about how i choose to write all of the foxes' ethnicities anyway

but yes i absolutely agree that the typical pinterest model types u generally see on edits is not how i see any of them. nor is reece king or froy gutierrez or lucky blue smith one of my FCs for anyone

for a lot of them i don't necessarily have a single specific FC so much as i have like,, a general impression of features that i will see on various different people, who all may look wildly different from each other or who may not even look how i see the character as a whole but do have a specific feature i associate with them. mostly it boils down to the Energy i get tbh and that's just a Feeling i cant even explain

fun fact im a tiny bit face blind so that might account for some of why i'm so all-over about this

may as well go chronologically. some of them i definitely have more thoughts on than others

1. Dan

ethnicity: Afro Native (Sioux)

features: medium dark skin. buzzcut, killer fade. she often styles it in waves. she's very butch, wears a lot of basketball and cargo shorts, tank tops and flannels and jerseys, hiking boots. skinny but muscular, with a very rectangular body shape. defined jaw. probably like 5'4 or 5'5

FC/Energy: sometimes i get some dan energy out of janelle monae but more butch. lotta dan energy out of samira wiley. lashana lynch

2. Kevin

ethnicity: a lot of things tbd, but he's pretty multi-ethnic. i like the idea of kayleigh being half- or a quarter-japanese in addition to irish because it gives her more of a reason to go to japan for her undergrad. wymack is from d.c. which is a majority black city for its actual residents, but i also like the idea of him being Pasifika/Hawaiian. HOWEVER - and this is pretty important to my read of kevin's character - he's white passing, and has been mostly treated as a white guy who tans his whole life, like occasionally asked if he's italian maybe. learning that his father was a Distinctly Not White Man was a big shock to him.

kristin kreuk, lindsay price, phoebe cates, and marie digby are all half-asian actresses i base kayleigh on

i suppose i base his story partially on broadway actress carol channing, who revealed publically that she was a quarter black when she was like 80 years old. though maybe wentworth miller, a biracial actor who knows his father is black but also doesn't know him, is more accurate to kevin's story. then keanu reeves is a white passing actor with asian ancestry

also none of these people look anything like how i picture kevin lol. kevin is just like,, a guy. handsome ig. but kind of in a CW character kind of way

actually

kevin looks exactly like young jason momoa

3. Andrew

ethnicity: kayin/karen from myanmar

features: fat and muscular, very wide and heavy. this blog is basically all andrew body type refs. medium-olive skin, has a bit of a greyish tinge that makes him look a bit eerie or unhealthy. deep set, droopy eyes; looks so tired. flat face with a low-bridged nose. crooked teeth, especially his canines. natural hair black-ish but he bleaches it light blond. has the beginnings of martial artist punching callouses in his knuckles

FC/Energy: holy shit the characters i feel have Andrew Energy are all over the place. pedro pascal. babe ruth (yes fr). oddjob (harold sakata) from goldfinger. the jinn (mousa kraish) from american gods. gaear grimsrud (peter stormare) from fargo. takeshi kovacs (joel kinnaman) from altered carbon. and i wanna be clear, it's these characters specifically, and generally NOT the actors outside of that specific role. except pedro ❤️

4. Matt

ethnicity: cuban

appearance: matt has more of an Energy than specific features to me rn. that energy is Warm. he has that Warm bro jock dude energy. kind of a marvel hero build, hunky and muscular. very rectangular face. has this haircut:

5. Aaron

i get to cut myself some slack and not go AS in depth about aaron because he and andrew are identical twins

ethnicity: kayin/karen from myanmar

appearance: similar build to andrew, less confident and casual posture and body language. less apathetically murderous and more emotive expressions. better teeth bc his mom took him to the dentist. yes also bleaches his hair

celebrities: probably a lot like the difference between the characters and the actors. andrew is the characters and aaron is how the actors actually look. idk ive never looked at someone and thought 'hey! looks like aaron!'

6. Seth

ethnicity: have been going with half-vietnamese. considering looking into various south asian possibilities like pakistani

appearance: string bean build. that's all i have to offer

7. Allison

ethnicity: allison's very up in the air for me. she and seth are the two foxes i feel fine with being white, but im committing to having no white foxes sooo. i would say i generally see her as either half-middle eastern or chinese

appearance: plus sized and hourglass shaped. heart shaped face. taller, like 5'8 or 5'9. she has a pretty fraught history with her appearance and her parents payed for/pressured her into getting a nose job to have a 'prettier' nose. she also bleaches her hair blonde. she gets it done at a salon tho the twinyards do it in their bathroom

FC/Energy: elle king and nadia aboulhosn are my main inspos for her, esp body type but nadia esp in Vibes

8. Nicky

ethnicity: multi-ethnic. his mother is southern mexican Indigenous, possibly oaxacan. his father is mixed white/kayin

appearance: definitely takes after his mother while his father is white passing. dark brown skin, warm undertones. slightly stocky build. tall ovular head and thin aquiline nose. he's kind of just,, the opposite of the twins ig, so like their facial features look very different, which is a big part of why people don't make the connection between him and the twins alongside the difference in their skin tones, heights, and builds. nicky's build and features are very vertically-oriented, with a tall head, narrow-set eyes, thin nose with a high bridge, etc. the twins are horizontally-orienged, with broad, flat faces, wide-set eyes, wide noses with a low bridge, etc.

FC/Energy: yalitza aparicio, not a guy but one of the few Mexican Indigenous stars in the film industry and i really like her features for nicky. she's oaxacan

9. Renee

ethnicity: Black. african american

appearance: plus sized, circular/apple body shape. round face. dark skin. microlocs to a bit past her chin, bleached white and dyed at the ends. she and allison go to the salon together. femme but plain style, a lot of blouses and long skirts, practical shoes. knuckle callouses. about 5'6

FC/Energy: dominique fishback. tracie thoms, esp in RENT. gabourey sidibe. nicole byer, but not in Energy. brandy, for some reason, probably bc i think she has very serene Energy and is a little bit otherworldly. like if brandy played arwen or galadriel from lotr it would make perfect sense to me, and that's the Renee Energy™️

10. Neil

ethnicity: mixed. Black/Jewish on both sides. his father is polish ashkenazi and afro-brazilian. his mother is Black British and algerian jewish

appearance: very... sharp. like sharp all over. does that make sense? sharp features, sharp face shape, sharp angles to his body. he's got what i vaguely think of as a 'basketball build' not meaning tall but meaning very rangy and angular and lean. all limbs. seth has a similar build. lighter brown skin. he has waardenburg syndrome which is actually where he gets he gets his eye color, and his eyes are very large and widely spaced as well. freckles freckles freckles. freckles everywhere. 4a hair but at least during canon it's not very healthy and thus the curls aren't well-defined. he grows it out long enough to tie back and starts taking better care of it in post-canon. wonky, slightly crooked teeth, with a gap between the fronts

FC/Energy: now neil i actually have a ton for. mostly models which im a lil ashamed of bc i do try to draw more from athletes. alton mason is a main body type ref. mugsy bogues is good to see what i mean about the basketball build without the height. here're the boys: cykeem white, luka sabbat, désiré mia, Leo Hoyte-Egan, dylan hasselbaink, this beautiful stock photo model i've never been able to track down

i think about him every. goddamn. day.

in terms of like,, real ppl and not models: corbin bleu, especially during Jump In. figure skater elladj balde. rayan "ray ray" lopez from mindless behavior. A$AP Rocky a lil bit, maybe i just like his hairstyle idk

two more models i think are important: carissa pinkston and ralph souffrant

[slashingdisneypasta]

Horror / Six: The Musical AU (X Reader) || Headcanons

Explanation: So all the songs are being sun by different readers with different Henry’s (The Horror Villains of course) instead of one Henry. I think its pretty straight forward apart from that! I hope to make a second part to this where the readers actually meet up and complain about their times with their respective horror villains. This is fun XD Had the idea a couple months back and I posted it and one blog commented saying Six is their favourite musical, so this is basically for me and them haha XD 

Character Included: Michael Myers, Chucky / Charles Lee Ray (And Tiffany Valentine), Bubba Sawyer, Norman Bates, Mayor Buckman (And Harper Alexandre) and Jason Voorhees. 

Warnings: Murder of the readers (By respective Horror Villains and a non-explicit difficult birth in Bubba’s), birth / pregnancy, toxic / abusive relationships, sexual harrassment / maybe rape (All You Wanna Do- Buckmans), language, suggested mother / son grossness (Norman and Norma of course). 

I laugh in the face of those who would subdue my mad ideas. 

‘No Way’ (Reader as Catherine of Aragon): Michael Myers as Henry

My name's Catherine of Aragon Was married 24 years I'm a paragon of royalty, my loyalty is to the Vatican So if you try to dump me You won't try that again 

You were in a, of course, very unequal relationship with the shape of Haddonfield. He saw you one day, was completely taken by you, and decided to let you live. He would come by and use you however he liked, kill the people you loved when they got your attention over him, etc. Like any other Michael Myers x Reader.

And, years and years later (Because it’s not like Michael finds someone every day that he gives even a bit of a shit about like he does - did, - you) he comes upon a new person. Someone he, like he was you, is drawn to.

And he tries to drop you like a hot potato.

And this infuriates you. You are not about to let go! He has ruined your life! You have no friends, no family, no life, because of him! All you have, is (regrettably) him and you are going to be his for the rest of your life. That’s what he wanted, that’s what the bastard’s going to get.

(Many, many years with him has caused your courage against him to grow spectacularly. You can say nearly anything to him)

|- ‘You must agree that, baby, in all the time I been by your side

I've never lost control’

‘I've put up with your sh- like every single day’ -|

You give him one more chance- if he can tell you one thing that you have done to him to legitimately hurt him… then you’ll leave willingly.

…

But he has nothing. And he doesn’t care.

|- ‘You got me down on my knees

Please tell me what you think I've done wrong

Been humble, been loyal, I've tried to swallow my pride all along

If you can just explain a single thing

I've done to cause you pain, I'll go

No?’ -|

//

|- ‘You wanna replace me? Baby, there's

N-n-n-n-n-n-no way

You made me a wife, so I'll be queen 'til the end of my life’ -|

He ends up strangling you to death when you won’t shut up.

‘Don’t Lose Your Head’ (Reader as Anne Boleyn): Chucky / Charles Lee Ray as Henry (And Tiffany as Catherine of Aragon)

I'm that Boleyn girl and I'm up next See I broke England from the church Yeah, I'm that sexy Why did I lose my head? Well, my sleeves may be green but my lipstick's red 

Chucky and his filthy ass catches sight of you. Young, French and vivacious and he’s got heart eyes on the spot. He wants you, but he also doesn’t really want to lose Tiffany.

So... yeah, you end up living with them both for a while and its very awkward and a very hostile situation.

|- ‘Here we go

(You sent him kisses)

I didn't know I would move in with his misses

(What?)

Get a life

(You're living with his wife?)

Like, what was I meant to do?’ -|

You don’t like it. No one likes this. Chucky! Make up your mind!

|- ‘Three in the bed and the little one said

If you wanna be wed, make up your mind

Her or me, chum

Don't wanna be some

Girl in a threesome

Are you blind?’ -|

Tiffany is of course Catherine, and the fandom (The people of Britain for the sake of this AU) loves her (As we all know), so when you come along and insult her because Chucky is now your man (Supposedly.) and of course you two aren’t getting along with each other in the first place because of him … you get a bad name.

|- ‘Ooh, why hasn't it hit her?

He doesn't want to bang you

Somebody hang you

(Wow Anne, way to make the country hate you)

Mate, what was I meant to do?’ -|

When eventually Chucky is able to grow the balls to boot Tiffany out (My heart hurts writing this, trust me), he pulls a ‘Once a cheater, always a cheater’ kind of shit and has no loyalty to you or respect for the sanctity of your relationship, and starts having one night stands here, there and everywhere. He tries vaguely to tell you you’re being silly and that’s not true- but he has lipstick on his shirt collars and perfume smell all over him.

Its not a nice living condition.

So you, still very much being the vivacious bitch that he ‘fell in love with’, go and flirt with some other guys. Just to make him a teensy bit jealous! I mean, its not like he’ll really care, right? You just wanna spark the fire again!

|- ‘Henry's out every night on the town

Just sleeping around, like what the hell?

If that's how it's gonna be

Maybe I'll flirt with a guy or three

Just to make him jell’ -|

But he finds out as planned… and is p i s s e d. He threatens that if you do that again, he’ll fucking kill you.

You, not going to let him talk to you like that, flirt with one more man. Just to be disobedient. 

|- ‘Henry finds out and he goes mental

He screams and shouts

Like so judgemental

You damn that witch

Mate, just shut up

I wouldn't be such a b-

If you could get it up’ -|

And you find out that he very much meant it when he said he would kill you.

|- ‘And now he's going 'round like off with her head (No)

(No)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he means it’ -|

‘Heart of Stone’ (Reader as Jane Seymour): Bubba Sawyer as Henry

Jane Seymour the only one he truly loved (Rude) When my son was newly born, I died But I'm not what I seem or am I? Stick around and you'll suddenly see more 

You were an intended victim of the Sawyers, but like with Stretch, Bubba crushes on you instead. The difference here, is that you see the gentleness to him compared to his brothers, and how scared he is when one of them yells at him, and all the other little signs that he’s not as vicious or evil as his first impressions might convey. You have a big, brave heart, and you realise right there that its death and cannibalisation or understanding and caring for this man and you choose to love.

|- ‘You came my way, and I knew a storm could come too.’-|

//

|- ‘You've got a good heart

But I know it changes

A restless tide, untameable’ -|

So you take his hands in yours, all shaky and meaty as they are, and promise him that you will never leave him. You’ll protect him. You’ll take any mess he and his family can throw at you- you’ll always be with him. Your promise.

|- ‘But I took your hand, promised I'd withstand

Any blaze you blew my way

'Cause something inside, it solidified

And I knew I'd always stay’ -|

And he believes you, of course. Its so nice to be looked at so softly, especially by someone as pretty as you.

I- ‘You can build me up, you can tear me down

You can try but I'm unbreakable

You can do your best, but I'll stand the test

You'll find that I'm unshakeable

When the fire's burnt

When the wind has blown

When the water's dried, you'll still find stone

My heart of stone’ -|

And you prove yourself. You prove over and over again that no matter what he, or the twins, or Drayton, or even Grandpa throws at you- you’ll survive and you’ll stay, and you’ll never stop looking at him in that lovely soft way.

|- ‘You say we're perfect

A perfect family’ -|

You get pregnant of course because everyone in the Sawyers / Hewitts family has a breeding kink and you can’t tell me otherwise, and the birth is of course very difficult because Drayton isn’t about to pay for hospital bills. So you’re in their home, in all the mess and the dirt and with no sort of aesthetic, and…

|- ‘Soon I'll have to go

I'll never see him grow’  -|

You don’t make it. Your babies born fine and healthy, and you bring another strong Sawyer boy to the family, but you’re gone.

‘Get Down’ (Reader as Anne of Cleves): Norman Bates as Henry

Ich bin Anne of Cleves Ja! When he saw my portrait, he was like Ja! But I didn't look as good as good as I did in my pic Funny how we all discuss that but never Henry's little- 

So, one day, Norman decides its time to properly settle down (Long after his mother… ah… ‘dies’) and get a partner, and because there isn’t really anyone around where he lives to date or, even, who wouldn’t get creeped out by him and his taxidermy, he turns to online dating.

He meets you there. You own and run your own hotel in the next state over, you don’t mind his taxidermy at all, and your profile picture looks… hauntingly familiar (If you look nothing like Vera Farmiga go by the original movie- she was but a skeleton there so she really could be anyone).

|- ‘Sittin' here all alone

On a throne

In a palace that I happen to own

I'm not fake 'cause I've got acres and acres

Paid for with my own riches’ -|

And you two get along great over messages! You online date for a good year before Norman proposes you elope and come to live with him! You think you’ve known him long enough, and you trust him!

So you fly right over, and he meets you at the airport, and…

He’s disappointed.

Like, ‘sorry, nah, you don’t look enough like mama so this isn’t gonna work’. In a more fidgety, quiet, subdued kind of way though. He’s so awkward with communication that he even suggests that you doctored your profile picture.

I- ‘You, you said that I tricked ya

'Cause I, I didn't look like my profile picture’ -|

And, understandably, you’re p i s s e d, and disgusted! But ya’ll already got married over the internet, so theirs no stopping that! This is your husband. You realise you’ve made a huge mistake and go right back to your home and your hotel to get divorce papers drawn up.  

You’re the queen of your own fucking castle, who needs him?

|- ‘I'm the queen of the castle

Get down, you dirty rascal

'Cause I'm the queen of the castle’ -|

You are understandably, very very mad. And you say some things to Norman about he and his mother, that… may be true… but that he certainly doesn’t appreciate.

When you finally get the papers, and you’ve been separated long enough for it to be legal, you go back to the Bates Motel to get Norman to sign them and stay over a night. You’ve calmed down enough that you’re able to have a pleasant conversation with him, and you decide that you’re too tired to take the plane back home right away so you take up Normans offer to stay in one of vacant rooms (*Cough* So you basically have the run of the place. Or they do. *Cough).

Norman is also pretty calm about the whole thing as well, like you! But… Norma, is still seething.

You don’t wake up the next morning.  

‘All You Wanna Do’ (Reader as Kathrine Howard): Mayor Buckman as Henry (And Harper as Thomas)

Prick up your ears, I'm the Catherine who lost her head (Beheaded) For my promiscuity outside of wed Lock up your husbands Lock up your sons K. Howard is here and the fun's begun 

Right, so, you haven’t had good luck in love throughout your life, so you decide to give up on boys entirely. 

|- ‘So I decided to have a break from boys

And you'll never guess who I met’ -|

… And meet a man, not much later. A man in power; A mayor. A man who’s been married before and has a beard (So you know; He’s a man. XD No little boy.). This is of course Buckman. He calls you love, and you get a job in Pleasant Valley that keeps you comfortably busy. You feel like, finally, you’re where you belong. You feel fulfilled- no committed relationships are necessary.

|- ‘Globally revered

Although you wouldn't know it from the look of that beard

Made me a lady in waiting

Hurled me and my family up in the world

Gave me duties in court and he swears it's true

That without me, he doesn't know what he'd do

He cares so much, he calls me love’ -|

But then Buckman tells you that he cares about you. You have a connection. He doesn’t feel just ‘friendly’ feelings towards you- he wants more. And, though you are a little disappointed that your solitude didn’t last, you decide that he’s decent enough (’He is rather kind to me, and he does makes me smile a fair bit’, you try to reason with yourself that this is a good idea) and so you start to go out. Its not long before you’re married.

|- ‘So we got married Woo…’

Woo…’ -|

But being married to him isn’t easy. Not at all. You’re not use to politics; There are so many rules now, and he’s always too busy to help. And the rest for Pleasant Valley are a bit… odd. And you just don’t fit in. And this is wear Harper (Thomas) comes in.

|- ‘With Henry, it isn't easy

His temper's short, and his mates are sleazy

Except for this one courtier

He's a really nice guy, just so sincere

The royal life isn't what I planned

But Thomas is there to lend a helping hand

So sweet, makes sure that I'm okay

And we hang out loads when the King's away’ -|

And he’s so lovely and caring towards you (Never more then when Buckman leaves for business in other towns), helping you through the transition from your old life to this one. He’s a good friend, to you. And that is most definitely all he is, on your side of it. A friend. You don’t feel attractions towards him at all apart from that, and he doesn’t try to make any moves. Its wonderful!

|- ‘This guy, finally

Is what I want, the friend I need

Just mates, no chemistry

I get him and he gets me’ -|

… Until one day when Buckman has been away for a month, he tells you he cares about you. You have a connection. He doesn’t feel just ‘friendly’ feelings towards you- he wants more.

|- ‘He says we have a connection

I thought this time was different

Why did I think he'd be different?

But it's never, ever different’ -|

Lets just say one things leads to another, despite you at first turning him away and saying no. He’s so insistent, and a little scary, and you’re lonely because your husbands’ has been away so long, and… something happens that you regret and feel gross about.

|- ‘Squeeze me, don't care if you don't please me

Bite my lip and pull my hair

As you tell me, I'm the fairest of the fair

Playtime's over.’ -|

You tell Buckman when he gets home, and you watch as every bit of warmth and love in his eye disappears, just like that.

Its not long after that that his jealousy and betrayed rage takes over… and… you die with a rope around your neck and your feet swaying above the ground.

|- ‘Playtime’s over’ -|

(Alternatively, Sheriff Hoyt as Henry and Thomas as Thomas)

‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ (Reader as Catherine Parr): Jason Voorhees as Henry (Your last love was Jason when he was alive)

Five down, I'm the final wife I saw him to the end of his life I'm the survivor Catherine Parr I bet you wanna know how I got this far I said I bet you wanna know how we got this far Do you wanna know how we got this far then? 

So, you’re like the leader of the ‘Slashers Ex Squad’ because you, unlike the others, survived your time with Jason. This is because Jason did, truly, love you (To an extent- not enough to let you go and live your life without him or be free). None of the others really did. Not like he did.

|- ‘Became the one who survived’ -|

Your story:

You and Jason had an adorable little 11-year-old puppy love relationship when he was alive. You were his only friend, and he had it bad for you because of it. Pamela loved you, too.

When he died you were of course devastated, and years later when you were 30 (Making him also thirty- not that you know that. You still think he’s dead at this point) you’re taken by the need to go back to Camp Crystal Lake and pay your respects to your childhood love / friend. Its just one of those nostalgic days.

When you go, and you set flowers down by the lake, Jason catches sight of you. He thinks about killing you… but then your features start to make sense to him. He recognises you, and for the first time since his mother was killed, he feels his heartbeat speed up and swell with hope.

Jason of course kidnaps you then, and keeps you hostage for himself. He missed you. He doesn’t want to survive anymore time without you. You’re all he has left!

… After you realise that this is Jason Voorhees, you quickly learn that this Jason is, of course, not the boy that you cared, and care, so deeply about. He’s done horrible things, and he is never going to stop; And frankly, deep inside… he scares you.

But its not like you can leave him! He would never let you, he’s made that clear. You are all he has, and now, he is all that you have.

|- ‘I don't have a choice

If Henry says "it's you", then it's you

No matter how I feel

It's what I have to do’ -|

So you write a letter to the old Jason (And your old life), saying goodbye, in admittance to the fact that you’ll never be able to get away from this new Jason. This is you letting go of your freedom and any preconceptions that anything will every be the same- with Jason, or otherwise.

|- ‘It's true I'll never be over you 'Cause I have built a future in my mind with you And now the hope is gone There's nothing left for me to do’

'Cause I have built a future in my mind with you

And now the hope is gone

There's nothing left for me to do’ -|

You never stop hating him for how he’s changed (How he’s taken your Jason away, and wont even attempt to go back) and how he’s stolen away your freedom.

|- ‘I'd say "Henry, yeah it's true

I'll never belong to you

'Cause I am not your toy, to enjoy till there's something new

As if I'm gonna give up my boy, my work, my dreams

To care for you"

"Ha, darling, get a clue”

But I can't say that

Not to the king’ -|

You eventually die of natural causes at, like, 60.

[thepartyresponsible]

two separate anons asked for a phil coulson/jason todd fic with the prompt: “what would you do if I didn’t come back?” and since that question is pretty much at the heart of this ship, i thought that was perfect.

so here’s an au where jason is a very strong psychic and phil is a human mute button.

                                                         ---

When people ask, Jason tells them that there’s nothing special about his bloodlines, nothing remarkable about his family. He tells them it’s a function of where he’s from, not who he is. Anyone from Gotham can sense trouble. Jason’s just a bit better at it than most.

The truth is, he’s an orphan nobody cared enough to track, and so he’s got no fucking clue who his family is. Maybe he comes from a whole line of physics. Maybe he’s the only one. It doesn’t matter in the end, because, either way, he’s been alone since his foster mom overdosed when he was twelve.

He hadn’t known, at that time, what he was sensing. He’d smelled danger plenty, but death was something new.

Carnations and lilies and fresh dirt and rot. He smelled it everywhere when the Joker was killing him. He smells it now.

“No,” he hears, distant, faded-out. “No, he’s not dangerous to me. I need to get in there. He needs me in there.”

Grave dirt and old blood and fresh flowers. It’s everywhere, so thick he could choke on it. Might choke on it. Might die, breathing in death.

“I don’t care what he did to the guards. The guards aren’t me. Move.”

There’s the hiss and clatter of a heavy metal door opening, and Jason’s on his feet, bloody hands clenched into fists, jaw hinged like he’s going to bite out throats, and, when he breathes in, it’s antiseptic.

Soap and ink and paper.

There’s nothing. There isn’t---

“Jason.” And that’s a voice he almost recognizes. He’s too keyed-up to look anybody in the eyes, doesn’t want to read them more than he has to, can’t even look above this guy’s well-shined shoes.

But when he breathes in, the sterile clean of rubbing alcohol is smothering out the scent of death. He sucks at the air like he’s coming back from drowning, drags it in over his teeth.

“Jason,” the voice says, calmer now. Reassuring. Clinical, almost, but in a way that says everything’s under control.

“Phil?” Jason asks, because the name feels right in his mouth.

His brain is stretched, staked down in a pit of hell, and he’s pulling against it, trying to leash himself to the world he’s in. There’s grave dirt and printer toner, rotting blood and hospital soap.

“I know,” Phil says. “We didn’t expect Scarecrow.”

“Careful,” someone says. “He’s--”

Jason snarls toward the voice, teeth bared toward steel-toed boots, and he steps around Phil, puts himself between them.

“He’s fine,” Phil says. “Back off.”

The boots retreat, and the door closes, and the room fills up with the smell of office supplies and first aid kits.

“Are you steady?” Phil asks. “Do you want an anchor?”

The problem with high-levels like Jason is that, when they’re really brain-blown, even ones and twos can set them off. Sure, he can read a threat from three miles out and a mind from four floors away, but he also can’t stop reading once he’s touching skin-to-skin. Break the touch barrier, and, even with low-levels, his brain just drinks and drinks until he drowns.

It takes a null to anchor him, and true zeros are hard to find. Almost as rare as he is, at least in the adult population. Most nines don’t live past puberty, not in any shape you’d really call alive.

Jason has an idea in his head that this is something he’s allowed, that this is Phil’s job somehow. But he’s had too many minds in his head today, too many memories and lives and thoughts. Everything from the last ten years is smeared; he doesn’t know whose life belongs to him.

And nulls are rare. Important.

There’s blood on Jason’s hands, on his shirt. He’s covered in dried, cooled sweat.

Even from here, he feels steadier. He can’t smell death anymore. Ink, antiseptic. He breathes in, closes his eyes. It’s enough; it has to be.

“Jason,” Phil says. “I’m worried about you. I want the doctors to look at you, but I need you steady enough not to stab anyone else.”

Jason doesn’t like stabbing people when his brain’s torn open like this. He feels it, too, is the problem. Stabs and is stabbed, gives and takes the pain.

He feels it when he hurts people, and he feels it when he scares them. Feels it when he’s a danger to them.

He got scared too much too early, that’s what his SHIELD file says. His brain is hyperaware of danger, translates it into sensory input to ensure his focus. He literally smells danger. And grave dirt and lilies and rot, he knows what that means.

It’s him.

The threat he’s been caught on for hours is himself, reflected from the dozen or so minds in the building around him. They cleared the building to the skeleton crew, and he still can’t pull himself out of their brains, can’t stop sensing how dangerous he is to them.

He’s vibrating between minds. Tastes coffee from three floors up, someone who likes their mochas with extra whipped cream. Arthritic wrists in the basement, someone going through files. Resentment from a man reading a text from an ex-wife, a woman daydreaming about Belize. Boredom, and wariness, and round after round of fucking Candy Crush beating against the backs of his eyes.

Dirt and dead bodies and funeral flowers and other peoples’ thoughts like razorwire floss sawing through every plan he tries to make.

And then the emptiness of clean hallways personified, the reassuring blankness breathing in the room with him. A null, right there. A quiet, still pool that could stop the flickering, fluttering madness of being hooked into a dozen minds at once.

“Jason,” Phil says, again. “Do you want an anchor? You can come down alone if you want, but I’d like to help.”

“Yes,” Jason says. Because he does, because Phil asked. “Please,” he says, because it’s a ludicrous thing to ask for, an impossibility. A brain-trashed stray from Gotham’s back alleys, trying to put his bloody hands on a null, what the fuck. “Please, could you just fucking—for a second, would you--”

“Here,” Phil says, and he sounds – ridiculously – almost relieved as he brings his hands up, slides his fingers into Jason’s hair, presses his palms directly over Jason’s temples.

Everything goes silent. His mind snaps back under his skin like a rubber band breaking. He breathes out, and he’s alone in his mind, alone in his skin, at home where he belongs.

He’s Jason Todd. SHIELD found him wandering the streets of Gotham with splinters in his hands from digging out of his own coffin. He’d lit up the area with his misery, and they’d brought Clint in to counter him and Phil to neutralize him.

They hadn’t killed him. All the reason in the world to do it, and they hadn’t. It took a dozen of SHIELD’s high-levels to bring his brain back from where it wandered, but they did it. Made him useful again. Let him work.

“Fuck,” Jason says, tipping forward until he can rest his forehead against Phil’s. “Jesus fucking Christ, that was a bad trip.”

“I’m sorry,” Phil says. His hands are still in Jason’s hair. “We had no idea Scarecrow was in the area.”

Scarecrow’s a five with narrow range. Feels fear like a rollercoaster, all thrill and no threat. He makes his toxin to scare people; the fact that it boosts psychic sensitivity is just a bonus to him.

Nines rarely make it to adulthood, but the world counts its registered tens in single digits. Jason can see why they tend not to survive.

“Can I,” Jason says, shifting a little. “I need to, Phil. Can I just--”

“Yes,” Phil says. “Of course. What do you need?”

Jason drops his face to Phil’s neck, breathes in. Soap and toner, hand sanitizer and aloe vera. No threat, no risk. No thought-bleed at all.

Jason feels raw inside his own skull, mind over-stretched. Phil’s hands, the skin of his neck, it’s like rolling his thoughts into a heavy blanket of fog, letting all the details from a hundred lives he’s never lived fade away.

“How long was I gone?” Jason asks.

Phil hums, and Jason can feel the vibration of it against the skin of his cheek. “It’s been twelve hours since you dropped off comms,” he says. “An evac team found you five hours ago. There was a level two agent present. She kept you grounded long enough to get you to containment, but a medic got a bit inquisitive during transport.”

“Stabbed him,” Jason says. He remembers. He felt the knife cutting skin, a warning slash to the forearm.

“Only a little,” Phil says. He smiles when he says it, and Jason’s not looking at his face, can’t read his mind, but he knows it anyway.

Phil’s careful about things like this. About touching Jason like this. Nulls work best with skin-to-skin contact, and he’s had to anchor Jason before, but it’s always been a hand on Jason’s shoulder, or the back of his neck. Or, after particularly bad missions, he’ll sit at Jason’s bedside down in Medical and lace their fingers together.

It’s always been enough. Before this exact moment, it’s been the best thing Jason’s ever felt.

“Lost me for seven hours, Phil,” Jason says. He should pull back. He knows that. The problem with low levels is that, sometimes, you can hurt or scare or bully them without knowing. Phil could be uncomfortable, and Jason wouldn’t know it at all.

But Phil doesn’t push him away. His fingers slide deeper in Jason’s hair. He’s holding him closer.

“Not a record I wanted to push,” Phil says. “We would’ve found you sooner, but we were looking in Gotham. Apparently, after Scarecrow dosed you, you immediately stole a bike and went to D.C.”

Of course he did. He can’t remember it now, probably won’t ever remember it clearly. But he can understand why he did it. He knows damn well why, as he started to lose control, his only instinct was to run back to where Phil Coulson lives.

“Weird,” Jason says. “That’s so weird, Phil. You know I hate this place.”

“And yet,” Phil says, with a heavy, exasperated sigh, “you have never gone missing here. This makes—what? Three strikes in Gotham?”

Jason laughs. He doesn’t believe for a second that Phil doesn’t know exactly how many times he’s gone missing. He’s sure there’s a list Phil keeps somewhere, painstakingly updated, with all the relevant and seemingly irrelevant details charted and graphed and tracked.

Phil doesn’t like it when Jason goes missing. Even when it’s intentional. Even when Jason goes through the whole surreal process of requesting vacation time.

If he drops out of contact for too long, Phil finds him. Every time.

“What would you do, Phil?” And Jason moves back for this, because it feels important, feels like something he should watch. “If I went missing for good? What would you do if I didn’t come back?”

Phil looks at him, intent and focused, serious. “I would find you,” he says.

Jason went missing once. Bruce went looking too late. Didn’t find him until after it was over, until after Jason felt the crowbar hit and felt the way Joker enjoyed it, choked on his fear and the Joker’s glee while the timer counted down.  

Phil’s hands in his hair are anchors keeping his mind in his skull, and the skin at the base of his neck is a mute button on the world, making everything quiet and calm. His mouth, when Jason leans in to kiss him, feels like something else entirely.

Feels clean and electric, feels like a promise meant to keep.

[nightwingmyboi]

Sorry if you answered this already, but your meta about Talon!Dick made me think of this: which "origin" for Dick leaving the Robin mantle do you prefer? I personally like it when it's 100% separate from Bruce and Dick just tells the Titans that he's trying to separate himself from the role of a sidekick (because like the whole Talon debacle, it's boring when DC makes everything about the Robins be actually about Bruce 🙄)

Yeah, I feel you. I prefer Dick leaving Robin to be his own choice, especially because he put so much of himself into the mantle: his mother’s name, his family’s colors, etc. Dick deserved the right to move on from that in his own time and way, without Bruce sticking his nose in like always. In a perfect world, it would have gone down that way certainly. 

But unfortunately, that Pre-Crisis version of events, where Dick’s choice and agency were respected, hasn’t been canon since 1987. And the harsher version of events didn’t exist in a vacuum; in the 30 years of comics that followed this retcon, Dick being fired had (and to me, continues to have) a pretty significant effect on Dick and his relationships. 

Dick’s relationships 

Obviously, Bruce firing Dick had long term effects on their own relationship, to the extent that Dick remained estranged for years, wasn’t adopted by Bruce until he was an adult, so on and so forth. What I’ve seen people ignore is how much Dick being fired also shaped his relationships with Jason and even Tim to an extent. 

See, the version of events where Dick is fired actually occur in the exact same issue that Jason Todd is first introduced. The comic began with Dick getting shot and fired: 

Batman (1940) #408

And it ended with Jason taking the tires off the Batmobile:

Batman (1940) #408

So, Dick being fired and Jason being taken in are linked; one event didn’t happen without the other. In fact, Dick being fired is what directly lead into Jason being adopted. In addition, Dick not being around for Jason when he is younger is also specifically the result of Dick being estranged from Bruce during that period of time. 

Yet, in the version of events where Dick gave up Robin of his own volition, Dick was so charmed by “Jason” (and I put that in quotations because that version of Jason was literally a circus performer from the Flying Todds, not at all the Jason we are familiar with), that Dick nearly adopted Jason himself. Dick chose to pass Robin on to circus performer Jason Todd.

Batman (1940) #368

And they had great respect for one another. So, if Dick had chosen to move on from Robin, instead of being fired, Dick and Jason would also have likely been close (and Jason would be from the circus also?). But, that’s not remotely how things are in canon; to this day, Dick and Jason continue to have a strained relationship with one another. And this complicated dynamic is nearly a direct result of Dick being estranged, and thus not being there to form a positive relationship with Jason when he was younger. So, Dick being fired is necessary context for Jason and Dick’s relationship. 

In addition, it’s only because Dick and Bruce’s relationship is so strained, that the times that Dick went to comfort Bruce in the aftermath of Jason’s death ended so poorly. 

The New Titans (1988) #55

If you look through the whole conversation, you'll see that the much of it revolves around the fact that Dick wasn’t there for Jason (and Bruce)...“I didn’t expect to see you again” “You weren’t at the funeral” “Are you blaming me? I left, so Jason replaced me, and because I left he died?” “In a few years, I would have had to fire him as I did you” “Why are you pretending to be concerned about Jason? You told me you resented it that I adopted him and not you.”...the conversation can’t even stay on track because the hard feelings that already existed between Batman and Dick got in the way. And why do these hard feelings exist...? Because Bruce fired Dick and thus pushed him away.

Without the firing taking place, it’s likely that Dick would have still had a strong relationship with Bruce, strong enough that his comfort and support would have been accepted rather than rejected. But, because Dick is estranged, it’s necessary that Tim intervene. So, Tim’s initial introduction as a character also hinges on Dick being fired, estranged, and largely out of the picture. 

Dick’s character 

And Bruce’s decision also had a big effect on Dick himself. The weight of Batman’s expectations was always something that Dick carried with him, true. But, after Dick was fired, he was written to be particularly concerned with proving himself to Bruce. Dick believing that Bruce didn’t think he was good enough became a more consistent theme in his internal narrative; Dick began to believe that Bruce didn’t think he is good enough, largely because that’s pretty much what Batman tells him when firing him: 

Batman (1940) #408

Batman (1940) #416

Despite the many years Dick spent fighting crime at Batman’s side, Batman fires him, dismisses their previous success as luck, and makes it clear he views Dick as a child--as a burden--rather than a partner, a capable hero in his own right. The whole speech is patronizing and dismissive. 

So, Dick has valid concerns about not measuring up to Bruce’s expectations, because, at one point, he seemingly didn’t and, as a result of this apparent failure, was all but pushed from Bruce’s life for years. Dick’s insecurity about his place in Bruce’s life, his (at times) near obsessive drive to prove himself to Batman, his tendency to not ask for help when he should (because Dick can’t need help, he should be able to do things on his own because that’s what Batman would expect), all of these little idiosyncrasies that have become apart of Dick’s character, apart of what drives him...it all stems from Dick being fired and being told by the person he most values and wants to impress that he wasn’t good enough. 

To me, pretending that Dick wasn’t fired doesn’t make a ton of sense, even if it stinks that Dick’s choices were taken away. Dick is still dealing with the effects of being fired in comic books today; it feels wrong to ignore that. I’d much rather people acknowledge that it all happened, instead of acting like it’s “just a retcon.” Because at this point, it feels like Dick’s stuck dealing with all the negative fallout of being fired, while not actually being allowed any sort of acknowledgement or comfort or apology about it. 

[herecomesnaya]

Oh here I am, I think I'll take a bottle of: Roman’s abusive tactics have worn down Jason 2020, if you don't mind, thank you very much 🤲

yes indeedy! let’s see what I got here...

so, in the beginning, Jason was a lot different than he is now in terms of attitude. snarkier. more willing to fight back. his internal monologue less doubtful and uncertain of himself. able to spit Roman’s cum into his wine glass and walk away without a second thought. says no out loud more often, implies Roman is the crazy one.

but then, slowly, it changes around. it’s (I hope) subtle at first. Roman’s first tactic to start breaking Jason down isn’t to tear him down, but to build him up. he calls him a good boy. praises him for taking it so well. shows the barest modicum of care at some points, which feels like a hell of a lot to Jason, considering 1) it’s Black Mask and 2) Jason doesn’t ever particularly feel like he’s worthy of praise, so it leaves more of an impact when it happens.

starting in chapter 4, Roman begins to change Jason’s line of thinking from what he wants to what Roman wants. it starts off most evidently during sex, so Jason doesn’t realize what’s happening, just thinks of it in the context of it being a play scene. but the reason Roman broke him down until Jason told him to do whatever he wanted to him is because he was trying to prime Jason to carry that belief with him outside of the bedroom.

by chapter 5, he’s managed to convince Jason slowly over the course of the fic that what Roman wants, though, is actually what Jason wants. Jason may not entirely believe it yet, but Roman consistently reinforces this narrative:

“I-I— I'm sorry, okay?” he says, hoping that'll be the end of it. “I was wrong. You were right. Could you stop being weird now?”

“Oh, but I'm only giving you what you want,” Roman says, his voice like silk over ice. “Let's try things your way. What do you say, boys? Hm? Should we give Red Hood's methods a chance?”

the purpose is to make Jason doubt himself. to gaslight him into thinking that he practically asked to be treated like shit. because he comes when they have sex, and Roman treats him like shit while they fuck, so clearly that means Jason’s desires = being treated like shit, right?

chapter 6 is probably Jason’s last big defiant action before he gets, well, not completely complacent, but pretty damn close. fucking Chain is something he’d never have done at the beginning of the fic, but by this point, his psyche has already been re-shaped a bit by Roman’s tactics. sex is at the forefront of his mind where it wouldn’t have been before. sex is a tactic to get what you want from someone: he learned that from Roman.

by the end of the chapter, he’s gone through subspace (not for the first time in the fic, but more on that in my subspace meta), and while he’s still in that state, Roman does one of his little tactics to get Jason to trust him more: he takes off his mask while they’re in bed together, although he doesn’t let Jason see.

in chapter 7, we get more of Roman undermining Jason’s intelligence:

“Oh, Red,” Roman says with a shake of his head. “Still tragically incompetent with words, as always. You're lucky I know you well enough to realize you've got more going in there than you let on.” He accompanies this with a tap to his temple, and Jason at least has the good sense to feel offended.

he constantly reinforces the narrative that Jason has more brawns than brain, and needs someone like Roman to get him to “think clearly.” this is meant to make Jason doubt himself, wonder if he’s really thinking straight when Roman isn’t in his head.

in chapter 7, Jason also asks for one of the things he’s consistently been denied: boundaries. and Roman’s response?

“I admit I was a bit overzealous. I apologize,” Roman says, not sounding very contrite. “But that's exactly what I'm talking about. You need to trust that whatever I do to you, it'll work out in your favor. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Roman asks for obedience, not thought. trust, not mutual understanding. it’s about what he wants, and Jason, more and more, is starting to go along with it.

and what happens when Jason trusts Roman? well, he gets one of the best fucks of his life...

but also, a bunch of people die. whoops?

Jason’s guilt over this incident is so strong, and Dick comes into the story at exactly the perfect time to exacerbate that. in chapter 8, here’s where things really take a turn for the worse.

Jason is put in a position where he has to justify his attraction to Roman, and defend himself against actions that he feels personally responsible for. and what happens when he does that? it reinforces the until now unspoken belief that he really does want Roman to do whatever he wants to him.

because now there’s another party involved. now Dick knows he didn’t fight back like he “could” have, like he “should” have. now Jason, in his mind, has outside confirmation that he’s a willing party in this, and even goes so far as to wish he’s being raped to avoid having any culpability in it.

(the irony here being that Jason is being raped, because Roman consistently pushes past his boundaries when he says a clear “no.” he just doesn’t realize that it still counts as rape even if you come. he’d realize this if it were someone else in his position, but because it’s him, because he’s Jason Todd, because he’s stupid, because he doesn’t know how to admit what he wants, it can’t be rape. it can’t be. right?)

so he ends up leaving the confrontation with Dick feeling more isolated from his family, his only possible support system. feeling on edge, terrified that Dick will tell Bruce, and that he’ll be ousted from the family again, the black sheep that no one likes.

it’s this guilt and doubt and pain and terror that brings him into Roman’s arms, where he does arguably the most extreme session of the fic to that point. and that’s exactly where Roman wants him.

the next day, Roman really ramps things up. he sets up a fake situation where it appears that he’s been worriedly tending to Jason’s wounds all night. author’s note: he hasn’t. he’s full of fucking shit.

this line right here?

“I knew it,” he says a moment later, shoulders sagging under the tailored sleeves of his suit. “I knew you'd wake up as soon as I left.”

this is a little writer’s trick we in the biz like to call “a lie.” Roman can say that line literally whenever he comes into Jason’s room, and it’s like, oops, he only just stepped out for a minute! teehee! when in reality, he’s left Jason alone the entire night. Jason never receives proper aftercare, this is intentional.

but it still works. Roman manages to convince Jason, in his despair, to part with the knowledge that he used to be Robin. Jason is so alone at this point, he just wants someone to know that he’s in pain. and Roman has gotten him into subspace and “taken away the pain” often enough that Jason relies on him for it now. it’s like a drug to him.

and then comes the present. a simple gesture, and an easy one when you’re as rich as Roman Sionis. just a couple books. but to Jason, they mean so much more. they’re a “confirmation” that Roman listened to him speak about more than just business and sex. a “confirmation” that he does care, at least a little bit.

spoilers: he doesn’t. he doesn’t at all. it’s just a cheap way to endear Jason to him further, and Jason is in such an emotionally wrecked state that it actually works.

and then what does Roman do right when Jason has that realization?

he buys a bunch of hookers and spends all night paying attention to one.

give Jason attention, take it away. make him jealous. make it so that Jason is the one who wants Roman’s attention, not the other way around. and it works.

and when Jason gets upset and expresses that to Roman, his feelings are again downplayed and minimized.

“...I already told you what this means. Did you see a collar on her?”

It takes a second for Jason to realize Roman’s let up on his throat enough for him to speak. When he does, it’s hesitant and raspy.

“...No.” Roman lifts him by the neck, smacks his head pointedly back against the concrete. Jason corrects himself. “No, sir.”

Again, his airway gets cut off. “That’s right. Just because I’ve got some bimbo hanging off my arm doesn’t mean I give a damn about her one way or the other. This was supposed to boost morale, after everything that’s happened.”

Jason winces. He wonders if “everything” means his illness, or if it stretches all the way back to the former lieutenants now headless and chained to the bottom of Gotham Harbor. Either way, it’s his fault. That much is clear.

so now, once again, Jason feels responsible for his own anguish, even when it’s Roman’s fault, specifically building him up and tearing him down again. gaslighting him more to make him feel crazy. like he can’t trust his own emotions. like he needs Roman to make sense of them for him.

so Jason gets drunk to deal with the pain. and Roman eventually relents and gives him the attention he wants.

how does Jason respond?

a drunken love confession. Jason is now so broken down that he mistakes Roman’s token affection for love. he wants it to be love. he needs it to be, because that would make everything make sense. the way he feels. the way Roman is acting. everything.

and then, once Jason confesses, we get another sharp slap to the face by Roman: his “punishment” for being driven to drink, being cuckolded by Ms. Li. Roman knows at this point that Jason loves him. he’s using that against him by forcing Jason to watch him with someone else.

but he also throws him a bone: the knowledge that there’s a shipment coming in. he knows Jason wants to know about it. knows why he’s there. he needs to keep Jason tethered to him, keep him feeling like he’s getting what he wants when he’s actually doing exactly what Roman wants.

we can also see Roman continuing to subtly tear down Jason’s confidence in himself:

“Son, please,” Roman sighs, lifting a hand to cut him off. “Quite the contrary. It wasn’t an accident that I let you overhear that last night. That was your reward for complying so well, if anything.”

Immediately, Jason feels like his outburst was overblown. He shrinks back into his seat, looking down at the scraps of food on his plate.

Jason isn’t allowed to question Roman. if he does, it’s only because he’s an overdramatic brat. his feelings are constantly minimized, replaced by whatever feelings Roman deems it appropriate for him to have.

and then we get to the most recent chapter, with Roman manipulating Jason into having a conversation with Batman. Jason is given a week to prepare what he wants to say. and what does Roman do?

he doesn’t give Jason a second alone to think. constantly on him, fucking him, hurting him, giving him pleasure, distracting him. he doesn’t want Jason to be prepared. he wants him to be caught off-guard and thinking only of what Roman wants. then, only then, will he be the perfect little soldier to stand in front of Batman and pledge his allegience to Black Mask properly.

and that’s where we left off! there’s going to be even more delicious, horrible manipulation in the newest chapter, so I hope you guys are excited! can’t wait to publish it!

[jenny-jensen]

Faces in a Photograph

She sits on the edge of her seat, not letting her back be supported by the rest of the bench.

This isn’t the place to be comfortable.

Memories of the last time she was here still haunt her, and she knows that if her phone were to start magically start spitting out the words to Lollipop 1958 by The Chordettes, she would reawaken the crescent shaped scars that lay deeply embedded into her palms.

It won’t happen though. Riverdale is not a magical town, and people don’t just rise from the dead.

Until tonight. She hopes.

The plan was good. Risky, but good. She tries to ignore the inner monologue of her brain, arguing that risky plans always end with more blood shed that ever necessary.

This has to work. It has to. Everything they’ve ever hoped for is riding on his return.

Seconds feel like hours.

It’s nearly May, a month until they can finally rid themselves of Riverdale and all the baggage it comes with. She tries to think about all the makeup work he’ll have to complete just to graduate on time, about their plans to laden up Fred Andrew’s old truck with all their belongings so they can arrive in Connecticut on his bike, the perfect transportation rain or shine. Their plans for the Serpents, to find a new home that isn’t the forfeited Southside. She tries to think about how he’ll finally be known as the hero he’s always been, exposing the truth, how he’ll have the perfect ending for the novel he’s spent the last three years writing, starting with the death of Jason Blossom, ending with his grand return. Their reunion.

If only he would get here.

She braves a glance at her phone screen, years burning her eyes at the sight of his face grinning back at her. She took that photo during happier times, before serial killer fathers, cults and deathly secret societies were thrown into the mix.

They’re only eighteen, or nearly in her case, and they’ve already lived through so much. Too much.

It’s four minutes past when they were supposed to meet, time and place set up in an untraceable email weeks earlier, and she’s not just ancy any more, she’s close to panicking.

A single nail digs into her palm.

“We’re done with that, Elizabeth,”

Fingers encircle her wrist, hand clamping over her mouth before she can even inhale sharply.

“You’re not allowed to do that anymore,” he hisses, close to her ear.

Tears burn her eyes. It’s been over a month since she’s heard him speak in anything that wasn’t a prerecorded video or an old voice mail, but he sounds so different in person. Beautiful, dark, calm and caring all at once.

“Do it again and I’ll take you over my knee with no fucking regrets,” he threatens, nuzzling into her untied hair. “Is that understood.”

She hesitates, wonders if she could be dreaming again. She’s dreamt about this night more times than she can count.

“Do you understand me?” He bites out.

Timidly, she nods.

“Good girl,”

He lets go of her wrist, arm encircling her waist.

“Good fucking girl,” he says again. “If there was one thing I missed during my time away...”

She tries to turn, to face him, to embrace him, to kiss him, to slap him, she’s not really sure, but he guesses her thoughts, in the way that only he seems to be able to do and tightens his grip, holding her in place.

“Not so fast baby,” he rasps. “I want you to see our little... masterpiece first.”

As if on cue, her phone goes off, a chirp, not a song, and she could cry. He settles himself more comfortable against her as she brings her phone up from her side.

She can only imagine the grin on his face as her eyes scan the page.

The Secrets of the Quill and Skull Society, it reads. What Really Happened.

By Jughead Jones.

His hand finally falls away, catching her phone when she drops it.

“Baby?”

“You did it,” Betty breathes, tears falling freely. “You really did it.”

“Hey,” Jughead spins her, hands on either side of her face. “We did it Betts. You and me, we’re a team. Always.”

He doesn’t waste another second, dragging her forward for a lingering kiss.

She breaks away all to soon.

“Oh my god,” Betty says. “It’s over. It’s finally over.”

Jughead takes her hand, gives it a squeeze. “I’m just sorry it took me so long.”

His phone, tucked away in her back pocket, starts buzzing.

She frowns at the name, handing it to him. “It’s your dad.”

He takes it, ignores the call and pockets it.

“Jug,” Betty scolds playfully. “You should answer it.”

Jughead shrugs. “I’ll call him back. He was in on the plan Betty, don’t forget, as against it as he was.”

“Still...”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I missed you the most,” his hands tangle in her hair. “Fuck Betty, I... You’re not living in the dorms at Yale.”

She laughs. “What?”

“You can’t,” Jughead pleas. “We’ve been apart for too long. I don’t wanna live without you for another fucking second. They paid me big time for my story, enough to pay for our own little place just off campus. Nothing but the best for you and me from here on out.”

“It was only a few weeks-”

“It was hell.”

A sob escapes her throat. She can’t help it, because it hurt her just as badly.

“Baby,” his arms wrap around her in a strong hug. “I had to do it. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry that I made you...”

Her eyes dart to the scar on his forehead, just below his hairline. She did that. She hurt him, hit him with the rock just hard enough to knock him out, to create enough evidence to convince everyone that he was dead, because he asked her to.

She still hates herself for it.

“I love you, Jug,”

“I love you too baby,” he sighs. “Never again, okay? I promise, I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you from her.”

Her. Her inner darkness. God, she loves him.

“If i had known my dad was gonna drag you, Archie and Veronica down to the station, put you in a lineup...”

“He had to play along,” she argues, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “We did everything we could to cover your tracks Juggie, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“At least the real crooks will see the inside of a cell soon enough,” Jughead grumbles, grip tightening. “Brett, Donna and the rest of the Quil and Skull Society will finally get what’s coming to them. No more “accidental” deaths, and if we’re really lucky, no more Stonewall Prep. It’s over Betts, it’s really over.”

Her arms lock around his neck. “I was scared Juggie, so scared you weren’t coming back to me.”

“Hey,” he lifted her chin. “Always baby. Remember what I said, we’re in this for the long haul, Cooper.”

“I’m done taking my breaks from you,” Betty whispers.

He laughs, kissing her nose. “Good. So, are you ready to solve every mystery in Connecticut-”

“And eat a lot of pizza?”

“Betty Cooper,” Jughead picks her up, her feet dangling. “You were truly made to be mine.”

[lovecinnatwist]

frosssttr titans au where omega dick is giving private lessons to alpha jason qusjdjsjs

What? Hardcore smut with Dom!Dick? Let's go

A Firm Hand

Tags: Omegaverse, Dom/Sub undertones, Breeding kink, Orgasm Denial, Cock Rings, Multiple Orgasm, Over Stimulation, Creampie, Knotting, Cum Inflation, Messy Sex

Bruce has always been soft.

Heart tender and open for all that came broken and battered. None more so than Jason Peter Todd.

The alpha practically bleeds for love, wounds of betrayal open and green with infection. When he comes to the Titan’s Dick see’s it. How could he not when the kid has yet to have a firm hand guide him to his proper place?

The role of an Alpha is always under his omegas.

Jason’s cock is stiff and hard.

The girthy meat throbs in his cunt, bare and raw. The sheer look of pure unadulterated awe in his expression makes Dick feel powerful. Then again he must be to have the kid flat on his back and helpless to him. He clenches down, the growing knot teasing his slick folds.

It’s good.

Broad in a way that there’s a touch of a burn. It’s been a long time since he’s had an alpha. There’s none on his team and barely any time to seek one out. Not that he would have to worry about that anymore. With a tickling touch, he pushes Jason’s sweaty bangs out of his face. All while the kid seemingly holds his breath.

It’s admirable really the way he holds himself back for Dick’s pleasure. A good alpha that would need very little instruction- but still a firm hand. That’s ok, Dick has the time and he certainly doesn’t mind doing a little housebreaking.

Sweat drips down his back. They’ve been at this for hours and it has yet to become less spectacular. The other occupants in the tower know better than to disturb private lessons. He'll have the alpha to himself all evening.

“ What is an alpha for Little wing? “

Jason’s teeth grind from how hard he’s clenching. The knuckles on those strong hands white against the sheets. The cock ring is doing a beautiful job. It keeps the alpha hard and ready, while on the precipice of orgasm. Close but not yet. Not until Dick has his fill.

The answer that gets drawn out sounds like it hurts.

“ A-An omega’s pleasure. “

The confession is sweet to the ears. Dick’s cunt oozes slick, soothing the burn and inching the cock inside closer to his cervix. It’s an easy movement. The gentle circling of thick omega hips makes that throbbing cock press somewhere wonderful.

Now that he has this he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to let it go.

“ Who is your omega? “

Jason doesn’t speak. Dick narrows his eyes, patient fingers turn demanding as they pull on soft brown curls. The alpha yelps away from the touch but the way his dick hardens gives away his arousal.

“ Who Jason- “

Jason’s eyes flit about. It’s clear that he isn’t sure what the right answer is. Bruce in fact is technically the pack omega. Despite the obvious flaws and mistakes made over the years. It’s only natural that Jason would think of his pseudo dame first. At least before.

Not now that Dick is teaching him the proper way an alpha behaves, fucks and submits.

“ You bro- you. “

The purr comes out effortlessly. The pleasure that radiates from that perfectly polite answer makes Dick hungry. Such a good alpha. When their lips meet for a kiss, seafoam green eyes widen. There’s nothing cuter than how gone Jason is for him. Every movement screams disbelief and desire. All while the smoky musk of safe-good-behaving alpha perfumes the air.

Fuck he’s such a good boy. Dick is glad that he’s the first to have his knot. Bruce may play as dame and parent but Dick wouldn’t do the same. As a single, healthy omega he would take and have.

Jason had made it so easy to. The casual, flirty, confident little offers. Typical for a young alpha, hormones and arousal making them blind to the actual hierarchy. He actually thought he would be the one to dominate, set the pace and take.

Silly little standards set by the porn industry. Fairytales that alpha pups clung to in excitement. All in the past now though.

Consent freely given will never be taken back in the presence of true pleasure.

Dick picks up his movements. It makes Jason wheeze like he’s been hit in the gut. A gorgeous sound that joins a litany of breathless, frantic moans. Dick’s own voice becomes loud and free as he indulges. The alpha’s cock is just the right size and shape to rub somewhere magnificent. The more he moves the closer he gets to orgasm.

Even without prompting, the alpha knows what to do.

“ Please- Please omega- use me. Want to feel you cum. Want to be useful- want to be good- “

Jason is good. So so good and perfect. Dick’s eyes nearly roll back from the way those cut muscular hips struggle up to drive him deeper. Movements of a natural breeder really. There will be no trouble the day Dick gives up hardness for softness. The day he has his little alpha fill him up.

Not that they can’t practice until then.

“ You are- So good for me Jason. Such a good alpha. Doing so good- “

The broken keen is distinctively omega. It drives the alpha wild, nearly feral. All while gnashing teeth each movement becomes violent and desperate. Such is the way of a good alpha. Using all their strength to bring their omega to orgasm.

It’s like riding a bull. Dick can’t help a giggling scream as Jason fucks him good and hard, nearly knocking him off in his haste. His body quakes, thundering righteous sounds of pleasure raining free.

He’s going to cum for the fifth time tonight and this time- his good sweet little wing is going to fill him up. The first cream pie the alpha will ever give. Dick will also be the only omega to have the pleasure going forward.

The thought makes him manic.

The second the cock ring comes off Jason's snarl cuts out for a beaten up whimper. Stuttering and sweet as those hazy green eyes turn alert.

" No- no nonononono omega I'll cum- "

Hands frantically scramble as Jason tries to stave off orgasm. Huge knot expanding and inflating at an alarming rate. The first time is always so wondrous the pleasure must be borderline painful. Dick's own pleasure intensifies. He won't let his eyes leave Jason's. The rapture- the pleasure- the unyielding devotion.

It gives a Dick a high.

After this Jason would never be able to be anything but his.

" Omega! Omega please- "

Gut-wrenching little whines fill the space. He begs prettily as he hopelessly attempts to hold himself back. Dick is going to cum. The rising of orgasm hits in relentless waves. Ever going higher and higher as pleasure rips through him.

Helpless blue-green eyes go wide in panic. Looking at Dick like he's a God. Like he is the answer to life's questions. His mercy, his saviour, his light, his world.

Just as an alpha should.

Dick slams down on his knot hard enough to bruise. Jason's mouth opens in a scream but no sound comes out. That's ok though, Dick is loud enough for both of them.

The orgasm is everything it should be

Especially when it's taken at the use of a well-behaving alpha. Jason is crying gorgeous tears. Biting his lip until it bleeds. Hands tearing holes in the sheets of the bed

All while he watches Dick come- muscles straining as he denies himself. Dick's powerful cunt clenching and clamping down on the alpha.

Dick sees the exact moment he breaks.

He grins shakily as his entire body vibrates with the best orgasm of his life.

" cum puppy- cum for omega-"

Jason's release pants his insides with enough force that Dick jerks. It's violent and ruthless. Hot spunk causing the knot to rapidly shrink and expand. It's an odd feeling. His pussy opening and closing as enough cum to breed at least six omegas makes its way inside.

Jason's hand flies to his hip when he tries to get away from it. The foreign feeling is overstimulating. The puncture of alpha claws in his iliac crest is more arousing than painful.

Alpha instincts that prevent an omega from running away from being bred. Dick's eyes flutter as another creamy load makes its way through his walls, through his petite cervix opening to stuff him up in a way that should be painful.

At least if it didn't drag out his own release into something life changing.

The choking sounds Jason makes are so precious. Just as the way he clings and snaps to not bury his fangs into Dick's neck. Not that he would chastise the perfect little alpha for it. As Dick's abdomen starts to swell he realizes that he'll never let Bruce ever touch a hair on his alpha's head again.

" mine "

It's dark and final.

" yo..urs-"

Dick tilts the worn out alpha's head. Muscles and body jumping like it's been electrocuted. The sweet little thing goes with the touch accepting what is to come.

An alpha's claim might be the most common but an omega could do the same if they were possessive enough.

It just took more tries.

Jason jumps as his teeth sink into the delicate expanse neck. High enough to be obvious, dark enough to be clear. Dick's eyes blur as the taste of Jason coats his tongue. Thick and rich like expensive honey wine.

He growls when the alpha tries to move. It makes him still but for good measure Dick pulls him up to shake. It makes his teeth go deeper. It would be impossible not to notice how his good little alpha gets hard again at the action. More cum filling him until it's nearly unbearable.

They would need to do this several more times but that's ok. He doesn't think Jason will have any protest to offer.

When he finally can bring himself to release the eerily silent alpha Dick marvels at his own handy work. Fucked out and pretty. Dick cooes the alpha's full green eyes drag to his.

" G-od Da…mn"

The words come out at a wheeze. The alpha's throat reedy from the bite. Also from the growling and screaming but Dick doesnt want to train that out of him. He likes those sounds just fine.

" blew your mind pup? "

The sparkle comes to life slowly. Like the sun peeking through the clouds and gently lighting up the shimmery surface of a sleepy lake. That's the best part of Jason. Submissive and sweet but too resilient to break. He plays his fingers between sweaty brown curls. The alpha chuckles dry and broken.

" If I g't up, th'nk ma br'ans'll be on ta p'llow. "

Dick chuckles. He kisses the alpha deep and claiming. Blood plays on their lips which does wonders at arousing his younger partner. The alpha's cock is the only thing still up to play at the moment.

The alpha groans at the realization.

" why'mm st'll hard!?"

Dick purrs. He clenches down, pussy too full to do anything else but make a mess of both of them. The feeling of thick alpha cum sliding down his thighs is addicting. Greedy fingers reach down for a taste.

Jason's breath hitches the moment Dick stuffs messy white fingers in his mouth. Perhaps in his eagerness he forgot something pertinent. Like how awful Jason's eating habits have been since joining the Titans.

He winces, bitter and salty.

" No more burgers and junk food Jay. "

The alpha's argument dies the moment Dick moves his hips. The wet lewd sound of their coupling is quickly becoming his favourite thing.

" an alpha's seed is for their omega Jay. It needs to be palatable and fertile. For when you give me pups- and when I want to use that big cock of yours to distract my mouth. "

The alpha's eyes dilate, blown and feral at the statement. Dick thinks he looks devastatingly handsome.

" B-bro-"

A stern hand twists in brown locks.

" Omega! " he yelps to correct. Dick grins.

Well Rome wasn't built in a day.

[my-one-love-is-music]

Write 365 Day 42: Stranded

Tim quickly realized that roughing it in the wild was not a strong skill of his. He was never going to be able to put this kind of thing on a resume because it definitely didn’t come naturally to him and any success he had was probably the result of a little bit of skill and a lot of luck. 

Trying to spear fish was one of the most difficult things he’d ever tried to do in his life. They were quick and the waves distorted their shapes so unless he was very careful, he could easily miss because he speared open water where he thought its body was. 

What he did have on his side was an intense ability to focus and a surprisingly good understanding of how his body moved. 

He dug his feet into the sand, keeping his feet as far apart as his shoulders and his center of gravity low. He was careful not to move his lower body as he twisted his torso and observed the water around him for the fish that would eventually swim past. 

Even with keeping still, his success rate was low and he only managed to catch two fish by the time Jason returned to their quickly growing camp. 

“Wow,” Jason murmured when he saw him carrying the spears with his prizes back from the water. “You know, I wasn’t actually expecting you to catch anything. I’m impressed.” 

Tim grinned and jammed the blunt edges of the spears into the sand, keeping their food from getting covered in the salty grains. “You obviously didn’t give me enough credit. I’m not as helpless as I might seem despite not having to survive in this kind of situation before.” 

“Well I am really glad I was wrong about you this time. I will happily get behind anything that offers a steady supply of food.” 

Tim rolled his eyes. “Good to know my fishing skills are the only thing that matter.” 

“When we’re stranded on a remote island with no way to contact anyone or get long lasting supplies you better believe I’m going to care more about your fishing skills than your ability to basket weave.” He paused, head tilting to the side in thought. “Actually, basket weaving might not be too bad. It would give us something to store our food in.” 

“Well depending on what you plan to do the rest of the day, I can try my hand at basket weaving. I’m sure there’re some long grasses around here that would be useful.” 

“Before you get to that, I’m going to take care of these fish. Can’t let good food go to waste.” 

Tim watched Jason grab one of the thin pieces of metal and rinse it off in the water. He pulled one of the spears out of the sand on his way back and situated himself in front of a rock, carefully working the metal against the fish to rub off the scales. 

Tim was glad the small pieces of metal had some use. The few things he’d found already made a difference compared to what they were working with before. If they already had this much to work with, there had to be more stuff lurking under the waves.

He pushed himself to his feet. “I’m going to take another look in the water and see what else I can find that might help us out. Let me know when the food is ready.” 

Jason looked up and grinned. “Or I could just keep this all to myself.” 

Tim narrowed his eyes. “Don’t forget who caught that. If you eat my food I’ll gut you.” 

Jason whistled. “It’s only our first day working together and you’re already threatening to kill me? I’m hurt.” 

Tim smirked. “If I did do that, there’s no one around that could prove it,” he teased.  

He turned and walked off, laughing quietly under his breath. 

Jason watched Tim go, unable to stop the small smile that pulled at his lips. As rude as he’d been to Tim when they first met, he was glad he’d pulled his head out of his ass and offered him the olive branch. 

Tim had done little to surprise him and they’d only really talked to each other for a few hours. The most ideal person he could’ve been paired up with in this scenario was someone with exceptional survival skills, but since the odds of that ever happening in this kind of situation were slim, he was glad that he had Tim with him. 

Tim’s mind worked in a way that was different from his own and Jason was sure that was going to benefit them in the end. Their survival experience might not be perfect and he knew there would be a mountain of hardships they’d be faced with as they waited for someone to come rescue them, but he was confident they would be able to manage well enough. 

If anything, they would have a decent supply of fish to eat while they stayed here. And it beat being stuck on an island alone. That would’ve no doubt made him go a little crazy. 

If you enjoy my work, please reblog or consider buying me a ko-fi!

[professorxwolf]

We Need to Talk | C&J

What: A quick Skype continuation of the thread where Ciaran finally tells Jason about Clay’s death.

When: About..three weeks ago?

Where: Dark Moon pub, after closing.

TW: Death mentions

@professor-shaw

Jason: Jason Shaw hadn’t eaten much of a meal tonight, too worried about whatever the wolf’s text was even about. It had come at an odd time and it lacked their usual banter, simply asking that he come before closing hours with no motive or reason whatsoever. So yeah, that was weird, but the human had driven over anyway, jumping out of the car in order to walk up inside.

At first, his eyes landed on the usual crowd, already starting to gather their stuff and emptying the remainder of their drink, but Ciaran caught his eye real soon, looming over the bar cleaning. Fuck. What the hell was going on? He’d never seen him look like that. Was it about Kai? Frowning lightly at the offer, he pulled back a stool and sat, running a hand down his face. “Eh..sure? What’s up, man? You okay?”

Ciaran: Was he okay? Wasn't that the million-dollar question. Ciaran had been asked that more times than he could count in the last few months, and wasn't sure if he had given an honest answer even once. Seems like tonight would be no different. A broad shoulder rose and fell in an almost helpless shrug, but nothing more than a muttered 'Aye' left the wolf's lips. Once the last straggler was finally out the door, he poured himself a whiskey, the forgoing of his beloved Guinness likely further hammering home how dire the situation was.

When Jace sat, he reached out and squeezed the male's shoulder, needed that contact. But then, never one to beat around the bush, it was all out after a long sip of his drink. "Clay's dead." He stated tonelessly, navy eyes unable to meet Shaw's. "The whole pack..they're all gone"

Jason: Call him whatever you like, but Jace didn't like the way Ciaran was looking at him..and that, that just wasn’t the norm around the werewolf. Not once. It was almost like the man wasn’t there, his squeeze so cold and distant that Shaw never noticed his choosing whiskey over guinness.. but then again, he wasn’t expecting the news either.

At first, Jason stared back at the other..squinting his eyes as though he let himself believe it --Clay. His..their Clay..gone.. but somehow it didn’t take, his lips parting with a chuckle instead."...right, and I’m next in line for the throne of England.” he managed, eyes seeking the others. “What are you on about, dude? How do you even know?”

Ciaran: Huh... Not the reaction he was expecting. Shock and disbelief, sure. But flat out thinking that he could even begin to joke about such a thing? That wasn't something Ciaran was prepared for. Though he couldn't blame the other in the slightest, as who would want to wrap their minds around such a tragedy? Unwilling to repeat himself though, he simply leveled Shaw with a look that should have told him everything.

"Qhuinn told me. She felt it before anyone got to tell her, think that I may have too a little. Or maybe it was just her pain, dunno. She's not in good shape mate, no matter what she might be tellin' ya and Quinten. She ain't in any good shape at all" Ciaran sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "Kai and Lexi were the ones to find them. They were slaughtered Jason..the whole fuckin' pack"

Jason: Jace frowned at the next look to come from Ciaran --no, he scoffed, and flat out slapped the hand off his shoulder, leaning back against the stool as if..a sense of no gravity had suddenly swallowed him whole. "No..you're still.." he managed, chuckling still..only this time his laugh was a lot drier, more forced than anything else. You just didn't bring up Qhuinn around Jason and not expect get things through to him. Especially when it all made perfect sense. Yes..she had been acting strange for the past few weeks. And yes, it'd raised the alarms with Quinten. So what if what Ciaran was saying here was really real?

Swallowing, Jace brought his fingers to his face and skimmed it down his face too.. "W-wait, Lexi knows too..? Kai? S'that why he left..?" Baiting a much needed inhale, it seemed like the human finally cracked, eyes getting all glassy all of a sudden. Inside of him, though, he could feel a very different kind of emotion growing. He was angry.. fuck if he was.."..when, Ciaran? When did this whole thing happen?"

Ciaran: The slap had his wolf, always boiling so close to the surface these days, coming to life. He was able to easily push back the instinct to snap back, both literally and figuratively. This was Shaw, his mate. One of the damn best ones that he had. And he never meant him any harm. So Ciaran polished off his whiskey in one smooth swallow as the other seemed to take everything in, there with a refill for them both when the truth hit Jason. "I'm so sorry mate.." He started, lips soon pressing together when the inevitable questions came.

"No, I think they had just gone for a visit. Kai..wasn't exactly a well of information. Left without a fuckin' word, if I'm bein' honest here." But that was neither here nor there, as his mission right now was to help Jason through this. When those startling emerald eyes showed the sheen of tears, Ciaran reached out again. "Not long ago. A week? Maybe two. Don't..be mad at them. Be mad at me, for not steppin' up sooner"

Jason: He shouldn't have been so brusque. And yes, he should have probably never laughed when Ciaran had done the one thing nobody else had had the balls to do...but his instincts had got him beat. Even more so now, as he wiped the tears off his face..refusing to be touched by anyone or anything as he swallowed down the missing bits of information that pieced the puzzle together.. incapable of uttering a single word that was close to intelligible. He didn't know what to say, not about Kai, not about how much Ciaran didn't deserve any of that..or this --no, Jace just turned a looked to the side becoming angered suddenly when the wolf mentioned how long it'd been. "Don't touch me, please. I can't do this."

Balling one of his hands into a fist, Jace reached for the booze, frowning something bad. Yes, he was mad at the two women..but he wouldn't bother arguing with Ciaran now.. "..do we know who did this..? Was it..hunters, maybe? When are we going to get them back for it?"

Ciaran: Ciaran dropped his hand at Jason's request, holding his arms up in a gesture of surrender as he took a step back and gave the other male his space. Even though all he wanted to do was grab him and hold on as they both mourned, seeking the comfort that deep down he felt he'd been denied. Or rather, that he hadn't opened himself up for. "Sorry.." The wolf muttered, downing another glass full. At this rate they were both going to be crashing in his office, but he had a feeling Shaw gave about as few fucks about that as he did.

"Don't be mad" Ciaran repeated. "Think of what they've been through. Lexi, havin't to find him that way. And Qhuinn, losin' him and her whole goddamn family. They couldn't do it..so I did. Don't channel the anger that ya feel at them" It wasn't so much advice as it was a command. He loved Jason like his own, but if he found out that a single harsh word had been said to either of those poor girls...

"Aye, hunters. And Kai found 'em. That's what he was doin' all this fuckin' time" Without access to a phone apparently, but that was neither here nor there. "Killed 'em. But it came with..consequences.."

Jason: As terrible as he knew he would be feeling much later, Jason still did not make a single move towards the other. He was scared he would break down..and let himself feel more than he could possibly handle now..or ever..no matter how difficult to believe things were. He needed /his/ time-- the time that he hadn't had those two weeks, while he was leading his life as normal..completely ignorant of everything. Again. "I can't help it, man...they kept it from me." the human shook his head, swallowing harshly. Ciaran was right.. fuck if he was, but he wasn't being rational right now..

It was a relief, however small, that the hunters had been dealt with..and so he nodded, rubbing at his face again before emptying the glass of liquor in front of him..then pushing it over for a refill. "For what's worth..I'm sorry. Same about Kai....is he okay?"

Ciaran: Ciaran's lips tightened into a thin line. Jason was the furthest thing from cruel, so he knew that he really had no reason to worry. But grief had a way of making people say shit that they didn't mean. "Not on purpose mate.. They ain't stoppin' and sayin' 'hey let's keep this from Jace because the bastard don't deserve to know'. Aye? They didn't tell ya because they couldn't. Because their grief is too strong for them to bear right now. Is it wrong? Is it right? Who the fuck knows. But it's what they needed in the moment. And I know they feel shit enough about it too so they don't need ya makin' it worse. Ya got every right to be hurt my brother, I ain't sayin' that ya don't. I'm just sayin' to not take it out on them" Ciaran of course couldn't speak for Lexi, but if she looked like as much of a ghost of herself as Qhuinn did, then there was no doubt she carried just as much guilt.

The wolf crossed his arms over a frame that had gotten a bit leaner over the last month or so, tucking in his hands so that he didn't reach for Shaw again. "Cheers. I am too love, ya lot knew him a fuck of a lot longer than I did. But he showed me nothing but kindness at a time when I needed it, and for that I will always hold him in high regard" Ciaran replied softly. At the question about Kai, all he could do was shake his head. "No.. I mean, physically he's fine. But he's..different. Everythin' about him is different"

Jason: The human let out a low groan and rolled his eyes, not taking well to being lectured about the right way to feel right now. About what he should or shouldn't do..how wrong it would be to be upset at Qhuinn or Lexi.. But yes, he listened, grinding his teeth and staring at the Irish man from across the table with the same glassy eyes from before..only darker, his body tense as he squeezed his fingers around the glass in front of him. Damn Ciaran for having a point.. "..I know..I know that they would have told me if this wasn't bigger than them. I know that. That they did none of this on purpose. But it still hurts..." he choked, angrier..even more upset, if possible. "..t-that I was the last to know..Qhuinn tells me everything../everything/, hard or not...and I thought, I don't know..at the very least I deserved to know. Tell me, if you hadn't stepped up..would I?..or would I have kept goin' about my life not knowin' my friend was dead like I have for TWO weeks? I mean, way to honor his fuckin' memory, mate."

Shaw brought the whiskey glass to his lips again and dampened his lips before taking another long sip, clearing his throat as he let his thoughts visit the memories he had with and about Clay. "..we hadn't spoken that much this past year ..we'd grown apart a bit.. and I was plannin' on fixin' that, guess I never will now." he said, smiling weakly at what Ciaran said about the alpha. Kai, however, erased that soon. "..different meaning..you guys aren't okay anymore? ..you still love eachother..right?"

Ciaran: Ciaran frowned slightly at Jason's reactions. But, in all fairness, he supposed he had gone all dad on the bloke. But he just hated the idea of more strain being put on those women. They both looked as if they could crack any day as it was, something that he could relate all too well to. But that didn't mean that he couldn't see his friend's point as well. "I know darlin'" He muttered, the little term of endearment slipping easily past his lips. "And again I ain't sayin' that ya don't have every right to be upset, because ya do. Just..try and help each other, aye? Take that grief, all that anger..and try and turn it into love. Clay wouldn't have wanted any of us to do anythin' else." He pointed out, then had the grace to flush as Shaw continued. "I'm sorry that I took so long to tell ya. That's all on me and I accept full responsibility. But I promise..ya would have been told. Likely still by me. But if not, by someone" He assured him, as empty as those words seemed to even his own ears.

"Aye...same. I know that Qhuinn had planned on goin' sometime over the summer and I was gonna join her. He knew that we loved him though. Ya gotta believe that Jason. He knew how loved he was. He had to, with so much love around him" Ciaran gave the other a tight smile, those shoulders lifting and falling once again. "If I'm bein' honest..I dunno. He ain't himself, though he insists that he is. Just a better version of himself. He made.." The wolf paused, once again trying to make sense of what had happened to Kai. "Some kind of pact. With a goddess, if ya can believe that. She helped him find the hunters, but it came with a price. He belongs to her now, or some shit like that. I swear to fuck Jace..I'm a werewolf and I didn't even believe that somethin' like that could even happen. Fuckin' daft of me, ain't it.."

Jason: "..tell me, do you ever get tired of doin' the right thing?" Jason blurted out, mostly still out of anger..which likely bubbled under the surface. It was an ongoing problem with him..and more often than not, it ate him up..especially in moments like this. That, is exactly why he took the other's lecture the way he did, running his fingers across his hair and covering his face with the same hand for a few seconds at the end, defeated at last. "..I'll try my best to do that..just promise me you won't pull the 'what clay would've wanted' card again--please?..not this soon.." A lot felt like too soon right now. Everything did. Licking the taste of liquor off his lip, Shaw looked up as the werewolf seemed to take responsibility for the late news, reaching out to give the other man's wrist a gentle squeeze..at damn last. "..it was never you job to do this..but thanks for bitin' the bullet. I...don't know what to say anymore.." Did he believe he would've been told? Not right now, no.. but Jace was done arguing.

Nodding yet again..but this time at the mention of plans to visit Vancouver, the human bit back the tears again and chose to focus on the Kai subject instead, saddened to hear that Ciaran was having relationship trouble on top of all this...on top of having to tell him.. "..well, if you ever need to crash somewhere else for a bit of space, time..anythin'...you know my place is yours." he shrugged, "But you ought to listen to him too, even if his leavin' was..wrong and unfair, by all means. See if you can love this new version of him.."

Ciaran: Ciaran couldn't help but bark a dark, humorless laugh at that little comment. Jason had been there through nearly everything he'd done and been through in the last two years, so it truly amused the wolf that he could still ask that. Even in the angrily joking manner that it was clearly meant. "Really? Ya should know the answer to that as well as I do. I've made my share of mistakes..real shit ones too. And ya can chalk this up as one of them" He relented, a long sigh deflating his lean form as well. "Sorry love, ya right. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just..tryin'. Ya know? That's all I feel like I ever fuckin' do, is try." The Irishman smiled tightly at the touch to his wrist, absorbing the simply human contact as he briefly covered Jace's fingers with his own before giving the other his space again. "I know..neither do it. What can we say, ya know?"

Another tight smile curved the man's lips, as he was now on the receiving end of a lecture. "I did, I have. And I get why he stayed away for so long. I would have done the same. I have done the same. But it don't change the fact that he left with no word, and stayed away for that long without lettin' us know if he was still even fuckin' alive. Not just me, but Kyle. The one that he made a promise to protect. I look at him now and I just see..nothin' Jace. No love. No emotion. No passion. He's like a robot now. I feel like.." Ciaran shook his head, swallowing hard. "I feel like I lost him too"

Jason: Jason looked up at the sound of that humorless laugh and felt himself lean back gently, mostly coming to terms with the countless times he had been the one to do what he was accusing the wolf of doing. Wanting to be surprised he realized, but still struggling to be.. "..well, for what is worth, you've kept me from makin' one." he said, clearly hinting at his earlier intentions of confronting the two women about his not knowing when they were not doing so hot themselves. It would have been selfish..and chances are he would have regretted it deeply. "..it's fine. I'm not really seein' things for what they are right now..m'too upset.." Jace offered, letting go off a wavering sigh at the contact as well, brief as that was, and reached out for the bottle to pour them both a refill, assuming they would be needing more than just a few socially acceptable drinks that evening.

Loosing Clay was not something he had ever thought possible and it was still hard to accept, as it would be for some time. "Y'know, I always thought I'd be the first to go.." He said, sucking in a soft inhale before their topic shifted to Kai again, his body tilting forward to hear all his friend had to say. "..yeah, no..you're right on that one. He could have at least left you a note telling you not to worry or where he was headed...as useless as that would've been. Maybe it would've been a comfort.." Shaw frowned,  falling quiet, or quieter anyway..the second the irishman mentioned something about feeling like he had lost him too.. "Fuck, I'm sorry, man...have you tried talking to Lexi or somethin'? Those two seem close..and maybe..I don't know, she might give you an insight, help you deal with this..but how you feel.." he started, reaching out for that touch again, "It ain't wrong..okay? Kai's got to see that too. It's you two against the problem."

Ciaran: "Aye..cheers for that. I'll consider it my good dead for the day" Ciaran joked weakly. Though really, if he did one good thing that day, that week, he would consider it a fucking success. "I still believe that we gotta get each other through this though. We're still a family" He pointed out lowly, dark head nodding at the others words. "Fuck, I don't even know if I'm seein' things clear yet. It's gonna take a while, it's just..too big of a loss to absorb all at once. We're all gonna mourn and deal with it in our own way, ya know?" The wolf let out a long sigh as well, accepting the refill with a small nod.

"Huh..me too. And not just because I'm older. He just seemed..immortal almost. Like nothin' could touch him" Ciaran agreed, downing his drink in one shot and absently reaching for the bottle. He did smile a bit, a genuine one, at Shaw's reassurance. It was nice to hear that he wasn't being an unreasonable git about the whole thing. Communication was important in any relationship, and in his mind, Kai had flushed it all right down the shitter. "Fuckin' would have been, instead of spendin' the last month tryin' to convince myself and Kyle that he was okay and comin' back. Bloody dragon is a trooper though. I wouldn't have gotten through it all without him" Ciaran admitted, then shook his head. "Nah..don't wanna bother her with my shit. If Kai has somethin' to say, somethin' he needs from me, he needs to be the one to tell me, ya know? That's the only way we can move forward" He reasoned, then gave another tight smile. "Thanks..really. I feel like I'm bein'..a real asshole about this. Like I'm the one in the wrong again. But I didn't do anythin' this time, for fuck's sake. I'm so bloody tired of bein' made to feel that way"

Jason: Jason smiled back at the werewolf just as weakly, glad that at least he could bring the tinniest bit of relief to them both. "..yeah, that's what I had hoped, but apparently they need their time. Maybe I just got scared they just didn't need me anymore..or that I was too human..again, you know?" he huffed, "I can't believe how selfish I sound..makin' it all about m'self." Shaw nodded through the rest of the other's words, and caught himself almost not wanting to leave here..dreading having to mourn Clay on his own..as well as telling everyone why he suddenly wasn't up for certain things. Like Celine's party.

"..yeah, you're old as dirt, man. You sure you don't dye your beard already?" Jace frowned, trying to look and sound serious but ultimately breaking into an awkward laugh, not sure his joke landed the way he saw it in his head. "I mean...how old are you again?" Taking a lengthy swing of his glass, he let the talk..happy to switch topics back to the new issue concerning Ciaran, eyes scanning his face when he spoke about some Kyle and what role he had in their relationship. Not that he was opposed to it, but they'd barely touched on it before. "..yeah, but I feel like sometimes we are too scared to reach out too, you know? Be it because you've built these theories in your head that it wouldn't be well received..or fuck knows..I just hope y'all can fix it.. " he shook his head, "You care..and there's nothin' wrong with that...take it easy..do what you feel is right."

Ciaran: "Ah love, ya don't sound selfish at all. Ya sound like what ya are: a fuckin' stand-up guy that anyone would be lucky to have for a friend. I can't speak for Lexi, but I'm sure that she needs ya just as much as Qhuinn does. Give 'em their time, they'll come around. Though.." Ciaran paused, raking a hand through his dark hair. "May not be my place but..fuck it. It is. Like I said, we're all family. I'm worried about the girl. I ain't seen her cry, or mourn in any way. Ain't natural Jace. At all. Ya keep an eye on her, yeah? Ya and Quinten have the best chance of gettin' through to her"

His peace said, Ciaran continued to finish cleaning, noting the late hour. He should get home, though he wasn't entirely sure if Kai worried anymore. But, he also kind of had a feeling that Shaw wanted to be alone to start absorbing everything. "Fuck..ya found out my secret. Better be as loyal as we all think ya are and not tell anyone" He actually laughed, running a hand along his dark stubble. "Last I checked..one hundred and seventy-seven. I really am an old fuck, but believe it or not there are those who are older" Ciaran chuckled again, then went silent as he took Jason's words to heart, as always. Do what you feel is right... Did he even know what that was anymore? "Aye..aye, ya right. I just need to figure out what that is. Easy peasy, right?" Ciaran smirked, shaking his head as his eyes fell on the antique clock. Fuck..was it really almost three in the morning? "Shit..time flies don't it? We should both get a move on, yeah? No need to fuel the rumor mill if someone catches us crashin' in my office together" He teased, eyes full of gratitude and fondness as he smiled lightly at Jason. "We'll talk again soon. Ya take the time that ya need" Ciaran vowed, as they made their moves to part for the night.

[controloffandoms]

Princess of Themyscira Pt. 3

Prompt: So this was all part of a dream I had recently… (The first time I’ve actually had a dream about a series I was working on)

Pairing: Older!Damian Wayne x Amazonian!reader, Diana Prince x Sister!reader

Words: 4680

Warnings: cursing (probably), overbearing parent, emotional abuse (if you squint), depressing near the end

Notes: Like I said, this was part of a dream I had about Princess of Themyscira and it was too good to pass up. Let me know what you think!!!

Part 1     Part 2     Part 4     Part 5

Dinner went well. The time was spent with Jason and Dick asking more about your life. You may have known the identities of the bats, but you only really talked to Damian. Jason and Dick were nice enough guys, you didn’t have any problems with them, but there was something about Damian that made you want to tell him everything. With Jason and Dick, you hit the main points of your life, but you didn’t tell them everything like you did with Damian. 

Tim was another story. He was quiet and calculating. Everything you said, he seemed to analyze and make a mental file of you. He didn’t say much or eat much, but he had cup after cup of coffee (which you couldn’t understand. The stuff was horrendous). When he did speak, it was usually directed towards one of the other guys at the table. You couldn’t help but feel like he was judging you by what he had seen when he had been in battle at Themyscira. 

After dinner, Damian had taken you out for patrol. It was a different experience than you had with Diana. He pointed out all of the prime crime spots while also pointing out some of his favorite spots. You both had a pretty quiet night, stopped a few muggers, before he was leading you back to the cave. “We can go back out tomorrow if you would like,” Damian had suggested.

“I would really like that,” you smiled as you both walked up the steps to enter the mansion again. Not long after, he was bidding you goodnight outside the door of your temporary room. You watched him walk to his own room which was only a couple of doors down the hallway. 

You got ready for bed, staring at the mirror a little longer after you had brushed out your hair. Your appearance had changed with the addition of the god to your body. Your eyes were no longer a (Y/C) color, they glowed a light blue. Your skin was practically cleared of imperfections, other than the occasional scar from battle. Not to mention that your skin looked softer, it looked like it glowed. Your hair looked the healthiest it had ever been. Your reflection caught you off guard most nights. 

The bed was huge. It practically dwarfed your figure when you laid in it. It was comforting in some ways. In other ways, it was a little depressing. It made you think of the rooms in the palace. It made you think of when you were younger and you would sneak in on Diana, ambushing her in the bed that could easily fit five grown women. 

Diana. She had always been there for you when you needed her. Now, here you were doing nothing as she possibly ran into danger. Some Princess of Themyscira you were, you were hiding from the danger, hiding from your people while Diana was out there doing her job as a protector of Themyscira. 

You don’t remember leaving the bed and walking into the hallway. You don’t remember getting to his door. This is stupid, you thought. You turned to leave, but something held you there. Thoughts racing, you raised your hand and knocked. Why did you do that. This is stupid, you started moving away from the door, but he stopped you.

His hair was slightly unkempt. He hadn’t been to sleep yet, you could tell by how alert he still was. He was only in a pair of boxers so you could see the well defined muscles that were hidden under his clothes and vigilante wear. Your eyes slowly slid up to his who held a bit of amusement but also concern for you. “Is everything alright?”

You opened your mouth and quickly closed it again. You weren’t even sure why you had knocked on his door. You placed a hand on the back of your neck and looked away from him. “I-uhm-I just...I am unable to sleep. But I am realizing that I am interrupting your sleep, so I will be going back to the guest room now.”  

You turned from him and started to walk away, but his hand shot out and gripped you wrist gently. He turned you back to him, tugging you a little closer. “Stay.” It was quiet and soft, something you didn’t associate with Damian Wayne. He cleared his throat, “it’s hard sleeping somewhere unfamiliar. If you would like to sit and talk until you feel tired enough to sleep, I wouldn’t mind being the person you talk to.” A small smile graced your face at the ever rising pink on his cheeks. “I mean, you don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion,” he hurried after you didn’t respond. 

“I think that is a good suggestion...but only if I am not disturbing you,” you replied, a blush quickly covering your own cheeks. 

A bright smile greeted you as you looked back up to Damian. He pulled you lightly into the room, gesturing to the bed. “You can take the bed.”

“The beds in this place are humongous. I think it is big enough for the both of us, yes? I mean, I do not want to put you out of your own bed.” You sat on the edge of the bed hesitantly as Damian moved ever closer. 

He walked to the other side of the bed, getting in and situating himself so that he was popped up on one arm, looking directly at you. You copied the stance, keeping your body near the edge of the bed. “You said it yourself, the bed is huge. You can scoot closer so you’re not on the edge of the bed, (Y/N),” he lightly joked. 

The blush darkened as you scooted closer. “Thank you for being so understanding, Damian. I have never had this problem before.”

“I told Diana I would look out for you. I promised myself that I would look out for you when you decided to accept my offer to leaving Themyscira. If you can’t sleep, I’ll do my best to help you feel comfortable enough to sleep. “ He brushed a piece of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear. “Besides, I couldn’t sleep either.”

You shuffled closer without realizing it. You couldn’t control the smirk that graced your face. “Is this how all men prepare for bed? I would think you would get chilly,” you innocently stated as you pointed at Damian’s attire. 

The blush that dusted his cheeks was worth all of the embarrassment you felt at being in this situation in the first place. He soon gained his cool again, his own smirk making its way to his face. “I personally like to feel a cool breeze during the night. The duvet can cause you to overheat. Not to mention it seems to attract a certain female to spend more time with me,” his smirk softened to a genuine smile as he looked directly at you. 

A small frown found your face as you looked away from his face. “Your body attracts women? Who is this female that spends more time with you because of your body? She should spend more time with you because of your amazing personality, not your body!” You were angry. Sure, he was good to look at but if that was the only reason this ‘certain female’ hung out with him, she wasn’t right for him. There is so much more to Damian than his looks.

Damian’s free hand gripped your chin, slowly turning you to face him again. He had a smirk on his face again, but his eyes were kind. “I like to think that she sees more to me than my body, but the body is a plus. She understands me more than any other person does. She was able to get me to open up to her from the very beginning which is something that I never thought possible. She’s beautiful in more ways than just physical. She’s intelligent and kind. She’s loyal and a natural leader. She cares more about others than she does herself. She’s strong and incredible. She’s absolute perfection.”

Noticing your frown still on your face, Damian came closer, releasing your face and wrapping an arm around your waist, pulling you flush to him. “She’s you,” he whispered, staring into your eyes like he was staring at your soul.

You didn’t know what to say. You felt the blush return. You’d never had these feelings before. Your stomach was fluttering, your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, and your breath caught in your throat. You let instinct take over, placing a hand on the back of his neck, you brought his head down to yours. 

The first kiss was tentative. You’d never kissed another person before. It seemed you had shocked Damian, as he had tensed at first before immediately relaxing and pulling you closer. You both pulled away, separating only slightly. You opened your eyes, not realizing you had closed them. You imagined you had a similar look in your eyes that Damian had. His eyes were alight with happiness, they were practically sparkling. 

He leaned back in, capturing your lips again. This time he moved his lips against you and you began to match his movements. You gasped as his tongue jetted against your bottom lip. That gave him the opening he had wanted. His tongue explored your mouth and he sighed into the kiss. Slowly you put a little space between your heads as you caught your breath. You could feel the flush on your face and imagined it matched the man laying across from you. 

You were practically laying on top of him by this point. “That was,” you started quietly, trying to gather your thoughts. You ducked your head, placing it on Damian’s chest as you felt your face heating up even more. 

You moved with his chest as he chuckled breathlessly. “Yeah,” was all he responded with. He dropped a kiss to your hair. “I think,” he paused, “I think we should get to sleep. We need to be up early tomorrow. We can talk more later,” he whispered. 

You moved to get off of Damian, assuming that was your cue to leave. His arms tightened around you. You looked up, confused. “Stay,” was all he said.

_________________

You woke up slowly, snuggling into the warmth that surrounded you. As your mind begins to awaken, you started to feel the imaginary shapes being drawn on your body. You shifted slightly, burying your head in the darkness you could find. “Time to get up, Beloved,” his voice was husky. 

You sighed, mind not fully catching on to the situation, and moved closer to the warmth, wrapping your arms around it. Your body moved in time with the chuckles that the man beside you let out. “Beloved…(Y/N), we must get up.” You felt lips graze the side of your head as your mind caught up with you. 

Last night replayed in your mind as you slowly pulled away from Damian. Your eyes cautiously looked up to his and you gave him a shy smile. Damian just stared at you, a smile on his own face. “Morning, Beloved,” he whispered as he closed the space between you and gave you a sweet kiss. 

Your smile brightened after the kiss. “Morning, Damian.” You placed a kiss to his cheek and returned to watching his face. You had never felt this way before...so happy, so ready to listen to Damian all day, so in love. “You said we had an early day?” 

He placed a kiss on your forehead before moving to get out of the bed. “That we do. We need to go to the Watchtower to contact Diana, Clark, and Father. They’ll tell us of any developments.” 

You got up as well, turning to leave the room. “I will be ready in five minutes.” Before you could leave the room, his arms wrapped around you, bringing you back to him. He leaned down, capturing your lips with his again. You hummed into the kiss. He parted first, leaning his forehead against yours. “We need to get ready, Dams,” you sighed.

“I know.” He gave you a chaste kiss before releasing you. You turned to leave the room, feeling as if you were floating on cloud nine. “Beloved, you are hovering, you might want to plant your feet on the ground to get out of the door.” 

You blushed, stumbling slightly as you landed which made you blush even more. “I will see you in five minutes,” you mumbled, hurrying out the door. 

________________

You stand regally in the Watchtower. There was a possibility that your mother would be joining the video feed and it was disrespectful to be sitting in her presence. Damian had offered you a seat when you both arrived, but you had politely declined it. You were nervous, you hadn’t seen your mother since you had left Themyscira. 

The feed picked up a signal from Themyscira and soon you were looking at Diana, Clark, Bruce, and your mother. You stood even straighter at her presence. Of course she couldn’t let Diana, Clark, and Bruce fill you in by themselves. ���Greetings, Queen Hippolyta,” Hal Jordan stated. He was left in charge of the Justice League while Superman and Batman were gone. 

“Yes, greetings. We do not have long to talk. Let us get straight to the point.” She seemed to eye everyone in the room. “Princess (Y/N), you shall return to Themyscira immediately. As for the rest of you, be prepared for Darkseid’s next attack. We believe that he has fully recharged and will be planning an attack in the near future. We all need to be ready for anything he can think to throw at us. We will let you know when Darkseid’s forces return.”

You had stiffened at the order. Part of your mind, the part that held your loyalty, was telling you to follow the Queen’s demands. The other part, the part that held your feelings for Damian, was telling you to say no. “If Darkseid were to attack outside Themyscira, as I am sure he is aware we would be prepared for that, while Diana, Superman, and Batman are in Themyscira, should I not be where I could do the most damage to his siege on the world?” You hadn’t realized you’d voiced your thoughts until most of the room was looking back to you.

“I will not tolerate your attitude and temper tantrum any longer. You are the heir to the throne, you will return at once and act like the rightful heir to the throne. Diana will be there to protect the rest of the world. You will protect Themyscira. I saved you, brought you in and cared for you as my own. You will do as I say and return home.” 

You glared at the screen, holding back what you really wanted to say to the Queen. “If I do not return,” you asked.

“You will return and that is final,” she shouted. 

You flinched at the tone. You had never made your mother angry before. You bowed your head slightly, clearing your throat. “Yes, my Queen.” Looking at the screen, you could see Diana’s apologetic face. Whether it was for you or everyone else, you weren’t sure. 

The meeting went on, but your mind was blank. You had finally realized your feelings for Damian, and now you were being forced away from him. You couldn’t stand to say goodbye to him, so as they all continued to debrief, you walked back to the Zeta tubes, and left.

This is not a wise decision. Darkseid will not attack Themyscira again. He will try somewhere else. If you return, you will surely not be able to leave again. Queen Hippolyta does not care for the rest of the world. You nodded, knowing Zeus was right...but your mind wouldn’t let you continue to disrespect your mother. If you go, Damian could die. 

“Do not,” you growled. “I do not wish to go back, but I must. If I can prove to Mother that she does not truly need me, then I can come back. Not to mention that you have the ability of flight. If we want to leave, they can not stop us.” With that, you started your trek to Themyscira. 

______________

You watched the ground of Themyscira, trying to find Diana. She was sitting in the spot you used when you got upset. You lowered yourself to sit next to her. She looked to the side as you sat, giving you a small sigh. “I did not know Mother was planning on making you come back. I would have told Damian to leave you at the manor had I known. I am sorry.”

You brought her into a side hug. You weren’t mad at her. You couldn’t be. “It is not your fault, dear sister. It is Mother’s. Promise that you will call me whenever Darkseid attacks. I do not want you all to perish at his hands.”

“I promise you. I also promise to call you at least every other day to let you know how everyone is doing. You promise to call me if Darkseid were to attack here,” she asked.

“Always Sister.” You both spent some more time in silence, just overlooking the sea as it crashed against the cliff. After a while, you turned fully to Diana. “I was planning on telling you when you got back because I did not fully understand it...but I have these indescribable feelings towards Damian. Last night, he showed me that he felt the same, but I still do not completely understand it.” You looked away, brushing a tear away, “I did not say goodbye to him. I left without him knowing and I feel terrible for it. Diana, what is going on,” you asked. 

She had a sad smile on her face when you turned back to her. She pulled you back to her, letting you rest your head in the crook of her neck like you did when you were younger. “It is love, dearest (Y/N). You feel happy around him, want to do anything and everything to make him happy. You want to protect him with your life because without him, you feel you could not live. You open up to him more than you do to others you care about as does he. You feel terrible for leaving him because he matters more to you than yourself or others that you care about. I am sorry your time with him has been cut short.” 

It was silent again as you thought over her words. She was not wrong, everything she said made your heart pang. “Will you tell him of my affections when you go back,” you asked. 

She smiled again, “if you would want that. We could record him a message so that you could tell him yourself.” You nodded in acceptance of the plan. 

Diana set up her communication line to record, while you tried to figure out the right words to say. As Diana finished setting up, you looked at her wide-eyed. “What do I say to him, Diana?” 

__________________

Damian searched for you after the meeting adjourned. He was slowly beginning to panic when he couldn’t find you. He was going to help you figure out the situation with your mother, but he couldn’t do that if he couldn’t find you. He searched the Watchtower, eventually roping in his siblings to help find you. It wasn’t too hard to convince them. 

“Demon Spawn, Tim has something,” Jason called to the young man. 

Damian said nothing, just followed Jason. That was what worried Jason. Usually Damian would use some sniping comment after being called Demon Spawn. Jason had thought something was going on with Damian since you had arrived over a year ago from Themyscira. The guy was happier and easier going than usual. When you had arrived at the house yesterday, it was like watching a love sick puppy following you around, not to mention that Damian talked openly to you about his past which he had never done with any of his siblings, not even Dick. Jason was afraid of what Damian would do when he realized that you had left without an explanation. 

“Little Bird,” he sighed as they reached Tim. “Don’t do anything rash, okay?”

Damian turned to him slightly, frowning. “Have you found my Beloved or not, Todd,” he growled. The room was silent at the use of a term of endearment. Damian raised an eyebrow at his brothers in the room. “Now is not the time to be playing games.”

“She left during the debrief,” Tim sighed, pulling up a video.

Damian could clearly see you backing out of the room, a frown on your face. The screen changed and he watched as you walked into the zeta tube. Again, the frame changed and he saw you in front of the zeta tube you had exited. You stopped and seemed to be talking. From the lack of anyone around, you were talking to Zeus. Then, you took off, flying through the air.

The room was silent and still. Damian was staring at where the video had been, his hands clenching. How had this day gone so wrong? He woke up to you snuggling close to him. He had watched you sleep for hours, drawing imaginary shapes on your exposed stomach. He had played with your hair and given you small pecks all across your face. When you had begun to wake, you had refused the idea, burrowing into him. The kisses you had shared that morning were also fresh on his mind. 

Without saying a word, he walked towards the zeta tubes and left the watchtower.

________________

Diana and Bruce exited the jet. Diana had explained to Bruce that she needed to talk with Damian. Bruce, the world’s greatest detective, had already suspected what was going on with his son and you. Having seen you after you had returned to Themyscira, Bruce was certain that his suspicions were right. 

The pair walked up the steps to enter the mansion and were greeted with everyone other than Damian in the living room. Dick was the first to notice them. “Diana, please tell me (Y/N) is with you.”

“I am sorry, she is not. She has returned to Themyscira upon Mother’s insistence. I am here with a message from her, where is Damian,” she asked.

“In his room. He hasn’t left since we returned from the watchtower,” Tim responded. “But I would be careful upon entry. He’s already almost taken Dick’s head off when he went to check on him.”

Diana nodded her head. She felt bad for the young man. She felt bad for her sister. This whole situation was a depressing mess. From helping her sister record the message, she understood just how much Damian meant to her. She could only guess how much you meant to Damian. She walked up the stairs quickly, making it to Damian’s room in no time. 

She knocked, hoping that would be enough to get Damian to open the door. When no one answered, she sighed, knocking again. “Damian, I know how much this must hurt, but I have a message from (Y/N). I thought you would want to see it,” Diana stepped back from the door after hearing some shuffling in the room. 

She didn’t mind waiting, it seemed as if Damian was debating on opening the door or not. Finally the door opened slightly, just enough to see Damian’s dark hair. “A message,” he asked, voice rough as if he had been crying. Diana wouldn't judge him for that. She had done her fair share of crying when Steve Trevor had left her. 

“She was not happy when she returned to Themyscira. She knew it was only a matter of time before Mother sent Amazonians after her and she did not want you to get hurt in the process. I suggested she make you a video message after she described to me what was going on between the two of you.” Diana handed him the USB drive that she had downloaded the video to. “I am sorry for this crappy situation. I am working to get Mother to release her to me again.”

Noticing that Damian wasn’t paying attention anymore, she closed his door for him and left the man to his message. 

_________________

Damian made his way to his laptop, plugging the USB in and pulling up the video. He froze momentarily as he looked at your face on the screen. How was it possible to miss you this much. He took a deep breath and started the video.

“What do I say to him, Diana,” you asked, eyes wide. You were looking past the camera, probably at Diana.

“Just speak from the heart, (Y/N). He will love whatever you have to say to him.”

You took a deep breath, looking directly at the camera. “Greetings Damian.” You paused, shaking your head. “Take that out please, I do not wish to be so formal.”

You adjusted your posture and looked back at the camera. “Hello My Love. I am sorry that I did not stay to tell you goodbye in person. I just,” you sighed, “I just did not know what to say to you. I did not want to disappoint you.”

You looked away from the camera, to your feet. “I hope my departure has not hurt you how it has hurt me. I do not wish for you to feel betrayed or abandoned, I simply wanted to keep you safe. Mother would send for me had I stayed and you could have gotten hurt in the process and I never wish for you to be hurt because of me. This was the only way I could think to protect you.”

You ran a hand down your face before looking back to the camera. “I am sorry for how the day went. It started out amazing, I do not think I have ever smiled that much. You make me happy. You make me feel loved...you make me feel things that I have never felt before. It is crazy to think of how much has changed between us since you asked me to join your team. It was the best decision I ever made only bested by my choice to follow my instincts and,” you voice broke slightly, “and love you. I love you so much, Damian. I love the way you say my name, I love your personality, I love the fact that you tell me about your past-that you trust me enough to let me know that part of you.

“I love the way your eyes crinkle when you smile. I love the way your eyes sparkle after we kiss. I love your intellect. I love you. I love everything about you.”

You were openly crying as you finished. You wiped away the tears, taking a deep breath. “This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I am sorry that I have left you. I never wanted to.” You chuckled, “even Z tried to convince me to stay...but I can’t let you get hurt because of my selfishness. No matter how much I want to stay with you, I will not let my mother find out of my affections and have you hurt because of that. I am sorry for any pain my actions may have caused.”

You paused, seeming unsure of something. “I hope you can forgive me...I love you Damian.” 

Damian wiped his own tears from his face. He was determined. He would get you back, and he would tell you how much you meant to him, how much he loved you. But for now, he was going to rewatch the video just to see your beautiful face again.

DC Loves

@jadedhillon @marvelite1998

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Forever Tags

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Those I thought would like to know the next part is here

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