#posting early bc i can hush

[haetrack]

here bc of ur recent post to request soft dom mark smut!!! maybe like morning sex idk i’m not good at requesting and being super specific😭

req 4: mark lee x f!reader

wc: 2.5k

warnings: reader gets off in front of mark, fingering, morning sex, missionary, light overstimulation, pretty tame actually, softdom!mark, sub!reader

a/n: i am crazy but free. u gave me too much freedom to write what i wanted and now i realize just how much i want mark. mark please answer my calls

- ☁︎

when you wake up, you can feel the heat between your legs as you squeeze them together.

mark came home late last night, practice keeping him longer than he was expecting. you know it’s not easy for him, shaking your head when he tries to apologize to you. it didn’t matter how needy you felt, your boyfriend’s health mattered more to you than anything. he says he’ll make it up to you soon, but you hush him as you both lay down.

his arms wrap around your waist, his head nuzzling against your shoulder as he falls asleep. it’s easy for him, but his warm breath on your skin causes you to squirm around. you tell yourself to calm down, you’ll live if you don’t get fucked now, and try hard to go to sleep.

and you do, except that your dream involves mark fucking you into the sheets, whispering praises in your ear as he does so. when you wake up, it’s almost too much for you to handle. you can feel how drenched your panties are, how your cheeks are warm from how real the dream felt.

you’re not sure what you should do. you know mark is still sleeping, and you know you don’t really want to wake him up this early. he deserves his rest, but you can’t help the need building inside of you. you can only squeeze your thighs together, trying to fight off how badly you need him.

would it be so bad if you got off in front of him? you could sneak off to the restroom, but it’s warm under the blanket, mark’s scent surrounding you. your hand slips under your sleeping shorts and panties, fingers slowly circling around your clit. your hand slaps over your mouth, stopping a moan from coming out.

you know mark’s fingers would feel better than yours, but you have to make do with what you have. your fingers dip down to your entrance, two fingers sliding in easily with how wet you are. your mind drifts to mark catching you like this, wondering how he’d react to the sight of you like this.

you have to bite down on your tongue when your fingers move in and out of you, your palm digging into your clit. it’s too much and not enough, and if you could just wake up mark, you’d have everything you want. you fight against it, your hazy mind falling into how good you’re feeling.

when your fingers manage to hit the spot inside of you, you moan out louder than you mean to. even with your hand over your mouth, you know it might’ve been a little too loud. your ministrations still, your fingers inside you as you hear mark inhale deeply behind you. he groans a bit before he stretches a bit, his arm moving back across your waist. 

his morning voice makes you clench around your fingers, “morning, baby. slept so good knowing you were at my side.”

you don’t know if he knows that you were getting yourself off, quietly clearing your throat before you speak, “good morning, mark. i’m glad you slept good.”

he pulls you close to him, head falling to the junction of your neck, inhaling your scent. you can feel him smile against your skin, touchy from the comfort of the morning. you’d call him cute, but your fingers are still inside you, walls clenching tightly just from mark being so close.

it’s quiet for a few moments, subtly shifting your hips to try to get your fingers in a little deeper. it’s not ideal, not when your boyfriend is right there, but what can you do.

“hey…” he starts, murmuring against you, “you feel a little hot, you okay?”

your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. do you tell him that you were just getting yourself off to the thought of him. is it too early to really do anything about this? he calls you again, this time his morning voice calling you baby.

you can’t help the whine that comes out of your mouth, slipping your fingers out of you as you turn to face him. he looks so good, and it’s still morning. his eyes look a little concerned, watching your face for any signs of discomfort. he realizes when you grab his hand to put it over your heat.

his fingers twitch, feeling how wet your panties are, mouth opening in shock. his eyes meet yours, and although they look tired, you can see desperation shine in them. he licks his lips, pupils dilating as he presses his palm against your clothed clit. “baby�� do you- do you want me that badly?”

you quickly nod, grinding down onto his palm, trying to get any type of friction from him. he chuckles at the sight, “i kept you waiting too long, hmm? you needed me so much, and i kept you waiting, baby.”

he lays you onto your back as moves to sit in front of you. he slowly peels off your shorts and panties, not wanting to rush despite your hushed pleas. he shushes you softly, his thumb meeting your clit as his fingers prod at your entrance, “what’s gotten you so worked up?”

you answer quickly, “you. i dreamt about you, you fucked me so good, couldn’t help it.”

you can hear him suck in a breath at your words, his fingers sliding into you, satisfied with your answer. he doesn’t try teasing you, realizing just how badly you need him. you watch how his cock twitches in the confines of his shorts, feeling your walls clench around his fingers. “do you want my cock, baby? want me to fuck you?”

“please, mark. need you so bad, been needing you since last night.”

he watches as your hips chase his touch, trying to get his fingers deep inside. his hooded eyes meet yours again, “i’ll give you anything you want, want you to feel so good.”

a whimper escapes you as his fingers scissor inside you, opening you up for his cock. you can hear the lewd squelch of his fingers inside of you, your slick spilling out of you. his thumb circles around your clit, quickly trying to get you off. you can feel tightening in your stomach, your hands gripping onto the sheets.

before you can cum, you call out to him, “w-wait, mark. don’t wanna cum just yet, wanna cum on your cock, please.”

he shudders at your words, feels how his cock presses against the front of his shorts. “i k-know baby, i just… i might cum too fast, want you to cum now.”

at his words, his fingers press into your sweet spots, triggering your orgasm. his cock throbs when he feels your walls tighten around his digits, watching you moan out, curling into the sheets under you. he finds you so pretty like this, prettiest thing he’s ever seen.

he helps you ride out your orgasm, moving his fingers inside of you. he slowly pulls them out, watching them slowly as they slip out. his fingers are covered in your arousal, slowly bringing them up to his mouth to lick it all up. he moans around them, “tastes so sweet, my girl tastes so fuckin’ sweet.”

“please hurry, mark. wanna feel you in me already, wanna make you feel good now.”

he quickly slips off his shorts, not bothering to take them off all the way. his cock slaps against his stomach, precum at tip, begging for your touch. he watches you try to reach for his cock, but quickly swats your hands away. you pout at him, and he just sends you an embarrassed smile, “wanna make this about my girl, i know how much you need me.”

you nod at him, not trusting your voice with him so close to you. he pushes his hips against yours, pressing his length against your cunt. he rubs it against your slit, feeling how your slick wets his cock. his tip presses against your clit, causing you both to moan at the same time. you can tell mark is getting lost in the feeling, leaning towards you as he glides against your pussy.

he doesn’t realize how much he’s teasing you. you clench around nothing, wanting nothing more than his cock to fill you up. you try calling out to him, failing when all that comes out is a moan of his name when his tip presses against your entrance. you look at him expectantly, hoping he’ll slide in.

he doesn’t, his mouth falling open as he continues grinding against you. you can feel frustration build up in you, your boyfriend unintentionally keeping your orgasm from you. you stop him once you hear a deep groan fall from his lips, you whisper-shouting his name, breaking him away from the feeling of your warmth.

his eyes shoot towards yours, a light blush painting his cheeks as he lets out a shy laugh. “sorry, baby. just felt so good, didn’t mean to keep you waiting again.”

you reach for his hand, intertwining yours with his. he smiles at the action, lining up his tip at your entrance. he slowly slides in, biting down on his bottom lip to try to conceal any noise, but fails. a deep groan falls from him, “fuck, baby,” his hips slightly stutter against yours, “feel so good in the morning, sucking me in.”

small whimpers fall from your lips, moaning his name once he bottoms out. you can feel him twitch inside you, getting used to the feeling of your warm walls around him. he reaches out to your swollen clit, “been so long, forgot how tight my girl is.”

you nod, your eyes closed shut as you adjust to his cock. he calls out your name, your bleary eyes looking at him. “want you to look at me, baby. want you to see how good i make you feel.”

your hands make it to his shoulders, nails digging into your skin as he starts moving. his thrusts are slow but sharp, wanting to take his time with you so early in the morning. his eyes watch how his cock disappears inside you, watching how his hips press against yours. he can’t get enough of your pussy, can’t ever get enough of you. he’s missed this.

you pull him down to kiss you, lips pressing against each other as he thrusts into you. it’s slow, but it helps with your aching cunt, feeling so full with his cock inside you. between kisses, you speak out a confession, “mark, making me feel so good,” a moan cuts you off, “i was- i was touching myself before you woke up.”

his eyes shoot straight to yours, waiting for you to continue. “just need you so bad, didn’t wanna wake you up.”

“t-that’s so hot. fuck, you’re so hot.”

he pulls you into a kiss, slowing down his movements. his thrusts are deep and slow, letting yourself feel his cock against your walls. you moan into his mouth, his hand reaching under your shirt to grope at your chest. he tweaks a nipple between his fingers, a satisfied groan leaving his lips as you arch up to his touch.

he can feel your walls begin clenching around him, watches how you throw your head back against the pillows as you moan at his name. even through the haze in his mind, he thinks you’re the prettiest like this. he leans down to your ear, “are you gonna cum for me? is my needy baby gonna cum all over my cock?”

you let out a small yes, stray tears falling from your eyes as he wipes them away with his thumb. at the sweet action of your boyfriend, still caring for you so early in the morning, you cum. his thumb quickly rubs circles against your clit when he feels your walls clench around him.

he has to physically stop himself from cumming too fast, his hips stilling as your walls suck him in deeper, trying to milk his cock of all his cum. he’s not sure how he can hold back when you feel so good, when you call his name so sweetly, or how pretty you look cumming under him. 

he calls out to you with a shaky voice, his head falling to your shoulder with a groan of your name. with a few quick thrusts, he cums inside of you, filling you up with his cum. you pull him close to you, and he can feel your hard nipples press against his chest. he’s letting out moans, pressing kisses against your skin as he rides out his orgasm.

“you’re so fucking tight, missed your pussy- missed you so much.” he grinds into you, feeling how your walls clench from overstimulation, “you were made for my cock, we were made for each other.”

he can’t help the sounds coming out of him, not when you clench around him so nicely. he moans in your ear, babbles of how good you feel and how much he’s misses this can only be heard. you can feel his thighs shake against you as it gets too much for him, causing him to still as his cock begs for him to slow down.

he takes a few breaths before he pulls out. he lazily sits back, watching your twitching cunt drip with his cum. he has to stop himself from pushing his cum back into you, fingers twitching at his side as he watches your cum slip down to your sheets. you kick him a little, a shy whine coming from you, embarrassed from how hard he was staring.

he laughs at you, joining you at your side. the sun fills the room, the warmth of your bodies together. he cuddles into your side, taking a deep breath, inhaling your scent. he takes a quick look at your face, thinks you look even prettier after you’ve cum in the morning. he smiles to himself, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

“think i might have to make you cum every morning if it means i get to see you like this.”

you shove lightly at his shoulder, “you’re so weird-” he laughs hard at your whining, “can’t you just say i look nice and go?”

“can’t be normal around my girl, you make me go crazy.”

his head falls to your shoulder, fingers dancing across your skin, goosebumps raising at the feeling. your hand makes it to his hair, pushing it back as you press a kiss to his forehead. it’s quiet for a few moments more, your heartbeats syncing up from how close you are to each other. you could fall asleep like this.

mark realizes how heavy your breaths get, watching your covered chest rise and fall. he looks at you, so close he can count all the eyelashes on your face. he presses a kiss to your cheek before cuddling up next to you. he follows you back to sleep, a dream of you next to him playing in his mind.

[thedilfdiaries]

WIP Wednesday Tuesday

I know it's a little early for WIP day but I'm hoping to finish something and post it tomorrow (hoping being the key word here) so here's two javi snippets stripper and dbf (bc the javi brainrot is incredibly real rn) Stripper!Javi (in random fun lil snippets lol)

His hand wrapped around his shaft, a groan slipping from his lips as he began to stroke slowly, matching the rhythm you’d set for yourself. “Look at me,” he said, his voice low and rough, filled with unrestrained desire. “Don’t hide from me, nena.”

The sight of him, so confident, so completely at ease with his own pleasure, made your own need intensify. Your movements quickened, your body arching slightly as the tension in your core built. His gaze flickered over you, drinking in every shiver, every gasp, every movement of your hand.

“Dios mío,” he murmured, his strokes becoming faster as he watched you. “You’re so beautiful like this. I could watch you forever.” 

--------------

You hesitated, your heart racing, unsure of what he was asking. But he took your hand, pulling you gently to your feet, and his lips brushed your ear. “I want you to dance for me. Just for me.”

-------------

“Good girl,” he murmured, his hands tightening their grip, encouraging your movements. “Just like that. Feel me, nena. Let me feel all of you.”

Slowly, deliberately, you adjusted, letting your slick pussy tease the length of him. The anticipation was maddening, and you could feel him trembling beneath you, his restraint barely holding. Then, with a deep breath, you angled yourself just right and began to lower yourself onto him.

The sensation stole your breath as you took him inch by inch, your body adjusting to his size. His growl of pleasure rumbled through you, his hands guiding you down until you were completely seated. The stretch, the fullness—it was overwhelming and exhilarating.

“Now move, baby,” he urged, his voice strained but commanding. “Show me how good you can make us feel.”

DBF!Javi

Curiosity—or maybe something darker—got the better of him. Quietly, he followed the sound down the hallway, his footsteps silent on the hardwood floors. When he reached the crack in your bedroom door, he stopped dead in his tracks.  

The sight in front of him knocked the breath from his lungs. There you were, spread out on the bed, your hand between your legs, back arching as you chased your pleasure. His name escaped your lips in a hushed, broken moan, and he swallowed hard, his pants tightening uncomfortably.  

Jesus Christ. He should walk away. He knew he should walk away. But instead, he stayed rooted to the spot, watching as you trembled, oblivious to the fact that you weren’t as alone as you thought.  

When you finally came down from your high, your body limp and sated, you turned your head—and froze. Standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame, was Javier. His arms were crossed over his chest, that infuriating smirk plastered across his face.  

“Well, well,” he drawled, his voice thick with amusement. “Didn’t know I had such an effect on you, princesa.”  

Your face went hot, stomach dropping as you scrambled to cover yourself with the blanket. “Javier! What the hell are you doing?”  

“Me?” he said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “You’re the one putting on a show.”  

“I didn’t know you were here!” you hissed, mortified.  

npt: @evolnoomym @thundermartini @sawymredfox @milla-frenchy @almostempty @gothcsz @myownwholewildworld @itwasntimethatdidit40 @lotusbxtch @arcanefox207

@aurorawritestoescape @604to647 @alltheirdamn @magpiepills @pr3ttynpiink

@probablyreadinsmut @lovely-vamp-princess @maiamore @sanarsi @joelsrose

[desceros]

me: [looks at calendar, gets a wicked idea, looks into the camera] happy springtime, turtle fam! who's ready to celebrate the season?

...mating season, that is. hehe. [dodges the tomatoes]

so! i had the idea that it would be super fun to have a community-wide event where we all have a prompt and then everyone fills it in their own way.

...i then decided all the prompts i came up with were too good not to use, but also none of them were Good Enough to use exclusively, so i changed my mind and the prompt is now just MATING SEASON. with a few suggestions at the bottom of this post if you're looking for some.

since spring is coming upon us, i hereby invite everyone to join in the vernal festivities... which in turtle parlance, of course, means only one thing: write, draw, whatever your version of "mating season", then join me on march 1 to post it with the tag #TMNTSpringShellebration. we then shall browse the fine selection of our mutual artistic efforts, and basically just have a good time as a community.

here are the prompts i came up with as starters-slash-things-to-include if you're looking for a place to get started. feel free to use these at will, or use them to come up with something of your own:

“Please don’t make me explain this. It’s humiliating as is.”

Oops, Looks Like Mating Season Came A Week Early This Year

“…In all of my mating seasons, this has never happened before.”

“I told you not to come by! It’s mating season!”

Probably should have expected it to be different now that he’s not going through it alone.

Because of Shenanigans, you have to wait. Wait… Wait… ok now.

They’re not the right person for mating season… but they’re the one who’s here, so…

“Show me where it hurts."

so yeah! see you all on march 1 for the, uh, spring shellebration. party popper emoji

questions i imagine will be popping up and i hope will clear up here before my askbox swells beyond capacity under the cut to keep this post from being Way Too Long. also it's really not that serious it's just an excuse to write slash draw for everyone Please Don't Take This Thing Too Seriously It's Not That Serious:

"can i participate?" yes! it's literally just an invitation to do something. nothing fancier than that. no need to be following me or in my friend group or whatever.

"can i write (insert fic idea here)?" yep! so long as it's related to the idea of mating seasons, it flies. reader insert? hell yea. oc? hell yeah. solo turtle and his favorite pillow? go for it.

"can i draw (insert art idea here)?" yep! uh. i know tumblr has the cops watching for sin bin material, but you art people know how to deal with that. and if you don't, uh, ask the other art people. im just a feral cat in a trench coat

"how do i participate?" write/draw/collect songs for/whatever. then, on march 1, post it and tag it #TMNTSpringShellebration. also, for funsies, keep it hush hush what you're working on so we can all be super shocked when the day comes! except, y'know, that you're planning on joining in. totally do that.

"when do i post it?" march 1. whenever on that day. waves hands around in a vague gesture at time zones not mattering. seriously don't take this so seriously it's just me wanting to create cool shit with my friends with a little more structure to it

"does it have to be horny?" i mean. it's an event about mating season. so by definition it's going to be at least a little horny. but however you interpret it is cool. even if it's just. idk. leo sitting sweatily in a chair looking longingly at a glass of water bc he's thirstier than usual. be smart about things, people. i'm not your dad.

"which tmnt verse is this for?" whichever one you want it to be for!! rise! bayverse! 2007! your fan iteration! your friend's fan iteration! your mortal enemy's fan iteration! yes!

"will you be reblogging everything?" absolutely not, but this isn't an event About Me. i am incidental to the thing. it's about Us. coming together as a community. for horny turtles. puts my hands on your shoulders. do it for you. for your friends. for the community.

[ladytauria]

actually, I'll give you something cute

Jason and Tim gotta pretend to be a married couple in a suburb or smth, specifically thinking they adopt like a dog/or cat while there (and then keep them obv)

but yeah playing happy married couple while totally not pining after each other

this is so messy i’m sorry lmao

mutual pining is one of my absolute favorite tropes <3 & you know i love a good undercover + identity shenanigans fic

I don’t have a lot of clear, defined ideas for the set up (I find casefics so hard to conceptualize for some reason???? Sigh.) But. I have a few thoughts— first, I don’t want them going undercover together to have been the original plan. Second, I kind of want to have originally been Jason’s case? Bc I kind of want there to be an opening thread of like. Jason’s such a planner that having his plans over turned is always upsetting for him—he’s adaptable, it rarely ever affects his actual work, but he still gets grumpy about it :/ So him reaching out for Tim’s help isn’t like. A Big Deal but it isn’t Not a Deal at all, you know? Like it means something that he’s asking Tim to come in for… SO many reasons.

Alternatively I suppose it could be something they were assigned to do by Bruce or Babs or asked to do by Steph, even, ‘cause it’s someone else’s case & they need intel but also more freedom to do stuff?? I dunnoooo. ALSO thinking that maybe Tim & Jason are the obv choice for such an assignment bc Jason is still legally dead & doesn’t have much of a civilian life that anyone knows about, and Tim is no longer involved with WE or doesn’t have to do much with the company so his free time is also… very open.

I’m also torn on like. WHERE I would want them to be. In a Gotham suburb? Or outside of Gotham completely? Like, say, Metropolis? There’s something appealing about the latter bc like. They’re already undercover, posing as different people, but NOW they’re also someWHERE else so it feels even more like this is a distant dream they can never have. However, if it’s in Gotham you could have that underlying “we could have been this if life had been different.” (You can kind of get that with the former too, but.)

Also thinking that as much as I love the gendefuckery of crossdressing / going undercover as a woman, AND as much as I love the idea of genderqueer/fluid/trans Tim, I want them to be going undercover as an MM couple? (Although, now I’m thinking about a similar situation where Tim, who doesn’t oft explore the femme side of himself in depth, actually would get to… hm.) ANYWAY. But yeah for this one, they’re going undercover as husband & husband.

Tim’s undercover persona… I’m split between something with tech or working as a mechanic. (Hush.) Jason… hmm. College TA or going for a college degree, so he’s mostly the stay at home/house husband type. Or maybe one or both of them should have a career that calls for traveling a lot?? Hm.

Both of them expect themselves and/or the other to kind of struggle with it. For multiple reasons! The first being that they have feelings for the other—there’s a part of me that actually wants to make one of them (probably Tim) oblivious to their own feelings until a week or so into the charade & have a sudden realization? But also I like the idea of both of them going into it knowing that they like each other and resolving not to let it affect things. They both also expect to miss vigilante work, because while they’re able to go out occasionally it’s not like either of them are used to.

And while it’s definitely difficult to find things to occupy their time with at first… it’s not as hard as they expect.

Thinking they adopt an animal fairly early on (thinking it should be a stray they start feeding & fall in love w). I’m leaning hard on the idea of a cat but a dog could be fun too lmao. There’s a lot of joking arguments about post-case custody but then those peter off as they start letting their roles bleed over into their lives.

And then. The case ends. They get the intel they needed, bust the operation, and it’s time for Tim & Jason to quietly pack up and leave.

Thinking the last couple of days they spend as their fake identities are awkward. They can’t find the ease they had before because they know they’re about to leave, so when they’re not actively performing for their neighbors… they’re more withdrawn.

And then they both go to their separate homes. Thinking Jason got primary custody of their dog or cat? But I could be convinced for Tim as well. Anyway. Both of them feel a little hollow; like they’re missing something. They cant stop thinking about their life together, how *real* it felt & how much they miss waking up to the other. How much they miss even the idiosyncrasies they used to argue over. (Even if at least half of those idiosyncrasies were made up for the persona. They still know each other well enough to know which ones were real and which were fake… & they find themselves wondering which parts of their private lives they left out, good and bad, what living together would *really* be like.)

Eventually one of them makes an excuse to go see the other—to check in on the cat/dog, obviously. And maybe there’s an awkward invitation to keep visiting, and a sort of. Ambiguous/open ending with an obvious/hopeful slant for them to be a couple in the future.

And then maybe an epilogue / one shot sequel set a few months in the future with a look at their established life <3333

[ send me an AU & i’ll give you at least 5 things i would include in it ]

[evilwickedme]

hey it’s me from the Batman posts! (the one that left the tags abt wanting to get into Batman but having no clue where to start)

If its not too much trouble, I’d love any advice on where to start with Batman or Batfam(?) stuff, I saw someone suggest reading the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures thing on webtoon as an intro to the characters so I’ve been doing that, but I’ve got no clue about any of the official comics or shows/movies/etc. I’ve never read a comic series before so everything is super new to me.

I know different series(?)/versions(?) can be wildly different bc of different writers and stuff, I definitely trust your taste on what would be good / enjoyable bc the posts you’ve been reblogging are like 90% of whats gotten me interested in the first place

Thank you, and absolutely no rush!!

Hey I am legit SO happy that you sent me this ask this is literally my favorite thing to do!!!!

So to start with I do actually agree that wfa is a good starting point but for a different reason than I feel most people would recommend it. The thing about wfa is that it has a consistent design for every character, is humorous, touches not only on the main batfamily members but also many extended members, other noteworthy people in Gotham, and the batfamily's cast of friends and teammates as well. This means that while its approach to characterization is incredibly fanon-y, it's a good basis for how to continue. You read wfa, and you know that Dick is the first robin, wears ridiculous costumes, was batman for a bit, is nightwing, part of the teen titans... this isn't a lot, but it's just enough to orient yourself before jumping into some of the most convoluted art ever created, aka the comic world.

Another tip I'm gonna give you is to let yourself be confused. I think the people who end up sticking with comics are people who are aware that if they pick up a comic it's very likely the writers and artists have read and worked on comics that you haven't read yet or even heard of, so you're always going to be missing something. That's fine. If something is really important to the plot, it gets explained; if it's not, it's windowdressing. Often there'll be little boxes saying what comic and issue they're referencing, so if you find it interesting you can just go read it - otherwise, if it's not there, you can google it, or go to any comic fan and ask "hey do you know what this is about?" and if they know, they will answer. There is nothing a comic fan wants more than to explain how to get into their favorite character/s, trust me.

Anyway this has been a very wordy intro but here are some potential starting points for the batfamily!

Bruce Wayne

You know who he is. Pick up an issue of Batman or Detective Comics and he's there. Pick up an issue of any other DC comic and there's like a 30% chance he's there too.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Noir style, investigative, early in batman's career, two face's origin story

It has a sequel-ish story called Batman: Dark Victory that's almost as good

Batman: Hush

Batman: Year One

Frankly there's not going to be much information in this comic you don't already know, but also, it's a classic, so might as well

Batman: A Death in the Family & Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (crossover with the new teen titans)

First story is Jason's death, second is Tim's introduction and arguably the start of the batfamily being a family

Tim drags Dick back into the fray in ALPOD. It's just sort of the kind of thing he does

Do NOT confuse A Death in the Family with Death OF the Family, which is a much newer story, and Not Good

Batman: Under the Red Hood

Jason's villain arc! More details below

Batman himself isn't actually my favorite but you know he's got some decent stuff since he's, uh, the main character. DC doesn't have a multiverse the way Marvel does - and getting into that would be a whole separate ask - but their elseworlds are stories about the characters in different situations. Some ones I've heard good things about include Gotham by Gaslight, Dark Knights of Steel, Batman: Last Knight on Earth, and I keep meaning to get into Batman: White Knight, which is a whole other universe on its own. I've been trying to get into more modern batman stuff and unfortunately I just haven't clicked with anything.

Dick Grayson

Guy has been in a lot of things. If you read a random Batman comics from before 1980, there's a good chance he'll be there.

Teen Titans and The New Teen Titans and Titans (1980s-2000s)

I haven't read enough of these to say much of anything, but he's a founding member of the TT

Nightwing

His post-Robin superhero identity. At first only present in NTT and occasional Batman comics, but eventually he gets his own miniseries in the early 90s, followed by an ongoing. Recently-ish started reading them and they're angsty and very 90s in a lot of ways but I'm enjoying it

Modern Nightwing titles also exist. For sure.

Batman & Robin by Morrison

In one of DC's ten million crises, Bruce "dies", and after a short story called Battle for the Cowl, Dick ends up becoming Batman. Damian is his Robin. It's an interesting time for batman comics, although not necessarily the best writing that Dick has ever gotten.

Batman: The Dark Mirror

Also a great story for the Gordons. Bruce is back from the dead, but Dick is still Batman in Gotham. This was my first even Batman comic and it's really good.

Obviously there's other stories, such as Grayson, where he becomes a super spy for a bit. There's a million and a half reading lists for Dick out there as he's a massively popular character and he's one of the characters DC is pushing the most right now. As with all the rest of these, these are good entry points; from there I trust you to find your way

Barbara Gordon

The original Batgirl, sort of (nobody really brings up bette kane unless they're pointing out that babs wasn't the original Batgirl, she's just not important). She appears sporadically in silver and bronze age batman comics and detective comics, but she quits being Batgirl shortly before being raped and shot in the spine by the joker in Batman: the Killing Joke, which I purposefully did not put on my rec list.

Birds of Prey

Babs-as-Oracle at her best.

Batman: The Dark Mirror

Babs' long lost brother comes back to town. It's fucked up.

I've been reliably told to stay away from her Batgirl runs - most people who are a fan of the character don't like that they retconned Oracle away and it's mostly not very well written. There's a comic called batgirls that lasted about a year that included her, and it's okay.

Jason Todd (my beloved)

MY MAN

Batman: Second Chances

Collected edition of Jason as Robin, so much fun. Extremely silly at times since it's the 80s.

Batman: A Death in the Family

For obvious reasons.

Then he's just sort of dead for 17 years. He shows up in heaven in a Green Arrow issue and is occasionally brought up or shown as a hallucination, but that's about it.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

There's a new crime lord in town and he's so smart and talented and hot omg I wonder who he is!!!!

The collected edition also comes with the annual that reveals how he came back to life

Task Force Z

This shouldn't be as good as it is.

Jason gets recruited to work with a team of undead villains

Jason gets called a hot a bunch of times, and is shirtless a lot. This doesn't matter but you know, like, yeah it does.

For Robin!Jason there's also Batman: The Cult - which I finally got my hands on recently but haven't read yet. For Red Hood!Jason there's lots of stuff, but most of it isn't very good or is actively bad. Most people will tell you to stay away from Red Hood and the Outlaws, and they're right, although the 2016 run is better. Most people will tell you to read Batman & Red Hood: Cheer, and they're wrong, it's ass.

Tim Drake

Frankly this boy has no flops. Or very close to it.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

Tim figured out who Batman and Robin are at AGE NINE. Respect.

After this he appears in various Batman and detective comics issues, I haven't read any of these.

Robin

The first Robin to get his own ongoing! Like with Nightwing, it started with a miniseries (a few of them, actually) and got turned into a long running series from there. Lasted like 200 issues, too.

Tim FUCKS.

Not Steph's first appearance, but most of her appearances pre-2009 are in this series.

Young Justice 1998

It's insane in all the best ways. Cars have sex on panel. They play baseball to save the world on an alien planet. A power of friendship speech prevents the end of the world. In the first issue, a woman develops breasts so big she falls on her face.

This team eventually breaks apart and Tim along with 3 other teen heroes nicknamed the core four (Superboy, Impulse, & Wonder Girl II) become part of Teen Titans 2003, which I haven't read and is also a bit of a flop era fashion wise for everyone anyway. I do have the volume of TT03 where they meet the versions of themselves from the future and I plan on reading that soon-ish.

In the mid 2000s basically everyone Tim loves dies. Steph died in 2004 ish after a very short stint as Robin. Tim's mom dies, then his dad is murdered, and it's unclear what happened to his step mom, but she was in Bludhaven, which had an atomic bomb dropped on it. Impulse becomes kid flash becomes the flash becomes murdered, and superboy gets killed while saving the world. Steph does turn out to not be dead after all and Impulse and Superboy come back from the dead eventually but by God he's having a tough year BEFORE Bruce "dies".

Red Robin 2009

After Bruce "dies" and Dick becomes Batman, Dick makes Damian his Robin and nobody believes Tim that Bruce is still alive, so he steals the Red Robin costume and goes on a mission to save his dad!

Not a comic to read first because it's so uncharacteristic of Tim as a person, but definitely something to read as soon as possible, because it's ridiculously good.

After flashpoint/n52 Tim doesn't have his own ongoing for a while, but he does come out as bisexual in an early issue of Batman Urban Legends (2021) and he got his own ongoing called Tim Drake: Robin in 2022 which was ugly AF and yet cancelled far too soon. There's a Young Justice run from 2019 I haven't read yet.

Stephanie Brown

For her I would go to Google, bc I haven't gone down the rabbithole enough for her yet. I know her first appearance was in a batman comic where she became spoiler to spoil her dad's plans - her dad being a third rate villain called the cluemaster - and she almost kills him, so good for her. Afterwards she appears every once in a while in various comics, most notably in Robin, where she and Tim as Robin start dating despite him knowing her identity but not the other way around.

Robin 60s (I don't remember the exact issues)

Steph gives birth and gives her baby up for adoption

Robin 126-128

Steph becomes Robin when Tim quits for his still-alive-but-not-for-long dad.

War Games

Steph does a fucky wucky and accidentally starts a gang war which gets her killed

There's another Robin arc where she comes back and it turns out she was never dead, Leslie (the family doctor) simply faked her death and sent her to Africa to recover

Batgirl 2009

Her first and only solo ongoing, but it's really good

She also appears a lot in Cass's Batgirl ongoings, and occasionally shows up in yj98. Her most recent series in Batgirls, which isn't very good but her interactions with Cass are very gay, and we've all been shipping it for 20 years at this point, so frankly it's long overdue. Unlikely to become canon tho, unfortunately.

Cassandra Cain

She doesn't use a lot of words, so neither will I. Probably.

No Man's Land

Frankly I am terrified to read this, it's so many goddamn issues, but this is her first appearance. I have one "volume" and it's as big as the fucking Bible.

Batgirl 2000

She's the first Batgirl to get an ongoing. The one from 2008 I've been reliably told isn't very good. She's absolutely terrifying in the 2000 one, I approve.

Outsiders 2016

Supposed to also be good for Duke content. I think at this point she's going by Orphan? Idk she's had a lot of names.

Idk I prefer Black Bat

Spirit World

Mini series that recently ended. Soooooo good. Alyssa Wong is a top contender for favorite modern writer.

She's mostly a background character. Bc DC is both sexist AND racist. She was also in batgirls.

Damian Wayne

Frankly he's my least favorite of the batkids, but that's not his fault, he's been a victim of a lot of really racist writing.

Batman: Son of the Demon

Somehow both his origin AND an elseworlds that doesn't count. Not required reading, but Bruce and Talia are madly in love in this.

Batman by Grant Morrison

After UTRH and before Dick was forced to become Batman Morrison reintroduced Talia's son, who in this version was a rape baby bc apparently brutalia weren't in love and Talia drugged Bruce. Fucking fine, I guess.

His character growth during his time as robin is sweet tho.

Robin 2021

His only solo ongoing, pretty good

Super Sons

He had two team up comics with then fellow child Jon Kent, son of superman, and it was fucking adorable. Then they aged up Jon to 17, so they're still friends, but Jon has his own shit going on.

Duke Thomas

He's REALLY new, and I haven't read any of it, I'm sorry.

Robin War

Batman and the Signal - I finally got my hands on the first issue of this last week!

The Outsiders 2016

Frankly they should capitalize on the Duke & Cass friendship/siblingship more often.

Alfred Pennyworth

I haven't read it, but there's a series called Pennyworth about his days as a spy for the crown. Supposed to be pretty good.

Kate Kane

The Jewish lesbian batwoman of our dreams

Batwoman: Elegy

Her introduction

Also, it's written by Greg Rucka, and if he can do one thing, it's write sapphic women. I'm not even joking.

Get the newer edition that has both of her original Rucka stories

Batwoman ongoings

She's had a couple, they're both supposed to be pretty solid, I've only read a few issues here and there

Batman in other media

Animated: I'm currently watching Batman the Animated Series for the first time and it seems to really get Bruce as a character, even if Robin will be there one episode and his existence will be a plot hole in the next. The Justice League animated series has also been fun so far. Teen Titans have gotten a number of animated adaptations all of which have pretty strong followings. There's an animated show called "Young Justice" which is a Teen Titans show and I refuse to watch it (it has a very devout following, but all that means is that the Young Justice - All Media Types tag on ao3 is just the same as Young Justice Cartoon and I have to filter heavily when looking for yj98 fics). Lego Batman is a REALLY fun film, and I think it turned into a whole franchise.

Live action TV: I have watched the first season of both Titans and Gotham, but both of those were before I was into the batfamily as a concept. My impression of Titans is overall negative and my impression of Gotham is overall positive.

Live action movies: There are so many Goddamn Batman movies. I like the Dark Knight Trilogy, but even calling it "based on" the Dark Knight comic trilogy is giving it a lil more credit than it deserves. The Batman 2022 is massively popular with the comic fandom for a reason - I'm not a big fan of it, but I did enjoy laughing at the movie so at least there's that. Batfleck sucks. I haven't seen anything else, up to and including the Joker movie. Oh, and Birds of Prey was really good, but that's not Cass.

Video games: The Arkham trilogy is well loved and I have indeed just bought it, but I haven't gotten to it because I'm currently working on Gotham Knights and uh. Okay so listen. This game is a lot of fun and I will be finishing it. But it's like. Got a massively antisemitic plot point. I can't even say I don't recommend it, I'm genuinely enjoying the game a lot. But I've never seen anybody bring this up, and it's bugging me.

ANYWAY I'm sure I've missed a LOT but this is introductory so you know I'm giving myself grace. There's characters I completely skipped and I'm sure mega fans of characters I haven't read much of will be offended that I said such and such about them but you know it's only been about a year and a half since I started reading dc comics and I'm still figuring it all out. And I probably will still be figuring it out for the next decade. To me that's actually part of the fun of it.

[lluciboo]

So bitter!!! (｡╯︵╰｡)

✰ bill kaulitz x reader :3

✰ fluff hehe :3

✰ A/N ; TYSM FOR ALL THE NOTES AHHHH!!!! this was meant to be angsty but I changed my mind. honestly kind of a dumb post bc the only reason I decided to make it was bc a post with that audio came on my fyp😭😭. sorry if it's not too good!! I tried :3

✰ requests are open (pls request i have no ideas) :3

✰ Bill skipped into your room cheerfully, plopping himself down on your bed. 'So, meine liebe*, what are we going to do today?'

✰ You loved your boyfriend, you really did, but today was not a good day. your period had started exceptionally early this month and it was affecting you a lot.

✰ 'Nothing, Bill. I don't feel good.' You whispered, pushing your face into the silk pillow cases that resided on top of your bed. 'But pleaseeeee! I wanna go out with you, hübsch*.'

✰ You groaned loudly into your pillow as he dramatically threw himself onto you. 'Please please pleaseeeee!!' He squealed, twirling your hair in between his nimble fingers. 'No, Bill. I'm not fucking joking.'

✰ Bill sat back up and gazed down at you. 'Why so bitter, hübsch*? I know you're tired, but if we go out it might do you good.' Bill considered what he said for a moment, taking the silence from your part into consideration. 'Mkay, maybe not. How about this? let's stay in bed and watch movies! Oooh, I'll do your hair and i can paint your nails.'

✰ You couldn't help but smile at his hushed rambling. You turned over onto your back, sat up, and wrapped your arms around him. 'Yeah, let's do that. I love you.'

✰ 'I love you too, schön*.'

Translations!

meine leibe - my love

hübsch - pretty

schön - beautiful

thanks for reading!!! sorry that it's so short :3

[bluejay-the-geek]

DC characters/moments as Tortured Poets Department songs/lyrics bc i have a light concussion and am very bored (in the album's chronological order)

(disclaimer before someone is triggered- some of the lyrics are taken out of context or interpreted differently than what they actually mean. this is just for fun don't come for me. also this gets pretty angsty towards the end so proceed with caution)

"I was supposed to be sent away, But they forgot to come and get me"- tim drake very obviously bc neglecting parents/boarding school

"I love you, it's ruining my life"- early harleen quinzel about joker

"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"- the whole song is just harley quinn idc (pre-harlivy of course)

"Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym"- nightwing def cried at the gym at some point

"I stopped tryna make him laugh, stopped tryna drill the safe"- dick grayson about bruce after moving out of wayne manor

"You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? I died on the altar waitin' for the proof, You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days"- remember the whole selena leaving bruce at the alter thing? yeah

"I'd rather burn my whole life down, Than listen to one more second of all this bitchin' and moanin', I'll tell you something 'bout my good name, It's mine alone to disgrace"- I'm just getting red hood vibes from this no specific reason

"Now, pretty baby, I'm runnin' back home to you, Fresh out the slammer, I know who my first call will be to"- almost every gotham rouge to batman right after escaping arkham/prison. especially joker, catwoman and riddler lol

"At the park where we used to sit on children's swings, Wearing imaginary rings"- this one specific panel of tim and steph

"And this city reeks of driving myself crazy"- everyone who's ever been to gotham

"All my girls got their lace and their crimes, And your cheating husband disappeared, well, No one asks any questions here"- it's giving gotham city sirens

"Am I allowed to cry?"- maybe it's just me but i thought about clark kent discovering he had different biological parents and grieving about them even though the parents that actually raised him are alive and well

"So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street, Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream, "Who's afraid of little old me?", You should be" red hood's debut

"The scandal was contained, The bullet had just grazed, At all costs, keep your good name, You don't get to tell me you feel bad"- jason todd about the whole making batman choose between him and joker at the end of under the red hood

"You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me"- this is 100% Bane bc he was born and grew up in prison for a crime he didn't even do!! also cassandra cain and damian wayne

(^this is actually the lyric that inspired this entire post lol)

"You caged me and then you called me crazy, I am what I am 'cause you trained me, So who's afraid of me? Who's afraid of little old me?"- kind of a stretch but remember that time they put jason in arkham?

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)- again the whole song is harley about joker

"Your arson's match, your somber eyes, And I'll still see it until I die, You're the loss of my life"- bruce about jason. out of all the robins that died, jason's death hit him the hardest. even now when bruce sees red hood, he still sees that happy little kid that he lost

"I can read your mind, "She's having the time of her life", There in her glittering prime, The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night, I can show you lies"- bc we all know Nightwing is always dying on the inside, and it was very true in the discowing era bc it was right after he left the manor

"'Cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit"- jason pre-bruce

"I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague"- ok so we got joker about batman, cupid about green arrow, hush about bruce wayne... and a bunch of others but it's too many to write lol

"And you deserve prison, but you won't get time"- fucking tarantula that bitch

"The smallest man who ever lived"- the atom! not any of the messages in the song tho ofc he's just very small

"What if I told you I'm back? The hospital was a drag, Worst sleep that I ever had, I circled you on a map ,I haven't come around in so long, But I'm coming back so strong"- joker to batman after escaping arkham again

"I haven't come around in so long, But I'm making a comeback to where I belong"- jason coming back to protect crime alley after being away from gotham for years after his resurrection

"Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leavin' here with you"- batman and catwoman<3

I Hate It Here- imagine the whole song as homeless jason todd taking shelter in the library💔

"I built a legacy that you can't undo, But when I count the scars, there's a moment of truth, That there wouldn't be this if there hadn't been you"- bruce built a legacy as batman, and created a huge family he loves, and it hurts to think about but he wouldn't have any of it if joe chill hadn't murdered his parents

"Please, I've been on my knees, Change the prophecy, Don't want money, Just someone who wants my company"- kid bruce grew up all alone in a huge mansion, but he'd give all his billions away in a heartbeat if he could change his parent's fate

"So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst"- ok so you might think i chose cassandra cain for this only bc of the name, BUT- cass notices things others don't (like cassandra the prophet...), bc of her skills and abilities she is feared the most (Ik the song said "she feared" not "she is feared" but idc lol). like if someone knew so much about you just by looking you'd think she's some kind of a witch too

Peter- picture this: jason had a childhood friend back at crime alley. he left to live in wayne manor and become robin, and said goodbye to his old friend, promising they'd reunite again in the future. 3 years pass and his friend reads an article about jason's death. now listen to the song and try not to cry (if someone writes that fic send me the link IMMEDIATELY this has been haunting me) here's the link to the song with lyrics bc ik you're too lazy to look it up. also jason's middle name is peter:)

"Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless, Excellent fun 'til you get to know her"- brucie wayne vs batman

"Started with a kiss, "Oh, we must stop meeting like this" But it always ends up with a town car speeding, Out the drive one evening"- catwoman and batman of course<3 the town car is the batmobile speeding out the batcave to catch catwoman (to arrest her or make out with her? probs both)

Robin- ofc we have to go robins for robin! imo that's bruce to dick and jason's robins, and dick to damian when he was his robin. dick and jason- despite the hard times they went through that led to them becoming robins, they were still mostly happy curious kids that run around covered in mud while bruce tried (unsuccessfully) to maintain the innocence they had left. as for damian- it's more of a stretch than the other 2 bc he had no childlike innocence before robin, but dick tried his hardest to extract the child that was hidden inside the ruthless assassin the league created, finally allowing him to experience normal kid things. idk

"He said, "I'm not a donor but, I'd give you my heart if you needed it", She rolled her eyes and said, "You're a professional""-to me this is clark kent completely in love and lois with her sass

"And at last, She knew what the agony had been for"- almost every hero. they suffer, they sacrifice, they fight, and sometimes they want to give up- but at the end of the day, they save lives, so it's all worth it

and that's it folks! feel free to add more/share your insights!!

sorry for any spelling/grammer mistakes, English isn't my first language plus like the title said i had a minor head injury a few days ago and I'm tired soI'm not proofreading this bc I'm going to sleep rn goodnight to all✌️

[zablife]

Tachipen 7 Teaser

Author's Note: Believe it or not this series is quite dear to my heart and the lack of updates is only bc I want to get it right before sharing. I apologize for the lack of content, but to make up for the delay, I share a teaser for part 7. I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know your thoughts to keep me motivated and I promise to share more soon. I will be posting the last of my 2K celebration fics in the next few days and then my attention will be focused on finishing this chapter, I swear!!

Masterlist

1919

It had been two months since John’s marriage and you weren’t any closer to forgetting the way he woke you in the morning with a hot cup of coffee and a roguish smile. You hated the solitude of the early morning light now, the way it found you curled up against the headboard, fearful of its rays, knowing you’d been awake for hours contemplating the nightmares of the long night that came before. 

“Y/n?” A voice called through the fog, it echoed over the rolling hills toward you as you galloped toward the unfamiliar sound. A little further and you would solve the mystery of the one who called to you in the darkness. You sunk your heels into the gray mare purposefully, determined to catch up when a gunshot rang out. Suddenly you were standing over a grave, fresh dirt covering your boots. Your shivering form kept you from moving one toe toward the edge to see who it might be. “Keep away,” the voice warned, an icy hand grasping your shoulder and waking you with a start.

A sheen of sweat covered your body and you pulled yourself from the old tick mattress to dress for the day. Trying to act casually, you brushed past Polly to retrieve a mug of tea, but she turned you around to face her with a look of concern in her hazel eyes. You were gaunt these days, dark circles beneath your eyes from lack of sleep. Sometimes she wondered if it was heartbreak over John, something she’d only become aware of after the wedding. However, your trembling form convinced her this was something more. 

“I know something’s wrong, love. Won’t you tell me what it is?” she pleaded.

You gulped as you realized Polly could read you like a book and decided to confess the awful plight you’d been suffering. Within the span of a few minutes, you’d confided everything. 

“I had the same dream again last night, Pol,” you said, looking into your mug fearfully. Eyes growing wide you continued haltingly, afraid to say what you’d only heard your relatives speak of in hushed whispers. “I know what this is…Means there’s a traitor…someone who wants to do me harm,” you admitted as you brought your fingers to your mouth and viciously bit at your cuticles.

Polly looked away momentarily, eyes scanning the wallpaper over your head as she thought. Then she reached for your hand, placing hers over your bleeding fingertips with gentle reassurance. “These kinds of dreams can mean a lot of things. I wouldn’t pay them any mind,” she said softly.

You shook your head violently in response. “No, Pol. I know this means someone here is not what they seem. There’s betrayal here,” you whispered fiercely, glancing around the room with a suspicious gaze.

Polly looked at you, assessing the fear she saw clawing out of your eyes and nodded with renewed understanding. She rubbed a thumb over the back of your hand as she proclaimed slowly, “A black cat dream can mean you’re hurting yourself, betraying yourself.” Then she stared deeply into your eyes. “Are you sure there isn’t something you’re not being honest about?” 

-----------

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[altschmerzes]

Can’t wait for your two aces story. Any updates you want to/can share??

i'd LOVE to talk about the two aces fic at literally any point. it's so dear to my heart, i love it. at the moment i'm making good progress trekking through it and contemplating if i want to leave it as a oneshot or if i want to split it into chapters bc it's already close to 6k and i've just got a few scenes done and some drafting for some others! it's gonna be pretty long lmao, which is the story of my life. not gonna be HUGE like some of my fics end up being but it's gonna be long enough and have enough distinct beats that i'm thinking about splitting it.

we've got the initial presentation of the situation, jamie and dani getting used to living together and finding a new status quo in that bc of their injuries and how to help each other with the things they can't do (for example the initial moment where they decide to sleep in the same bed is related to dani's shoulder injury and the way he keeps rolling onto it in the night), exploration of their relationship getting deeper and getting into the big things they're afraid of that are holding them back from being physically/emotionally vulnerable with each other (they both have a Big Fear that's causing them trouble here), and then the realization that because of their healing progression they can go back to normal soon and deciding that like. actually we don't want this to go back to normal, we want to stay like this, we want to be each other's Person and have this relationship be A Relationship (nonromantic) intentionally. so there's some different beats, and might be worth splitting?

idk. sorry i'm just thinking out loud in answer to this ask now i hope this is interesting slkdfjs

here's a clip from it, too! it's from very early on, i've posted a few lines from it but it's a bit of a longer scene. dani's phone charger got stuck behind his bed and he can't reach it bc his shoulder is all messed up so jamie's going to get it while dani's making breakfast in the kitchen, this is before they're living together

Jamie has just managed to close his hand around the distant and illusive cord of the charger and is scooting back along the mattress in his awkward shuffle around the awkward bulk of his twice-braced leg when he hears a loud crash and a sharp curse from the kitchen. Instantly, before he’s even fully processed what he’s heard, his body goes rigid. His heart leaps into his throat and his shoulders and the back of his neck seize up so tight they ache immediately. Sudden, loud sounds in homes have never meant anything good for him. It’s only once the initial panic, the kind that says run, run, find somewhere to hide, be quiet and still and get as close as you can get to disappearing, has been hushed and dismissed and reminded that it’s an outdated and unnecessary instinct that another, different kind of panic takes over. Dani, Jamie thinks, and his heart lurches all over again. This is a new sort of fear, hot and trembling, like there’s a little bird in his chest beating its wings frantically, trying to get out. Oh fuck, Dani. Getting up off the bed is difficult and cumbersome but Jamie goes as quick as he can with the use of only one leg. He fumbles for his crutches and leans on them too heavily when he stands, but he doesn’t care that it hurts a bit. The ache of the way the padded tops dig uncomfortably under his arms and how the plastic of the handholds are an odd, wrong shape are far from Jamie’s mind as he hobbles towards the kitchen, going so quickly that he could probably win some kind of guys-on-crutches race if such a thing existed. “Dani,” he calls as he goes, and then, louder, “Dani, man, y’alright? What happened?” “Yes, Jamie, fine,” is the slightly delayed answer, delivered moments before Jamie rounds the corner and comes into sight of the kitchen. The first thing that Jamie notices is the floor. It’s made of a light, slate grey tile pattern that he thinks is neat, studded through with the odd yellow or silvery tile. The effect is cool and modern with a touch of brightness and fun, but at the moment the whole thing is rather ruined by the way there’s a scattering of broken class and blueberries disrupting the pattern. In the soft, warm glow of the overhead lights, the glass glitters and the blueberries shine like tokens to be collected in a video game. The round metal lid of what had once been some kind of jar glints innocently by the sink. (Dani had put in the new, gently toned lights recently, swapped the bulbs a few weeks before the season started. He’d done it after he noticed Jamie kept squinting and wincing under the harsher white light every time he was in Dani’s kitchen. He’d gone and replaced all of them, even though Jamie had insisted it was fine, it was dumb to change things in Dani’s house just because he had a weird problem about lights. Dani had looked at him like Jamie was the dumb one and shook his head and told him they are just lightbulbs, Jamie, and that had been the end of it.) And then, in the middle of it all, the glass and the blueberries and the tile floor and the lovely lights, there’s Dani. He’s standing by the counter, leaning back against it with his good arm, and there’s just enough time for Jamie to catch a glimpse of the intense frustration creasing his face before he looks up and over and it’s wiped away. All that’s left behind is a smile. It’s a good smile, it looks good, happy and friendly like Dani’s smiles do, but there’s something about it that makes Jamie feel uneasy. Well, no. Not uneasy. That word is too… That’s not right. It’s hard to imagine anything that Dani could do with his face that would make Jamie feel truly uneasy. Concerned, then. Concerned is the right word. “Sorry,” Dani says with an apologetic shrug of his left shoulder. “My hand slipped and I dropped the jar.”

[chrisryanspeaks]

The Softies Announce First Album in 24 Years, ‘The Bed I Made’ – Out August 23 + Tour Dates!

The Softies, one of the most beloved minimal pop acts of all time, announce their first album in 24 years, *The Bed I Made*, set to release on August 23 via Father/Daughter Records. The band returns with the lead single "I Said What I Said," which picks up right where they left off, featuring lyrics about escape, forward momentum, and self-forgiveness, all set to twangy, minimal guitar playing. The single is accompanied by a warmhearted video set in a sun-soaked forest clearing, reintroducing a band that has only grown stronger away from the spotlight. The Softies have also announced tour dates in Glasgow and North America throughout the summer and fall. More information can be found below. Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia share about "I Said What I Said": "Over the course of our 30-year friendship, there were bound to be experiences that would befall us both, sometimes at the same time, sometimes years apart. ‘I Said What I Said’ encapsulates a shared desire for escape, a push towards forward momentum, and unapologetic self-forgiveness for not always being able to speak the truth." Some things transcend time: friendship, self-discovery, the excitement of love, and the awakening that comes with new beginnings. These eternal feelings are embodied by The Softies, whose songs convey galaxy-sized emotions with stunning grace and straightforwardness. The chemistry between Melberg and Sbragia has resulted in a minimal pop soundworld unlike any other, producing albums that articulate upheaval, joy, confusion, and metamorphosis using almost exclusively guitar and vocals. Active throughout the '90s, The Softies existed outside of scenes, eras, and ideologies, creating music in their unique, ever-changing snow globe. Since Melberg and Sbragia began writing their beautiful songs of fire and melancholy, much has changed, but the timelessness of The Softies is more apparent than ever on *The Bed I Made*, their first new album in 24 years. Formed in January 1994 as an outlet for more experimental sounds after Melberg's punk band Tiger Trap grew too popular, The Softies recorded albums for Slumberland and K, toured a bit, and created vulnerable statements that contrasted sharply with the post-grunge and indie rock scene of the late '90s. Their music, powerful in its hush, stood out amidst the louder acts of the time. In the early 2000s, both members focused on other projects, but The Softies never officially broke up. They began reuniting for special live sets as early as 2012, performing their now-classic songs. Life continued, bringing both joy and difficulty, including the loss of both their mothers within two months of each other. This shared pain led them to rediscover the comfort of writing music together, using sad songs as a lifeline. As Sbragia experienced a musical rejuvenation, shows began happening again, and after attending the Oakland Weekender in 2022, she felt it was time for a new Softies album. The world was ready, and so were they. Though living in separate cities (Melberg in Vancouver, BC, and Sbragia in Portland, Oregon), the duo met up over nine months to write, demo, and detail new material, eventually recording in Anacortes, Washington. The sessions produced music true to The Softies' original vision, with songs like "Tiny Flame" and "California Highway 99" showcasing their signature sound. Melberg's evolution as a songwriter is evident in the refined vocal harmonies and sophisticated arrangements on tracks like "Go Back In Time" and "I Said What I Said." While the music blooms from their immutable friendship, *The Bed I Made* also reflects their growth as artists and people. This brilliant return after so many years is also their first album with Father/Daughter Records. Check out “I Said What I Said” below: Live Dates July 27 - Glasgow, UK @ Glas-Goes Pop Aug 23 - Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret (record release show) Aug 24 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall (record release show) Sep 6 - Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey (record release show) Sep 7 - Anacortes, WA @ Unknown (record release show) Sep 29 - Providence, RI @ AS220 Sep 30 - Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom Oct 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records Oct 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA Oct 4 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Oct 24 - Sacramento, CA @ The Starlet Room Oct 25 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill Oct 28 - Long Beach, CA @ Vine Oct 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble Oct 30 - Santa Cruz, CA @ SubRosa Read the full article

[audiofuzz]

The Softies Announce First Album in 24 Years, ‘The Bed I Made’ – Out August 23 + Tour Dates!

The Softies, one of the most beloved minimal pop acts of all time, announce their first album in 24 years, *The Bed I Made*, set to release on August 23 via Father/Daughter Records. The band returns with the lead single "I Said What I Said," which picks up right where they left off, featuring lyrics about escape, forward momentum, and self-forgiveness, all set to twangy, minimal guitar playing. The single is accompanied by a warmhearted video set in a sun-soaked forest clearing, reintroducing a band that has only grown stronger away from the spotlight. The Softies have also announced tour dates in Glasgow and North America throughout the summer and fall. More information can be found below. Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia share about "I Said What I Said": "Over the course of our 30-year friendship, there were bound to be experiences that would befall us both, sometimes at the same time, sometimes years apart. ‘I Said What I Said’ encapsulates a shared desire for escape, a push towards forward momentum, and unapologetic self-forgiveness for not always being able to speak the truth." Some things transcend time: friendship, self-discovery, the excitement of love, and the awakening that comes with new beginnings. These eternal feelings are embodied by The Softies, whose songs convey galaxy-sized emotions with stunning grace and straightforwardness. The chemistry between Melberg and Sbragia has resulted in a minimal pop soundworld unlike any other, producing albums that articulate upheaval, joy, confusion, and metamorphosis using almost exclusively guitar and vocals. Active throughout the '90s, The Softies existed outside of scenes, eras, and ideologies, creating music in their unique, ever-changing snow globe. Since Melberg and Sbragia began writing their beautiful songs of fire and melancholy, much has changed, but the timelessness of The Softies is more apparent than ever on *The Bed I Made*, their first new album in 24 years. Formed in January 1994 as an outlet for more experimental sounds after Melberg's punk band Tiger Trap grew too popular, The Softies recorded albums for Slumberland and K, toured a bit, and created vulnerable statements that contrasted sharply with the post-grunge and indie rock scene of the late '90s. Their music, powerful in its hush, stood out amidst the louder acts of the time. In the early 2000s, both members focused on other projects, but The Softies never officially broke up. They began reuniting for special live sets as early as 2012, performing their now-classic songs. Life continued, bringing both joy and difficulty, including the loss of both their mothers within two months of each other. This shared pain led them to rediscover the comfort of writing music together, using sad songs as a lifeline. As Sbragia experienced a musical rejuvenation, shows began happening again, and after attending the Oakland Weekender in 2022, she felt it was time for a new Softies album. The world was ready, and so were they. Though living in separate cities (Melberg in Vancouver, BC, and Sbragia in Portland, Oregon), the duo met up over nine months to write, demo, and detail new material, eventually recording in Anacortes, Washington. The sessions produced music true to The Softies' original vision, with songs like "Tiny Flame" and "California Highway 99" showcasing their signature sound. Melberg's evolution as a songwriter is evident in the refined vocal harmonies and sophisticated arrangements on tracks like "Go Back In Time" and "I Said What I Said." While the music blooms from their immutable friendship, *The Bed I Made* also reflects their growth as artists and people. This brilliant return after so many years is also their first album with Father/Daughter Records. Check out “I Said What I Said” below: Live Dates July 27 - Glasgow, UK @ Glas-Goes Pop Aug 23 - Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret (record release show) Aug 24 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall (record release show) Sep 6 - Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey (record release show) Sep 7 - Anacortes, WA @ Unknown (record release show) Sep 29 - Providence, RI @ AS220 Sep 30 - Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom Oct 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records Oct 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA Oct 4 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Oct 24 - Sacramento, CA @ The Starlet Room Oct 25 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill Oct 28 - Long Beach, CA @ Vine Oct 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble Oct 30 - Santa Cruz, CA @ SubRosa Read the full article

[nocturne-overtures]

Kinktober Day 5

Pairing: Gahyeon x Genderless/Neutral Reader

W:700+

Genre: Smut

Prompt: Corruption + Thigh Riding

Tags: Fingering, Ball Gags, Sex Toys, Corruption, Thigh Riding, Submissive Idol

A/N: Originally this was going to be x male reader, but I ended up making it gender neutral. So everyone feel free to enjoy!  A/N: The full M.List for Kinktober is here, and I’ll be posting and adding links to that post as I go. The prompts span several fandoms, so feel free to check the list to see if you’re interested in any of the future days

Day 4                        Day 6

Ao3

"Are...you sure?"

"Yeah. I...I want to try."

You nod and lift Gahyeon's face, looking into her eyes before pressing your lips together. She hummed and cupped the side of your face, shyly spreading her legs as you run your hand down between her thighs.

You kept your lips sealed against hers, running your fingers in circles over her clit. She whined gently, putting a shaky hand over yours and moving it lower with a blush dusting her cheeks. She sent you a pleading gaze and you rewarded her with another kiss, pushing two fingers into her.

“You’ve become addicted to my fingers, haven’t you?” You hummed, breaking the kiss to focus on fingering her. Gahyeon nodded, moaning against your neck as she set her head on your shoulder, spreading her legs and holding the underside of her thigh to keep herself from closing them.

Gahyeon had admitted to you recently that she hadn’t had much experience with sexual exploration, so you took the time to help her become more attuned to her body's wants. With a kiss to her forehead, you nodded towards the mirror across from you as you quickened your fingers. She trembled, her brows pinching up as she watched her juices run between your fingers.

“O-Oh, oh oh oh my god-” She tilted her head back, her nails digging into her thigh as she squirmed when you pulled your fingers out. You smile at the flush to her cheeks and guide your hand to her lips, humming and thrusting your soaked fingers in and out of her mouth before guiding them back down between her legs, your voice a low purr in her ear as you worked her over the edge.

That’s how it started. With a gentle hand to guide her, make her more comfortable with what her body wanted and needed. You would’ve never expected this to come from it.

Though, you’re not exactly complaining.

Months later, the sweet, embarrassed version of your girlfriend is gone. She’s done some exploring of her own, finding written works and videos to find more things to try with you. You’d even came home sometimes to find her moaning in your sheets, her face illuminated by her phone and her fingers working a second or third orgasm out of herself as she cried your name out.

“M-Mmm?”

“What’s that, sweetheart? I can’t hear you.” You tease. She moans weakly, and you take the time to admire her.

She’s seated on your leg, rutting herself along your thigh and leaving it soaked as she presses her breasts against your chest. Her eyes keep fluttering as you casually adjust the remote to the two toys you have inside of her, one in her ass and one in her pussy. You smile darkly as she mumbles again around the ball gag in her mouth, drool running down her chin.

She’s shaking in your lap, and as her hips stutter and she desperately rolls her clit against your flexing thigh, you can tell she’s close to cumming again. Her moans increase in volume as you adjust the toys again, leaving them on the highest setting and sitting back to watch as she rolled her hips back and forth.

You can hear the sound of your name-though muffled-being cried out as she cums again, clamping her petite thighs tight around your thigh, her whole body wracked with trembles as she set her forehead down against your shoulder.

You hum and turn the toys off, gently adjusting her bubblegum pink bangs before tilting her head up to kiss the other end of the ball gag, smiling darkly at the way she moaned and subtly pressed closer.

“Does my girl want more?” You hum, unclipping the ball gag to give her time to relax her jaw and drink the water you had placed on the bedside table. She nods once she’s finished drinking, panting as her brows pinched up needily. You rid yourself of your underwear, laughing to yourself at how she fell to her knees without being told, looking up at you eagerly.

Part of you felt a little bit responsible for corrupting Gahyeon. The sweet, shy girl you laid with having since been replaced with the needy, downright wanton one in front of you.

However, as she placed a small kiss to the thigh she just rode, still shining with her cum, and looked up at you waiting for you to give her permission to go down on you, you can’t bring yourself to feel too bad about it.

[hina-hina]

Perhaps when you’re ready can you write a Ghost and Soft!Reader and their child?😭❤️ I love your writing by the way!❤️❤️

Hello friend!! This is such a cute idea to go along with the soft!Reader series!! I'm so happy with how well received that post is and I'm loving everyones comments and ideas (ﾉ*ФωФ)ﾉ Hope you enjoy this one, thank you for requesting and I'm glad you like my writing!! (I put aside my final paper for class so I could post this today o_o)

I guess this is kinda a series now so chronologically it goes Soft!Reader post, Ghost getting secretly married post, then this one!

|| Ghost and Soft!Reader with a Child ||

Warnings: cursing, labor mentions, some angst

Ghost had been on deployment when you found out you were pregnant

You were shocked an unsure of how Ghost was going to react when he found out

but also really excited

Despite the two of you doing video calls whenever he could, you kept it a secret until he got back from deployment

You put the pregnancy test in a small gift box and wait for him to arrive

You are filled with anxiety all day, worried about what his reaction would be

When he comes in, you can already tell he is extremely tired so you don't want to bombard him immediately

So you hug him when he comes through the door, pull up his balaclava, and give him a few soft kisses

He immediately relaxes, happy to be home

You instruct him to go take a shower and he goes without fuss

When he comes back out in a simple black t-shirt and sweats, his wedding band still attached to its chain hanging from his neck, you feel your heart skip a beat

"Sit down," You instruct

"Awful bossy this evening, aye?" He teases, but does it anyway, small smile on his maskless face

"Hush!"

You present the small box to him, biting your lower lip nervously

He raises an eyebrow, large hands coming up over the box as he shifts his eyes between it and you

He opens it gently, staring at the small device for a moment before his eyes widen

"Your...."

Sets the box aside and immediately stands

"Your being serious?"

You simply nod and his eyes shift down to your stomach before he grabs you into a hug

He would be scared and distant at first, he would need time to process

I do think he would be good with kids

Once you two talk it out, he would become completely on board

Ghost is a girl dad, fight me

Would be so nervous when he goes to appointments with you

He Is so used to the good things in his life being taken away,

When he learns its a girl, he becomes slightly uneasy

He's not sure how he's gonna be with a kid period but knowing its a girl? He is terrified

Nonetheless, he finds himself buying things that he thinks you would like for the baby anyway

would hate it if he had to go back onto deployment before the baby is born

You reassure him you'll be fine and he reassures you he will be back for the birth

An ultrasound picture is placed alongside the picture of you in his breast pocket

Eventually tells his team he's going to have a baby and they are in shock, even more so than before

Imagine you go into labor early and he almost misses it

He shows up still in uniform (minus the weapons bc there isn't anyway he is getting into a hospital with all that on) and black grease paint still smudged around his eyes

But, damnit, he's there

Is scared shitless during labor

He doesn't want anything to happen to either of you

But you deliver the baby and it's handed to him and she looks so small in his hands o(*////▽////*)q

Tears fill his eyes and he feels his cold heart thaw a little more

He gets leave for a little while to take care of you and the baby

He doesn't want to leave you two but you reassure him that you know his work is important

You make him promise to always come back to the two of you

The little girl grows up looking up to Ghost a lot and he feels he doesn't deserve it but loves it anyway

Whenever he comes back, he wants to spend as much time with the two of you as possible

He sends her letters that you read to her before bed

She helps you make care package and includes her drawings

A third picture is put into the pocket, one with all three of you

He brags about all of his daughters accomplishments to his teammates

Imagine one day he decides to surprise her at school when he comes back home

So after you drop her off, you go and pick Ghost up

The two of you go to her school and the teacher sends her to the principal's office

Ghost is waiting there with you, uneasy about being around so many people but when he sees his little girl? He is GONE

She comes in and immediately brights, running to her dad

Immediately drops to his knees to hug her when she comes running at him

Hugs her so close, then stands and goes over and grabs you too

He has never been this happy to be home

[highwayorgantrade]

Baptized By Fire (I)

Pairing: Ghost x (F)Reader

Request: Nope :)

Story Summary: Reader loses themselves to the mission - Ghost brings them back.

Chapter Summary: On your first specialized mission with Ghost and Soap, you were praying for everything to go right. Whether the idea was a sick joke or naivety, you did what you had to do to survive. Unfortunately, all actions have consequences.

Word Count: 2.8k

Song/Playlist:

Author's Note: Reader's callsign is Corpse! I got the idea for this fic by some ad I saw with these really cool titanium fangs, so I saw that and I was like yo lemme steal that rq so yeah I imagine reader having those but I don't really think it's necessary to the story! This is gonna be my first multi-chapter thing so I hope I can get everyone hooked bc LORRRDDDD the amount of stuff I have planned for this!

"When did intel say this guy was going to show up?" Soap grunted next to you, his rough voice teetering on the edge of being whiny. You knew the answer, everyone did. Three hours ago, a truck loaded with international weapons smugglers should have pulled outside of the house that you were sheltered in. The town had seen its last inhabitant months ago, right when this group began using it as a trading post. You were supposed to be in exfil by... Now, actually.

Ghost had parked himself in a barely-lit corner of the room, leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed. You wondered, every so often, if he was actually asleep, but when he ran through the motions of checking his gun, you were reminded of exactly who he was. Ghost would never fall asleep on a mission, no matter how late it was running.

"I'm going up to the second floor." You finally sighed. "Gonna see if I can scope anything out." You used to opportunity to stretch your legs - you had stayed crouched for so long, and the cold simply was not helping. And the longer you were in the presence of Ghost, the more your mind ran wild, and the overwhelming desire to impress him got worse and worse as time went on. Soap said nothing, and Ghost simply nodded at you.

Well, good enough.

The stairs were old, and it felt like they were screaming your presence when they creaked under your footsteps. As you walked past, the memories that this house once held were clear at every footstep. Picture frames of the family, forgotten behind, had dust collecting on the frames, and various pieces of artwork littered the walls, varying from classic Kahlo to children's messy fingerpainting. You pushed the door to each room open, trying to buy time by yourself. Each room was more or less the same - dresser, bed, window. Maybe a tapestry here and there.

You kneeled in front of a large, busted out window at the end of the hall, pulling binoculars out of your bag, and settling in. You held the binoculars up and sighed. Still the same landscape you've been staring at for the past three hours. The same faded market signs, dead outdoor plants and... Different SUV. You don't remember that being there, parked in an alleyway between two businesses. The windows were tinted dark, almost completely blacked out, so the hope of seeing anything inside was dashed.

The low, hushed voices of Soap and Ghost downstairs met your ears. You should tell them about the car. See something, say something, right? Part of you slightly resented the connection they had, but they've been working together for years. Countless missions and days together. These were your early days in Task Force 141, and this was your third mission with them. First mission using a specialized group like this, which is exactly why is was extra important that you didn't fuck up.

An uneasy feeling locked in your chest, and you stood, electing to rejoin the two of them. You shouldn't be alone, especially if a fight was about to break out.

"Contact!" Ghost's rough voice cut through the quiet, and almost as if on cue, a pair of gloved hands wrapped around your mouth and torso, setting off every single danger alarm your body had. Your vision darkened from the panic, and your desperate attempt to free yourself was going mostly unnoticed. The small point of pressure in your back told you that the barrel of a gun was pressed into your spine.

"Stop fucking fighting. They're not coming for you." A low, vaguely Eastern European voice growled into your ear before pulling you back into a random room. It was familiar, one of the parent's rooms, you'd assumed.

How did they get in? How the fuck did they get in without you noticing?

The window. The busted out windows in every room of the house. They came around the back entrance, and Ghost and Soap are about to be ambushed. Your eyes widened at the realization, and the man in front you smiled. Your target. This was him. Along with three other men, your outlook did not look good.

Panic clawed its way into your throat, but nonetheless, you made an effort to keep your face as stoic as possible. Your target leaned against the now-shut door of the room, and the sound of gunshots was echoing throughout the house.

"You are the one they call Corpse?" He looked you up and down, and gestured to one of his men. "Take her gun. And the knife. Scream, and I'll kill you and your friends." They followed his direction immediately, and the hand that was once around your mouth was removed. "Do you understand the situation you're in?" He was speaking to you like you were a child, and anger licked at your chest. Yes, obviously you understood the situation. You were trapped, with no chance of fighting, no weapons, and no way to communicate. You felt like a cornered dog, surrounded by people you know would kill you in a heartbeat.

You simply nodded, your teeth sinking into the inside of your cheek so hard, the metallic taste of blood was leaking into your throat.

Your target walked around the room, almost casually, and he smiled at the floor.

"There is a way for you to walk out of this alive, you know." He stopped, his back to the window. "Your force is rather... Mysterious. You come with us, and answer my questions. Any question I have, willingly. You'll be answering either way. The only question is how I'll be able to get you there." He smiled at you, like you two were having a pleasant conversation about world affairs.

The memory of Ghost's voice echoed in your head. "Don't let anyone take you to a second location. No matter what they are promising, they will kill you."

They will kill you. They want to kill you. They will hurt you. They will hurt Ghost and Soap, and who knows who else. You felt like a cornered animal, and all you could hear were gunshots and your own heartbeat pounding in your ears. You spoke for the first time in a while, and your own voice was unrecognizable to you.

"Fine."

And with that, your vision went black.

"See any more?" Soap's ragged breathing cut through his words, and Ghost's eyes were still trained on the street. Enemy bodies littered the world outside, and his vision was still adjusting to the world outside the scope of his rifle.

"No movement." Ghost finally put his weapon down, slightly grateful that the mission was over so they could all finally go back to base.

"Would've been easier with some fuckin' help." Soap grumbled, and cast a glance up at the stairs where he last saw your retreating back. Ghost didn't take a second thought about you going to scope out the landscape, he knew you were nervous around him, and in his chest, he felt a pang of regret. He could've been nicer to you, talked to you a little bit more, but he simply had no idea how to navigate his feelings around you. You simply showed up to base one day, and that was that for him. At first, he thought you were... Slightly aggravating. How easily you became friends with the Task Force, the sunshine that radiated out of you... He figured that you must not have seen that much war if you were still that damn happy.

It was difficult for Ghost to accept that he was wrong about your skills. At the firing range, in hand to hand combat, in everything, you were just ever-so-slightly better than him, and he tried to let some of his feelings known through the small things, like allowing you to enter a room before him, or simply sitting next to you during debriefings.

A resounding thud pulled him out of his thoughts, and immediately, his head whipped toward the direction, his heart sinking in his chest.

"Corpse, status!" Soap shouted, and his command was only met with silence. Before Ghost could think, he was on his feet and creeping up the stairs silently, his weapon at the ready. Soap followed closely behind, knowing that if Ghost was doing this, it was for damn good reason. A noise echoed through the house, and out onto the street, and both men stopped dead in their tracks. A scream, so guttural, animalistic, and angry pierced the air, and it chilled Ghost to the bone. He had heard a lot of noises during war, but none he heard were like this.

Of all the doors in that hallway, only one was closed, and Ghost nodded toward it. Soap and him stood on opposite sides of the door, and Ghost's heartbeat was racing as he thought about what could be on the other side of this door. You could be injured, dead, or worst of all, gone altogether. The door creaked open, and the sight that lay in front of them caused Soap and Ghost to freeze.

You were standing over four dead bodies, carnage spread around the room. Your uniform was covered in blood, and your hands and face had the same fate. Blood dripped from your chin, and your teeth were bared, a low noise emitting from your mouth as your chest rose and fell rapidly. The one fact they couldn't ignore: Every single body in that room had their throats shredded into oblivion.

"Corpse?" Soap spoke softly, the horror in his voice being poorly masked, but Ghost couldn't take his eyes off you. You were shaking, and the usual light that was in your eyes was gone, replaced by brutality and viciousness. Ghost handed his gun to Soap, wanting it clear out of the way if you decided to attack him as well. He stepped forward, the bottom of his boots leaving bloody footprints on the way to you. His grip on your chin forced you to look at him.

"Corpse, snap to. Come back, soldier."

"Corpse, snap to. Come back, soldier." Ghost's voice was the only clear thing in your mind, and you felt like you had just woken up from a very long nap. Your mind was hazy, and you focused on Ghost's eyes searching yours for any hint of remaining humanity. The last thing you remember: The target advancing toward you with a knife. That was it.

"Ghost, I- The target-" Your voice shook, and you finally took note of your surroundings. The target in question was long dead, sat against his wall, and his neck- "Oh, my God." As soon as your eyes set on the carnage in the room, Ghost wrapped his hand around your arm and began pulling you.

"No, don't look. Don't look." His hand came around your eyes, so the only think you could see was a slight hint of the blood-stained floor. Soap said nothing as Ghost led you out of the room, down the stairs, and into the freezing air. When you were outside, Ghost unclipped your helmet, and Soap rounded the corner.

"What the fuck was that massacre, Corpse?"

You wracked your brain for a good explanation, a hint of any memory that would allow you to explain something that you simply cannot remember, and you came up dead empty.

"I- I don't know, I can't remember." Your voice was small, almost lost to the wind blowing through the town. You had never seen Soap upset, and his response certainly wasn't helping your confusion.

"You don't know?" He looked at you incredulously. "You don't know how you... You tore open their throats?"

"No! I don't know! I can't remember!" You wished you could lie to him. You wished you could remember any minor detail of what happened, but after the target came at you, the only thing you remember is Ghost bringing you back.

The bright headlights of a familiar van approached, and you jumped at the sudden brightness.

"Soap, that's exfil. Get in the car and tell them to wait." Ghost's low tone was commanding, and Soap could only sigh and place himself in the passenger seat, undoubtedly already coming up with a mission report.

"Corpse, focus on me." Your eyes left the van, and Ghost had placed himself directly in front of you, so there was nowhere to look but in his eyes. "Do you or do you not remember what happened?" The intensity at which he spoke made you want to cry, the fear of disappointing him feeling real.

"No, I- I don't remember anything. All I can remember is him coming at me with a knife, and the other three guys, they said they would hurt you and Soap, and they wanted to take me somewhere else, but you told me to never go to a second location, and I just... I don't know."

"Hush, love, I believe ya. Did they hurt you?" His hand moved to grasp your bicep, and you looked down at the ground.

"No, I don't think so. I'm not sure."

Ghost sighed, and looked back at the vehicle.

"Right, then. We'll get ya checked out, just in case, okay? Come on." He began walking, but stopped when he realized you weren't following him.

"Ghost, did I-" You took a shaky breath, your question stuck in your throat. "Did I fuck up? Am I going to be kicked out?" Ghost stared at you, your question hanging in the air, until he took a step toward you.

"Corpse, you killed our target. And then some. You won't be kicked out for completing a mission. Price might tell you have to see some kind of psychiatrist or therapist, but that's it. That's all, I promise. Now, you're going to get in the van, we're going to go back to base, and you're gonna shower. Get to."

There was no arguing with Ghost, you knew that. You knew he was right, but that still didn't stop the little fire of annoyance lighting in your chest, and it was made worse that you didn't know what you were annoyed more by - The fact that he was so confident about the hypothetical outcome, or the thought of having to re-explain the situation to your Captain. You sighed as you wrenched open the back door of the car, the copper scent of your actions filling the enclosed space.

The ride back to base was quiet, the radio occasionally tuning in to a random station, speaking in a language you had no hope of understanding. The sun had begun to rise on the horizon, an orange glow cast on the landscape, and you sighed at the sun hitting your face, the feeling unmatched after being submerged in darkness for what felt like forever.

A few hours had passed, and Soap's snoring in the front seat was almost peaceful. You hadn't dared sneak a look at your Lieutenant - you weren't sure what curdled your heart more, the thought of him staring at you in disgust or disappointment, or worse, not at all. When the car passed through the security checkpoint for the base you called home, you couldn't seem to focus on one problem or thought at a time. Finally, the car stopped, and the growling engine cut off. Ghost gave Soap a rough shove to his shoulder, startling the man awake.

"Soap. Go." Ghost's voice seemed almost impossibly rougher after staying silent for hours. Soap cast you a remorseful look before exiting the vehicle, along with the driver. Anxiety held its place in the base of your throat, the scent of blood suddenly was drowning you, and your hands shook as you began to fidget with the seatbelt latch. "Corpse. Captain wants to speak with you."

Ha. You're fired. You're so fired. Your one passion, the one thing you know you were born to do-. "You're not in trouble. He just wants to know what happened." Ghost sighed, and pressed his thumb into the latch, releasing your seatbelt. "Damn it, soldier, fuckin' look at me when I talk to you." His voice immediately took on a harsher infliction, and you stared up at him, reminded of what exactly your relationship is to him - he is a Lieutenant, you are a Sergeant. Nothing more. "Obviously..." Ghost's eyes looked you up and down. "Get showered first." Your voice was barely above a whisper when you spoke.

"Yes, sir." When your boots made contact with the ground, it felt like the weight of... Everything collapsed on your shoulders. The sun felt too bright, your gear heavy and sticky, and Ghost's eyes boring holes into the back of your head all combined into the worst storm possible. You shook your head, your own eyes trained on the ground in front of you as you walked to your barracks. Just keep it together until you're alone. All you have to do is make it to your room. That's all. Don't fall apart until you're there.

Do not fall apart until you're there.

[purecantarella]

Hard to Love

bc i loved the song sm and i wrote this last month before kinktober started but i still want it out there!! i hope you all enjoy this one!! edit before posting : this is subject to changes and edits bc i finished writing this at 2AM park rosé x reader disclaimer/s : smoking, cursing, and an angsty time. read with a level head.

You'd known Rose pretty much her entire time in South Korea. She had met you when she had snuck out one night, needing some relief from the stress from another argument with her managers.

You just so happened to be at the right place at the right time.

You yourself needed a little break from work. Your co-workers were petty idiots and elected to push off all their pending projects onto you and the rest of your team because your boss had compared your work ethic to theirs.

After hours upon hours of sitting at a desk in a lowly lit room, you needed a break from the dreary office walls. You're greeted by an early morning chill. It had to be at least 2AM.

You breathe a tired sigh before carefully pulling a pack of cigarettes out of your back pocket. You swiftly place the stick between your lips, lighting the end ablaze while you leaned up against the cold wall of the alley way.

Of course you didn't mind people seeing you smoking, but it wasn't exactly smiled upon. You breath out a gray puff as you close your eyes, fighting off sleep as you did so.

Before you can completely get lost in the warmth the cigarette brought, a voice caught you off guard, "Bum me one?"

You nearly jump out of your skin at the sudden appearance of a young, blonde woman standing next to you. Her eyebrows creased and lips pressed into a thin line. She was clearly not in the mood to deal with anyone or anything.

You pull the pack out again, offering her the box. Quickly and without a second thought she pulls a stick out and you light the end of her stick without question. You watch her breath in the smoke and quickly huff it out.

"Thats the good shit." She whispers, you assume she thinks you can't hear her.

You chuckle, pulling the cigarette out of your mouth, "Penny for your thoughts, ma'am?" The woman looks over at you, irrediculously. As if you asked the dumbest question in the world before she laughs dryly.

"Ever just love your job but hate the people because their fucking pricks. Not understanding the slightest bit of creativity or freedom." She raves. You smile while you watch her run a hand through her blonde hair.

You take another huff of smoke before boldly blowing it in her diection, catching her off guard. She stares at you with wide eyes before you drop the stick and promptly step on it, "I have an idea on how shitty unimaginative co-workers can be."

You pause to get a good look at the woman. You knew she was famous, her face was plastered everywhere but you didn't really care for all that limelight. You meet her eyes and smile at her, "Try not to get caught. Would hate for the headlines to have my face next to yours." You lower your voice to a hushed tone, "Would hate to ruin the image of perfection."

You look around before slipping the rest of the box into her open hand. She laughs softly before you wink her way and turn a heel to return to your office.

In all honesty, you thought that would be the end of it until you met each other the next night, and the night after that, and each one after that. She was there waiting in the same alley and it had become the highlight of your work days.

"Don't people go looking for you when you leave?" You ask as Rosé leans against the wall, not really smoking just choosing to keep you company instead of being at YG. She laughs softly, before looking at you sarcastically, "Of course they look for me. I'm hot shit."

You roll your eyes before turning to her with a smirk, "Yeah you are hot."

The singer looks at you from her position on the wall, an amused smile and raised brow as she leans forward, challenging you. She lifts her hand and curls her finger in. You confidently stride up to her for her to tug you by the tie around your neck, "Is that right?"

"Yeah." You reply faking carelessness. She's fucking obsessed with it.

Rosé tugs you closer as she bites down on her lower lip, "I would argue the same." You place a hand on the brick wall behind her as you tower over her. The smirk on your face grows as she tugs you lower to meet her lips. It was rough and needy and it all left you breathless.

That was the beginning of the most complicated relationship you'd ever known.

After that night, you two saw each other far more often. She gave you her address, her number, and semi-free access to YG Entertainment's facilities. Rosé gave you everything she could in spite of herself.

While waiting for her, you flip through a poetry book that was on her couch as Hank looks up at you pleading. You eye him before checking the corner, making sure Rosé wouldn't catch you letting him on the couch. You grin mischievously

"He's not allowed on the couch, N/n." The singer warns while putting her earing on. You look up and you can't help the smile that sparks onto your lips as you look her up and down. "Aren't you an attractive specimen, miss Park."

You prop Hank on your lap, "Hanky, doesn't mommy look simply stunning?"

Rosé rolls her eyes, commanding her pet to get off you. She plops herself down on your lap abruptly. You grunt before pushing her blonde hair to the side. "Careful with that mommy talk, might get you in trouble, Y/n."

You don't respond just looking up at her adoringly, lifting your hand to stroke her cheek gently. As you do, the singer blushes, feels butterflies shooting around her stomach. Trying to brush the feelings off, she laughs nervously. "Stare all you want now, people would pay to see me this close." She plays off.

You lean up, pecking her lips gently, "How about we skip the reservation." Rosé quirks a brow and laughs softly, silently questioning you. "I just want to spend time with you. I don't want anyone gawking and interrupting that." You pause again, leaving a quick kiss to her nose. "Just the two of us."

Her cheeks burn up as you stare at her, affection overflowing in your eyes. You watch as her fight back a smile, Hank jumps beside you both and sits down beside you. Both of you laugh and you stroke his fluffy head as you plop your head on Rosé's shoulder, "The three of us then."

Rosé shifts her gaze from the puppy to your. A mix of giddiness and anxiety fills her as she watches you but for a moment it fades as you look up at her. She strokes your cheek as she nods, "Yeah...I'd like a night in with you."

The singer falls into your arms, not caring about the delicate fabric of her dress, just wanting to be more comfortable in your arms. It's foreign to her, letting someone so close to her. She breathes a calm sigh as you tell her stories of your life.

Your conversation drawls out deep into the night. It wasn't long until you'd fallen asleep with her cuddled up to your chest. Rosé stares at you, etching your peaceful image into her head.

Carefully, she brushes your hair out of your face, biting her lip as she her heart pounds madly against her chest. "God I wish I could promise you the world, N/n...you're a dream wrapped up in the most adorable face." She confesses, the smile on her face fades. "But I just wonder how long you'll last..."

Tears prick her eyes pathetically and hides her face in your neck, a soft sob breaking from her lips. You stir awake, feeling her tears on your skin. Immediately, sleep fades from your body and you force her chin up slowly in spite of her resistance.

"What happened? Are you alright?" She laughs, voice cracking as she does, while shaking her head. "It's stupid. Just a nightmare..."

You take her cheeks in your hands, wiping her tears away. "You can come to me with anything...a nightmare, if you're hungry, if you need anything. I'm your girl." She smiles and nods against your palm, leaning into the warmth you offered her. You smile and pull her into your arms, squeezing her delicately.

"I'll protect you from those nightmares."

"You're such a dork."

The night ending with your laughter, the sweetest melody she'd ever heard. She would do anything to hear it every day.

It'd been months since you and Rosé first met and became an unofficial item. It had been the most blissed out both of you had been. You'd been less crabby to your co-workers and she had so much energy during promotions.

It seemed like smooth sailing until one night, just another argument about the dumbest, most menial thing. The bickering boiling over into a fight about how much time she spends with single men and women who would kill to get her attention.

"So you're saying that I'm easy to win over?" She yells out as throw your head back in frustration, groaning loudly before falling into irritated laughter. "Now you're trying to belittle my emotions! Why the fuck would you stand there and just laugh!"

"Do you know how fucking insane you sound right now, Roseanne. I'm not the one who stayed out all night last night, drinking and partying with rando people!" You bark back to which Rosé scoffs and crosses her arms. "Why can't you just trust me, Y/n?! Those are my friends! What are you going to stop me from seeing my friends?"

She pauses to step up to you glaring down at you, "Who sounds fucking crazy now?" The singer stomps off to the kitchen, grumbling to herself that she just wanted a quiet night in.

"Is it so much to ask that as your girlfriend you—" Rosé laughs madly as she slams a cabinet door.

"We are barely together! Get it in your head that you're—" You cut her off, practically seething with anger as you hiss out, "What? A passing fancy? Is that all I am to you, Chaeyoung?"

"Well maybe you are." You're taken aback, your eyes go wide as you stare at her expression. Waiting for the shift, the guilt, but she remains cold and her eyes continue to stare you down. You run your hands in front of your face as you hastily grab your things on the kitchen island.

"You are absolutely impossible to love Park Rose." Rosé freezes from her place in the kitchen as you rub your eyes gently, tiredness running through your body. You loosen your grip on your coat and purse. You turn back around to face her but before you can say anything her hand is up in your face, instantly silencing you.

She flashes you a tight smile as she pushes herself off the counter. Clearing her throat, subtly reaching up to push her tears back into her eyes.

"...Rosie..."

"No." She snaps, her smile unwavering but you see the twinge of hurt on her face, the sparkle of her tears. You take a step forward, an apologetic look on your face but she shakes her head, "You're right. I'm hard to love."

Rosé chuckles, running a hand through her hair. "I will..." She shoots you an awkward set of finger guns, "...See you, Y/n. You can..." A soft sniffle falls from her as she turns around, waving you off, "Uh...you can let yourself out."

You stand in the doorway, bag seeming heavier than when you packed it. You stare down the hallway, playing through every scenario you could. Doing anything to stay where you were for a little longer. Bringing you back to reality, Hank paws up your leg, whining softly.

You pat his head gently, smiling down at him with a sad smile, "Take care of her for me, bud. She and I are looking for different things right now..." You pause, chuckling to yourself, just how stupid you must look. "I love you Hanky and I love your mom too. Make sure she takes care of herself...alright?"

He barks softly, seeming to understand you. You offer him a proud nod before commanding him to go to Rosé's room. You pull the bag back onto your shoulder, looking around the room one more time before huffing and stepping out the door.

Rosé peaks from the hallway...regret and a bitter taste resonating with her. The words she spat at you were vile and she wished she'd never said them. But she was too late.

"You're impossible to love." Your words rang in her ears as she slid down the corner of the wall, her tears dampening her cheeks. Soft sobs that clung to her chest during your argument released and she could no longer control herself.

All night she wailed as you lay in your bed practically tearing your hair out from regret and frustration.

Weeks later, you still hadn't recovered from your argument with Rosé. Unsure where you both stood, if you were still a couple or not. But you didn't want to face it.

Though as much as you wanted to, it was impossible to avoid Rosé. Her face was plastered on every billboard, your co-workers talked insistently about the group's songs releasing soon, and you still saw her in the street from time to time. She met your eye before quickly pulling her gaze away.

It hit harder than you thought it would have.

"I have to say I didn't think Rosé would hit so hard!" You flinch at your female co-worker's words. You peak up your cubicle and see three of them talking amongst one another. The other two agreed as the third fiddled with their laptop, replaying a portion of a song from the group's album.

Your blood ran cold as her words rang in your ears, "Cause I'm hard to love."

Rather uncharacteristically, you hop to your feet and approach the gabbing women. You smile politely, to which they're shocked...they'd never seen you speak to them not about work. "Sorry to bother you...but what song was that?"

They stare at you gobsmacked before explaining it was Rosé's latest solo song on the group's album. As quickly as you came, you disappear, searching the song's title online, pulling your headphones onto your head quickly.

Your hands tremble as you read the title over and over again in your head. Swallowing thickly, you click the thumbnail of the song. The words making your heart tremble. Hearing her voice, even if it was a recording, was the sweetest catharsis you'd ever felt but at the same time her words...your words...stung you in ways you didn't think could hurt.

It was all new. You wanted to see her. You needed to.

"Are you alright, Y/n?" Your co-worker asked, her expression soft as she motions to the tears falling from your eyes. You quickly wipe them away as her hands are on your shoulders trying to console you.

You push yourself out of your chair quickly, "I..." You clear your throat, trying to keep your voice from cracking. "I need some air...I'm going to..." You point out the door before dashing for it in spite of your co-workers calling for you.

As you make it out of the office building, a sense of clarity hits you. All the moments you shared with Rosé smack you across the face, imagining how you felt when you were with her. You pant and run your hands through your hair desperately, the realization that you just let go of the greatest coincidence of your life.

Thunder clapped, pulling you out of your daze.

You stare up at the darkening sky, cursing to yourself. A day you chose not to wear a coat...of course. Without thinking twice, you're quick to dash through the busy streets, feeling droplets of rain pouring onto your skin, leaving you soaked but all you can think of was that day you left her in her apartment.

The broken look on her face, the tremble in her voice, the things you said, and the things you wanted to say. Each thought pounds through your body. Pushing you forward until your breath is ragged and your legs are sore.

A sense of relief floods you when you see the YGE building in the distance, you smile tiredly before sprinting. It wasn't long before you were dripping in the lobby of the entertainment building, garnering stares from staff.

The receptionist stares at you, deadpanning, "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks."

You laugh before nodding, "It's been hell trying to stay away." The young woman nods before looking over the schedule. Clicking her tongue softly as you tap your fingers anxiously along the desk.

Her words fade in the background as you look up and see Rosé, typing away at her phone as her managers surrounded her. You see the familiar tight lipped expression as the older men around her speak to her.

She looked just angelic as the moment you first saw her in that alley.

You're frozen in place as everything returns. The good, the bad, the past few months and how it felt to have her with you. In whatever way, you wanted to be with her.

Your feet take you out of the building, following her to the van. "Park Roseanne!" Your voice echoes through the open parking lot. Her managers look around to glare at you, they never did like you, thinking you were a bad influence on Rosé and her eyes immediately find you.

"Y/n?" She puts her phone away, and stares at you. The singer tries to uphold a stoic and distant demeanor but she was glad to see you. Seeing you brought her so much joy. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment you don't know what to say. Your mouth is stuck and all you can do is open your mouth then close it. Her manager's scoff and tell her, "Chaeyoung, this is a waste of time. Let's go." He guides her back towards the car.

You snap into action, "No, you've had control over her for far too long, sir." He glares at you, the singer beside him stifling a giggle. Composing herself, she"Say what you need to say then."

Your eyes locked, a flare of sincerity flashes over your face. "You aren't hard to love. I shouldn't have ever told you that. I..." You pause to catch your breath, Rosé stares at your soaked figure. You blush under her intense gaze. "You're impossible not to love. You're gentle, and hilarious, and gorgeous, and so unlike any person I've met. It makes me nervous and excited and I was scared that I couldn't keep up with you and you'd see right through that."

Rosé's hands tremble as she watches you pour your heart out, unsure if what was dribbling down your face were strayed raindrops or tears.

"I know you can't give me everything, I don't want you to have to. I want you to go out and live your life, be the success you can. I want you to be your authentic self."

You laugh, pushing your damp hair out of your face, staring up at the thundering sky. "I don't care that you can't give me everything...I just want to be with you, strings or no." You pause and laugh tiredly, "I love you, Rosie."

"Okay, I've heard enough of this idiocy. Chaeyoung, we need to go. You'll be late to dinner." Her manager ushers. For a moment she's frozen in time. All she can think of is how much she missed you, just how every song in her head was your voice, and just how sad and genuine you looked standing in the rain.

Rosé steps into the van, your heart sinks as she does. Her managers breathe a sigh of relief, giving instructions to block you from YGE's systems. You gnaw on your lower lip, disappointment sinking in your stomach. You turn around a sense of dread knowing you'd have to go back to a life without Park Chaeyoung.

As you walk away, you hear the faint sounds of pitter-pattering footsteps.

"Chaeyoung!" Her manager's call out in a panicked tone. And before you can react, her coat is above your head, covering both of you. You flush under her gaze, seeing just how close she was. It had been far too long since you'd seen the singer this close. "You're going to get sick if you stay in the rain for too long." She jokes before smiling up at you, brightening the grey sky.

"It's not going to be easy. I'm going to be so busy, so hard to trust, and I might just hurt you..." She pauses nudging her nose against yours, a broken expression on her face. You lift your hand, offering her a small smile as she whispers, "I might just fuck it up...like I do everything..."

"I want to try. Let me be the one in a million for you, Rosie." You laugh pulling her closer, her hands tightening around the coat above both of you. "If you fuck up, we'll fuck up together." You peck her lips gently, allowing the touch to linger.

You smile as you pull away, watching as her cheeks redden. "It's you and me, Rosé."

She giggles and tilts her head in shyly. "God, I love you, Y/n."

"Let's get you dried off, come on." Her events for the evening being the last thing on her mind, she lowers one of her hands, taking yours. You look down at the interlocked digits and a flood of warmth flowing through your entire body.

The warmth heating up your chilly body and for Rosé, she didn't feel so alone...so genuinely loved so to speak.

and im soft and this took much longer but also i wanted to do the idea justice and i wanted my return to angsty floof to be memorable HAHAHAHAH i hope you all liked this one!! classes started up again and have me on my knees wishing i was dead HAHAHAHA but i will see you all vv soon!! i love yo all and take care of yourselves, my lovelies 💖 - r

[roobylavender]

Why don't you like modern takes on Selina?

i don't think she really has the capacity anymore to survive as a character without needing to be supplanted by bruce. the long halloween gets a lot of praise as a standalone story but i think bringing it (and dark victory and when in rome by extension) into canon with hush was one of the worst editorial decisions made with regards to her character bc not only did it reframe the nature of her relationship with bruce entirely, it also hugely undermined the independence selina had developed as a character in the first decade of post-crisis canon. there's a recurring theme in that trilogy of books of selina looking to be saved by someone: falcone, bruce, even her brief italian lover who is so inconsequential i can't remember his name. it stands as a stark contrast to the selina of catwoman (1989) and catwoman (1993) who recognized that the only way she could survive in the world was to fend for herself bc no man would respect her first as a priority. the entire thesis of selina's grand entry into post-crisis canon rests on the idea that catwoman is an identity birthed from a defiance of men and their violence and greed. the humiliating cat suit her pimp tells her to wear is repurposed and reclaimed bc no man owns her or can control her at their leisure

i think a lot of people, esp these days, tend to argue that they're tired of women needing to be fierce and strong and cold and that they deserve to be soft, but i can never really swallow that argument when it comes to selina bc of how clearly it's framed to support a certain interpretation of her relationship with bruce. no person who genuinely cares for selina can say she's only capable of ferocity and coldness. she has her moments of compassion and love but they're merely kept for the people she truly cares about rather than doled out at leisure. people have an issue with selina being fierce and cold bc it acts as a direct obstacle to her relationship and qualms with bruce. i'm always surprised by how people are so eager for her to rightfully call out bruce's hypocrisies only to want for her to be falling at his feet the next moment. there's a running joke that the ideal relationship between them is cohabitation where selina gets to go on heists at leisure. on a surface level i understand it's entertaining, but it offers no real narrative value beyond fan service. even more than that it's not realistic. the selina of the early 90s would never have been comfortable in that world of riches knowing how she had lived and struggled her entire life. she wanted to survive and she obv stole to survive but wealth wasn't her goal for the costume; her goal was notoriety and recognized defiance of the system and more than anything a life lived on her own terms. i'm always confused why there's such an aversion to selina standing her ground and making bruce do the work to come to her side of things when it would make for far more compelling storytelling that would challenge bruce as a character in ways that are desperately needed and it would honor selina's integrity as a character by prioritizing her needs over those of fans who simply want to see their two favorite characters together. there is an enormous potential to write a compelling romance between bruce and selina that balances their contrasting sociopolitical ideologies but bc the popular perception of romance is consummation and marriage readers aren't satisfied by anything less or anything more complex

on a more minor note: i really really hate the plot development towards the end of catwoman (1993) where selina becomes obsessed with wealth and power. i'm not sure if it's a consequence of writers trying to bring in more of the queen of the underworld vibe from golden and silver age depictions of selina but i don't think it really fits with what selina is crafted to be in the early 90s. to me it's more than enough of a clever nod to older iterations of selina that notoriety and defiance are priorities for her in the costume. those are very much character traits the golden age catwoman exemplifies down to her last appearance written by bob kane. i don't think pursuit of wealth for wealth's sake needs to be added to her character at all and while i understand readers love her role as a philanthropist millionaire from catwoman (2002) onward i, again, don't think it does anything for her as an individual. it is very much a development used to parallel her to bruce rather than afford her personal worldview anything of substance (well, beyond her brief phase of remorse). and this may be stretching it a bit but i think it reflects on the shame some readers feel at the idea that selina is from a working class background. it kind of goes back to what i was saying about how people want selina to call out bruce's hypocrisies but they don't want her to actually have to exemplify any of them. they want her to be able to criticize bruce within the comfort of her own mansion rather than be witness to any of the circumstances that make her so angry and fiercely protective of the people like her. and when i pointed that out once for some reason people got angry and thought i was implying selina deserves no stability in her life whatsoever, but that's not what i'm saying at all. she does deserve to be stable. more than anyone in fact. but she doesn't need a mansion to be stable, and she knows that. if she could live in peace with the people she loved without the threat of violence from men she would be content. she's never asked for more than that and i don't see why she needs to