#see steph date

[1000-directions]

good stuff 11-6-24

i've been dreading this post all day, but i've also been thinking about this post all day, and i've been trying to find any kind of good moment even though it has felt absolutely fucking impossible at times, but here we go

i woke up early with my partner this morning, and when the election was called, they were holding me in their arms in the dark, and i didn't have to be alone with all the grief that i felt, we were together, and i was loved

i'm grateful that i got to work from home today. i didn't work very much, although still much more than any of my coworkers do when they work from home, but i was really glad i didn't have to be at work among any of them

i spent a lot of the day thinking about how much i love my partner and how happy i've been this last month, especially compared to this time last year. i am so blessed to have found this person and to be building a life with them, and i am so fiercely grateful for how happy i got to be, even if things feel unbearable right now

[elizabethemerald]

Girl's Knight

It was supposed to be girl’s night. Tim was on Comms so Barbara could be here, and the rest of the Bats had all but forced them to take the night off, each of them promising that they would handle the crime of the city so the girls could relax for one night. The plan had been a movie at the theater, dining out in their fanciest dresses that were usually only used for stuffy galas, then returning to the clocktower for drinks and makeovers. Not to mention looking through Babara’s cache of black mail videos of all the fails of the boys. 

Of course, they still lived in Gotham. When did anything go to plan in Gotham? 

The theater had been attacked by Dr. Freeze. He basically turned the whole building into a snowglobe. Since no one was inside it, Batman was just going to leave the building to thaw normally. So they should be able to enjoy movies there again sometime in April. The fancy restaurant turned out to be a front for a mob family and while they knew that, Jim Gordon had jumped the gun on cracking down and shut the place down. Babs was going to give her dad an annoyed call tomorrow about that one. 

So now the trio of Barbara, Cassandra and Stephanie were at Batburger in their gala finest. The night could still be saved if they could just get back to the clock tower. Then Condiment King strutted into the Batburger. All three of them sighed and Cass and Steph started silently arguing back and forth on who would slip out to deal with him. No matter who stayed and who left, there were even odds of all of them getting covered in something foul smelling. 

However all three of them were surprised when a pair at another table were the ones to rise. 

Cassandra had of course clocked them when she entered, that part of her brain that she could never shut off had cataloged every person in the restaurant before she was even fully past the door. 

The woman was tall, taller than any of her brothers. Even taller than Bruce. She might even be as tall as Wonder Woman. She had long flaming red locks that cascaded down her back, restrained only by a teal headband. She had sat facing the entrance and had clearly clocked the Batgirl trio as fighters as well. She was well muscled and moved with the practiced grace of a trained martial artist. When Condiment King had appeared she had seemed more annoyed than scared or truly bothered by him. 

Her companion was skinny and small in the same way that street kids usually were, the same way Jason had been and even Cass herself. Like no matter how much food he ate it would never be enough to make up for not getting enough as a kid. Even though he had his back to the entrance he had still been aware of every person as they came and went, cocking his head and tracking them by sound alone. He looked to be the same age Cass was. Cass could tell they were siblings, though they looked just about as different as possible. 

The two of them had conversed in rapid sign language, the woman speaking and signing, while he listened and signed back. It made Cassandra’s heart leap, seeing someone else just like her. She had just happened to sit so she could read some of his signs while showing that she used ASL as well. Though he apparently didn’t like his food very much because he kept saying something about “nasty burgers.” 

Right before Condiment King had walked in, the guy had sat up and shivered before looking around warily. His sister had sighed and carefully wiped her fingers on her napkin, unhurried by whatever had spooked him. Then one of Gotham’s least effective, yet most annoying, rogues walked in and declared he was robbing the place. 

The guy stood up and pulled what looked to Cass to be a highly scientific soup thermos and snuck up behind Condiment King as he was threatening the tired, underpaid and overworked cashiers. Cass couldn’t help but notice how silent he walked, he glided over the ground like a dancer as if gravity was only the merest of suggestions. He thumbed a switch on the side of his thermos and a brilliant blue beam poured out, catching Condiment King’s attention. 

Condiment King turned and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a random civilian holding a soup container threateningly. The rogue and the stranger both looked down at the thermos in confusion. He opened his mouth as if to speak but instead some horrible combination of sparking electricity, cracking ice and distant screams came out. Somehow Cass could almost hear words past the noise and she was amazed that she could understand him. 

“Huh. I would have sworn you were one of mine.” 

Condiment King scowled past his confusion and readied his mustard cannon. 

“Danny, now's not the time for quips.” His sister said as she pulled him out of the way of the yellow fountain. “I’m not letting you back in the apartment if you smell like mustard.” 

Then she pulled a baton from the back of her belt that extended into a bo staff. Two quick strikes had Condiment King disarmed and on the ground, a third and he was dazed enough to not be a threat. 

“Well done, Jazz!” Danny had set his thermos down on the countertop so he could excitedly sign to his sister, then he looked around in confusion. “But then what triggered my ghost sense?” 

No sooner had he finished his signs, than a translucent being phased through the wall, a box in his hands. He looked to be dressed as a regular warehouse worker, though he glowed, floated and apparently could ignore solid walls. He immediately began flinging frozen hamburger patties from his box around. 

“I’m the Box Ghost! Ghostly master of all things rectangular and corrugated! Beware!” 

“Ah, there you are Boxy.” Danny said in his strange and crackling voice. Cass could see that Stephanie and Barbara couldn’t understand what he was saying as they both clamped their hands over their ears at the cacophony. 

Cass watched Danny with this Box Ghost. Clearly the two knew each other, she could practically see the rapport Danny had. She couldn’t keep herself from admiring Danny’s form. He flowed like water around the frozen patties. Even when her brothers were at their most agile and graceful, there was an element of elegance that was missing from their movements. Yet with Danny he skated around the projectiles. 

He was also aware of every person in the restaurant. One of the frozen burgers would have easily missed Danny, but hit one of the others, except he caught it and spun it right back at Box Ghost. That level of awareness was difficult for even seasoned heroes, and showed how often Danny had faced overwhelming odds, he knew exactly what would happen if he failed to be aware of someone in the line of fire. 

She appreciated how in control he was of his strength. She could see it in the bunching and tightening of his muscles that he wasn’t using anywhere near his full strength in this fight. It was a level of restraint she knew far too personally. It was the restraint of someone who had hurt others before and would never do so again. 

“Alright Boxy, you’re making a mess. Time to be done” Danny said, grabbing the thermos once more and again flipping the switch. This time when the beam of light caught the ghost it began to pull them in like a vortex. 

“Darn your cylindrical containment device!” The voice of the Box Ghost diminished until it completely disappeared along with the ghost and the beam of light. Danny spun the thermos in his hand for a moment before he clipped it onto his belt with a flourish. 

Cass glanced at the other Batgirls and, unsurprisingly, saw Steph almost salivating over the amazonian woman. Steph liked her women strong, tall and hyper competent. Meetings with the rest of the Justice League usually left her vibrating with barely controlled desire. She had almost needed a vacation the first time she met Big Barda. Steph was already half way up out of her seat to introduce herself. 

Barbara seemed similarly impressed, though as she was currently dating Dinah Lance, her interest was different. She had her phone out and was typing rapidly, no doubt hacking the security system of the Batburger to remove any evidence of their actions, as clear a sign of her approval as anything. 

With a smile Cass also stood and followed Steph. The two Batgirls would absolutely introduce themselves to these two, and hopefully that introduction would eventually lead to a date, or maybe more.

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the ask game

tim creates a clone of kon, but this is dicktim tim has to carry the fetus or breastfeed it, but dick suddenly gets a mommy kink and immediately falls in love

for the ask game!

DICKTIM MOMMY KINK. how did you know i have such a thing for just about any Batcest ship where the other person calls Tim mommy. i don't even know why i just think that shit is so fun.

it'd have to be Omegaverse for me, that's the only scenario i personally could write m-preg. i like the thought of no one knowing that Tim has gone on this crusade. and after 99 failures, Tim's so desperate and angry he tries in vitro fertilization. the first few times it doesn't work so he doesn't take it too seriously, at this point it's just a compulsion. he gets to a point he stops taking the pregnancy tests. so when about a month later, he's experiencing morning sickness and he's missed his heat, Tim has an 'oh, shit.' moment. and well. telling Dick first is his *natural* answer. (i think he'd also go to Steph, but in canon she'd be "dead" at this point) Tim doesn't know what to do, he didn't think he'd get this far. Dick is comforting and grounding, agreeing to help Tim hide this the best he can. Tim has to time it right, fake a bad injury so it makes sense he's benched and wearing baggy sweaters for a few months.

it's platonic at first. Dick is an alpha but his bond with Tim is more of a pack bond and he's just trying to help Tim through this awkward situation he got himself into. (and not laugh at him too much in the process bc well. only Tim. only Tim could manage this.) the pregnancy hormones have Tim all over the place. he's seeking comfort and Dick is trying to keep it platonic and professional, even when he's cuddling Tim or bringing him weird cravings at 2 am. the trust in Dick and Tim's bond makes Dick Tim's only real support system. (also just bc the Titans were a goddamn mess in this era) maybe at some point they tell Bruce the truth but Bruce is dealing with Jason so. bigger fish. it forces them closer as Dick is the only one who can help Tim with the awkward sides of pregnancy. Dick is basically living with Tim and because Tim can't satiate the itch to be in the field (he's tried sneaking out, it earned him a lecture from Dick and a warning that Dick would handcuff him to the radiator if Tim tried that again) so Tim runs comms. for anyone who asks, but mostly for Dick, to the point he's in Dick's ear even when Dick doesn't need the backup, just to keep each other company.

i think, as the pregnancy went on and Tim's chest started to fill out and his hips are bigger, that's when Dick's feeling shift. one second Tim is just his pack, the next Tim is suddenly a very pretty, very vulnerable omega that's Dick is protecting and his wires get all kinds of crossed about it. he starts dousing himself in scent blockers so Tim doesn't notice the change, can't smell how much Dick wants him. which makes Tim annoyed because Dick's scent has been a consistent calming factor keeping the worst of his hormones in check. it'd lead to an awkward fight where Dick is dancing around the truth and Tim just wants to bite him out of anger. finally, Dick admits it and. Tim kind of bluescreens bc sure he's had a crush on Dick for years, but it's sort of like your celebrity crush calling you up and asking for a date. it makes no sense and he can't wrap his head around it. he almost thinks Dick is making fun of him, because Tim is super self-conscious about the pregnancy and mortified he put himself in this situation. it takes a lot of reassurance and a long conversation, but. well, they do end up having sex.

Dick doesn't *mean* to call Tim mommy the first time. he knows Tim hates being emasculated as an omega, and knows Tim is vulnerable about being pregnant. their sex is gentle, no matter how much Tim insists he can take it because Dick doesn't want to hurt the baby, or Tim. it's when Tim finally huffs with annoyance and flips them over -reminding Dick that Tim is still trained and deadly, even like this- to take control and actually get the rough sex he needs right now, when it slips out. there's something just very pretty about Tim taking control and taking what he needs from Dick, but still being whiny and squirmy on top of him. so the first time Dick calls him mommy is an accident and they're *both* startled by just how much they like it. their sex life goes from soft and caring to *very* interesting overnight, where Dick doesn't hide how much he likes Tim's chest. and well. breastfeeding kink. for completely scientific reasons, of course. just to help the milk flow and make sure Tim's body is adjusting well. definitely not bc of the noises Tim makes when Dick does it no sir.

when Tim finally has the clone baby, they're both smitten with this tiny clone. i think they'd end up mating and either say it's Dick's baby or they adopted it. (the lie only works short term bc well, sooner or later that baby's going to start lifting trucks. not to mention Kon does come back to life and is perturbed by how much Tim's kid looks like him.) it's a very cute, fluffy happily ever after sort of deal, with plenty of mommy kink. i think Tim would be huffy and annoyed at how long he'd have to wait for sex bc in my mind, Tim uses sex as a stress relief and is very annoyed when he's deprived of it so, they'd find creative ways around it.

[hauntingblue]

So steph bought those aprons for cass and herself.... so they can kiss each other

[oifaaa]

clearly evil Tim has his civilian boyfriend that he dates as a civilian, and he has his hero boyfriend that he dates as a hero. Evil Tim has 2 hands, just the same as normal Tim. the only issue is that, unlike normal Tim who would at least, you know, let his boyfriends KNOW about each other in good and open communication, because Evil Tim is evil, he doesn't.

I mean normal tim very much did cheat on his first girlfriend so like the idea of evil tim cheating isn't that out of character

[3416]

Steph’s not pregnant she is just standing a bit awkwardly and doesn’t have a completely flat stomach in one picture, and you’re right there’s plenty of pictures of her drinking recently so just unfortunate and people have no tact

that's what i thought, lol. i mean i know people saw the vid of aryne and more wags drinking and the fact that she wasn't with them but lots of ppl weren't there... and in that pic you're talking about, she's holding a cocktail emporium bag.... and she runs a cocktail business (i joked KEEP an eye out for mocktails on there if she ever is in the future)... and idk. they'll announce it if and when it's ever actually a thing and they want to.... i assume most ppl are just be hype at the concept of a baby mitch tbh😭

[fools-catacomb]

Also I’m my head in my personally-I-believe

Steph being insecure about weather or not Peter actually liked her or not is what sparked the “I only like guys who can ask me out”. She doesn’t care so much about who asks out who (she’s perfectly content to ask Peter out to things she wants to do with him) it’s more that he hasn’t asked her out and she doesn’t know what that means about how he thinks of her.

(In the end, when Peter asks her out to Homecoming, he does it mostly so that he can know that she could really love him. So that she knows that he really loves her. It’s a love confession, as real as it gets.)

[mush-dooms]

lmao the girl who was most enthusiastic about seeing me and has been texting me for two days straight just said she "isn't in the right place to be talking to anyone" so I guess that's that

[timdrakesbussy]

this is funnier in my head

og

[1000-directions]

good stuff 10-21-24

i had really delicious coffee this morning mmmmm

i had requested and been given the day off on the friday after thanskgiving, and then one of my coworkers asked if i would work for her, and i was going to give in but my partner and my supervisor both encouraged me to keep the day for myself, so i did, even though saying no to my coworker was very hard for me! but i'm excited that my partner and i will both be off work, and we are gonna go on a hike :))

i just ordered something for myself that i'm excited about :)

[reachthezeneth]

Me to my friends all the time : and I know boy is seeing someone and it's chill bc we literally never actually dated and I'm happy for him and I hope he's so happy 😊🥰

Me after finding out I was right : that bitch

[unproduciblesmackdown]

also it's something (better) like, the exercise of deliberately [art imitates life imitates art] holding up Billions to My IRL Things Perspective and going like whaaat would i want for winston. first answer is you want any character to not have been within the scope of the show in the first place, and to exit it since they are. and you kind of get that in the accidental reward in banishing winston, since like in the end it's just that the show doesn't care about him existing at that point But like it's winston sitting there quietly as everyone leaves & turns out the lights & Then he can leave too; others have peaced out & nobody remembers he exists so Now he can go off & do whatever.

but like in true form i think they definitely accidentally baked in another divine reward for winston in that, like, the way he's kept around as fodder for these fun little [pov: enjoy abusing this guy] asides with him, where it Just So Happens that he's autistic as something they're unaware of but is completely relevant to the expectation we understand him to be inferior(tm), it Just So Happens that he's also ""bad"" at not ""causing"" abuse to be turned on him. he's ""bad"" at staying in line. like well yes Yes that's what i want for him. just like In Real Life it's like yeah Ideally i'd want people to be able to extricate themselves from where they're trapped in power structures & i'd want them to have the perspective about it of understanding they're not Inferior / i.e. they are as much a person as anyone else and they're not corrupting everything good / i.e. it wasn't them Bringing It Upon Themselves and it's not them being Destructive by toppling a jenga tower of a hierarchy that happened to be pressing down on them. and winston is the kind of [the ruinerrrrrr] who is Turned On exactly because he keeps acting like someone who's on the verge of breaking out of the [being in line] someone demands of him as autist, employee, whatever other supposed manifestations of [inferior]

like in the 5 second stretches in which winston's allowed to speak before retaliation, it's because he's like "matter of factly" delivering whatever Information that's useful for another plotline. then he Brings It Upon Himself by making people aware that he's Also existing in his own right as a person rather than what they think serves their own deal / what they want from him at all times, perhaps by expressing his personality (didn't appeal to them! so it was Wrong) or not b/c of anything in particular said or done at present, just b/c people have a constant / accumulating contempt for him so their being in the same room as him & able to see & hear him is already dangerous. the [we're just seeing Any Abusive Dynamic in action] continuing apace.

and it's like, well, right there. he's written as acting like someone who doesn't blame himself for how he's treated, which billions frames as being Rude & Mean, and so too does everyone's abusers lmfao like and that these are his moments that are written to be Bringing It Upon Himself. and it's like hell yeah he doesn't blame himself. hell yeah that his self-esteem can manifest as anger at all. hell yeah that he keeps expressing himself with personality & confidence & doesn't even disguise his having been hurt, & it's this [his ass is Not grey rocking] that billions frames as both him "causing" his abuse & making that abuse "successful" lol, wrow just like real life!! and when like speaking of real life yeah it's not "bad" that people Do engage in strategies to mitigate & survive, including things like blaming themselves or being too "boring" to be anything but a non dialogued background character b/c that's all that goes unpunished, it's bad b/c it's done to them at all, not [ohh they're doing it to themselvesss] and like i'm asking myself like Ideally. what do i want Ideally. and i'd want winston to know that it's being Done To Him & i'd want him to find as much room for his personhood & autonomy as possible. and that's basically how he's written anyways, and billions hates that like You See this is why he deserves it this is why he's doing it to himself. and i'm like my god if that's not Inspiration for like "so what if people don't find you Personally Likable" and not preemptively holding back all personality or anything that'd draw attention as if you exist as a person in your own right & not something that only either gets in the way of or serves their wants of a Real person (someone with more power) like hell yeah you have him out here doing it =']

another fun addendum is like, billions isn't getting into it much b/c it doesn't seem to care much about "what if some people were peers & seem to have a genuine, recipcrocal relationship?" but that it just so happened to be like "oh tuk as the next closest loser who deserves it might be nice to winston" while it's framing winston as the "worse" Loser as being....unconditionally supportive of tuk. while the one downside of billions Also giving bentuk as much as it is is that it also inevitably has that shadow of "but ben is Superior to tuk" and like that it's correct that everyone encourages tuk to Stop Bringing It Upon Himself and start being less of a loser; it's wrong for winston to be like hey let's go have a foursome. like yeah probably don't make a list of the women you work with you'd be dtf but it's not like i'm convinced "ah billions and it's strong anti misogyny stance like" roflmao and billions is Not reflecting on "the downsides of unconditional support?" there when winston was beaten up for criticising taylor earlier like we WILL take his ideas while looting his [beaten unconscious] body there but he WAS wrong to express them as though he's BETTER than taylor!!! mafee's beautiful show of loyalty in kicking his ass even when he might agree with the argument and then benefit when it's adopted by taylor anyways! so it's as usual actually purely based on hierarchy & who gets to be in charge of people. it's correct for ben to be in charge of tuk, unless he has to step aside for that bizarre dead-end subplot about how it's tuk's fault if he's treated badly, b/c it's really his own Failure to have Confidence to know he has good ideas [raising our voice to deliver this message over the sound of breaking desks and chairs and computer monitors over winston because he had the confidence to act like he deserved to talk to someone and because he knows his ideas efforts & results are good & valuable around there] like. and isn't it sooo fucked up to talk about who you're dtf in the episode that has it be neutral if your boss is dtf & lets you know but is nice about it (and you're already Correctly tending to their ego, which you're responsible for!) like hey no possible problem! it's not even so much of a problem for a boss man to have the sex they're entitled to & be rude about their leveraging their power in that acquisition that it Stays a problem into the next season. ew, winston is Known (Inferred) Dtf??? we'll use it to exploit His vulnerability, exacerbate it, & punish him further for good measure in another episode that just revels in abuse & violation with a sexual aspect once again, but like, hey tuk don't do that, winston's such a Bad Influence for being like, shrug, kneejerk intervening with the Good Friendship where the One In Charge leaps in & Tells tuk the Correct thing to do. obviously there's also the tragedy that billions will Never let winston push back against Real Winners like rian or taylor in A Way That Matters (actually gets in their way at all) lol like. one thing that would have really been fun, winston should've literal kneejerk started physically fighting wags in either pertinent scene in 7x03 for real 110%. i wouldn't be like Gasp Violence Is Never The Answer if he just hit someone to hit them b/c fuck you. or broke anything on his way out etc etc. billions would Never let him. which is the other side of the same coin of [why he should get to]

tl;dr how great that winston's being "out of line" means he's basically always noticeably flouting & rebelling against the [He Deserves Abuse] agenda lol. that IS what i want. his being "beyond hope" like ohhh he's sooo stupid he doesn't realize how much he has the bad tastes & wrong interests & annoying personality He Will Always Be This Way like hell yeah!!! billions like oh no winston's personhood will never stay tamped down & locked away such that some godawful person tolerates keeping him in their inventory :( ohhh the ABA will never work :( that's right!!!!!!!!!! although they're not sad about it because it's about relishing the promise there will always be True Inferiors you can enjoy abusing with your righteous power over, but like well you wrote him escaping anyways even while dragging other "better" characters into standing around to serve axe's need for more than 1.8 employees and [crickets, reverberating cough, sneaker scuff] like. another ""wrong"" thing for winston to do, another thing for him to not "deserve," which is itself godawful actually lol like lord what it "rewards" its Good, Deserving characters with, no thanks. meanwhile winston's punishment is that he's autistic and """bad""" at being abused like lmfao good for him, fantastic for him, just what i want

[s-wordsmith]

AU where Steph meets the ""wrong"" Robin first and Spoiler becomes Red Hood's second-in-command.

[erythristicbones]

amazing how pride month has just started and ive still somehow had to unfollow 3 people rbing the most insanely biphobic shit w/o caring

[luxaofhesperides]

Date Night Continuation ; requested by @xysidhequeen!

Duke has yet to see Stray. 

Or, at least, he doesn’t think he’s seen Stray yet.

He could be anyone here, during the club’s Masquerade night, full of people covered in glitter, leather, and fancy masks covering most of their faces. Duke’s heard about this club before, seen its name pop up in some of Tim and Steph’s investigation, but he’s never gone inside.

But the note Stray left him at the GCU Museum Archives lead him here, with only the instructions: find me if you can lover boy.

So here’s Duke, scanning the crowd of masked club-goers, searching for Stray.

He shares a quick smile with a few people, smoothly wandering past searching hands, hoping for a dance. The drink he carries is just sparkling water so he doesn’t look out of place, undercover as he is. Duke is here as himself, not as the Signal, and it leaves him feeling exposed.

The clothes Steph picked out for him also contribute to that feeling, to be fair. It’s not all about him feeling more vulnerable outside of being Signal; in a crop top and tight dark jeans, it’s hard to feel covered at all. Wearing it, and the mask handed to him at the door, makes him feel like a different person as he weaves his way through dancing bodies all lit up by colorful lighting. 

Every head of dark hair catches his attention, but none resemble Stay. 

Duke really hopes this isn’t a joke. He doesn’t want to get his heart broken at the club.

He takes a moment to stop and lean against the wall next to the stairs that lead upstairs to the offices and VIP rooms, sipping on his drink. The crowd dances out, and a group of women next to him are singing offkey and happy, without a hint of insecurity as their drinks spill out of their cups and over their hands. 

Stray is clever. He’s always got a snarky comment on his tongue and a laugh to follow. He slips out of every tight situation with ease, and though they all suspect he has some sort of power, Catwoman refuses to confirm. 

Stray wouldn’t lead Duke to this club just to hide in the crowd. 

Finishing his drink, Duke sets his empty glass on an unattended table, then glances around to make sure no one’s looking at him.

Then he steps back and pulls the light around him to shift and cover him, hiding him from sight. 

The stairs lead up into a dark, dimly lit hallway. The floor must have been built with sound dampeners in place, the loud music turned into a distant throb of bass. 

Instead of the modern, black and sleek look of the club downstairs, the upper floor is must more elegant. An oriental rug in muted green colors decorates the hallway and abstract art pieces hang on the walls. 

All the doors to the VIP rooms are closed and require keycard access. 

The office at the very end of the hall, however, has light spilling into the hallway from the barely opened door.

On silent feet, Duke makes his way down the hallway, double checking the placement of all the security cameras. There’s one in the corner, but surely seeing a door move slightly won’t make the security guards think there’s an intruder; so far, no one’s connected it to the Bats, but there has been an uptick in people reporting haunted buildings in Gotham. 

Guess it’s time to add another building to that list.

Duke pulls open the door until he has just enough space to enter. The office appears empty when he looks around, taking note of the large wooden desk in the back and the leather couches to the side. This is definitely a place where mob leaders meet with the club owner to either get a share of the profits, setting up a meeting with other gangs to sell weapons, or deliver drugs to be sold in the club. 

And there’s also an impressive display of items in a cabinet in the back, the glass doors giving perfect views of the antique watches, Chinese fans, and small stone sculptures of animals. All are evenly spaced out, making it clear that something has been stolen that was once in the empty space between a fan on display and a bird painted in gold. 

He checks that there are no cameras in the office. Then Duke releases his hold on the light around him and uses his powers to try to see if he can see where Stray went after hitting the office. 

A faintly glowing outline of Stray appears, taking out a stone wolf before carefully closing the cabinet door. But instead of heading to the window to make his escape, this past visage of Stray turns to the couches and sits down, facing the door. He doesn’t move again after that.

Duke tilts his head, then closes the office door completely. It won’t be enough to keep Stray from slipping away again, but it will at least prevent anyone from finding them up here. 

“Did I keep you waiting?” he asks as he heads for the couches. With his powers still active, Duke can see where Stray has hidden himself, invisible to anyone who isn’t Duke. 

“And here I was, thinking I was being so clever. I thought your powers had to do with shadows?”

Strays voices rings out clear from the couch, then he fades back into sight. Duke gladly lets go of his power, blinking his eyes behind the mask to adjust to normal vision again. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he responds, watching as Stray gets to his feet, stone wolf in his hands. It holds a strange green glow, shining out of a crack in the stone along its back. 

He can’t pay attention it for long, though, as Stray crosses the distance to meet him. Selina has certainly taught him well; every movement is purposeful and elegant as he circles around Duke, reaching out with a gloved finger to drag his touch along the exposed skin of his back.

His touch is electrifying and sends shivers through Duke’s body. He barely dares to breathe as Stray completes his slow circuit around him, looking him over with dark eyes. 

“Did you get dressed up just for me?” he purrs, leaning closer to Duke.

“You wanted a date,” he replies, “I’m not one to disappoint.”

“But apparently, I am,” Stray pouts. “This is part of the chase, okay? I’m not the type of guy to take you to a club for our first date.”

First date? That’s… implying things Duke very much wants to be true. 

“Why’d you stay, then? Just to tease me?”

Feeling bold, with no eyes on him but Stray, Duke catches him around the waist with his arm and pulls him close. “Or were you hoping to have your way with me while no one’s around?”

Stray’s cheeks turn a deep, charming red. His flirtatious persona falls apart as he turns his face away, trying to hide behind his hands. The heat of the moment fades away into something lighter, more like the fun they’re used to when they’re chasing each other on rooftops. Duke smiles and gently knocks his head against Strays.

“Come on,” he says, “Don’t get all shy on me now.”

“I can’t believe Cat said that this would be easy. I can’t handle acting like that for so long!”

“Wait, were you purposefully trying to act like Catwoman?”

Stray nods, embarrassed. “She gave me a bunch of tips and promised that they would work on Bats. Which they do, but I wasn’t prepared for you to hit back!”

“Stray,” Duke begins, holding back a laugh, “You know that I want to date you, right? Not Catwoman.” Just the thought makes him mentally shudder in disgust. No way would he ever be into Selina, not after he’s seen her with Bruce. Plus, she practically the same age as him mom. And anyways, who has time to chase after Selina when Stray is right there?

“I know, but I haven’t gone on a date in like, years. I panicked, okay!”

“Well, if you’re done with being chased, how about we get out of here?”

Stray perks up, finally lifting his face from his hands. “Sure. I’m still going to take this with me, though.” He holds up the stone wolf, as if Duke had forgotten.

“That’s fine.”

“Really?” Stray squints at him suspiciously. “Not going to make me put it back? Tell me off for stealing?”

Normally, he would, but Duke doesn’t care much about what happens to the trinkets of a profitable club owner with ties to different mob families. “Does it look like I’m here as the Signal?”

Stray looks him up and down, consideringly, then taps the side of his masquerade mask. “Well, you’ve got a mask on, don’t you? Isn’t that all you Bats need?”

“We also need a reason to get involved and risk having our identities exposed. This isn’t one of those times.”

“So, what, if I steal while on a date with you, that’s fine?”

Duke shrugs. “I mean, I’d prefer if you didn’t, but you’re not hurting anyone and the club owner is rich enough to buy more shit. Besides, you have a reason for taking that instead of any of the gold, right?”

“Right,” Stray answers slowly, as if he wasn’t expecting Duke to by cool with it. Which is strange, since Duke wouldn’t be trying to date Catwoman’s apprentice if he wasn’t okay with a little bit of crime in his love life. It’s one of the first things he got over when he came to terms with his crush.

“So?” Duke prompts. “We heading out now?”

Stray laughs, a little disbelieving, and smoothly slips out of Duke’s grasp. “Sure, we can go. Keep up if you can, lover boy.”

And then he’s out the window, scaling to the top of the building. Duke hurries to follow, making handholds from shadows to give him a boost. Stray stays visible this time, thankfully, so Duke can easily track his path over the rooftops, giving chase. 

Stray stops every so often to make sure Duke is following. He moves with intent, clearly leading them somewhere, and Duke is more than happy to follow his lead. He jumps onto roofs, freerunning recklessly, and passes through shadows every so often to close the distance between them a little more. Every few streets, Duke catches a glimpse of flashes of the wild grin decorating Stray’s face and it pushes him to go faster, to keep up, to catch him.

He finally slows to a stop on the top of a high rise in the Diamond District, making his way up the side of the building with ease, despite how hard it is to move on the large, smooth, glass windows. He waits at the very top, peering down to where Duke uses shadows to travel up to join him. 

Duke doesn’t bother with giving himself space to land, choosing instead to step right into Stray’s space, walking them away from the ledge with his hands on Stray’s waist. 

“Caught you,” he breathes, catching his breath.

Stray’s shoulders shake lightly with bitten back laughter and his eyes are bright, googles pushed up to the top of his head. 

“Only because I let you,” Stray replies. This lighthearted mood fades a bit and he reaches up to trace the bottom edges of Duke’s mask. “If you’re serious about this, you’ll have to take this off, you know.”

“I know. I’m fine with it.”

“Really? I thought Bats were super protective of their secret identities.”

“Selina knows all of us by name. We’ve known her for years. Honestly, I’d be shocked if you didn’t have some idea of who we are by now.”

“It’s still a pretty big secret to let loose,” Stray says, carefully saying nothing about if he has his suspicions or not. “Especially with me. I’ve only been here for a year.”

That’s one of the arguments Bruce presented when Duke mentioned going on a date with Stray. It’s a valid argument, don’t get him wrong, but there wasn’t much to say after Duke listed every single Rogue and hero who knew their identities. They might use that knowledge at times to target them as civilians, but even Gotham’s Rogues don’t want the Bats to leave; he may stop their crimes and do terrifying amounts of physical damage to them, but he also protects them from trigger happy cops who don’t value the sanctity of life.

Besides, Duke’s aiming for mutually assured destruction. Secret identities are important, for both Duke and Stray. So long as they can hold each other’s secrets, build trust around that, then they’ll be fine. 

“I’m fine with it. Just as long as you’re fine with letting me know who you are under the mask.”

“I was planning on telling you even if you wanted to keep the mask on,” Stray admits. “Here, let’s sit down.”

He turns and walks towards the center of the roof, where a picnic blanket is laid out, with pillows for more comfortable sitting and two baskets waiting for them. Duke had been so focused on Stray that he missed it completely, and his heart skips a beat when he realizes that Stray had gone out of his way to make sure they had a nice first date with as much privacy as they could get.

The flirting and the chase has been fun and all, but Duke is especially weak to being romanced to sweetly. 

“You set this up for us?” he asks as he follows Stray to the picnic blanket.

“I told you I wasn’t going to have our first place be at a club. I’m better than that.”

“No need to get defensive,” Duke smiles, sitting down next to Stray. “It’s very sweet. Just caught me a little off guard.”

“Yeah, well.” Stray shrugs, fiddling with the stone dog in his hand. He lets out a breath, sets the stone dog down, then pulls off his gloves and holds out a hand to Duke. “It’s a bit late, but hi. I’m Danny.”

What else could Duke do but take off his mask, after that? “Danny, huh? It suits you. I’m Duke.” 

He doesn’t shake Danny’s hand. He lifts Danny’s hand up to his mouth and presses a soft kiss to his knuckles. “And I still want to take you out dancing. Is it too early to ask for a second date?”

It’s such a treat to see Danny’s cheeks flush red, his blue eyes bright and shining. It’s such a treat to get to have him outside of masks. There’s no persona they have to play, no responsibilities keeping them from simply being with each other. 

“Definitely not,” he answers shyly. “Now stop being such a flirt and eat some dinner, I’m starving and I worked really hard on it.”

“Oh shit, you cooked?” 

More and more, it’s clear that Danny is the guy of his dreams. Cute, funny, romantic, and cooks? Damn, Duke’s gonna need to step up his game for their second date.

“Yeah. I think it turned out good, but I also had a lot of help because I’m not used to cooking with ingredients that don’t fight back.”

Duke pauses where he’s unloading the first basket, full of still warm tiny potatoes, oven roasted to perfection and coated in herb butter. Ingredients that don’t fight back? Slowly, Duke sets the potatoes between them as he tries to make sense of the words. “Are you just used to working with live animals or something? Angry lobsters?”

“Oh, no. The food in my house growing up was always super contaminated and it made food come to life and attack us. The sausages liked to band together and try to revolutionize. They’re pretty vicious.”

“Okay, you have got to tell me more.”

Grinning, Danny does just that as he unloads his own basket, setting out plates and utensils. 

It’s the most fun Duke’s ever had on a date. They spend hours on that roof, just talking, long after the food is gone. It’s only when the world goes fully dark in the hour just before dawn that they agree to head home to get some sleep. 

They’re going to need it. Their second date is set and planned for the next night and Duke already can’t wait to see Danny again.

Dancing in the rain ; requested by @wandixx!

He hadn’t been expecting the Signal to chase after him. It is, after all, well after midnight, and he had seen the vigilante out earlier during the day. 

Maybe the Bats are understaffed tonight, he muses as he leaps over the rooftops, a wild grin on his face. Being on the other side of a chase is a lot of fun, he’s discovering. He can see why Selina enjoys it so much.

Though, it probably has to do more with who’s chasing her than it is the chase itself.

But Danny’s become a bit of an adrenaline junkie after a few years of being a hero, fighting ghosts and governments. He’s not a hero anymore, especially not in Gotham, but being Catwoman’s partner in crime is way more fun than being responsible for everyone’s safety.

It’s like he’s doing anything bad, either. Selina can steal whatever she wants; if they couldn’t protect things against her, then should they really have it? Danny doesn’t focus on jewelry or gems. No, he takes ghost artifacts or items contaminated with ectoplasm back to the realms where they won’t cause problems to any humans. There are enough ecto-contaminated people in this world, solely from Amity Park. Best not to let that number grow.

So here he is, leaping over rain-slicked rooftops and only using a little bit of flying to keep ahead, holding a cursed pocket watch that a ghost had requested he return to them, with the Signal chasing after him, disappearing into shadows and popping up unexpectedly. 

“Stray! Get back here!” Signal yells, and Danny takes a moment to spin on his heel to face the vigilante to stick his tongue out at him, then backflips away.

“I didn’t even steal anything important!” he returns, tossing the pocketwatch in the air ahead, then jumps up to catch it and scales his way up to the roof of the next building. 

“Seriously,” Signal says, suddenly in front of him. “Stop running and we can talk this out.”

“Woah!” Danny tries to get around him, trips over his own feet, and crashes into the Signal’s chest. 

“Careful, there.” He looks up to see the Signal’s smile, and he absolutely can not be blamed for having his half dead heart skip a beat. He’s in the arms of a hero who’s smiling at him so sweetly, what’s a guy to do? “Ready to talk now?”

Danny goes intangible for a moment, smoothly sliding out of the Signa’s grip. “Nope,” he grins, starting up the chase once again.

The rain isn’t very strong, and the drops feel cool against his face as he runs, getting a little more air with each jump as he uses more of his flight to keep ahead. He can hear the Signal chasing after him again, heavy footsteps that start and stop unpredictably as he travels between shadows. 

Just to be safe, Danny stashes the pocket watch inside his chest, leaving his hands free to grab onto the rough brick of the walls and scale them up, aiming to go higher and higher. Maybe if he finds a good building, he can dramatically fall off the edge and fly away invisibly. 

“Got you!” 

The Signal pops up out of the wall and grabs Danny, who yelps and tries to pull his arms away. The Signal is too strong, and his tight grip on Danny’s wrists is warm against the chill of the rain. 

They stand there for a moment, just staring at each other as they try to catch their breath. And then, “Is that any way to treat a guy?” Danny jokes, trying one last time to pull his wrists free.

“It is when it’s you,” the Signal replies. “Man, you sure know how to run.”

“I’ll be sure to put that on my resume for my next heist.”

“Seriously, can we talk?”

Danny eyes him curiously. The other Bats mostly tried to take back whatever it is he’d stolen that night, occasionally trying to get information from him. None of them had outright asked to have a chat with him. The Signal at least has some manners, compared to the rest of him. There’s no harm in sticking around for one conversation.

It helps that the Signal is cute, especially when he had saved Danny a few weeks ago. 

Sue him, he’s a bit soft on the Signal. Wouldn’t anyone be with their favorite hero?

“Alright,” Danny says, relaxing. “Go ahead. Talk.”

“Great! Okay, um.” The Signal bites his lip and Danny should really look away, but his eyes are fixed to his mouth. He doesn’t speak for a solid minute, during which Danny really begins to feel the chill of the rain. “Can I get less comments from the peanut gallery?” he says suddenly.

“What?” Danny laughs, confused.

The Signal sighs. “My comms are on. The others are being annoying. If they wanted to ask you questions, they should have caught you first.”

“Oh, protecting me from the big bad Bats? My hero,” Danny says sweetly, pretending to swoon. Except, the Signal follows his movements, releasing his wrists to catch him by the waist, holding him steady. Danny’s breath hitches, and from how close they are, he has no doubt that the Signal heard it. They freeze for a moment, then the Signal dips him like some fainting Victorian maiden.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind sweeping you up in my arms.” The smirk on his face only lasts a moment before he grimace and says, “I shouldn’t have said that on open comms. Man, they’re annoying. It’s not my fault I know how to flirt.”

Danny…

Well. Danny short circuits for a moment, running the words over his mind again, then blushes so hard he’s sure there’s steam coming off his cheeks. “You’re flirting?” he squeaks. ���With me?”

“Flirting,” a new voice confirms, making them both jump, stumbling against each other as Black Bat hops down onto their rooftop. “Both shy and silly. I’m better.”

“You can’t even ask out Spoiler,” the Signal retaliates.

“She can’t even WHAT?” Spoiler yells as she also vaults herself over the alley below to join them. “You want to ask me out?”

Though she doesn’t say anything, Danny can practically feel Black Bat’s glare through her mask. The Signal winces, then says, “Oops.”

“Man, you can keep yourself busy, clearly Sig doesn’t need backup,” Spoiler says. “I need to go on a date with Black Bat. The rest of you suckers are on your own!” And then she grabs Black Bat’s hand and grapples away.

There’s a beat of silence, then Danny and the Signal share a glance and start laughing. 

“Well,” Danny says, “Good for them! Good for them.”

“They’re probably just going to Bat Burger.”

“And are you going to be treating me to a burger any time soon? I should be compensated for this conversation, you know.”

“Please, if I was taking you out on a date, it wouldn’t be to Bat Burger. I’d take you out dancing.”

It sounds like a date his dad would take his mom on. It sounds nice. Danny smiles and leans in closer to the Signal, taking hold of one of his hands. With the other, he puts Signal’s hand on his waist, then brings his own up to the Signal’s shoulder. 

“Why not dance with me now?”

Danny leads them in a few clumsy turns of a waltz, silently thanking Sam for forcing him to take a few ballroom dance lessons with her. The Signal seems a little dazed, following his lead, and when he lightly squeezes Danny’s waist, he shivers. 

Catwoman should be done with Batman soon. They had agreed to meet up at the newly opened Vintage Boutique in Diamond District, and he intends to beat her there. 

Reluctantly, Danny pulls away from the Signal with one final spin, and hops up onto the edge of the roof. “If you can find me during the day,” he says, “Then I’ll dance with you again. See you around, Signal!”

And with that, Danny hops backwards off the roof, free-falling towards the ground before he lets gravity lose hold of him and slips into invisibility, flying up just as the Signal peers over the edge, searching for him.

Unable to help himself, Danny floats closer until he can give the Signal a quick kiss on the cheek, then flies off, grinning wildly. 

He certainly can’t wait to see the Signal again. 

Maybe if he hired a few guys to pretend to rough him up while Signal’s out patrolling…

Well, either way, this cat is already half dead so he can jump straight to satisfaction bringing him back. And, hopefully, back into Signal’s arms again when they won’t be interrupted by other Bats. 

He’s already looking forward to it.

. . .

[send me a ghostlights prompt!]

[xiuhunsoo]

me: having a somewhat shitty week bc of heat, anxiety and sleeping problems

the universe: here's opportunities for you to meet some of your internet friends you have not yet met irl

me: 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰