#the press goes wild with this as expected to the point where bruce has to hold a press conference and confirm that yes jason is indeed alive

[undertheredhood]

AU where ra’s al-ghul who is so tired of dealing with jason’s bs (bc lbr, jason would’ve been the biggest menace towards him during his time at the league and also after), decides to do the worst thing he could possibly do to jason and leaks the fact that jason todd, bruce’s wayne’s adopted son who’s been dead for almost a decade is not as dead as everyone has been made to believe to the public.

[t4tmagicians]

Steph’s not part of the family.

The Wayne family, that is. That’s obvious enough. At the end of the day, where she packs up her things and rides the bus home or jumps across the empty space between roofs, she goes home to her own mother and creaking bed and stained carpet.

There’s still a room in Wayne Manor that is right across from Cass’s, and just two doors down from where Dick normally stays if he’s spending the night. There’s a soft purple blanket thrown across the bed, and someone has stuck dinosaur stickers up on the window. There’s a pack of colourful bandaids tucked into one of the drawers, and in the adjacent bathroom, there’s the shampoo she always uses.

She’s still not part of the family. 

She bends over her own kitchen sink and nearly swears when she can’t get a stain off of a plate that she’s been eating off of for years, she sews up the holes in her own sheets and brings her mom coffee when she asks for it, and the local dogs and cats know her by scent at this point.

There’s still always room at the table for her, whenever she stumbles downstairs after a long night and a short text saying that she’s staying over with Cass or Tim, even when she hasn’t seen either of them in a week. There’s waffles hidden in the cabinet for her, and she always picks the plate with Jason’s clumsy signature scrawled across the rim in ceramic paint, and the fork with the weird eagle logo that’s been half rubbed off by age. Alfred slides breakfast over to her without pausing his conversation with Duke as Steph tucks in like she has a million times over.

She’s not part of the Wayne family.

She sighs over the holes in her jeans and the way her shirts are nearly transparent with age. She swears loudly when the hot water suddenly turns icy, and she counts the change she keeps hidden in shoes and coat pockets whenever she’s hungry, blonde curls wild and bouncing in the wind, or tied up and secured with a bobbypin under the bright purple hood.

But she still stands there, a mild discomfort settling into her arms as she holds them up, Selina eyeing the seam at her waist like it’s a particularly aggravating goon. The tailor adjusting the long, expensive, fabric around her ankles as Steph wonders why she let Selina talk her into shopping, knowing full well her taste meant the highest price tag in the store. Her hair is pushed back casually, as Selina makes an offhanded comment about how her muscles are improving since she last saw them. Steph didn’t realise she’d paid attention to her at all.

She’s the furthest thing away from the Wayne family.

She still gets an invite pressed into her hand, printed words spelling out recital. Damian does not make eye contact, simply tells her to dress well, and that he expects her there. Steph wears a dress Bruce bought for her, for an undercover mission, not wanting to outdo Damian’s real family. To say she’s a little bit shocked when she’s sat next to Dick, and only Dick, is an understatement. She still cheers loudly and claps so hard her hands sting when Damian comes onstage, polished wood of his violin nearly glowing in the stage lights.

Steph’s not part of the family.

But she still gets a call from Jason at seven in the evening, when he’s meant to be having a family dinner, and asks where she is. He nearly laughs out loud when Steph asks why she would be at a Wayne family dinner, and there’s soon the rumble of a motorbike and a voice yelling at her to climb down the fire escape already. She arrives at Wayne Manor with her hair a mess, pain stains on her jeans, and holes in her converse. She’s sat down next to Bruce in a three-piece suit, and Alfred pours her a generous helping of everything. She spends the night laughing so hard her chest hurts, and Duke has to hit her on the back to keep her from choking. It’s the first time Steph met Kate Kane, and she thinks she might want to try bright red hair too.

Steph’s not part of the Wayne family.

But she might as well be.

[sheeple]

Headcanon madness

PHOTO NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): crack Fandom(s): MCU actors Pairing(s): none, it’s all platonic Summary: A fan asks a question about headcanons and you open your can of worms Warning(s): Does European!reader count as a warning? / There’s also no specific time set, so if that triggers you, boohoo A/n:  These headcanons are from all sort of posts and videos, but the main inspiration is from thecaptainsdoll on TikTok. Most of the credit goes to her [Masterlist]

Doing a press tour with Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, and Chris Evans is always such fun. Especially something like ComicCon where you are squeezed in the middle of Seb and Chris, Mackie on Seb's other side.

"I have a question for (Y/N)", says the next speaker and I perk up, my mic to my lips. This is the first question directed at only me. "Since you said you were a huge fan of the MCU, what are your headcanons?"

A laugh escapes my lips. This is going to be so much fun!

"Head- what?" Seb looks confused at me.

"Headcanons. It is like... things you make up in your head about some characters. I have a few."

"Oh Lord, here they come", laughs Mackie and I shoot him a glare.

"Tony hates peanut butter. I don't know what it is, just something like... like... he just hates peanut butter, okay.

Natasha is an amazing singer, but the only two people who have heard are Clint and Steve. Clint because he's a little impostor and likes to hide in the vents." I throw a wink at the crowd, as a nod to Among Us. "And Steve. Just makes sense because they were on the run together in The Winter Soldier."

"What's an impostor?" Chris leans back slightly.

"It's from a game. Not like y'all old people would understand." I smirk. The guys give me dirty looks.

"Sara Rogers, Steve's mom, was an amazing cook. She taught all her recipes to Bucky because Steve didn't want to learn how to cook. So when she died, Bucky was the only one how to cook like Steve's mom. And before Infinity War, when Bucky was in Wakanda, Steve visited him sometimes and Bucky would cook for them."

The crowd awes and one guy yells from the top of his lungs, "Stucky!"

I snort. "Thor loves baking. And when I say loves, he loves baking. Especially bread. And no matter how many times Tony or Bruce have tried to explain to Thor how yeast works, to him it is just witchcraft.

Steve smokes and hates sushi. He smokes because he's from the '40s and has asthma and the treatment was smoking back then. I did my research, everybody. He hates sushi because of the whole USA versus Japan during WW2."

"Are all these of yours so long-winded?" 

"A few quick ones, then." I poke my tongue out at Mackie. "Sam's VA club becomes a Falcon Fanclub. Scott and Peter have each other as 'bug-boys' in their contacts. Thor doesn't know what a whale is and is too afraid to ask. Clint wears hearing aids like in the comics. Natasha hacks into any official document that says 'Captain America' and changes it into 'Grandpa frisbee'."

Chris laughs loudly, clutching his chest while throwing his head backwards. "She would do that, yeah."

"And the last one is that Peter once took a BuzzFeed quiz to find out which Avenger you are. And when he got Tony, he took a screenshot and sent it to Tony. Tony was in a board meeting and had to try to not get emotional because Peter's happy he got Tony."

"How do you come up with those?" The three guys look baffled at me.

"I am an insomniac with access to TikTok and Tumblr. What do you guys expect?" I lean back with a smirk on my face as the crowd cheers.

Another person rushes up to the mic, a girl by the sound of their voice. "What side of TikTok are you one?"

I whip my phone out of my pocket, giving a quick glance at my fyp and likes. "I am def on MCU-Tok. Ehrm... Europe-Tok, especially the trash-talking American side." A rumble goes through the crowd. "What? I am European! I can do that!"

Seb high fives me with a big smile. "Yeah baby, European rights!"

"Oh well, okay." Chris rolls his eyes like a toddler before Mackie and he squishes Seb and me in an 'American' high five over the two of us. 

I let out a weird, suppressed scream as I am laying underneath three grown men. "I am getting killed by three giant Doritos. Save me!" I flail my arms the best I can before they get off me. 

Chris neatens out my hair, but I swat his hand away. "No touch me, you lumpy space princess." I point my finger at him while narrowing my eyes, thickening my native accent.

I have forgotten the fact that it is not only us four but also the ginormous crowd of ComicCon goers, but their laugher brings me back to reality. Some are even crying.

"So, anyways. Be careful what y'all post and thirst about. Because I am hiding in the crowds, keeping an eye open for them and def sending them to those guys." I point towards the men next to me, earning another laugh from the crowd.

It's not until much later, when I am hanging out with the three idiots, that my Twitter notifications go wild. Fans have tagged me in memes and videos of today's panel.

God, there is nothing as great as the MCU fandom and their meme-making skills.

[quitealotofsodapop]

MvA assorted headcanons

General:

So many years together has made the core monsters inseperable. If something affects one member, it affects the group.

All. The. Monsters. Are. Family.

It takes Susan a while to understand inside jokes and past incidents because of being the most recent addition.

There are Other anomalous creatures kept in Area 5X, but they are either non-sentient and/or are too dangerous to be kept around the more human-friendly monster group.

Area 5X is so gotdang big because they were expecting a lot more kaijus like Insecto to crop up. Sadly not many have surfaced to justify the space.

There’s a hangar in Area 5X full of wrecked UFOs. Some are spacecraft wreckage while others are stuff like weird meteors (Susan’s is in there), and at least one alien creature that got crystallised upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

There’s significant difference in staff employed at different points throughout the past 50 years. There are far more women on the Area 5X worksheet than back in the 50s, and the guards are generally more sympathetic towards the monsters. Many modern staff members have been reprimanded or let go for failing to uphold secrecy, or for unnecessary cruelty towards the monsters.

Budget cuts were a legitmate concern up until the Battle of Golden Gate Bridge. The facility was far more barebones and sterile before the government had to formally recognise Area 5X’s importance. There have been a lot of redecorating at the facilty since the fat checks started coming in.

Putting individual characters under read due to length.

Susan:

Enjoys many hobbies considered stereotypically feminine; baking, sewing, cosmetics, etc...

Grandparents and extended family are farmers or are atleast connected to the business. Modesto is the agricultural centre of California after all. Her parents were the first of their generation to go against the mold and seek out white-collar careers.

Studied cosmetology in school and was working at a beauty salon to save up for her and Derek’s wedding.

Is very athletic and grew up doing a number of physical extracurriculars like cheerleading, dodgeball, and roller-derby.

Grew up being teased for being the shortest kid in her class/family. They still tease her for it.

Greatly fears causing collateral damage and/or harm to others through her size.

Has issues with anxiety, worsened only by her new job as “savior of earth”. She wishes for a confidant to tell her worries to.

Married life with Derek was doomed to fail. Susan had a plan in place for what came after the marriage, and focusing 100% on Derek’s career was not it. There’s also the line from Derek’s mother about Susan being “the weatherman’s wife”, implying that she was to be the homemaker and not have a career of her own. It’s possible that Susan was planning to settle down and have kids with Derek, but the lack of control she had in moving to Fresno implied that more was going on.

Is currently “taking a break” from love and dating, despite gaining many new admirers.

Tries her best to return to Modesto to visit her family and friends whenever possible, though work often keeps her away for weeks at a time.

If she retains her height-shifting abilities as in the series; Susan goes through really bad “growing” pains.

Link:

Was frozen in his relative late-teens during a cold snap. Got shifted around until he ended up somewhere in Greenland before being discovered by modern humans. Post-thaw he went a bit wild, swimming frantically back south to try and find his old enviroment.

Was one of many scrappy youngsters in his troop, with a number of adoptive parents. The strongest ruled the troop, and Link was fairly weak in comparision to the leaders. He had gotten into a fight the day of his freezing (over something silly in hindsight) and swam away to sulk. When he didn’t return after the cold snap - the troop accepted that he had likely died out on his own.

Likes to freak out humans by making up weird biology facts about his species and ones he’s fought against - like joking about laying eggs or having his tail dettach and regrow like a lizard. However there’s some things he has to ask about, because he doesn’t have medical knowledge or words to describe something.

A lot of his macho behavior came from imitating the guards who kept watch on him. 1950s violent military alpha males aren't a very good role model for someone who doesnt know what societal norms are yet. Link was a lot more insufferable back in the day but chilled out as he began interacting with other walks of life.

Has a high paternal instinct and immediately becomes softer around kids and smaller animals.

Has body language similar to a cat/alligator. Slaps his tail when angry or in deep thought. And yes; Link purrs/rumbles when happy.

Loves monster movies - especially the ones where the monsters “win”. He cried when he saw “Beauty and the Beast” and then immediately booed loudly when the Beast turned human.

Does Not Trust doctors or scientists due to bad past experiences. Will only go to Dr Cockroach and Monger if he ever gets hurt/ill. Gets stressed fast if he has to be in a waiting room or doctors office.

Link had no idea what gender indentities or orientations were until recently - he did come from a pre-human civilization that really didnt mind/care about the schemantics. It took him some time to wrap his head around it. He identifies himself as bisexual after much thought and many hours alone on the computer.

Don't press him about his body. He's built different from humans and cis people. He will punch anyone who doesnt respect his or anyone elses identity.

Has been in love before. It didn’t end well.

Will occasionally wear clothes, but finds it a challenge to find anything that fits him. Will give any shoes he finds to Dr Cockroach and BOB to eat.

The best driver/pilot out of all the monsters.

Dr Cockroach:

True name is Jaques-Yves Herbert. Prefers to just go by "Dr Cockroach" because he dislikes the association with his birth family.

Picks up human languages very easily, although not as quickly as he can understand animals.

Parents were a mixed scientist couple. His father was an aggressive “Strong British Man” that would beat him son down for not following orders or for not meeting his standards for a man. Dr C turned down both chances to attend his parents funerals.

This man isn’t straight. He probably uses old-fashioned slang when asked about romance such as; “I am Uranian” or “I wear a green carnation”. It took Susan a few times to realise what he meant, as she is used to a more open minded enviroment.

Got the idea of transforming into a cockroach from reading Franz Kafkas “The Metamorphosis” as a child. He sympathized with Gregor’s abusive situation, and began considering the possibilties of how one could survive better as a creature like a cockroach.

Studied in biology and entomology in the Uk before moving to the states to follow engineering. Obtained his degree in Dance as a “side gig” in University.

Has been barred from free access to the coffee maker/machine due to overnighters. Once stayed awake so long that he forgot the letter “R”.

Owned a terrarium of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches throughout college. He mourned each of them when his roommate’s iguana got into the tank.

Was a "beatnik" back in the day and still kinda is. Embraces and encourages modern counterculture as he himself was not given such acceptance in his youth. He has however shamefully eaten his old Lenny Bruce album.

Hasn’t actually aged physically since his transformation. He attributes this to the fact that certain athropods can’t age physically beyond maturity. Link is very jealous.

Has obtained more degrees while in captivity, as Monger allowed him access to research and learning materials. He has however had his allowances revoked for previous escape attempts/doomsday devices.

Does still enjoy human food, but the cockroach instinct of "eat detritus" tends to overrule his eating choices. Can’t cook either.

Ironically a terrible driver. The damages from previous drives has made Monger restrict him from operating even a razor scooter.

BOB:

Pretty much considers himself human. Was created by them, raised by one (Monger), and talks like one. Gets sad when he's reminded that no other humans are blue blobs like him.

Absorbed some dna from the scientists present at his "birth", leading to his eye, speech, and omnivorous diet.

Doesnt actually need to breathe (as he can just absorb oxygen through his mass) but the fact that humans Do means that BOB thinks he has to as well.

Shares some physical characteristics with tomatoes/nightshade plants, as he is technically half tomato. He refuses to eat tomatos for this very reason, considering it cannibalism.

Attracts garden pests looking for a tomato plant. This unwittingly makes BOB a pretty good bug zapper.

Still retains his "mental broadcast" ability from "BOB's Big Break" although at a more subtle level. He tends to parrot the things he accidentally "eavesdropped" on.

Is empathetic, and can tell when others aren't doing ok emotionally. Will flop down on someone who’s really sad to comfort them. No brain, only heart.

Best cook out of the monsters. If he doesn’t forget what he’s making at least.

"Whats a gender? Can I eat it?"

Insectosaurus:

Core body is that of a Japanese Silkmoth, although she ended up being spliced with other animals present on the island during her initial mutation; namely ants and ground squirrels.

Eats over a literal ton of mulberry leaves per day. Also enjoys oranges.

Secretly wishes to be more humanoid.

Was only able to pupate and transform due to physical trauma. It seems that her transformation was like a “power-up” that required her to be in geniune distress for it to activate.

First language is Japanese. She learned it from the intial recovery team, and later developed an understanding of English from years in Area 5X.

Goes into torpor in cold weather. Pretty much impossible to wake her up for missions during Winter, as she needs to “rev up” before becoming mobile.

Still very much Link’s best friend. Still enjoys sports, chicks, and beer.

Monger:

Full name is; Warren Rex Monger.

Is very protective of the monsters and will defend them to the death.

Pretty much raised BOB (as seen when BOB was a baby blob in “Night of the Living Carrots”), and considers him his “freaky gelatinous son”.

Has a reputation of being a “control-freak” due to his aggressive overseeing of the monsters’ containment. This toughness is partly because of incidents that occured without his knowledge. Lets just say some scientists have been wedgied/fired for running experiments on the monsters without Monger’s approval.

Has a very “Ron Swanson” emotional response and view of the world. Crying is acceptable only at funerals and at the Grand Canyon (if he hadn’t lost his tear ducts in the war).

Has been married multiple times. Will not confirm or deny if he is currently seeing anyone.

Invisible Man/TiM:

Legit got out but no one at Area 5X is sure how. He suffered a geniune medical emergency and disappeared after surgery. The other monsters were informed that he died from complications to deter them from getting escape ideas.

Is able to be detected in Infrared light. Dr Cockroach managed to rig up goggles to view TiM in case of injury and to foil pranks.

Was a scientist working on an invisibility potion for the military and used himself as a guinea pig. Hasn’t actually been able to replicate his results since - thinks the effect may have been caused by a genetic abnormality.

Dr Cockroach and him are massive rivals. Both actually met eachother pre-transformation through a CalTech expedition. This makes the pair one of few people that have seen the others human face.

Is 100% naked. Was forced to wear clothing once this was discovered.

A massive prankster and a cynic. Him and Link were a force to be reckoned with.

Has revisted the facility multiple times and has started a number of ghost stories.

Any additions are welcome! I proably have alot more to dump about. Might make one of the alien characters from the series

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Sick Little Games: Twenty-Seven

“You wanna talk?” Nat said gently, handing you a bottle of water.

“Not here,” you sigh, “Too many ears.” The spy nodded. She could understand that. Agents were lurking everywhere, and she could already hear the rumor mill churning. By this time tomorrow, you were gonna be having a baby with Thor or Bruce so they could raise the kid, and Sam was gonna be mad about it.

Stupid.

So stupid.

And usually, the pair of you might have a good time causing a few more rumors. But right now, you look like you just went ten rounds with Tyson, and she hates it. And she understands. Programming never really goes away. It can go dormant. It can be shouted over. But it’s there. Always there. And it never really goes away. Natasha helped you to your feet and sighed, “Come on. We’ll go get lunch.”

“I don’t know if I can eat,” you tell her.

“Well,” she said, “You can watch me eat. I’m starving.”

“Okay,” you say, smiling a little. She throws an arm carelessly over your shoulder and kisses your cheek.

“Chinese?” she suggests, hoping that she can tempt you to eat something.

“Just as long as there’s alcohol.”

“You can’t get drunk,” she snorts.

“I know. And I miss it so much... I really miss drugs.”

She rolls her eyes, “Degenerate,” she teased. But there was no real heat. She knew how easy it was to lose yourself in overindulgence. And she knew your drugs of choice had been depressants and hallucinogens. Things that dulled the world around you and made it feel more bearable.

“Don’t knock it,” you sigh, rubbing the back of your neck, “The closest I can get now is having sex for a few hours.”

“Which I’m sure Barton is more than happy to help with,” she said, smirking.

“Are you kidding? He’s thrilled.”

Natasha snorts, “Oh, I’m sure... Thanks for that, by the way. He’s a lot more focused on missions.”

You smile a little, “I gotta be good for something, right?”

The spy gives you a look and frowns at you.

“What?” you ask, feeling self-conscious. She has a really unique way of making you feel naked when she glares at you like that.

“You’re not a fuck toy,” she says, “You’re not just here for him to Fuck and Bucky to get a hate boner for.”

Yeah?” you counter, “Then why is everyone obsessed with my reproductive capabilities.”

She snorts, “Mostly because you and Clint will make some really adorable, really fucking clumsy babies. But also because if any of us has a chance to make the whole white picket fence thing work, it’d be you.”

You lean against the car for a second and rest your forehead on the cold metal, taking a deep breath. “You know,” you say after a long moment, “I really- before all of this. And HYDRA. I wanted to be a Kindergarten Teacher. I was maybe 7. They’d put me in the Tree of Life school by then... I was the only girl in the class that didn’t write ‘mommy’ as a dream job on my cute little paper. So my teacher wrote a note home. Said I needed discipline. So Stirling knocked out four of my baby teeth.”

Natasha blinked at you slowly and exhaled, “Can I kill him?”

“Get in line,” you snort, “I got dibs if we ever get to take him out. Fury said so.”

Natasha didn’t have to ask any more questions after that. And she didn’t need to know what had been said to you by anyone to trigger this particular thing. Marriage and Family had some bizarre stuff tangled up in your head. And pressure on it was probably gonna make you bolt. Or unravel a little. Nat made a mental note to talk to Clint. She knew he wasn’t going to press on you for anything. Mostly because you could literally tear his head off if you ever wanted to (not that you would, she amended). But he needed to know. He needed to understand if you started getting cold feet. She didn’t think she could stand it if you broke up. Not now that you’re together. It’s just adorably right. Sweet. And it suits you. You glow differently when someone loves you the way you should be loved, and Clint is a better person when he has a reason to look after himself. She wants you to have a happy little family and a house somewhere. You deserve it. And it would be nice to have a new little vacation spot.

“Get in,” she sighs, “I can’t believe you already called dibs.”

“Well, I mean. Coulson tried it, but I told him I lived the Cult life so like... I overruled him.”

“I mean, That’s fair,” she admitted, waiting for you to buckle your seat belt.

“Are you serious?”

“We’re not doing the passive-aggressive death wish shit today,” she said, fixing the mirrors.

You roll your eyes but buckle it, sticking your tongue out at her, “Not like it’d kill me anyway.”

“Not the point, Y/N,” she said, “And you know it.”

______________

Clint sheathed his practice sword and sighed. He wished it was your day to beat up rookies. This batch was cocky, and they seemed to think he was “less” somehow. He’d really love to see you go a few rounds with some of them and made a mental note to put a bug in Steve’s ear about it.

The training room was quiet now. Quiet and Clint was grateful for it. It gave him time to think. Time to plan. He could see a future, so clearly, it made his chest ache. It was the first time in his life that he could look forward and not feel a vague sense of dread. He wanted that future he saw. And he wanted it with you.

Clint exhaled slowly and started towards the door planning on a shower. What he didn’t expect on was colliding with Steve’s chest, “Sorry, Steve,” he said, stepping aside as Steve put a hand out to steady him before he fell over.

Steve chuckled, “No worries,” he said, “Distracted?”

“A little,” Clint said, “Trying to figure out how I want to extend the dining room and add a little Atrium.”

“I didn’t know you were handy like that,” he said, amused.

“Yeah,” Clint snorted, “Offseason for the circus meant I had to get a hobby.”

Steve nodded, “Sounds like you got a nice little house picked out.”

“Y/N already had a house,” Clint corrected, “I’m just planning on making it a little better.”

“Oh,” Steve said, “Wait- When did she get a house?”

“Where do you think she went when he disappeared?” he asked.

“Hawaii?” Steve suggested, “Mexico? Bali? I just figured she went somewhere warm.”

“I mean sometimes,” Clint said, “But she goes there more often.”

“Got rooms picked out for a nursery?” he teased.

“No,” he said, “But we did decide to give the boys the attic. Plenty of space and no convenient way to sneak out.” He can feel his cheeks heat. He had kinda figured out where to put an eventual baby, but. He was reluctant to bring that up with you. At least not until you were actually married and settled in.

“Good tactical Advantage,” Steve said, “Her idea or yours?”

“She did the “escaping a Cult” thing before. She kinda went buck wild for a little bit, I guess. So she figured she’d make it harder for them to do. Keep them from learning some stuff the hard way.”

“Y/N? No way?”

“Lots of drugs, Steve,” Clint clarified, “Some weird passive-aggressive death wish.”

Steve frowned, “I didn’t know that.”

“Not many people do,” Clint said, shrugging, “She’s not really proud of it. Even if she will occasionally cop to missing getting high.”

“I-”

Clint held up a hand to stop him, “Before you get all moral compass on me,” Clint said, giving him a meaningful look, “Remember. She didn’t figure she had anything to live for. Also, remember that mind control can really fuck someone up.”

Steve snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

“And that’s why,” Clint continued, “She and Natasha get along so well. They understand what it’s like to be reduced to one biological function. To be told that all you are is that one function... And that’s why I’d really appreciate it if everyone would stop talking about it. You can tease me about it all you want. As long as Y/N can’t hear you.”

“Fair enough,” Steve said, exhaling slowly. “I never thought of that,” he admitted.

“No one does. Not really,” he said, “They’re too well adjusted. Or at least, they can pretend to be.”

“Well,” Steve said, “At least she’s doing better now.”

“Yeah,” Clint said, feeling a little bit of pride. “Yeah, she is.”

Tags:

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[wlw-imagines-blog]

There is No Ending For Us (Part 2) (Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader)

Part One Here

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Major Character Death, Endgame Spoilers,

Word Count: 1.5k words

Summary: Reader remembers her time with Natasha, and mourns the deaths of the two famous Avengers.

Tagged: @xxxtwilightaxelxxx

A/N: thank you everyone for the feedback! So, at the beginning, this is after the battle with Thanos at the destroyed complex, but before Steve goes back in time (at Tony's funeral). Also this isn’t going to be any happier than the first part.

Hours passed like minutes. You let Steve carry you into a hallway before pulling you into a tight hug. Your hands landed on his back, tears blurring your vision. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” you heard Steve say, voice aching. You had said nothing, silently weeping in anguish. That was all you remember him saying. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

As the Avengers worked on the new gauntlet, you forced yourself to leave. You couldn't stay. There was nothing else you could do. A taxi drove you through Manhattan, stopping and starting in rush hour traffic. Upon returning to your apartment, you crumpled, sitting on the kitchen floor, crying. 

Everything seemed to blur together; the return of those who disappeared for five years, a destructive battle at the Avenger's compound, and the untimely death of Tony Stark.

There was plenty of loss in the newfound joy the world was experiencing.

At Tony's funeral, you stood there, watching Pepper and Morgan set the wreath into the water. Your chest was tight, head aching from the tears. It was strange to see so many people who had fought against each other at one point, standing together and honoring a man they barely knew.

After the ceremony, you found Clint by a long, winding river, near a large oak tree.

You threw yourself at him, arms wrapping tight around his neck.

"We did it," he choked into your neck. You could feel his tears seeping through the fabric of your jacket.

You pulled away, eyes shining. "She'd be proud of us."

"She is. I know she is."

Your brows furrowed, mouth twisted, threatening to submit to heavy sobs, but you grit your teeth.

"Y/N," he said, face heavy with guilt. "I tried to stop her. I tried to take her place but she beat me to it."

You nodded, swallowing thickly. "I know, Clint. It's... it's okay. She made the call."

Looking past him, you saw his wife, Laura, and his three children, all dressed in black, standing close to their mother. Laura offered you a kind smile.

"She wanted you to be with them," you managed to say. "They need you."

Clint shook his head. "If anything, I need them."

You smiled at his family before speaking. "I just can't believe I'm never going to see her again. I thought, after the Snap, that we would have more time. But, everyday, I could tell she thought about that day in Wakanda. What she could have done to save everyone, and how they could have beaten Thanos. It was tearing her up." You let your hands shake. "She would wake up in the middle of the night, crying about it. It hurt to see her like that."

"She wanted to make it right," Clint whispered.

You nodded again. "I just wish I could've been there with her."

Clint regarded you. "She loved you. Before Nat died, she wanted me to tell you that."

Your mouth twitched as tears ran down your cheeks. Clint hugged you tightly.

Emptiness swirled in your stomach, curling at the back of your throat, choking you alive.

~**~

When you become an 'adult' time seems to pass a lot quicker. In elementary school, recess was about ten minutes, but sometimes it felt like thirty. When you grow up, you can occupy so much time with your life, and make hours feel like minutes. But when you dread something, it takes forever for time to pass.

It takes three, stagnant years before you visit Natasha.

Within that time, you tried to find balance and security in a world that had seen tragedy and celebration. You tried to mourn while everyone around you celebrated.

The first five months were incredibly difficult. You often stayed inside, too sick with grief to leave for work, or meet with anyone.

Th people you least expected came over to visit. One month after the funeral, Wanda Maximoff showed up at your door, looking displaced and uncertain. You let her in, and the two of you spent hours talking and weeping, before she left. The Tuesday after that, Stephen Strange appeared, and you asked question after question. Was this the only way? Could they have saved everyone? He answered everything you asked. A young man named Peter, who you learned had been Tony’s protege stopped by, eyes big and already red. You let him in without asking anymore questions; besides, the kettle had just boiled, and you preferred company when having tea.

You spent more time than you thought possible at Clint and Laura’s place, sometimes even staying the night. They became a second family to you. You could confide in Laura, and the kids found your fun to be around when the sadness was not so thick. 

Steve visited once a week. Sometimes you would meet him for coffee, or hang out in the evening, but he became something of a constant for you. He was solid, and grounded, especially when you felt like you were sinking. This was all until he told you his plan for returning the infinity stones.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Steve?” You asked, finger tracing the rim of your cup of coffee.

Steve smiled to himself. “I’m not if it’s a good or bad idea, but it’s what I want.”

You thought about Natasha, and how much you would give to be with her. 

You looked at Steve. “Then, go for it.”

Three years and two weeks after Steve left, you found yourself in the middle of a forest, where the trees thinned and opened to a vast field of wild grass.

"Um, hello, Natasha," you said uncomfortably. "I know it's been a while. I'm really sorry about that. I-I guess time really does fly, huh?"

There was no response. Your voice seemed too loud in the empty meadow.

"I thought this would be a nice place for you," you continued, hand tightening around the bouquet you held. "Plenty of trees, and grass. You would love it, in the summertime, these orange roses and violets blossom in the field over there." You nodded to your left. "It's so pretty, Nat. I know you'd love it."

You crouched, placing the lilies at the base of the headstone.

"Fuck, Nat," your voice hitched, shaking when your dropped the flowers. "I still love you. I should have said it more to you. I should have done a lot actually. I should have forced you to leave the compound more, I should have taken you away; to Morocco like you always wanted. I should have called you and spent every second more with you. I should have gotten down on one knee and begged you to marry me."

You knelt down, fingers brushing the headstone of an empty grave. "We should have done so much more together. And I know, I'm going to live with that feeling of regret. Holy shit, Nat, sometimes it's so strong, I think I'm going to be sick. It keeps me up at night, and I'm not even kidding!" You wiped your nose, not caring how hysterical you sounded. "Its been four years, and I can't sleep the same! It's just so empty without you, Nat. And honestly, I'm ashamed to say that sometimes, I curse you. I get so angry, and full of hate, and I scream! I just go crazy! How could you have left me? When everyone came back? And you stayed dead! Everyone was in the streets, celebrating, while I was trying to figure out how to bury you without your body!"

You were shaking all over. Minutes passed as you sat, hearing nothing but the crickets and buzz of bees in the field. You wiped your nose with your sleeve "Fuck. You would hate to see me like this, wouldn't you?" You said ruefully. "I bet on every star in the sky, you'd say, 'stop being so dramatic, Y/N. Pick yourself up and get on with it.' Well, I'm sorry, Nat. I'm not like you."

You pressed your forehead to the cold stone. "I could never be as good as you."

"This is going to get easier," you sniffed, pushing through the tears. "I know it is. I've got that hope you always carried around with you. After this, I'm going over to Clint and Laura's for dinner. They really miss you too, Nat, we all do.” You were standing now, somehow still talking despite everything. “Bruce has changed, he's so distant. Thor's gone for now, Steve's gone too. Tony... well, he's up there with you, isn’t he? Tell him I say hi, we miss him so much."

You pressed your fingers to your lips, then rested them on the top of the headstone. A weak smile danced on your lips as you pulled away. 

"I love you, Natasha. I’ll, visit again soon. Really soon, I promise,” you breathed, air pressing against your lungs as though you were breathing for the first time in a decade. You felt the ghost of a hand against your back, helping push you forward

 You walked back to your car, and drove away.

[helpinghanikan]

Pet or guilt trip, your choice

Avengers (and Matt Murdock) x reader

Sum: no home is complete without a pet, or second best

Steve Rogers:

           After the first attack on New York gifts and presents started pilling in the lobby. For every member of the team at that point, even the ones who the public didn’t know the name of. Flowers, candy, clothes, jewelry, and sometimes straight up cash. Most were donated (save for the drawings, and that one necklace Nat was not going to let go of), and among those gifts were Lady.

           She was a little golden retriever puppy, pink bow around her neck. Security guard (a wall of a man) was cooing over her when you had walked in.

           Accepting her on Steve’s behalf she fit snuggly in the crook of one arm. The other holding the files. Help from fellow employees pressed elevator buttons and open doors kept Lady from touching the floor.

           You sat Lady down after seeing him in your office. Opening the door and nudging her inside with the toe of your pump. She goes right for the next available source of attention in the room, Steve kneeling to her level. She whines and goes for his face, tiny paws trying to get traction on his shirt collar and get to more of his face.

           “Careful of Cujo there,” You say, papers on the desk.

           “I don’t- okay, later.” Another movie added to the list. “Who is this?”

           “Our child,” You said, an arsenal of guilt ready to be used.

         Tony Stark:

         You’d need more hands to count how many times you’ve tried to get a pet. Tony has dodged every attempt with legit reason; cats knock things over, dogs are a lot of work and messy, birds? No, just no.

           This helped create the “Stark adoption day”, your personal project. Part passion project, part proof that you are more than just some trophy on Tony’s arm. Working with any shelter that will have you (which was a good majority) and setting up the meet and greet with dogs, cats and everything else in the park. Unsurprisingly it was maybe an hour before people started asking about Tony.

           It was a little deflating that people were more concerned about Tony than the animals. This was why you had gotten to Tony before he made his entrance. Making sure he’s not wearing anything that he wouldn’t want ruined.

           Adoption rates went through the roof. Hand picking the oldest, least desirable pets and putting them on the for-front. Tony holding a single eyed orange cat was still being cycled around, another where you had stolen his sunglasses for a brief moment and placed them on the bridge of an old saint-bernard. Both of them were adopted within the hour on that day.   

         Thor:

         Thor had a horse, Thor had a big fucking horse.

           “What’cha got there?” A lame question with an obvious answer.

           He had this confidence that everyone should envy. Even when he doesn’t know where or what’s going on, he is still so sure. Just like now, holding black reins of this dun horse, tail black, mane matching.

           “Gail,” A simple name that he probably didn’t pick out. “She’s from the neighbors,” Neighbors who were over two miles away. “Come, come here.”

           His hand lays over yours, guiding you to stroke her neck.

           Whether you had experience with horses or not it didn’t matter. Gail was Thor’s girl. A free ranged horse that wondered your property, coming into her little barn when the weather is less than pleasant.

           Thor gets this look on his face when brushing Gail. Every bit of stress, every forced laugh and smile is gone when he mounts her up. How could you say no to that?

         Bucky Barnes:

           He hadn’t noticed you yet, sitting on the patio steps. The rented cottage was angled so the sun caught whatever rested on the porch. Usually it were local cats, this time they were joined by your man. Scratching his head at just the right angle, gleam of metal sending magic over the stone.

           He’s a tuxedo with white on only his back-left paw. Following the little white dots along the stone and up the wall. Both paws reaching out to slap at the light swishing side to side, following it left to right and back down to the porch. He was one of those outdoor cats, born in the wild. Scratched up ears and skinny body to match.

           Bucky raises his arms up and down for the sun to catch it. Kitty not having a care in the world no matter how close he got to the large man. Eventually attacking Bucky’s leg, pressing against it and bouncing back. Turning around and attacking again, maybe trying to confuse his prey.

           “Oh God, I love it.” Wanda had texted when you sent the video.

           Kitty was your host for the duration of the small vacation. Probably hanging around because of the food you had left out, letting out a jagged meow while trotting up whenever Bucky leaves the cabin.

           By the last day Kitty sat next to the bags stacked by the door. Staring, daring like he was daring you to try and leave without him.

         Natasha Romanoff:

         His name is Clint and he’s a bastard.

           Just like the man he was named after, the large African gray parrot hung out in the highest points of the apartment when alone.  Sometimes flying down to chill on the counter or couch when Nat was home, bouncing around the apartment while she would watch amused.

           He was adopted when Natasha officially moved in. Someone for you to be with while she was away. She really loved him, cooing at him when perched on her shoulder. Speaking in any language she knew as a greeting.

           Nat was Clint’s obvious favorite. The moment she was gone he would go into his corner. Waiting for you to be in sight before throwing an actual tantrum. There was a real chance that Clint was a cat reincarnated; going into your kitchen and knocking down the hung-up mugs, opening the cabinets and marching on the plates when he locks himself in. He’ll scream into the void between the couch and wall, grab at chips or snacks as your bringing them to your mouth. In those few minutes that he’s calm he’ll stay in front of you and just stare;

           “Bring mom back, or I’ll tear this house apart.”

           The worst? He can speak, but only in Russian. You hadn’t learned what he was saying, but he was likely cursing you out.

         Bruce Banner:

         She’s a street beggar that had a love for fried chicken. With a meow too high for a cat her age, not caring about dangers and stretching deep. Her front paws against your leg, as though she just happens to be leaning against you.

           She does this every day when you pass. Accepting whatever sort of meaty substance you have at the moment. Seeming to glare when you had the audacity to offer a vegetable. At one point she followed after eating the treat, it was a spur of the moment decision to scoop from the old cat, her nails barely pressing into the cloth of your sleeves.

           It honestly took a few days before Bruce noticed Peppermint. She was an older cat, her all black coat had some shimmer of gray from age. Long haired and only showed her bratty side at the vet, or when she was being brushed.

           You really, really should have told him about her when you first got home. He wasn’t home very often, a little house outside of a city. Even the mildest mannered of the Avengers was almost never home. This was among the excuses you had used for randomly adopting a cat.

           “She was alone, like me.” You are a real asshole sometimes.

           Of course, you never blamed Bruce for having to be gone. You’ve spent years separated until the Avengers brought you back together, another few more when he disappeared into the sky. Using all that for a cat? She better be one amazing cat.     

         T’Challa:

         The man has battle rhinos, you’d think he could handle a French bulldog.

           Cosmo was a spoiled coworker’s birthday present. She lost interest in him after he passed his puppy phase. Her comments about taking him to the shelter had perked your ears, swooping in to save the little boy right behind her.

           He’s a real brat, you love him, but he’s the worst.

           You’ve just never realized how bad he was until T’challa insisted you visit for a longer period then expected. This was the journey of many firsts for Cosmo; first time on a plane, first time leaving country and the first time in Wakanda. First time meeting Okoye, who just watched this little black ball raise on his paws and stare at her on the plane seat. He growled deep in his throat, whining up at her and she just stared back. Eventually he just started barking, sitting on his butt and barking to the sky. Demanding she pick him up.

           She just smiles down at him, head on her hand. Seeing how long this boy was going to whine until he gave up. Cosmo was going the entire flight, Okoye would make a great mother.

           Shuri’s face lighting up was worth bringing the little booger along. It wasn’t that there were no small dogs in Wakanda, or that she didn’t know what a French bull dog was, it was just a breed that wasn’t necessary to adopt from the outside world. With both hands she holds him up to her face, more than willing to watch him while you met up with T’challa.

           His face looking at Cosmo was one of “What did you bring into my home?”

           And he kept that face every time Cosmo stared up at him with that old man wheezing. Or when Cosmo would take a sock from those placed out, running from the room with it like he had just robbed a bank. His worst offense is to have the audacity to squeeze his firry butt between you and T’chall at night. Too deep in sleep to hear the names your man was calling your second favorite boy.

Pietro Maximoff

Nothing can cement a person to one place like a sleeping pet.

           They’ve been stuck to the same spot for the past hour. The black and white husky resting her head on his lap, one paw over the knee as a way to say “please, don’t move.”

           Pietro’s face was annoyed, but his dominate hand kept a good rhythm of petting Savannah’s head. The other flicked through channels, occasionally looking your way. Maybe to see what you were doing (still on the laptop), maybe to look for help. Not that you’d ever mess with your copper and white colored princess.

           She would nip at your legs, howl and scream when the food would take too long. Keeping Pietro wrapped around her paw whenever he left the house. Growling low in her throat when he’d tell her no. She would do this until he grabbed her leash, muttering in his mother language as she wiggled with excitement.

   Peter Parker:

           Peter held the little guy way too close to his face. Looking at the white and fawn spotted bunny in his hands, inspecting him as though he might not have been an actual rabbit. In his defense Happy was cute little guy.

           It was like a divorce from a marriage that never happened. Happy was a plan that took weeks in the making. Infecting each other with the Bun disease after watching one too many “how to care for your rabbit” videos in the wee hours of the morning. He spent most his life at your place, taking him Peter’s a few times a week during “Dates”.

           It wasn’t that Aunt May had explicably said no, she just gestured around the apartment. “We barely fit in here.” The woman was immune to the bunny charms, still more than willing to hold him, though. Making kissy noises and cooing.

           This was Happy’s life now. Seeing his Daddy every “date” night. The two of your sitting across from each other on the floor, legs stretching out for your feet to be flat against each other. Creating a tiny carrel for Happy to choose which parent he will be cuddled by.

         Stephen Strange:

         It wasn’t so much Stephen had said no that Wong did. He had the look of a man who had seen the effects of cats on old books and birds in wide open areas. Dogs don’t seem to be on the list of preferred pets for those working in mystic arts. They’re too good for them, anyway.

           “It’s good karma,” You had said, door chiming when opened.

           “Karma’s not real, Sweetie,” The nickname of condescension.

           “You’re fucking attitude is. Hi, Marisa.”

           There is probably a reason dogs aren’t chosen for mystic arts. They’re too much of a distraction, spending hours with these girls and boys. Filling bowls, washing cages and scrubbing puppies cleaned the soul.

           Stephen had stood off to the side at first. One of those poor kids whose parents had never let him have a real pet (maybe a fish, but you can’t pet a fish). Slowly getting more accommodated with the dogs getting too excited around him. Then he met Beorn, the adult male Newfoundland who was getting on in age.

           Because of his age he wasn’t the first option for adoption, a mass of black hair laying in his cage. Beorn nudged against his hand, a deep noise at the back of his throat that said, “I’m old and deserve pets. Get to it, youngster.”

           Stephen’s hands disappeared into the black mass. Reaching for miles before he found the body and Beorn groaned at the attention. Stephen fell in love with him at that moment. Going with you to the shelter and just so happen to wander towards Beorn. Taking credit for volunteering while he only stays with this old bear.

           “I want him,” He one day admitted on the way home.

           “Talk to your work-husband.”

         Matt Murdock:

         “I don’t need a service dog,” He says.

           “I’ll pay for it.” You says.

           “Sweetie, Angel, no.” The double pet name. It’s on now.

           “Come, how’d you get that busted lip?”

           Thug two was quieter than thug one

           “Walked into a door.” He says.

           “And your ribs?”

           Big crow-bar, bigger guy

           “Went hard into a table.”

           “You know what can keep you from doing that? A service animal.” Beers clink between your fingers while walking into the room.

           “I have you for that.” He says.

           “Wow,” You keep the bottle from his hands. Setting it on the coffee table instead.

           “I didn’t mean that,” He reaches for the bottle. Missing by a few inches, leaning forward and pushing it gently into his hands. “I think the cane says I’m blind enough. I don’t have time for it either.”

           “Dogs are suffering you know,” a drink of beer. You’re planning something. “And their shelter is underfunded.”

           There it is; his little, bleeding heart, angel. “What do they need?”

           “Lawyer on retainer, paperwork and stuff. “Another drink, a louder gulp. You hardly ever asked for anything, let alone a legal favor. “All your clients with them will be innocent. Ya know?”

           Matt nods, “Foggy’ll love it.”

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

Carol Danvers:

         “This is just a favor to a friend,” Mr. Fury says walking with you through the house.

           Middle of nowhere was an understatement, surrounded by fields owned by no one and woods belonging to the deer. You should probably ask if there was wifi in the place. That the phone line is connected out here is a serious long shot.

           “In exchange for that favor,” You’ve only known this man for a few hours. Long enough for car ride and brief introduction that told you nothing but his name. In that time, you have learned he seemed to like being dramatic. Grabbing the carrier on the kitchen table and setting it on the floor with a clunk for dramatics. “He’s your problem now.”

           The orange kitty inside obviously didn’t share Mr. Fury’s love for dramatics. Just sitting in the loaf position inside of his crate, barely acknowledging that he now had a way to roam around.

           “Carol has a cat?” You ask.

           The floor creaks as you squat down to see inside the crate better. Cat now acting like you meant nothing to him while he stretches out. Walking out and sniffing your outstretched fingers. A purr deep in his throat gets louder when he rubs against them, spinning to trail his tail between your fingers.

           “He’s more then that. Just make sure he’s in front of your if they break in here.” Mr. Fury says, holding out a card to you. “When that happens give me a call.”

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

Shang-Chi:

It takes a minute to realize that a turtle had made it’s home in Shang’s apartments. It’s enclosure blending a little too well with the shelves, lamps and junk that decorated Shang’s living space.

“That’s Sheldon-.” Shang begins.

“LAME!” Yells Katy from the couch.

“-Xialing gave him to me a bit ago. She said he ‘matched the décor and my attitude.’ Whatever that means.”

Seeing Sheldon making his way around the room. You had to agree. Especially as it was a pancake tortoise that moved around faster than you’d assume it to be.

Now that you knew Sheldon was there he was hard to miss. He walked through the tiles of the kitchen when let out of his enclosure and chilled on the carpet when Shang would get ready in the morning.

“I thought I was your pushup cheerleader.” You said one morning from your shared bed.

It was a blessing and a curse that Shang used pushups to wake up in the morning. A blessing because who doesn’t like to wake up to a beautiful view? And a curse because of the constant suggestion that you join him.

This morning he was doing the set as usual. With Sheldon choosing to hang out right under his owner. Completely confident in his dad’s ability to not just slam to the ground.

[raynertodd]

Fic: Oh Brother (1/6)

Jason decides to go to college. He thinks South Carolina is far enough away from Gotham that his family will leave him alone. He’s wrong.

(or: 5 times Jason's brothers visit him at college and one time Bruce comes too)

(This started as a 'what if Jason gave up the superhero life and went to college' fic and turned into a sort-of crossover with the All For The Game series when I started thinking about Jason at Palmetto and how good he could be at Exy. Mostly though, this is about Jason and his family. )

Read on AO3

*

Jason is pleasantly surprised by the campus of Palmetto State University. He stares up at the building housing the sports teams and reminds himself that he wants to do this. Growing up in Crime Alley, he never believed he’d finish high school, let alone go to college. When he moved in with Bruce and saw Dick away at college he allowed himself to think about it. Then he died. Then he came back. Things had settled down in the few years since he came back to life, to the point where living a semi-normal life seemed attainable.

His first step was becoming a legal entity again. When he explained his plan to her, Barbara was happy to help him set up his identity. She helped him study for the GED and proofread his college applications. He couldn’t exactly pay for college with cash from drug-lords, so he applied for sports scholarships, too. Jason had joined the school’s Exy team during his brief time at Gotham Academy, so that was the sport he chose. Roy was happy to spend an afternoon shooting a reel to send in with his application, and then all that was left to do was wait.

He was accepted into each school he applied to, with a few colleges offering scholarships as well, but it was Palmetto that caught his eye. The whole point of going to college was to stay away from trouble, yet he chose the school that had ties to the yakuza.

The sound of voices brings Jason out of his thoughts and he enters the building. His room is on the top floor so he begins the trek up the stairs. There are already people in his room when he gets there; he recognises them from the files he and Barbara had made on his teammates.

“Hi, welcome,” a cheerful redhead calls out to him. “I’m Dan Wilds, co-captain of the foxes. You must be one of our new recruits.”

“Jason Todd,” he introduces himself. Dan puts down the boxes she had been carrying and helps a tall man with dark hair with the TV he was holding.

Once they had it settled, the man sat down on the couch and smiled up at Jason. “Matt Boyd,” he offered a hand to shake. Jason took it, noticing the dotted scars of track marks up his arms.

“I’ll give you hand bringing your stuff up if you like. Just need a minute to recover. Of course move-in is on the hottest day of the summer,” Matt huffs, sinking further into the couch.

“Don’t worry about, I packed light,” Jason gestures to the duffel bag hanging from his shoulder.

“That’s all you’ve got?” Matt asks.

Jason shrugs. Some clothes, toiletries and books was all he needed to keep in the dorm. He had a safe house a few blocks away where he was keeping his armour and weapons just in case he needed them.

“Please tell me your not on the run from the mob too,” Matt sighs. Dan shoots him a sharp look. “What? He’ll find out about it soon enough.”

“I’m not on the run from anyone,” Jason assures them. Though he’s sure there’s plenty of people from various mobs who would like to get their hands on him, but that’s what secret identities are for.

--

A few weeks into the semester Jason is on the sofa in his dorm room, reading one of his set texts when knock at the door brings his attention back to the room. His roommate Aaron is already across the room so Jason lets him answer it.

“There’s someone here to see you,” Aaron says, turning back to look at Jason with curiosity.

“Let me guess, dark hair and blue eyes?” Jason replies. Aaron nods. “That doesn’t actually narrow it down much.” He sighs and gets up to go to the door. “Dickie-bird,” he greets his older brother. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Little wing!” Dick says in greeting. He’s smiling but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “How about an explanation as to why you decided to go to college halfway across the country without telling any of us?”

Jason rolls his eyes. “It’s none of your business what I do with my time. I’m not breaking any of B’s rules. I thought he’d be happy I’m back at school. Y’know, getting the ‘normal’ life experiences.”

“He’s so proud of you, Jay,” Dick says earnestly. “Are you going to let me in or do we have to do this in the doorway?”

Jason steps back to let his brother into the room.

“Could you give us a minute, A?” Jason asks his roommate. Aaron obliges with a nod and Jason listens to his footsteps as he goes to the girls’ room, presumably to let them know about the tall dark haired man who showed up saying that Jason is a runaway.

“Can we talk freely here?” Dick asks.

“I’ve checked for bugs but I think the walls are pretty thin and my teammates are nosy as shit.”

Dick nods.

“What are you doing here, Dick?” Jason sighs and plops down onto the sofa. Dick perches beside him.

“You weren’t answering our calls,” Dick explains. “Which isn’t that unusual for you, so I went to your apartment.”

Jason winces, knowing what cleared out safe houses would look like to his brother.

“We thought you’d run off again. It scared me, Jay, thinking that you would leave without saying goodbye.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason says quietly. “I didn’t think.”

“It’s a good thing you enrolled here under your real name. It didn’t take Tim long to track you down. Welcome back to the land of the legally living, by the way.”

“Barb helped me out with that. So the whole family knows I’m here?”

“We were worried about you,” Dick shrugs.

“Worried that I’d gone back to kill- breaking B’s number one rule?” Jason censors himself. He has a feeling he’s being listened to.

“Don’t do that, Jay,” Dick says, frustration edging into his voice. “You have to stop expecting the worst of him.”

“I’ll stop expecting it when he stops thinking the worst of me,” Jason huffs.

“He worries-”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? He sent you to check up on me?” Jason rises to his feet, his hands clenched into fists.

“We’re so proud you’re going back to school, but you have a history, Little wing,” Dick says gently.

“Get the fuck out.” Jason is at the door, holding it open for his brother.

“Jason-” Dick is cut off by his brother’s glare. “Fine. Just, answer your phone every once in a while?”

Jason’s eyes drop and he stares at the floor, his face hard. He waits until he hears the elevator doors close before he looks up. The door to the girls’ room next door is ajar. He can see shadows of bodies behind the door. He was right, they were listening.

“Enough entertainment for you?” he says to the general area of the room. He doesn’t expect a response, already turning back to his room when Dan opens the door.

“Sorry,” she says. “We heard shouting, and secret past lives haven’t gone well for the team previously.”

“Previously? You guys are fucked up,” Jason huffs out a laugh.

“Want to come in and talk about it?” Dan offers. Sensing his hesitation, she adds, “We’ve got booze.”

Jason looks into the room where Aaron, Matt and Renee are sitting around the couches. Alison appears with a bottle of wine and a bottle of vodka.

“Fuck it,” he says, and steps into the room. He sits next to Matt and grabs the vodka, bypassing a cup to drink straight from the bottle.

“Gross,” Alison laughs.

He sets the bottle down and looks around at the small group. “Go on then,” he sighs, prompting their questions.

“Who was he?” Aaron asks.

“My brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“Three - wait no, four and sister,” Jason says. He pauses, thinking, then adds, “Last time I checked, anyway.”

They looked at him strangely for the phrasing but didn’t press the topic.

“Did you run away from home?” Renee asks.

“I don’t always get along with my family,” Jason shrugs. “I wanted to go to college, but I couldn’t stay in Gotham to do it. They way they would lookat me,” his hands are clenched into fists at his sides. He takes another drink. “Fuck their pity. Dick called it pride, but it’s guilt.”

“Fucked up family? Join the club,” Allison grins, nudging her plastic cup against the bottle Jason is holding.

“You’ve got no idea.”

“Just please tell us you’re not related to anyone in the mob,” Aaron says.

Jason can’t help but laugh at the irony. “No, my family are definitely anti-mobster.” Eight heads in a duffel bag would argue that Jason was technically a crime lord, but that’s not what Aaron asked.

[literati42]

Batfam Week day 5: Legacy

Title: Manifold Legacies

Rating: PG

Genre: Angst, family, fluff

Characters: Tim Drake-centric (both kid and teen Tim), Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and Alfred Pennyworth

Description: Batfam week day 5: Legacy. The legacy of Robin was snatched away from Tim and given to Damian, but things among brothers are not always what they seem.

Note: Still taking requests for Batfam week everyone :)

 Batfam Week Day 5: Legacy

           Tim Drake walked around the Batcave, looking at the various items that amounted to memorabilia of Gotham’s enemies. It was like a hall of fame for villains. A Joker playing card, a dinosaur, Penguin’s umbrella. He ran his fingers across the ridges of the giant penny.

           “Isn’t it a little morbid to keep trophies? Like a serial killer?” Tim asked his face scrunched in confusion. Alfred stood behind the child’s shoulder, looking at each item.

           “You could view it that way, Master Timothy,” he said, resting a hand on the child’s shoulder, “But I see something different. It’s the same as the portraits hanging in the Manor above us. Every item in here has a story, a moment in the life of this family. It’s your legacy.” Tim looked up at him and nodded. He walked over to the case of past uniforms and stopped beside the memorial to Jason Todd, the brother he never knew. He saw his legacy clearly in this display.

_-_-_

           Years later, Tim stood before the same display of costumes, his eyes fixed on another memorial—one to his time as Robin. He pulled off his Red Robin mask and stood in front of the case and slowly pressed his forehead to the cool glass. A sadness settled in his gut.

           “You almost look like you miss it,” Jason said, stopping beside his younger brother. Tim looked up at him, taking a minute for his eyes to focus on the present again, after losing himself in the past.

           “It’s Damian’s now,” he said, “Dick chose him.” Tim walked by his brother without looking back.

_-_-_

           Dick woke to the sound of shattering glass, staring down the barrel of a gun.

           “Jason, what the hell?”

           Jason glared, the mask of the Red Hood off so his brother could see his eyes. “You need to have a talk with Tim.”

           “What?” Dick sat up, “You come in here guns blazing to talk about family matters? Seriously, Jason, we need to discuss…”

           “No, I talk. You listen. You need to talk to Tim about why you chose Damian to be your Robin.”

           “Jay, Tim knows why…”

           “You assumed that, but you’re wrong. You hurt him Dick, and now you’re going to fix it.”

_-_-_

           Red Robin entered the cave after another rough mission. Damian headed through the cave and straight up to the Manor, already half asleep. Tim turned to see his older brothers, Jason as the Hood and Dick in his version of the Batman cowl exchanging looks. Jason walked over and patted Tim’s shoulder, and then left without a word.

           “Hold up a second, Babybird, okay?” Dick said. He walked past Tim to the display of Robin costumes. “This one was mine,” he said, tapping the glass, even though Tim already knew. The younger Wayne boy came over and stood beside him. “It was new with me, not so heavy with expectation. Jason inherited the weight of its experiences. And you, you inherited a darker legacy.” Dick shook his head, “I’ve never once wanted to go back.” He stopped talking and fell silent. “You get why I picked Damian to wear this costume, don’t you?”

           Tim felt something inside him shut down. His expression went blank. “Yeah. I need to run a diagnostic on the computer and…”

           “Tim.” Dick caught him by the shoulder. “We’re going to talk about this, so settle in.”

           “What is there to say?”

           “A lot, apparently. A lot of things I thought went unsaid, and that’s my fault, Tim. I assumed you knew where my head was and I never bothered to make sure. I’m sorry, brother.” Dick pulled his cowl off, and Tim could see the concern in his expressive eyes. “For me, Robin was step one, but I grew up. I had to shrug off the legacy and make one of my own. Jay, he got to his new name through a lot more pain, but I believe if he had lived, he would have chosen a new name at some point too.” Dick ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not explaining this well. Tim, I had the choice to become someone new, none of us a had any say in Jason, but with you, I made a mistake. I chose for you.” Tim found himself without words, trying to piece together everything being said. “Robin is like training wheels. Robin is a starting place, it was never meant to be forever.” Dick leaned against the glass. “I know you became Robin because Bruce needed you. You saved his life, kid, and none of us are going to forget that. And, you needed to be Robin too. That brain of yours, running wild in a school system that vastly underestimated you? Bombing in classes because you were bored out of your mind? We’re lucky we snatched you up for the good side because that’s a pretty great villain story in the making.”

Tim rolled his eyes as Dick laughed at his own joke.

“But seriously,” Dick said, “You needed to get out of that place, to find meaning and use for your incredible brain. You needed guidance, you needed to gain confidence. But, Babybird, you don’t need Robin anymore. You’re strong, smart, a capable leader. Look at you with the Titans? You’re a natural leader. You can do this work, Tim. You don’t need your big brother breathing down your neck. Damian does. The kid needs to learn to discipline that temper. He needs to learn to understand people’s emotions and to put others first sometimes. He needs to be Robin, and he needs Batman to guide him. You don’t. It would only hold you back.” Dick laid his hand on his teenage brother’s shoulders, “I would never do that to you. The Robin’s legacy is growing, learning. But it was time for you to forge out and make your own legacy. And I thought you would realize that…” he shook his head, “Sometimes you are so quick, I forget you aren’t just reading my mind. I didn’t explain, and I’m sorry. But I’m not sorry for picking Damian because it has nothing to do with family. I’m not picking one brother over another. I was promoting one brother and training another in the field. But in our family? There is no rank. No one comes first or goes last. I love you, kid.” Tim saw pain in Dick’s eyes. “You get that, right?”

The emotions were closing in Tim’s throat, and he had to look away. Then before he could respond, Dick pulled him into a hug. He felt Dick’s breath ruffle his hair. “I love you, so much, Tim. You’re not the Robin anymore, but you will always be my baby brother.” Tim closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment just to linger in the hug before he found his voice again.

“I love you, Dick.”

As the two brothers hugged, Jason Todd left the dark corner he was standing in and headed as quietly as possible out of the cave.

[gadgetsrevv]

Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS — Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern | Griezmann the hero for Barca | Business as usual for Juve | Milan’s epic fail

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.

It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time, but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the setups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it, but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way, and to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, although he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes, and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense, but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the penalty Dries Mertens “won,” leaves little choice.

You can understand the mistake in awarding it — referees are human and Davide Massa isn’t just human, he’s not particularly good either — it’s harder to accept why VAR didn’t ask him to take another look. The whole crew is likely to sit out the next round (and Mertens, reportedly, could face retrospective punishment), which is encouraging.

On the pitch, Fiorentina’s young ones (who later made way for the golden oldies, Franck Ribery and Kevin-Prince Boateng) were fun to watch and played without fear. It will be a transition season but the future is bright. As for Napoli, the Smurf Squad did its thing and with Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano added to the mix, this is a side that can beat you many different ways.

PSG might need Neymar after all

Last season it was the teeny, tiny senior squad: a direct result of Financial Fair Play. This year, Paris Saint-Germain have more bodies but they’re dealing with injuries. Against Toulouse they lost Edinson Cavani, Abdou Diallo and Kylian Mbappe in one fell swoop, which rather muted celebrations for their 4-0 win.

None of the injuries looked season-ending, God forbid, and we’ll get an update soon, but with Neymar out of the squad pending the final days of the transfer window, it’s looking like an uphill ride for Thomas Tuchel. What does appear clear (despite the naysayers) is that if the transfer deadline comes and goes and Neymar is still there, he’ll be a professional and quickly slip back into the lineup. For Tuchel, that won’t come soon enough.

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Aside for a few episodes — think the Marcus Rashford missed spot-kick, some strong penalty appeals — Manchester United could easily have beaten Crystal Palace. And while they weren’t stellar, they didn’t play particularly badly either. But they remain a frustratingly one-dimensional team: fine on the counterattack and toothless with the ball, unless Paul Pogba invents something or Rashford picks out that little pass for Anthony Martial that seemingly nobody can cope with.

That’s what is disconcerting here. We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that reasonably well, but what else can he do? Is there an alternative way of playing — one that actually works — that he can turn to? That bit isn’t clear at all.

It’s not just about personnel (though it’s pretty clear he would have liked a couple more signings) which, to some degree, is out of his control. It’s about what he can affect: the way United play and right now, it seems to be in transition only. That has to change if they’re going to finish top four.

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Six weeks after telling the world he was battling a severe form of leukemia, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic slipped out of the hospital and took his place on the sideline for his team’s opening fixture, a 1-1 draw at Verona. Doctors had initially advised against it but relented when they saw his mind was made up. And anyone who has followed his career as a manager and a player will tell you that once he’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping him.

The players themselves only found out a few hours before kickoff. He wore a baseball cap and a large bandage on his neck. He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight. It obviously was a struggle but in case you hadn’t noticed, whatever else Mihajlovic is, this man is a warrior. He’ll fight cancer the way he lived his life: no retreat and no surrender.

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Robert Lewandowski‘s hat-trick overshadowed Philippe Coutinho‘s debut (he came on as a substitute) on Saturday in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Schalke and it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves of his everyday brilliance. He has scored every single Bayern goal this season. He has 197 in 246 appearances in all competitions and since 2010, he has missed just 16 league games for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Appearing on the Gab + Jules podcast last week, Jan Aage Fjortoft said “they must go to church every day in Munich praying he doesn’t get injured.” He’s right. He carries the can on his own up front and, for most of his tenure, he’s had no credible back up.

It’s not surprising, then, that Bayern are about to extend his contract by another two seasons, taking him up to 2023. When you’ve been that consistent for that long, doing otherwise would be madness.

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez unavailable, Ernesto Valverde conjured up a new front three for the visit of Real Betis Sunday night. Alongside Antoine Griezmann were Rafinha (who had played once since November 2018) and Carles Perez, who had played 35 minutes of top-flight football in his entire career. (He was later replaced by Ansu Fati, who is only the second youngest debutant in the club’s history.)

Having gone a goal down, they stormed back to win 5-2 and a lot of the credit has to go to Griezmann. It wasn’t just his two goals: it was the leadership, drive and personality he gave the side (evidently qualities seared into his DNA after years with Diego Simeone), which, at times, had you forgetting that you-know-who wasn’t there. Critics will fault Rubi’s top-heavy Betis side for failing to manage the lead but the way Barca’s second half unfolded, there was no containing them.

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

There wasn’t much new or interesting in Juve’s seasonal debut, a 1-0 win over Parma. None of the new signings started and, in fact, the new manager Maurizio Sarri, battling pneumonia, wasn’t there either. Leading the line was Gonzalo Higuain, who resurrected his old Real Madrid partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Might he end up doing so all season long for Juve? It’s increasingly looking that way, if only by default. Of the club’s three potential centerforwards, he’s the least likely to leave and he’s the one who knows Sarri best.

Milan get a little too creative

Milan boss Marco Giampaolo said that his formation didn’t work in the opening day 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Kudos for honesty, even though he did sound like Captain Obvious following a game that saw his team fail to record a shot on target and his centerforward, Krzysztof Piatek, get just 18 touches.

Giampaolo is an “outside-the-box” type of guy who likes to get creative, so he’s entitled to be unconventional. But playing a midfield three of Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglou and Lucas Paqueta plus Suso in the hole behind the Piatek-Samu Castillejo partnership is waaaaayyyy outside the box.

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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[thecomicsnexus]

BATMAN #386-387, DETECTIVE COMICS #553 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1985 BY DOUG MOENCH, TOM MANDRAKE, KLAUS JANSON AND ADRIENNE ROY

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Roman Sionis is born to wealthy parents Charles Sionis and his unnamed mother, then immediately dropped on his head by the doctor. This small event turned Roman's life as he grew up as a "different" kid. During his early years, his parents were more focused on their "masks", with his father more concerned about the press photos and his mother more concerned with her makeup. They decided not to sue the doctor who dropped Roman because they did not want their names muddied by a common lawsuit. Growing up Roman witnessed his family put on "masks" of normalcy to impress their socialite friends, such as Thomas and Martha Wayne. He grew to despise these encounters and the way his parents forced him to act. At the age of 12 his family went on a vacation in the woods. He had seen a cartoon about a friendly raccoon and he tried to pet one in the wild, viewing it as a friend because it also wore a "mask". The raccoon had rabies and bit him. He nearly died, stumbling around the woods for hours calling for his parents. The chauffeur eventually found him and saved his life.

When Roman reached adulthood, he was made Vice President of his father's company Janus Cosmetics. He fell in love with a model named Circe and promised that she would become the face of the company. His parents were outraged at him sleeping with a "common model" and insisted they would have her fired. Roman put on a "mask" of acceptance, but the following summer he set his parents' mansion on fire and burned them both to death. Commissioner Gordon had him investigated as a suspect, but Circe was his alibi. Like this, Roman became the President of Janus Cosmetics the next day and fired the public relations division to fill their offices with an apartment for himself and Circe. He devoted an entire room to collecting bizarre masks from around the world.

His first initiative as President of Janus was to drop their "invisible" cosmetics and instead focus on boldly colored makeup that would act like a liquid mask. This was a huge financial failure that lost many of their customers. His next move was pushing an experimental waterproof makeup that hadn't been properly tested. The makeup was found to bond with people's faces and then make their skin peel off, causing hundreds of lawsuits. Roman proposed marriage to Circe, but with his company verging on bankruptcy she decided to leave him instead.

Janus Cosmetics was bailed out by the Wayne Foundation and Lucius Fox explained their one condition was that Roman step down as President. Signing away his company was the final straw, and Roman snapped. He went to the mausoleum where his parents were buried and smashed their ebony coffins open with a giant rock. Looking at the "mask of death" that was his father's decomposing flesh, he began to laugh. Taking a large shard of the broken coffin, he carved it into a mask for himself.

Several days later, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock investigate a break-in at Roman's former apartment. Roman has stolen back his money, his guns, his collection of masks, and the experimental makeup that ruined him. He uses the money to hire two local criminals, having them meet at his parents' mausoleum as the "False Face Society of Gotham". They are both given masks, and he names them Thespis and Tupeng. There is a crimewave in Gotham over the next month as Sionis continues to recruit new False Faces. Eventually Batman beats one of them until he gives up the name of his boss, calling him "Black Mask." Batman, Gordon, and Bullock are called to a crime scene. The new chairman of Janus Cosmetics under the Wayne Foundation has been found dead and wearing a pig mask. Black Mask used his poisonous makeup inside the mask to make it lethal on his victim, eating away the skin of the victim's face. Batman makes the connection that Black Mask must be Roman Sionis. Elsewhere, Black Mask tells his False Faces that their next target will be Bruce Wayne.

Black Mask has gathered more members for his False Face Society and their crime wave has increased, already claiming the second life of another member of the corporate board that was appointed by the Wayne Foundation to take control of Janus Cosmetics. While the events only confirms Batman's suspicion that Black Mask, the new self-proclaimed crimelord of Gotham, is in fact Roman Sionis; the news also mean that the Wayne Foundation assets over Janus Cosmetics hang on a thread.

Around the same time, a new acting Mayor is appointed after Hamilton Hill's forced resignation and Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock give the new Mayor the proper welcome, making it clear who is in charge. Meanwhile, Black Mask continues his killing spree of Wayne Foundation executives and he has appointed two members of the False Face Society to follow Bruce Wayne on every public appearance. Bruce realizes he is being followed during a Wayne Foundation ceremony in which he goes with Julia Pennyworth as his date.

The next day, Black Mask and his thugs kidnap Circe, the former model of Janus Cosmetics and Black Mask disfigures her face with his corrosive chemical compound, forcing her to use a mask to hide the hideousness of her once beautiful face. In the meantime, Bruce Wayne goes to the movies with Jason Todd and after they exit the movie theater, they split to confuse the False Facers following them. The criminals decide to follow Bruce Wayne into the subway, where they are confronted by Batman and on their escape attempt they are stopped by Robin. The heroes capture the crooks, but they are unable to learn anything from them since they didn't have direct contact with Black Mask. Like this, the hunt for Black Mask continues as well as Black Mask's quest to eliminate Bruce Wayne.

Hoping to lure Black Mask into a trap, Bruce Wayne organizes a masquerade ball in Wayne Manor and sends out invitations to Roman Sionis. Bruce knows that Sionis won't be able to resist the temptation of attending the party and Black Mask assumes that Bruce wouldn't expect him to go. Like this the set-up is arranged the the plan is set in motion.

During the party, there are several guests, some of which are part of the plan like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock and some that are not, like Vicki Vale, who just showed up at the party to show off her new athletic body to Bruce. Eventually, Alfred and Bruce learn which of the guests is Sionis and when Bruce confronts him, Sionis attempts to murder Bruce, but fails and is forced to escape.

While Bruce remains at the party to allay suspicions from the guests, Robin follows Sionis after he escapes from Wayne Manor and he tracks down the criminal to the Gotham Cemetery, where he notices Sionis entering his family crypt. Robin calls Batman and a few moments later, the Dark Knight joins the kid before they go to the criminal's hideout. Before reaching the crypt, the heroes are attacked by the False Face Society, but they defeat all of them without any trouble. When they reach the crypt, Black Mask gives them the slip by using a secret underground escape route.

Batman and Robin then follow Black Mask in the Batmobile to the abandoned Sionis Family State, where they have to confront more False Facers before getting to Black Mask, who is in his childhood room and is burning all of his belongings in order to "kill" Roman Sionis. The heroes once again defeat the crooks, but the fire started by Black Mask has gone out of control. When the heroes attemp to stop Black Mask, the crook tries to escape through the fire he started and Batman prevents his escape with a Batrope. Unfortunately, Black Mask's face lands on the fire and by the time Batman and Robin are able to pull him out, the damage has been done. When Batman removes the mask from Sionis' face, there is no difference as the shape of the mask has been charred into his skin, giving him a permanent black mask.

Afterwards, Sionis is taken to Arkham Asylum, where he is only visited by Circe, the model he disfigured, but she only goes to give him back her mask, as she won't need it any longer.

REVIEW

I am conflicted by the story. It definitely works as a Batman villain story, but I feel like there was more potential for the concept of the “false face”. This is not a villain with multiple personalities. He is just a psychopath that wants to get revenge by becoming a different persona. But he is clearly in control of who he is. And I don’t know, I would have gone with a different way of getting revenge. Just killing the directors of Wayne Foundation doesn’t really take you that far. I think the proper revenge for him, would have been to show the world that the people they think they know, are completely fake. That would have made more sense with the big backstory we got in the first issue of this trilogy.

On the other hand, there are a lot of parallels with Bruce Wayne’s journey into becoming the Batman. But this ultimately doesn’t pay off.

Now, these are optional paths the story could have taken, but that didn’t happen. So, to me, what we actually got, is good. Just not excellent.

Tom Mandrake is an artist that doesn’t make me interested in the stories he is in. I think it was ok, and at this point in his career, his art wasn’t THAT moody. I could still recognize him without looking at the credits, though.

The real sin in this story, is the way Moench handled Vicky Vale, trying to make everyone jealous of her body. Poor Vicky Vale.

I give this story a score of 8

[365footballorg-blog]

Five areas the LA Galaxy needed to address ahead of the 2018 season

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March 2, 20186:29PM EST

CARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy were on their way to a third straight year without the playoffs when Bruce Arena took charge in August 2008. He began rebuilding the roster and establishing a distinct culture once the offseason arrived, had the team in the MLS Cup final the following season, won a Supporters’ Shield the next two seasons, and went on a run of three MLS Cup titles in four years.

Now it’s Sigi Schmid’s turn, and the aims aren’t all that different.

The Galaxy endured the roughest of their 22 seasons last year, inaugurating the post-Arena era with a thin roster that couldn’t hang when injuries started piling up, spiraling to the bottom of the MLS table with an 8-18-8 record. LA went 3-9-5 at StubHub Center and won just twice in their last 19 games.

Schmid, who took charge late last July, and Galaxy brass set about revamping the team as soon as the final whistle on 2017 sounded, bringing in veterans at spots all over the field and building needed depth nearly everywhere. It’s meant to make LA contenders again, immediately.

“We want to make the playoffs,” Schmid said ahead of the Galaxy’s opener Sunday night at home against the Portland Timbers (10 pm ET; FS1, FOX Deportes in US | TSN2 in Canada). “And, obviously, once you make the playoffs, then you can win silverware. So our objective is to try and win some silverware at the end of the year. But the No. 1 objective is to make the playoffs.”

That’s more of a starting point. The Galaxy have been MLS’s signpost club for at least a decade, and that’s a position nobody within wants to concede.

“When you do a season like last season, you have to be better,” said winger Romain Alessandrini, LA’s one true standout in 2017. “We are the LA Galaxy. We have to be at the top, and we have to get better day after day.”

The Galaxy, to do so, have taken huge steps forward in several areas. Here are five of them:

Depth is key

The Galaxy’s 2017 failure is entirely about their abject lack of depth all over the field. It’s impossible to win in MLS with just 15 players anymore, has been for some time, but LA began the post-Arena era with something of a youth movement, but with players who, largely, weren’t yet ready.

An injury crisis made it all the worse, and LA spent much of the season with a sub-MLS lineup, and the result was predictable. The Galaxy had never lost more games, never finished so low in the standings, never had posted a losing record at home.

Schmid’s rebuild focused on defense and depth all over the field, and he’s constructed a roster that, at least on paper, looks like it can contend for a playoff spot and some silverware. There is depth everywhere except up top — more on that later — but especially in midfield and along the backline.

LA have brought in at least five new starters, are getting two veterans back from injury, and have bolstered competition at every spot. Chris Pontius’ arrival, and the return of Sebastian Lletget, bolsters a strong group of flank players; Servando Carrasco, along with Baggio Husidic’s return, does likewise at the No. 6 and No. 8 posts. There have been key additions at the back, too.

There’s a different mentality heading into this season, a greater confidence in what’s ahead.

“Last year we played a lot of the season with young kids, and it’s hard to put them in that situation,” defender Ashley Cole said. “It’s where they wanted to be, but maybe it’s a little too soon for them. [Now] we have veterans of MLS, who have played a lot in the league, understand the league, understand the mentality, what it is you need here to win and win championships.”

Return of the wild card

Lletget offers the Galaxy so much on and off the field, as a go-for-goal winger and a terrific locker-room presence, and his season-ending foot injury during a World Cup qualifier just a few weeks into the MLS campaign was the start to LA’s run of misfortune.

Robbie Rogers was already done, and Gyasi Zardes was sidelined, too, but there was an excitement surrounding Lletget after his electric start with the national team after playing a key role in the Galaxy attack for nearly two full seasons.

The Bay Area-by-way-of-West Ham product was something of a wild card, able to create and score goals, with a knack for getting into good spots and a combination of low gravity and technical skill that made him most difficult to dispossess. The prospect of he, Giovani dos Santos and Alessandrini in support of Zardes, ostensibly, sounded most appetizing. Losing Lletget removed a dimension from the Galaxy’s attack, which mattered less and less as more and more players went down.

Schmid thinks of Lletget as a rebuilding bonus — like a new player, except he knows his way around — and Lletget is starving to get back to where he was when he went down. It just might take some time.

“My feeling has always been, OK, he was out for eight or nine months. It’s going to take him four and a half months to get to the top of his game,” the Galaxy coach said. “Basically, we started toward the end of January. He’s a month in. By the end of March, he’ll be two months in, by the end of April three months in. I think we’ll see his best football in May.”

Hitting the back of the net

The decision to go young and unproven up top after Robbie Keane’s departure worked as might be expected. Zardes struggled to find form after a preseason injury and didn’t score a goal until September. None of the other options panned out, either; LA’s goals came from midfield, when they came at all.

Welcome, Ola Kamara. The Norwegian striker, acquired from Columbus for Zardes and allocation money, netted 34 goals the past two seasons, a total bettered only by David Villa, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Diego Valeri. The Galaxy’s attack has looked good in the buildup, and Kamara scored three preseason goals, all one-touch finishes, plus a couple of spectacular strikes in intrasquad play. Expectations are high.

“The numbers kind of speak for themselves,” assistant coach Dominic Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com. “He makes great runs off the ball. I think we’re still getting to know him a little bit, and I think the more we play and the more we look at film and if we can kind of play to his strengths — which is running off the ball — he’s got a nose for the goal.”

He’ll need to put balls away, because the Galaxy are thinnest up top. Kamara is the only pure striker on the roster, and the other primary options — Giovani dos Santos, Ariel Lassiter, Bradford Jamieson IV, Pontius — are better underneath the striker or on the flank. Lassiter and Jamieson are unproven, and Jamieson has been in concussion protocol much of preseason.

Schmid says LA is “possibly” looking to add another forward “as we move forward,” and, of course, everything is colored to some extent by the Zlatan Ibrahimovic reports.

Offense last year came primarily from Alessandrini, who cut in from the right flank to score 13 goals and 12 assists and, more tellingly, played a direct role in 31 of the 40 goals the Galaxy netted when he was on the field. 

An effective defense

The most impactful departure before 2017 was A.J. DeLaGarza’s. The versatile defender, who went to Houston in a trade, had been the backbone of LA’s defense for years but was flitting from place to place, often depending on who was available, over his final seasons with the Galaxy.

He’d have been the starting right back last year, given Rogers’ foot, and we can only speculate on how different things might have been. At one point, LA was using a fourth-choice right back, and nobody on the backline made it through the season unscathed. The depth troubles hit home here, and the inability of any among the three goalkeepers to take command of the No. 1 job was no help.

Schmid and Co. have radically reconstructed the defense, and depending on who lines up next to new Norwegian center back Jorgen Skjelvik, the back six could be the 37-year-old Cole, four new arrivals, and a center back who arrived late last season. It’s a huge upgrade, with the additions of a true No. 6 above the backline (Perry Kitchen), a new right back (Swiss-born Venezuelan Rolf Feltscher) and goalkeeper (David Bingham, from San Jose), and some real depth, too. Schmid has to decide on his other center back, either Frenchman Michael Ciani or veteran Daniel Steres, although top draft pick Tomas Hilliard-Arce could be pressing for time soon enough.

It looks good on paper, but the defending has been hit and miss during the preseason. At times LA has been soft and error-prone — all over the field, not just at the back — but a better showing in last weekend’s preseason loss to Vancouver was encouraging.

“It’s just going to need time …,” Schmid said. “I think they still need to learn each other a little bit. With each week and each game, that understanding and that cohesion is going to become more automatic. Right now, it’s a thinking process, and once that goes from a thinking process [something that does not require thought], then it’s going to be better for the team.”

Finding leaders

The Galaxy had strong captains and plenty of deputies under Bruce Arena, none better than Keane, and there was a sizable leadership void when the Irishman was jettisoned in the post-2016 rebuild. The armband went to Jelle Van Damme, who had enjoyed a successful first MLS campaign and had served as captain as Standard Liege, but he had a bad run of form before departing midseason.

Cole, the left back, has embraced being captain after shying away from the role in the past, and he’s got help all over the place, with Kitchen and fellow central midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, Skjelvik and Kamara. And that enables Giovani dos Santos’ and Alessandrini’s more subtle leadership qualities to emerge.

Cole says wearing the armband is “not something I was used to,” but he wanted a more proactive role after last season’s grave disappointment.

“This year I came back determined to try to make this team great again,” he said. “To win trophies. … And it’s not just I wear the band. That was probably a problem last hear, we didn’t have too many people who wanted to step up, and now we do.”

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Five areas the LA Galaxy needed to address ahead of the 2018 season was originally published on 365 Football

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Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS: Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern | Griezmann the hero for Barca | Business as usual for Juve | Milan’s epic fail

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.

It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the set-ups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season, in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way and, to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, though he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the penalty Dries Mertens “won,” leaves little choice.

You can understand the mistake in awarding it — referees are human and Davide Massa isn’t just human, he’s not particularly good either — it’s harder to accept why VAR didn’t ask him to take another look. The whole crew is likely to sit out the next round (and Mertens, reportedly, could face retrospective punishment), which is encouraging.

On the pitch, Fiorentina’s young ones (who later made way for the golden oldies, Franck Ribery and Kevin-Prince Boateng) were fun to watch and played without fear. It will be a transition season but the future is bright. As for Napoli, the Smurf Squad did its thing and with Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano added to the mix, this is a side that can beat you many different ways.

PSG might need Neymar after all

Last season it was the teeny, tiny senior squad: a direct result of Financial Fair Play. This year, Paris Saint-Germain have more bodies but they’re dealing with injuries. Against Toulouse they lost Edinson Cavani, Abdou Diallo and Kylian Mbappe in one fell swoop, which rather muted celebrations for their 4-0 win.

None of the injuries looked season-ending, God forbid, and we’ll get an update soon, but with Neymar out of the squad pending the final days of the transfer window, it’s looking like an uphill ride for Thomas Tuchel. What does appear clear (despite the naysayers) is that if the transfer deadline comes and goes and Neymar is still there, he’ll be a professional and quickly slip back into the lineup. For Tuchel, that won’t come soon enough.

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Aside for a few episodes — think the Marcus Rashford missed spot-kick, some strong penalty appeals — Manchester United could easily have beaten Crystal Palace. And while they weren’t stellar, they didn’t play particularly badly either. But they remain a frustratingly one-dimensional team: fine on the counterattack and toothless with the ball, unless Paul Pogba invents something or Rashford picks out that little pass for Anthony Martial that seemingly nobody can cope with.

That’s what is disconcerting here. We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that reasonably well, but what else can he do? Is there an alternative way of playing — one that actually works — that he can turn to? That bit isn’t clear at all.

It’s not just about personnel (though it’s pretty clear he would have liked a couple more signings) which, to some degree, is out of his control. It’s about what he can affect: the way United play and right now, it seems to be in transition only. That has to change if they’re going to finish top four.

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Six weeks after telling the world he was battling a severe form of leukemia, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic slipped out of the hospital and took his place on the sideline for his team’s opening fixture, a 1-1 draw at Verona. Doctors had initially advised against it but relented when they saw his mind was made up. And anyone who has followed his career as a manager and a player will tell you that once he’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping him.

The players themselves only found out a few hours before kickoff. He wore a baseball cap and a large bandage on his neck. He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight. It obviously was a struggle but in case you hadn’t noticed, whatever else Mihajlovic is, this man is a warrior. He’ll fight cancer the way he lived his life: no retreat and no surrender.

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Robert Lewandowski‘s hat-trick overshadowed Philippe Coutinho‘s debut (he came on as a substitute) on Saturday in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Schalke and it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves of his everyday brilliance. He has scored every single Bayern goal this season. He has 197 in 246 appearances in all competitions and since 2010, he has missed just 16 league games for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Appearing on the Gab + Jules podcast last week, Jan Aage Fjortoft said “they must go to church every day in Munich praying he doesn’t get injured.” He’s right. He carries the can on his own up front and, for most of his tenure, he’s had no credible back up.

It’s not surprising, then, that Bayern are about to extend his contract by another two seasons, taking him up to 2023. When you’ve been that consistent for that long, doing otherwise would be madness.

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez unavailable, Ernesto Valverde conjured up a new front three for the visit of Real Betis Sunday night. Alongside Antoine Griezmann were Rafinha (who had played once since November 2018) and Carles Perez, who had played 35 minutes of top-flight football in his entire career. (He was later replaced by Ansu Fati, who is only the second youngest debutant in the club’s history.)

Having gone a goal down, they stormed back to win 5-2 and a lot of the credit has to go to Griezmann. It wasn’t just his two goals: it was the leadership, drive and personality he gave the side (evidently qualities seared into his DNA after years with Diego Simeone), which, at times, had you forgetting that you-know-who wasn’t there. Critics will fault Rubi’s top-heavy Betis side for failing to manage the lead but the way Barca’s second half unfolded, there was no containing them.

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

There wasn’t much new or interesting in Juve’s seasonal debut, a 1-0 win over Parma. None of the new signings started and, in fact, the new manager Maurizio Sarri, battling pneumonia, wasn’t there either. Leading the line was Gonzalo Higuain, who resurrected his old Real Madrid partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Might he end up doing so all season long for Juve? It’s increasingly looking that way, if only by default. Of the club’s three potential centerforwards, he’s the least likely to leave and he’s the one who knows Sarri best.

Milan get a little too creative

Milan boss Marco Giampaolo said that his formation didn’t work in the opening day 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Kudos for honesty, even though he did sound like Captain Obvious following a game that saw his team fail to record a shot on target and his centerforward, Krzysztof Piatek, get just 18 touches.

Giampaolo is an “outside-the-box” type of guy who likes to get creative, so he’s entitled to be unconventional. But playing a midfield three of Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglou and Lucas Paqueta plus Suso in the hole behind the Piatek-Samu Castillejo partnership is waaaaayyyy outside the box.

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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