#there’s a version of this if I had more time that would have JL kissing LSZ full on the lips in gay panic after this

[marykedoesart]

Day 3: First Kiss

Oh~ young love.

[punnifullife]

I wanna hear your headcannons

Hmm i wasn't sure where to start, so apologies if this feels really jumbled. Also keep in mind i am cherry picking things from what dc has considered canon or not canon anymore sooooo:

starfire/koriand'r:

- Her personality is a mix of the bubbly one she has in TT03 and her NTT comic version. Warrior that will beat you to death if you wrong her, but can be very compassionate and considerate to those she loves. -struggles with social queues and human lingo (this isn't just for english, but any language. if you ever see the trouble in tokyo movie, she speaks Japanese for a scene but you can clearly hear/tell she's fluent but there's still a distinct way on how she talks/enunciates things). Since there really wasn't a "dialect/accent" for Tamaraneans, I like to think how she speaks IS the dialect/accent. And it's why her sister, Blackfire, seems to be much more "fluent". Some people can drop their accent/dialect when speaking another language, while others, no matter how much they speak in their 2nd language, will still have that accent/dialect there. (also bc i think it's a bit silly that to become MORE fluent?? you have to keep kissing? idk) - I love how she was a model for donna troy's photography gig, so i thought that would be cute to continue that (and her relationship with Donna!! bc wow did i fall in love reading about them in NTT)

Dick/Nightwing - He and batman had a fallout (he did not get "fired", but he left of his own volition. albeit on bad terms at first from differing views/ideals. I like to think that's partially why he was so moody in tt03 and why slade was such a great villain for him since slade(tt03 version) was very similar to batman at the time.

- He DOES grow out of that moody edgy phase, but he still has that bad habit of hiding his emotions/thoughts with others. While he's grown to trust them more and rely on them for missions, there's still that emotionally-constipated person that struggles to take off that "mask" and doesn't usually wear his emotions on his sleeves. And this continued to cause strain with all of his relationships. And if say a member of his team is hurt due to complications on a mission? you bet he struggles to not fall back on old habits to do things alone bc he can deal with it all by himself.

- When he's with TT, he's more relaxed and serious, but when he's back in the batfam, he ups the fake smiles and quips otherwise he might go crazy with how brooding everything is (especially being away with his found family and going "OH things don't have to be this damn depressing all the time. cool")

- remained the leader of TT in Jump City but as the team grew older and TT grew in members, things changed:

TT team:

- the older members (the ex-teens of the group) would all move on to managing their own cities or helping the younger generations (so dick in bludhaven, keystone city for wally, as well as other older members working at the east or west tower to help with younger generations not just be good heroes, but help them become capable of withstanding on their OWN. bc i like the idea the first members who [most of them] came from being in a shadow of someone else, so making sure future teen heroes don't fall into that ig?) so i guess like the JL where there's still a main core (with dick as the "leader" but the other main core can all step up to the plate too when necessary)

Batfam:

I know the new52 and crisis and yada yada has retconned and changed so much for all of their characters/stories (thanks DC). but again, these are just my AU/headcanons and anyone can disagree with what i gotta say:

- Jason todd becomes Robin ("unofficially") while Dick is a member of the tt03 team. TT03 is like... a 2 year story in my eyes? so by the end of the tt03 series, Dick becomes Nightwing and passes the mantle onto Todd. Todd is robin for like 1-2 years before his death. Tim takes up the mantle of Robin and then would either become red robin or put up the cape as he attended college AWAAY from gotham with duke and stephanie bc that would be fun (red robin, signal, and spoiler as a trio? sheeesh). Damian either joins before Tim leaves or something idk.

-babs is a bit was batgirl during dick's robin run. Would eventually become oracle and i think either staying in gotham or going to bludhaven could work.

- i know we all love the shenanigans with the batfam but i think a lot of these characters and relationships do better when they get to be independent. (which is kinda funny bc thats what bruce would want, even if he can be hypocritical and try to hold onto them due to his own trauma and unhealthy attachment.) but i would like to think eventually they could come together to help out in gotham every now and then. but who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ bat stuff isnt my biig focus hehe.

So robstar/dickory stuff:

- on the fence if they stay together after the tt03 movie or at some point they do break up but it's more bc i always felt like star/kory was giving a LOT to dick and dick still had those emotional pull-back tendencies. and what i love about these two is that we have one character who is so in tune with her emotions vs a guy that struggles not to deflect a positive remark. and while she sees through a lot of what he puts out as a front and can always recognize when he's hiding something, she can't be doing all that heavy lifting (even if she's a warrior alien princess with super strength lool). So, if they get together during their tt03 era, can they work through that? Idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (i also lowkey would love for some angst and rekindling as adults who've matured and have better ideas on what they want vs when they were just kids crushing on each other but it could go either way bc the tt03 did a lot of development between the two of them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

- Dick grounds Kory. He's her sense of humanity. He's the first person she meets coming to Earth. He was always patient with her and loved showing her the world. Kory reads dick like an open book and he finds comfort in someone who can see through that facade TT03: There's a reason he hesitates to shoot her during the slade arc. why he picks her to search for slade. He can be vulnerable with her, even if it's in his weird way.

- a big fight involves moving forward in their relationship like marriage and children. To date is one thing, but to commit to something like that? To put his loved ones in danger? especially a child? He would have the fear of losing them OR his child losing HIM and kory. ofc kory would be understanding but i do think she would also get mad like "I was born to a race of warriors. Trained by the Warlords of Okaara. Am i so weak to need constant protection? I have respected the human morals to not kill, but I do not hold such beliefs and will do what is necessary to protect who I love most."

- Bruce wasn't necessarily confident in their relationship. It's a jumble of emotions that can be confusing. happy for his son to find happiness/love, sad/hurt/fear of his son moving on/away, a possessive/jealousy to keep dick around. But I do think when bruce and kory meet, he may soften a bit. I think it's why i like the idea of Tt03 star/kory meeting bruce bc she can be gentle and theres a charm about her.

Eventually they have mari! (and jake years later).

-Dick's job is to take her to school. but he's always sleeping in due to late hero shifts so it's usually a piggyback and acrobatic journey across the city to get to school on time.

-If she's hanging out in Gotham, then the public eye spread rumors bc they see her as another "black haired kid adopted by Mr. Bruce Wayne" and after 4 of them, people have just accepted the normalcy of it. ive also thought itd be interesting if she (and kory) were given some kinda tech like a watch that could disguise their appearance since big green glowing non-pupil eyes are kinda a give-away.

-jake doesn't get his powers until he's a teen. so while both kids were combat trained, he would take on the mantle of flamebird to go alone with nightwing!

[dickmedowndc]

Upcoming Stories...

Now that my prior 9 promised fics and requests are completed, here are 8 more stories that have been requested or thought into existence that I will be working on next:

Listed in the order of their future posting, along with summaries.

Story summaries under the cut.

★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★

Post dates (12pm EST)

Hero Crush - Virgil Hawkins [Static]: July 3rd

Mechanics of the Heart - Amazo: July 6th

Kiss Tax - Bart Allen [Impulse]: July 10th

Misunderstandings - J'onn J'onzz [Martian Manhunter]: July 13th

Heart Stops - Bart Allen [Impulse]: July 17th

To Woo You, Pt. II - J'onn J'onzz [Martian Manhunter]: July 20th

Storming in the Streets, Pt. III - Conner "Kon" Kent [Superboy]: July 24th

Figured it Out - Jaime Reyes [Blue Beetle]: July 27th

★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★…★

Hero Crush - Virgil Hawkins [Static]

Summary: When Richie starts asking about your younger years, he learns something interesting about your old "celebrity" crush – it was Static. Unaware of your friends’ secret identities, Virgil has to try and remain collected after Richie calls him in ASAP, only to hear you defending your old puppy-love crush on the electric hero from an all too amused, and momentarily vexing, blonde.

…★…

Mechanics of the Heart - Amazo {Request}

Summary: He would have an eternity – to learn, to watch, to adapt. But that still meant that every so often Amazo was bound to experience something for the first time. He would need to learn how to navigate things he was unfamiliar with or seek help when absolutely necessary. Amazo had proven that he was capable of acting beyond his initial programming, and feelings were an addition he now grappled with. This feeling however, when he first met you after his return to Earth, eluded him, driving him to seek out an explanation from another.

Notes: Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, the animated show, version of Amazo.

…★…

Kiss Tax - Bart Allen [Impulse]

Summary: Bart had always been affectionate in your relationship. Quick to give or ask for anything from a hug to a kiss – the latter of which he had made a habit of giving before each mission he went on. At least when it wasn’t something last minute or it was manageable. But you had finally decided to return the affections yourself, beginning to ask for a “kiss tax” for small things such as passing through the door or handing over a drink. A practice that Bart seemed more than happy to adopt and turn around on you just as quickly.

…★…

Misunderstandings - J'onn J'onzz [Martian Manhunter] {Request}

Summary: Working on the tower or in any vicinity of a hero was never a safe job – and while staff often got to avoid the worst of it, they were not always spared from injury. You had been lucky up until this point, managing to avoid the fray until one bad choice to switch a shift and help out. You got off lucky though, despite being one of the last to evacuate the room, you would heal just fine. At least that was what Martian Manhunter told you. But the coming days found him at your side more often than not despite being cleared, and you were unaware of the circulating theories surrounding the two of you.

Notes: The Supergirl version was requested and I will try to accommodate, but I have not seen that series so he may end up being significantly more like the JL/JLU Animated version.

…★…

Heart Stops - Bart Allen [Impulse] {Request}

Summary: The last anyone sees of you it isn’t good. The fight goes south and any communication with you goes dark the moment the rockslide begins. Bart is fast, faster than anyone on his team, but he feels like he isn’t fast enough as he searches for you among the aftermath of the disaster. 

Notes: The request was for a reader similar to someone from spiderverse, but I do not do crossovers, so I made them a meta with a similar skillset.

…★…

To Woo You, Pt. II - J'onn J'onzz [The Martian Manhunter] {Request}

Summary: It’s a day that J’onn has been looking forward to since he finally managed to ask you out on a proper date – but now that it’s here he finds himself nervous. Thankfully, you seem to be in the same boat. But you’re both determined to make the night a good one, knowing there isn’t anywhere that you would rather be.

…★…

Storming in the Streets, Pt. III - Conner "Kon" Kent [Superboy] {Request}

Summary: The first date had been a success, even with his friends peaking in, and the few that you had gone on after all ended the same way – fantastic. Even the few times that someone had recognized him or he had been called off on short notice. But noticing that he planned most of the dates, and that he had been busier than normal, you take it upon yourself to plan a nice night in to surprise him.

…★…

Figured it Out - Jaime Reyes [Blue Beetle] {Request}

Summary: You’ve known Jaime for some time now, which also means you’ve noticed that more than a few things don’t always add up around him. It takes longer than you care to admit, but eventually the pieces fall into place and you realize that he is the hero Blue Beetle. Too bad for him, he happens to be very bad at hiding things from you when you finally confront him. 

[lex-munro]

[Suicide Squad Scrap] Princess pt. 20

self-indulgent batjokes-flavored SS/BvS/JL, installment 20.  errbody love Brucie.  my Arkham layout is mostly similar to the Arkham gameverse’s version.  we’re gonna handwave the composition of the basement flooring in that particular building, even though realistically there should be several feet of dirt and conduit space between any drain/sewer systems and the building (unless the Arkham family built it all at once as a single structure like a damn castle—y’know what, that’s not out of character).

the piece as a whole is rated Mature for pervasive language, varying degrees of violence, use of controlled substances, sexual references, questionable ethics, and themes of mental illness.  set from Flag’s POV, with references to (and oblique spoilers for) Birds of Prey, but not compliant with The Suicide Squad.

***

Joker dozes intermittently on the drive, which is deeply inconvenient since he’s giving directions.  They leave a hotwired Olds parked by the curb of the swanky two-level.  It sounds like there’s a minor party in the pool at the back (splashing, laughter, clinking glasses, but only muted music).

Joker pauses on the porch and reaches up into the overhang to pull out a spare key.  (Flag hopes the neighbors aren’t looking, because Joker definitely looks more like a meth-head trying to break in than a guy who lives in a place like this.)

They walk in the front door all but unnoticed.

Joker leads them to the den, where a bubble of silence spreads as people catch sight of him.  He sidles up behind a guy (still talking to some busty redhead whose big blue eyes are currently fixed on the gun in Joker’s hand), and settles both hands on the guy’s shoulders.  “Hoooney, I’m hoooome,” Joker coos.

Flag wonders what clichéd line will come next.  It’s not what it looks like, is always a favorite.  Maybe, I can explain.

“Welcome back, Mister J,” the guy says, and his voice barely shakes.  “Club’s running like a dream, Queenie’s a big hit, shipments are all on schedule.  How was Arkham?”

“Boring,” Joker says, and heaves a long sigh as he clambers over the couch to sit between the henchman and the redhead, armed hand still hooked over the henchman’s shoulder.  “Then Boy Scout back there took me to meet Satan, and she had me doing her dirty work in between drug comas.  Good times.  But she once again has something of mine, and this time, oh, this time…”  Joker leans his head back on the couch.  “Fuck just shooting our way in, grabbing my property, and getting out.  She needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Belle Reve again?”

“Possibly.  We’ll have to look into it.  Anyway, Daddy’s princess is gonna set fire to anything and anyone that gets between me and my Batsy.”  He lifts the pistol to trail its muzzle over his henchman’s jaw.  “All of you better remember who built all this.  Remember who killed Carmine Falcone and Hamilton fucking Hill and Rupert goddamn Thorne.  Remember who’s broken out of Blackgate three times and Arkham seven.  I’m gonna go rinse off and get dressed, and then we’re getting Harley’s girl outta Arkham for her.”  He presses a loud, theatrical kiss on the man’s cheek, leaving a morbid red smear, then hops up.

Flag would tell Lawton to follow him, but the assassin does it anyway.

“Fuckin’ weak,” complains Ratcatcher.  “I was hoping he’d, like, cut the guy’s nose off, or drown him in the pool, or feed him his own balls…”

The henchman gets up from the couch and turns to them.  “I’m Mike.  I’m Mister J’s number one guy.  You want anything, you come to me.”

Flag sees right through the bravado.

“Pretty obliging for a guy Harley said stole the whole operation when Jay and the Bat had their little talk,” Ratcatcher notes.

Mike goes as pale as Harley and Joker at the accusation.

Flag smirks.  “Call me Flag.  That’s Arcee.  I’m sure Deadshot needs no introduction, even if he’s playing bodyguard instead of assassin.”

Mike nods agreeably.  “You want anything?  Beer, bourbon, tequila?  We got a shitload of pizza in the kitchen, too.”

“Pizza, hell yeah, that’s what we smelled,” Ratcatcher says, to a chorus of eager squeaking in her coat.

Flag rolls his eyes and follows her, clocking each armed member of the gang and catching them doing the same to him.  Seven in the den, one in the hall with his hands up a girl’s skirt while she giggles and almost (but not quite) spills her drink down his back.  Three more talking sports in the foyer, two in the kitchen debating the underlying literary themes of Banks’ sci-fi work.

The two in the kitchen freak when eight big rats scamper out of Ratcatcher’s clothes to politely inspect the food and make their selections.  Ratcatcher grabs them paper plates from the stack and everything.  She catches the gangers staring and says (with her mouth full of what looks like mushroom-bell-pepper), “You wanna get down on this?”

“No thanks,” one says while the other just stares and looks green.

“They had a bath yesterday, and they only touched their own food,” Ratcatcher tells them reprovingly.  “They’re probably cleaner than you are.”

By the time she and the rats are finished, Joker sweeps into the kitchen.  He’s wearing a tailored purple three piece suit with a tail coat, lavendar pinstripes on the vest setting off the loud magenta trim.  His silk shirt is an eye-gouging shade of mustardy yellow that matches a hideous paisley tie.

“Noice!” says Ratcatcher.  “Looking fully pimp, Mister J!”

Flag can’t help the look of horror he gives her.

“That’s the face I made, too,” Lawton says.  “Buuut, we do need to get noticed.”

“This is a classic,” Joker informs them.  “I wore it to the GCPD Christmas Charity Ball the year I met my Batsy, and spilled red wine on Isabela Maroni after she insulted my poor hardworking tailor.”

Lawton frowns.  “Didn’t you throw an entire bottle at her face?  Just, like…corked and everything?”

“It spilled,” Joker insists.

“After it shattered on her nose.  Sal’s the only guy who’s ever been both dumb and brave enough to try to hire me to kill you, y’know.”

“What’d ya tell him, sweetcheeks?”

“Haveta have a death wish to take the contract, ‘cause anybody skilled enough to actually get it done would be dead within a week, assuming the Bat didn’t get there first.  This was before the psychotic break—pretty sure he’d kill ‘em these days.”

“What can I say?  Daddy doesn’t like people touching his things,” Joker says with a grin.  “Come on—we’re picking up some thermite from my stash before we meet back up with Croc and Boom.”

“And these guys?” Flag asks.

“Mickey and the gang will meet us at one of Croc’s old haunts, and he’ll guide us in.”

“Sewers?” Ratcatcher asks a little too eagerly.

Joker just keeps grinning.

“Oh, I almost forgot…”  She stuffs the last of her pizza slice into her mouth while she digs in her coat.  She pulls out a couple of knives—an antique ivory handled switchblade, yellowed with age but still proudly sporting an engraved motif of card suits; and the green-handled butterfly knife that left a permanent smile on Vinnie’s face.  “My buddies snagged these when Satan’s cronies stripped and straited you.”

He takes the blades, stows them in opposite pockets (left vest, right trouser).  “Not bad, Minnie.”

“‘Not bad’?  Lick my ass!  It was cool and you know it.”

He barks a short, sharp laugh, and Flag gets the feeling she’s impressed him, somehow.

“Macky, got something for you while you’re out,” he says.  “Go to this address, say ‘Location compromised, get your bug-out bag,’ and take the charming young lady to the club.”

“Mike,” the henchman corrects in a long-suffering tone.

“Gently,” Lawton stipulates.  “Every scratch on my baby is a bullet in something tender of yours.  And don’t try to tell her we’re friends, or you work with me, or any of that bullshit, or she’ll probably mace your ass and run.”

On their way out the door, Lawton lingers over Flag’s shoulder to mutter, “He’s still in and out.  Almost busted his skull open in the shower.  Keep a sharp eye.”

They swing by an outdoor storage place to grab three heavy duffel bags full of metal canisters.

Back at Harley’s place, Croc is busy being fawned on by Harley, Huntress, and some leggy black girl while a grumpy Latina ignores Digger’s attempts to make small talk with her (admittedly impressive) cleavage.

“What the fuck is he wearing?” the grumpy one asks when Joker sidles in and gestures to the door.  “Holy shit, isn’t that the suit you wore when you danced with Bruce Wayne after you threw a wine bottle at Sal Maroni’s wife?”

“Don’t do that, Montoya!” Harley scolds.  “Don’t remember his antics, or you’ll just feed his obnoxious narcissism!”

Joker grins.  “You know you love it.  Croc-baby, we’re going in through the storm drains, and then we’ll melt our way into the props department.  Told the crew to meet up at your old place under Amusement Mile; you’re on point, big guy.  Ladies, I recommend following us as far as the island, but after that, we’ll be drawing far too much attention to ourselves.  Let’s go get Ivy and nab some anti-ARGUS intel.”

“Well, somebody needs to stay here and babysit Brucie, so you lot have fun with that,” Digger says, petting the hyena sitting beside him on the couch.

Flag rolls his eyes, but Joker strolls over and plops down on Digger’s lap (the Aussie freezes like a skunk in headlights).

“You are so right, Boom-boom,” Joker says sweetly, one hand stroking suggestively over Digger’s chest.  “And I know you are gonna be the best puppy-sitter in Gotham, because Brucie here is important to our galpal Harley, and if a single fuzzy hair on his precious little mug were to be harmed, you know that Harls would rip your balls off with her teeth and go play baseball.  And I know you know how important it is to have a good puppy-sitter, because if it were anything less vital and you thought I might need your help getting my Batsy away from that smug evil asshole with the kitten heels, you would definitely give it to me so that I wouldn’t have to hunt you down and put a pretty smile on your face like I did the last guy who screwed me.  You remember Vinnie, right?  Or were you too busy with the Human Crepe impression?”

“I remember,” Digger squeaks.

“Oh, good.  Then you stay here and take very, very good care of Brucie.”  And he plants a loud kiss against Digger’s cheek, leaving a dark red lipstick print, somewhat less smudgy and disturbing than the one he left on Mike’s face.

Harley snorts.  “My little business partner is on her way here, too, so watch your manners, Boomy.  Her ‘n Brucie are besties.”

The storm drains are surprisingly clean.  Jones leads them along loud, wet tunnels far below the streets of always-rainy Gotham, taking a maze of turns while Harley tells her girls all about ‘the fun we all had killin’ a bunch of eyeball zombies or whatever’ in Midway City.  Then she tells Lawton (specifically him, definitely ignoring Joker and with an air of maybe having already told Croc) about ‘this diamond full of blackmail that Sionis put a bounty on,’ which is how she met the Birds and her ‘little buddy, Cass.’

“And thanks for the price on my head, by the way,” she adds sourly.

“If you couldn’t handle that drippy little fuckstick, you’d’ve deserved to get your pretty little face cut off,” Joker replies easily.  “I have faith in your ability to solve your own problems, Doctor Quinzel.  You did chase after me on a motorcycle after I specifically told you we were done and you bored me.”

“And then you made me un-boring, right?  Whatever.  I coulda had a psychotic break and a mutated epiphany all on my own, you know—I didn’t need you for it.”

“And I didn’t need you to fuck with my memory, but here we are, Doc.  And it’s not like I pushed you—you jumped.”

“Focus up, Jay, we got shit to accomplish,” Flag says before Harley can continue their little slap fight.

“She started it.”

“And I’m stopping it.  Behave yourself.”

“Yes, Mommy,” Joker snarks.

Flag almost misses the moment when Joker falters a step and Lawton catches him—it’s disguised in a single smooth motion that looks like Lawton pushing Joker to keep him moving.

Great.  Unpredictable mood swings on a guy with a short, bloody temper, and lingering drug interactions on top.

They arrive at a huge cistern, where Mike and some guys in Halloween masks wait with guns.

“Brought the guns, Mister J,” says Mike.

Joker sways again; he catches himself on Flag and turns the motion into a few steps of a rather forceful waltz.  “That’s what I like to hear!” he cries with a brief burst of laughter.

“Get off me,” Flag grumbles, but steadies the maniac.

“Grab some cans, gents—the usual color codes apply.”  He and Croc throw down the bags from the outdoor storage unit, full to bursting with aerosol cans, and the cannon fodder hurriedly gear up.

They make it to the island without getting too wet; Croc leads the way with confident ease, despite a dozen twists and turns and detours.

A couple hundred feet in, Croc pauses at a ladder.  “Drain here comes out below admin central offices,” he tells Harley.  She nods, and the girls split off.

He leads the rest of them farther in, through a few more turns, and stops to listen.

“Yo, Arcee—your little snack packs hear anything above us?”

He hoists her up as she holds a rat up to the ceiling.  After a few seconds, she shakes her head.

“Computers about twenty feet the way we came.  Footsteps fifty-ish feet ahead.”

Joker looks up and counts bricks.  “Gimme a boost, Croc,” he says, grabbing a purple canister and a green canister from some nearby goons.

He sprays the two compounds in a broad rectangle and shoves a fuse into it.

“Might step back and close your eyes,” he suggests.  “It’s gonna get a little toasty.”

In point of fact, it gets hot as hell near the blinding conflagration that results.  Clearly, the mad chemist makes good thermite.

A goon sprays the stuff down with a pink canister, once the section of brick and mortar has collapsed into the tunnel with a minor cloud of dirt.

“Finish up for me, boys,” Joker commands, and his men hurry to clamber into the new gap and spray more chemicals on the freshly exposed metal.

“Nice of them to line it with steel instead of concrete,” Flag scoffs.

“They were thinking of people digging in and out, not melting in and out.”

The chunk of floor panel drops with a raucous clang, and Joker’s masked gang spray down the edges and climb up as someone shouts in the distance and keys fumble at a lock.

Gunshots, and sounds of pain.

Joker throws his head back and laughs, arms spread wide and waving, conducting a symphony of destruction.

“Get up there, you,” Flag says, nudging Joker toward the hole.

“A gal could break a nail,” Joker says with a pout.

Croc just tosses Joker over his shoulder, gives Ratcatcher a boost, and jumps straight up into the darkness.

“Such a gentleman!” Flag hears Joker say.

“I could be taking a nap in my cell right now,” Lawton grumbles, but climbs up.

By the time Flag gets through the hole, Joker’s people have fanned out and the man himself is hunting through boxes of personal items, apparently with a very specific list in mind.

~Cameras are about to go down,~ says Harley.  ~It takes three minutes for the system to reset.  They’re on the same system as the cell doors for Intensive Treatment, so we’ll give you exactly five minutes to get everything open before we bring ‘em down again to get out.  Synchronize watches or whatever—radio silence starts now.~

“All clear for now,” says Lawton.  “It takes just under three minutes for the higher-end security staff to gather and deploy, so the timing should be about perfect.”

“Assuming nobody spotted us earlier,” Joker puts in.  “Mm, love a good ambush…”

Out in the corridors, lights and sirens are going off.  They make it up the stairs without seeing any new guards.

Croc and Ratcatcher take down the two guards controlling the airlock into Intensive Treatment and get the doors working (after some minor bickering about how to work the controls).  Joker’s people stay to hold the corridor against the guards that are definitely on the way.

The ominous flickering sign stares down at them as they move on toward the control booth, and Joker steps inside only to have an Eskrima rod brandished at his face.

“Joker—I should’ve known you’d…”  Nightwing trails off, looking confused.  “If you’re breaking out, how come you’re not in scrubs or a jumpsuit?”

Joker rolls his head on his neck.  “Just gimme a ten-minute head start, kid.  Or go home, either way suits me.”

“You promised Batman—”

“We’re helping Batman,” Flag interrupts.  “You’re gonna have to trust us on this.”

Nightwing crosses his arms over his chest.  “Look, I already know Batman’s in trouble; he’s been out of contact for twenty hours and he hinted at somebody trying to catch him with human bait.”

“Not a very flattering description for the love of a guy’s life,” Joker grumbles.

“You’ve got ninety seconds before the cameras reboot to explain why I should let you go.”

“Y’see, when daddies and princesses love each other—”

Lawton, fortunately, has both the balls and the sway to put a hand over Joker’s mouth and hurriedly say, “Jay was recruited to work with us in a top secret government task force in exchange for guaranteed visits with the Bat.  Turns out he was bait, now the Agency—ARGUS, that is—has Batman.  If Jay’s loose, the Bat can sit tight, but if they get him, game over.  Meanwhile, we ain’t the type to sit on our asses, so we’re breaking the Agency’s other schemes wide open.”

Nightwing nods.  “Okay.  In seven seconds, somebody needs to hit me, and make it look good.”

“Don’t look at me,” Joker says, hands in the air like he’s surrendering.  “I’m not allowed to hit birdies anymore.”

“Eh, fair enough…”  And Nightwing pins Joker to the wall with one Eskrima rod, the other poised to strike.

The control panel lights up, right on time.

Flag swings in from behind and gets him in a sleeper hold, which he fights with several uncomfortable strikes to Flag’s ribs before Lawton readies his wrist magnum.

“Stand down, boy,” he says.  “This don’t concern you.  Run on home to Blüdhaven.”

“You won’t get away with this!” Nightwing declares.  “Batman will—”

“The Bat ain’t here,” Flag says, tightening the fake hold enough to put on a good show.  The kid almost over-sells it with his swoon, but Flag thinks the cameras won’t see anything amiss.

Joker reaches over and flips all the release switches for maxsec.  A new siren adds itself to the cacophony, red lights flaring for extra measure.  He rolls his head again, eyes hooded and neck long—it’s the most predatory Flag’s seen him in a while…even more than Vinnie the smiling lookout and the fixation on Mercy Graves after.  “Bring the kid,” he purrs.

For just a fraction of a second, Flag is sure Joker has something awful planned for Nightwing.

“‘Kid,’ my ass,” mutters the Blüdhaven vigilante, still playing possum over Lawton’s shoulder.  “You’ve only been doing this a year longer than I have, asshole.”

Joker giggles in reply.

They step into maxsec to the sight of seven open doors, four bewildered inmates, four unresponsive guards (drooling and swaying on their feet), and one smug redhead.

“Good evening, gentlemen, milady,” Joker says with a flourishing bow and a tip of the stolen top hat.  “We come bearing gifts from the personal effects locker.”  He flicks the coin at Two-Face, tosses the top hat at the little guy (‘J Tetch,’ according to his shirt), and unzips the duffel with the wooden dummy in it.

“Oh, oh my,” murmurs ‘A Wesker,’ who looks like a sweet little old man.

“Thaaaat’s right, Arn,” says Joker, eyes round and metallic teeth glinting, “your old boss, safe and sound…”

A skinny guy in glasses (‘E Nygma’; Flag remembers him having that huge Rubik’s puzzle before) clears his throat meaningfully.  When Joker ignores him to gently hand over the puppet, he clears his throat again and says, “Don’t you have something for me, too?”

Joker turns, and Flag can’t see, but he knows the guy well enough now to know he’s making shark-faces again.  “Can’t fool me, Eddie,” he drawls, sidling up close.  “I know a man of your intellect neither wants nor needs the assistance of ‘a pasty poser clown whore.’“

“Naturally,” ‘Eddie’ says with suicidal bravado.

Joker grabs him in a chummy half-hug.  “Besides, I’m sure you know all about the escape tunnel.  Gun Bunny, be a doll and put Nightlight in my old room.  The Boy Blunder will be along later to let him out, and we’ll all be sipping champagne somewhere while he dies of embarrassment.  Maybe the Iceberg Lounge—I’m feeling fancy.  Run along, jailbirds…Croc will be holding the door.”

‘P Isley’ rolls her eyes.  “Come on, boys,” she tells the guards under her thrall.

The wooden ventriloquist dummy chimes in with a Hollywood mobster accent, “If it’s all the same to youse, I think me ‘n Dummy will stick around for a while.  I gotta make some guards pay for the way they treated my numba one guy.”

“Oh, dear,” says the little old man, but he seems happy enough at the proposition.

“Us, too,” says Two-Face.  “But thanks for the hand, clown.  We owe you one.”

Flag breaks radio silence to say, “Pack it up, kids, we’re on our way out.”

~Jackpot!~ Harley calls back.  ~Okay, we just wrapped up, too.  Cameras back down in sixty seconds.  Meet you at the rendezvous point.  How’s my Pammy look?~

How the hell is he supposed to answer that?  “Uh.  Judgy?  Kinda smolder-y?”

Harley giggles.  ~That’s my Pammy!~

.End.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

could you possibly do an angsty brucinette oneshot where marinette didn't know that bruce was batman and finds out after jason mysteriously returns from the dead (aka revived by the lazarus pits)

There is like two version of this. A Romantic one and a Bio!Dad AU.

------

Scene 1: Marinette and Bruce first meeting. (Jason might be a possible matchmaker in the scenario. Gala/ Coffee shop/ MDC meeting. Marinette impress him on some level and for the first time in his life, he feels like this is someone he wants to settle down with. )

Scene 2: Bruce and Marinette in a relationship and being happy. (One year anniversary)

Scene 3 and 4: Jason’s death and the aftermath as Marinette tries to help Bruce cope and he is making it harder by pushing everyone away. She is grieving because she loves Jason like her own son. Bruce’s secret late night activities threaten their relationship which Marinette tries very hard not to pry but he is not making it easy when he comes back with bruises and sometimes injuries.

Scene 5: Her job in Gotham to balance the energy in the city is done and it will slowly adjust on its own and she did all she could. She has to find another city and balance the negative energy there. She wants to stay. She really does but Bruce is not making it easy for her to find a reason. She loves him and she can’t take it anymore. Break-up. It’s messy on both sides. Bruce loves her too but he’s Batman and he already lost his son to what he does and he can’t let the same thing happen to her so he lets her go. (Emotionally-constipated Idiot here.)

Scene 6: Years pass, Marinette stays away from Gotham and does her Guardian duties. She and Wonder Woman are sort of BFFs. So when there is a world-ending thing happening and WW asks her to come help since JL is lacking some manpower due to reasons (injuries/ MIA). Marinette obliges. There is a big meeting. Obviously, Batman and his entire Batclan is there. WW introduces her friend and B is suspicious of new people. Red Hood lets out a snarky joke that is so familiar that Marinette can’t help but gasp at the nickname she gave Jason (research a French nickname.)

Scene 7 (The reveal): Batman and Red Hood sitffened. Nightwing is more on guard. The other Bats notice that shift in body language and they follow Nightwing’s lead. Red Hood replies with “M?”. She nods. Red Hood takes off his helmet (plus his mask) and she knows that it is Jason standing in front of her and very much alive. She connects the dots between the body language Bruce displays and figures out Bruce’s identity. She de-transformed and hugs Jason. Bruce is trying to process the information as he is shaking from some sort of emotion. Nightwing also goes to hug Marinette. The other Bats have various reactions but most of them relax. Other JL members interrupt to get back on track of the Doomsday happening thing. (Maybe before asking how she knows Batman and M replies that she is his ex. Bruce is hurt a little but also blames himself since it is his fault they are like that. And everyone is thinking that how can someone that nice date Batman. A few fear her since she had dated Batman and lived. It makes sense that Diana is friends with her.)

Scene 8: Doomsday thing is over. Everyone celebrates. During the afterparty of sorts, both of them end up at some quiet place. Angst, Sprinkle in lots of angst about everything. Marinette was bitter and was soon yelling/crying at him. Bruce doesn’t try to defend himself. Marinette composes herself and asks him why he did what he did. He gives his side of the story and says how that doesn’t excuse his behaviour and that he should have handled it better. Marinette told him about the reason she had to leave and that if he had asked her to stay she would have and admits that she still loves him. Bruce hopes that they get another chance. A fresh start and they both kiss. (Maybe mistletoe/ maybe re-enactment of the first time they met.)

“I am MDC. But you can call me Marinette. I have a super secret job of protecting magical jewellery.”

“I am Bruce Wayne. I also have a secret night time job of being Batman.”

Scene 9: It’s been a while since they began seeing each other again. Marinette travels a lot but keeps in touch and tries to stay in Gotham every chance she gets. Both of them are going slow (this frustrates Dick, Babs and Steph to no end. Jason has already declared that he is going with Marinette if they ever split again.) Tim is okay with her and sees that Bruce is happier nowadays. Damian and Marinette are a little rocky with some hostility on Damian’s part but he tolerates her. (It is because of the kwamis.)

Marinette is home and baking something while Bruce watches. (he is in the kitchen doorway, respecting Alfred’s ban) When she is done, he hugs her from behind. Some lines about how happy Marinette is and their relationship is not perfect and there are some fights but they are getting there.

[shepherds-of-haven]

I'm obsessed with this dark!Shepherds AU?? Could you tell us more about it? Or in a head-to-head fight, which Shepherds would win against their evil counterparts or vice versa?

Hi there, good question! I haven’t really given that much thought to the dark!Shepherds AU, but I imagine (if we’re making it very similar to the Justice League scenario) something happens to make the majority of the Shepherds snap, and they turn against the Autarchy and instate a form of governance based solely on power and domination. They think they’re doing what’s right by preventing conflict and protecting the world from demons, just like the Justice Lords felt when they took over the world. That being said...

Dark!Blade: Dark!Blade isn’t all that different from teenage/young adult Blade, who was perfectly comfortable with the idea of assassinating and killing people for his cause, and because he firmly believed it would lead to the greater good. Dark!Blade would be like that, but even colder and more ruthless than his past self. He would rid himself of all personal attachments, such as friends, family, and romance, believing that such feelings made him weak and hesitant, and made himself vulnerable to his enemies in the way that the Autarch was made vulnerable through her sons. 

In a toe-to-toe combat situation, it’s hard to say who would win. Both have razor-sharp killing instincts and battle tactics, but I’m probably going to give it to Dark!Blade, because he would be willing to fight dirty (taking loved ones hostage, threatening kids or bystanders) and Blade would sacrifice himself willingly for others while Dark!Blade wouldn’t. So I’ll give it to him 90% of the time!

Dark!Trouble: I really can’t imagine a dark version of Trouble, not in the whole “bad Justice League” sense. I suppose he already walks a fine line between light and dark as it is; his relentless good, altruism, courage, and compassion make him a hero, but there’s that edge of temper, rage, and darkness (especially in his past--he was a criminal and killer-for-hire too, after all) that colors it as well. Like, now it’s fine for him to beat the everloving shit out of an asshole like Lazu Reen, but that could tip over to someone who’s not so black-and-white bad, too--he could turn that hatred towards an enemy who is more nuanced, like a politician who ultimately serves the people and does good, but who happened to make Trouble an enemy by personally slighting or hurting a friend, something like that. Trouble’s sense of loyalty tends to override his desire for justice in some ways, and I could see him supporting someone like Blade or MC to the end if they framed their endeavors in a way that could still be read as “good”. Like, yeah I had to kill this group of people, but it was for the greater good! And he’d be like “alright, I trust you!” He’s got your back even when the whole world turns against you, until there comes a point when he just can’t stand it anymore--but by then, he probably already did a lot of bad out of love of his friends.

If it were a death match between Dark!Trouble and our Trouble, I’m betting our Trouble would win, purely because Dark!Trouble’s desire to live would be just slightly lessened by the weight of all the deeds he committed. I don’t think he’s truly cut out to be bad, so our Trouble would probably win... 

Truthfully, though, if we’re following the Justice League formula, I could see Trouble being the one dying to trigger the domino effect that leads to the Shepherds turning bad. Like the Flash (I’m pretty sure it was Wally West in JL), in a way, he’s one of the hearts of the Order that bridges them to the civilian population and vice-versa. If he were killed, I could see them falling into the path of darkness (with a lot of other factors involved, too).

Dark!Shery: we already know that Dark!Shery and Shery are one in the same, lol. I don’t think Dark!Shery would be so much like the bad Justice League; I think what would be dark about her would be her indifference, her total passive indifference to their quest for domination “for the greater good” and their thirst for revenge. Dark!Shery is more just personally angry, aggressive, loud, forceful, and selfish, but I don’t see any world where she sets out for power or world domination. If anything, I see Dark!Shery (in that AU) being petty and mean, ripping lollipops out of kids’ hands because she feels like it and not batting an eye at seeing a beggar collapse in the street. 

That’s not to say drunk Dark!Shery is like that, I’m just taking her badness to an extreme in an AU where all of the Shepherds are bad!

In a fight, Dark!Shery would absolutely win, lol. She doesn’t have any better combat abilities than our Shery, but her sheer rage would be terrifying and would lend her crazy strength, lol.

Dark!Tallys: Tallys, too, already walks the edge of the path to darkness a little bit, I think. Obviously she’s chosen the good side, but in a different world where a demon promised her revenge for her fallen family and an opportunity to burn the Autarchy down, I think the younger her would have taken it. In a dark!AU where Trouble was killed or something, I think she would be like, “okay, fuck it” and give in to that doubtful, vengeful side of herself and just go apeshit on the world. She would be one of the people spearheading the plan to take over the world. She’d give lip service and say she was doing it for the greater good, but another part of her would revel in the blood and chaos. It wouldn’t heal the wound in her heart, though, and would only make her even more twisted and angry. 

In a head-to-head first, I’m going to give it to our Tallys 60% of the time. Part of the thing that makes Tallys so effective in battle is her ability to sever herself from her emotions and maintain a cool head; she can detach herself from personal feelings and analyze combat with cold clarity. I feel like dark!Tallys would be easy to taunt into a rage, or she would let her hatred and thirst for blood cloud her mind, so I feel like our Tallys would have the advantage most of the time!

Dark!Riel: I say this in complete seriousness: in a world where Riel decided to turn evil or fall to the dark side, everybody is already fucked. He would absolutely be the most effective and terrifying villain out of the entire cast. He will rip, slash, and burn entire countries with the easy ruthlessness of an accountant making budget cuts. He knows a dozen ways to starve, lay siege to, and lead public campaigns against the enemy. He would be the scariest Autarch the world has ever seen. If you think he’s mean to his enemies like Ebert now, wait until he has no moral code holding him back...

It’s difficult to imagine a battle between Dark!Riel and our Riel, but I’m going to guess the utter dispassionate cruelty and lack of compassion in Dark!Riel would win 90% of the time. Our Riel has a little less edge than Dark!Riel, so for that reason, I think he would lose. And so would the world...

Dark!Chase: I feel like Dark!Chase is very similar to our Chase, just colder, more ruthless, and bloodthirstier. He’d take genuine pleasure in torturing and killing his enemies, and I think he would cut out the flirtatious aspect of his personality in favor of a crueler and more sadistic sense of humor. He would also probably be batshit insane, like, somewhere on the Joker’s level but not obnoxious; in fact, quieter and calmer and deadlier, like you could never really know what he was thinking. People would be afraid to look into his eyes. I think it would take a lot more to push him to that point than the others, though; but once he tipped over that cliff into darkness, there’d be no going back or remorse for him. He’d love to kill his enemies with a kiss and a smile.

In a fight between our Chase and Dark!Chase, I feel like it would be 50/50. Dark!Chase would be more reckless, unpredictable, and have even less of a fear of death than our Chase does; our Chase would have the edge in terms of strategy. So yeah, I think it would be 50/50!

Dark!Red: I can’t even imagine what Dark!Red would be like, lol. I just can’t imagine him being truly evil or ruthless without feeling guilty about it. I guess I could only imagine it if, like, he messed around with some spell and it robbed him of the ability to feel love or empathy?? But even then, I feel like he doesn’t have any inclination to go around conquering the world or hurting people. He mostly just wants to chill and read his books. I feel like he’d be the only one out of the group (besides probably Trouble if he’s not already dead) to be like uhhh guys what’s going on here, this isn’t like us?? He’d probably defect and lead a small underground rebel force with Pan and Neon. OMG and he’d be the one to figure out worldwalking and travel to our Blest to get our Shepherds to fight his because they’d be the only ones to stand a chance at taking down the evil versions of themselves!!! OMG!!! IT ALL FITS WTF. 

Dark!Ayla: I could see Ayla Hulking out and becoming full of rage, but it’s difficult for me to imagine her doing something like supporting the death of innocents or using dirty-handed maneuvers to conquer the land. She’s also among the most independent of the Shepherds, so I feel like she’d be the most vocal of their opposition... it’s realllly hard for me to imagine her casually killing anybody except for scumbags who hurt other people, like murderers and kidnappers. In a war between different political factions or a bid to conquer the world, I just don’t think she has it in her--no matter how angry and aggrieved she was at whatever turned the rest of the others bad.

I think she would either be on the good side, such as supporting Red’s rebels, or vocal enough among the bad guys to have been killed as a dissenter; she might not be around by the time our Shepherds made it to the dark dimension. But if she was, I’m pretty sure our Ayla would win against her 80% of the time. Our Ayla still has the courage of her convictions and the scrappy desire to survive no matter what; dark!Ayla probably wouldn’t. 

Dark!Halek: Also hard for me to imagine Halek turning truly evil; I feel like, if something bad were to happen to turn the rest of the Order bad, Halek would give himself more to grief instead of rage and revenge. He most likely would remove himself from the situation rather than try to take over the world; they would probably have to go hunting for him in the wilderness, kind of like when Luke was a hermit on that blue milk island in Star Wars (spoilers I guess?). I guess dark!Halek would be sort of tired and indifferent Halek, not able to go up against his old allies; our Shepherds might regard him as a coward, but he wouldn’t be evil like the others. 

Our Halek would definitely beat that Halek in a fight, but they’d probably have no reason to fight in the first place!

Dark!Briony: did any of you ever watch the Flashpoint Paradox (another DC movie about the Justice League--well, the Flash--finding out about a really evil parallel universe)? There’s a scene in it where Dark!Wonder Woman--Queen of the Amazonians and waging a war against Aquaman and the Atlanteans--like, beheads Aquaman’s wife Queen Mera and holds her head up to Aquaman like “fuck you”. I won’t link the gif because all of the violence in that movie is pretty gruesome, but that’s how I feel Dark!Briony would initially be. Super strong, running through the enemy army like a knife through paper, annihilating whole forces and landscapes with just her fists, and not giving a shit just how many people she’s killing. I feel like there’s already a tenuous grasp on her emotions in our Briony; beneath the happy-go-lucky, sweet exterior, she feels so much and loves so much that there’s also the ability for her to snap. It wouldn’t take that much (a few more Nathes) to unhinge her and decide to hurt the world as much as it has hurt her. I think she would sort of black out into an all-consuming, heartbroken suicide run where she just decided to do everything in her power to create as much destruction as possible, to somehow soothe the destruction in her heart. 

When that wouldn’t work, I think she would come back to her senses a little and start to slowly realize how fucked up and evil the things she’s doing (and the people around her) have become. It would be slower than someone like Ayla or Red, but gradually I think she would start to nurse a secret doubt in her heart, and if someone like Red was still around, he’d be able to convince her to start working for the good guys in secret, as their mole within the dark!Shepherds. However, I feel like cleverer minds like Blade, Lavinet, Chase and Riel would find her out, and she’d probably be executed for her treason.

In a fight against Dark!Briony and our Briony, I feel like it would depend on what stage of her development she’s at. If it’s still full rage mode, Dark!Briony probably wins like 80-90% of the time!

Dark!Lavinet: I could see Lavinet turning evil, but it’s sort of hard to imagine because she takes her duty to serve the people so seriously--it’s difficult to imagine what would need to happen to make her forget that, or to make her think she knows what’s best for them, even if that means doing bad things. It would already be so easy for her to do that in our world that she’s very conscious of it, so it would take a lot for her to fall into darkness. However, it’s still possible, and I could totally see her agreeing to be installed as a figurehead Autarch in order to maintain order and peace, slowly becoming more callous and ruthless over time. She would totally execute the old guard loyal to the previous Autarch and make their heads roll publicly to instill fear and respect for her reign. She does have that streak of ruthlessness in her; in our world, it’s reserved only for her enemies, but in that world, she’d slowly start to view everyone as her enemy--even past friends!

In a fight between Dark!Lavinet and our Lavinet, I would guess that our Lavinet would win 90% of the time. In that AU, I feel like Dark!Lavinet would let others do the fighting for her, and she would get used to ruling and being behind the front lines; in a way, she’d lose her fighting edge, something our Lavinet still has in spades. So in a direct combat situation, I think our Lavinet would win! In a game of wits and politics, I’m not sure--I would give that one 60-40 in favor of Dark!Lavinet!

[peppersonironi]

12, 21, 19

(Is this late? Oops. Sorry!)

12: Favourite character to write about this year

Stephanie Brown, easy. She's my spirit animal, so I might be doing a touch of projecting, but I honestly don't care. She's just pure chaos in the best way. Some of my favourite lines that I've written are for her. Such as:

"What's up bitches? I brought donuts!"

"My waffles await!"

"FEAR ME!"

"Welcome to Steph’s Glitter Bomb Palace, Where Snitches get Stitches™! So don’t tell Bruce or I’ll sic Jason on you."

She's also the character I've gotten the most comments on. People really seen to enjoy how I write her!

A close second would be Duke Thomas. Bliss, a fic I wrote for the 2020 Duke Week, was one of my favourites! Or maybe Damian? His dialogue just comes easy to me.

21: Most memorable comment/review

the batfamily exist:

everyone: is,,is that allowed?

On Code Orange (Batfam/Young Justice Crossover)

*Or*

I have wanted to read a DCU/MCU crossover for a VERY long time. This story is such a delight. Your characterisation (and for me an introduction to The Signal) was fascinating in the extreme. I loved the game playing and the fact that I could watch (open-mouthed) as Bruce Wayne enjoyed childlike fun with his children and Alfred(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) was the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. I look forward to your updates in a way that you wouldn't believe.

On Batfam/Avengers Crossover

19: Any new fics to start next year

Oh boy. So many. You know what? Here's a list. It'll be good to get these ideas out. Plus, you guys can tell me what you'd rather see first!

Gen/just Batfam

Crack fic based off this piece of dialogue (came from a convo between my sister and I): Tim reached forward and poked Duke's face. "You're right!" He exclaimed. "You really *do* squish like a block of wood!" Duke Centric.

Based on THIS Incorrect Quotes. Talia moves into the Manor because she's sick of Ra's. Featuring a bunch of good mom!Talia.

Based off THIS Incorrect Quotes. Jason runs for President as Red Hood. I have so many ideas! This'll be really fun.

Loosely based on THIS post. It explores Jason and Cassandra's relationship, and how it evolves.

Duke Thomas Big Bang Fic (can't say much, but it'll be great!)

Platonic (need to be certain you understand that. There were some misconceptions w/ my Discord server) Slow Burn between Tim and Damian. At the beginning the absolutely despise each other. But over time they realise their own insecurities, and how they don't actually hate the other. And by the end they fully admit and embrace their being brothers.

Reverse Robins with Damian as the oldest (I made THIS post talking about it a while back. But I've highly revised it.)

Reverse Robins with Duke as the oldest (I wrote THIS fic, but I think I want to change this into a series!)

Cassandra as Batman. Stephanie as Catwoman. Carrie Kelley as Robin.

5 Times Bette Kane was the mastermind behind the batkids' pranks without Bruce's knowledge, and 1 Time her brilliance was brought to light.

5 Times Duke thought that he couldn't possibly get any more siblings and 1 Time he met the cousins (AKA: Duke meets the extended family)

Birdflash

Birdflash in the JL/JLU universe (based off that one hexagon by @novaviis ! Super fun!). The league is inviting potential members to the Watchtower one day. Except Wally wasn't there during the choosing of said members. So he's completely shocked when his husband Nightwing shows up. They have to act like they don't know each other, which basically involves Dick flirting his butt off with Wally, Wally trying desperately to remain professional, Bruce digging in the corner, the rest of the League in varying degrees of disapproval and confusion (at least a couple have seen Wally's wedding ring. So that adds a while 'nother layer).

Young Justice soulmate au. Dick, and eventually everyone else, knows that Wally is his soulmate. Wally is oblivious. Lots of pining and angst in this one. Slow burn to an extent (depends on how long I make it). But definitely a happy fluffy ending in sight!

Batfam Meets Young Justice

THIS fic.

Duke gets yeeted into the YJ universe, and promptly passes out. He wakes up in the Watchtower, and breaks out of the confinement the Team has set up for him. Pulls shenanigans (some unwittingly) and used his powers. The Team and JL are confused, and panicking. Because this guy keeps muttering things about the Batfam. And he has a bat on his chest.

The Team break into some ancient temple after getting info on a new Supervillian plot. They find purple clothed woman draped across a throne. She talks, and they panic, as she knows all their secret identities. The only one who isn't, is Tim. He looks bored. Alternatively: Steph needs Tim's credit card to take his sister out on a date, and absolutely refuses to text.

While the Team is on a mission to stop Lady Shiva, a dimensional portal opens up and spits out a strange Robin (Damian) and what seemed to be a female Batman (Cass as Black Bat). This new dynamic due promptly defeats Lady Shiva and all the goons. The Team is freaked out, and 'apprehends' the dimensional anomalies, bringing them back to the Watchtower. Where the due promptly break and and start chaos. Featuring "Toxic" by Britney Spears. I will not explain why.

The Watchtower gets a sudden emergency message from the Batcave. They accept, to find a stranger calling himself Signal panicking about Robin being missing. They all look at Tim, who ignores them, and says that he doesn't know where Robin is. Some naming shenanigans occur.

(Not sure if this fits here, oh well) Set in Season One, Bruce is tired of Clark's attitude towards Superboy, and adopts the clone himself. Not sure how far this'll go, but at least goes through Dick's time as Robin. (Based on THIS Tumblr post)

(Also iffy on placement) a continuation of one (not sure which? Probably Damian as older) Reverse Robins fics. It's a retelling of Season One of YJ, with Dick as Robin. Nightwing (Damian) feels protective of his brother, and so takes on the role Black Canary had in the show, training the Team. But as time goes on, he ends up being more of a big brother to the group. Cameos from the rest of the Batfam as well! And an Identity Reveal (including finding out Dick and Dami are brothers) at the end!

Batfam Meets the Justice League

Cass takes over being Batman for a bit, because Bruce was an idiot and broke his leg. This happens to line up with when the Justice League reach out to the Dark Knight, in order to extend an invitation to the league. They eventually meet Bruce as Batman, and are confused as to why he is so tall. And male.

Joyfire

Lian accidentally reveals her three parents' relationship by calling Bruce 'grandpa' over dinner.

Museum Heist

THIS fic

Operation: Seduce Nightwing. Based on a post for an ATLA ot3, Wally and Artemis realise silumaneously “Hey, we kinda have the hots for Dick” and decide together to see if he likes them back. Which involves a heck ton of over the top flirting, and shenanigans. The Team is sighing on the sidelines at their idiocy. Dick is internally combusting and thinking “Do they like me back? I’’m not sure.” 

5 times Dick and Wally fought over being the middle spoon, and one time Artemis had had enough.

Set in Season 3 (but ignores some canon), Bart is kidnapped by some mad scientist obsessed with the Speed Force. The Team mobilizes, and gets Bart back from the evil base. But when they get there, they find Wally West freed from the Speed Force. He and Artemis reunite, and everyone is happy. They prepare to leave. Then the Pick-up Squad arrive in the bioship, and Dick gets out. Everyone is expecting Dick to give Wally a hug, because hey, he's his best friend! What they weren't expecting was him to run forward and pull the speedster into a passionate kiss. They go back to the Watchtower, and some more stuff happens.

Soulmate AU where the first thing your soulmate says to you after they fall in love with you is tattooed on your body.

Post Season Two Get Together. Starts with Artemis living with Dick as opposed to Will. Might be Slow Burn? (They come pretty close to kissing) Eventually Wally comes back. Arty and Wally are back together. They both live in the same house as Dick, for convenience. Then some more Slow Burn happens. Maybe some Birdflash moments. Arty tells Wally she kinda had a thing for Dick. Wally admits the same. Maybe a touch more Slow Burn. They Eventually get together.

Batlantern

AU where Bruce met Hal back when he first came back to Gotham. Fic goes through how their relationship evolves over the years (up until current time, when Damian is 13). I'm considering a relationship reveal with the Justice League.

Hal's interactions with Bruce's kids.

Green Lantern Corp acting protective of Hal when Bruce comes to Oa. This was an ask that I got, and I'm holding off on writing it till I get as much into on the GL's as possible, as all I know if their characterization comes from that animated series, and Guy Gardener's (Hilarious!) parts on Young Justice.

Marvel

Like 3 different versions of the Peter Parker Field Trip to Stark Tower Trope.

2-part Crossover with the Batfam (they exist in the same universe), where the Avengers go to a Wayne Gala, and interact with the family. The second chapter involves them heading out the next night to try and contact Batman.

THIS fic.

[mischiefandspirits]

Titanic Beginnings

Part of the Six for the Age of One AU

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dick was excited when Bruce helped form the Justice League, babbling on about Bruce’s new friends and begging to meet them. Damian also wanted to meet the JL, but to appraise them to see if they were worthy of his father’s time and ensure they were capable of watching Batman’s back.

Not wanting the boys to get involved in the more punishing missions the JL faced, Bruce continually denied their requests.

That was ruined during a meeting a month later when Superman sheepishly admitted that his sons had also been badgering him and his wife to meet the other JL members and asked if he could bring the boys to the next meeting.

Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter appeared as resistant as Bruce. However, Wonder Woman adored children and agreed before any of them could speak up. She even offered to bring her young sister to keep them company. Aquaman agreed as well, mentioning that his apprentice could use the land experience. Flash and Black Canary were fine with it, which left the League at an even split.

At a nudge from Canary, Arrow broke the tie by reluctantly agreeing to bring his protégé.

Any ideas Batman had at keeping his boys out of it were dashed when Lantern turned to him and asked if he would also be bringing his kids. Superman sent him a look that clearly stated he would invite the boys if Batman didn’t so the Gotham vigilante nodded after giving Lantern a fierce glare.

Batman, Robin, and Serin were the first ones to the temporary headquarters the Justice League were using while Batman, Arrow, and Lantern finished the work on the space station they were retrofitting.

Before they arrived, Bruce had reminded Dick that, allies or not, only Superman knew the Bats’ identities and it was to remain that way for the time being. He had also negotiated with Damian. The boy wouldn’t challenge anyone to a fight and would abide by sparring rules with anyone who challenged him, no matter what abilities they may have. In return, the boy could assess whoever he wanted. He also allowed the boys to bring their dogs, hoping that would help keep Damian from going too far.

Titus (or Birdhound as Dick insisted despite Damian’s arguments that Great Danes weren’t hounds) had swapped out his red collar for a yellow one that matched Serin’s belt and had a tag with Serin’s logo on it. He also wore a grey ballistic vest with dark coral straps and handle. Haley (or Bitewing, a play on a character from Dick’s favorite story in Bruce’s extraterrestrial files) had a green collar with Robin’s logo hanging from it in place of her usual blue. Her vest was red with canary straps and handle.

Robin and Bitewing immediately went off to explore while Serin and Birdhound stayed at Batman’s side as he got things ready for the meeting. The boy kept an eye on the meeting room’s door, so he was the first one to notice the Supers’ arrival.

Superman was talking to his foster son when they walked in, his younger son flying over them with wide eyes. Superboy (aka nine-year-old Jonathan Kent) nearly looked like the spitting image of his father with his blue-black curls and neon blue eyes that didn’t quite look human, though his nose and lips were shaped a bit more like his mother. Meanwhile Hyper (aka fourteen-year-old Christopher Kent) only shared his foster father’s physique, his skin not having that same natural sun-kissed look while his hair was a dirty blond and his eyes were a bright amber that was just a little too close to yellow to be humanly possible. Superboy was wearing jeans, red high tops, and a Superman costume shirt that had a small red cape attached. Hyper was even more underdressed in just jeans, black tenner shoes, a yellow and blue flannel, and a black shirt. A black band wrapped around his wrist, appearing to all the world like a watch though, having helped create it, Batman knew it was a device to help Earth’s newest kryptonian keep control of the powers he’d developed on arrival.

Robin reappeared suddenly, dropping down onto Superman’s shoulders. “Heya, Kal!”

“Hello, Robin,” the man chuckled.

The twelve-year-old did a backbend so he could hold a hand out to the older boy. “Hi! You’re Hyper right? Kal’s told us about you.”

“Oh, yeah. Or K’Riss. Uh, K’Riss-El, but just K’Riss is fine,” Hyper said, accepting the hand.

“And I’m Jon!” Superboy said, dropping down in front of Batman and Serin. He smiled up at the man before holding his hand out to the other boy. “Dad’s told us about you too. Nice to meet you. I like your dog. Can I pet him?”

The eleven-year-old looked at the hand, then glanced over Superboy’s outfit. “No. What kind of attire is that for fighting crime?”

The half-kryptonian looked down at his clothes and shrugged. “I thought it looked cool.”

“It offers no protection.”

“They’re kryptonians,” Robin pointed out as he stood up on Superman’s shoulders so he could pet Bitewing, who was leaning out of a vent on the ceiling. “Their skin is better armor than the stuff we wear.”

“What if they were to lose their abilities? A shard of kryptonite would easily pass through that flimsy shirt.”

Superboy frowned and glanced back at his dad, which gave Batman time to give his son a reprimanding look and hold out his hand.

Serin scowled and palmed him a small lead case.

The Supers didn’t notice the actions, distracted by unsuccessfully trying to get Bitewing out of the vent.

“Neither of us really dressed for fighting crime,” Hyper said over Robin’s soft cackling, pulling away from the vent. “Jon’s too young for that stuff and I’m still getting my powers under control. Our superhero names are more honorary than anything.”

Clicking his tongue, Serin crossed his arms. “Heroes or not, we are in the base of a team of superheroes. You should be prepared to be attacked at any minute by any of the members’ various enemies.”

Superman aimed an incredulous look at Bruce, who shrugged.

His son wasn’t wrong.

“Hello there!” Wonder Woman called as she walked in with a teenage girl in red and black Amazonian armor.

The girl looked exactly like a fifteen-year-old version of her sister with her curly brown-black hair, warm olive skin, and dark green eyes. She gave a smile that looked a bit more forced than her sister’s, which quickly dropped away when she noticed Superman still near the vent with Robin clinging to his back. “Why is there a dog up there?”

“She likes it in there,” Batman grunted when Wonder Woman looked like she was going to try to help as well.

“She’s Robin’s,” Serin added, which did explain it if you knew Robin.

“Dogs shouldn’t be inside vents,” Wonder Woman said pointedly.

“And children shouldn’t nap in chandeliers,” Batman muttered, earning snorts from Serin and Superman. Accepting that the issue wasn’t going to be dropped, he gave Robin a look.

The boy pouted, then gave a sharp whistle. Instantly the pitbull sprung from the vent, hopping off superman’s chest, then Hyper’s shoulders, before landing on the ground as gracefully as her boy despite her missing limb. Robin dropped to the ground next to her and scratched her neck before grabbing the handle on her vest and going over to greet the Amazons.

Wonder Woman introduced her sister as Troia, who had recently left Themyscira so she could learn more about Man’s World at her sister’s side.

After respectfully greeting the sisters, Serin turned to Superboy. “See, the Amazons wear armor.”

“Well, they aren’t quite as durable as us,” Superboy shot back.

“They also don’t have a well-known weakness to a rock, yet they still understand the necessity to be prepared for battle.”

“So that one is definitely Spooky’s,” Lantern joked as he walked in with Hawkgirl.

Robin did a cartwheel into a backflip, landing in front of the two with Bitewing racing to stay by his side. He gave the heroes a wide grin, leaning cutely against the alert dog. “Hi, I’m Robin! It’s so nice to meet B’s friends! I like your wings, Ms. Hawkgirl! They’re very pretty!”

“Thank you,” she said, bemused.

Lantern gave Batman a smirk as he shook Robin’s hand. “You sure this one’s yours and not Supe’s or Wonder Woman’s?”

Robin’s grin turned sharp, then he pulled away.

A green flash lit the room and Lantern was left in just a black tanktop, Flash sweatpants, and mismatched fuzzy socks. The man yelped and looked down to find his ring missing from his hand. His gaze shot up, but Robin and Bitewing had disappeared with the light. “What the heck!?”

The boy’s laughter echoed around the room, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“Okay, maybe he is yours.”

“Why is Lantern in his sleeping clothes?” Martian Manhunter asked as he and Aquaman came in with a young Atlantean.

“Robin stole his ring right off his hand,” Hawkgirl answered with poorly hidden laughter in her voice.

The test pilot scowled and held out his hand. His ring shot out from inside Batman’s cape. As it slid onto Lantern’s finger, returning his suit in a flicker of green, Robin and Bitewing poked their heads out of the fabric. He pointed at the smug boy. “You won’t do that again.”

“Unless I want to.”

“Kid -”

“Hey, my first idea was to come up and throat-punch you so be glad I just stole your ring,” he snickered, slipping back into the shadows. “Can’t talk bad about my family if you can’t breathe.”

“It seems the Bat’s family are as entertaining as he is,” Aquaman joked. He set his hand on the young Atlantean’s shoulder. “Speaking of family, this is my mother’s ward and my apprentice, Aqualad. Lad, this is the Justice League and their young companions.”

The boy appeared to be around fifteen with alabaster skin that was edging towards grey. His eyes were plum-colored and his hair was long and pitch black. With teeth slightly sharper than a human’s, he smiled and gave a small bow. “A pleasure. You may call me Garth.”

Baring the Bats, the group all greeted Aqualad cheerfully. Batman grunted and nodded with Serin copying his actions while Robin’s hand poked out of the cape to wave.

Before anyone could introduce themselves to the newcomers, Arrow and Canary entered with a grumpy thirteen-year-old.

Speedy had fair skin and pale red hair, alongside eyes hidden behind a domino mask like the ones Robin and Serin wore. Batman knew from his day-life that Speedy’s backstory wasn’t too far off from Robin’s. He’d gotten Oliver Queen’s attention during an archery contest so when the boy’s adopted father died, Oliver took him in.

“Are we the last ones here?” Canary asked.

“We’re still waiting on Flash,” Wonder Woman answered.

“As per usual,” Hawkgirl joked.

“Well, in the meantime,” Arrow set a hand on Speedy’s shoulder, “this is Speedy.”

“‘Sup,” he said, giving a sarcastic salute.

Introductions went around. Robin took the distraction as his chance to slip out and greet Aqualad and Speedy properly. As the time for the meeting grew closer, the group got the kids settled in a room near the meeting room. Just as they were about to leave for the meeting, a steak of red shot into the room.

“Sorry I’m late,” Flash said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re actually on time,” Superman said. “Though you’ll have to wait to meet the kids until after the meeting.”

“About that…”

A second streak came into the room, which turned out to be a red-headed teenager. The boy was tan and freckled. When he pulled up his goggles to smile at the group, his eyes proved to be a grassy green. “Hi, there! I’m Kid Flash!”

The group turned to Flash, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. “My nephew became a speedster last week. I’m training him how to use his powers.”

“Then I’m going to be his sidekick!”

Batman held back a snort at the imploring expression Flash gave him and Superman. The kryptonian patted the speedster on the back and led him out of the room with the others following.

Behave, Batman said with a grunt, giving his boys the kind of glare that would have the JL flinching back and the criminals of Gotham fleeing.

Robin batted his eyes innocently and Serin gave a half-hearted nod.

When the meeting was through, the adults returned to find the room worse for wear.

Robin and Kid Flash were sitting cross-legged on a battered table (one of the few remaining pieces of furniture) with Bitewing draped over their laps. They were both fidgeting with the dog’s ears and tail as they happily talked about a fight the Bats had recently had with Penguin.

Serin and Troia were standing off to the side near some cracked flooring, talking about the Amazonian knife she was showing him. Superboy was sitting on the floor next to them, though he appeared more focused on the pets he was giving Birdhound.

The last three boys were standing next to a hole in the wall. The older two were inspecting the hole with guilty frowns while a snickering Speedy patted Hyper on the back, looking more relaxed despite the bruise on his cheek.

“What happened in here?” Arrow asked, all the adults except Superman and Batman looking shocked at the destruction.

“Sparring competition,” Superman answered, proving he’d kept an ear on the kids throughout the meeting.

“We locked a bunch of superpowered and vigilante children in a room together. I’m just pleased the room’s still standing,” Batman added.

Robin and Kid Flash laughed while Speedy bit down his own laughter at a look from Arrow.

Lantern slapped the archer on the back. “Lighten up. As much as I hate to admit it, Spooky’s got a point. We should have known the kids would screw around and set them up somewhere a little less fragile. So, who won?”

“Troia, technically, since Robin was disqualified after the tournament was over,” Kid Flash said.

Batman turned to Robin, who gave a wide grin. “I don’t want to know.”

“I would have won had I had my full arsenal,” Serin said petulantly.

“He was eliminated because Superboy managed to bear hug him right at the start of their go and he couldn’t squirm free before the time ended,” Robin explained.

“You utilized kryptonite in your spar with a kryptonian so I do not see why I couldn’t!”

Superman gave Batman a look and the vigilante sighed, holding out his hand.

Robin skipped forward and dropped a lead case into his palm. “For the record, I brought blue kryptonite.”

“Was that why you were disqualified?”

“No.”

I will be having a conversation with both of you when we get home, he said with a grunt and put the case in his belt.

“And how did you fare?” Aquaman asked his apprentice, coming over to set his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“I won my match against Kid Flash, but Robin proved too formidable an opponent.”

“I lost first round to Troia,” Speedy said before Arrow could ask as he and Canary came up to the teen.

“His close combat abilities could use some work, but his skills with a bow are comparable to some of our best archers,” Troia argued. “Had our arena been larger, the fight would have been much closer.”

“Yeah, Arrow’s not too good at close range either,” Canary said, earning a huff from her boyfriend. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ll show you a few tricks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're wondering why I put Donna in armor instead of one of the suits she wears in the comics, I ask you this: Why the flip would she want to wear some spandex suit when she could wear sick Amazonian armor? This applies to Cassie too.

And yes, Dick's treatment of Hal is a reference to a certain movie and a certain TikToker. Thanks for asking.

[hibiscera]

Okay tell me about Superman

CLARK MY BELOVED

First impression

UMM OK MY GENERAL OPINION ON SUPES HAD ALWAYS BEEN. He seems nice I like him. (:

I retained VERY little about him from JL which is... probably for the better because I can’t fucking stand how he’s written in the show.

Funny story, in high school I was there for 3D animation (which is a whole other story in itself). And my 3D animation teacher... he was one of those guys who would always shit talk Superman to uplift Batman for being “cooler” and even back then it made me mad!! 😭 Even back then I understood that Superman seems really nice and it doesn’t seem fair to pit him against Batman like that when they are two completely different characters with different approaches!?

Impression now

BABY YOU ARE MY AAAAAANGEEEELLLL!!!

I LOOOOVE CLARK I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE CLARK SO MUCH. STAS is my favorite version of him so far!! (ignores that JL is in the same timeline)

(also my boyfriend’s version of clark that he writes is also my favorite ^_^)

The foundations of his character... the love he has in his heart and the care he has for others and just being a good person because it’s the right thing to do!! He just cares so much he is just sweet and good and funny and he is SOOOO CUTE. :’|

I love how the fact that he is Clark Kent is also such a vital part of his character... Superman wouldn’t be Superman without Clark Kent. It is so ESSENTIAL!!!

Favorite moment

WHEN HE INVITED J’ONN OVER TO KANSAS FOR CHRISTMAS IN THE EPISODE OF ALL TIME, “COMFORT AND JOY” IN JUSTICE LEAGUE!!

It is one of the only moments in the show where Clark REALLY shines through!! Not Superman, but CLARK!!

Also there’s a lot of good moments in STAS but the Mxyzptlk episode is always a standout one since we get to see just how CLEVER he can be!!

Also the moment in “The Main Man” where Lois is like HOW do you keep getting all these Superman stories!? And Clark is like Actually I AM Superman and Lois just. 🙄

Idea for a story

Superman Man of Tomorrow (2020), the best movie of all time, already touched on this a little, but I want more exploration about the fact that Superman is an alien and feels alienated on Earth! I think STAS does a good job of addressing this too, but I would like more of it! It’s such an important facet of his character!!

Unpopular opinion

Idk if this is like... umpopular because most everyone who I have said it to agrees. But I fucking hate how he’s written in JL.

Now keep in mind! I haven’t finished STAS yet, and I have been told that something happens at the end of the series that justifies his behavior in JL... but uhhh.... I dunno, if you’re not gonna make any good storytelling or character exploration out of it, I think it’s just bad writing LOL.

And they had plenty of opportunities to explore this too but they diiiiiidn’t. (: I’m sorry I’m always so mad about it.

Favorite relationship

INHALES. J’ONN!!! J’ONN!!!! J’ONN!!!!!

I already said it in my post about J’onn but I will REITERATE!! They are the only two people on Earth who can understand each other like they can!! They went through something so similar to one another, and now they’re stuck on this unfamiliar planet never quite fitting in!

Even if Clark is evidently human looking! He ISN’T!! And with J’onn that can TRULY be acknowledged and J’onn will understand what it’s like to have people afraid of him for no good reason!! Only because he is an alien... J’onn understands the isolation and feelings of loneliness of being the only of his kind there and never feeling truly accepted. )’:

I know in some of the comics they have J’onn be like “UHH actually it’s not the same because the way our people died was different” but that’s STUPID!! GIVE ME THE SOLIDARITY!!

Also they are gay and kiss.

Superman Man of Tomorrrow (2020), please watch it.

Otherwise, I adore Clark and Lois, they are very sweet and I love spunky girl with sweet guy dynamic. I’m sorry I didn’t prepare an essay for this in my head all day like I did with J’onnClark just know that Lois is one of my fav characters and I love Clois too.

Favorite headcanon

Nothing but respect for my trans bi king!!!

[mxdberries]

Lately I have a mighty need for ChengYao. They literally raised a child together, no way they didn't spend lots of time together. There are so many ways this could go. Messed-up, with JGY manipulating JC while JC knows but craves love so much he'l accept a pretense? Unhealthy codependency where they both feel they're the only ones who truly understand? Or cute falling-in-love and helping each other become better people?

YES!!! I've been seeing a lot of soft domestic ChengYao on Twitter and it opened up my third eye. Like they really raised that baby together, but it also makes me sad 😭 cause then I remember JGY didn't hesitate to use JL as a hostage. JC would sacrifice his life for that boy and look at what JGY did.

What I want is cute falling in love ChengYao, (Qin Su who? i'm sORRY!) together they raise JL, Sleepless nights dealing with a colicky baby who miss his mom, JC who had to play the stern father role (& it's why he's even more awkward about being gentle with JL) while JGY who was the soothing doting father figure. JGY combing out JC's hair before bed, usually extra tangled from JL playing with it. They do braids for each other. JC giving kissing to sleepy JGY bc he has morning training to lead. JGY tops btw ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) JC is so sweet and shy under his experienced & knowledgeable lover.

But a mix of manipulation & unhealthy codependency is also tasty. A possessive JGY who is quite happy his lover got himself blacklisted by the matchmaker, saves JGY the trouble. JGY leaving hickeys high on JC's throat where he can't hide it with his favored hair style so JC either has to bear it or let his hair down like JGY likes. JC never has a consistent right hand man because JGY uses JC's insecurity about WWX's broken promise against him. Slowly but surely isolating JC away from his disciples by making him seem like a colder, angrier version of his mother, away from other Sect Leader by telling JC to come to JGY for advice first (despite JC having elders or asking NMJ and LXC who have more experience). Jin Ling is the only exception but even then, JGY controls when JC can see him. JC suspecting JGY's dark intentions with him but at the same time, he thinks to himself that he's always been second best for people yet here was someone who wanted JC so much to destroy everything around him, who would care for him and that thought is too reassuring.

[letthepaastdie]

Can we just talk about how J.J. Abrams' way of writing/directing is very messy? Like shooting completely different lines or takes in scenes, changing the story/characters significantly, e.g.:

• The early leaks said that after the Death Star duel, Rey would say to Ben "I will never be like you". In the movie fortunately it ended with "I wanted to take your hand. Ben's hand".

• The editor said they also filmed a version where Ben and Rey never kiss (probably this version would have gone with the "I will never be like you" line).

• Also the early leaks said that it is Palpatine the one who explains to Ben about him and Rey being a Dyad.

I am sure there are more (and I will try to find them), but also if you notice there are a lot of scenes where characters say dialogues off-screen (we never see their lips move) and we are only watching the character who is not talking, specially Adam's scenes. Also he conveniently had a mask in a lot of scenes.

Notice that when he explains the Dyad stuff he is wearing a mask (it could have been added in post production), and the other time they talk about it is when Palpatine discovers it and is only a close-up of him (could be a re-shoot).

All in all, it shows that J.J. Abrams didn't know what he wanted and filmed different stuff so he could decide in the editing phase, which in other productions will tell you is a waste of resources.

No wonder the editing and pacing was a mess, imagine having different versions of a scene and wanting to use one but couldn't because it was connected to a scene/line you deleted.

Also imagine filming many scenes and they telling you "Now we are going to film this same scene with a different line that it is just the opposite of it". And then filming another scene but since you don't know what is sticking from a previous scene, you don't actually know your character's state of mind. Let's remember the actors said there were a lot of rewrites while filming.

I think they should had changed the released date. That way they have more time in the planning process. But they were probably greedy and Disney wanted 2019 to be their "best year ever" in box office. It is the same stuff that happened with JL.

[fiesta-freddie]

Rainy days and Mondays| John x reader (fluff)

Request: Hi, can I request some JL x reader fluff? 64 era. Thank you so much

Summary: Its a rainy day and John is scared of the thunderstorm, so you two end up cuddling in order to make him feel better

A/N: Okay! Sorry its been a hot seconds since I’ve written anything, but schools been keeping me pretty busy so its been a little hard to try and find time to write. Anywhomst, I promise I’ll try and get something out whenever I can! I tried to make this as fluffy as possible, so tell me what you think! Enjoy!

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

Kchhhh. The loud sound of thunder came from outside, followed by a quick flash of lighting. Rain tapped harshly against the windows as you tried to focus on the book that was in front of you. Every time the thunder made its presence known, you would have to restart the sentence you were trying to read.

Kchhh. Again the thunder rumbled loudly outside, this time causing the house to shake ever so slightly. This is useless, you thought to yourself, why am I even trying anymore. Placing down your book in the wooden coffee table that sat in front of you, you wrapped your blanket around your shoulders as you shuffled across the floor and made your way to the kitchen.

You switched on the lights and found your way to the cupboard, which contained an assortment of different things. Deciding on hot chocolate instead of tea, you pulled out three packets. One for you and two for John. He claimed that one packet didn’t contain ‘the correct amount of satisfying chocolate-y flavor’

As soon as the tea kettle began to make a hissing sound, you turned off the stove and poured the hot liquid into two cups, dumping in the packets afterwards.

As you began to stir the cups you called out to John, who was upstairs doing god knows what. “John?” No response. You tried calling his name once again. “John? I made some hot chocolate for us! Come and get it!” Still, no response. Strange, you thought usually he would be running down the stairs by now.

You left the cups on the kitchen counter to cool off while you made your way up the stairs to see where John was at. The rain still pattered down the windows as you walked up. You could see your shadow being cast along the wall beside you, every time the lighting illuminated the night sky.

You walked down the hall until you reached your room. The door was only open a crack, so it was hard to tell what was going on inside, but from what you could see, it seemed like every light possible was turned on.

Slowly, you pushed open the door with a small creak and walked in. The over head lights were on as well as the lamp on your nightstand. There were flashlights placed around the room in different spots as well, which made the room all the more brighter than it needed to be.

On the bed you could see the outline of a figure hiding underneath the covers. John didn’t seem to be anywhere else in the house, so you figured it had to be him.

Slowly you approached his outlines figure, not wanting to startle him. Sitting down beside him on the bed you began to pull the covers off of his head. “Johnny?” You asked as his mop top of dark hair began to show “what are you doing? Why are there so many lights on?” You asked calmly and with a sympathetic tone

Once he heard your voice the covers immediately came down and landed in his lap, all bunched up. His forehead had beads of sweat on it from being underneath the comforter and his hair was messy too. His cheeks were a bright shade of red and he stumbled on his words as he spoke. “Oh Y-Y/N I...nothing!”

“John please, something’s up.” You said raising am eyebrow and crossing your arms.

He quickly looked down and your eyes followed. You watched as he fidgeted with his fingers before suddenly gasping loudly catching him off guard. “John Winston Lennon! Were you masturbating?!” You asked him sarcastically. If he was, it wouldn’t have surprised you. It’s not like you haven’t ever walked in on him doing that before.

“Wha- what! Not of- no! Why would you think that!?” He said defensively

“I know, silly,” you said with a giggle, punching him softly on the arm “I was just messing with you.” John let out a small chuckle before falling silent again.

“Really though Winnie, is there something bothering you? I called you down for hot chocolate but you never came.”

“Oh I suppose I just didn’t hear you then. Thank you Y/N, but I don’t think it’s anything you can help with.” He said with a deep sigh. The room fell silent again, until the loud thunder roared once more from outside. John seemed startled by this as he jumped up in the bed slightly at the loud roar, grabbing a flashlight off the nightstands to follow his actions.

Looking up at him, you met his eyes with a soft gaze before speaking “John? Are- are you afraid of the thunderstorm?” You asked him in a voice just barley above a whisper

At first he didn’t answer, seemingly embarrassed by the question. He only put his head down again, an started to mess with the flashlight, flickering it on and off. “John, honey,” you began once again, resting your hand on his causing him to stop tinkering with the flashlight and look up at you “are you scared of the thunderstorm?”

He quickly glanced to the window as a bright flash of lighting lit up the sky dark sky, before turning his attention back to you. John took a deep sigh before he began to speak. He knew that he was afraid and he knew that you knew it too, so there was really no point in lying.

“Okay so maybe I am a bit frightened by the storm, I mean I always have been...since I was little ya’ know? I guess it’s just something I never grew out of.” John said turning his head back down.

You smiled to yourself as he spoke. Inching yourself closer to him you lifted his head up by placing your fingers under his chin, that way his eyes were focused on you. His eyes became soft had he felt your gentle touch on his face. He used his hand to reach up and grab yours, placing soft kisses on your hand before placing it against his cheek.

You moved yourself from your position on the edge of the bed, to right next to John, crawling over the mess of sheets as you did so. Once you were comfortably sitting next to him, he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around your shoulders, bringing you closer to the warmth of his body.

“Its okay to be scared, Johnny,” you said in a reassuring tone “I used to be scared of them too for the longest time. Its just one of those things that stick with some people forever, but you shouldn’t be ashamed by it.” You said turning your head, that way your eyes met with one another. Looking deep into his eyes you could see the lights reflecting off of them, giving them a glowing aurora

“I know love, but as long as your here with me I know I’ll be okay.” he said placing a gentle kiss on your head.

You gave him a sweet smile and a nod in response before beginning to mimic his actions, by slowly snaking your hands around his waist, gently placing your head on his shoulder as you both sank down into the bed.

The room was completely silent once again, the only noise that could be heard was the light tapping of the rain against the window as it began to die down and the storm started to move slowly move away. 

As you and John lay in bed entangled in each others arms, he began to softly stroke your hair, running his finger through it. His head rested on top of yours and he began to hum a familiar tune. Till There Was You. It wasn't one of their own works, but he knew how much you loved their version of the song and because of that you often found him singing it whenever he was with you.

As John continued to hum the tune and send vibrations through your body, you moved in closer to him and began to make shapes along the small of his back with your fingers. He let out a small breath in response and used one arm to wrap around your figure even more, pulling you a few centimeters closer than you were before. He used his other free hand to grab the comforter that sat just below your knees and rested on your entangled legs.

As he pulled it up over the two of you, you nuzzled you face into the crook of his neck placing gentle kisses along it. John resumed to running his hands through your soft hair, as you two drifted into a quiet slumber, the rain putting you both to sleep.

-------

Taglist: @beatlevmania @givemequeen @wrongbea-tle @john-lemonade @ineedyoubygeorgeharrison @princesof-theuniverse @geostarr

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

[abiik]

[drops into your inbox like i fell through a hole in the ceiling] who are zoe and keme's favorite heroes to work with? what are their favorite places to go/spend time besides the ranch? pre jason's & zoe's deaths what teams/heroes could zoe and keme be seen working with the most? how much do people know in general about the huangs family history? how much does jason know pre & post death? and besides the joker who do keme and zoe want to beat up the Most? also does keme five jason a cowboy hat?

[catches u and presses a kiss to ur forehead] JOOO!!!!! i hope u r well!!! i yelled when i saw u in my inbox!!!

who are zoe & keme's fav heroes to work with?

other than each other + their favs in the batfam??

zoe: she loves working with all of the og titans but especially donna, roy, kori, and vic. she also loves working with connor hawke!!

keme: DINAH DINAH DINAH DINAH + the birds of prey!!!! keme said fuck the JL he said friendship ended with the JL, the birds of prey are my new best friends.

what are their fav places to go/spend time besides the ranch?

mostly each others homes in gotham, during z's new boot goofin arc. they can both be found at the manor depending on the circumstances. also, ur the only one who knows about this, so this may be like completely incoherent and confusing to everyone else But basically jiahao's old haunts. keme would linger there whenever he would come visit earth bc they were the only places he would be able to go and relax in peace without being dubbed suspicious by the royal court back on jiahao's home planet, and when keme introduces adult zoe to them, they become places for zoe to hang out in too.

zoe loves to hang out in her workshop a lot. if she's not out on a mission, at the ranch, at jiahao's old gang haunts, or at home, then she's at her workshop slaving away making things bc she's a WORKAHOLIC and an INSOMNIAC who needs to REST. donna's home is also a safe haven for her and was one pre-death when keme was gone and zoe was kind of lost.

when keme finds his restaurant and is able to settle more, he's found there. though this would also serve as his part-time gotham apartment.

idk if this counts bc it's v close to the ranch but when either of them gets super upset and just needs a moment away from everything but doesnt want to disappear completely, they'll go to the top of blanca peak which is where their ranch is located under and they'll sit and just,,,be. and that's where they'll usually find each other after one of them has thrown a temper tantrum or something. (does this count as the ranch? it's not ON the ranch ekdkdj)

pre jason's & zoe's deaths what teams/heroes would zoe & keme be seen working with the most?

zoe worked with dick's og titans the most but was never like,,, an official 'titan.' she was more of an honorary titan but she did work with them like, a whole lot.

during that time, keme was mostly on zoe control duty. he wasnt out there to fight crime, he was out there to make sure his little sister didnt blow a fuse and blow up the eastern seaboard :) he was mostly along for the ride at the time which meant that he mostly worked with whoever zoe was working with to keep her from getting hurt or going too far. this piqued the interest of the JL and then WHABAM they ended up scooping him up (thanks aunt diana) and he ended up as a SUUUPER young member of the JL

then, jason's robin came along and zoe joined jason's five second of fame version of the titans (which i have decided to shuffle again and change up bc i am an indecisive bitch!!!) but did consist of rose wilson, eddie bloomberg, connor hawke, kyle rayner, and i was thinkin of addin artemis crock. dunno we will see it is in production.

zoe and keme also worked with barbara pre-death and are v familiar with her!!

how much do people know in general know about the huangs family history?

im guessing u mean like in verse. they know practically nothing!!! in fact, people probably think they know more about kya's side of the family than they do jiahao's when really they,,,,know next to nothing!! kya's side is just as mysterious as jiahao's and kya's family originates ON EARTH :)

of everyone, jason and dick are like 🤝 on how much they know about the huang family overall.

how much does jason know pre and post death?

about the huang family? i'd say pre death, jason doesn't know a lot, but he knows enough to laugh with zoe whenever they all hitch a ride in the back of the truck into town and overhear some shop owner raving about how no one had fixed their roof the way kanti had with her tools and how her blankets had kept their grandmother warm through the tough winter, what did you use?

and post death, i'd say jason knows a bit more. gradually he learns bits and pieces here and there. esp if he reunites with keme pre red hood reveal 👀, i'd say he's begun to unravel the bigger picture on jiahao well before anyone else outside of the family has. by the time he and keme are like,,, married (i will sob, anytime i am reminded of this i eueueueu) i think jason knows QUITE A BIT about BOTH SIDES and is well integrated into the family.

besides the joker who do keme and zoe want to beat up the Most?

grrrr grrr BARK BARK BARK grr it is [REDACTED]

does keme find (i think this is supposed to say find)? jason a cowboy hat?

the answer is: yes. he does. and jason. wears it.

pspspsps send me asks about zoe & keme!

[selfcallednowhere]

March 2, 2018 Los Angeles, CA

They opened with "I Left My Body," and then came an amusing mix-up. The band was playing what was clearly the beginning of "Damn Good Times," and Flans started talking over it. "We're They Might Be Giants from Brooklyn, New York! We have a new album out and this is the single! It's called 'Why Does the Sun Shine?'!"

And then everyone stopped playing because of course "Why Does the Sun Shine?" wasn't the next song--y'know, as evidenced by the fact that they'd already started playing the next song and it was obviously not it. John said, "None of that was true. Not a single word of it. We are not They Might Be Giants." Flans: "Hi, we're Cheap Trick!"

So then they went back to playing what they were actually supposed to be playing. When I'm singing along at shows I normally always sing the lead part, but not on this one--I sing along with John's "Damn! Good times!" in the chorus because it's way more fun and also inevitably describes how I'm feeling right then.

"Why Does the Sun Shine?" actually was the next song up. John informed us that if the sun were hollow a million earths would fit inside "comfortably," and also that "Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine. They're wrong. But that's what they've found." Also, the heat and light of the sun were caused by the nuclear reaction between "hydrogen, something else, that guy, and everything."

Afterwards, Flans said, "We're frozen in time, but this audience seems more bearded than ever." Then he said that these are complicated, shitty times, and that they were surprised when their management told them they have a new album out. But they thought that was cool, and when they listened to the copies they gave them they discovered that it was "so much better than it had to be." Then he explained that they'd be playing two sets and we should "treat us like you would any other opener--with total emotional distance."

Flans introduced "Mrs. Bluebeard" by saying it was "the part of the show I've all been waiting for." I was looking forward to it too, because at this point I'd just become deeply curious about if John was ever going to manage to get the lyrics right. The correct answer to this question turned out to be NOPE. He messed it up yet again, though he at least managed to do better than the previous night, when some of the things he was singing weren't even words.

After they played "Your Racist Friend," Flans said that during the song he'd been "rocking out stage left" and he'd seen a guy who had his camera out but then had immediately put it away "like he expected me to go all Axl Rose on him." Then he said a thing he'd been joking about other times about how they wanted to encourage flash photography (joke though it may have been, it would've been about the only way one could reliably get decent pictures with the terrible backlit lighting setup they were using), and also if we were recording a bootleg we should send them a copy. He also said that if we had any work emails to catch up on we should feel free to go ahead and do it now.

Next they played "The Statue Got Me High"--on keyboard again, siiiiiiiigh. Once again it was too difficult for me to push past how upset I was about this to properly enjoy one of my all-time fav songs.

After that, John put the contra-alto clarinet on. Flans said that they wanted to thank their corporate sponsor, Microsoft, and that this was Clippy, the mascot of Microsoft Word. John said that he should have just left it at Microsoft, and Flans said he was leaving it at that, that this was all he was allowed to say. Then John told us that it was the contra-alto clarinet. "It's not legal unless you say the whole name." Flans said it was "unrelated to other contra groups," and John said it was "equally controversial." Then Flans said it would be implanting a tracking device in us.

So then they played "All Time What." The more I see that song live, the more I like it.

Afterwards, Flans said that normally he would ask John how his day was, but this time he didn't need to ask because they'd actually spent the whole day together. He said that they'd discussed some documentary about Chicago and "whether the moral ambiguity of Three Billboards was ok or not." Then John said that they'd met four Uber drivers, all of whom enjoyed the job, which surprised him. Flans said they all seemed to have post-doc educations and were interrupting their conversations to correct them about stuff--he said it had happened when they were discussing controlling children and also when they were discussing drugs.

Then John asked Flans if he was staring at his setlist to see what the next song was, and Flans said he absolutely wouldn't slow the show down by doing that (as if knowing what the next song is wasn't the entire purpose of them having setlists in the first place). Then John said the next song was in the movie Mayor of the Sunset Strip, and Flans said the reference was "for people who are old enough to know that Laugh-In wasn't funny." John: "I Think there are people who are old enough to be operating under the delusion that Laugh-In was funny." The song was "Bangs."

Next was "Hearing Aid," and after Flans said that they were "testing the threshold of the PA."

JL: I think I feel the subwoofers under me. JF: I think subwoofers are very expensive, John. *takes microphone off stand* When I take the mic off like this, do you feel like you're about to get a TED Talk? Disrupters. Next slide. JL: You thought this, but no, that. JF: A new way of making deals. They do the work, you make the money. It'll cost you a little to get in on this opportunity. JL: All we need is the kajillions of dollars that you all have. JF: We just need one investor, who has nothing but his Jimi Hendrix replica guitars. We actually did a TED Talk, and we were part of the "what's wrong with this picture" brigade. The theme of the weekend was "genius," which seemed a little fulsome, as my mother would say. We played at like 9 AM, and I was joking that we'd never played that early except at a librarian convention. And afterwards a librarian came up to me and said, "Libraries don't open at 9 AM."

John introduced "The Mesopotamians" by saying it was from "a TV show that was on very early, before Laugh-In."

Before "When the Lights Come On," Flans said that he "forgot if they had an intro to this song," and John said, "That was it right there. You just found it." GOD this song is SO FUCKING GOOD live. I'm so happy that they're playing it so much.

Next came "Nothing's Gonna Change my Clothes" (two completely glorious songs in a row!). All the times I've seen this one live, John sings it in the cadence of the demo, which makes me really happy because I love that version.

After that John held up his coffee and said "Mazel tov." Flans said he didn't think he'd ever heard him say that before, and John said Danny said that he'd said it a couple of days ago. He said Flans said he didn't think he'd ever heard him say it before that time too, but then he said he didn't remember saying it at all. Flans said it was like a KISS concert, with one of them saying over and over that they'd never played a certain song before (which of course made me think of "P.S.O.K."). Then he said that the other day on Twitter some Trump administration official had used the phrase "mazel tov cocktail," and "I salute their scrambled brain." John said that they were talking about all this unrelated stuff and someone had just yelled "We love you!" and it was as if they were saying "Come back!"

After "This Microphone," Flans introduced Curt and said he'd come from Connecticut on a minibike. Then he asked Marty if he was playing a hollowed-out orange, and then asked if he bought it that way or if it came in a kit, then asked him if his sponsor was here. Then Marty said it was supposed to stay on the drumstick, but he hadn't been able to get it to, and Flans said "So you did a mod. It's like a life hack." Then he said that Marty was "putting percussionists out of business."

Next they played "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal," which remains one of the absolute show highlights for me with Curt there. Where we were standing there was a pole just to the right of John when he was at his keyboard, and I was bopping around so much during that song that I kept having the pole block my view of him. Being able to see him during shows is normally priority #1 for me, but I couldn't help it! That's just what that song + trumpet does to me!

They closed the first set with "Particle Man," and then returned for the Quiet Storm. They opened with "Older" as per usual. This time John was pointing at the crowd for parts of it as if he were Death himself (ala that one fantastic Mink Car promo picture).

After "I Like Fun," Flans said that they love the old songs, and they particularly love this one cos it's "so damn old." People were yelling things out, and Flans said "You can shout out all the names of what you think we're going to play and you'll be wrong." Then he said the song was full of "vitriol and unbridled hostility," which was very appealing to them.

So then they of course played "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," and then did an introduction to "James K. Polk" that was pretty similar to the night before: John said they'd be going all the way from the 1840 of that song into the future of 1844, with "self-driving beards and electric buggy whips," and then that the song wasn't letting their true feelings about its subject come across, which are that "he was a dick." Flans: "It's value-neutral...about someone who was a dick." Then Flans said that he was the reason where we are right now in California is a part of America, but that isn't necessarily a good thing.

So next was "James K. Polk," of course. Right before the bridge, with Flans's solo, John did the silly thing he does sometimes where he says some variation of "John Flansburgh, explain!" Then, after Flans played the first half, he said, "I see, go on." There was also some quality spazziness during the last verse--he's often spazzy during that part, I'm not sure why but of course I love it.

Next they played "The Famous Polka."

JF: The only polka we know. People ask us how we sequence our songs--that was "Polk," and then "Polka." "Polk-a." JL: That was also a Radiohead album. JF: That was the good one. This next song is from the John Henry album. It's underrated. JL: I think it's overrated. JF: It's underrated by me. JL: It has a histogram like this. *holds hand up, then moves down, then across, then up again* There are super-haters, and super-lovers.

It made me sad to hear John call it overrated, since it's tied as my favorite album. I do think he's right about how polarizing it is within fandom though, but the "super-haters" are WRONG WRONG WRONG.

So then they played MY SONG. I swear to god, I could see that song at every single show I go to from here on out and it would never stop being an incredibly special experience for me. I just love the song so, so, so MUCH, and it's a really big deal for me to see them play it. I always cheer like crazy when it's over.

That was the last song of the Quiet Storm, followed by "Istanbul." Then Flans introduced "Bills, Bills, Bills" by fist talking about when they did "Tubthumping." He said that the list of songs the AV Club gave them was "notorious and vaguely dubious," and that they had to figure out "how to make it feel good" so they had the staff come in and sing it with them. Then he said that after that they the "opportunity" to come back a second time, and that there are "many reasons not to cover Destiny's Child," but that the song is so complicated that now that they've learned it they don't want to drop it from the set, like they did it in vaudeville. Then he explained that John will sing Beyonce's part and he'll sing Kelly's part, and that she's "my favorite child--I think they call them children--not that I'm an expert." Then he said that there was "the third one" whose name he couldn't remember, and John said "You have to love all your children the same." Then people were yelling that the third one's name is Michelle, and Flans said "Michelle! It's even in the song!" (I'm not sure what he meant by this.)

So then they played the song (I became a Flansgirl for the length of it as per usual), then "New York City," then "Birdhouse in Your Soul."

When John was getting his Kaoss Pad ready for "Wicked Little Critta," he said, "I pressed the button that makes the song happen." After that he was telling someone in front that he couldn't quite read what their homemade shirt said but that it was "freaking me out." I'm not sure what it said exactly, but then Flans said (apparently in response to it) "Two votes? But what about the midterms?" Then he said he needed one for his mom, and then I think the person must've been starting to take the shirt off, because Flans said, "No no no! My mom's in Florida! She can wait!"

After that Flans went back to his joke of the night before about Dan Miller being Tabitha on Bewitched, repeated almost word-for-word the same as the previous night (disillusioning!), but with the new addition this time that they'd added this "fact" to Wikipedia and no one had caught it yet.

After a run of a bunch of great songs that I don't have any special comments on ("Number Three," "Answer," "Twisting," and "Man, It's So Loud in Here"), they did band intros and then Flans thanked "all the lit majors in the audience" (which was random but did make this particular lit major feel pretty awesome!).

They closed the main set with "The Guitar," rockin' and fantastic as always. As bonuses it featured John (adorably) hopping and (adorably) waving during the "the lion waves good-bye" bit in the last verse.

When they came back for the first encore Flans made an announcement that was very exciting to me as a Pacific Northwesterner: that they'd be touring Canada later in the year. He said they're going to be "going to cities that are a mistake to go to." Then he talked about how they just got the I Like Fun vinyl, and that it resembles "a fireman's calendar from 2012."

Then:

JF: This next song is for everyone. JL: Well, almost everyone. *pause* I'm actually not sure what you mean by that. JF: I didn't want to say that it's for you. JL: Are we talking about the same song? JF: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"?

The next song was actually "Dead," so yes that was a mysterious comment to make! But anyway I was thrilled to see it again, and even more thrilled when they followed it up with "Don't Let's Start" again.

When they came back for the second encore Flans was taking a picture of the crowd with his phone, and John was goofily posing at the edge of the stage to be in it too. When I found the picture later that night it was as great as I hoped it would be.

Then John said that he'd just noticed Danny wasn't wearing red pants, and Flans said we should check out the pants that he was wearing, which were these blue ones with a grid pattern that were indeed pretty wild. Then Flans was saying that there's some festival in Boston that they've played a lot, and that they kept having bands that were opening for them right before they made it big (the example he gave was The Cardigans), but one time it was a band called Royal Clown Revue, and he told the promoters that they absolutely did not want a band with a name like that opening for them, but that they told him it was a typo and it was actually Royal Crown Revue, and they were a ska band. Then he told Danny that if he "wanted to make a lateral move into Mighty Mighty Bosstones," he definitely could with those pants.

Then John was thanking us and said "We love you, in an inappropriate way," which was...strange.

The final song was "Doctor Worm," which I think is a good closer--I like it when they end with something really high-energy like that, and everyone gets so into that one.

So it ended up being exactly the same setlist as in San Diego the night before, which surprised me--I've been to shows multiple nights in a row quite a few times, and I don't think I've ever seen them not switch out at least a couple of the songs from one night to the next. The setlist consisted of some really terrific stuff, don't get me wrong, all of which was really exciting to see, but I'd be lying if I said I weren't a bit disappointed about it being exactly the same. Still had an amazing time, of course!

The final all-important JL wardrobe report: he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, and I managed to be less upset about his dumb haircut than I was the night before.

[angelearnshaw]

TITANS TRAILER

Everyone STOP. STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW. 

I bet you’ve all seen the new trailer for the live action Teen Titans by now (simply titled Titans). 

While other people have been having mixed reactions towards the events included in the trailer, I couldn’t be happier. And here’s why: 

1. Loving that Dark Tone 

Unlike majority of people, I actually like this dark tone that DC has been sporting in it’s shows and movies. Don’t get me wrong- I also love shows like The Flash and Supergirl, which is lighter and more children friendly. 

But that’s the thing. 

Teen Titans having this dark tone means it can also cater towards the more mature audiences of the DCU. Besides, the first season seems to be teasing that it will be centered around Raven’s character and Raven’s origins, so I’d understand the darker tone. 

Besides, this isn’t Teen Titans Go! This is more in tune with the story arch from the original comics from the 1960′s, so it’s expected that it will be more adult. 

2. DICK GRAYSON

Do I need any other reason to be happy? 

As long as Dick Grayson is here, I’m also here. I loved his character in the comics, and I love his growth into the character of Nightwing. 

A lot of people are saying that this Robin shown in the trailer reminds them more of Jason Todd rather than Dick Grayson, which is understandable. In the comics, Dick has always been the light that balances Batman’s darkness. Thus the bold, colorful costume. 

However, I am happy about this angsty vibe, because it shows a different side of Dick and teases us about the issues he had with Batman after he decided to strike out on his own. In the comics, Superman gives him the idea of becoming Nightwing, so I’m curious whose going to give him the idea in the series. 

I was a little taken aback with him using guns though, but maybe all will be explained in time. 

When he said “Fuck Batman” all I could think about was “Bruce why you hurting my Robin???” 

But then that’s just me, because I love Dick. 

I also love that Brenton Thwaites will be bringing him to life. Super excited for that, especially after watching him in Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Y’all can be as torn as you want, but I’m happy. This is like history in the making. Have we ever witnessed Robin’s transformation into Nightwing??? I think not. 

3. THE BO STAFF 

At some point in the trailer, we see Dick wielding the bo staff with great expertise. And my fangirl heart is very happy. 

But. 

I hope those things can also be separated and turned into eskrima sticks BECAUSE THAT’S DICK’S WEAPON AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED. The bo staff was more Tim’s thing, rather than Dick, and Jason opts for guns. We all know that. While Damianwas happy with his sword. 

But Dick had eskrima sticks so *crosses fingers* 

4. MY GIRL RAVEN 

Raven has actually been one of my most favorite, DC female characters. 

I love her backstory and I love how she struggles with her power and where it comes from. 

In the trailer, we see her having sought out Dick and asking for his help. All throughout, we get vibes that they’re going to have a pretty tight relationship in the series. 

In the comics, at one point, Raven tries to make a move on Dick. But considering the age difference here, I’m guessing it’s going to be more of a brother- sister relationship? 

5. Beast Boy is here! 

When talks of the show first started to happen, some were saying Beast Boy might not be part of the gang. After all, the special effects would cost a lot and would be difficult to do. 

But I’m glad they changed their minds about it. 

Beast Boy could be the one to bring the humor onto the show, much like he did in the animated version. In the comics, Beast Boy and Raven also had a relationship, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen here. 

Can’t wait to see what jokes Beast Boy will serve up. 

6. Star- freaking- fire 

Well, there were a lot of issues regarding this one. 

Especially when those set photos leaked on the internet. 

I was worried there for a second, DC. Whiw. So glad the post- production looks much better. I’m also curious to see how Starfire will arrive into their lives. If they will be following much of the comics, Starfire should be crashing into their lives while their doing battle and kiss Dick to understand their language. 

Somehow, that was not the vibe I was getting from the trailer. 

And from Starfire’s get up, I’m not sensing the alien princess vibe either. 

I do love what they did with those special effects though! Thank you to the creative minds behind that. 

I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION: WHERE IS BARBARA GORDON? 

Is she going to be making an appearance? She’s a big part of Dick’s story, just as much as Batman is. And without Cybrog on the team (thanks to him being on JL) who’s going to be their techman? Or woman? The person in the chair? I mean, Dick is multi- talented, thanks from the training from Bruce. But he can’t lead the team and be the tech person sooooo... who? 

PLEASE DC GIVE ME THIS. 

In case you want to see it again, here’s the trailer!

[erza155-writes]

Author Commentary: Taste of forever

So, after a whole year of tormenting myself & the homies, I have finally published the NHS x JL fic that has been occupying prime brain real estate.

It would be better to read it before you subject yourself to this author commentary, but if you’ve read it already, commentary below!

I’ve been writing this story on and off for like a year now, and well…. Yeah. It’s been a thing. I’ve kinda had fun because I don’t know if anyone else has done this yet, but here we are!

This pairing has been living in my head rent free for a hot minute, but it was originally inspired by a scene in chapter 8 from A bit of ruthlessness by Jirluvien on ao3. It’s a xicheng fic, but this throwaway interaction between these 2 sparked something within me, I taunted my friend with it, wrote an initial concept that got way too long and unmanageable and then took the cowards way out by writing this. I haven’t linked it as inspired by A bit of ruthlessness on ao3 cause I still need to ask permission from Jirluvien because I’m not sure if they’d wanna be associated with all of this.

Anyway, after I initially thought of it, I was like ‘yo is there fic for this’ & surprise surprise, fucking nothing. So I tool it upon myself to craft the narrative I wanted to witness. But as I publish this, it is the 3rd fic in the tag, so maybe there is hope yet!

This is still only the first half after various edits. I had to split it in half because NHS pov is different from JL pov.

So the story starts at 9:46pm on January 19 2021 when I text my friend:

I just wrote the outline for a Nie Huaisang/Jin Ling fic and titled it after that one Icarus meme playlist; Pretty Fly for a white guy

I'm about to cry

There is so much that is ridiculous about this 

And no one was able to stop me, so everything kind of snowballed into what I have published. (Hilariously enough, this fic was supposed to be only 500 words long, yet here we are...)

The thing is that I really do unironically love this ship and thinking about it and writing about it. They’re both such fascinating characters with a lot of depth and I was kind of curious as to how a relationship between the 2 of them would develop considering the wealth of trauma and issues between them. But in this verse I chickened out and gave y’all the soft version. But I’m like 5 steps away from writing a ship manifesto for these 2.

I decided to post this commentary here rather than in the author’s note section on ao3 because I have too many feelings, too much to say, and it would probably constitute as cruel & unusual punishment if I subjected people to this without any warning whatsoever. (Can you imagine reading a fic and the author’s commentary is just as long as the fic itself? I’m obviously not going to blaze this trail, but if this becomes the norm, I would be so excited because I love seeing how different everyone’s writing process is!)

Anyway, enough of my infodump exposition, here are my actual comments on the content of the fic!

The title of the fic is from 12345sex by Upsahl because when I was initially writing this, I listened to a lot of her music. I am halfway certain I have a playlist for this fic/verse laying around somewhere, but I am not organized on the very best of days so idk where it is. If I do find it, I would be more than happy to publish it.

I could have titled this story after Moment for life by Nicki Minaj, to really fit the theme, but I didn’t. Because by the time the idea occurred to me, I was already attached to the current title. And also, Nicki’s whole thing.

This story/verse was initially titled: ‘pretty fly for 2 dope guys’ after the offspring song and because when I started planning it, it had a very differnt vibe. At one point, I seriously considered titling it “Kiss, Kiss, Stab” so make of that what you will. 

Anyway, here are the most memorable lines of this story for me.

Jin Ling is trying to be less dramatic than the adults who raised him, but given half the chance, he would push everyone on his list down the very long Koi Tower stairs.

Writing this line was kind of fun because immediately after I finished typing it, I kinda did a little villain cackle because I’m assuming that Jin Ling doesn’t know how cruelly ironic this statement is.

His name on Nie Huaisang’s lips becomes an achingly beautiful sound; the chirping of birds in spring lifting his mood, the rushing of lakes in summertime cooling him to bearability, the rustling of autumn leaves granting him a small moment of private reprieve, a winter hearth crackling and bringing warmth to his bones.

Ok so i actually had to google autumn sounds cause I don’t experience that, but everything else was courtesy of my reading experiences. Additionally, I’m 93% sure that ‘bearability’ isn’t an actual word, but fanfiction is meant to be transformative, so I am absolutely going to stretch my artistic license in this one instance.

Speaking of which, if anyone can recommend autumn themed texts (movies, tv shows, books, music, video game walkthroughs) I would be more than happy to experience them! I don’t think I’ve consumed enough autumn centric media. As long as there is either an English or French translation, I’ll be able to understand it.

Anyway, this is more like a mini journal for my own edification and archiving purposes, but if you actually made it this far, that’s kind of amazing! And thank you for your attention, I hope you have a nice day.