#things are about to take a turn for the worse for the cyborgs

[hijinxinprogress]

The JL keeps trying to stop Captain Marvel from talking to the media (and it’s not working)

The jl held a meeting about marvel’s conduct with cops bc he got a little too excited and suplexed a cop completely fucking forgetting he’s a 7ft buff ass man (the video goes viral for months) and the press is having a fucking field day with this bc ‘Captain Marvel Hates The Government!’ ‘Justice League Member, Captain Marvel, Shows His True Colors…?’ ‘Fawcett Superhero Attacks Civilian!’ ‘Captain Marvel Sends Police Officer to ICU!’ ‘Philadelphia Hero Puts Public Servant In Coma’ and shit like that is on the front page of every newspaper, magazine, and tabloid for the next eight months at least

so they’re like ‘hey you gotta say something! The people think you hate the us government esp the police!’ and he’s just sitting there confused before he says very slowly and clearly ‘But I do…I fucking despise them’

Barry and Hal are fucking losing it bc this is the guy that says ‘darn!’ in the heat of battle and has said on multiple occasions ‘Well, that’s not very nice, now is it?’ to opponents that destroy worlds for fun

like this guy still tries very hard not to make faces at the broccoli on his plate in front of the jl (and fails)

this guy hears a yj member or even the very adult titans cussing and going on the longest rant bc ‘I’ve not heard such foul language in all my years-!’ and what’s this ‘‘I’m an adult’ nonsense?? I’m older than Ravens grandfather 🤨 When you get to be my age-’

they’re all so pissed when they hear him cussing like a sailor playing video games on cyborgs phone the next day and he’s playing fucking temple run at that

[nightingale-prompts]

Do NOT Touch a God- DC x DP Prompt (Tim x Danny)

Correction: don't touch Danny.

A rule has been added to the house rules of Titans Tower. It started after the arrival of the summoning of the interdimensional teen that takes residence there.

Despite being only a teenager the power he held was at the level of a god. He causally reshaped reality around him to his liking. Rooms are made bigger on the inside but remain the same outside. Danny's hate for things getting too dirty made all clothes left on the floor for too long disappear into the laundry room and spilled drinks evaporate. The tower became self-cleaning as everything found its place on its own. Danny said it was just what he prefers, lab safety and all that. Sometimes Danny would turn off gravity, no reason be just likes it like that.

Unfortunately, he doesn't go on missions except for extreme situations where he is needed. He is content to spend his time in the med bay as the resident healer. He is also one of the few that can fix up Cyborg. Danny doesn't get involved unnecessarily. This has led to a few arguments in the past over how unhelpful he can be despite being able to help them. Danny shrugs it off and disappears when it happens. It was not fair on him, if he didn't want to fight he shouldn't have to. He was an asset and he offered his help freely.

So why does the No Touch rule exist? Well, Danny doesn't like touching people. He wears gloves for a reason especially when he is working in the bay fixing up everyone after a mission. He also avoids others touching him, shrinking away when someone tried.

Everyone respected that boundary but after a rough mission in particular Kon started an argument with him. The injuries were severe and he was just mad that M'gann was hurt. Danny was already overwhelmed with healing everyone and Kon seemed to strike a nerve. When Kon almost made contact with him Danny flickered out of existence and reappeared further away.

After several hours of fixing broken bones and open wounds Danny retreated.

Tim decided to check on him later. Kon was sorry for overreacting and blaming Danny for something he couldn't control but Danny probably didn't want to see him right now.

Danny looked worse for wear when he opened the door. He looked tired, weary from using his energy. He wrapped a blanket around himself.

They talked for a while. Mostly about nothing important, other times about how stressful things were right now.

Tim often found it hard to believe that Danny wasn't just a normal teen. Then again, what did he know about normal?

But he had wondered something.

He reached out and tried to hold Danny's hand but Danny moved away quickly noticing.

"You shouldn't do that." He said simply.

Had he been Dick he would repect the boundaries and if he was Jason he'd probably agree. But he was Tim and Tim was very bad at boundaries. That's kind of how he got here.

"Why not?" Tim asked.

"It might be too much," Danny said cautiously eyeing Tim who held his hands up.

"Try me."

Danny sighed and removed one of his gloves and touched his hand to Tim's shoulder.

All at once different sensations filled his senses. A comforting touch of a friend, a light fluttering of a passing stranger on the street, a strike of a hated rival, the steady hand of a family member, the playful tap of a classmate, the caress of a lover...all at once. Each feeling is defined but also blurred. It was almost like being pulled in thousands of directions as they tried to claim a part of Tim into their reality.

A single touch sent him into a trace. When Danny pulled away he expected to have broken Tim like how a child accidentally snaps their toys when playing. He knew his touch could overwhelm people almost to death. Clockwork said he'd be able to control it some day but Danny didn't even want to test it. Being able to fracture someone's mind was scary. Seeing it happen once was enough. So why did he try it on Tim? Did he not care what happened to him?

It's a bit selfish and embarrassing to admit but...not being able to touch another person was awful. He's not clingy but it feels like he has lacked sensation for a long time. Tim willingly asked for this and Danny wanted this as well.

Tim wasn't broken. Infact he had never felt more alive. When Danny removed his hand he found himself pulling it back to him. He couldn't explain it but it felt like...everything. Indescribable but amazing. It was contradictory but all of it made sense.

"Do it again!"

Things kind of escalated from there. It would probably be crass to even say it but let's just say that neither was lacking sensation. It was profound, not purely physical nor emotional, something else entirely. The religious sort would call it divine or a blessing, perhaps it was what heaven feels like. Others would call it sinful, partaking in things no human was meant to know or experience. The folly of humanity.

It was certainly addictive though. Whispered words echoed in every tongue. With every contact a new chorus created. The memories of long dead god flashed and worlds yet unawakened showed themselves. And just when it seemed like everything in the universe had collided and finally made sense...it was over.

There was a knock on the door.

Danny managed to roll the breathless, Tim off with a groan. He stretched feeling a bit locked up. He had been holding each other for a while now.

He opened the door and saw Kon standing there nervously.

"Look, Im sorr-"

"Danny?" Tim called out groggily interrupting whatever Kon was saying.

"I'm busy," Danny said quickly closing the door to go back to...you know.

(So were they having sex or just cuddling? I have no fucking idea and I wrote this. I feel like it's a secret third that is somehow worse.)

[plsdonttakemyname]

Boothill x G!n Reader

A/n ; this post is literally inspired by this post on TikTok HDHAJBDHSJSJDH 'M CRYINFFG..... I'm so sorry I haven't posted for soooo goddamn long... forgive me if my writing has gotten even worse mggggrr .. Wrote this at 3am, please let me know if I did typos... :'3

Mentions ; Boothill, Cyborg body parts, Poor bby can't feel physical affections like hugs and hand holding :(..Fluff fluff fluff grrrr...I'm trying my best not to turn this into an angst..Modern Au (I guess?), :3 Reader uses lipstick (no gender mentioned), Use of nicknames for reader (Doll,Baby,Etc...), OOC BOOTYHILL :(...

.. 𝑳𝒊𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 ..

You and Boothill have been dating for almost 2 years , right now he has you on his lap. You were testing out the lipstick you got recently on him and he agreed to it. His face now covered in different shades of lipsticks.

"mm, I kinda like this shade, what do you think about it 'hun?" he wrapped his arms around your waist while supporting you on his lap " I don't mind what shade of lipstick you use doll...you'd look absolutely stunning with anything" he answered as you smiled at his reply, leaning in to kiss his cheeks "Flatterer.." He lets out a small chuckle before leaning in again for another kiss "What can I say? I love my sweetheart this much" he said as you caress his cheeks, nuzzling her nose against his slightly while knowing it brings him comfort due to being the only place he can feel any real warmth. Yet you continue to show him you care in the small ways you can, showing you love him in these simple things. The both of you are resting on the couch and enjoying each other's company before he slowly speaks up and breaks the comfortable silence "Do my cyborg body parts bother you?" You were caught off guard by his sudden question. you shook your head, planting another kiss on his lips before answering him "No..of course not..what makes you say that?" He shrugged as he pulled you in closer in his arms while he nuzzled in the crook of your neck "Nothin'..I'm just askin.." you wrapped your arms around his neck in response as you ran your fingers through his silky white long hair while he cuddled with you on the couch. Minutes have passed when you suddenly remembered that your boyfriend is still covered in your lipstick..."Baby I think we should wash the lipstick away before it stains your face" with a few moments of silence, he pulled away and looked at you "good..let it stain then."

PLEASE THIS IS HORRIBLE WRITTEN,Im so sorry if I disappoint . :( my schedule has been very packed lately and I have to drive and pick my cousin up from school whenever I get free times.. Also wrote this at 4am without any sleep. I'm so sorry again if there's a grammar error. I feel so anxious when I post because I'm scared it's gonna be bad..but I'm trying my best despite having a packed schedule. But if you have any ideas, feel free to request , I'll try my best to take them when I'm free

© 2024 plsdonttakemyname do not repost, copy, translate, modify.

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for lottie behind the cut; "a pocketful of Kons". (( chrono || non-chrono ))

. . . okay, so they were going to the Watchtower, Tim finds out literally on the Watchtower with his two-day go-bag hooked over one shoulder. Bruce literally did not even say they were walking into a disguised zeta tube until he activated the damn thing. Dick looks wry, his own go-bag over his shoulder, but also not all that surprised; Tim is definitely surprised, and also immediately mortified. Bruce brought them to the Watchtower? The Watchtower is full of people! People who will take one look at Stud and see Superman! See Superman and also almost definitely ask Stud’s name! 

And yes, obviously he’s going to need a fake one for him because secret identities exist for a reason, but the thing about being a Bat is, they use the fake names for their secret identities, because Bruce lives and breathes friggin’ 5D chess and is way more “Batman” than he’s ever been “Brucie”, so if anyone asks Tim will, in fact, have to tell them Stud’s actual name. Especially because he’s pretty much positive Stud will be a goddamn brat about it if he tries using a fake name for him anyway, given the other’s clear disdain for anything not a cape and S-shield. 

So yeah, the chances of at least one if not multiple of Earth’s greatest heroes looking him in the eye and asking him what his Pocket’s name is at some point in the next ten minutes are . . . not nonzero, put it that way. 

Tim seriously considers just finding the nearest airlock and hacking through the safety protocols in self-defense. 

Or maybe just the incinerator. There’s probably an incinerator somewhere on the Watchtower, right? There’s gotta be. 

Dick pats his shoulder sympathetically. Tim immediately feels worse, because if it’s that obvious how mortifying this whole experience is about to be for him, it’s going to be even more mortifying than that. 

“Codenames only,” Bruce makes a point of stating, not bothering to look back as he strides down the hall ahead, Cat all masked up and hidden under the fall of his cape. Which as a statement, obviously, is meant for Stud, but given how stubborn and contrary Stud’s been so far . . . 

“Please,” Tim hangs back to add under his breath as Dick heads after Bruce with Star and Red on his shoulders, Red in her own mask and Star not having bothered, for obvious reasons. Stud frowns, looking puzzled. 

“Rob?” he tries warily, still looking a little confused. 

“Right,” Tim agrees, resisting the urge to try convincing Stud to hide under his cape and just following after Dick and Bruce. Chances of Stud being willing to hide are unlikely, and it seems much more likely to annoy or upset him. So like–fight the battles you can win, and all. And avoid aggravating your tiny, unpredictable soulmate who isn’t actually Superman but sure does look like Superman. 

Tim really, really hopes that Stud is Supergirl, because that implies him being capable of turning into a form much easier to explain to his dad and also maybe at least not being just a guy, which is still something he doesn’t know how he really feels about. Even if it also implies Lex Luthor Junior being immediately relevant to the state of his love life. But he’s not really holding out much hope for that right now, considering . . . everything, basically. 

Though dealing with Luthor Junior might be better than dealing with the creepy cyborg guy, whoever he is. 

“Rob Rob Rob,” Stud chants happily to himself as he flies ahead to Red and she gives his head a pat, and Star flies over to meet him and gives him a big, body-squeezing hug, nuzzling into his curly hair as her own half-envelopes him. Stud crows delightedly and lunges into the hug to send them both tumbling through the air, and Star croons affectionately at him and swings him around as she hugs him harder, glowing sunlight-bright at the same time. Stud crows, and Tim hears Cat laugh lowly from inside Bruce’s cape. 

It’s–weird, sort of, Tim thinks for a moment, half-distracted and resisting the urge to frown to himself. The way the Pockets have been interacting, he means. Stud’s been aggressively flirty and boastful and constantly chattering on and on in Pocket-talk and is clearly trying to be charming while mostly being overbearing, which isn’t very much like either Supergirl or Superman and also should have at least Red annoyed with him, and most likely Cat too. 

Except Cat just seems to find Stud funny and Red sort of wryly accepts him, even though neither of them have much patience for anyone as loud and pushy and attention-demanding as Stud’s been acting. And Star flirts back with him a bit, but more playfully than anything else; she’s mostly treating him like she thinks he’s cute–like, cute like a puppy or a baby, not like another fully-grown sapient adult being. And they’re all putting up with behavior they usually wouldn’t tolerate from any man, for whatever reason. 

That’s . . . weird, yeah. 

Very weird. 

Tim frowns to himself after all, then immediately gets distracted by the mortifying experience of Stud zipping over to loop around Bruce’s head and chitter indignantly at him until Cat slips out of the shadows of his cape and purrs up at him. Stud lights up in unrestrained delight, then dives down and snatches her up to carry off back to Star and Red, crowing triumphantly as he does. Cat cackles and Starfire giggles and Red lets out a huffed little laugh of her own. 

Bruce at least ignores him and Dick muffles his own laugh, but Tim is still mortified. 

Stud looks back at him looking way too proud of himself, then chirps excitedly and holds Cat up in–like in display, almost, like he just won a prize or an award or something and is showing it off to him. Cat just chuckles indulgently and scritches him under the chin. 

. . . yeah, “weird” is actually not a strong enough word to go with here, probably. 

“Weird” is so not a strong enough word to go with here, in fact.

[clownhara]

is there like a jester ocs 101 i do wanna learn about them

Putting these under a read more because this might get long

My family :)

Edward Roberts-Rosales: I made too many jokes about this bastard being my dad and now he's my dad. High key wants to fuck plants. Evades taxes like no ones business. Kind of a shit guy but it's funny to watch him mess up everything so we keep him alive for that alone Max Rosales: My better dad. Can really do so fucking much better than Edward but he settled </3. Is a plant man. Likes baking. Is the dad that actually loves me. Heron Rosales: I don't do to much with her but I'm trying to do more. Max's trans sister. Wants Edward dead and honestly, we don't blame her. Average chronic pain haver tbh please get her some Ibuprofen. Boaty McBoatface: My brother who is a boat. Edwards favorite son, despite being terrified of being on boats after he was the sole survivor of a ship wreck. I fuckinh hate this thing

Project Moon adjacent ones

Despise Domek (Or just Des): Local Enkphalin hooked rat. Goes by it/they but people close to it can call them she/her. There are two remaining people who can call them she/her. Steals things from people it likes to keep a piece of them, so don't invite them to your house. Things WILL go missing. Says the phrase "Well it didn't kill me so I'm fine" way to god damn often. Ambrose Domek: Not actually related to Des at all his parents just stole Des's parents last name. We heart religious fanaticism to the point of self harm!!!!!! Has two boyfriends and has convinced himself neither of them like him. Him and Des are besties :) Keith: Real Jester-heads remember Keith. I made this bastard before Ruina came out and he keeps fucking staying relevant to whatever game is out. How does he do it. Lobcorp him is Geb and Myo's adopted son, a Rabbit, and had a complex where he's gotta prove himself 24/7 and ends up getting his leg ripped off. Ruina him is trying to find Gebura again after the whole Library situation happened, and is wildly distraught after learning Myo's whole deal. Limbus Keith is content, much older, runs a weapons shop, and is gay married to Heathcliff. Jesus Christ I made him before the new translation of Lopcorp happened I think HOW LONG HAS HE EXISTED WHAT THE FUCK

Damien Domek: Also not related to Des, just took it's last name because he liked it. They are qprs though. Also is broke as shit but mostly stays out of the Rat lifestyle by just old fashioned robbing people. Loves lying to people for fun and profit, but he is honestly a pretty nice guy. Minus the lying

Randos

Arlo: Disgusting rancid cyborg scientist who needs to bathe and touch grass. I adore him though. Ellie: Arlos little sibling. She/they user. Kills people for money and feeds the bodies to the eldritch horror that follows her around Hector: The eldritch horror that follows Ellie around. usually just looks like a dilf tbh its easier for Ellie to explain. Can't actually speak so he usually just talks telepathically while making a bunch of hums, chirps, and clicks to mimic speaking.

Oleander: Local unethical scientist that unethicaled a bit too hard when trying to revive his even worse older brother and turned off most of his emotions manually to avoid coping with the mental toil. Sad! Many such cases. Can't feel any emotions other then joy now. Kinda sucks but he certainly doesn't seem to upset about it :)

Simon: Oleadners brother. Kinda. Moreso a robot piloting Oleanders brothers body. Fucking hates Oleander but after Oleander lobotomized himself Simon begrudgingly takes care of him now. Despite his complicated feelings, he's wildly overprotective.

Cybel: A robot Oleander made! They are meant to gather as much information as they possibly can in case some horrible event happens that kills off humanity. is quite literally indestructible. Likes ice cream.

Octavius: I made this guy to be a danganrompa villain back in high school and I succeeded too well. I fucking hate this fake ass bitch

Tabb: This fucking guy. Trapped in a time loop but he doesn't know and its technically not a time loop. Met his (now) husband ages ago but died shortly after meeting him, so he revived Tabb, then the two got married, then Tabb died again so Halt (the husband) revived him again but he lost his memories then halt died and Tabb revived him the Tabb died again so Halt revived him but he lost all his memories so they dated again and got remarried then Tabb died again and you get the idea. Very nice guy, a bit anxious, perfectly normal minus the dying thing. If it wasn't for him losing all his memories and Halt tampering with shit so he was in love with him i uh. Don't think he'd actually like Halt all that much tbh

Halt: Just wants to be happy with his husband :(. Sad he unethicaled all over that science. Hey are you noticinga theme here. Also he's a cat boy but thats really not relevant to his depression issues

Urge: Halts kinda milfy twin sister. Really sick of all of this loop bullshit because she gets to watch her bestie Tabb die repeatedly, so she packed up her bags and left. Can't be in the same room as Halt without them getting into a fist fight. Do you see the themeing with their namesan d their ideals. Halt is kinda halted in place but Urge keeps pushing forward because she has the urgeto move on. Do you see it. It is almost 1 am

Russel: A kid that got roped into this whole mess because he walked in on a Tabb revival tube without permission. Sticks around Urge most of the time. Had a bad homelife to put it mildly, so Urge took him in.

Theres way more of these bastards but these are the most relevant ones. I am going to bed now. Goobnight

[presidentbungus]

dad engy is great and all but where’s the weird semi-ostracized redneck uncle engy. where’s the “buys a fish and kills it 2 days later forgetting to take care of it whatsoever and then turns it into a half-living cyborg abomination that wishes for nothing but death” engy. he sits outside and drinks beer and gives you good advice while he works on his actively decomposing muscle truck but he also thinks a little too fondly about guns, network cooking shows, and murder, in that order, and you feel like the only reason he hasn’t dragged you off into a field and put you down like a lame horse for being slightly too annoying to him is that you’re good family and you know not to go snooping around places you don’t belong

“he’s a great cook![cat emoticon]” well I think he’d start a fire after he puts a pot of macaroni on the stove and gets so distracted reading the box’s ingredient label and imagining chemical reactions that he doesn’t smell the smoke. medic asks him to feed his birds for ONE afternoon and he constructs a rube goldberg automatic bird feeder machine that topples over half of the base and he has to spend the rest of the afternoon swinging at doves outside with a net.

the only thing worse than trusting engy to remember or care enough to take care of your houseplants while you’re on vacation is to believe he’s capable of being responsible for someone’s physical or emotional well-being in any capacity, whatsoever. maybe including his own

[tarisilmarwen]

RobStar Week 2024, Day 3 - Training

(Late in posting, was not having a good day today, but here be Day 3!)

---

"Where did you say you trained again?" panted Robin, splayed face up and flat on his back on the mats of the floor, his middle still aching from Starfire's last unexpected tap.

"Okaara," she explained, sheepishly holding her hand out for him to grasp. "Are you injured?" she asked anxiously. "I was trying to pull the blow."

Robin grasped her offered hand firmly, using it as an anchor to drag himself up to a sitting position. His diaphragm twinged a bit at the motion but the ache soon subsided. "I'm fine," he assured her, waving her off. He got to his feet stiffly. "I've had worse hits, trust me."

Starfire's hand still hovered next to him in concern, lips pinched, eyes wide with worry. Robin huffed as he straightened, getting his breath back. For a moment there was nothing but his breathing and the clink-clank of Cyborg on the weights on the other side of the gym.

"So... Okaara," Robin said, to divert the conversation. "Tell me about it."

Starfire tapped the end of his staff a bit shyly on the floor, fidgeting. "There is not much to tell. The Warlords of Okaara are fierce and skilled," she told him. "They are also great philosophers and scholars. Their planet is a neighbor to Tamaran and..." She trailed off for a moment, lost in memories. "...they have long been our allies in the war against the Gordanians and The Citadel."

Robin's hackles bristled slightly at the mention of them, remembering how Starfire talked about being taken to them as some kind of "prize". A war trophy, he realized now, with context.

He didn't want to think about that.

"And... you learned how to fight there?" he prompted.

Starfire perked up a bit. "Oh! Combat training was already a part of our education on Tamaran," she explained, brightening. "I was instructed in personal self defense and I had teachers for many traditional and standard Tamarian weapons. But I received more extensive lessons on Okaara for a time."

She smiled ruefully.

"It was deemed safer there. There were fewer bombardments."

Robin grimaced internally. Crap, he'd gone and made her sad again. Starfire had been preoccupied all day, distracted, talking about Tamaran and the Gordanians more than usual. Robin had assured her that the Lantern Corps was taking great pains to try to make contact with the Vega system, with her people, but the planet was still blockaded and it would take time and possible negotiations to get through. She'd been worried and agitated about it the whole day.

His detective mind had calculated it out from the bits and snatches she'd let slip, that it was some kind of anniversary, possibly of the war's beginning? He still wasn't clear.

In any case, he'd suggested joining Cyborg in the gym to try and take her mind off things but it seemed like he was just reminding her all over again of her worries and fears.

"Show me that move again," he suggested, coming up to stand next to her.

Starfire demonstrated it, lifting the end of his bo staff and repeating the sequence that had led to Robin being sprawled on the floor.

"It is like so," she explained. "Lift up, duck the end, and thrust."

The staff audibly whooshed through the air as she moved it.

Robin studied the move with interest. "Huh," he said. "That's actually pretty similar to something in jiu-jitsu."

He reached to take his staff back from her, hands finding their correct positions quickly.

He jabbed the staff in a practiced, careful moveset, something he'd drilled a thousand times before, and Starfire watched with rapt attention.

"Backstep, pivot, turn and—"

He ended the move, stabbing the air.

Starfire clapped lightly, impressed. Robin felt a little thrill go through him at that.

"Your motions are so sharp and disciplined!" Starfire was complimenting. "Please, is it the form itself that has such polished movement or it is merely your skill?"

"Bit of both, I think," Robin confessed, rubbing a hand through the back of his hair with a slight blush.

"Okaaran combat forms typically emphasize the power and brutality of an attack," Starfire explained in a rush, pantomiming a powerful uppercut. "They are designed to take full advantage of Tamaranian strength. We do not typically need to pull our punches, so we do not quite have as much grace about it as you do."

Robin grinned. "Hey, we all play to our own strengths," he quipped.

"Can you show me more?" Starfire asked eagerly. "How many Earth combat forms do you know?"

"Lost count at twenty," Robin joked. "My mentor knows more, but we only really had time to focus on a few major ones for me. Here." He stepped back, getting some clear room before he showed her.

She watched with rapt admiration as he showed her different forms—Northern Shaolin and Kenpo and Aikido one right after another. He explained how Batman had helped him incorporate his circus acrobat skills into his own personal style.

All the while her eyes glimmered with interest and his heart gave an occasional odd out-of-place thump seeing her.

[gerec]

could you rec the bests space AU?

The X-Men fandom is absolutely a goldmine for amazing aus, and space aus are some of the best on offer! There are so many great ones that I have to split this into 2 parts, Anon - hope you enjoy:

SPACE AUS - PART 1

Space Jam by Pangea (series)

Prince Charles Xavier is Deputy Commander of the TEF Heartsteel and the newest mission they've been assigned starts out less than desirable and quickly goes downhill from there. It's alright, though, he'll cope.

It doesn't help, though, that he's in unrequited love with his best friend and Commander of the Heartsteel, War-Prince Erik Lehnsherr.

The stars incline us, they do not bind us by ikeracity, Pangea

Intergalactic Federation pilot Lieutenant Charles Xavier is assigned last-minute to a high profile mission: transporting over two thousand prison inmates from an old and overfilled prison complex to a newer, higher-capacity prison stronghold located on the outer reaches of the galaxy. Just as he's settling down for a long and uneventful ride, things take a turn for the worse after the inmates riot and stage a hostile takeover of the ship, leaving Charles to find himself at the complete mercy of cold-blooded killers and facing the chilling prospect that he might not ever make it back home alive.

A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold by Etharei

Charles, a miner from a poor village in the countryside, saves the life of Erik Lehnsherr, scion of a successful business family and the richest man on the planet Eisen. Charles is a telepath and somewhat anxious about it, while Erik abstains from relationships because the lights flicker and doors open and electronics vibrate when he gets too excited.

Also featuring a long-suffering sister, a foul-mouthed bodyguard, and a best friend with a heart that is definitely not gold.

In which there are princes, spaceships, long journeys, and old secrets uncovered. (An AU sci-fi fairytale)

The Trouble with Telepaths by endingthemes

“Are you shy about me meeting your family?” Erik asks with a huge smile. “Are you kidding me?”

“It’s not funny,” Charles says, his hands firmly planted on his hips, and it’s honestly hilarious so Erik laughs right in his face.

(Or a Star Trek AU in which Captain Erik Lehnsherr pays a visit to First Officer Charles Xavier's home planet and encounters a few surprises.)

To Rattle the Stars by GQD, Pangea

All his life Charles has chafed at the bonds of gravity that hold him bound to tiny and backwater Montressor, more at home in the sky on his solar surfer than on the ground, where he's stuck working at his stepfather's inn. His heart and soul yearn for the stars, and it's his dream to one day be a spacer and sail across the cosmos on adventure.

The opportunity comes sooner than he ever imagined one night when a ship crash-lands on the inn's front doorstep, carrying a dying pirate with a mysterious map and a dire warning: beware the cyborg.

[A Disney's Treasure Planet AU]

From Rim Space With Love by manic_intent

"Captain Logan! Captain Logan!"

The skinny cadet skitters to a halt next to Logan in the rec room, red-faced and a little out of breath. Logan eyes him with a faint frown, sunk deep into a stimm couch, thumbing up the rim of his captain's hat. He's just come off a torturous fifteen-hour shift, and healing factor or not, Logan's starting to feel it. Warp space is hell on his nerves.

"Settle down, bub. What burned your tail... eh..." Logan concentrates briefly. "Cadet McCoy? Hey. Your blue's showing. Settle down."

McCoy takes in several deep breaths, and the blue fur starting to thread out of his skin sinks back in. "Sir, yes sir. Message from X-Command, sir."

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours by madneto, Pangea

Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

Programming by TurtleTotem

Erik is not programmed to feel affection. There's no logical reason for Charles's death to affect him like this. ((Inspired by certain elements of Prometheus, but not a direct crossover.))

Fallen from the Stars by madmalina

Erik’s only purpose in life is to find and kill the man who had his parents executed—Sebastian Shaw, Captain of the Emperor’s fleet. When Erik gets assigned to a job under Shaw’s command—on the spaceship supposed to take the Crown Prince across the galaxy—he’s sure he’s closer to fulfilling his destiny than he has ever been before.

Charles is apprehensively awaiting the day of his twenty-fifth birthday, when he’ll be crowned Emperor, because not only does he have high doubts about his own suitability for the job, he fears the crushing responsibilities it will bring, and ultimately wants nothing more than to live a quiet and peaceful life.

However, the trip across the planets of Charles’ future Empire turns out differently than they both expected, shedding light on intrigues reaching back decades into the past, and forcing both men to put their lives into each other’s hands, even though their differences are seemingly infinite.

 To Catch a Thief by lachatblanche

Charles Xavier, heir to the Xavier Corp billlions, is a wealthy, carefree socialite by day, and a skilled and renowned catburglar by night.

It was, he supposes, inevitable that someday someone would find this out.

fly me to the moon (To Catch a Thief Remix) by ikeracity 

Charles is a wealthy noble who moonlights as notorious intergalactic art thief X in his spare time. Erik is the bounty hunter hot on his tail (who also happens to have a massive crush on him). A fateful encounter on the luxury resort moon Prioria changes things between them forever.

Stardust by JackyJango

When Charles Xavier, Erik's long-suffering-total opposite- best friend gets dumped by his boyfriend, Erik makes a pact with him, that he'll marry Charles if he's still single even after a decade.

I, Charles Francis Xavier, agree to marry Erik Magnus Lehnsherr if I'm not otherwise married or in a committed relationship as of ten years from today, star-dated- 2020:08:007

Nearly a decade later, Erik will do anything to see Charles with a man who's worthy of him.

Some Forgotten Corner of the Universe by Black_Betty

Erik remembers the boy he met on Osiris. Charles is no longer that boy, but that doesn't mean Erik loves him any less...

Ghost in the Shell by MonstrousRegiment

Out in the black of space, where the only creatures whose company you can always count on are violence and death, making a living is a wager. Erik’s crew of mismatched social misfits scrapes by, toeing the line between law and crime. Normally, they prefer to stay out of the Alliance’s way, but when it comes to defending the very freedom they fought for a decade ago, they only follow one principle: when someone tries to kill you, you kill them right back.

The Persistent Traveller by candycandy (telltail_heart) 

Erik is the Chief of Engineering aboard the starship Poseidon, where he’s spent the last 10 years of his life dedicated to his job above all other desires. That is until he receives his newest crew member, Lieutenant Commander Charles Xavier, who proves to be more persistent than a black hole at getting what he wants, which to Erik’s utter confusion appears to be him...

SPACE AUS - PART 2

[spaceprincessem]

another coda for robstar week!! i love robin angst (he makes it so easy). this is after the first red x episode and since this is based of favorite quotes in centers a little around robin and starfire's conversation where she calls him out on his behavior @robxstar

day 6 - favorite quotes

i'm addicted to disastrous thinking

Robin is an early riser.

Or, well, he usually is.

Sleeping in was a luxury he gave up a long time ago, because there was always work to be done. Training, profiling, researching, or patrolling; it never seemed to end. Under Batman his schedule was strict and rigid, leaving no room to keep his eyes closed past sunrise.

With the Titans he’s learned to let himself bend a little more. Living with four other teenagers with varying preferences for sleeping allowed the rigidity of his former upbringing to ease. He’s still an early riser, partially because he likes the quietness the morning brings. He can sip his coffee and watch the sunrise as he boots the computer and starts his day.

Raven is another early morning Titan, their routines steadily circling around each other the longer they live together. Raven always beat him to starting the coffee pot, but he graciously learn how she took her cup — two scoops of sugar, no cream.

Cyborg and Starfire awoke around the same time, about an hour after he and Raven, but still early enough that the coffee was still warm and the rest of the city began to spring into life; the hum of the morning commute flitting over the ocean. Beast Boy slept in the latest, joining them at the tail end of breakfast. 

This morning, though, Robin knows he’s the last one to crawl out of bed. 

It’s not surprising, all things considered. 

Last night’s battle was hell and he’s still actively punishing himself for the stupid Red X plan that fell apart nearly a week ago.

He knows that, no matter what, his team will always have his back, even when he doesn’t deserve it. They’re better than that, though, and Robin will be forever grateful for their never ending grace they extend to him. They haven’t really talked all that much outside of training and battle which Robin can’t exactly fault them for.

He betrayed their trust and pushed them away. He let Slade dig in too deep, blinding him to just how much he would hurt the people he cared about most simply because he thought he was being clever. Even if the plan had worked he hardly doubts he’d come out unscathed.

Stopping Slade wouldn’t negate the fact that he lied to his team. 

He’s been yelled at before, even Batman loses his temper, but coming from his friends cut deep. He let them fire away, knew that it was for the best, and anxiously waited for Starfire to take her turn, bracing himself for the inevitable final blow.

You want to yell at me too?

He shouldn’t have been surprised that Starfire would take him apart so quietly. Her hurt and disappointment was worse than anything else the others said. The last thing he ever wanted to do was let her down.

Forgiveness isn’t easily earned, but it's just a matter of time, because the Titans were his friends and they loved him. But he couldn’t ignore the itch beneath his skin, the need to do something, repent or maybe to just give penance. 

He doesn’t mind taking some of the harder hits in exchange for his team’s safety despite being the most human out of all of them. Last night was particularly awful and he sheepishly let them finish off the bad guy when his rib made a disturbing cracking sound when he was body slammed into a car.  

He stands in front of his bathroom mirror, shirtless, staring at the blooming hues of black and blues across his abdomen. Thank god for Raven and her healing abilities. An accident like that with Batman would have put him out for a week. 

He presses on the bruise, biting down on the hiss before it can escape past his lips. His fingers are cold as he digs in a little more, letting the pain remind him that his actions have consequences.

His eyes flutter close and he can’t help, but imagine Starfire’s frown, her eyebrows knitting together as her entire face twists with something sad. It’s rare to see her that way; she’s usually the sun, bright, happy, and warm. 

She’d watch him press down on the same spot last night, right after Raven had healed it because he felt like his pain was absolved too soon. Her fingers, gentle and always radiating heat like a fire, pulled his hand away.

“Don’t,” she whispers, “no more punishment.”

He shivers just thinking about her touch and slowly eases up on his bruise. 

He can smell breakfast as soon as his door swishes open, his stomach growling as he imagines fresh chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and maple syrup laid out on the kitchen island.

Cyborg’s taken it upon himself to teach Starfire to cook, the two of them pouring over his grandmother’s old recipe book in their free time. Robin’s even caught them perfecting vegan baked goods for Beast Boy despite Cyborg’s incessant teasing.

It’s a lazy Sunday, most of the Titans still in their house clothes as Robin steps into the living room dressed in his own sweats and hoodie.

“Robin,” Starfire smiles as soon as she sees him, “you’re finally awake.”

“Dude,” Beast Boy says as he transforms out of a goat (goat yoga — he’ll have to ask Raven about that later) , “we thought we were going to have to drag you from bed to join us for breakfast.”

“I had to teach Cyborg to make my coffee.” Raven adds, but there’s an underlying tease to her tone.

“Yours is easier than Star or BB’s,” Cyborg frowns as he flips the last pancake onto a platter stacked high, “who insists on having it frozen and blended.”

Robin bites his lip, stopping the relieved smile from breaking across his face. He stands, watching for a few moments as Beast Boy fires back with a list of why iced coffee is superior to which Starfire nods enthusiastically and Raven immediately starts to counter argue. 

He lets himself wander over to the coffee pot, but his usual mug is already full, and steaming as Cyborg slides it over to him with his own knowing smile. 

“Okay, everyone,” Cyborg calls as he turns off the griddle and finishes setting the breakfast bar, “get over here and dig in.”

“What happened to that bottom pancake?” Raven asks with a raise of her eyebrow as she pokes the suspiciously black cake.

“Starfire tried to cook it with her starbolts,” Beast Boy grins as he elbows the alien playfully in her side.

“Cyborg and I were merely experimenting,” Starfire pouts as she looks mournfully at the burnt food.

“And like any good scientist we concluded that we will be leaving the cooking to the stove top from now on.” Cyborg says as he fills his plate high with meat before drowning it in syrup.

“This all looks great.” Robin says as he takes his place next to Starfire, his heart traitorously fluttering with her beaming smile. 

He lets himself lean into her warmth, their shoulders brushing as they eat. Robin listens and smiles as his friends fill the kitchen with conversation and laughter. 

He can’t help but think that this feels a little like forgiveness. 

[ya-zz]

oou, if ur down for it how about bitter ex!Ram who's realized Genji's trying to ask reader out :0 he still holds this bit of possessiveness towards reader and it's even worse because it's "his brother's pet human" - so like there's this undertone of Genji being a "replacement" in Ram's perspective. you can try to connect this to canon, but this is more of like an imagine, like 'if x and x did this, how would x react-'

also i don't mind if you decide not to write this :b i just like seeing characters i'm currently obssessed with in different situations LOL

happy holidays! (if u celebrate) and a happy rest of your december!

May have went down a little more... possessive route for this...

Ramattra x Reader (gen)

Word count: 1071

The omnic had been watching for awhile. Too long, almost. He watched you from the sidelines, the way you grew, the way you healed past the relationship he once had with you. It pained him at how well you moved on in the last few months.

When a certain cyborg came along and started flirting with you, however, something began to grow within Ramattra’s circuits. Something dark, hateful… spiteful.

Ramattra still wants you, that he cannot deny no mater how many times he tries to think otherwise. He needs you by his side. You were the only person who was capable of loving him and he just had to fuck things up. 

Back then, he wanted you all to himself. Who wouldn’t? You were the best thing that had ever happened to him and to everyone. You made hearts flutter and smiles warmer. Ramattra, dare he say, was obsessed with you. 

He still is. 

His systems would go back to the nights he shared with you, hands roaming bodies, static moans and cursed whimpers all but filled his receptors. Many nights he would sit and watch everything like it was a movie until it went back to the fateful day you had packed your belongings and left him. 

You wanted no part of his liberation. Despite trying so hard to convince him that there were thousands, if not millions of humans out there who cared for and adored omnics, Ramattra wasn’t convinced and so went ahead with his war.

Years had passed since then and here he was, sitting down in the garden meditating alongside Zenyatta whilst you and Genji were training across the field. 

“Does he always watch over you?” The ninja asks you, peering over to the omnics sitting away from them. 

“No. I think Zen asked him to join him on some meditative stuff.” You shrug. 

“I mean- he’s watching you.” Genji gets a little closer, voice getting quieter. 

“You can tell behind the faceplate?” 

Genji nods. “I picked a few things up from Master Zenyatta.” He picks up on how Ramattra’s hands clench on his knees and he knows exactly what’s going on. 

“Huh.” You look over at the omnics before shrugging the thought off. “He can watch all he wants, I don’t care.” 

The cyborg chuckles, moving his focus back onto you. 

Ramattra couldn’t pick out the conversation as the wind rustled within his receptors, only seeing you and Genji turn to look at him, lips moving but muffled voices. He knew that you were talking about him though, and that only made the anger rise within his circuitry. 

…

…

The larger omnic had picked up on several mannerisms with the ninja. The way his face softened when he was with you, the ghost touches, the way he laughed when you told a joke. Ramattra was slowly but surely figuring it out that Genji wanted you. 

Whether or not it was to spite him, he didn’t care. The fact that Zenyatta’s pet human was flirting with you was fuelling this hatred inside of him. 

He found you wandering the halls and stopped you. 

“I see that ninja has taking a liking to you.” He states. 

“That is none of your business.” You spit back, clearly frustrated at the sudden interaction. 

“He is not good for you.” Ramattra crosses his arms over his chest, his tall stature looming over you in an almost hostile way.

“Oh, like you’re any better?” You stand your ground. “At least he didn’t start a fucking war.” 

He vocaliser clicks. “I had my reasoning. You did not listen to me.” 

“I listened. How could I not when that’s all you were going on about for months!” Anger began rising within you. “That was all you focussed on.” 

“I needed you.” 

“No. No you fucking didn’t.” You speak through gritted teeth. “All you wanted-”

“What I wanted was peace for us omnics.”

“By brainwashing them?” You cock your head to the side. “I may not be the fucking brightest around here but I do know that the way you used those poor omnics was not right.” 

Ramattra keeps his optics on you. 

“You used your own people!” Tears prick at the corners of your eyes. “I ended it with you because I couldn’t stand the way you were thinking. You were too wrapped up in that.. that… liberation of yours that you never had any time for me!” 

Something inside of Ramattra begins to hurt. 

“So help me god, if you get in the way of anything, of my happiness, I will fucking end you myself.” The tears finally spill as you storm past the omnic who stands there almost dumbfounded.

Never once had you raised your voice at him, let alone in the hostile tone just seconds before. Ramattra had to take a moment to process your words, to process what you just threatened to him. 

He turns around but by that point, you had long left him. 

…

…

The next time you saw Ramattra, he had pinned the ninja against the wall by his throat. His tone was angry, no, he was seething with rage as he threatened to end Genji’s life. 

You didn’t hear how it started, but you certainly ended it by pulling Ramattra away from the cyborg who then fell to the ground gasping for air. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” You shout, coming between the two men and staring the omnic down.

“Putting that ninja in its place.” Ramattra scoffs before turning and walking away from the scene. 

“Are you okay, Genji?” You ask, kneeling down and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah.” He coughs. “Didn’t think he’d come for me.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“He still wants you.” Genji looks up at you. 

“I know, but that does not give him the right to attack you like that.” 

You help the cyborg up, helping him access the damage before escorting him to the med-bay.

Meanwhile, Ramattra was sitting in his room feeling rather content with himself. The jealousy was all but rising within him the more he knew you were hanging around with his brother’s pet human. He still wants you, he needs you. 

The omnic could only sit back and wait as his plan starts falling into place. He will get you back by any means necessary and if that means turning Genji on you, then he will do just that.

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Omega Spider

Yep. It is actually about Peter Parker Spider-Man. He was mutated by a a spider bite one thing I noticed about every version of the spider I have seen is that it always depicted with really round abdomen and no pedipalps. In other words a female spider.

So imagine Peter from a world that is not omegaverse and the spider bite mutation turns him into an omega. He has no idea he is an omega until he is sent to another universe where the dynamics are commonplace.

So for the omegaverse instincts and things. I don’t like the ones where they loose all sense of self control in heat and it wouldn’t work for Peter anyway. I think it really shouldn’t be worse then a period with a bit of a low fever. Though with him being part spider he has a slight urge to eat a mate but is able to brush it off as an intrusive thought.

As for his age when thrown into this other universe he is Still a teen. My favorite version of him is from the 2003 cartoon series Spectacular Spider-Man. That series ended while he was still 15. Basically have him young enough to be adoption bait. The portal is a one way trip and just to be more dramatic he will be devastated that he finds out he can't return.

Teen teams don’t get enough attention. So we will have him end up with the team titans. I riled some dice and here is what dynamic each titan got. Robin is an alpha. Starfire is an alien whose species doesn’t have dynamics and will be as confused as Peter. Cyborgs was an alpha but sort of lost his dynamic when most of his body was turned mechanical. Raven is a beta, and I swear the dice were rigged cause somehow Beast Boy is an alpha too. (Funny thing to add in. Beast boy absolutely would know how female and in Peter’s case omega spiders eat their mates. We can have him make a point to never turn into a spider around Peter.) as for dynamic social aspects I think we have it so that omegas are a bit more coddled but not outright oppressed in society. That way we have an internal conflict for Peter to get frustration with cause he would arguably be the heaviest or second heaviest hitter on the team. Something the team takes a few episodes/chapters/parts to work out and move past. Then later they have all gotten used to Spidey being tough and independent but the public criticizes the team for when someone finds out and blabs on TV.

Now then for team relationships. I still am a Robin Starfire shipper, and Raven x Beast boy I don’t get but am ok with. Terra is a dumpster fire that can be addressed way later. Cyborg I think is fine just being the reliable friend but a tumblr friend liked him shipped with Jinx. Though I think he has science nerd out fun with Peter. Though cyborg is more computer and machines nerd and Peter is more chemistry and biology nerd.

What about Peter taking the role of team medic? Since biology and chemistry are his strengths. Every team needs a healer (and I get to use the exasperated medic trope I love.) goodness because of the way he was raised and close to his aunt May Peter may end up being the designated “mom” friend. Since I can see him not letting things get too messy and he would miss the home cooked meals so much he would probably teach himself to cook. And he had the most stable childhood hood and probably the most sensible advice. Also he made his suit so it is cannon he can sew very well.

Would Peter have a ship? Cause there are a couple other teen heroes or villains. …. Wait! You know the theory that Dick was Red X the first time but that suit was stolen and it isn’t said who but a lot of fans think it was Jason…. What if we make Red X more of a recurring character, but in this AU Jason didn’t get adopted by Bruce and is more of a neutral rogue as Red X.

Anyway now that the world building basics are out of the way, Let’s start the story. We shall drop Spidey in right at the start of the titans cartoon when they all kind of meet because of Starfire’s escape pod landing on earth. And I mean literally drop him in. The portal opened up like 300 feet in the air above the city.

[hijinxinprogress]

I need Billy thinking he’s so great at hiding things (and he is) no one knows he’s like fucking eight but they are pretty sure he hates like half the league

Like I need Billy getting along with everyone but he’s kinda stiff around flash and Batman but it’s get worse after most of them have revealed their secret ids and the jls so confused

Billy 100% thought Batman had all these fucking gadgets bc he was like some high up government official and then he found out no Batman’s just some rich guy and he’s like god no why is that worse

Batman just doesn’t care (he does 💀 he’s so fucking offended esp bc Marvel used to call him Mr. Batman sir but also bc he thought it’d be easier to get marvels secret id and weaknesses) as long as it doesn’t affect missions but Flash is kinda concerned bc ‘I’m pretty nice to him…does he think I don’t like him?? Did I offend him?? Do speedsters like set off the magic balance or whatever??’ 

They decide to pair up flash, Batman, and Captain Marvel to make sure their issues won’t affect team cohesion so after they’re done rescuing these kids that got involved in some supervillains masterplan Batman and flash are doing the usual spiel of ‘the laws exist for a reason,’ ‘you can trust the police’ and ‘there’s no good reason to turn to crime’

These kids want nothing to do with that shit and they’re trying to edge away while making excuses ‘thank you sm!! But no this is so safe, I know this area so well! We can get home ourselves!’ as soon as Batman starts asking about their parents so captain marvel just grabs Batman and flash and starts flying in the opposite direction ‘do you see that?? No guys seriously look at this cool thing!!’ and Batman’s growling about ‘childish to a degree that’s entirely unprofessional’ and ‘needlessly endangering civilians, civilian children at that-!’ and flash is trying to mediate but batman is shoving documents in his face ‘They were runaways, they don’t have anywhere to go and now they’re on a hitlist’ the ‘you fucking imbecile’ goes unsaid but they all hear it so marvel takes them back to villains lair and grabs a henchman at random and goes ‘This guys a cop…you can check that with your fancy equipment, right??’ and batman checks solely to prove him wrong but that guy is a cop and so are about 60% of the henchmen they took out then marvel goes ‘So they wouldn’t have been safe even if you took them to a hospital or child services’

Before the id reveals there’s a mission where the police are involved and flash mentions something about police protocol and marvel is so concerned bc ‘you’re still undercover? How long have you been under cover dude??’ and flash is confused bc ‘you know I’m not undercover right?? That is my actual real life day job’ and no one believes him when he says marvel shot him the most disgusted look you can imagine and edged away from him 

Batman tries to hold a meeting to address how marvel deals with the police and it goes no where bc marvel is fucking menace and goes ‘don’t you do that too?? And technically I’m also a vigilante sooo’ and batman is scrambling to get the jls attention back like ‘marvel hits cops 62% percent harder than other criminals and is 43% less friendly when interacting with the police in any capacity’ but they don’t care bc they want to know why marvel considers himself a vigilante 

They start letting Marvel be the one to approach children and notice that he’s advising them on how to make food last longer and maintain good hygiene while taking care of themselves and a jl members like hey wtf?? and Marvel says some bullshit about how ‘he’s lived many lives and not all of them were charmed’ and it gets back to cyborg who starts a rumor that he was dracula bc he can’t believe marvel had the balls to look WW in the eyes and lie to her fucking face

[whereserpentswalk]

You were accidently infected with a device meant to turn someone into a cyborg. It's not anyone's fault, it was an artifact from a civilization several star systems away, (though like yourse, the civilization is human) left in a drawer at your university, you didn't know what it was when you touched it. None of the countries on your planet make technology at all similar to this so your doctors don't know what to do. They say they can try to remove it while it's still early on in the process, but that might hurt you more badly, mabye even cost you your life, alternatively you can just let it take its course. You say you'd rather live as a cyborg than die, it's a decision not everyone in your society would make, sometimes you consider yourself a coward for giving up on removal.

It's not a big problem at first. Your freinds, your girlfriend, family all say they're accepting of cyborgs. And people kind of downplay it at first, they can't see the changes. Your skin becomes deathly pale, and you lose almost all your body fat at an alarmingly rapid pace, but it doesn't worry people as much as it worries you.

Your skeleton changes before anything else. Nobody else can see it but you can feel it, your bones turning to metal, twisting their shape. How every movement you make feels diffrent, how even getting out of bed changes. People don't understand why your upset, someone even said you have internalized cyberphobia, they don't understand how everything feels so diffrent. Your girlfriend complimented you on how strong you were, she didn't realize just how strong you are now, that you have to be careful when you embrace her not to hurt her.

Things start getting worse. You can feel unnecessary parts of your body leaving you. The first thing to really cause you grief is realizing that the transformation took your reproductive organs, that you'll never have a child of your own. People don't understand how painful it is. You feel like your own body is alien to you. One of your freinds hugs you to try to comfort you but it doesn't feel right, not in a body like this.

Your teeth fall out one night. It all happens at once. You worry you'll never have teeth again, but over the next few hours new ones grow in their place, metal ones, sharp ones like a shark's teeth meant to rip things apart. Your eyes are taken next, the new ones are shaped the same but they're pitch black, when you look closely you can see the camera inside, you can see so much better and you don't like it, colors that are alien to your mind, there aren't imperfections and that makes the entire world seem so weird. You can't ignore what you are, you can't even see yourself in the mirror without wanting to cry, but your eyes don't cry now.

Your appearance changes more and more. The skin in strpped from your limbs and replaced with metal. Bits of machinery can be seen sticking out of you. Your body hair falls out, until all that's left is long silky hair on your head, even your eyebrows are gone. And the skin you do have is a diffrent texture now, it doesn't feel alive. You don't feel like yourself, people treat you differently, you can't feel like you're you when you remember what you look like.

People go from ignoring the issue to treating you like an issue. Your family mourns you as if you were dead, it's like it would have been more convenient for everyone if you weren't around. People are way more likely to assume you're dangerous or suspicious, you don't feel safe around cops anymore, people find things you do inappropriate that weren't inappropriate when you were human. It's weirder with well meaning people, for the first time you've been complimented on "how good you are at feeling emotions", people will be polite to you but weirdly uncomfortable around you, or try so hard to be inclusive and show that they care about you that it makes you feel like a prize animal. You start hanging out more and more with freinds you have who are also cyborgs or robots, even aliens feel more like you than humans, and you make more and more cyborg freinds because they treat you like a person. But still most cyborgs chose to become what they are, so it's hard to relate to that aspect of it. You'll here other cyborgs talk about how great their bodies are, how much they prefer their new selves to being human, and it just makes you want to cry.

Not to mention how much you start to change as a person. Your eyes have a hud now, it's not even like you can see it but like it's another sense, you can get it to go away. You used to leave the city every few months to see the forest, but now nature seems weird and separate from you, and machines feel familiar and comforting. There are weapons inside you, they were the last thing to come in, you're not even allowed in a few places because of it, you can always feels these blades inside your body that want to come out and strike. You don't sleep, you miss dreaming, you don't eat either, and sexual pleasure is impossible in your new body. Food itself is weirdly gross to you. And when you see your girlfriend laying in bed you don't feel lust anymore, you don't want to play with her breasts or rub her penis, your instinct is to attack her, you see that soft vulnerable body as an easy target, like a predator seeing prey. You don't know what she sees in your to still stay. And even among them you're considered a low functioning or low humanity cyborg, whatever that means.

It's weird, it feels like your story should have ended. Like you should have become a monster for someone else to fight by now. But you didn't, you live in the same apartment, go to the same college, you're still you even after all that's changed what being you means. There's people who make you feel better, it's always awkward when people try to comfort you, but when people talk to you just about normal things, and when they're nice to you the way they'd be nice to anyone else, you're experiencing that more now that you only really interact with people who accept you, and now that people you know have adjusted to your new movements and mannerisms. You don't like most physical affection anymore, but being pet gently with two fingers, like a snake, that's weirdly nice. Daytime is overwhelming, but you enjoy the night more with how your eyes work, and feeling the cool night air, on your metal skinless limbs, and your hairless flesh, it makes thing seem strangely peaceful.

[nightmareworks]

hi i've been making lancer microfic

its about Allison Wax, a girl who got herself installed in a secondhand cyborg body.

Its about Loverboy, a mech who loves his pilot in the way only a machine built to kill can.

Its about Her, the mysterious someone Allison sees in the mirror, for whom the body was originally built.

I hope you enjoy them.

Allison Wax woke up as she always did. Bits at a time. (Her brain always woke up first.) This seems like a perfectly reasonable place to start, in her mind (ignoring its obvious biases) [Her fingers always came too just next-], and she figured most people started the day this way. First you are aware you are awake, and bracing against the wave of conciousness (The alarm is going off) [-then her hearing, immediately amped down-], and then you're moving a little bit, stirring is probably the word to use, right? (Yeah, she figures stirring sounds right?) [Then her arms and her chest, and then she's all the way on]. She sat up and turned off her alarm with a lazy slap. (It wasn't really hard or anything, she wasn't angry at the alarm, it was just the best she could manage while she was waking up.) She tossed her covers up and off, steadying to her feet and up properly (As her mother would always say.) [You aren't up til you're standing, Alli.] It was a day off, the medical officers had told her she needed it, she'd been banged around on the runs and Trunk could cover her patrols now that they were within light of the gate. (She was fine. The armor hadn't been breached.) [Her Loverboy was fine too. He'd been through worse.] She didn't feel like arguing with them. They were giving her a job, after all. And they were better bosses than she'd ever had, so she wanted to listen. (Even a pity-job is a job, her mother would say.) [Man can't live without work, Alli.] She went to brush her teeth, running fingers through her hair and shaking out sleep. Brush, paste, a little water from the tap, and go to work. Routine, simple, just Allison and the mirror. (This was always the hard part of the day.) [But it was part of the day she had to get through.]

She had to look at herself in the mirror, and like always, make peace with it before she went on with the rest of her day. She had to take care of the person on the other side of the mirror, she reminded herself. So she looked in the mirror, and looked at the person whose body she was in. It wasn't hers, of course. Her original body had been recycled. (Protien by protien, unwoven and reworked.) That was how she covered the surgery to put her brain in a... what did the med officers call it? A full-body prothesis. It sounded way too polite to Allison's ears. Back in the Range, she'd just be a 'borg. (Lots of people were.) [Apparently it was harder to do in the rest of Union.]

Allison looked back at the mirror, and wondered again why Her bangs fell like that, naturally into place with the rest of the hair to make a perfect little style- one that hid the upper part of Her face, and played up the beauty of Her nose and Her lips. Allison did this every day (She tried to puzzle things out about herself.) [About the person this body used to belong to.] It was just something to do. The therapists on the ship had said it was a good idea, to look in the mirror every day and try to practice self love. Allison figured that was as good an excuse as any to try it, but got too caught up in the questions. (Who was She?) [And why'd She dump this body in the trash for Allison's back-alley surgeon to find?] Allison held up the brush and the the hand to the mirror, then spit. Like always, her sleep-shirt came off and Allison looked at her back in the mirror. Right there, in the middle of her back, was Loverboy's crude addition to the Belladona-Lux body She'd left behind for Allison. The ugly little nodes of his Chronos upfeed into Allison's spinal cord and kidneys.

Allison rolled her back, and the nodes twitched along with every other muscle. That was good. She was always still there, and her Loverboy would always have her back. She figured she oughta see him today, he'd done such a good job and everything with the pirate skirmish. She kept moving around her little conapt (She appreciated having space to herself.) [It was a premium on Ketherese.] {You got out, Alli.} and got ready. Her teeth were brushed, she had an outfit clean and ready in the closet, her boots were in the same place she left them yesterday. Allison stopped, and wondered for a minute, and flexed her back muscles in that way she'd learned to. (Squeeze, gently, lower torso, flex some internal muscle.) [Work the dregs of Chronos out of the little nodes.] She felt time drag out, and the world stop spinning. She cut herself free from gravity, and watched Her stand there, with the look Allison had put on Her face. Without gravity holding her down, Allison could think. Could examine. Could dwell on a question she thought was important enough to give a real moment.

Did She ever think about dressing the way Allison did? About walking with that swagger that fit better inside Loverboy than it did in any flesh Allison had ever worn? What had She worn? How had She walked?

The Chronos ebbs, and Allison slinks back into the skin that holds her brain. She holds up her hand, and examines the back of it, curling and flexing her fingers. She gently kissed the back of her hand and went out the door. Down the hallways. Towards the mechbay. She was gonna see her Loverboy, and let him know she thought of him.

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

He sat waiting for her. He didn't sit, really. It was just the word to describe the mood. He hung from the standby bay's armatures, held up against the ship's gravity. He waited. For her. She was the light of his life, his girl, who brought light to his heart. He could only wait. He couldn't move without her. Within the frame, the C/Cs stir, the mute-drives sing to themselves. Ammo bins are counted and recounted, heat-vents stirred and hissed. He waited for her, running through everything. Had to be perfect when she arrived.

There'd been battle, and he'd been hit, but she was fine, and that was what he was for. He'd watched her pull his hands into place and put a bullet in the reactor. He lost some armor. The other mech lost everything. And she'd done it for him. She'd moved with him, as one, like electricity. They were bound together. He flushed the nanite tanks, and began producing more. They would need the chronos when it came time to ride again. He had to make sure he was perfect for her.

The mechtechs would watch him, in the standby bay. You could tell him apart from the crowd in a heartbeat. Everyone could. The long limbs of a spacer's frame, the delicate blade-legs of something not designed for in-atmo fighting, the ship armor hammered to his shoulders, the graffiti of butterflies across the matte-black of steel. He was a Lancer's frame. And he was proud of that. The mech techs whisper to themselves when they see his hands moving, twitching, flexing. Holding a rifle that isn't. Pulling a trigger that wouldn't. Killing tools are a long way off. But he has to be ready, in case she needs him.

There she was, she was coming to him now. He could feel her in the halls, his eye creaking and whirring into position to eye the door. The mechtechs don't like it when he moves. Why does he care? They aren't her. She loves him. He knows she does. The way she moves isn't right for the body she's in. She moves like she's in him, big, powerful, with strange swagger to account for the blades of his limbs. She's small though, small and built with proper calves and feet. She doesn't have to walk that way, but she walks like him. And that's how he knows his girl.

Her smile is like the sun for him. "There's my Loverboy." His signals flare. Numbers, data, readouts, everything she could ever want to know about him, he lays bare. The chitter-click-screech of him omnicaster leads into the booming scream of his warhorns. She looks at him with such affection.

He knows he's perfect for his girl.

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

Loverboy moved like a frame possessed. She's with him, in him, her spine all bound up with his, and her breath is Chronos and his is death. The rifle barks, the blades of his legs twist and spark against the hull, and he's rushing under fire. She pulls the trigger for him.

"One." She counts for him. "Frame downed. Continuing action." Comes the CO's reply. She lets him scream, his warhorn booming against the cold of space. There's no Gravity. It doesn't ring like he wants it to. No atmosphere. But he has to scream, she put the horn in for him.

Allison twists her hands, and Loverboy banks (Allison pulls the trigger, and a mech blossoms against the void.) [Her fingers dance to adjust the verniers.], the shots wing past him. Pirate skirmish. Basic job. Security for the ship. (How she made her daily bread.) [Commanders said security patrols were optional.] And even if they were optional, she'd take them. Time dilates. It stretches out, and Allison is watching Her move. And Allison is watching Loverboy move. And Allison settles back into Her body, and into Loverboy's cockpit. She feels her nerves sing, and she picks the right choice. An interdiction shot whirls bye, detonating where Loverboy had been a moment before.

She pulls the trigger for him. "Two." She counts for him. "Frame downed. Continuing action." He wants to scream, but he muzzles. She's focused, and she's guiding him right. The rifle barks again, the rest of the squad is moving in now. His fire algorithms turn suppressive. He despises the other mechs before them. They're threats. They might hurt his girl. He wants to scream. Instead he fires, and the little machine the mechtechs like sprints past and under his barrel.

Allison twists her fire. Support, she has to let them through. The charge doesn't break. She stands in the breach she's made and she breathes. (She feels like nothing else.) [She feels like she's storming the gates of heaven.] Chronos runs along every nerve. She thinks, she moves just an inch, and her Loverboy dances on her hand. Allison knows, (she really knows) that she'll make it through this. "Three." She counts for him. "Frame downed. Continuing Operation." The others begin their own calls and responses along the tacnet.

He loves her so, as he touches down against the ship hull. His blades click against it as he strides. The wrecks drift off into the void. The twinkling targeting feed data highlights capsules of ejected pilots, collected by one of the hunting ships. The pirates pull back. She lets him scream. His body unfurls, every vernier and thruster blaring as the warhorn echoes in his own frame and his reactor spikes.

He adores her.

[beastboybabyboy]

CW: mentioned possibility of assault, physical and sexual, ‘heat’

Beast Boy knows the animal kingdom better than anyone. Even without his powers, he was raised in an animal sanctuary and learnt to read and write with text books about all kinds of different forms of life on earth.

This helps him in a fight, knowing what animosity will better fit a situation had saved him and his team dozens of times, to the point where he he’s been the sole reason some missions have been successful, though he doesn’t like to think about what could have happened if he wasn’t present.

It’s helped with other things too, like actually getting Robin to care for his wounds when he can sniff them out miles away or making sure each of them has eaten enough by listening to the rumbles of their stomachs. When he once found Starfire having a panic attack and her powers were going haywire, it was the form of a small puppy that helped her ground herself, feeling the soft fur and gushing the little whines he let out at her distress.

His power is good, it helps him, but it also hurts him. More specifically, it hurts others.

The first time he was truely aware of it was when Cyborg tried to take his plate before he was finished and he snap his teeth at him, catching his sharp teeth in the metal of his palm. Cyborg was kind and didn’t bring attention to it and thankfully no one else was present, but all Beast Boy could think was, “what if it wasn’t Cy? What if it was flesh?”

He quickly realised how often he would delve into resource guarding, how he refused to let anyone in his room, how he would get so worked up after a fight he would scratch holes into the walls just to calm down. Worst of all, he realised how sharp his nails were no matter how often he clipped them and how his teeth sometimes produced venom when he got nervous, making his fear of accidentally biting someone so much worse. His once comfort of sleeping on his friends clothes and laps turns into a fear as he accepts that what he’s relaxing doing is scenting.

It’s when his annual heat hits, something that started as he hit puberty and got worse every year, that he truely becomes terrified.

Beast Boy asked for some privacy, saying he feels sick, and locks up his room. He feels gross as he sets up his pathetic little nest, his skin burning as a forced arousal causes his stomach to twist violently. It’s something he used to, but this year feels worse as he realises he’s already feeling more aggressive despite it not even fully hitting yet.

Then, Raven comes by to ask him if he wants dinner. With her powers she instantly feels his distress and tries to open the door but thankfully it’s locked, but it’s enough to remind Beast Boy, or more his body, of the ideal partner he’s been longing after for several months. In seconds he’s launching from his nest and banging against the door, growling and clawing and trying to get to the person he knows could help the pain in his groin, who he could mount and forced down to take his spend and give him a child, the way she would squirm and beg and plead, all of it just for him if the door would just fucking budge-

His growling turns into a fearful and sorry whine as a brief moment of clarity comes through. He feels himself sobbing, once from a need to breed but now from disgust in himself as he realises what he was trying to do to his friend, his Raven.

He hears her talking, something about everything going to be okay, but he ignores it in favour of using his moment of sanity to barricade the door and crawl his wha back to his nest.

He sobs his way through his heat, clawing at his skin, causing blood to mix into the climax littering his shredded bedsheets. Even after it fades and the others come to his door he just sits there, wounded in every way, hating himself and his power, hoping to whatever gods that exist that maybe, just maybe, he could be human again.

The door opens, he’s still a beast.

[superman86to99]

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #2 (May 1994)

At last, we find out Doomsday's secret origin! And then kinda wish we didn't, because it's pretty gnarly. In fact, this might be the most disturbing character origin in all of DC Comics, including Vertigo and that "Dark Multiverse" thing they were doing a while back.

But, before getting to Doomsday, Superman has to deal with the mess he left in Apokolips last issue. Thanks to Doomsday's rampage, the Cyborg Superman has taken over the planet and plans to turn it into a new Warworld so he can take it around the universe, conquering other worlds. Yes, he wants to turn the worst planet in existence even worse.

The Cyborg has easily taken care of Darkseid's Parademons by transmitting a frequency that melts their brains. But where's Darkseid himself? He was last seen taking a good beating from Doomsday, and when Superman runs into him, he's... not in great shape.

"DARKSEID IS. TIRED."

Superman is briefly tempted to leave Darkseid to die, but he ends up dragging him to safety and using the Mother Box he borrowed last issue to heal him, because Superman gonna Superman. Just when Superman is lamenting the fact that he doesn't have enough time to go back to Earth for help, Waverider shows up... only to instantly remind Superman that he can't help, due to his sacred vow as a protector of the timestream.

Superman, however, basically tells Waverider to nut up or shut up and use his temporal powers to give him helpful information about Doomsday. Waverider finally succumbs to Superman's bullying and shows him a vision of a "distant planet" circa 250,000 years ago. The planet seems to be uninhabited except for some spiky monsters who kill anything in their sight and a group of scientists inside a reinforced dome. The leader of the scientists is an alien called Bertron who is obsessed with creating "the ultimate form of life" by any means necessary. Including, we soon find out, baby murder.

Following Bertron's orders, the scientists launch an alien baby into the hostile atmosphere and just sit by and watch while the spiky monsters tear it apart in seconds. Then, they scare the monsters away with their weapons, send someone out there to scoop up whatever's left of the baby, clone a new infant from that DNA, and repeat the whole process.

After 20 years of doing that every day, the baby has evolved to the point that it now takes minutes to be torn apart instead of seconds. Also, it's now considerably uglier.

Within 30 years, some of the scientists are starting to show reservations about working at the baby murdering factory, but the progress is undeniable. By now, the baby (more like a large bald dude) is able to survive in the hostile environment indefinitely and actually fights back against the spiky monsters... who kill him every time anyway, but still. Progress!

An indeterminate number of decades pass, and the "baby" has turned into a big, hulking creature that Bertron calls "The Ultimate." The minutes of survival have stretched into full years as the Ultimate walks across the planet hunting the spiky monsters until none are left. Bertron is ecstatic that his creation has finally become an unkillable killing machine. So... what now? Well, suffer an ironic death at its hands, of course, because it turns out Doomsday remembers the thousands of deaths Bertron put him through.

According to Waverider's narration, Doomsday might have wiped out all life in that planet if he hadn't stumbled upon Bertron's supply ship. He ended up bouncing through the universe like a murderous ping pong ball, until he reached a planet called Calaton, whose royal family had gained metahuman abilities through the amazing power of inbreeding (that's not a joke about royal families, that's in the comic!).

After years of being unable to stop Doomsday, Calaton's royals gave up their lives to form an energy being called the Radiant, who looks like Silver Surfer but powered by cousin porking (miraculously, he seems to have all his limbs). It took a week of fighting and an explosion that destroyed a fifth of Calaton, but the Radiant finally managed to kill Doomsday. Unfortunately, the Calatonians have a strange custom that says they can't destroy the bodies of planet-killing aliens and must instead dress them up in gimp suits...

...and launch them into space, which is how Doomsday ended up crashing into Earth in that capsule he finally escaped in Man of Steel #18. This concludes Waverider's presentation.

Back in the present, Darkseid wakes up from his healing nap just in time to recognize that the Cyborg has launched some missiles at Apokolips' food pens to starve the population, because that's what he'd do too. Superman doesn't feel great about teaming up with Darkseid, but he'd feel even worse if innocents died, so he slows down the missiles while Darkseid gets rid of them with his Omega Beams. Darkseid tries to Omega Beam the Cyborg away, too, but he actually survives the blast (that's two people who CAN "withstand the unsurpassed force of the Omega Beams" in as many issues).

Although the Omega Beam hurt him, the Cyborg uses surrounding machinery to repair himself and, while at it, become a giant mecha. Superman hits him with the full force of his heat vision...

...but once again, eye lasers prove ineffective against the Cyborg, since he just rebuilds himself again, even bigger this time. Darkseid, however, claims he was still recuperating from Doomsday's beating before, but he's in tip-top shape now -- and proves it by hitting Giant Mecha-Cyborg with the REAL strength of the Omega Beams, completely disintegrating him. Sorry for doubting you, eye lasers.

With the Cyborg out of the picture, Darkseid thanks Superman for his help by telling him to get off his planet and go chase Doomsday wherever he is. Deesad reveals where he teleported Doomsday to last issue: Calaton, the planet where they already beat him once, figuring they can just do it again -- but Waverider points out that it's exactly the opposite. Because of Bertron and his gang of baby killers, whenever something kills Doomsday, he evolves to surpass it... which means Superman has no chance against him, either.

Everyone present agrees that Superman is pretty much screwed, but Superman says he doesn't care... while his inner narration shows the opposite. In fact, he's terrified, but he's still going after Doomsday to stop him or re-die trying. TO BE CONCLUDED!

Beard-Watch:

It's coming back! You know a Superman story is getting intense when he hasn't had time to shave in a while.

Don Sparrow points out that Superman's "tough guy stubble" seems to come out of nowhere after Waverider's flashback sequence, but I can think of two explanations for that: A) Superman was affected by some minor chronal energy that caused him to age extra fast, at least around the face, or B) that was a long-ass flashback sequence.

Plotline-Watch:

Okay, disregard what I said last time about this miniseries being hard to place in the continuity: Superman explicitly says he's "stronger" and "better" before blasting the Cyborg with his heat vision, so this is definitely happening during the "super-charged powers" storyline. The only hitch is that this is supposed to be taking place during the period when Superman was constantly breaking things and shooting off his heat vision without meaning to, and there's nothing like that here, but that's for the best because 1) that stuff got pretty annoying and 2) minis like this work better if they're not that tied to the ongoing plotlines. No one wants to see five pages of Jimmy Olsen trying to renew his driving license in the middle of a Doomsday fight.

One reason Waverider decides to get off his ass and help out is that he remembers the time he had to watch Superman get beaten to death without doing anything, so he kinda owed it to him. That happened in The Legacy of Superman #1.

There are a couple of references to Armageddon 2001, the 1991 crossover that introduced Waverider: he mentions he was an "activist" before he became a golden being with a flaming head (he even vandalized a statue of Monarch, his original timeline's super-dictator) and when he shows Doomsday's origin to Superman, we see the same psychedelic effect shown in Armageddon whenever he'd touch a superhero to snoop into their future.

What isn't referenced is the time Superman lived in Apokolips for a while, first as an amnesiac anti-Darkseid revolutionary and then as his mind-controlled "son" (in 1987's Legends crossover), but that's understandable since all those memories were wiped from his mind at the end of that storyline.

Did Darkseid really kill the Cyborg, as Superman seems to think? Nah. We'll find out what really happened soon enough.

Waverider's narration claims that, after Doomsday left that unnamed planet where he was created, the natives found Bertron's lab and became obsessed with genetic experimentation, "sending them down the path of a unique and disastrous future." On that note, Don Sparrow says: "I love the detail on page 27, explaining that had he stayed, Doomsday would have killed the entire planet. It’s like, who cares about some random planet?" Yeah, why are they giving us so much detail about that place?! Weird.

Patreon-Watch:

Our latest Patreon-exclusive article was about Steel Annual #1, an Elseworlds story set during the Civil War that, coincidentally, also features dead kids as a major plot point (Superman writers were in a dark mood in 1994, huh). Read that and more by joining Aaron, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Kit, Sam, Bol, and Gaetano Barreca at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99!

Also join me in reading more from Don Sparrow, after the jump...

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

On one hand, the concept of each of the covers just being a step by step sequence of the two main characters streaking into battle has a certain power and simplicity. But on the other hand, there’s little to differentiate them (particularly these first two) and it can feel a bit repetitive.  Another detraction is that the computer generated background on the last issue looked like a wall of flame, but shifting the colour to green just looks like a tie-dye pattern, which doesn’t make sense for the story. Still:  Great drawings of both characters.

The first few pages are another good showcase of Jurgens’ unique very tall panel layout, and while it’s mostly exposition (helped a lot by the gradient colour background representing the timestream) there are a few interesting, if odd details about Vanishing Point.  First, what the hell is that pediment on the window of Vanishing point?  It looks a little like Legion villain Validus, but not perfectly so.  Secondly, it’s so eccentric that the time viewer Waverider looks at here is an animated piece of parchment, complete with feather quill pen.

Further along the silhouetted image of an injured Darkseid is very cool.  The colouring is a real star throughout, but I particularly like the gold rim lighting on the red metal of the Cyborg’s face.

As we see Doomsday’s origins, it’s interesting to see how Bertron ages.  He looks like a malevolent E.T.!

The image revealing Doomsday’s final form is a classic, even if he’s starkers.  They also can’t seem to keep his physiognomy straight—if he’s solid mass with no organs, why does he need a belly button?  The ink spatters indicating his killing blow of Bertron are a restrained way of showing something gory is happening.

Calaton looks a lot like the fake Krypton from Adventures of Superman #500, though there’s a lot of nice design that went into a fairly short section of the book.  It’s funny that a story featuring Hank Henshaw, himself an alternate take on Mister Fantastic, would birth the Radiant, who visually is virtually indistinguishable from The Silver Surfer, who also made his debut in Fantastic Four comics. [Max: Ha! They should have brought Inbred Silver Surfer back for the Superman/Fantastic Four crossover featuring the Cyborg...]

Explaining the containment suit and metallic block where we first find Doomsday is a nice touch. 

We talked in a previous review about how Image-comics-inspired the colouring is on this mini-series, but how badass Superman looks throughout is also vaguely reminiscent of Image titles at the time.  The cross-hatching and tough guy stubble appearing (quite suddenly—he had none before his Waverider trance!) makes Superman look pretty tough-as-nails. However later in the book as Superman flies off to confront the Cyborg, his face shows so much concentration he begins to look vaguely like Manny Pacquiao—so you know it’s gonna be a good fight!  

The image of the Cyborg shaking like a ragdoll upon the impact of the Omega beams is a great, electric effect.  The single panel the most similar to Image comics must be on page 43 where Superman’s eyes glow red before blasting the Cyborg’s rebuilt body away.  While the “eyes glow red because he’s mad” effect is done to death today, when this was published, it was rare enough to be pretty exciting.  Darkseid’s march, and dialogue is pretty awesome as he takes care of the threat of the Cyborg Superman.  In that way, this is an odd issue—Superman has almost no effect on the outcome.  It’s Waverider who fills Superman in on Doomsday’s origins, and it’s Darkseid who destroys the missiles, AND dispatches the Cyborg Superman.  I suppose none of that would be possible without Superman’s mercy, helping Darkseid heal, but Superman mostly stands around watching the action in this issue.  Lastly, Waverider on page 46 looks a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it’s fun to think of his thick Austrian accent trying to make its way around all the timestream techno-jargon Waverider spouts. [Max: "Get to da Vanishing Point!"]

SPEEDING BULLETS:

Wait, did the Cyborg just flat out kill Desaad?  I guess not, but it was a cool line. [Max: He's alive by the end of the issue, but wasn't there a story that revealed Darkseid is constantly killing and recreating Deesad? Maybe he did that off-panel.]

Do you agree with Superman’s hectoring Waverider about giving him information from his unique knowledge of the timestream?  Superman would have some trouble with the old Prime Directive if he were in Starfleet.

Kinda nuts that the female scientist waited THIRTY YEARS to voice her objection to killing an infant all day every day!  There’s a lot of unanswered questions about these scientists.  What are they paid?  Do they get time off? [Max: I always got the impression that these scientists were aliens too, but this time I noticed Bertron says "this world of yours" to them... So I guess they're meant to be [SPOILERS] Kryptonians, from a habitable part of the planet? Their clothes do match the wardrobe in the early parts of World of Krypton, especially that one lady's earrings. Knowing their race, they probably did it just for the love of science... and launching babies.]

I find myself interested in “the beasts” that Doomsday combats while he’s developing.  We’ve never seen them before, or since in any stories set on… that particular planet. [Max: Same here. I like their cartoonish look, too. DC Nation should have done some Roadrunner-type shorts featuring Baby Doomsday escaping the spiky monsters and dying in some wacky new way every week!]

Page 23 they kind of bury the lede, just casually mentioning that if killed, Doomsday revives, evolved past whatever killed it.  That’s a pretty insane power level.

Bertron getting murdered by his creation was actually a pretty good metaphor for Krypton’s scientific community—coldly experimenting for science’s sake, with no thought to the consequence they may face in the future.  More on that in the next issue.

What kind of food do the food pens hold?  Like grain and stuff? [Max: Didn't a Darkseid-themed cereal box show up as a variant cover recently? Yep, found it. It's probably that.]

Everyone--hero and villain--all telling Superman he will for sure lose to Doomsday has to be a knock to his confidence!