#vigilantes 92

[thequietmanno1]

TheLreads, Vigilantes ch 92, Replies Part 2

1) “Now, I’m sorry AfO, but you are probably the reason of the title. If there is one person who has been around long enough to see it from the start, you are definitely the reason of such a “emotionally charged” title.”- The irony of AFO going on about the interplay between a person’s will and their Quirk to Kurogiri, a person he zombified and re-wrote his will in order to forcibly create a Quirk bound to his will even without him possessing it, cuts hard. Kurogiri clearly disagrees with some of AFO’s actions here, but he’s been hard-wired into unconditional loyalty to the man, so he can’t debate back to him about it. AFO may as well be talking to a brick wall here, but that’s the point, He doesn’t want to be proven wrong or have others argue against him- we saw how he reacted to that when Yoichi pointed out how Villains always bite the dust in the end.

Instead, AFO is just making a surface-level appearance of making an interesting and theological debate with Kurogiri, allowing him the satisfaction of hearing himself talk and being the smartest person in the room without the chance of anybody speaking up to prove him wrong. 2) “Well, that speech is a bit hilarious in hindsight considering that the strongest wills in the whole series are from Stain and Shigaraki, two villains, but also because that’s completely overlooking the whole stealing and destroying and murdering aspect that gives the general villains the title of villains

Yeah they don’t call Muscle a villain because his resolve isn’t firm, it is because he murder people”- The underlying, but unspoken cavat to the argument here is that said will must be one that falls in line with what society expects of them, must serve a specially-carved out niche in the world to uphold the semblance of normality that everybody puts as tantamount over individual suffering. Both Jin and Toga are examples of what happens when a will doesn’t align with that conformity and how their Quirks either isolated them from others or went unstable due to their isolation and inability to be helped.  Spinner is likewise isolated because of the way his Quirk makes him look, which in turn lead to his good will being twisted into aiding Tomura in his current destructive path of carnage throughout society.

Tenko is another example with his Quirk literally tearing down the foundations of everything around him, fuelled in the present by his unstoppable willpower to spread that destruction everywhere and take engage against the faceless masses who upheld the system that punished him for simply being who he is. If there was somebody who recognised the problem and tried to change the system to be more accepting towards them, they might all have had a chance, but it seems only AFO, with his long years of watching Quirk society develop, has really noticed this structural flaw in the system… and he’s not interested in fixing the problem, merely seeing how long it takes before the building comes down and chaos overflows, even helping it along directly by the present day.

3) “That people don’t deserve quirks that might hurt them or others around them and thus you are merely doing a public service taking those dangerous elements away from society? That you are just a hero trying to help the world? Do tell me AfO, I’m intrigued by your sudden shift into an interesting shadowy figure of evil in the shadows.”- The argument is set up such that he could claim this, but as he notes by the end, what interests him isn’t the good his Quirk allows him to do, but the evil – the ability to interfere with Quirks could allow him to correct these imbalances but instead he goes for the opposite approach, and deliberately sets them unstable just to watch what happens, and get his evening entertainment that way. As All Might’s counterpart, he too has great powers, but he will always, always choose to use them for evil, because that’s who he is on a fundamental level, as he outlined to him.

(Vigilantes ch 86)

4) “I feel like we`re end up as another AfO weird and unexplained scheme”- That was a good feeling, although, this venture does actually give us some interesting insight into AFO’s viewpoint and goals that the main series hasn’t yet, because he’s deliberately keeping those goals obscured from the heroes to maximise his chances of victory.

(Vigilantes ch 86)

5) “But for real, why bring a flashback right here? I`m curious, because this sorta kills the pacing we were building up to. This fight might take another chapter, and then only in the next one we`ll finally get to Koichi, and considering this is all relating to Knuckles and his cop pal, I doubt whatever info we learn here will even get back to our main character.”- Not Vigilantes’ main character, but from what we see of AFO’s personality and viewpoint here, at the time it came out (which was before/during the PLF war I believe) it was actually quite informative as to what kind of person he actually is underneath the mystique, and what he personally means to achieve through all these experiments and attempts to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through one’s natural Quirks.

(Vigilantes ch 91) 6) “ Vigilantes? Vigilantes. Oh we’re approaching the fabled 100 chapter, we’re so close now, and also really close to the end, which is weird, because we’re focusing on a flashback which doesn’t add anything to the current conflict of the plot, it is almost like they were padding things because otherwise we wouldn’t get to 100 chapters… I wonder… “-  I generally get the feeling overall that this flashback’s purpose was to give more insight into what AFO’s goals with the VF and plans were meant to be, since it’s pretty clear that Koichi has no hope whatsoever of surviving a direct confrontation with him, hence why he stays in the far background of these events – as a result, since Koichi’s main opposition comes from the personal animosity of his main henchman, we needed something like this to let us understand his motivations – which in turn allows us to get a better grasp as to what he’s currently plotting in MHA, since that’s the culmination of his end-goal whilst this was just a side-project feeding into that.

7) “Huh- Wait, AfO, did you gave them quirks? Because it didn’t looked like you gave them trigger, it wouldn’t make sense considering there’s a lot of it in the air, but even so, they seem to be affected by the post-potato brand of trigger, the one we saw being deployed didn’t got them to rage this much- why am I even bothering after seeing thin might let us just continue”- I think it’s as much to illustrate AFO’s point- that Quirks going out of control and unstable makes the ‘hosts’ for the various powers likewise unstable and violent, even without a normal inclination towards attacking others, trigger likewise enhances the powers and makes them stronger at the cost of becoming unstable, leading to rampages, so AFO sticking a bunch of different powers into people makes them lash out in a frenzy from the rapid and sudden changes. As to why nobody questioned why people suddenly had an entirely different set of abilities in this situation…I dunno, maybe AFO didn’t give them Quirks and just directly meddled with their original ones to boost them stronger? It’s a plot hole, but at this point the road is fuller of holes than swiss cheese, we’ve just gotta stick the bumpy ride out to the end. 8) “Did they fucking got through the police?! I know I was joking about them doing jack shit but what the fuck they didn’t even put up any fight”- I guess complacency in All Might’s era was really pronounced, huh? You might not even think the police existed at all. “…

Like, ten seconds? fifteen at most. Honestly AfO, I’m worried about your sanity, it’s almost like you don’t know him after all those years.“- But that’s 10-15 seconds he can spend going, “ok, time’s up” and warp Hood out of the building. Not much of a delay, but arguably just enough. After All, All Might will need to converse with the officers on the scene after subduing the villains to know where to go next, so that’s a little extra time on top of what he’s buying. 9) “haaaaa….

Ah Kurogiri, that was so funny, I didn’t knew you had such a advanced sense of humor”- Actually….to be honest, I was kinda expecting this from the flashback on a first-time reading. All Might and AFO clearly haven’t had their disfiguring encounter yet, and given AFO is in hiding right now whislt he sets the pieces up for his eventual endgame, there had to be something that lead All Might to track him down for their brutal clash. I was expecting Knuckles, with his deductive abilities, would be involved somehow in identifying the clues All Might missed to point the number one in the right direction to find AFO when he’s not quite prepared for him and thus force him into an early confrontation, that leads to his near-death, thus allowing Knuckles to play a minor but important role in their fated clash. AFO having a very direct hand in this chaotic event also works for clueing in All Might that he’s on the trail of his arch-foe but I am expecting Knuckles to play an important part in that clash – which further contributes to AFO’s viciousness towards him when they meet again years later.

10) “You know, this whole “AfO was after O'Clock’ quirk” isn’t exactly that much of a big dramatic twist as this manga is trying to make it look like to be honest. Not only because we know he will get it, I mean.”- I don’t think it’s intended as a twist, but rather clarification as to why AFO stole Knuckles’ Quirk in the first place if he failed to do so here – him sticking it out despite the risks of All Might’s interference shows that he really doesn’t like cutting and running from a situation if it implies he’s suffered an actual loss from it – or at least, not one he can recover from with a back-up plan, which he doesn’t have in place for a minor operation like this. Therefore, successfully stealing Knuckles’ Quirk would be an appropriate means of him being able to retreat with a ‘victory’ he can be satisfied with. Doesn’t explain why he left him alive after eventually stealing the Quirk though, but I guess he just really wanted to rub his eventual success in Knuckles’ face at the time. (Vigilantes ch ???)

11) “Oh boy, we’re getting more info about the operation, and it pretty much points towards what we already discussed. Not that it proves anything, but it shows that someone like AfO could’ve been behind all this, even if only tangentially.

If this was one of his operations from the begging then it could’ve been something minor that he saw the potential later on.”-Yeah,  I was fully expecting the actual overseer of the trigger ring to be  somebody within AFO’s organisation, a lieutenant on par in ranking with Ujiko and Kurogiri, if perhaps lesser-ranked than them, who was likely taken out and abandoned by AFO after Koichi and the rest dismantled his operations, but not before the fruits of his research were passed along to Ujiko to better improve his Nomu, project, which AFO has a high level of interest in seeing completed for his own reasons, besides keeping the mad scientist happy with expanding the scope of his research. Didn’t quite pan out that way, but part of me really wishes it had. (Vigilantes ch 28)

12) “MY, WHAT A HAPPY ENDING AND IN NO WAY LEFT A BITTERSWEET COMMENT OVER THE END OF AN ERA AND THE START OF ANOTHER, WE’RE NOT BNHA, WE CAN’T DO THAT AFTER THE ALL-POWERFUL FATHER FIGURE TAKES DOWN HIS GREATEST ENEMY, RIGHT?

RIGHT? (: ”

Well, technically speaking, Knuckle’s not even done that yet. In the lead-up to this, the parallels between Knuckle, Koichi, Izuku and All Might indicated that whoever’s behind the trigger ring was somebody with a personal grudge against Knuckle not inferior to AFO’s own one with All Might- we can see that in how he used his daughter, targeted his wife, and butchered his own legacy through passing his quirk onto a psychotic maniac like No6. These are all events that damage Knuckle emotionally, beyond even the life-threatening painful injuries he accumulates, and it seemed clear that the leader was somebody with a bone to pick with O’clock, to the point they’ve turned the former hero in a veritable shell of his old self, even if he’s put himself back together well enough. The thing is, now we know it’s AFO, he just doesn’t quite fit the profile, because Knuckle is that far beneath him in terms of threat or the damage he could do to his operations, no matter how hard he tries to, especially now he’s Quirkless. AFO is certainly Knuckle’s arch-foe, but it’s clearly just a one-sided thing, and it seems bizarre that AFO would go out of his way to torment an already-beaten foe he stole the Quirk from – like, all the resources and such he’s putting at Quin and Nomura’s feet to enact the experiments, which has the side-effect of tormenting Knuckles in different ways as a bonus, it clearly seems like AFO is losing more than he gains by doing this, so I though he couldn’t be the overseer, because it’s just so un-pragmatic in contrast to his intricately-laid plans we’re seeing unfold in the present – and yet, now we know he is, I just can’t fathom his motivation for going this far to spite Knuckles

13) “And that’s then end of the chapter, and… 

Well, that was an interesting speech from AfO, I’ll give you that. The rest of it…”- The difference between Furuhashi writing and Horikoshi writing?

@thelreads

[sndwave]

if i had a nickel for every show/movie i watched as a kid that had a cowboy and his historical-era-themed buddy who were Good Buddies such that 10 year old me went "oh theyre married?" id have 2 nickels

[celaenaeiln]

I literally can't take it anymore. I need to get this out of my system. This is a hate-rant about why almost every single thing Tom Taylor has written is wrong.

First and foremost is the bimbofication of Dick Grayson. Tom Taylor loves to write him like this idiot who doesn't think at all. Being cheerful does not mean being dumb.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

"You seem unusually contemplative"? All Dick does is contemplate!

Nightwing (1996) Issue #3

His mind is always running!

Nightwing (2011) Issue #13

Nightwing (2016) Issue #38

I just picked a random issue from all of these comics and in every single one of these, Dick's planning, thinking, and strategising constantly.

Tom Taylor literally treats him like he's stupid or something.

Also the degradation of his abilities

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

A vigilante for 20 years. Who has faced assassins, hitmen, psychos, surprise attacks, metas, and you're telling me he didn't know that a untrained kid snuck up and stole from him?

He forgot who he was, he didn't forget where he lived! Even when he was Ric Grayson, Dick had procedural memory. His battle instincts stayed with him.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #52

"Then...I didn't even know what I was doing. I took him down--took him apart in seconds."

This man is a vigilante machine when he was amnesic. Why the heck would Dick ever let his guard down?

His robin reference

Nightwing (2016) Issue #92

Even Bruce in Batman: Hush has said it-Dick was the best. His skills were the best of anyone he's witnessed which is one of the reasons why Bruce let him be Robin in the first place.

This scene is so wrong that there's a robin scene that came out before this in direct opposition of this Tom Taylor Shitshow.

Robin & Batman Issue #1

This was actually pre-robin. Bruce had him do a solo-trial run to see his skill before he made him Robin and this was the result. Compare that to Tom Taylor's scene and the result is humiliating. For Taylor.

Tom Taylor's version of trying to show that Dick loves the people comes off as him hating crime-fighting. RIP the whole Robin firing drama and Nightwing birth i guess.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

"We could have avoided all of this if we'd just stayed in and eaten kibble."

Nightwing (1996) Issue #3

Dick would rather die than stop crime-fighting. After Blockbuster's first attempt, his life was hanging on by a thread and he still continued crime fighting.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #91

After Blockbuster blew up his apartment, this is the single-minded determination Dick had to continue crime-fighting. This is him at one of the worst lows of his life but he refused to give up but now? He has everything and Dick wants to ignore the murder of a child to stay inside and eat kibble which - what the heck? I know he's seen as a happy character but him finding dog-food desirable is too far!

Also the idiocy of which Tom Taylor had Barbara calling the cops in Bludhaven for a stolen wallet. Newsflash! This isn't her first rodeo here.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #81

vs

Nightwing (2016) Issue #24

Nightwing (2011) Issue #23

Given how Dick's easily defeated enhanced metas and "very good" fighters, him falling down the stairs is a little to absolutely impossible to believe.

Another thing I love about Dick that Tom Taylor deciminates is his grace. Dick is the most graceful person in DC. His balance easily matches Selina's enhanced cat powers.

But yet. You have.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #83

Nightwing (2011) Issue #23

yeah. okay.

Taylor's motorbike scenes of Dick make me so mad. The boy is a pro at crazy. It's one of his best traits because he does the wildest stunts and he pulls it off.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #93

Nightwing (1996) Issue #86

He lands on his feet. He grabbed a villain mid-air, crashed into a window, and was perfectly fine. Actually no, he's not fine because he's worried about his bike's paint job.

Nightwing (2011) Issue #24

He just sailed over a whole crowd of people and started kicking butt like what he just did wasn't extraordinary - which for him is just another tuesday.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #95

yeah, tell 'er Dick.

He doesn't need someone to hold his bike.

One of the worst things in Taylor's run is how Blockbuster went down. It suddenly reminded me of Selina's stupid ideology which is why I think I got so ticked off.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #96

Blockbusters' thugs loyalty to him isn't a make it or break it deal. He's one of strongest criminal organisations and the knowledge that he owns one of the worst prisons that he could easily put his underlings into would've instilled fear into his thugs, not freedom. Furthermore Blockbuster takes good care of his people that don't piss him off. He teamed up with Nightwing in the scarecrow era in Nightwing (2016) because someone was messing with his people. He's extremely intelligent and superstrong, and he's not just going to be brought down by the knowledge that he owns a prison. It's Bludhaven. If he didn't, then there would be something suspicious given that he runs the city. It's the way Taylor dumbs down Bludhaven's villains that gets to me. Imagine him writing Batman (2016). It's like saying, "yeah the Joker was just a little misguided but he found the right way again after a stern talking to by Batman."

Nightwing is a big name.

When Dick first came to Bludhaven, one of the police officers was like we don't want your crazy here or something. Also Bludhaven loves Nightwing. They want him.

So why is everyone pretending like they don't know who he is?

Nightwing (2016) Issue #90

The police, the citizens, the villains-all of them. Dick fought Brutale and beat the crap out of him way back in 1996 comic. He's a Bludhaven regular. Just because Dick forgot who he was doesn't mean anyone else forgot him. Amnesia doesn't work that way.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #54

A whole team of Nightwings were formed during Dick's amnesic period because of how badly he was needed and missed. It's almost like the Tom Taylor run is set in an alternate universe.

I ran out of image space but what the absolute fiddlesticks is up with Dick being scared to jump. It better be a manipulation tactic but at this point I think Tom Taylor doesn't even know that Dick is manipulative.

[spacetrashpile]

IT'S FINALLY DONE!!

If you've been following my blog for a bit, you'll know that I have fallen absolutely in love with Kid Eternity. For the last few months, this spreadsheet of all of Kid's appearances (under both Quality and DC Comics) has been my passion project, as I wanted an easy source for his appearances when I wanted to pitch the character to people.

Today, that resource is done, and you can find it right here! On the spreadsheet is a comprehensive list of every single Kid Eternity appearance under Quality Comics (his original company) and DC (minus a few reprints). It also includes an introduction to the character, multiple built in reading lists, content warnings for every issue, and more!

However, if you'd like a quick hits reference guide for Kid, I'll include that here too- under the cut you'll find every comic series where Kid makes a notable appearance in a nice list. Any bullet points that are in bold are ones I consider absolutely essential reading, and the italicized points are my personal favorites. Please look at the spreadsheet too, though. I spent a lot of time on it. Also, I'll be updating the spreadsheet regularly but not this post, probably, so the spreadsheet will be your best resource for future content.

QUICK HITS READING LIST:

Hit Comics (1940), Issues #25-60

Kid Eternity Vol. 1 (1946), Issues #1-18

Secret Origins Vol. 2 (1973), Issue #4

Shazam! (1973), Issue #27

World's Finest Comics (1941), Issues #268, #279-282

Adventure Comics (1938), Issues #491-492

Kid Eternity Vol. 2 (1991), Issues #1-3

Kid Eternity Vol. 3 (1993), Issues #1-16

Vertigo Jam (1993), Issue #1

JSA Vol. 1 (1999), Issues, #1, #47-48

Teen Titans Vol. 3 (2003), Issues #31, #67-74, #92

Teen Titans Annual Vol. 3 (2009), Issue #2

Titans Vol. 2 (2008), Issue #13

Vigilante Vol. 3 (2009), Issues #5-6

National Comics: Eternity (2012), Issue #1

Batman: Urban Legends (2021), Issues #11-13

JSA Vol. 2 (2024), Issue #3

[pridequest64]

Static Shock Reading Order

This is, based of my research the complete reading list in release order for all Static Comics as of October 10th 2024. Release dates were used when available but compromises were made with cover date when necessary. If you see anything that is wrong or needs new additions feel free to let me know!

(Comic Vine was a massive help in this project!)

1. Static #1 June 1993

2. Static #2 July 1993

3. Static #3 August 1993

4. Static #4 September 1993

5. Static #5 October 1993

6. Static #6 November 1993

7. Static #7 December 1993

8. Static #8 January 1994

9. Shadow Cabinet #0 January 1994

10. Static #9 February 1994

11. Icon #10 February 1994

12. Static #10 March 1994

13. Static #11 April 1994

14. Static #12 May 1994

15. Static #13 June 1994

16. Superman: The Man of Steel #35 July 1994

17. Worlds Collide July 1994

18. Static #14 August 1994

19. Superman: The Man of Steel #36 August 1994

20. Steel #7 August 1994

21. Superboy #7 August 1994

22. Static #15 September 1994

23. Hardware #19 September 1994

24. Static #16 October 1994

25. Static #17 November 1994

26. Icon #19 November 1994

27. Static #18 December 1994

28. Kobalt #7 December 1994

29. Icon #20 December 1994

30. Superman & Batman Magazine #7 Q1 1995

31. Static #19 Janurary 1995

32. Static #20 February 1995

33. Icon #22 February 1995

34. Static #21 March 1995

35. Static #22 April 1995

36. Static #23 June 1995

37. Static #24 July 1995

38. Static #25 July 1995

39. Long Hot Summer #1 July 1995

40. Static #26 August 1995

41. Long Hot Summer #2 August 1995

42. Icon #28 August 1995

43. Static #27 September 1995

44. Long Hot Summer #3 September 1995

45. Icon #29 September 1995

46. Static #28 October 1995

47. Static #29 November 1995

48. Static #30 December 1995

49. Static #31 Janurary 1996

50. Static #32 February 1996

51. Static #33 March 1996

52. Static #34 April 1996

53. Static #35 May 1996

54. The World Needs Heroes #1 May 1996

55. Static #36 June 1996

56. The World Needs Heroes #2 June 1996

57. Static #37 July 1996

58. The World Needs Heroes #3 July 1996

59. Static #38 August 1996

60. The World Needs Heroes #4 August 1996

61. Static #39 September 1996

62. The World Needs Heroes #5 September 1996

63. Hardware #43 September 1996

64. Static #40 October 1996

65. The World Needs Heroes #6 October 1996

66. Icon #38 October 1996

67. Hardware #44 October 1996

68. Static #41 November 1996

69. Static #42 December 1996

70. Static #43 Janurary 1997

71. Hardware #47 January 1997

72. Static #44 February 1997

73. Icon #42 February 1997

74. Static #45 March 1997

75. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #1 January 2001

76. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #2 February 2001

77. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #3 May 2001

78. Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #4 September 2001

79. 9-11 #2 February 2002

80. Terror Titans #3 December 4th 2008

81. Terror Titans #4 January 7th 2009

82. Terror Titans #6 March 4th 2009

83. Teen Titans #68 April 2009

84. Teen Titans #69 April 1st 2009

85. Titans #12 April 8th 2009

86. Teen Titans #70 April 29th 2009

87. Vigilante #5 April 15th 2009

88. Teen Titans Annual April 2009

89. Teen Titans #71 May 28th 2009

90. Superman #688 May 28th 2009

91. Titans #13 May 13th 2009

92. The Brave and the Bold #24 June 17th 2009

93. Teen Titans #72 June 24th 2009

94. Teen Titans #73 July 29th 2009

95. Teen Titans #74 August 26th 2009

96. Titans #17 September 10th 2009

97. Teen Titans #75 September 30th 2009

98. Teen Titans #76 October 28th 2009

99. Teen Titans #79 Janurary 27th 2010

100. Milestone Forever #1 February 3rd 2010

101. Teen Titans #80 February 24th 2010

102. Milestone Forever #2 March 3rd 2010

103. Teen Titans #81 March 31st 2010

104. Teen Titans #82 April 28th 2010

105. Teen Titans #83 May 26th 2010

106. Teen Titans #84 June 30th 2010

107. Teen Titans #85 July 28th 2010

108. Teen Titans #86 August 25th 2010

109. Teen Titans #87 September 29th 2010

110. Supergirl #60 January 19th 2011

111. Brightest Day #23 April 6th 2011

112. Static Shock Special June 1st 2011

113. Teen Titans #100 August 24th 2011

114. Flashpoint #5 August 31st 2011

115. Static Shock #1 September 7th 2011

116. Teen Titans #1 September 28th 2011

117. Static Shock #2 October 5th 2011

118. Static Shock #3 November 2nd 2011

119. Legion Lost #3 November 9th 2011

120. Static Shock #4 December 7th 2011

121. Static Shock #5 January 4th 2012

122. Static Shock #6 February 1st 2012

123. Teen Titans #6 February 22nd 2012

124. Static Shock #7 March 7th 2012

125. The Savage Hawkman #7 March 28th 2012

126. Static Shock #8 April 4th 2012

127. Ricanatruction: Reminiscing & Rebulding Puerto Rico May 29th 2018

128. Milestone Returns September 12th 2020

129. Static: Season One #1 June 15th 2021

130. Static: Season One #2 July 27th 2021

131. Static: Season One #3 August 31st 2021

132. Static: Season One #4 November 9th 2021

133. Hardware: Season One November 30th 2021

134. Icon & Rocket: Season One #5 January 18th 2022

135. Static: Season One #5 January 25th 2022

136. Static: Season One #6 March 1st 2022

137. Icon & Rocket: Season One #6 March 22nd 2022

138. Milestones In History June 21st 2022

139. Blood Syndicate: Season One #3 July 19th 2022

140. Young Justice: Targets #4 October 25th 2022

141. Young Justice: Targets #5 November 22nd 2022

142. Static: Shadows of Dakota #1 February 7th 2023

143. Static: Shadows of Dakota #2 March 7th 2023

144. Milestone 30th Anniversary Special March 21st 2023

145. Static: Shadows of Dakota #3 April 18th 2023

146. Static: Shadows of Dakota #4 May 23rd 2023

147. New Talent Showcase: The Milestone Initiative June 6th 2023

148. Static Team-Up: Anansi June 13th 2023

149. Static: Shadows of Dakota #5 July 18th 2023

150. Icon Vs. Hardware #4 August 15th 2023

151. Static: Shadows of Dakota #6 September 26th 2023

152. Icon Vs. Hardware #5 November 7th 2023

153. Static: Shadows of Dakota #7 November 28th 2023

[ladytauria]

Hear me out: 92 and jaycest for the smut prompts

i heard you loud and clear nonny 😌

this... ended up being a monster of a fic (almost 6k) so i'm not posting the entirety of it here, lmao.

my original plan for this was to be a coda to cloves, smoke, and honey, but every time i sat down to write nothing came to me. so finally i started listing jay pairings while looking up selfcest prompts and—then something clicked and i ended up with this <3

in which hood!jay ends up in a universe where his alternate never died <3

i had a really good time with this one! i hope you enjoy <3

(note: i was picturing jay at about ~17 in this, and jason at least 22. however, no ages are stated; just that jay is going to college soon <3)

>> AO3 <<

Hood plants his hands on the desk, leaning against it, looking up at the monitors. Batman and Nightwing are still out. Spoiler and Robin’s curfews got called an hour ago. (Tim’s probably still sulking about it, but whatever. School’s important, no matter what the brat thinks.) Alfred retired when they did.

That leaves just Hood and Jay.

Hood… He showed up just shy of a month ago. Some asshole’s running around, opening portals to other dimensions, and Hood got caught in the crossfire. Stranded, until they can catch the guy.

He won’t show them his face. Won’t even walk around in just a domino! Instead, he’s always wearing that obnoxious red helmet.

It’s driving B crazy.

Even Tim, stalker extraordinaire, hasn’t been able to figure out Hood’s identity.

Or. If he has, the little gremlin isn’t sharing. Jason highly doubts he’d hide it, though. B and Dick are too wound up about it.

Jay… He can’t blame them. Hood’s scarily well-trained. Bruce tried putting him on lock down once and he just breezed right past the defenses as soon as they left. That’s when Dick had suggested they work together—mostly to keep an eye on Hood, which they all know Hood is aware of.

Jay’s pretty sure Dick meant to take the job. Hood and B… well, the way his hackles raise if Batman so much as glances in his direction… That’s a powder keg waiting to blow. Thing is, while Hood will tolerate Nightwing—mostly—the one he trusts the most is…

Jay.

It’s flattering.

And it’s kind of nice to be the one in charge of keeping an eye on Hood.

Jay is still a recent graduate of his Robin role, and it’s a struggle to be taken seriously as his own hero. He’s… looking forward to college, honestly. To either put vigilantism on the back burner or just set up somewhere new—he hasn’t decided yet. It’ll be nice, to leave and come back changed.

Anyway, but actually being trusted to run with Hood at night makes him feel… More like a part of the team. He knows Bruce will never trust him as much as he does Dick—and he’d like to say he’s made his peace with that, but he hasn’t—but at least he trusts him with something.

Jay just wishes he wasn’t so distracted. Even now, Jay’s not paying as much attention to what’s on the monitors so much as he is the way Hood’s tac pants pull taut over his ass and thighs. Which—fuck, those thighs. Firm and muscular and thick.

He choked a guy out with them earlier tonight. Jay’s blood had rushed south so fast he’d thought he was gonna pass out. It’d taken every trick he knew to will his erection down so he could keep working.

The arousal still sings in his blood—a quiet tune, but present all the same. Jay wets his lips, and then walks over to him. “That was some nice fightin’ tonight, Hood,” he says casually, drawing closer to Hood. “Bet you’re tired.  I wouldn’t mind givin’ ya a hand.” He trails his fingers over Hood’s forearm—doubts he feels it much, with his armor and jacket still in the way. “You could take a nice, hot shower, and then… I could give ya a massage. Work out some of that tension you’ve been carryin’.”

Hood is still. Jay’s not sure he’s breathing. “Kid,” he says—and then stops, hands flexing on the table. Jay waits for him to gather himself, or shake his head and tell him to get lost.

It’s not the first time he’s flirted with Hood. It was a joke at first. Hood was attractive, Jay recognized that from the start, but… Well. Jay had discovered a few years ago that flirting was a good way to throw people off of their game. (It also invited trouble, of course. The silent ‘I-told-you-so’ from Bruce after Mask started showing actual interest in him had been deafening. But mostly, it served Jason well, so he kept going it.) He hadn’t meant anything by it at first.

He does now.

Has since Hood shoved him up against a wall, bracketing him in with his body, one gloved hand pressed against his mouth. He’d hardly noticed the people passing them; senses too full of leather and steel and gunpowder. His cock had strained in his cup, a thousand times more uncomfortable than the brick at his back.

His attempts since have been utterly sincere.

Hood has never told him off. A few times, he’s even flirted back… before obviously stopping himself.

Jay persists.

“You don’t want this,” Hood says finally, turning his head to meet Jay’s eyes. The whites of his helmet are blank. They give nothing away. Neither does his voice, not with the modulator in the way. Even his body language is inscrutable.

“You don’t get to tell me that,” Jay tells him, his voice breathier than he means it to be. Anticipation thrums in his veins.

Hood lets go of the desk, standing up to his full height. Jay— Jay will be lucky to hit 5’7. More than likely, he’s going to be stuck at 5’5 for the rest of his life. Hood… Hood is taller than Bruce, beating him out by a single inch. Jay has to tip his head back to keep holding Hood’s gaze.

“You have… no idea who you’re talking to,” Hood says, and the modulator adds to the harshness of his tone.

Rather than turn Jay off, it makes him shiver before defiantly lifting his chin.

“Oh, fuck off. You wanna tell me you’re not interested? Fine, that’s fair. I’ll back off. You wanna tell me to stop? Fine. That’s fair. I stop. But you don’t get to tell me that I don’t want this. That I don’t want you.”

Jay steps closer. He already stripped out of his armor, leaving him in nothing but a form-fitting t-shirt and tight leggings. He ditched his cup, too, which means when he grinds his hips forward, there’s nothing to prevent Hood from feeling his erection as he plasters himself against Hood’s side, stretching onto his tip-toes. His lips brush where Hood’s ear would be, if not for the helmet.

“Let me show you how much I mean what I say,” he whispers.

Hood goes still again—but it’s the same kind of stillness that falls just before a storm. Jay holds his breath.

It’s knocked from him when Hood grabs him, broad hands gripping his waist and lifting him onto the desk—his ass just barely missing the keyboard.

Then, he reaches up; a low, mechanical hiss sending Jay’s heart into his throat. Hood tosses the helmet aside—Jay hears it hit the ground, roll, but he doesn’t bother to look where it lands. Instead, he watches Hood rip his domino off next, tossing that aside too, and then, finally—

Jay sees him.

He drinks him in ravenously. The scar, starring at his mouth and trailing up, up, to his temple, where it disappears into his hairline. His hair is dark, curly, wild and askew the same way Jay’s is after a patrol. There’s a shock of white in the front, where his bangs curl on his forehead, forming a heart shape.

Huh.

Jason’s do that too.

Their noses are similar, too; a little crooked, with a raised bump in the middle. They’ve both got full mouths, settled into a natural pout. A small scattering of freckles over their noses, including a darker one under the left eye.

A scar, mostly faded, over a brow.

Jay’s eyes go wide. “You’re—” Me, he doesn’t finish, the word sticking in his throat.

How many times had he tried to guess which of them Hood could be, if any of them at all? Himself had never crossed his mind, not once.

Hood… He wielded guns with brutal efficiency. None of Bruce’s security measures could contain him. When Nightwing challenged him to a spar, they’d been so close to evenly matched. He had the height, the bulk to match Bruce, and—

He was just…

Hood was dangerous, and lethal, and confident, and skilled, and big, and—

So very unlike Jay at all.

Yet… There he is. He has a few more scars, and his jaw is more defined, but— They have the same full cheeks, the ones that give him perpetual babyface. Especially with his long, dark lashes and full, pink lips.

Jay… is starting to see why people call him pretty.

“I told you,” Hood—Jason says harshly. It’s Jay’s first time hearing it without the modulator. His voice is low, gravelly. It makes his skin pebble.

Hood being Jason doesn’t make him want him less at all. He’s still the same ultra-competent badass that he was before, and—

Jay would like to get his hands on him right now, pretty please.

Jason doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. Insecurity still runs deep, Jay guesses.

“Go on. It’s past time little birdies went back to their nests.”

Jay fists both hands in the collar of his jacket before Jason can take more than a single step. “Shut up,” he snaps—and then yanks him down into a fierce, hungry kiss.

Jason gasps into his mouth.

For one heart-stopping second, Jay thinks he’s going to be shoved away. Thinks Jason will look at him with disgust, humiliate him for even considering that Jason might want anything to do with him.

Jason doesn’t.

Instead, he steps forward, forcing Jay to tip his head back. There’s the rustle of fabric, and then—a hand, no longer gloved, tangles in his hair, pulling just-so in a way that makes Jay gasp, shiver, hips rocking forward, grinding his dick against the molded abs of Jason’s armor.

His moan is embarrassing, high enough that the bats rustle restlessly above them.

Jason presses the advantage, plunging his tongue in Jay’s mouth. It tastes of peppermint and cigarettes as Jason licks into him slow and deep, delving into every nook and crevice of Jay’s mouth.

Jay shudders; legs locking around Jason’s waist.

When Jason pulls away… Jay whines, trying to chase him. It’s the hand in his hair that stills him; fingers tightening, holding him in place.

“Please,” he begs.

Jason’s nostrils flare. Then… his gaze flickers around them, evaluating their surroundings.

“Not here,” he says finally.

Jay whimpers, embarrassingly high, when Jason lifts him; hands braced under his thighs, the curve of his ass.

And Jay— he may not be very tall, but he’s solid; all muscle and pockets of fat, a body honed through years of training.

Jason holds him like he weighs nothing at all.

Even when they climb the stairs, Jason taking them two-by-two, he doesn’t falter. Barely breathes any heavier, even when Jay gives into the urge to start sucking marks onto his neck.

He knows he’s affected. He can feel his pulse, hear the soft hitches in his breathing, but—

His steps never waver.

>> continue on ao3 <<

[stealingyourbones]

Submitted Prompts #92

What if Stephanie Brown adopted Danny? A vigilante child of villains? She has found her new protégé!

[frogaroundandfindout]

I'd love to see a list of what you've read so far! I'm personally working my way through the entirety of NML, and that itself feels like an unending project, so I can only imagine how hard your reading list is.

* Robin: Year One

* Robin: Year One #1-4

* The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 (1980-1984)

* The New Teen Titans #1-20

* Tales of the New Teen Titans #1-4

* The New Teen Titans #21-25

* The New Teen Titans: Annual 1 (concludes Starfire’s origin)

* The New Teen Titans #26-34

* The New Teen Titans: Annual 2 (concludes Vigilante origin storyarc)

* The New Teen Titans #36-37

* Batman and Outsiders #5 (Part two of NTT #37 )

* The New Teen Titans #38-39

* Batman #368-(Dick gives Robin suit to Jason after announcing that he’s stepping back from Robin in NTT #39)

* Detective Comics #535-(Part two of Batman #368 )

* The New Teen Titans #40-/

* Tales of the Teen Titans (1984-1988)

* Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44 (brother blood in NT 40 and TOTTT 41; Judas contract in #42-44)

* Tales of Teen Titans: Annual 3 (end of Judas contract)

* Tales of the Teen Titans #45-74

* Omega Men #34-/

* Tales of the Teen Titans #75-83

* Titans Spotlight #1-2

* Tales of the Teen Titans #84-91

* Note: ignored annual 4: enter vanguard (boring as fuck)

* New Teen Titans Vol. 2 (1984-1996)

* New Teen Titans #32-35

* Teen Titans Spotlight #3 (Starfire in South Africa)

* New Teen Titans #36-39

* New Teen Titans Annual #3 (Godiva; Danny chase intro)

* New Teen Titans Annual #4 (private lives; Danny chase on team)

* New Teen Titans #40-/

* New Teen Titans Annual #2 (origin of Brother Blood)

* New Teen Titans #41-49

- Teen Titans Spotlight #3-6 (Joe Wilson)

* New Titans (1988-1996)

* Batman (1940) #416-(Dick meets Jason for the first time post-crisis and gives him Robin + his phone number. Brotherly bonding via drug bust and dick argues with Bruce about finding out about Jason via newspaper and taking on a new Robin)

* Teen Titans Spotlight #14 (dick is called to the manor by Alfred to help find Batman when he doesn’t show up for a meeting. Dick saves him from being killed by the highest bidder and says he’s proud to have been Robin)

* New Titans #50-56

* Secret Origins (1986): Annual #3 (dick is trapped in his own head, going through past events and his own failures)

* New Titans #57-59 (#57 has dick deciding to go confront Bruce at the manor but he is not there as told in Batman #436. Dick walks around manor and sees every sign of Jason is gone then goes to look for Bruce as Nightwing and is walked away from after asking Batman what’s wrong with him in #437. Nightwing looks for Bruce again at Wayne manor in #437 and New Titans #58 but Batman’s gone/ avoiding dick. Dick goes looking again in #438)

* Batman #436-439 (Batman Year Three; Flashbacks with a retelling of Dick's origin during Bruce's third year as Batman. In the "now", Dick tries to reach out to Bruce after Jason’s death while Dick's parents' murderer is about to be set free)

* Batman #440-442 and New Titans #69-61 ( A Lonely Place of Dying; Tim enters batfam)

* New Titans #62-70

* New Titans #71-79 (Titans Hunt [#71-84] Wildebeest arc with villian’s identity reveal as Joey and Deathstroke + Steve Dayton + arella team up)

* New Titans Annual #7 (team titans go back in time to stop chaos)

* New Titans #80-81

* War of the Gods #4

* New titans #82-89

* Death Stroke the Terminator #14 ( Total Chaos; dick hunts down slade and starfire frees herself from mirages capture)

* New Titans #90 (total chaos pt 2)

* Team Titans #1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1e (total chaos pts 3)

* Deathstroke the Terminator #15 (total chaos pt 4)

* New Titans #91 (total chaos pt 5)

* Team Titans #2 (total chaos pt 6)

* Deathstroke the Terminator #16 (total chaos pt 7)

* New Titans #92 (total chaos pt 8)

* Team titans #3 (total chaos pt 9)

* Titans Sell Out Special (pt 1)

* Deathstroke the Terminator #17 ( titans sell out pt 2)

* New Titans #93 (titans sell out pt 3)

* Team Titans #4-6

* New Titans #94-114

* Showcase ‘94 #11

* Damage #6

* New Titans #115-119

* New titans #119-130

* Prodigal (1994-1995)

* Summary: dick grayson takes over as Batman and works with Tim as his Robin

* Batman #512

* Shadow of the Bat #32

* Detective Comics #679

* Robin Vol. 4 #11

* Batman #513

* Shadow of the Bat #33

* Detective Comics #680

* Robin Vol. 4 #12

* Batman #514

* Shadow of the Bat #34

* Detective Comics #681

* Robin Vol. 4 #13

* Batman #515

* Alfred’s Return (1995)

* Alfred’s return #1

* Nightwing Vol. 1 (1995)

* Nightwing #1-4 (dick grayson gives up Nightwing to find what he wants in life and is then confronted with new evidence about Kravia’s potential part in his parents deaths. Nightwing investigates and develops new peace regarding his childhood and relationship with Batman)

* Like Riding a Bike (1996)

* Batman Chronicles #7

* Nightwing Vol. 2 (1996)

* Nightwing #1-18

* Nightwing Annual 1 (Dick gets married to supposed husband killer)

* Nightwing and Huntress #1-4 (Devin Grayson=weird shit)

* Nightwing #0.5 (Nightwing protects “lunchmeat” deever)

* Cataclysm (Earthquake in Gotham)

* Detective Comics #719 -- Prelude: Sound and Fury

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73 -- Part 1: Castles Built on Sand

* Nightwing (Volume 2) #19 -- Part 2: Shudder

* Batman #553 -- Part 3: Lifelines

* Azrael #40 -- Part 4: Hour of the Quake

* Detective Comics #720 -- Part 5: The First and the Last

* Catwoman (Volume 2) #56 -- Part 6: Claustrophobia

* Robin (Volume 2) #52 -- Part 7: Tribunal

* Batman: Blackgate - Isle of Men #1 -- Part 8: Isle of Men

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #74 -- Part 9: The Naked City

* Batman Chronicles #12 -- Part 10: The Contract • House of Cards • Trapped • A Bird With a Hand • Love Me 2 Times • Little Orphan Andy

* Nightwing (Volume 2) #20 -- Part 11: The Day After Judgment

* Batman #554 -- Part 12: Master of Destruction

* Batman: Huntress & Spoiler #1 -- Part 13: Blunt Trauma

* Detective Comics #721 -- Part 14: Shifting Ground

* Catwoman (Volume 2) #57 -- Part 15: Reap What You Sow

* Batman: Arkham Asylum - Tales of Madness #1 -- Part 16: Tales of Madness

* Robin (Volume 2) #53 -- Conclusion: Flattened

* Aftershocks (after earthquake in Gotham)

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75 -- By Fire... or By Ice? • A Long Slow Death

* Batman #555 -- Trapped like Rats

* Detective Comics #722 -- Statistics

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #76 -- The Gauntlet

* Robin (Volume 2) #54 -- Repercussions

* Batman #556 -- Help, Trapped, Money, Rescue, Ruins

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #77 -- Arwin's Theory of Devolution

* Batman #557 -- Ballistic's Evidence

* Detective Comics #724 -- The Grieving City

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #78 -- The Blank Generation Part 1

* Batman: Shadow of the Bat #79 -- The Blank Generation Part 2

* Batman Chronicles #14 -- Master of the House • The Lunatic Fringe • Random Encounters

* Batman #558 -- Dying City

* Batman #559 -- Dead City

* Detective Comics #725 -- At the End of the Day

* Detective Comics #726 -- Fool's Errand

* Nightwing #21-22

* Brotherhood of the Fist

* Green Arrow (Volume 2) #134

* Detective Comics #723

* Robin (Volume 2) #55

* Nightwing (Volume 2) #23

* Green Arrow (Volume 2) #135

* Nightwing #24-25

* Shadow of the bat 1,000,000

* Nightwing #1,000,000

* Detective Comics #1,000,000

* Nightwing #26-34

* Nightwing Secret files #1 (dick’s hallucination of Jason and summarized retcon origin of dick)

* Nightwing #35-37 (Escape to Blackgate; dick takes back blackgate prison for Batman and plans escape with villians)

* Hunt For Oracle

* Nightwing #38-45 (start of the hunt for oracle)

* Birds of prey #20

* Nightwing #46

* Birds of prey #21-24 (end of hunt for Oracle)

* Action Comics #771 (dick follows intergang into metropolis and works with Superman)

* Nightwing #47

* Transference

* Gotham Knights #8-11

* Nightwing #48-50

* Nightwing 80 page giant

* Nightwing #51

* This Issue: Batman Dies!

* Batman #586

* Detective Comics #753

* Batgirl #11

* Birds of Prey #26

* Nightwing (Volume 2) #52

* Robin (Volume 2) #85

* Officer Down

* Batman #587 (Part 1)

* Robin (Volume 2) #86 (Part 2)

* Birds of Prey #27 (Part 3)

* Catwoman (Volume 2) #90 (Part 4)

* Nightwing (Volume 2) #53 (Part 5) (Alfred quits)

* Detective Comics #754 (Part 6)

* Batman: Gotham Knights #13 (Part 7)

* Gotham Knights #14 (dick and Az foil the French acrobat sisters (Double Dare) together while the narration is a letter dick writes to Bruce about their relationship. References to transference.)

* Nightwing 54-59

* Gotham Knights #16-17 and #19-21 (dick is adopted by Bruce who dreams of the ghosts of his and dicks parents. Complications emerge as dicks unknown Romani grandfather contests the adoption)

* Nightwing: Our Worlds at war

* Nightwing: The target

* Nightwing #60-61

* Joker: The Last Laugh

* Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files & Origins #1

* Joker: Last Laugh #1

* Nightwing (1996) #62

* Joker: Last Laugh #2

* Birds of Prey (1998) #36

* Joker: Last Laugh #3-5

* Robin (1993) #95

* Joker: Last Laugh #6

* Robin (1993) #96

* Birds of Prey (1998) #37

* Nightwing (1996) #63

* Nightwing #64

* Bruce Wayne: Murderer?

* Gotham knights #24

* Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure #1(2002)

* Detective Comics #766

* Batgirl #24

* Nightwing Vol. 2 #65

* Batman: Gotham Knights #25

* Birds of Prey #39

* Robin Vol. 4 #98
Robin Vol. 4 #99

* Batman #599

* Detective Comics #767

* Nightwing Vol. 2 #66-67

* Batman: Gotham Knights #26

* Birds of Prey #40

* Bruce Wayne: Fugitive

* Batman #600 (dick and Bruce fight)

* Birds of Prey #41

* Batman: Gotham Knights #27

* Batman #601-602

* Detective Comics #768-769

* Batgirl #27

* Nightwing #68

* Batman: Gotham Knights #28-29

* Detective Comics #770

* Nightwing #69

* Birds of Prey #43

* Batman #603

* Detective Comics #771

* Batgirl #29

* Batman: Gotham Knights #30

* Azrael: Agent of the Bat #91-92

* Detective Comics #772

* Batman: Gotham Knights #31

* Batman #604-605

* Atonement

* Detective Comics #773-775

* Batman #606-607

* Batgirl #33

* Nightwing #70 (Deever is tracked down by hella who tries to kill him as revenge for her dead family. Nightwing stops them.)

END OF DIXON’S RUN

* JLA/ Titans (1998-1999)

* #1-3 (dick and the titans fight the JLA to save Vic stone who is accidentally causing disasters on earth)

* Titans (1999-2003)

* Titans #1 (team re-forms)

* The Titans secret files and origins #1 (original Titans recruit members if their choice + extra stories and file entries by Cyborg)

* Titans #2-9

* The Immortal Coil (slade goes to titans for help with retrieving Addie from Vandal Savage. Addie is killed by gorilla grodd and incinerated by starfire)

* Titans #10-12

* Titans #13-14

* Survival (the titans fight among themselves and go to an island to work out their issues. They are trapped by gargoyles fantasy illusions and must make up with eachother to escape)

* Titans #15-16

* Titans #17-19 (titans head to Vega solar system to aid tamaraneans against gordanian invaders. However, Kory lied to them and it’s the tamaraneans trying to take over the gordanian home planet. Roy + Lian bonding with Grant in Arizona)

* Titans #20 (Vic gets his clone body and Wally leaves titans to make sure dick doesn’t feel obligated to stay. He makes sure jesse comes back)

* Beast Boy Vol.1

* #1-4 (gar is accused of murder and dick goes to investigate. He fights the shapeshifter imitating gar and bails him out of jail but leaves when gar says he can handle it. Tells bette she should quit being a hero and bette changes her costume)

* Titans Annual #1 (Gar is taken over by a demon in Japan and is “killed” to get rid of the demon. He’s okay though. Post bette Kane change)

* Titans Secret files and Orgins #2 (titans surprise dick in bludhaven and find him having dinner with Clancy. Chanda’s visits other people from Quarac about Jade )

* Titans #21-

Bruce

* Batman Confidential (2008) #13-16 (wrath child; A recently debuted Nightwing helps Bruce fight a cop killing Batman impersonator called the Wrath)

* Transference (2000) (Gotham Knights #8-11 Dick comes to Gotham to visit Tim and Bruce but Hugo strange tries to connect Bruce Wayne to Batman. Batman hypnotizes himself to forget he’s bataman and dick brings him back.)

* Gotham Knights #18 (Bruce is lonely with the manor empty and calls Aquaman to come “help him” move the stuck giant penny. Author sees through it and tells Bruce to just ask him to bring over some beers next time.)

* Gotham knights #23 ( Bruce hit with fear toxin. Hears body guard tell him various loved ones are dead or hurt)

Roy

* Action Comics Weekly #613-618 (The Cheshire Contract; Dick helps Roy find his daughter) (1988)

*

Slade

* Deathstroke the Terminator #17-20 (The Nuclear Winter; slade goes undercover to prevent Cheshire from stealing nuclear weapons while wintergreen is in prison)

Jason

* Batman (1940) #357-368 and Detective Comics (1937) #524-535 (Jason’s intro to Batman comics as a flying todd and him becoming Robin)

* Batman (1940) #408-416 (Jason Todd’s appearance as a street kid, Bruce giving him Robin, and dick grayson getting fired after being shot by joker)

* Batman (1940) #426-429 (Jason looks for mother and gets killed by joker)

Dick & Co.

* Secret Origins (1986) #13 (dick is on tamaran and tells his story to Joey after korys wedding)

* The flash plus Nightwing (1997) (dick and Wally go on a vacation that dick planned for them at a murder mystery mansion)

* Then and Now (1997) (dick meets with Roy, Wally and Garth to find Mr. Jupiter. They fight younger versions of themselves and Roy gets a teen titan killed with his mistake )

* Gods of Gotham (2001) (Wonder Woman #164-167; the children of ares take over the bodies of Gotham criminals to shape the city in his image. Dick decapitates a gorgon for Donna, tells her he loves her, calls her sweetheart and helps her get over her fears of dark angel (?), and protects Tim Drake)

[planesawesome]

A McDonnell F-4J Phantom II (BuNo 155799, modex NG200) of Fighter Squadron (VF) 92 "Silver Kings," and a North American RA-5C Vigilante (BuNo 156614, NG604) of Reconnaissance Attack Squadron (RVAH) 11 "Red Checkertails," part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 deployed aboard USS Constellation (CVA-64), flying over Hawaii, circa 1971–72. U.S. Navy photo./NNAM Image

[dextraicarus1994]

Here is another oc, this one was created recently, meet Detective Jacob Corwing. Here I share his lore:

Jacob Corwing

Birth Date: January 10th, 1984.

Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois.

Eye color: Blue.

Height: 6'1".

Age: 40 years.

Hair color: Copper blonde.

Nationality: American.

Gender: Male.

Affiliation: Private Detective, Former FBI, CIA and DEA agent who quit after having enough in dealing with the corruption from every agency he used to work.

Allies: Marcus Williams (Jacob is the only human who knows about Marcus demon form and the existence of the hell realm thanks to an incident facing some supernatural beings), succubus Nisha, Kyle García, Igal Caine, Boris and Remo Montgomery, demon Hoover.

Enemy: Zadkiel "The Demon King" Jones (serial killer who is wanted for the murder of Jacob's family and multiple serial murders).

Biography: Not many know about Corwing's past, but as a classic detective story, it has been speculated that he used to have a family who were killed by the serial killer Zadkiel Jones in a mocking of his marvelous career as a top agent of the law. In searching for justice to find the killer and avenge his family, Jacob got into many messes that made him discover not only the whereabouts of Jones and his horrifying crimes, but also discovered a thread of corruption in all the agencies he used to work in. As a man who wanted not only to bring justice to his loved ones, but to protect innocents to not have the same fate as him under the serial killer rampage, Corwing quit every agency and work by his own, searching, interrogating with brutal force every one who got information about Zadkiel, becoming into a big obsession that not only is taking most of his life, but also his own sanity.

Things got more complicated when he met ex-MARSOC soldier / vigilante Marcus Williams, who not only shared the same objective: Protect innocents; but also he would discover a dark secret from the man that would bring him into the supernatural realm.

Now having to deal not only with the search of Zadkiel Jones, but also face supernatural beings in his life, there are times that Jacob only wants to have some peace and just forget everything, but as a stubborn man, he has a vow code that guides his nature: "Protect and serve".

Skills: As a former FBI, DEA and CIA agent, he has a lot of knowledge of the mafia world, government bureaucracy and secret projects and discoveries that had never been known to the public. Also he is a perceptive man who checks every detail around a crime scene, he is guided by evidence, detects when a person is trying to lie to him and a sharp shooter with his 92 FS INOX who treasured with all his heart and doesn't let anyone touch it, some speculate that the gun was given to him by his wife, however, Jacob has remained reserved regarding such a statement.

Weakness: As a man who lost his way after dealing with the brutal murdered of his family, he suffers an extent PTS, to the point of becoming into psychosis where he hears voices of the ones he cares about, the only way to deal with the inner demons is just drinking and night clubs, even asked Marcus ally the succubus Nisha to help him with the mess of his mind, who without any hesitation, helps without any problem, many had thought that maybe there could be something more between the detective and the succubus, but Jacob had denied all involvement saying that a demon is best in keeping secrets than a human.

Family Murdered incident: Not so many know about what relationship Jacob and Zadkiel had in the past, many had said that both used to be great friends and great comrades during the FBI and DEA days, as Jones being a respectful doctor back then, both were responsible for bringing many criminals down thanks to their dynamic: Zadkiel as a great doctor to deduce the victims deaths and Jacob as the man who used to stop the killers. Both were invincible until that horrific day, when Jacob discovered a dark secret behind Zadkiel's "good doctor" facade: A serial killer obsessed with the perfection of the human body and recreation of Renaissance paintings with the bodies of their victims. Unfortunately for Jacob, one of those victims was his wife and daughter, who took a tragic fate and became one of Zadkiel's horror crime scenes.

Falling into depression and a complete rage not only because the person he trusted most was also responsible for his family murdered. The worst part about the incident was that his daughter's body was never recognized since the flesh sculptures were unrecognizable and the DNA was lost during testing and corruption of the agencies. Now in complete grief, Jacob searches without no end the bastard that he once considered as a brother.

[daz-zey]

This is a list that I’ve been keeping track of. Kind of fell off because life. But I’m going back into it. 🫶🏼

If some of you want to explore more of kdramas after squid game or something.

K-dramas I’ve watched

1. Beating again

2. (A) Beautiful mind

3. Tell me what you saw

4. Voice (kinda graphic)

5. Hospital playlist

6. When the devil calls your name

7. Oh my Venus

8. Hyde jekll me

9. The K2

10. Tunnel

11. Man to man

12. Stranger (secret forest)

13. Because this is my first life

14. Abyss

15. Vagabond

16. Designated survivor: 60 days

17. Life (k-drama)

18. Are you human too?

19. Mr. sunshine

20. Korean odyssey

21. Goblin (type in k-drama after)

22. Dramaworld

23. Itaewon class

24. Crash landing on you

25. Memories of Alhambra

26. Cinderella and the four knights

27. 365: repeat the year

28. The item

29. Kingdom (season 1,2)

30. Strong girl bong soon

31. Naked fireman

32. The lies within

33. W: two worlds

34. Bad Papa

35. Oh my ghost

36. Money flower

37. Rugal

38. Busted (variety show..?)

39. The king eternal monarch

40. Mystic pop up bar

41. My mister

42. My girl (Chinese drama)

43. Flipped (Chinese drama)

44. Perfect and casual (Chinese drama)

45. Please love me (Chinese drama)

46. The Uncanny Counter

47. Awaken

48. Doctor Prisoner

49. Life on Mars (k-drama)

50. Sweet Home

51. The Fiery Priest

52. Hot Stove League

53. Kairos

54. About Time

55. L.U.C.A: the beginning

56. Black

57. Accidentally in love (Chinese drama)

58. Sisyphus: The Myth

59. Beyond Evil

60. Wait, My Youth (Chinese drama)

61. Navillera

62. Vincenzo

63. Mouse

64. Move to Heaven

65. Taxi Driver

66. Here’s my plan

67. Dark Hole

68. Youth of May

69. Law School

70. Undercover

71. The Battle of Jangsari (movie)

72. Doom at your Service

73. Entertainer

74. Doctor John

75. Fix you

76. Find me in your memory

77. Voice 2

78. Voice 3

79. Voice 4

80. The devil judge

81. D.P

82. Squid Game

83. Police University

84. The veil

85. Dr. Brain

86. The Silent sea

87. Cupid kitchen (Chinese drama)

88. Switch on (Thai drama)

89. Reset (Chinese drama)

90. Ghost doctor

91. The gifted (Thai drama)

92. Jirisan

93. Juvenile Justice

94. Through the darkness

95. F4 Thailand

96. Lucky club (Chinese drama)

97. Falling into your smile (Chinese drama)

98. The sound of magic

99. Tomorrow

100. My liberation notes

101. Our blues

102. Money heist Korea (unfinished)

103. Extraordinary attorney woo

104. Adamas

105. Little women (unfinished)

106. One dollar lawyer (unfinished)

107. Island

108. Crash course in romance

109. Payback: money and power

110. Divorce attorney shin (unfinished)

111. Taxi driver 2 (unfinished)

112. Tell me that you love me (unfinished)

113. Vigilante

114. Evilive

115. Blood free

116. Numbers

117. Zombie detective

118. Devilish Joy

119. Connection

120. High school return of a gangster (unfinished)

121. Miss night and day

122. The first responders 1 & 2

123. The whirlwind

124. The Auditors

125. 19th floor (Chinese drama) (unfinished)

126. Snowfall (Chinese drama)

127. Miss S (Chinese drama) (unfinished)

128. Romance in the house

129. Dongjae the good or the bastard

130. Love scout (ongoing)

131. Light Shop

(Includes some Chinese and Thai dramas)

[thequietmanno1]

TheLreads, Vigilantes ch 92, Replies Part 1

1) “Anyway, vigilantes! The All Might signal was sounded, Gondor asks for help, and now let’s see the arc wrap up nicely so we can get back to the actual fucking story. Without further ado, Chapter 92-

…

Chapter 92… Might Signal…

Are you making fun of me Furuhashi?”- Looks at the rest of the chapter and the further plot inconsistencies. You know, he might just be, specifically for you, of all people

2) “Ah, the All might tower, been a while since we last saw it… And I need to say, I never imagined All Might as someone who, you know, had a whole fucking tower for his agency.”- Based on what we see here, I assume the tower was strictly to have a landing/launching point for him away from the rest of the city, so he didn’t break anything that he didn’t own whenever he came in for a landing or had to immediately break through to walls to rush out and answer the call.

3) “Why open the roof? It’s not like the walls would even faze All Might, his quirk is similar to Mirio’s, as in, he can go throw any solid object he wishes, especially walls and roofs.”- Because then that’s more paperwork for Nighteye having to get the funds together to rebuild the damages done. This way, he’s only got one hole in the walls to patch up now. 4) “All might were you in the fucking stratosphere? I know you jump good but by that angle of arrival I am wondering if you were having tea in the ISS”- Based on what we’ve seen of him as Prime Might, I wouldn’t doubt he was in another prefecture entirely and made it all the way home in a single bound

5) “I don’t know All Might, they say that home is where the heart is, and I don’t see Momdoriya anywhere around here.”- Given how we’ve not seen anything of All Might’s biological family and how Nana has been long dead by this point, this agency might actually have been the first building he could come to consider a ‘home’ for himself since he was a teenager, forged from his tireless efforts waging a one-man war against evil and villainy- and because of that same commitment, he can barely rest to enjoy the same comforts that a domestic house should provide. It’s a sorta neat parallel to Tomura’s own family home, and how he still feel trapped within it by the way society stifles and restrains him.

6) “You guys, wasn’t more exciting to cover him saving the day rather than arriving home? I know that it is impressive how he can land and not obliterate the whole building, but it’s not like he’ll give y'all an interview just because you were camping in his living room”- Given how far and fast he can move in a single instant, camping out here is arguably the only place the reporters can guarantee he’ll stop by for a few moments before rushing off again.

7) “Well I’m not surprised here, this is prime all Might, before his meeting with the potatoinator, three days of consecutive work is a lot for a regular human being but All Might is anything but regular. If anything, I’m surprised he only got a record for three consecutive days, I bet he went more than that working without rest”-  That’s three days of publically-recorded incidents. All Might was most certainly doing non-stop hero work even before he came into the public eye, and probably several times when he’s supposed to be on a break. OFA’s gotta have some kind of stamina-enhancement to it, because his body should long have started to break down before he got his guts rearranged. 8) “Oh wow, I don’t remember ever seeing his hair drop like that outside of the main series, prime All Might seemed like the kind of person who never tired, it is so off-putting to be reminded that he was only human after all”- It seems even before he because Thin Might in full, he was already leaning on his ability to ‘prop himself up’ and put on the mask of an infallible and unbeatable hero, hiding his fatigue through sheer force of will and whatever the heck OFA’s changing in his body – because, even without the strength boost, his body is very clearly un-normal for somebody born without a Quirk. 9) “HOLY FUCK IS THAT MOTHERFUCKING SIR NIGHT EYE WORKING

BEST CHAPTER ALREADY BEST CHAPTER

I REFUSE TO MAKE ANY CRITICISM FOR THE REST OF IT”-  Well, this sure lasted long, didn’t it? 10) “is that fucking all might thin? even though this is prime all might? even though the only reason all might even looks thin in the first place is that he lost a lot of body mass and weight after the fight against afo, a fight which didn’t even happened yet, and he pretends to still be buff by “inflating” himself? are you implying that all might was never buff and he was pretending to be buffer to be more impressive, even though we saw him in the hospital after the fight against afo and he was still buff, even though he had no reason to appear like that?

is that what you are implying furuhashi?

is that it? “- In fairness, All Might was on his way outside to meet the reporters in that flashback, but I will also note that as much as he’s using the same mechanics that change him from Thin Might to Buff Might, his normal form isn’t quite as skeletal and haggard as he will eventually become– more life and vigour in his cheeks, overall healthier complexion – it’s just that his body is getting fatigued by the strain, but he’s already using the basis of his ‘flexing’ technique to hide it before it becomes a necessity to use his powers period. 11) “Honestly I completely lost track of whatever the hell is going on here

Look, I’m no expert, but I’m pretty fucking sure that the main series made clear that All might was buff, and that now he needs to puff his muscles to appear as his original form

I don’t even care about the mighty pajamas now, because holy fuck what was this”- In hindsight, it would be somewhat serendipitous for All might to miraculously discover a means of being able to fully transform his entire physique from weak to strong just by flexing really hard right as he’s put into a condition where he’s left permanently crippled and on the verge of collapse using his powers. Him having already developed a variant of the technique in order to hide his fatigue and exhaustion from the public actually makes a bit more sense than him pulling it out of his butt right when he needs a skill like that to disguise his weakness – it’s just that it basically became a crutch technique to access his strength at all after his injury, perhaps due to some psychological issues stemming from his injuries and self-image of his emaciated body? I dunno, just spitballing. I will say, I didn't actually realise this was another plot hole until you pointed it out. 12) “Oh too late, he already feels that something is wrong and some dumbass requires his help to save the day again, time to put on your muscles back on All Might”- The Superman powers is strong in this one. 13) “OH FUCK OFF FROM HERE WITH THIS BULLSHIT I WAS ONLY JOKING

WHA- WHE-

sigh

I need another moment to gather my thoughts.”- Superman has super-hearing and x-ray vision to seek out danger nigh-instantly, I found it somewhat appropriate/funny that Furuhashi included these ‘powers’ for a quick gag just to drive home the comparison more. 14) “Im sorry, I forgot to even type something, those last few panels… they sure were panels alright”- And to complete the homage, we now have a variant of the Bat-signal being used to warn people that danger is on the way….to fight evil! 15) “Alright All Might, you can go, they need you, I’ll be over here just-“- I choose to believe that All Might flexed his clothes off because he didn’t want to waste a few seconds taking them off the normal way, so he just took the direct approach. 16) “See I told you there was no need for a roof entrance, All Might makes his own doors whenever the time arises”- Nighteye: Well, there goes everybody’s Christmas bonus. 17) “Yeah, here we are. Alright Hood, time to pack your bags and leave, the savior is on his way and according to the Xitter flight tracker he’ll be here in less than a minute.”- Hood and Rappa aren’t the kind to quit whilst the fighting’s just starting to heat up, which ironically puts Knuckle and Kurogiri in the same position. 18) “Not surprising, Rappa wants to throw hands and see which one of them die first. You go ahead Rappa, this guy is gonna be picked up by his dad in a few instants, don’t waste your breath giving a speech”- Actually, AFO also doesn’t want to just quit and run like this. Say what you will about him, but the man doesn’t easily quit once he’s set his mind on a goal, no matter what cheats he has to pull off along the way to reach it.

19) “Rappa please, just let your fists do the talking, and I hope you are Eminem-levels of quick considering how short time is”- Rappa’s quick enough with his hands to write an entire soliloquy…in his enemies’ blood.

20) “Ah knuckles, I’m glad that you finally realized how fucked up Rappa truly is. That’s good, that’s the first step in loving him as the best character in this manga.”- Every good character in this or MHA’s series is a little bit unhinged, good or bad. Just noticed that as a recurring theme

21) “Knuckles please, All Might is already out of the door as we speak, the man almost teleports when needed

And meanwhile I’m just looking back at the previous few pages and I’m still like”- I don’t know where Might Tower is in relation to Osaka, but I’m willing to give them the generous time limit of about 5 minutes or less before All Might touches down, and a lot can happen in a few minutes. 22) “Yeah what a shock, right AfO? And what’s worse, he’s even bringing him pillow, the devastation he’s about to unleash is unheard of”- I believe that subconsciously All Might really wants some shuteye, which is why part of him held onto the pillow, but duty sleeps for no man. 23) “buy some time? Against prime All Might? Are you sure about that AfO? Even Kurogiri is doubtful about how sane you are and is thinking about potatofying your face himself.”- He doesn’t have to buy a lot of time, just enough that All Might has to send a few extra seconds on arrival before entering, which, though cutting it close, might give AFO enough early warning to pull Hood from sight before he bursts into the building. 24) “Now that’s a lot of time to buy for someone that isn’t even going anywhere- You are just fucking around for fun now, aren’t you AfO? “-  To be honest, a lot of his actions can come down to ‘fucking around for fun’ as much as he also twists them to serve a pragmatic purpose. Exhibit A: twisting Tenko Shimura into a villain to fight All Might, as much for the sadistic joy of watching the truth break him as it serves his greater plans – and it’s honestly hard to tell at times whether he’s motivated by petty malice or long-term pragmatic evil. @thelreads

[quirkwizard]

What are your thoughts on All For One’s explanation during the o’clock flashback of how villains differentiate from criminals and that because of his quirk being able to give more quirks to a person he can turn “anyone into a villain”? There has been people who’ve received multiple quirks such as the nomu, Spinner, and Machia that are either completely brain dead or in the best cases have barely any sort of mental capacity aside from basic responses, and while we have cases like number six and nagant who have multiple quirks but are still functioning normally they still generally obeyed when given order so it’s not a brainwashing level of control.

For context, you can find the speech in Chapter 92 of Vigilantes or in each of these links.

You're taking what All For One said too literally. All For One does not control people by giving them Quirks. Entities like the Nomu are literally programmed to be obedient and follow orders by Garaki. With the other cases like Spinner, they do become weaker mentally, but that's from the toll of taking on too many Quirks. It's just a matter of how strong the current user is physically and mentally. Otherwise, there still have been plenty of people that have defied All For One that have been given Quirks by him. Number 6, Lady Nagant, Aoyama, Gigatomachia, and most importantly, Yoichi. Even Tomura, the person All For One has the most direct control over, was only due to a specific procedure and Tomura still broke out of it.

The kind of control All For One is talking about is a more metaphorical one. In his speech, All For One is talking about what exactly defines a villain. He believes what defies a villain is someone breaking out of society's box, but believes that defiance comes from someone's will and their Quirk. That the Quirk and someone's will need to be in tune with one another or else it will start to cause problems. He believes that having power over Quirks gives him power over people. That he can make that imbalance in others with his Quirks. That by creating and taking advantage of chaos and imbalance, both on the personal and societal scale, he's able to exert control over others. We see this happen through out the series, but it doesn't work as him exerting his will over others literally.

What's more, that isn't really the point of the speech. It exists more to set up a lot of the villains. For a lot of the villains in the series, their issues come about from a conflict of desires with the world and their own Quirks. Their inability to fit within society, from society's inability to properly help them, or their wills or Quirks causing them to come into conflict with the world. Which I suppose could set up some character for All For One as well. That he clearly sees the issues with the world and only sees how he can exploit them. All with the irony of talking to Kurogiri, an entity who effectively has no will of his own because of All For One. Kurogiri, the guy whose only role is as a walking, talking Quirk that can't talk back or debate with him.

[punchdrunkdoc]

Chapter 11

Summary: After the events of S3, Matt Murdock is trying to once again balance life as a lawyer and a vigilante. But he’s been scarred by loss and betrayal - will a mysterious new neighbour help him heal? Or will her secrets drag him back into the darkness?

Notes: This is a slow burn romance with an original female character, told in 3 parts. There is mystery, intrigue, action and angst - all the good stuff!

Also available on AO3 and Wattpad

Masterlist

——————

This is a shorter chapter than usual, but I couldn’t wait to post it - things are really picking up pace now, and it won’t be long till we get to the scene that inspired this whole fic...

——————

Chapter 11

“Lay it out for me, Anya.” Calina whispered into the burner phone. It was meant to be used only for emergencies…but this felt pretty damn urgent.

“Wait, are you calling from your apartment?” Anya asked. “Because if so, he can probably hear you.”

“No, I’m in a diner around the corner from our building, and I’m getting strange looks from the regulars, so please explain, and explain fast.”

“I sent you all the evidence. It’s all there.”

“It’s all there if you’re you. But I’m not you, so explain it to me like I’m an idiot.” Calina wasn’t an idiot. She could understand complex mathematical theorems and speak a dozen languages, but her intelligence was different from Anya's. Anya thought outside the box. She could see patterns in things where others saw only chaos.

And she often forgot that most people weren’t on her wave length.

“Okay. There’s this magical thing called the internet. And some people like to write things on the internet.”

“Don’t be facetious,” Calina replied.

“Fine.” She dropped the condescending tone and continued. “When you told me about your lawyer, and how he seemed to perceive things he shouldn’t be able to, I remembered a theory I’d come across in the depths of the internet from a Hell’s Kitchen blogger. He had no following to speak of, so his speculation went nowhere.”

“What speculation?”

“That Daredevil had superpowers. This blogger had seen him in action up close and said it was like he had 360 degree awareness. As if he was using senses in addition to sight to orientate himself and dodge attacks. The blogger thought it was some form of telepathy, but I had a different theory. See, when Daredevil was first on the scene he wore a black fabric mask over his eyes. So I started to think, maybe he was using senses other than sight, because he couldn’t actually see.  From there it was just a matter of plugging in some Daredevil footage into a program I designed that analysed his movements and spatial awareness, and it proved my theory - he’s blind. Then I used facial recognition software to compare him against your lawyer and - even though it only ran on the bottom half of his face - it came back with a 92% probability of a match. Simple.”

Calina shook her head, dumfounded. At both Anya’s idea of ‘simple’…and the fact that her neighbour - her kind, handsome, blind neighbour - was a super-powered vigilante.

“You’re sure?” Calina whispered.

“I’m insulted you even have to ask,” was the dry reply.

“Sorry. It’s just a little…out there.”

“More ‘out there’ than the existence of a secret cabal of mind-controlled female assassins?”

“Good point. And thank you, Anya. For figuring all this out.”

“I didn’t just do it for you,” she replied in her typical blunt fashion. “This guy’s senses must be off-the-charts powerful for him to be able to fight and leap across buildings without using his eyes. So he can probably detect things about you that you don’t realise. Which means your secret - and ours - is at risk. I suggest you find another place to live before he figures it out.”

“I-I’ll take that under advisement,” Calina replied before saying her goodbyes and hanging up.

She sat back in the booth and blew out a long breath, still stunned at the news.

Matthew was Daredevil.

Matthew was Daredevil.

She hadn’t heard of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen prior to moving to New York; but she’d become very familiar with him since. He was like a folklore hero in these parts. Graffiti art of a red-suited man with devil horns graced the facades of several buildings. His antics made the local news, and were splashed across the tabloid papers.

He had his detractors - people who thought any form of vigilantism was wrong - but most thought he was making a positive impact on this little section of New York.

And he lived next door to her.

So should she move out?

She no longer had to worry about him reporting her to the Sokovia accords - not when he was operating outside of them himself. But it didn't mean that he would be accepting of having a former spy/assassin as a neighbour. And if he found out about her sisters - who were still engaging in covert, and sometimes deadly operations - would his moral code allow him to ignore that?

Because he did have a code.

All her research indicated that Daredevil had never killed a single one of his victims.

The Widow's hands were not so clean. Even now, freed from Dreyokov's control.  

Should she move out?

Calina contemplated the prospect as she stared out of the window. The night sky was dark, but the street was a riot of colour; the puddles on the sidewalk reflected the bright blue of the diner's sign. The lights of the cars on the roads were red and white blurs as they sped passed. The traffic signals blinked in amber and green. And the revellers headed to the bars and clubs were dressed to the nines in metallics and pinks and, multi-hued garments.

This place was so...alive.

She didn't want to move.

Not anymore.

She liked her building, and the residents she was slowly getting to know.  She liked her dance classes and her coffee place, and the subway, and the parks.

And though she’d come to accept that they’d never be more than neighbours, she still liked living next to Matthew. She liked hearing the clack of his cane as he walked to his door, and his deep voice, and the way he looked in his suits. Strange as it sounded, she even liked the feeling of longing that came when she caught a glimpse of him in the hallway. Her juvenile crush on him - the first she’d ever experienced in her life - felt like a piece of her lost adolescence that she’d regained. It felt so normal.

Was she being selfish, putting her sisters at risk for a bit of joy and a sliver of normality?

She thought back over the past 6 weeks, for anything that might have give her away to Matthew's heightened senses…but there was nothing.

No incriminating conversations that he might have overheard - her only visitor had been Yelena, and they hadn’t discussed Widow’s business in earshot. There was the incident in the mail room, but she wasn’t regularly fighting people in the building.

She shook her head, grabbed her phone and scooted out of the booth. She left the diner and started the walk back to her apartment, resolved to keeping it her apartment.

She hadn’t given anything away to Matthew that would point to her being a Widow. And as long as she was careful going forward, she never would.  

———

Her harmless crush on Matthew Murdock evolved into a bit of an obsession over the next few days.

She was fascinated by his double life: crusading lawyer by day; masked vigilant by night.

She started following Daredevil’s nightly adventures through social media - there was a hashtag that the locals used whenever they spotted his red-suited form flying along the rooftops, and she tracked it religiously.

She read all the articles about his exploits and watched the hours of videos that had been uploaded to YouTube over the years - shaky camera footage from bystanders that documented his athleticism, his strength and his skills.

It started as just another strategy to distract herself. The dance classes and the library visits and the coffee breaks worked to fill her daytime. But the nights were trickier, formed of seemingly endless hours in which her mind tormented her. Sleep was held at bay by memories of her past and the things she had done. When it eventually came, she was plagued by nightmares, her psyche not allowing her the peaceful respite of unconsciousness.

Shadowing Matthew online, studying his past, and following him in the present, helped fill the worst of those hours - the stretch between midnight and 3 am, when she was so tired she could barely move, but rest was an impossibility.

And the more she learned…the more impressed she was by her fearless neighbour.

She was particularly enamoured of his fighting style. It was an unusual mix of traditional boxing with martial arts, which somehow blended into a powerful but graceful technique that seemed uniquely his own. She couldn’t help but imagine sparring with him. Her own method of combat was so different from his - he opted for aggressive offence, whereas she excelled at defence. Strength wasn’t her greatest asset, so she’d been trained to escape rather than attack, which suited the nature of her missions - get in, get what was needed, and get out.

How would their two very different styles come together? Would it be an even match, their methods complimenting each other? Or would there be a clear victor?

It saddened her that she would never find out.

But while she gained respect for his skills...she started to worry about his safety.  

The leaps he took across rooftops defied gravity. The punches that landed on him looked brutal and punishing. He went after armed, ruthless criminals with nothing but a bit of armour and some sticks.

It didn't feel...sustainable. He was only human, after all. An incredibly gifted human, but flesh and blood and mortal just the same. And he’d been at this for years already. Almost every night, for years. It felt like he was tempting fate every time he stepped out onto their roof.

The urge to leave her apartment and follow him in person became a constant temptation. Not because she thought he needed back up. But just to see for herself that he was being as safe as possible. The twitter posts and the blogs and the footage weren’t enough. She needed to watch him in action. It was an urge that she couldn’t full explain, and one that she couldn’t ignore for long - it became an itch under her skin. A compulsion that had her pacing the small confines of her apartment at night as he risked his life somewhere out beyond her window.

Until one night…she gave in.

She pried up the floorboards in her bedroom and retrieved the bag containing her Widow suit. She’d stashed it there the day she’d moved in - buried it, more like, as if a body in a tomb. But just like Poe’s Tell-tale heart, her buried secret was not a silent corpse to be forgotten. It tugged at her, a constant reminder.

Maybe it wasn’t surprising that she suffered insomnia, with a skeleton like that beneath her bed.  

She shook out the thin black fabric, a kevlar-reinforced neoprene that allowed for as much protection as possible while providing maximum flexibility. She zipped herself into the suit and adjusted the leather reinforced shoulders and knee pads. She contemplated the belt with the attached thigh holsters but left it behind in the bag - she wasn’t going out looking for a fight, so her guns wouldn’t be necessary. But she didn’t want to be completely defenceless, so she strapped on her Widow’s bites - bracelets that could deliver powerful electric shocks, both up close and from afar.

She slipped on her fingerless gloves, and braided her long hair to keep it off her face. As she grabbed her newly purchased balaclava - a black woollen mask that would keep her identity hidden from the people of New York - she caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror beside her wardrobe.

She froze. Then straightened up and stared at the image of her past self.

Widow 118.

The spy. The covert operative. The infiltrator.

The liar.

The thief.

The occasional assassin.

She felt an overwhelming sense of revulsion. The taste of bile rose in her throat, and she could feel her skin drain of colour.

Fighting back the sensation, she took a deep breath and turned her back on the reflection.

This was different, she told herself.

This was her choice. Not a mission she’d been compelled to undertake.

And she was different now.

She wasn’t going out to do harm. Just to observe. Just to placate her fears over a man she had grown to admire and respect. The suit was just a practicality. She was comfortable in it, knew how to move in it, knew it would protect her.

It didn’t have to mean anything more.

———

The first night, she watched him from a distance.

She found a spot on a fire escape a couple of blocks away, and lifted a small pair of binoculars to her eyes. She trained them on the access door that led from his apartment to the rooftop - their rooftop - and waited for him to emerge.

She didn’t have to wait long.

After twenty minutes, when night had fully descended on the city and the moon was high overhead…the Devil appeared.

She held her breath at her first glimpse of him in person. He seemed…bigger somehow. More imposing than the lawyer in his suits. The blood-red armour fit him like a glove, showcasing his solid thighs and the breadth of his chest and the curve of his ass. The mask was suitably intimidating, the horns and the opaque red eyes hiding the kindness and humour that she knew lurked within.

He looked amazing.

Even more so, when he took a running start and somersaulted across to the next building. He sprinted over open spaces and vaulted over air vents and slid down gables, his movements fast and confident and…almost joyous. As if he was stretching his muscles and relishing his freedom.

What must it be like to have all that speed and agility and have to conceal it all day long?

Calina was struck by the feeling that she was only just now getting to see the real Matthew. That so much of what he presented to the world - to her - was a front.

A persona.

Just like her.

When she started to lose sight of him through the binoculars, she followed him across the skyline. Always several blocks behind, but always on his tail.

She felt the same exhilaration as she leapt and somersaulted across the concrete terrain, finally getting to utilise some of her own skills after so many weeks.

That night she watched as he stopped a would-be mugger in a dimly-lit gas station forecourt; as he saved a woman from sexual assault outside a nightclub; as he foiled a major drug deal at the docks, taking down a group of thugs in a chaotic melee. He was outnumbered by five, but he seemed completely in his element as he engaged the gang, incapacitating them one by one, and sometimes two at a time. It was a brutal, fast display of power and proficiency, and she once again admired his skill.

There was a beauty in his violence, that only a fellow fighter could understand. An efficiency, and a surprising amount of mercy.

There was no punishment in his attacks. No gratuitous pain.

He fought to put his assailants down, so they would stay down. That was it. He wasn’t sadistic or cruel.

He was a hero.

A hero who didn’t need her to worry about his safety. He dodged everything the gang threw at him -  punches, kicks, knives...

And even a bullet.

One of the men who had been felled by a leg sweep fumbled at his ankle holster as he sat on the ground. Calina gasped as she watched him draw a gun and point it at Matthew’s back. She had a moment of panic - too far away to warn him; too far away to do anything - as he fired.

But Matthew just...stepped to the side. As if he'd known that the weapon was trained on him. He sent one of his escrima sticks flying back at the gunman - knocking him out with a blow to the head - then continued fighting.

All without looking.

It was incredible.

Did he hear the movement of the finger on the trigger? Did he sense the the shooter hold his breath as he lined up his target?

How the hell did he do it?

It was yet one more mystery that she'd never get an answer to.

———

She followed him the next night.

And the one after that.

Always making sure that she arrived home before he did, not knowing the extent of his abilities and how careful she had to be.

So she erred on the side of very careful.

She snuck into her bedroom via the fire escape, in case he scented her on the rooftop. She showered off the sweat and adrenaline that clung to her, in case he could detect that. Then she lay in bed and worked to calm her heart rate and breathing to simulate deep sleep in case he checked.

She was probably being paranoid.

And overly hopeful.

Even if his senses were so powerful and finely tuned that he could pick up her heartbeat from across the hall...why would he bother?

He had made it clear that they were nothing more than two people who happened to share a corridor. They weren't friends, and they would never be more than that.

But still, she felt compelled to follow him out into the night.

To satisfy herself that he was okay...but also because it was helping her sleep. Whether it was the physical exertion tiring her out, or the fact that she was able to concentrate on something other than herself and her past for a while, the result was that she was getting a solid five hours of uninterrupted sleep after sneaking home in the early hours.

It was wonderful after so many restless nights.

So she continued the routine.

Until the fourth time she followed him.

She didn't sleep well that night.

Not at all.

——–

CHAPTER 12

Taglist: @hollandorks, @yanna-banana, @stilldreaming666, @tearosearts-blog

If you’d like to be added, let me know!

[helenadurazzo]

Ranking Taylor Swift Songs

1. Enchanted

2. Haunted

3. Picture To Burn

4. Better Than Revenge

5. Mr Perfectly Fine

6. Don’t Blame Me

7. Wildest Dreams

8. Getaway Car

9. Timeless

10. London Boy

11. Story Of Us

12. Love Story

13. Mine

14. Long Live

15. Forever and Always

16. Sparks Fly

17. Cruel Summer

18. Our Song

19. The Way I Loved You

20. Bejeweled

21. Dear John

22. The Last Time

23. Now That We Don’t Talk

24. All Too Well

25. Lavender Haze

26. Wonderland

27. Out Of The Woods

28. White Horse

29. Should’ve Said No

30. The Man

31. The Last Great American Dynasty

32. August

33. Long Story Short

34. Fearless

35. Back To December

36. Hey Stephen

37. Message In A Bottle

38. Safe and Sound

39. New Romantics

40. Karma

41. End Game

42. Look What You Made Me Do

43. Exile

44. Welcome To New York

45. Electric Touch

46. Delicate

47. A Place In This World

48. Mean

49. Change

50. I Almost Do

51. I Bet You Think About Me

52. Willow

53. Paper Rings

54. Fifteen

55. Blank Space

56. Style

57. Snow On The Beach

58. Never Grow Up

59. Breathe

60. Castles Crumbling

61. Ours

62. Anti Hero

63. Marjorie

64. It’s Nice To Have A Friend

65. Bad Blood

66. Lover

67. Cardigan

68. Cornelia Street

69. Labyrinth

70. Holy Ground

71. Treacherous

72. You Need to Calm Down

73. Never Getting Back Together

74. 22

75. I Knew You Were Trouble

76. The Best Day

77. I’m Only Me When I’m With You

78. I Can See You

79. Midnight Rain

80. You’re Not Sorry

81. Gorgeous

82. Seven

83. Mirrorball

84. Afterglow

85. Daylight

86. The 1

87. Red

88. I Did Something Bad

89. You’re On Your Own Kid

90. Great War

91. Me

92. This Is Me Trying

93. State of Grace

94. Invisible

95. The Outside

96. You Belong With Me

97. Teardrops On My Guitar

98. Untouchable

99. Today Was a Fairytale

100. Tell Me Why

101. Mary’s Song

102. Tim McGraw

103. Superman

104. Speak Now

105. That’s When

106. Gold Rush

107. No Body No Crime

108. Right Where You Left Me

109. My Tears Ricochet

110. Superstar

111. Don’t You

112. Jump Then Fall

113. Bye Bye Baby

114. I Know Places

115. Ivy

116. Is It Over Now

117. I Think He Knows

118. Cold As You

119. Last Kiss

120. You All Over Me

121. Say Don’t Go

122. Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

123. I Don’t Want To Live Forever

124. Shake It Off

125. Tolerate It

126. Maroon

127. Champagne Problems

128. Mad Woman

129. Tis The Damn Season

130. Starlight

131. The Other Side Of The Door

132. Come In With The Rain

133. You’re Losing Me

134. Invisible String

135. Illicit Affairs

136. Everything Has Changed

137. A Perfectly Good Heart

138. We Were Happy

139. Babe

140. Suburban Legends

141. Stay

142. The Very First Night

143. Wish You Would

144. Bigger Than The Whole Sky

145. Ready For It

146. Come Back Be Here

147. Closure

148. Mastermind

149. Sweet Nothing

150. Sad Beautiful Tragic

151. Stay Beautiful

152. The Lucky One

153. Begin Again

154. Girl At Home

155. Nothing New

156. Better Man

157. Miss Americana and the HBP

158. Paris

159. Question

160. Ronan

161. Forever Winter

162. Tied Together With A Smile

163. The Moment I Knew

164. Betty

165. Hoax

166. Coney Island

167. Clean

168. Call It What You Want

169. New Years Day

170. False God

171. King of My Heart

172. How You Get The Girl

173. You Are In Love

174. High Infidelity

175. Innocent

176. Foolish One

177. Death By A Thousand Cuts

178. This Love

179. So It Goes

180. The Archer

181. The Lakes

182. Dear Reader

183. Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve

184. I Forgot That You Existed

185. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

186. Dorothea

187. When Emma Falls In Love

188. Run

189. It’s Time To Go

190. Cowboy Like Me

191. Glitch

192. Dress

193. Peace

194. Epiphany

195. Soon You’ll Get Better

196. Evermore

197. Happiness

198. Slut

199. Vigilante Shit

200. Stay Stay Stay

[aidendh]

Original! OC! Aiden Harris

His info in the style of a BSD Wiki and his 18 year old outfit

{Bungou Stray Dogs}

Aiden Dawn Harris

--

Kanji: ハリス・エイデン

Rōmanji: Harisu Eiden

Also Known As: Cherise (vigilante alias), AidenDH (username), Sculpteur (corruption), Tikki (ladybug miraculous, former), Sculptor (akuma), Kaalki (horse miraculous, former), Mulalki (unified mouse/horse miraculouses, former), Kalikki (unified horse/ladybug miraculouses, former), Abigail (dead name), Abi (dead nickname)

-

Akutagawa Kinnie (by Abel)

Lil' Psycho (by Abel)

Namesake: Aiden D.H. (British supernatural and shoujo novelist)

--

-:Personal Information:-

Status: Alive

Gender: Male (He/They)

Sexuality: Gay, Asexual

Birthday: 31st March

Age: 18 (BSD/Mi Arc), 17 (England/Mi Arc), 16 (Miraculous Arc)

Height: 159 cm (5'2.5"), 154 cm (5'0.6") [16]

Weight: 92 lb (41.73 kg)

Blood Type: N/A

Likes: Anime, reading, otters, mice

Dislikes: Spiders, the dark, NSFW

--

-:Professional Information:-

Ability: Précure de Héros

Reference: Magic Mi! Hero Precure (Novel by Aiden D.H)

(My original magical girl story)

Occupation: Barista/Waiter, Vigilante, Student (former), Superhero (former)

Affiliation: Costa Coffee (England), East Surrey College (former), Héros Parisiens (former), Collège Françoise Dupont (former)

--

-:Metaverse Information:-

Name: Aiden Harris

Location: Mementos

--

-:Relationships:-

Family:

Max Harris (younger brother),

Unnamed Mother,

Unnamed Father,

Unnamed Step-Mom,

Suke Harris (older cousin),

Adrik Harris (older cousin)

--

-:Appearances:-

Manga Debut: Paris Precure, Origins Part 1

Anime Debut: Bungou Stray Dogs: Lost Souls, Precure arc

Light Novel Debut: Lost Souls, Paris Precure

--

-:Portrayal:-

Japanese Voice: Aiden Harris

English Voice: Aiden Harris

--

"

""

Aiden Harris (ハリス・エイデン,, Harisu Eiden) is the younger cousin of Suke Harris and Adrik Harris. He is the former leader of the Héros Parisiens in Paris. He is currently a vigilante under the power of his Ability, Précure de Héros.

Personality: Honest, Mutterer, Clever, Adaptable, Intuitive, group bby

Confidant/Arcana: Moon

-:Ability:-

Aiden's ability, Précure de Héros (Hero Precure), transforms him into a magical boy. If he inspires another to align with their heroic virtues, they will also gain this power when allied with him. However if they were to lose sight of their virtues, their form would become corrupted. These requirements also apply to him.

Précure de héros (Hero Precure)

Color: Pink

Manga Debut: N/A

Anime Debut: N/A

Light Novel Debut: N/A

Ability: Magical Girl Transformation, Power Awakening

(Basically his Magic Mi Ver)

--

-:Etymology:-

• The name 'Aiden' is of Gaelic origin, meaning 'little fire'.

• The surname 'Harris' is of English and Irish origin, meaning 'son of Harry/Henry'.

• The vigilante name 'Cherise' [Che•Reese] is a mix of the English word 'cherry' and the French word 'cerise' (cherry)

• The corrupted alias 'Sculpteur' is the French masculine word for 'sculptor'

--

-:Namesake:-

Aiden D.H. (31st March 2004 - Present)

A British novelist known for his works on Tumblr and Archive of our own. Though he specializes in Fan-Fiction crossovers, he has written his own original Magical Girl novel called 'Magic Mi! Hero Precure'.

(This is a fictional author based on me)

--

Aiden's design is based off of the Author's main oc of their Fanfictions

He is a year younger than his cousins

His Shadow is an upside-down Clawian who uses Physical/Wind and is weak to Psy, Exclusive Skill: Roulette* Uses a random skill

Aiden Harris (Magic Mi/BSD)

-

--

A British guy with a love for Supernatural Anime

Ability: Précure de Héros* Power Awakening

Mi: Bulb Choker Gem

Mi Mi: Pip (red mouse)

--

(Costa Coffee)

Aiden Harris (Work)

-

--

A Cafe Butler who easily strikes conversation with the customers

Ability: Précure de Héros* Power Awakening

Mi: Bulb Choker Gem

Mi Mi: Pip (red mouse)

--

For him to awaken to his Ability, he must decide that he can and should still help protect others even without the help of superpowers