howmanyspecialpeoplechange

[vampirecatprince]

Something is just haunting me about Wally saying he can't see, especially when you remember that his whole schtick is that he's an artist

[r3dmooon]

Secret Admirer — Wally Darling x gn! reader

summery: reader starts getting love letters in the mail. join them to figure out just who could it be!

wc: 1.5k

Master List

“Eddie, nice to see you!” I greeted with a wave. “I was just going to check my mailbox.” 

Eddie replied with a chuckle, “Well you’re right on time.”

“I’m guessing you got something for me?” I asked curiously.

“Got it right here,” Eddie beamed warmly, only to accidentally drop a few letters in his excitement. “Shoot!”

I laughed lightly, “It’s okay, here let me help.” I bent down and helped him gather the letters. Once everything was in order once more, Eddie managed to hand me the letter without any more problems. I looked down at the red envelope, my first name written in a fancy bubbly cursive. Little hearts were drawn next to my name as well. I looked up at Eddie with surprise, a knowing expression resting on his face.

“See ya around,” He waved, already walking off.

“Bye,” I replied absent mindedly, gaze falling back to the letter. Whoever wrote this definitely put their heart into it. I tried to open the envelope as nicely as I could, and quickly took out the letter. Reading it made my heart flutter. I felt a bit more self conscious, but in a good way. I felt more attractive. I put the letter away in a safe spot, feeling giddy. A secret admirer, who would’ve guessed? 

I felt light as I made the trek to Sally’s place. I promised her that I’d help paint sets for her newest play. 

“Hey…” Sally trailed off. “Something going on?”

I waved her off, my mind clouded with that mysterious letter of admiration, “It’s nothing.” 

She gave me a disbelieving look, “You look like you’re in la la land.” 

“Is it that obvious?” I asked embarrassed. “I mean…it’s not a big deal…I got this letter today.”

“What kind of letter?” Sally asked, handing me an apron and paint brush. 

I tied the apron and got started on the backdrop and whispered back, “A love letter.”

“Really!” Sally exclaimed, her eyes seeming to have stars in them. “That’s just like the next play I’m doing! Who’s it from?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied honestly. “The signature was from ‘your secret admirer’.”

The rest of the day went on. Joking around with Sally, we were nearly complete with the backdrop, but the sun started setting. I kept trying to think of who could possibly think of me like that. Would they send me another letter tomorrow? Eddie seemed to know…but I know he’d never tell me who. I let out a sigh as I laid in bed. I stared up at the ceiling blankly. I was too excited to sleep. 

The next morning, I woke up as energetic as ever. I dressed up a bit more than usual, styled my hair to the best of my ability and checked myself out in the mirror to make sure I looked alright. Anticipation running through me, I dashed outside. I didn’t see Eddie, and I checked my mailbox just in case. My smile fell as it was empty. But I quickly shook the disappointment away. I got a letter, my name plastered right on it! Someone here admired me! 

…

Unless it was a joke…

No, don’t think like that. I needed to head to Howdy’s Place anyway. I woke up earlier than normal today. Maybe a new letter will show up once I get back. The gentle sound of a bell ringing sounded as I opened the door to Howdy’s shop. 

“Hiya (y/n)!” Howdy greeted with a wave. His other hands put apples in a basket. 

“Why hello friend,” Wally smiled. 

“Hello guys,” I smiled. Walking around, I grabbed items I was getting low on at home.

“You got plans today?” Howdy asked as I placed the items on the counter. I noticed that Wally didn’t leave yet, idly standing by his basket of apples that were also on the counter. 

“No,” I shook my head. “Why?”

“You’re dressed more fancy than usual,” Howdy shrugged, bagging my items. “So, what do you got for me today?”

“Why do cows wear bells?” I asked, pausing before continuing. “Because their horns don’t work!”

Howdy let out a laugh, pushing the bag towards me, but I jumped in surprise at Wally’s laugh. I kept forgetting that he’s here! He’s being so quiet, which I suppose isn’t too unusual due to how lively our friends are. I smiled at the two sheepishly, was my joke really that funny? 

“Thank you kindly,” Howdy grinned as I grabbed the bag.

“Thank you,” I replied with a nod. Turning towards the door, I smiled at Wally. “Walk with me?” I offered as he seemed to be waiting for me to be done shopping. 

“I would love to, friend,” Wally replied back. The sun shone brightly above us as we exited the shop. I smiled a bit at the nice weather. I turned my gaze to Wally, only to find him already looking at me. 

“The weather sure is lovely,” I spoke up.

“Yes,” Wally agreed. “Days like these always give me inspiration.” We conversed some more before we arrived at my house. I checked the mailbox on instinct and my smile widened at the sight. Another red envelope sat waiting. 

“What’s that?” Wally asked and I tensed as I felt him look from beside me. I shoved the envelope in my paper bag and laughed awkwardly.

“Oh, nothing,” I dismissed. I felt a bit shy under his stare, it felt…intense. It was like I couldn’t look away. 

“It was lovely walking with you, friend,” Wally commented. 

“You too,” I smiled back. “I’ll see you around.”

Wally nodded in acknowledgement and I went into my house. I put away the food first before taking the envelope and sitting on my couch. I stared at the familiar cursive lettering of my name. I opened it excitedly and the letter was even sweeter than the last one! Gah, why can’t they just tell me who they were? 

I was kind of hoping it was Wally. I mean how could I not? He was charming, lovely, and a pleasure to be around! It didn’t help that he seemed to always pay attention to me. Sally even brought it up before. I just wanted to give him a peck on the cheek!

What if it wasn’t him though? The thought made my stomach fall flat. I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I liked Wally…I looked down at the letter in slight guilt. This person seemed to really care and like me in a way I’ve never received before…would I really give that away for Wally? Is it just the attention I like? Geeze, I need to calm down. This is only the second letter and I’m making up crazy scenarios. All I can really do is see where this will go. Maybe I should go talk to Sally? 

“Eddie!” I shouted, glad I was able to catch him as he delivered me another red envelope. It’s been a week, and I felt myself fall more and more for this mystery person who has been adamant on sending me these letters. Each one made me swoon, wishing I could know who seemed to like me so strongly. 

“Hello (y/n),” Eddie greeted back with a bright grin. “How are you this cloudy morning?”

“Terrible,” I pouted. Eddie looked a bit concerned at first but lightened up as I continued, “I need to know who's sending me these letters!”

“Now now,” Eddie chuckled. “I’m sure they’ll tell you in their own time.”

“I know,” I groaned. “I just want to meet them so badly.” 

“All in due time,” Eddie smiled, tipping his hat slightly before continuing on his way. I let out an over dramatic sigh. 

“What seems to be the problem, friend?” The familiar voice of Wally spoke up. I turned to him, startled. He always managed to sneak up on me and I wasn’t sure how he did it. I looked at the letter I held in reflex, debating on whether or not to tell him. Wally was a great friend, but so far the only people who knew were Sally and Eddie. “I’ve seen you with those red envelopes a few times,” Wally hummed in observation. “Who's been writing to you? A pen pal?”

“Not exactly,” I mumbled, feeling shy about the topic. “A secret admirer.”

“My my,” Wally teased lightly. “Someone’s become famous. Join me for a walk?”

“Okay,” I agreed, shoving the letter in my pocket. “Any idea who it is?”

“I might,” Wally grinned mischievously. 

My mouth fell open and I huffed out, “Does everyone know but me?”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Wally laughed. “No.” 

I frowned, eyebrows furrowing in thought, “Did they tell you?”

“Silly silly,” Wally teased. “I’m a bit bashful to confess this, but I’ve been the one sending you those letters.” I stopped in my tracks and stared at him in shock. He turned around and tilted his head a bit, his gaze holding light concern. 

“I hope I wasn’t overstepping,” Wally apologized.

I quickly shook my head, “No, no.” I can’t believe the person who holds my affections was actually Wally Darling. The cool and collected (not to mention skilled and stylish) Wally! 

Wally’s smile returned, his gaze never wavering, “I’m glad you feel the same.”

“I said that out loud?” I cried out, hands over my mouth in shock. 

“Ha, ha, ha,” Wally laughed, stepping closer. “You are just so endearing.” 

My brain short circuited as Wally kissed my cheek.

[queenshelby]

Our Little Secret (Part 53)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Infidelity, Age-Gap, Triggers, Smut

Over the next few days, this was exactly what Mark did and what he found was something Sean knew would upset you greatly. 

"It looks like your girlfriend's ex is a serial cheater  and he has been for quite some time," Mark divulged, as Sean listened intently, taking in all the information with great interest. He already didn't like Cillian but this, this just confirmed it all for him.

"In early 2009, he cheated on his ex-wife with Sianna Miller, then in 2010 he hooked up with some model from Brussels when they were attending some kind of event. He also had a few flings while filming, one with Annabelle Wallis in 2014 and another with his assistant Julia. Then of course he went on with your girlfriend and knocked her up, but who's counting?

"Fuck me," Sean gasped as his face blanched at this revelation and he felt disgust building up within him. 

"Do you think she knows?" Mark  asked, looking at Sean with curiosity written all over his face.

Sean sighed heavily, "I doubt it. She's too engrossed in the whole idealized perception of this man to actually see who he really is," he told his friend impassively.

"You still want to play this game, then?" Mark taunted, grinning at his friend's reaction.

"I think so," Sean replied flatly.

"Good because I called that woman from Brussels, and she confirmed the affair," Mark said proudly, wondering how Sean could possibly break the news to you now that he had some proof.

"And what now? Am I just going to tell her about it or, -?" Sean  pondered aloud to himself before rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger, feeling a growing sense of urgency brew within him.

Having spent hours on end gathering the information on Cillian's alleged infidelity, Sean couldn't help but feel a strong compulsion to confront you with the evidence, forcing you to make a decision regarding your future with this man.

But, at the same time, Sean also knew that his actions could potentially cause the two of you to drift apart as well. Revealing dirt on your ex would make him look bad and jealous, which was something that could be detrimental against winning you over. 

Thus, Sean spent several days mulling over the best course of action, coming up with various scenarios and schemas until, eventually, he hit upon a seemingly flawless plan.

Mark had agreed to write about it to you, anonymously, seeking your comment on these allegations before publication would take place. He knew that this would prompt you to discuss the matters with Cillian and thereby creating a conflict between the two of you just before the wedding without Sean actually having to get involved.

Sean thought that this was the best way to go about it and make you question the wisdom behind your ongoing platonic and yet conflicting relationship with Cillian.

And, of course, the plan worked when, on the Monday morning, a few days before Siobhan's wedding, you received an email with the subject line "Unverified Allegations Against Cillian Murphy - Invitation to comment" sent from a reporter at the Irish Times, from an email address you didn't recognise. 

"Dear Miss Y/LN

I am writing to invite your comment for an article that is currently being put together here at the Irish Times. The article deals with unverified allegations of extensive infidelity of the Hollywood actor, Cillian Murphy, with whom I understand the recipient of this email had an affair during 2023. 

The allegations relate to incidents reported between 2007 to 2024 respectively and whilst we have already received statements confirming these allegations from some of the other women involved, including model Alana Simmons and two others, we would also welcome and appreciate any relevant comment you would wish to make.

I look forward to receiving your reply, which we will ensure is included in its entirety in our article.

Kindest Regards

Mark Schulze

Reporter

The Irish Times"

You squinted at the screen, feeling a strange mixture of shock, anger, and confusion. What the fuck was this?

You stared at the email, your heart beating fast. You couldn't believe what you were reading. It couldn't be true, could it? He had always been adamant that you were the only one he had ever cheated on Danielle with and you wondered whether it was all a lie.

Was all that you had together a lie? Did he ever love you? Could he ever love you?

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[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

[Teen Sprig and Maddie knock on Ivy’s door before being pulled in by Ivy]

Sprig: Whoa! What’s the big deal? Why’d you call us over so suddenly?

Ivy: I think I’ve figured it out. The worst secret in all of Wartwood, no, all of Amphibia! It took months of investigation, undercover work, digging through my mom’s stuff, making underhanded deals in the Bizarre Bazaar, seeking Dark Magic and asking Chuck but I’ve come to the only conclusion…

[Ivy flips a chalkboard revealing a conspiracy board with all the string going to a picture of One-Eyed Wally]

Ivy: One-Eyed Wally is my dad!

Maddie: Oof…you have my sympathy, Ives.

Ivy: Thanks, Madds. I of course don’t want to believe it but all of the evidence points to it and I’m 99% sure.

Sprig: Have you asked your mom and possible dad?

Ivy: Wally doesn’t know and my Mom never talks about it. Probably too embarrassed about having a kid with that bardic hobo. But once I present all of my evidence, my mom will have to tell me the truth or she’ll have me live my life thinking Wally is my dad.

Sprig: Well at least your grandpa’s rich then.

Ivy & Maddie: ……………………what?……………

[thevioletscout]

An overly long analysis on who got turned into ink creatures and who’s just a copy

So like many people I have conflicting feelings about the reveal in Dark Revival that some people in the studio are just recreations of their real world counterparts and are not the actual people. I think it’s safe to say a lot of it reeks of retconning to avoid the implications of all these people going missing and being trapped in the cycle indefinitely. And a weird attempt to redeem Joey.

However, there is still a ton of evidence that some of the people we encounter in the studio are in fact the real deal. Mainly because of the damn books. So let’s go over who’s real and who’s not!

1. Twisted Alice

Thank god for clear fucking storytelling. Without a doubt, Twisted Alice is the real Susie Campbell. 

Don’t believe me? Let’s go over the evidence. Thankfully, it’s actually in the game itself, in one audiolog;

"I know how much this part means to ya, Susie. Alice means a lot to me too. Gosh, all of my characters do! In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret. I too really believe my characters are more than just drawings. They're alive. They're part of us. And I want people to know them as well as I do. I want people to be able to shake their hands, spend an afternoon with 'em. Love them. Susie, I'll be straight with you. I'm putting together a small project... a little ceremony if you will. If it works, a lot of dreams will come true. And I want you to be a part of it. ...I want you to bring Alice to life once again. What do ya say?"

And if you still don’t believe me, let’s refer to another one of Joey Drew’s audio logs from the same chapter;

"Listen Tommy, I know you boys over at Gent are doing your best, but I'm paying for living attractions, not weird abominations! Whatever that grinning thing was I saw wandering around your office, you better keep it locked up tight! I realize it was a first attempt but imagine if the press caught sight of it! Might scare off investors! And in response to your previous memo: If you claim that your failures are because these things are soulless, then, damn it, we'll get them a soul! After all, I own thousands of them!"

With both of these audio logs in mind, what else could Joey have been planning but to literally make Susie into Alice Angel? For the cherry on top, Alice also recalls many of Susie’s memories throughout Chapter 3 and even directly refers to herself as Susie.

I also want us to keep these audio logs in mind because these confirm that Joey had to have taken human souls from his employees, even if its not as many as we thought.

2. Tom and Allison Angel

Yes, I’m putting these two together. Their characters are pretty closely tied so if one’s real it’s likely the other is. And unfortunately, that is not the case.

Both Tom and Allison are copies.

This is actually something that can be deduced from the first game. In Joey’s house, we get a corkboard of basically three confirmed survivors. Wally Franks, Thomas Connor, and Allison Connor née Pendle. They all politely rejected Joey’s attempts to “reconnect.” This, sidenote, is also partially why I can’t be too mad at the reveal that some people in the studio aren’t the real deal. It was already set up as a real possibility.

On top of that, the memory of Joey in Dark Revival outright confirms that Allison Angel is just based off the real Allison, and not actually her.

So as disappointing as it may be, these two are fakes.

3. Buddy Boris

If you’re only familiar with the games, you might be surprised by this, but real. 

In the book, Dreams Come to Life, we are introduced to the character Daniel “Buddy” Lewik. Now spoilers for the book, but he becomes the perfect Boris. This is outright confirmed. We see it happen, and Buddy tells us outright this is the case. 

“Now I'm not really Buddy anymore. I am also Boris. Descending deeper into this world of ageing, yellowing madness.”

Case closed.

This book is also some of the most explicit confirmation that at least some of the studio employees entered the Cycle.

4. Sammy Lawrence

REAL. I will not hear anything else!

Alright, let’s revisit Dreams Come to Life, because aside from providing the origin story for our favorite Boris it also clearly illustrates the transformation of Sammy from stressed music director to unhinged prophet.

In the book, an ink pipe bursts and Sammy gets covered in the gunk. Buddy helps him clean up, however some had already gotten into Sammy’s mouth, and he got addicted to it. From there, Sammy’s behavior gets increasingly strange, and he begins drinking the ink whenever he can. Most tellingly, he begins to worship the Ink Demon. He then disappears, in actuality hiding.

Skipping ahead a bit, Buddy is captured alongside another character named Richie. Enter Sammy, now completely transformed into his Lost One-esque appearance. A visual confirmation that Sammy Lawrence became the prophet.

After this point, things get a bit blurry. Sammy is knocked out when Dot comes to rescue Buddy. However, he is not confirmed as dead- at least for good, and in all likelihood survived and entered the Cycle.

5. The Projectionist

Like Sammy and Buddy, Norman’s fate is mostly confirmed via Dreams Come to Life. Thankfully for my time and sanity, his confirmation is a bit simpler.

Norman’s fate is quite abrupt. By the time Buddy and Dot last see him, he’s already dead. Admittedly, my understanding gets fuzzy from here. Joey confirms that his soul was meant to be used, but that he was infected by the ink so there’s very little soul left to use.

I’m not entirely sure what that’s trying to tell us, but I think it is trying to say that Norman did become the Projectionist. Mainly because Joey says there’s little soul left, not that the soul is unusable. It would also leave a pretty loose thread for the Projectionist’s existence if he is not Norman.

On top of this, the achievement you get if you kill the Projectionist in chapter 3 is “Norman’s Fate.” A pretty strong indicator that the Projectionist is actually Norman.

6. Jack Fain

Jack’s status is actually a little hard to determine. There’s nothing that outright confirms he entered the Cycle and nothing that outright confirms he didn’t.

Personally, I think it would not only be a little random for Joey to make a fake Jack Fain, but a fake Jack Fain that’s a searcher of all things. As such, I’m going to conclude that this is the real Jack Fain, for now.

7. Bertrum Piedmont

Again, there’s little confirming either way, but there is a little more detail to suggest that this is the real Bertrum, so I think I’m also going to go with “real Bertrum until proven otherwise.”

8. Henry Stein

This one hurts, but... Fake. I believe at one point in development, this was the real Henry, but unfortunately Dark Revival pretty explicitly confirms that this Henry is just a copy, and there isn’t enough evidence to pull from the first game that proves that’s a lie beyond nitpicking about throwaway lines.

9. Honorable Mentions

We also have two other characters with undetermined fates. Grant Cohen and Lacie Benton. We know they are dead, but have yet to come across a confirmed encounter with them in the studio. There are also numerous characters in the Dark Revival with little confirmation either way.

Conclusion

So to wrap up.

Real: Twisted Alice, Buddy Boris, Sammy Lawrence, and The Projectionist Fake: Allison Angel, Tom, and Henry Technically Unknown but Presumed Real: Bertrum Piedmont and Jack Fain

In conclusion, these games give me a headache. Bye.

[am-i-obsessed---maybe]

Revelation (Shadow Of A Bluejay Ch.8)

Wordcount: 2.8k

One of the longer chapters. though now I'd like to take a moment to humbly brag. I've been dealing with both usual depression and an unusual stomach ulcer (which is the most fanfiction author thing that's happened to me yet) so this chapter took way longer than expected. Either way we're slowly creeping towards the end of the season!

Series Masterlist

Mount Justice October 1, 18:12 EDT

You met up with Artemis outside the Happy Harbor zeta-tube. You hadn't seen each other in almost two weeks so you decided you'd hang out on your own for a bit before joining the rest of the team. That meant that when you got to the cave it wasn't through the zeta-tubes but through the main entrance.

"Hey, where are you two coming from?" Wally asked, greeting you both at the entrance.

"Blue here was finally ungrounded so we thought we'd have some BNACT" Artemis said. Wally looked confused.

"BNACT?" He asked.

"Blue and Artemis civilian time" You supplied.

"Right" He said, coming up to walk beside you. "You know you never told me what you were grounded for" Wally said and you smirked. "Sorry, classified" You said and he groaned.

"Come on! Mx. I do as I'm told rule follower did something bad for once and you won't tell me?!" He complained.

"What can I say, it's classified" You told him, floating up just a bit above the ground to be taller than him, smirking before flying off to find the rest of the team.

Artemis leaned in next to Wally's ear, "They went on a secret mission and Canary found out" She said and Wally's eyes widened.

"They told you?!" He practically yelled and Artemis smiled.

"What can I say, I'm their best friend" She said cheekily.

Wally grumbled, "I thought I was their best friend" He said.

Wally and Artemis joined you, Robin, Kaldur, M'gann and Connor along with Zatara and Captain Marvel (who had been taking over as Den Mother after Red Tornado attacked the team the day after you got back from your mission with Roy) in the training room just as Batman zeta'd in.

"Computer, national news" He said and the computer brought up a projection of GBS news.

A slender blonde woman whom you recognised as the reporter Cat Grant was telling the viewers about an attack of a giant plant monster on Metropolis. "Despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice league there seems to be no end in sight" She said.

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked but Batman shut him down.

"No. The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here" Batman said.

"Then why are you here?" You asked. You weren't Batman's biggest fan. Between his harshness and his lack of positive reinforcement for both Robin and the team as a whole, you didn't like him very much.

"According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus Blockbuster formula to Kobra" He said and Wally jumped in to continue.

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra Venom" He said. "Which the Brain then used to create his animal army" Robin continued.

You'd been informed about their very interesting mission to India. It was the first day you were grounded and you barely managed to convince Dinah to let you keep your radio earpiece with you. She was very strict about no patrol and no Team as long as you were grounded. She really wasn't happy about your mission with Roy, even though she barely knew the half of it. In the end you reminded her that in an emergency that radio was your best way of communicating with both the Team and her. She let you keep it and you got a full recap of the mission after they finished.

"Batman, is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom too?" Artemis asked.

"I had green lantern run a spot analysis. The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant." Batman explained.

"These cannot be coincidences, unrelated criminals cooperating with one another worldwide" Kaldur added.

"Exactly" Batman agreed, "It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of supervillains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning." He said.

"Got that right. Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei—" Robin was interrupted by the screen becoming staticy. You'd never seen it do that before.

"Dude" Wally said.

"It's not me, someone's cutting into the satellite signal— All satellite signals!" Robin exclaimed.

The static stopped and a single face covered the screen, supposedly all screens. The Joker's sheet white face and horrid smile was projected to the size of the computer. It was at least as tall as you and you couldn't help but make a face.

"Ladies, gentlemen and viewers of all ages, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement from the Injustice League" He said in that slow drawl that made his presence all the creepier. The camera slowly panned to show the rest of this so called Injustice League. Wotan. Atomic Skull. Ultra-humanite. Count Vertigo, Black Adam and Poison Ivy, along with of course the Joker himself.

He laughed as the camera slowly zoomed in to the Vlatavan count.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them a ransom of ten billion american dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait..." He trailed off and the Joker took the liberty of filling in the blanks.

"The longer we get to have our jollies" He said and once again the screen was covered in static.

Robin reset the screen. He was recording the message and stopped on the image of the Injustice League as a whole. He listed them all of, all were heavy hitters most likely behind everything the Team has faced until now. Every mission and ever villain you fought came back to these seven. At least that was Robin's theory.

"There's your secret society" Wally said.

"Not so secret anymore" Artemis added.

"But what good is revealing themselves now? I understand taking responsibility for the attacks if they want a ransom but why reveal their hand?" You asked out loud.

"Perhaps after India they realised that we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer" Kaldur suggested and that was a possibility though it didn't sit completely right with you. They were missing a League Of Shadows representative. The team had far too many run ins with Sportmaster and the his like for the shadows to not be involved. Not that you expected to see Ra's Al Ghul among the villains but someone working for him, maybe Sportmaster himself.

"What about Sportmaster though? He works most often for the Shadows and he isn't here, or anyone else we can connect to the Shadows?" You said.

"The League Of Shadows don't usually ally themselves with others. They work with mercenaries like Sportmaster but they wouldn't ally themselves as an organization. Those were most likely one off meetings" Batman said and you nodded. He was right. You were probably just a bit paranoid after the mission with Roy.

"Back to the important stuff" Wally said, "I say we go kick some plant creature butt!" He exclaimed.

"The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team" Batman said and Wally immediately deflated.

"Oh man" He said.

"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." Batman instructed.

Zatara turned to him, "You realize what you are really asking them to do" He said and Batman nodded.

"They're ready" He said and you hoped for once he was right because it wouldn't be easy taking on the Injustice League without the help of your mentors.

Bayou Bartholomew October 1, 18:52 CDT

The team flew through the air in the Bioship in silence. Robin reviewing his batarangs, Artemis going through her quiver and you adjusting your new batons. They were a parting gift from your mother. Extendable batons, small enough that that could fit in a pouch on your utility belt.

"Those are new" Robin said, looking at the shining new weapons.

"Yeah, GA was tinkering" You lied and Robin smiled.

"You know how to use 'em?" He asked and you nodded.

"Like you wouldn't believe" you replied. You were trained in many weapons and though your speciality with the Shadows were double short swords, batons were similar if slightly less lethal.

Behind you M'gann groaned, holding her head.

"You alright?" Conner asked.

"Dizzy" She replied.

"Martians get air sick?" Robin asked.

"Not me, her" M'gann replied.

"I feel fine" Artemis said.

"Not her the Bioship. She's trying to shield us but—" Suddenly your very calm and steady flight became erratic and out of the corner of your eyes you saw Count Vertigo.

You went flying, well the ship went flying, someone had hit it from the bottom flinging it out of control and causing it to crash in the bayou.

Of course that wasn't all as plant creatures began pulling the Bioship under the water.

Black Adam forced a hole the top of the ship and while Superboy punched him away, stopping him from getting in he couldn't stop the water that was slowly filling the ship.

"No. No way I am nearly drowning three missions in a row" Artemis said, putting a rebreather over her mouth and shoving one into Wally's hands. The two had become more friendly, even playful with each other in your absence.

You took out your own rebreather.

"I guess I missed quite a lot didn't I" You said and Artemis nodded, unable to talk with the device in her mouth.

M'gann opened a hatch at the bottom of the Bioship and you all swam out, managing to escape the ship just in time.

"She's in shock. She'll need time to recover" M'gann said. That wasn't good. It meant you couldn't rely on the Bioship to get out in a pinch. What was worse was that you didn't even get a moment to breath. As soon as M'gann finished an all too familiar psychic force forced you to the ground.

"Vertigo" You sneered, searching the area until you found the offending count.

"Count Vertigo to you peasant" He said and you slowly pushed yourself up.

"I see all the times Canary and I beat you weren't enough, you had to come back for more" You said, giving your teammates time to recover while you kept Vertigo's attention on you.

Kaldur used his water bearers to channel the water from the bayou and knock Vertigo away.

"Robin, Miss Martian disappear! We will keep them busy, you two fulfill the mission objective" Kaldur ordered through the mind link and Robin nodded, jumping off somewhere while Miss M went into camouflage mode.

You ran at Vertigo, slowed only by his psychic force and even still not completely. You managed a few hits before you were thrown aside.

"Without Canary to counter my attacks you are nothing little bird" He said, hitting you with another attack that knocked you out.

You woke up before the others only to quickly remember where you were and what happened. You decided the best course of action was to keep your eyes closed, pretend to still be out and see what you could overhear. Of course that didn't work because as soon as your teammates woke up they made it known.

"They awaken, you are certain this will hold them?" Vertigo asked and a different voice answered.

"The cage is impenetrable. Even the Superboy has no chance of escaping" Wotan replied. He was keeping you in a magical cage while Black Adam flew you all back to the Injustice League's base.

This wasn't bad. So long as you kept their attention on you and your group long enough for Robin and Miss Martian to destroy their base you were good.

"You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts Wotan!" Kaldur exclaimed, grabbing hold of the bars and charging mystic force through the tattoos along his arms.

Kaldur released the bars as if they burned him but nothing else happened.

"Please Atlantean, do not pretend you are in my league" Wotan said and you put a careful hand on Kaldur's shoulder.

"You okay?" You asked and he nodded, turning his attention back to the group. Without M'gann there was no telepathic link so you had no way to communicate without your capturs overhearing.

They'd taken your weapons and your utility belt. There really wasn't anything you could do until you found a way out of this cage.

You knew Robin and Miss M haven't completed the mission yet because the huge plant that you assumed was controlling the plant creatures around the world was still standing, breaking through the roof of what you assumed was the Injustice League's base of operations.

You were racking your brain, trying to think of ways to get out of your predicament when the Bioship appeared, knocking over Wotan and disrupting whatever spell he was using to create the cage.

It took you a moment but you kept yourself in the air, unfortunately with nothing holding you up your teammates fell down to the ground.

Superboy and Aqualad would be fine. They both had super strength and durability (at least to some extent) but you flew down and grabbed both Artemis and KF's hands, bringing them safely and more slowly to the ground.

"Thanks Blue" KF said and you smiled.

"Anytime KF" you said.

Both you and Wally turned your attention on Count Vertigo and Black Adam.

"You think you can still pack a punch without your new toys blue?" Wally asked and you smirked.

"Enough for this mission" You told him and with a jump, flew high into the air while Wally took a running start at Vertigo. "Atom, after them!" Vertigo said as he focused his attack on KF and Black Adam took off after you into the sky.

Black Adam was strong and fast but not the brightest and you managed to get in a few sneaky hits in the sky before a loud explosion rocked through the bayou.

"Yes!" You yelled only for Adam to take the moment you were distracted and fling you back into the ground, painfully.

To your advantage you fell into mud so while it wasn't pleasant it also wasn't lethal. You made it back just in time to hear Count Vertigo's orders.

"Kill them. Kill them all." He said.

You wanted to get up, you really tried but Wotan was using a spell to keep you, Kaldur and Robin (who had tried to run to you and make sure you were alright) in place.

Soon he turned his spell to the rest of the team and beside you as kaldur tried to shield M'gann you heard him quietly tell her the worst possible thing.

"Plan B."

Plan Bs were never good.

M'gann's eyes glowed green and she brought the Bioship above the two of them, opening a hatch and dropping Kaldur's duffel from the ship and into his lap.

You'd seen the duffel on the trip to the bayou but you hadn't seen what was inside it.

You watched carefully as Kaldur opened the bag and held up the single item inside.

Wotan stopped, "The helmet of fate" He said.

He wouldn't. Kaldur knew the dangers of using the helmet he wouldn't use it now.

You could barely call out no as you saw him put on the helmet and become Dr. Fate.

Wally tried to protest but Black Adam knocked him into a tree beside. you.

The both of you slowly stood, using each other to stay up.

"Oh dude" Wally said, looking at Kaldur.

You didn't know what to say.

Wally turned to you, "are you okay? You stayed down for a while" He said.

"Yeah well, Adam threw me almost a thousand feet. I'm just lucky I landed in mud. What about you? You're holding your arm like it's painfully" You said and he shrugged.

"It's fine, come on, we can't waste the opportunity Kaldur gave us" Wally said, running to help Miss M and Artemis.

You stayed back, you'd had enough concussions to know you had one, even with your softened landing. Your head was buzzing and you knew that if you tried to walk you'd fall. Not that your help was very needed.

Kaldur took on Wotan, Robin was busy fighting the Joker and Wally, Artemis, M'gann and Conner were holding their own against a combination of Vertigo, Poison Ivy and Ultra Humanite.

They didn't have to hold out for long, because the Justice League soon joined you all.

"It's over" Batman said and the villains raised their hands in surrender.

At this point you could barely stand, instead leaning on the tree trunk beside you.

You could hear people talking around you, you heard the Joker's deranged laugh and saw plants rising out of the bayou but you couldn't understand what was going on.

I'm about to pass out, you thought as your vision blurred.

Dinah noticed your increasingly worsening state and managed to make it to you just in time to catch you as you collapsed.

[taxi-cab-to-slowtown]

Core Disaster Week-- Day 4

Mission Report: May 24, 20XX

Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, Robin

Mission Completed: Meet the Batfamily

Summary: Yes, I’m writing a report for this, because you’re all fucking assholes and I hate your fucking guts. I hope that Dick turns into a vampire and murders you all like that weird dream I had. (Also, I would totally not be that easy to kill? Seriously? Just curb-stomp my head? Didn’t even ask if I wanted to join your vampire regime, but Jason, Jason got asked before you killed him? Seriously? Asshole). 

Notes: I promise you, I swear on the souls of all of those who have fallen on Gotham’s streets, I will have my revenge, and it will be sweet and swift, and you will all fear the name Timothy Drake-Wayne till the ends of time. You will wish the Dick turned into a vampire and killed or turned you all. (Seriously, it was a weird dream and I have no idea where it came from. No, Bart, it wasn’t the LSD, now be quiet). 

Notes For B: I apologise in advance for the fact that you will be short-staffed for the next couple weeks. I hope you understand though, the whole “I am Vengeance” and all that shit. 

Report: I had not actually told anyone in the family about my new relationship. It wasn’t secret per se, but I also didn’t want to have to deal with Dick’s insufferable attitude, or Wally giving me a shovel-talk about dating his first-cousin-once-removed, or Jason making fun of me for not realising that my two best friends were my soulmates. 

Thing was, I hadn’t told Bart or Kon this, so when we had a job helping out Dick’s team this morning and Dick and Wally started doing their obnoxious PDA thing, they decided it would be fun to get them back. Kon and Bart started laying it on thick, flirting with me instead of actually paying attention to the fight. This was annoying for two reasons. One– these two idiots were paying as much attention to my order as they were at one-upping my brother and his boyfriend– and two– my brother caught on pretty fast that we were soulmates after that. 

Naturally, Dick approached me after the fight for interrogation, right when I was yelling at my two idiot boyfriends for flirting instead of fighting. He overheard and quickly figured out what was going on. He pulled me into a tight hug from behind, lifting me off my feet and squealing about how “baby bird found his soulmates” over and over again while spilling around with me in his arms. I smacked him over the head a couple times with my bo staff but he didn’t seem to care. 

As soon as he put me down, he called Alfred and told Bart and Kon that they were coming to a family dinner that night. He didn’t even ask them if they knew my identity and I didn’t get a chance to explain that they only knew me as Tim Drake and therefore were not aware of anyone else in the family’s identity. 

They came, of course. Kon almost fainted from shock when he revealed that Bruce Wayne was Batman, and also my father. Really, they could have just looked me up, but they didn’t. 

Then, came the stuff you assholes all know about, because you created it! Wally managed to corner me and give me a long, long shovel talk while the rest of you “tested to see if they were good enough for me.” I don’t know what all you did to them, but I’ve never seen Bart look as terrified of anyone as he did of Dick when he sat down at the table, or Kon as scared as he was of Jason. 

You’re all assholes and you better tell me what you did to my soulmates, or else I’m going to kill you all!!!*

*no, no actual killing, B. I would never actually kill anyone.

[antisocia-cat]

Hello, hello! Good to see you, fellow neighbor! I am quite new this ask blogs, yet I am happy to say I am excited for what awaits! As you can already tell, I am one big fan of Welcome Home! Such a amazing and delightful project, made full of an amazing cast of colorful characters, wonderful art to gaze upon, voice actors bringing charcaters to life, and most importantly, the secrets within! Now, enough with my rambling, I'm here to talk! Welcome Home is so well put together, that there is just so much to talk about! Wouldn't you agree?

Now, please feel free to ask me about anything you like! The charming Wally Darling? The grump Frank? Sweet and cheery Julie? Clumsy Eddie? The small little pooch Barnaby? Yes yes! Tell me all about it! Headcannons, ships, art, fanfics, facts, theories, or what you love about it, I'm happy to talk about!

But wait! Most important thing of it all, my boundaries!

Currently, I am only 16 years old, and as any 16 year old, I am dealing (and struggling) with school! So, of course, I can't be quick and answer your questions or discussions! Yet! Do not let that discouraged you from reaching out and messaging me about this wonderful lost puppet show! So with all that said! Have a wonderful day!

[historyherstory]

You obviously put a lot of research in to your fic - it definitely shows - and you come across as pretty well read on the ww2 era. What are some of your favorite books dealing with the time period? I just finished reading "Traitor King" by Andrew Lownie, about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson's shenanigans post-abdication, and I'm still pretty floored about what the ramifications would've been if that flagrant nazi sympathizer had stayed on the British throne.

Thank you very much for this lovely comment! I feel (and I suspect the same is true for many people!) that I could live 3 lifetimes and still not have enough time to read all of the books I'd like to read, and learn about all the things I know I want to know more about (and all the things I haven't discovered yet that future me will want to learn of!) 😅

Before I answer, a bit of an offshoot: I really struggle with how homogenous the storytellers are of WWII history. It's only really been in the last ten years or so that we see some serious proliferation of whose stories get told (and who is telling the stories). Clearly (*gestures at blog, at fanfic that is consuming my brain*) I adore those people and those histories so this isn't a slight on them - but I have always struggled with how little we hear in nonfiction about women, people of color, and other minorities. (And to be fair: this is not just a WWII history problem, this is a "the field of history has been dominated by white men for a really long time and that has created a hegemony that we're still struggling with".)

So! Disclaimer (? rant??? something??) aside:

Our Mothers' War by Emily Yellin is one that I really enjoy. I read it a few years ago and ended up buying a copy because I kept wanting to come back to it. Some of the author's commentary as she was researching the book really played into the creation of HHS.

It used to be a bit difficult to find (a big actor is named in a project based off the book so I think it's gotten more popular) but The War Magician (David Fisher) was really fascinating to me!

Fatal Crossroads deals with the Malmedy Massacre (Danny Parker) which I had never learned much about in school and I honestly tend to recommend it to anyone who is interested in WWII - it's easy to link to what people know (battle of the bulge) but involves a part of it that generally doesn't get a whole lot of attention.

Sisters in the Resistance has some first-hand recountings of women in the French Resistance and I think it's a good foil for people who may not underestimate just how much the French populace fought back (and how many women were involved, and exactly how significant their contributions were).

I have not read Traitor King - would you recommend? That said, I'm reasonably familiar with some of the attitudes espoused and 😬 can you imagine?? It's such a juxtaposition to what we recall as the royal family being during war (for example, future queen E's service with the ATS). I wonder how much more will come out in the next decade or two about Edward. I feel like oftentimes, it can take that long (or longer, tbh) for people to start sharing the (now, family heirlooms) artifacts like letters, conversations, that happened but were kept quiet/secret for decorum's sake for so many years.

[thatyamiguy-blog]

A very little guy Christmas (DC)

It was the most wonderful time of the year, at least if you asked a certain orangeish red haired freckled faced 10 year old in a 19 year old's body. wally west always loved Christmas but this year was better then any other as Christmas morning also happened to land on the 4 month anniversary of him and his wonderful boyfriend Dick having moved in together. Their modest little one story house was well stocked thanks to stocks Dick had from his adopted father Bruce Wayne that were managed by Lucas fox meaning neither boy HAD to work out side of the occasional superhero stint. Dick had actually been thinking about getting a bigger house till wally had pointed out they didn't have a butler and he wasn't gonna just clean the palace pointing out 'just because I move at super speed doesn't mean I'm not still putting in the same effort' That being said, Wally had taken it upon himself to put up the Christmas decorations, Dick had just come home with the box with the speedster had removed it from his hands and it look like a Christmas explosion had happened in the house, both inside and out. "..You know, Barry warned me but I didn't believe him." Dick had teased. "Hey! I left the tree alone for us to do together." Wally had said, a mock pout on his face, and earning a kiss on his freckled cheek from dick that almost made him melt. "That you did Wall man, that you did."

As the pair had set up the tree, Dick couldn't help but gush mentally about how much his lover and best friend seemed to have regressed just from such a simple act. he loved the freckled dork with all of his heart and it was that love that helped him get over the semi hurt he'd experience a month before after discovering the dork's secret, something he apparently thought was so shameful that not even Barry or Iris knew about. Considering the bond between the three that said lots. Still while he had been temped to confront wally at the time, Dick had a better plan and was waiting for Christmas morning, when his adorable little speedster would get a very special Christmas present from Santa. "Dick! you're not gonna believe this, but somebody, and I don't know who, ran in here and stole the last of those awesome sugar cookies you made while we were getting the tree decorated! I bet it was Zoom, he's always had a sweet tooth!" Wally said, shaking Dick out of his distracted thoughts. Dick smirked. A speedster wasn't totally unnoticeable if you knew what you were looking for and while you wouldn't be able to do much to stop them in most cases, there was a tell tale vibration in the chest that you could feel if you trained yourself to notice it. even then Wally's claims that it could of been Zoom (who dick knew for a fact was locked up in Iron heights at the moment) Wally's claims fell flat due to the scatter of crumbs on his chin and a smudge of icing on his lip. "Really? that DASTARDLY fiend!" Dick chuckled. "He even went the extra mile to plant evidence on you!" Wally froze and blushed, then wiped his face getting icing and crumbs on his Christmas sweater and gave a sheepish laugh. "oh uh..well, see.."  wally started, rubbing the back of his head with the other arm. "Relax, I'll make more after this, but your helping this time. note that means helping me make the dough and cook it, not stealing half of the cookie dough one tea spoon at a time." Dick chuckled. "I can handle that, BUT!" and wally held up a finger. "Only if I get to lick the beaters." "Deal dork."

With the presents under the tree, Wally had to keep fighting the urge Christmas eve not to just unwrap them and re wrap them at super speed to see what he got. For one, he knew it would spoil any surprises Dick had planned for him and well for anther.. he was Nightwing and had been trained by the freaking batman. there was no way Dick wouldn't of found out somehow. Believe it or not, living with the world second (or was that third?) greatest detective could be a pain, no matter how great his butt looked. 'Though it IS a very, very sexy butt.' Wally thought, watching as Dick bent down to add a last second extra three presents. "heh, really going all out and spoiling me this year even after I made you wear that ugly sweater huh?" Wally giggled, sitting on the couch and sipping at some eggnog. It's a wonderful life was playing on TV though never of them were really paying attention to it, it was just a Christmas tradition that Dick had with Bruce and wally had been fine with carrying it on over to their house. "Oh, these aren't from me. Superman was doing a favor for Santa and dropped these off early, he knows what a good boy you've been." Dick said and smirked. Wally giggled, he of course knew there was no such thing as Santa (though given what kind of world he lived in, he'd maybe had spent A LOT of time in the north pole when he first got his powers looking for Santa's workshop) He loved how small dick was treating him and wised that he could of confessed his hidden side to Dick. But with all the weirdo's that dick had dealt with in Gotham, the last thing he wanted was for Dick to find out that sometimes wally liked to act even younger then he had been since December 1st. "heh, you think superman helps out at Santa's workshop?" Wally asked, winking, and keeping the little game going. "well maybe once or twice, Likely doesn't do it too much or he'd put the elf's out of work you know." Dick fired back. Wally snorted, he'd gone for anther drink of eggnog and now some flew out of his nose and onto the front of his own ugly sweater. "Ha! Picture a picket line around the fortress! 'Workshop jobs for workshop elf's!' and all that!" "heh, Or maybe he just doesn't care for the work uniform, having to wear the fake ears and all." dick said, coming over as wally was caught up in a fit of giggles mentally picturing it.

Dick smirked as the movie wasn't even halfway over and wally was already falling asleep, he'd caught him going out on a dozen pointless patrols though out the day but Barry had warned him wally tried to tire himself out on Christmas eve under the whole 'the sooner I go to bed, the sooner it's CHRISTMAS!' mindset. Despite having no powers of his own Dick was pound for pound the stronger of the two (at least when wally wasn't using his speed to add force to his attacks) and Dick scooped the cutie up in his arms, wall's chest to his own and the sleeping redhead's face resting on his shoulder and getting it damp with drool. arm under his silly little lover's butt and thigh's Dick carried him  to their bedroom, gently setting wally on the king sized bed and then slowly getting him undressed, trying not to wake the little guy up. Getting wally out of his sweater and pants and socks was the easy part, and Dick had originally planned and tucking wally into bed in just his Flash brief's. The he got a look at the stained on them and rolled his eyes, the boy just didn't like to wipe right! 'Oh well, let's me get to see that cute freckled ass.' Dick mentally chuckled and slowly, carefully, a bit at a time got the undies off of the fastest dork alive. picking out a pair of loose boxers (with a lighting bolt them going on) Dick tugged them up most of the way, getting Wally's cute little pee pee (though Dick knew it was a grower not a shower) covered up the rolled him gently over onto his side, and drooled little as he looked at dat ass. the white almost pale skin (Since Wally didn't have the patience for tanning) made the brown freckles all over the boys bubble butt stick out and if it wasn't for the fact he'd of woken wally up, he'd of leaned down and blew a raspberry on one of those cheeks. 'Sigh, the things I do for the greater good.' Dick thought and tugged up the boxers instead and got the wall man tugged under the blankets. Looking at the clock it was only 8 pm, and Dick wasn't used to going to sleep this early due to his years of patrolling the streets at night. '..oh what the heck.' He thought, and after going and turning off all the lights in the house and making sure the doors were locked, made his way back to their bedroom and stripping down to his own undies, crawled under the blankets. it wasn't even five seconds later before wally was snuggling into his chest and cooing 'daddy' '...I could get used to this." Dick thought with a grin.

Wally yawned as he woke up, a grin coming over his face. He was alone in the bedroom though that wasn't anything new considering, same with Dick carrying him to bed when he conked out. the only mild surprise was that he hadn't been woken up by a raspberry on his cheeks, he knew how much Dick loved his tushie. Getting out of bed he slipped on a cream white sleeping robe, not bothering with a top or pants and his only detour as he made his way to the living room/kitchen because of it's open concept was to tap a kidney so to speak. Dick  had made coffee and was reading a new's parent, the tree lights on and a fire going in the fire place and he looked up to see Wally and smirked. "About time sleepy head! I thought you were gonna sleep the whole day away." Dick teased lightly. "he, It's only 6:30 in the morning Dick." "Like I said.." Blowing a raspberry at Dick wally eyed the presents under the tree and was about to make his move when Dick cleared his throat. "I was thinking, I know normally Barry and iris let you open all your presents first..But I wanna open MINE all up first. trust me, it'll be worth the wait." Dick said, setting the paper down and coming over leaving his mug behind as well. wally whined like a little boy and then bit his lip, He WAS semi used to ruling Christmas morning and it couldn't hurt to let Dick this, if he had to. he guessed. "ooook. just don't take forever. I've seen you with wrapping paper, you try and save it!" wally said, unable to keep the BRAT out of his tone. "I swear, I'll go fast..not as fast as you but.." Dick chuckled and took a seat. In what took what seemed like hours to wally (though it was only 15 minutes at most) dick had unwrapped his presents, Having gotten marital arts gear, tech and books from members of the bat family (and some cook books from Alfred) It was his present from wally though that had Dick squealing with delight, as it was a old stuff toy robin Dick had tossed out when they first moved in together since it hadn't handled the move and had basically come apart. Wally had found it, rescued it and after a few (ok a lot) hit and misses had managed to get it cleaned, stuffed and restitched back together. "I know it's not as fancy as the other presents bu-" Wally was said, rubbing the back of his head but was cut off as Dick Hugging him hard and kissed both his cheeks over and over. "Thank you! I love it!" Dick gushed. "This makes me SO glad I went all out for your gifts!" "heh, ooooh? and speaking of~" wally said, grinning like a fool and blushing at just how much Dick treasured his cheap fixed up stuffed toy over the insane amount of cash that had been spent on his other gifts. "Yes! Though hand on, I wanna give you your gifts in the right order!" Dick said and semi rushed and pushed wally onto a seated position on the floor. "heh, jeez, remind me that plushies are the way to your heart." Wally giggled, but took a seat cross legged and holding out his arms, his hands all in 'gimme!' mode. The first present was from Wally's parents, a set pot's and pans even though they already had some, they tended to try and be practical. The second was from his ex Artemis, who he was still friends with since the break up had been on both of them and she was dating Red arrow these days. It was a book on the zen of archarcy, though wally wasn't much into shooting. The third and forth were from Tim and Barbra, Robin and batgirl and were some lower tech versions of the gifts Dick had gotten and the firth was large book with lots of fairy tales in it with vivid drawing to go along with the text. "heh, Guess Alfred doesn't know I'm not much of a reader." Wally said, blushing at that gift and how childish it was. "oh you'd be surprised what Al knows." Dick said in a amused voice. Wally went to ask what that meant but was shushed as the first present from Santa was handed to him, and Dick stood by, with a HUGE grin on his face as wally took the bulky thing and torn at the tape, only to freeze and blush red all over and look back up at Dick. "Merry Christmas little guy." Dick said as wally looked back down at the pack of little waddlers, the diapers for big babies in his lap. "I.. but ..you.. " wally whined, trying to find the words to ask just HOW Dick had known Wally was a closeted adult baby! "Before you ask, Just remember, I'm a world class dective, I found out last month and you have NO idea how hard it's been to keep it to myself till now. well mostly to myself." Dick chuckled. "...Mostly?" Wally asked, gulping and looking back under the tree. there was still two more presents from Santa, a present or two from dick, -groan- a present from batman and.. "Tell me you didn't tell Barry and Iris!?" wally whined and pouted. "I would but that would set a bad example for my baby boy. you shouldn't fib." Dick laughed.

Dick felt a little bit bad as wally whined and whimpered, clearly he hadn't of wanted Barry and Iris to know but they were coming over for dinner later (with Dick and wally going to Wayne manor for dinner on boxing day) and he wanted him free to be a little guy all day. "can i at least get one of my diapies on before we open the rest?" Wally whined, hugging the pack close to his chest and making Dick smirk. "Open up your present from Santa then we'll get my widdle man in his diapies." Dick said, Kissing the redhead's cheek and breaking the pout from his face, though damn if wally didn't try and keep pouting, it just kept turning into a grin. 'Santa's' other two presents it turned out were a six pack of wipes and baby powder for the babies bottom, making it clear to Wally that Dick was more then willing to change him.(and BOY did Dick watching that realization click and the the MASSIVE blush that brought!) and then a second pack of diapers. "Don't worry, we'll get more as you need them, we can even clear out your underwear drawer if we have to." Dick said cheerfully and got a reply that was music to his ears. "DADDY!" "awww, it's ok. I know you'll wanna make me all sorts of presents. Now, ready to get your diapies on?" Dick asked, coming closer and gently pushing Wally onto his back. "Y-yeah but right here?" wally asked, eyes darting to the window, even though the curtains were drawn shut. "hey, you wanna be a big baby, you have to go with it..when does a BABY get to chose where he gets his huggies changed?" Dick asked teasingly. "I hate you so much right now!" Wally huffed and laid back, crossing his arms. "No you don't." Dick said. "..No I don't." wally agreed.

it was surreal, having his loving boyfriend being so ok with this and slipping into a daddy role with such ease.. It also had wally mentally cursing himself for not having spoken up sooner since he could of been rocking out in diapers ALL this time! he closed his eyes not in shame but in bliss and his arms uncrossed as a thumb found it's way into his mouth as Dick pulled his undies off then opened the package. "How many diapers do you want on little man? you can keep sucking your thumb and show me with your finger unless it's gonna take more then five." Dick teased gently. wally squirmed LOTS at that, he had toyed and experimented with layering of course, what big baby hadn't? but those were cheap store brand diapers and he wanted to make these last. Thinking about it for a second, wally held up three fingers. "ok, can do.. Hmm.. Should of gotten your robe off first." Dick said. Wanting to speed this along and get his butt back in diapers wally took matters into his own hands, thumb out of mouth and eyes open as he quickly shed the robe and tossed it down the hall like it was on fire and then was back on the floor, shivering a little from the cold, and a whole lot from excitement. "heh, well that takes care of THAT I suppose." Dick laughed and tickled Wally's tummy as the speedster went back to slobbering on his thumb, but kept his eyes open this time. Dick made a show of it, Unfolding each of the bulky baby print diapers and teasing wally almost with them and making the little reach out with his free hand, all I want. he was almost making Wally's little guy stick up to a full 6 inches. "Well, if I had ANY doubt you didn't want this before." Dick chuckled then added "Butt up wall man." Wally listened to daddy and lifted his hips, all three diaper had been layered on top of each other and it felt like he was resting his butt on a pillow as his tushie came back down, his stiffly twitching wildly and Wally blushed, he was gonna cream hands free any second now. "Guess I better stop teasing and hurry up before you shoot and coat yourself and have to go for a bath." Dick chuckled, quickly sprinkling LOTS of baby powder on Wally's privates and BARLEY getting the inner most diaper taped up before wally started to jerk his hips up and down, crying out around his thumb as load after load of 'baby milk' shot out into the diaper, Dick watching the show and though his orgasmic haze Wally could see Dick was getting excited as well.

Dick had to admit, while he'd of never thought of being a daddy dom before, he was finding it super fun and hot as fuck. watching wally cream that hard just from his huggies had Dick wanting to replace that thumb with a certain put of himself in Wally's mouth, but this was all about the baby and there would be time for that later. Waiting for the hip's to stop jerking Dick moved a hand down and even though the thickness of the diaper could feel how hard his boyfriend turned baby boy was spurting and leaned down, smooching the big babies cheek and setting off anther wave of orgasmic bliss for the little guy. Once wally was done, Dick smiled and rubbed Wally's tummy. "have fun?" Dick asked and wally nodded. "Do you still wanna go on with the rest of the diapers or do you need a bit of big boy time after you cream?" He wasn't being mean, he'd be happy to keep babying little wally but also didn't wanna force this on him anymore then he already had with the telling Barry and iris and Bruce. wally pulled his thumb out, and there was a line of drool with it that Dick somehow found just even cuter and he gushed in a babyish voice. "me wanna wear diapies ALL day dada." Wally coo'ed. Dick's cock almost shot then and there and he was positive it was only his training in self control under Bruce and other martial art master that kept him from shooting though his undies and coating wally. 'maybe I'm gonna need a diaper too at this rate.' dick mused to himself then out loud. "Ok little guy!"

triple diapered and feeling all so small in the most wonderful way, Wally had turned into a little cuddle bug and kept nuzzling into Dick whenever he wasn't opening a present or waiting for Dick to get him one. His present from Barry and iris was a large teddy bear, with a kid flash outfit on and by larger it was almost as big as his upper body and he gave it LOTS of hugs and named it Teddy flash right then and there. His present from Bruce was confusing, as it was a book about how to stop bed wetting and he held it up for Dick to see with a eyebrow raised. "Yeahhh..Bruce didn't really get what I was trying to tell him and just settled on thinking you were a bed wetter so I ran with it." Dick explained sheepishly. "heh, Ok. Guess that means no wearing to grandpa's house huh?" Wally giggled. "Ha! yeah, don't think that'll work out..though Alfred semi knows hence the fairy tales and well, Tim's got a lot of quirks like you so think he'd just get jealous." Dick chuckled. Wally giggled LOTS at that and then it was time for his gifts from Dick, which included two type of paci's (one with a naughty nipple and one with a normal) A set of Lego blocks but the big ones meant for babies, a rattle, a few more stuffies (A anther bear, a owl, a rabbit) and a diaper shirt that was main yellow with the flash logo on the front and on the back went 'Faster pooper alive!' in red lightning text. He also got a teddy bear themed shirt and shorts outfit, a couple of toddler show DVDS and of course his FAVORITE onesie, the one he insisted on right away, was a red one with green trim and a picture of mistletoe on the small of the back, just above the butt and text about it saying "Kiss under the mistletoe"

Getting the onesie on the little guy wasn't easy, Dick would have to see if Iris could let it out some or something or just cut back on the diapers when Wally wanted to read it. But as the protege of the god damn batman wasn't one to give up quick and with a lot of effort and grunting he got the crotch snaps done up, though he had to make use of some spirit gun like he used to keep his mask on to do it. unsurprisingly Wally wasted little time as soon as it was on, rolling over and getting on his hands and knees and offering his massive padded rear up and looking over his shoulder. "Welllll Daddy? Aren't you gonna kiss me 'under the mistletoe'?" he asked, breaking into a fit of giggled. "I suppose I better do it now before you go uh-oh." Dick countered and too lots of hoots and giggles, Leaned in and planted a big old smooch on Wally's diapered butt. "Hehehehehe I might be a BIG baby..But your a BUTT kisser!" Wally giggled like mad. Seeing how excited wally was Dick made a mental note NOT to let him have sugar while he was in little mode. "Soooo what do we do noooooow?" Wally asked, plopping back on his butt, leg's spread. "well I'm gonna go make use breakfast while YOU have a very, very important mission." Dick said, grabbing the first DVD he came across and noting the title then opening it. "Ohhh?" Wally asked, tilting his head and getting the normal paci clipped to his onesie. "Yup! You need to start watched Paw patrol so you can explain it all to daddy when he goes to watch it with you later. think you can handle that?" Dick asked. Wally smirked and then put on a fake look of concern. "it'll be tough.. but I MIGHT be able to handle it if I have my super science blocks to put together while I study the Intel sir!" Wally giggled. "heh.. well of course!" Dick said, going and getting the dvd in the machine and turning on the tv, and hearing a weird scuffing noise turned around and grinned ear you ear. Wall had the container of blocks in one arm, and was rocking his hips and using the other arm to guide him as he scooted across the floor on his butt! 'Just how did it take me finding diapers not to see what a little guy he is, and just how the hell does he manage to adult at all?' Dick wondered.

With the blocks dumped out (after Dick got them opened since there was plastic to cut and Wally was too little to have a knife of course) Wally set to work while sucking on his paci to make a semi mock computer, while Dick cued up the menu and had episode 1 ready to go, he was just waiting on 'agent baby' to give the thumbs up he was ready. give the thumbs up wally could feel a familiar pressure building up rapidly in his bowels and thought about letting Dick know he had to go poopie, and ask to use the potty, he'd never actually crapped himself before. 'nggggh.. nah. he said I hafa think like a baby and babies dun get to pick when and what they use their diapers for.' Wally thought and leaned forward as Dick passed him by, deciding to give his boyfriend a slight warning of what was coming by giving out a poot. Instead, the 3 days of backed up poopie in his tummy (his eating habit's sometimes could back him up for days as food struggled to get though) took the opening and a soft 'eek!' escaped from his lips and a massive amount of poopie forced it's way out into his diapers, bulking them out even more but because of the spirit gum the onesie couldn't just pop open which meant once the back of the diaper was full, it only had one place to go.. the front. Hands on the floor and on his knee's wally suckled hard on his paci as his poopies coated the front of his diapies, making him make tinkles and milk again and as the massive load came to a stop three or four minutes later, he opened his eyes and saw Dick smiling, having watched the whole thing. "So glad you made room for din din. I'll change you after we eat." he said and then gently and firmly pushed wally onto his squishy and smelly seat and made the big baby make anther load of baby milk. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't able to tell daddy much about paw patrol.

The end

[bruciemilf]

I hope you don't mind me chipping my own two cents in your hc!! Sorry your writing and angst also made me think all sorts of plots and feels that I couldn't just not share 😭😭

I wonder if Bruce's constant objectifying/harassment ever got spread around the league until no matter how close or not Batman is with you, they know how one of their leaders got treated as part of his daily life.

I mean, it's a pretty huge deal; Oliver might just tell people to tread lightly around Bruce and to not attempt any sexual remarks around the man. Putting himself as Bruce's newly, worrywart big brother in the scenes

Ted Kord whisk Bruce away to a business talk when a creep straight up fondle Bruce's ass (Michael Carter once punched a guy for it and couldn't come unless he finds a secure place to punch a creep)

Green Lanterns Corps and Batman are never in good terms, and when they found out how Batman's civilian identity acts, they shared a few jabs and laugh together. But after what Hal told them and how actually disturbing the whole ordeal is. Even the lanterns grow worry about their bat friend.

 

So whenever there's a media coverage and bustling reporters trying to trapped Bruce in, the Lanterns will shout at them to back off and give Bruce enough time to escape. Jessica prefers to comfort Bruce as they both run away from the press while everyone else is holding them back, she feels like he needs some.

(On the other hand, Guy loves shoving entitled paparazzi away, so it's a win-win!!)

 

Even his children's friends knows! They can see how Cass is seething at any particular ladies who go up to her dad. Dick usually consult to Wally and his team about his frustrations and concerns (which in turn only spread further). Tim, despite being a pretty secretive person, always makes it known to his friends about what's going on with Batman's life. Jason and Damian will rant to whoever is willing to listen and go off each time. Duke is usually awkward and uncomfortable when talking about it, while Steph won't shut up about his treatment.

Sometimes they invite their friends to his galas whenever they weren't able to attend them and keep those creeps in check.

Especially Carmine Falcone, whose creepiness to child Brucie (even now, which is no different) is widely known in the hero communities that it's not joke anymore. There's heroes who outright said Falcone is their least favourite villain and he won the most hated general guy in the league

Bruce has mixed feelings over all this. At first, he's grateful that his love ones are look out for him, even in the most trivial of times. He would do the same to be honest.

But...its getting out of hand where, this help only make Bruce feel even more helpless — Like Bruce is bringing all those disgusting leers onto himself, he can handle it. He should handle it. He knows how to handle it. He's not actually some dumb fragile glass that they need to treat with caution. Saving himself from dire situations, mentally reminds himself who he is and what he's worth. You can't just take it from him. Nevertheless, there's times he can't and it went too far...

Right now, after being saved from another weird cultist kidnappers; Constantine and Patrick are ushering him away from the masses while Dinah is holding people back with Kory and Dick. Its not about Bruce, the papers aren't going to be about him, and yet they treated as if it is. And Bruce, lets them. Bruce lets them handle him like some damsel in distress who couldn't do anything to save himself.

Bruce hates that part of himself. Ashamed even. Being saved like this will constantly remind Bruce that he's still playing the same poor, pretty little orphan in need of rescue at that shitty alley— by his family, friends, coworkers and even their fucking children. Thus, it further solidify his shamed. Bruce resents it, but doesn't know what to make out of it

K, so im gonna copy and paste my response from the previous part here!!

I LOVEEEEEE your points about Bruce's inner struggle with accepting care vs embracing care. I feel like this trope for THAT context frame echoes truth especially loudly.

Bruce being a victim of SA/Sexual Harassment and not rationalising that bc it happens SO often that he just. Stopped characterizating it as Harassment hits. Because I feel like.

Men don't know how to accept a help that doesn't harm them. Weather it's alpha male coaches embarassing them and their identity that they themselves seek out, or balantly ignoring clear signs of abuse, there's a certain viciousness in how men treat themselves and their trauma.

Bruce is like that not because he wants to appear MANLY, or because he thinks it's a Women's Thing, but simply because he sees himself as a tower of protection. What's the point of protecting others if you can't even protect yourself?

[hartrathaway]

Hii I'm interested in Hartley's story but I know literally nothing about him except that he was Wally's gay bestie in the 90s, what's his deal? Do you have any comic recs for him?

HI IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!!!!!!!!

Okay, so really brief, his dealio is: born to ‘incredibly rich’ parents (we never get a specified ballpark, but Hartley states that he was ‘born with two silver spoons in [his] mouth’ if that helps context wise), Hartley’s deaf!  His parents had him get cochlear implants when he was a child, which ‘medically healed him’.  (His deafness has been treated extremely ablest by writers who actually remember he’s deaf, I need to warn you of this now.)  He’s a music and sound waves guy, a former villain (it’s an on again off again relationship, but a lot of his character is defined by his time as a hero) and he’s very leftist.  Gay best friend in the AIDS crisis turned Wally West from a midwestern conservative to a leftie as well.  (Wally’s wife, Linda Park, was a major contributing factor, but we’re focusing on Hartley for this, so I’m gonna talk about him.)

I’ve got a mix of good reading from all over, so I’m gonna break this into sections, and do my best to describe which is which.  (all my screencaps are from this website right here, because i do not own all the back issues and it would have taken much, much longer to do this post, and as such, some of them are not sized or formatted correctly)  Click the read more if you’re interested!  Please note: I am not a 100% authority figure on Hartley, and I know there’s a few stories I have left out (the story with Bart Allen’s first appearance is a good one that Hartley is in), but these are the gist of who is he, what he’s been up to, and what is the family drama.

So for New Earth (otherwise known as post-Crisis on Infinite Earths), is where Hartley actually becomes Wally’s friend, and is a hero!  I’m going to focus on this section first.  Unfortunately, due to being a minor character, a lot of stuff is broken into small stories, or things that are happening behind the scenes, so there’s no real issue x - y that’s gonna help much.

The Flash Vol 2 #31, #32 Quick summary: In issue 31, supervillain here is killing homeless people, Hartley has been helping these same people get up on their feet by helping them get squatter’s rights.  They skip the fighting because a kid asks if they’re going to fight for a half hour and then team up, and go right to the team up.  They get Linda Park in, supervillain ends up backfiring his powers.  In issue 32, Wally, Hartley, and their pal Mason officially move to Keystone city.  Hartley’s folks are in trouble while the three of them are trying to freeload (off of Hartley’s parents, his and his parents’ relationship is better now than it had been, for a multitude of reasons), Wally and Hartley rescue Hartley’s parents, we also meet Jerrie, Hartley’s sister, and all is resolved there.  Yay, the family loves each other again!

(issue 31)

(issue 32)

The Flash Vol 2 #53 Special mention this is the issue where Hartley comes out and also has to inform Wally that Wally cannot tell who is a homosexual.  Also Wally’s an IRS agent here, for shame Wallace.  At least Hartley gets to cosplay Wally at the end, so that’s fun.  Content warning for this issue specifically is some casual homophobia, just so you know that going in.

(issue 53)

The Flash Vol 2 #170 In 170, Hartley’s being contacted by his father to call in ‘a favor’ that Hartley owes him.  The main plot line includes (one of) Wally’s ex(es) showing up, a former hero and teammate, Frances Kane, otherwise known as Magneta.  A person has been found murdered at Keystone Motors, and supervillain Goldface begins rallying union workers (which seems to just be a poorly timed coincidence).  The story itself (170 - 173) in and of itself is really fun, but I’m only going to talk about Hartley, or else I’ll be here all day.

(issue 170)

The Flash Vol 2 #174, #175, #178, #179 And here we get some drama! I’m grouping all of these together, since it’s all the same chunk of the story for Hartley, but since it’s the Flash, Wally’s center stage.  In 174, the people who were living with the Rathaway family aren’t exactly big fans of Hartley.  They know he’s changed his ways, he’s a hero now, but it’s just…  something feels off.  There’s loud music sounds, and bam!  Suddenly Hartley’s there and oh boy is this gonna be a hot mess.  In issue 175, we see some footage, and Hartley’s the lead suspect in his parents’ murder, considering that the footage has Hartley onscreen.  178 rolls up, and after Wally’s getting Gorilla Grodd taken care of (and that fight is a doozy), Wally gets to find out Hartley’s been arrested for the murder of his own parents, and Hartley confesses on-screen to his parents’ murder  (Also Hartley’s got a beard now, that’s how you know he’s depressed.) 179 opens with Hartley being processed.  Linda and Wally go to see him, and although Hartley confessed, he said “I think I did.”  (emphasis is mine; in the panel Hartley says “I think I did.”) Joker?  He’s got some Joker-fied people, and poor Hartley gets it too :(  Hartley straight up nearly kills Captain Boomerang (it’s okay, Wally stops him), and surprise!  Welcome back to Iron Heights Hartley.  Gonna have a fun time :)

(issue 174; this is the least messy part of the panel, but it was intended to be that way)

(issue 175)

(issue 178)

(issue 179)

The Flash: Iron Heights Brief interlude from the main comic line, we’ve got a one-shot that’s taking place in Iron Heights.  This takes place before Hartley gets arrested, presumably (since, y’know, they’re breaking in and all).  Fun one-shot honestly, keeps me on my toes the whole time.  Hartley’s a main character, and it’s less personal drama and very story driven.  You don’t need this to enjoy Hartley regardless, but I enjoy it!

(The Flash: Iron Heights, which you can read here.)

The Flash Volume 2 #189, #190 189! Now we find out how Hartley’s parents were actually murdered!  No spoilers, but we do get a prison breakout.  This is where we get some origin story! Don’t read this first though, because you’re going to be spoiling yourself the plot of his arrest.  In 190 we get more origin, including the way DC treated his deafness. (It’s ablest, and I’m still mentally grappling how you wouldn’t notice your child being deaf for two years, but okay Rachel and Osgood, you keep being bad.)  The story goes on for now, with Hartley on the run from… well, everyone.

(issue 189)

(issue 190)

This is pretty much it for New Earth Hartley up until Countdown.

I don’t like Countdown at all.  I’m much happier pretending that Countdown doesn’t exist (both because of how it treats Hartley for a multitude of reasons, and how Thad Thawne is treated leading up to Countdown).  More happens with Hartley’s storyline in Countdown, but I hate it with such a passion that I wouldn’t recommend it at all.  Countdown leads into Final Crisis, and I’m not a fan of either.  However, should you wish to read and make your own opinions, here’s Countdown and here’s Final Crisis.  Please note, Countdown’s issues are done in reverse order (so from issue 51 to 1, rather than 1 to 51)

And now I’m going to tell you the gospel truth:

I do like New 52 Hartley!  A lot. Unfortunately, he’s not as much in the n52 Flash run as I would like (but I’m biased, as obvious by my url).  What you need to know is that Hartley’s a musician now, like orchestra director, and he’s in a relationship with Barry’s boss, David Singh. (power move, honestly)  Unfortunately, we don’t get a whole lot in the main line.  Also at this point, the Wally West of New Earth hasn’t transitioned to the n52.  Wallace West of n52 is an entirely different character, and that’s a whole other issue for another discussion.  Wally West as we know him from New Earth doesn’t come back for a while.  Wally and Hartley haven’t talked since before Flashpoint, and that’s a shame. 

So read the Crimes of Passion Anthology he’s got please I’m begging you.  The only downside is that the artist gave him a haircut.

(Crimes of Passion: Secret Admirer)

I haven’t read anything DCeased related, and while I know Hartley gets his time to shine and kiss David, I can’t tell you much beyond that.  I’m pretty sure there’s other people who can tell you more, but it’s not me I’m afraid.  (This is me saying guys, please tell me about Hartley in DCeased, someone tell me about my fictional lavender marriage husband.)

[shblackeagle]

BBRAE Week 2021

Day one: Unconventional Kiss

Garfield Logan was known to have the silliest jokes and pranks at the most stupid and unpredictable times. He was practically famous for it.

Raven knew that, actually everyone did. That's why she often didn't care if he pulled up a prank or cracked a childish joke when everyone least expected. None of those silly jokes got the team into trouble, at least most of the times, so she basically never invested so much into them. He'd always been like this ever since she knew him. It didn't even change when he became an adult. Gar's silly jokes never changed.

But his feelings somehow did.

As an empath Raven could easily feel the slightest changes in everyone. She always knew if something had changed in someone before anyone, even before the person themselves.  Such power was really helpful to the team in many ways. She could feel if someone was being dishonest or too afraid for a mission, maybe even expose a villain's lies. She basically knew things about Titans other titans didn't even have a clue. 

She knew about Dick's inner fears, Kory's homesickness no matter how much she tried to hide it, Victor's sadness about his humanity, Donna's insecurities and many more that they didn't dare to share. Despite that, she never pried more than she was allowed to. But being a very powerful empath she was, she often found herself knowing some private secrets she was not supposed to know. It was hard at first but then she learnt to keep this power more under control, not to expose what she knew and maybe even forget them.

But Gar's sudden change of feelings was not something she could easily overlook.

She knew it wasn't as sudden as she wanted to think. She had been feeling it for months now and at first thought it would disappear like many changes of feelings others went through. But not only didn't it stop but it grew stronger each time she felt it.

She knew exactly when it happened. It was long ago in the medical room. She could picture it in her head easily.

She felt his first slight change of feelings when he was badly injured in a mission and she had to spend a long time healing him. It was an ugly fight and if she wasn't quick enough, he might have died. It was a very painful process for her. Absorbing such pain wasn't as easy as she talked about it. The pain would stay with her forever, but it was worth it. Gar was worthy of it. She would always do she could to save him. Whether he knew it or not, he was important to her; more important than she wanted to admit.

When she was done, he opened his eyes and met hers, he smiled at her.

Appreciation 

Hurt

Confused 

Proud

"None of Vic's medical treatments will ever be as good as your healing touch. Thanks" He said weakly. Raven just nodded at him despite the pain she was feeling at that moment. She didn't want him to feel guilty. 

He got up from the bed and sighed.

"But as much as I appreciate it Rae, do me a favor next time will you?" He said pulling away the cover.

"What is it?"

He hesitated for a moment, "Don't heal me next time." She looked at him confused.

Hurt

Scared

Ashamed…?

"Why?"

That was the first time she felt it. A sudden strong feeling coming suddenly and almost overwhelmed her but before she could totally embrace it, it stopped. It only lasted for a very short moment and she wondered if it was from him in the first place. She had just absorbed his pain so she was probably messing up her head due to the pain?

"I can heal myself quickly and Vic's treatments also come in handy. You should use your healing powers for something more important than me."

It wasn't the first time they had this conversation. Gar always asked Raven to never use her healing powers on him and whenever she asked why he always said the same answer.  

Something more important? What could possibly be more important than his life?

But before she could ask, the door opened with a bang as Kory came to the room.

"Garfield!" The Princess flew towards the weak man and lifted him up from the ground, hugging him tightly. "I was worried!"

Gar laughed, "No need to be Kory. I'm fine." He looked down at Raven, "All thanks to Raven."

***

Raven tried to forget that strange feeling from that day and she would have been successful if it didn't come to her out of nowhere consistently when she wasn't ready. 

Next time she felt it, even stronger than before, was when the Titans decided to have a movie night. They were superheros but even superheros needed some time to be themselves, even if it was just for one night.

It was not unusual for Gar to arrange the whole thing, definitely with Victor's help but mostly himself. He even forced everyone to be in their rooms when he was preparing the movie night in the main room. Dick found it a little extra but who could stop the Changeling? He was always unstoppable when it came to their short gatherings. 

Raven was sitting on her bed that night while reading her new book when she heard someone knocking on her door. She knew it was Gar of course. She easily felt him coming to her door excited a minute ago.

Without even looking away from her book, she called. "Yes?"

"Rae it's Gar!" He was definitely too excited for it. It wasn't like they've never done this before but something obviously never changes. 

"I'm done preparing the main room for movie night. Everyone is now in the main room. Please join us! The movie I picked is amazing!"

She'd rather not think about the last time he picked a movie to watch. She was so scared that she had to meditate for hours to keep her emotions under control the next day. It was even harder when she could feel others were also scared.

"What genre?" She asked. There was no way she was going to watch another scary movie and absorb others' fear of it for a week.

"Comedy! I promise you'll laugh."

She shook her head. Was he really still into that? She was really impressed by his commitment to take any chance of making her laugh. She appreciated it of course, but found it unnecessary. 

She opened her door and found Gar in his pajamas with a grape soda in one hand, offering it to her. She took it, thanking him by a nod.

Happy

Excited 

Impatient 

He was just so easy to read. He always wore his heart on his sleeve, letting her feel anything he was feeling and since he was usually in a good happy mood, Raven always welcomed his presence.

Not that she would ever tell him that!

"Let's hope this one won't come out as silly as the last time you showed us a comedy movie. It was basically a kid show." 

Gar gasped, "How dare Rae! No one is too old for cartoons!"

Raven grinned, "So you agree it was a kid show." 

Gar opened his mouth to retort but nothing came. Raven just shrugged and started walking toward the main room with a  grin on her face. Gar quickly caught up with her from behind.

"It still made you laugh! I remember that."

"It didn't. It was just a silly cartoon."

"Do you want me to go and get the security cameras to prove my point?" He winked at her as she tried to hide her smile and the door opened to the main room.

That was the moment she felt it again. That powerful strange feeling. It hit her in every way possible as she tried to find the source. She looked at Gar but his face remained straight.

"Hey Rae! Join us. The movie is about to start." Cyborg said with bags of chips in his hands.

"Where's Wally? He said he would come." Donna asked looking around.

Suddenly Wally appeared on the couch with many bags of snacks and drinks in his arms.

"What are you talking about? I've been here for the last three seconds!" He obviously bought them from the supermarket downtown. It didn't take long for him to come and go.

"Okay then. Now that we're all here. Let's watch it." Dick said.

But Raven couldn't understand what they were saying because that was the moment the feeling faded away as quickly as it came. Was it from Gar? Roy? Donna? She wasn't sure. Gar was always so easy to read. She doubted he could feel something so strong and hide so quickly...but could he? If the feeling didn't belong to him then who was it? Who was the one that possessed this powerful confusing feeling?

She immediately looked down at Kory who was cuddling with Dick on the ground. Kory was indeed capable of that. She was also there when the first time it happened. But what was it? Kory's emotions were always loud to read for her and she usually never hid them. Raven knew it. 

Raven sat on her favorite part of the couch which was now filled with pillows and blankets and some of her favorite snacks. Thanks to a certain shapeshifter who outdid it. Despite her curiosity, when the movie started, she tried to forget about that powerful feeling. She only felt it twice and it was probably no big deal. For now maybe she would just enjoy being with her friends rather than investing in something she probably had no role in.

Raven was sitting at the end of the couch with Gar beside her. Vic and Wally were also sitting on the couch while Dick and Kory were on the ground, sharing the same blanket. Donna and Roy were on the ground as well but not as touchy as them. All the Titans knew they were a thing but apparently, they were the only ones who weren't convinced.

This time the movie was actually very funny and she found herself chuckling at some of the parts. The main room was filled with Titans laughter as they enjoyed themselves after a long busy week. 

That was all she needed. The whole room was filled with happiness. Everyone had forgotten about missions, stress and plans even if it was for just two hours. Even Boy Wonder wasn't feeling uneasy as he was laughing loudly with Kory by his side whose laughter was so beautiful to hear. 

Raven closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting in all the happy emotions around her,. Even two days of meditation would not give her such peace as this did.

Azar! How much she missed it! 

She didn't even care if she missed some parts of the movie as the Titans kept laughing. Them being happy made her happy. She was so deep in herself and in her own world as she didn't even notice she wasn't even watching the movie. 

That was the moment that once again, that feeling came to her.

She opened her eyes quickly, looking at all Titans faces to find a clue yet she found nothing strange. Everyone was busy laughing, eating and drinking exactly like how they were before she closed her eyes. 

"You okay Rae?" Gar asked as noticed her curious face, "You seem worried."

Raven looked at him, "I thought I felt something."

"Felt something?" 

"Yeah." She said looking at everyone again but she didn't spot anything unusual or something she would worry about.

"Anything dangerous?" Gar asked as he stretched his hand to get another soda from behind.

"I don't think so…" She pressed her back to the couch again, trying to let it go. She didn't want to worry Gar for nothing. "It was probably nothing."

"Well I trust your emotions detector more than anything. It saved us more than we can count." He offered her the grape soda he grabbed, "but for now, let's just not overthink things and enjoy the movie. I'm sure if it was anything alarming, you'd know it by now."

Raven took the soda from his hand, "Yeah...Yeah you're probably right." 

Gar grinned, "when wasn't I?"

"Do you want a list?"

He laughed. "Maybe I'll ask you to show me later."

Raven smiled at him as he turned his head to the TV and continued watching. He had a point. If it was anything dangerous, she'd have felt it, but it was so powerful to let it go. During the rest of the movie, she felt it come and go very quickly many times, especially the times she was laughing or chuckling. It was weird how the person could switch it on and off whenever they wanted it. Was it a sort of a red alarm? Was it really dangerous? She doubted it because whoever possessed it was in the room and there were only Titans. 

But one thing was certain, as much as the feeling didn't feel harmful, it was very powerful that she could detect it among all those happy emotions surrounding her. What could it possibly be? How could such emotion be that strong? It even beat Kory's loud emotions.

But she'd lie to herself if she said it didn't feel so good. Everytime she felt it, she was overwhelmed by it in a very good way. Whatever that was, it put her in peace and gave her warmth. She would be a big liar if she said she wouldn't welcome it the next time she felt it.

***

Even if Raven wanted to let go of that feeling, that feeling didn't seem to let her go. 

It came to her in the most unexpected places, rushing through her whole body and leaving before she knew it. She noticed that each time it came, it lasted longer than before but it was still all over the place and Raven couldn't exactly point her finger to anyone; especially because it came to her randomly.

During battles, her daily training routines, her meditations, sometimes even when she was eating lunch or just walking, even when she was reading her book on the couch and minding her own business! Each time it came, there were many of her friends around and it was hard to figure out who it was.

Mostly because a big part of her didn't want to know who it was either.

It was the truth. Raven never went deep in her investigation to realize it. Probably, if she really wanted to she would have realized it long ago, but she feared that if she knew, she wouldn't feel it again. That powerful feeling, whatever it was, put her in peace and gave her strength. She was fed from emotions and one of her friends was giving her something she didn't know how desperately she desired. 

A feeling of home, comfort and warmth. She didn't want to lose that! Raven figured if it was from one of her friends, she didn't need to worry about it. It wasn't like she suspected anything bad about it.

Azar! How selfish of her! 

She closed her book and sighed, lying on her back on her bed. She was being selfish. What if one of her friends was in trouble and it was their way of giving her a heads-up, or asking for her help? But such an act required a serious knowledge of how her powers worked and she knew none of them had something like that.

Dick and Victor were the only ones who knew how her empathic powers worked better than others but giving her a strange yet amazing feeling to ask for her help didn't match any of them. Dick would have directly said it and Vic was more into technical ways. 

She shook her head and tried to let it go. She shouldn't be using her strength over something ridiculous. No one asks for help by filling her soul with a particular strong feeling. No one even knew she was capable of feeling their deepest emotions as much as she let it show and they most of the time forgot it as well. 

She heard a gentle knock on her door when she was struggling with herself. It was Gar. She never mistake his aura.

"Hey Rae...are you there?"

It was a stupid question. Everyone knew that Beast Boy could easily pick up anyone's scent even from far away or hear their heart beats if he wanted to. His heightened powers gave him advantages that most of the time they forgot he had even; just like her.

Pulling her hood down, she walked to the door and it opened as she stood in the doorway. 

"Yes?" 

Gar was in his casual clothes. A dark jacket with a T-shirt underneath, his dark jeans and a cap. She would never tell him, but he looked very handsome in them. She quickly put that weird thought away before it got somewhere she didn't want it to get.

He was standing with one hand behind his back and his usual smile on his face.

Joyful 

Delighted

Self-conscious?

Nervous?

Shy?

"Great!" He looked around making sure no one was near. Yeah he was definitely nervous but why?

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh everything is great! I was just…" He scratched the back of his head with his other hand nervously.

"Well…?"

He sighed, "Well I was in the city to get some fresh air and I passed by your favorite bookstore...thought of something you might like to read but then I saw this." He took out a book from his back with his hand and Raven's eyes widened in surprise. "I know you've been reading the first novel of this series...I thought you want the second novel soon." He stretched his hand and gave it to her. Raven was flattered if she was honest. Gar knew what book series she was reading and bought her the second part of it! She never even thought someone like Gar, who couldn't really focus on reading books, actually cared about her hobbies so much that he knew what she wanted; even before she told him anything.

He suddenly looked scared, "Please tell me you haven't bought it already!"

Raven shook his head. "No, I haven't." 

Gar sighed in relief a bit dramatically, "Thank God that would have been awkward." 

Pressing the book on her chest, Raven said, "Thanks Gar."

He smiled, "No problem Rae."

That was the moment it hit her again; that familiar feeling. Raven looked around. No one was there except them. There was her chance. This time she had to put her selfishness aside and for once make everything clear. 

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. With just Gar around her, she was now able to figure out who it was.

"You okay Rae? You seem...paler than usual." Gar asked worriedly.

All of the sudden, Raven opened her eyes.

"Where are the others?" She knew the answer but had to make sure.

"Oh? Well Dick and Kory are out, thinking it's a great time to have some alone time. Vic is in his room, coming up with a new technology which I still didn't understand. Don't tell him that though. Donna is on her secret date but let's be honest we all know it's Roy." He laughed and continued, "Wally is off to meet his family and said he would be back…" He took a glance at his watch, "in 45 seconds top."

Raven looked uneasy and pulled the cloak tighter around herself, looking down.

"So...it's just you and me here?"

Gar shrugged casually, "Yeah pretty much but don't worry. If anything happens, we can handle it. It's not the first time we might face a threat alone." He gave her a reassuring smile, "and others are probably heading back as well. So yeah no need to worry."

She wanted to tell him she was not worried at all. She was shocked! But she couldn't bring herself to tell him that right now because she wasn't sure about it.

"Well I'm headed to the kitchen. Do you want me to make something for you? You haven't gotten out of your room since morning. You must be hungry."

Raven tried not to look suspicious so she looked at him with a forced smile, "No thanks."

"You sure? I wouldn't make it too vegetarian for you."

"No no thanks…"

Gar simply shrugged, "Okay." 

He turned around and started walking away. Raven looked down at the book then at him for a second and before she knew it she was speaking.

"Thanks again Gar...I appreciate what you did for me."

He turned his head back to her with a smile, "Anytime Rae. If you ever feel hungry, you know where I am."

The door opened and closed and he disappeared from her sight as he went to the kitchen.

Raven stood there for a couple of moments, not believing what she just found out. It was him! That strange feeling came from Gar himself. She just couldn't believe how easy it was to figure it out. It was so obvious. He was there anytime she felt it. It made sense it was coming from him.

But it wasn't Gar who surprised her, what he was feeling shocked her more than anything. 

She suspected that she had felt that feeling before and it turned out she was right. She felt it from all titans before; especially from Kory on great levels. 

It was love. 

Of course it was love! Only love was so powerful that could give her such warm feelings from inside and put her in such a peace no meditation could ever do. Love was a powerful emotion, she knew it better than anyone. 

She held the book harder as she looked down. The realisation hit her harder than she expected. She didn't know why she regretted knowing the truth or why she wasn't happy about it. 

Gar was in love...it was a truth she wished she never knew.

***

"Have you noticed Garfield has been acting...weird recently?"

Raven asked Victor days later at the gym as he was lifting up weights and she was done meditating. After knowing the secret behind the strange feeling, Raven started to avoid Gar in a subtle way. She was ashamed of prying too much into his emotions when it was obvious he was trying to hide it; so the farther she was from him, the better.

That didn't stop her curiosity though.

"No, why?" Vic asked casually, "Did that green ass do something stupid again?"

"No…" she lowered her voice.

It was hard talking about it. She already knew something she believed she shouldn't have and now she was trying to know more. It was wrong, yet she really wanted to know.

"Then what is it?" Vic's question brought her back to the gym, "You seem worried."

"No, not worried. It's just...he seems different. He...feels different." She said the last part in more of a whisper but Victor heard her.

Shocked

Uneasy

Surprised

Scared?

Yet his face didn't show anything. He just gave her a blank look. Victor was good at not showing his emotions but not as good at not feeling them.

"What I mean is…" she felt stupid in asking, "Is he seeing someone?" Her question tasted bitter on her tongue and she felt she didn't want to know the answer.

This time Victor stopped his exercise and turned his head to her, giving her a questioning look. Raven kept her face straight, not letting him see more than she allowed it but she knew her question wasn't something to just ignore. Victor was curious to know why she would ask such things, especially about the Changling of all people.

After some intense moments, Victor turned back on exercising. "No."

His answer was way firmer than she expected. Raven was taken back on how he seemed upset about her question. 

"No, he's not seeing anyone. At least not someone I know." His words sounded angry and Raven wasn't sure why.

"Why are you angry Victor? I just asked a question." He scoffed.

"It's not you Rae…" he lowered his voice, "Stupid green bean!"

"What?"

He looked at her with an angry face. "You're the empath here. You should know it by now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before she could get any answer from him, the gym's door opened with a bang.

"The Animal Man is here!" Gar shouted excitedly, "Please cheer for the new gym captain!"

He was in his sports clothes with his towel on his shoulder and a big speaker in his hand. He almost seemed to be at a party rather than at the gym.

"There's no such thing, Animal Man." Dick said following Gar from behind. 

Gar put the speaker on a table and turned to the Boy Wonder with a grin, "well I guess I just invented it." His eyes landed on Raven and Victor. "Oh hi Cy! Rae!" 

Victor stood up suddenly and walked towards his best friend. Raven could feel how his anger leaving his body the moment he saw Gar. His sudden change of mood surprised her, especially because it was Victor.

"Looks like someone is here to get his ass kicked." He patted Gar's shoulder. 

"Oh you wish! I beat Richard, you're easy."

"Only once." Dick said in defense, "and only because you were lucky."

"Two out of three isn't once and it sure as hell wasn't luck."

"Well I guess there's one way to find out." Victor said. 

Raven felt her presence was not welcomed anymore. She wanted to leave the gym as soon as she could. Seeing Gar was hard especially when she knew his little secret when she was not allowed. However, the moment he stepped in the gym, his love poured over her like a waterfall. It was hard to stay and harder to leave. 

If only she didn't dig in too much! She regretted it more than anything. If she let it be the way it was, maybe she wouldn't feel uncomfortable around him anymore. So what if Gar was in love with someone? It wasn't her business. She shouldn't care! He could be in love with anyone he wanted. It wasn't like it mattered to her. It didn't matter!

She wished she could sound more convincing in her head.

"What do you say Rae?" Gar's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you wanna judge the game, to see who's better?" 

He was close, too close and he was letting her feel everything! She wasn't sure if it was his doing or was it because she already knew his deepest emotion; as in she couldn't turn back. 

Up close, Gar looked way better than from far. When did he start to look so attractive to her? Did she always find him attractive? She knew he was good looking but now it felt different from the last times. It had changed! Something had changed about him, or maybe about her?

She should leave. She should leave as soon as she can. 

"Sorry I can't." She said quickly flying over him to the exit door.

"W-what? Raven you okay?" 

She didn't even look back, "I'm fine." And left the room with no other words, leaving the boys there confused.

Except that she wasn't. She wasn't fine at all. Something was happening with her and she knew it was all because of her nosiness from that day. Love was a powerful emotion. Something she shouldn't just mess with especially when Gar initially had kept it hidden within himself. There must have been a reason why he didn't let her feel it in the first place.

But it didn't matter how many times she told herself otherwise, she couldn't help but wonder about Gar's secret lover. 

Was she a superhero too? Was she blonde? Azar was it Cassie? No! Gar would never go after girls way younger than him. Then who? A normal citizen no Titan knew of? Someone he met online? He could do that. He just needed to take a picture of himself in those sports clothes and everyone would be all over him.

"Raven? What's with the rush?" She heard Donna's voice as she and Kory were headed to the gym as well. They were both in their sports outfits as well.

She stopped flying and landed on the ground before them. Kory got a worried face as soon as she looked up.

"Raven, are you okay?"

"Yeah...just finished meditating at the gym." She tries to sound normal, "the guys are already there." 

"Yeah we know." Donna said, "but are you okay?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, "I am. Why do you both keep asking?"

Donna and Kory exchanged some confused looks and Raven just wished she knew what it was about. She didn't want to get into another intense conversation or an awkward one like the ones she had back at the gym with them. She needed to be alone right now more than anything.

Kory stepped closer to her, "Raven... you're blushing!"

***

Life always put people in the most unexpected situations, kind of like Gar's jokes; you basically couldn't predict them.

But Raven was used to find herself in situations she didn't expect, being Trigon's child gave her that. She was herself unexpected.

It wasn't that Raven was unfamiliar with love. Maybe the time she just left Azarath she could say she was, but it was years ago. She gained more control over her powers and emotions ever since. If she could recall correctly, she always felt love from others, especially when they were younger with more unbalanced emotions.

She felt Kory and Dick's love throughout the years and the alien princess could overwhelm anyone with her emotions, let alone a powerful empath like Raven herself. She felt Donna and Roy's thing with each other, Victor and Sarah's and Gar's. 

Azar! Even her own!

So why did it feel so different this time? Why was it so powerful? Raven knew Gar's love before. She'd witnessed many of his crushes before her own eyes. But this time? This love? It was so different on considerable levels.

"Raven! Cover Flash!" Kory shouted as she tried to block the attacks from this demonic creature who seemed to just get out of hell. A gift from her father? Raven decided not think about it.

As Wally was running fast towards the creature, Raven used her soul-self to block the fires. The monster was indeed strong and possessed dark magic as she felt it. 

A green flying eagle flew above her fast and went straight to the monster. Raven saw how Gar shifted into a gorilla and attacked it with his power hands. A smile appeared on her face. His presence alone always made her smile.

She still didn't get the time she wanted to talk with him. After her awkward conversation with him at the gym, Raven couldn't get the courage to ask about his feelings; mostly because she was afraid if he was actually in love with someone.

She didn't know how to approach the subject either. For all that matter, Raven wasn't the titan with the best social skills. How was she supposed to start the conversation even? And tell him she basically invaded his mind and his privacy by accident? When she knew it wasn't an accident at all? That she knew he was in love? That she was jealous? To the point she couldn't stop thinking about him?

As if she would ever do that.

So Raven waited for the right moment. A moment she was brave enough to talk about it. It was frustrating how this right moment she was waiting for didn't come for weeks. The universe hated her. She had to endure months to finally find out about the truth and now weeks to talk about it? She knew what he felt, she knew what she felt and that was the biggest problem.

A familiar yell caught her attention as she saw Gar being thrown in the air.

"Beast Boy!"

He tried shifting to something to reduce the pain of landing hard but he was too weak for that. Gar crashed on the ground hard with a hand on his side, trying to stop the cut from bleeding.

Letting go of what she was asked to do, Raven quickly teleported herself on the ground where Gar was lying on the ground groaning in pain. 

"Oh Azar…" she whispered as she kneeled down above his head. There was a big cut on his side which he was covering. Raven put her hand on his and tried to remove it so she would heal her but Gar didn't stopped her. 

He groaned. "Don't Rae… it's not that important." His voice was weak, "Go help the others. I'm fine."

Raven frowned. "You're bleeding. If it doesn't stop soon it will get dangerous. You might even die."

And it scared her. She couldn't just leave him because of his stubbornness. She had to heal him before it caused him his death. Raven made a move with her hand and made a magical force bubble around them to prevent any attacks or interruptions.

Gar opened his eyes slightly.

"I heal quickly...you know that." He hissed for a second and continued, "Don't waste your power on me...Go!"

It all started with a similar moment didn't it? Him asking her not to heal him. It was months ago by now and Raven remembered all of his words. It all started that day, maybe she would finish it today.

She put his head on her thighs and looked at him upsidedown. Putting her hands on his cheeks, she started to caress them gently. 

Stubborn or not, Raven couldn't leave him.

Gar smiled through his pain. Weakly he put his free hand on her and leaned to her touch.

"Raven…" he whispered.

And then it hit her. Raven's heart froze as she realized how stupid she was the whole time. Gar was in love with her!

It all made sense now. How could she be so blind over something so obvious? Anyone even without her powers would have figured it out already. It was right before her eyes. There was a reason Gar's feeling was more powerful than others, that she felt it stronger than others, why he tried to hide it from her, why such a powerful feeling never left her head...and her heart.

She just looked down at him. He was so lost into his world that he didn't feel she had already started the healing process; she knew it because he would have stopped her. It was painful and she tried hard not to make any sound so he wouldn't notice what she was doing. 

"God It feels...it feels like heaven…" his words got her attention from his wound to his face. Even wounded, Gar was smiling and making her smile as well. It was what he excelled. He always managed to make her happy even though she didn't admit it. 

She was done heading him yet she didn't let go and he didn't seem to be willing to leave the situation either. He looked so in peace and it was heartwarming.

She looked down at his lips. They were slightly apart and hot breath was coming out of his mouth. Raven bent down a bit, still staring at his lips. His smile never left them and Raven realized she couldn't stop herself either.

Still caressing his cheeks, Raven closed her eyes and kissed his lips upsidedown. 

Azar she was kissing him! And how much it felt amazing! His lips were soft on hers and she felt him kissing her back shortly after. A smile appeared on her lips as she kept kissing him gently. That's what she wanted. Him with her. How much of a fool she was not to realize it sooner. It felt as if her lips were meant to be on his at that particular moment; and she figured she didn't mind if these moments become more often.

"Guys! Really?!" It was Roy, "in the middle of a battle?

Neither of them cared as they kept kissing. A battle, a mission or even an apocalypse, none of them could take away this moment from her. She had waited long for this to finally happen.

They broke the kiss slowly. She didn't open her eyes and knew Gar didn't either. She could feel his breaths on her face and his hand on hers. He was rubbing his tomb on her hand. She heard him chuckle.

"You knew it all the time, didn't you?"

Love...

For that moment, that was all he was feeling. She smiled.

"Well, you're always easy to read Gar."

@bbraeweek21

[curlybookwriter0294]

Behind the Dark Sunglasses

Summary: All Wally wants to do is to enjoy his time with his handsome boyfriend Nightwing. However, he can't stand his dark sunglasses and truly wants to know who he truly is because he is dying to know what color his eyes were. Will he finally tell him?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the DC or the YJ universe!!! Just the plot lol.

AN: I am back with another Birdlfash fic!! Gosh, I just fucking love these two togetherrrrrrr and I hope that you guys will enjoy this little beauty. Sadly it is not smutyyyyy but there is somewhat sexual content in here lol. 

Wally West has no idea if heaven is even real but hey, he lives in a world with superheroes and he’s one of them, so anything is possible at this point these days. Right now, at this moment, this feels like he’s in heaven. “Fuck,” he muttered through grounded teeth, throwing his head back and closed his green eyes and used a hand to grab a fist full of dark hair that was between his legs. “Babe. Shit.”

He heard a low chuckle that he knows all too well and had opened one eye to see his raven-haired boyfriend stroking his member with a hand as he smirked up at the older speedster above him. “Enjoying this?” he asked him, using another hand to push up his dark sunglasses that he would always wear whenever he’s not in his Nightwing uniform.

Wally bit his lower lip so he could focus the warm touch that was on him, frowning when he had looked down at the younger hero’s face or what he could see because of his stupid sunglasses. He sighed. “I would be enjoying it a lot more if I could see your eyes, Nightwing,” he said with a sigh.

 He watched Nightwing move away from his legs and knew that the moment between them had ended because of what he had said. The two heroes were silent as he had put himself back into his boxers and jeans that he was wearing, watching Nightwing walking over to sit in his desk chair with a deep frown on his face. “Wing…” he started, running a hand through his short red hair.

 “You know why I can’t tell you.”

 Wally rolled his forest orbs with a snort and leaned back on his bed until his back touched the headboard. “Yea. I know. It’s because of Batman and his stupid rules. I just thought… that since…never mind. Forget it.”

 Neither of them said anything after a while and Wally watched the younger hero fiddling over his computer that was attached to his watch and Wally sighed. “I’m sorry for ruining things.”

 Nightwing turned Wally’s desk chair around to stare at his older boyfriend as he folded his arms over his chest. “You didn’t. You have no idea how much I want to tell you about me,” he said with a quiet sigh, threading his fingers through his short black hair.

 “Can’t you just simply ask him if it is okay? I mean, I told you since the first day The Team was formed,” Wally reminded him in a matter-of-fact tone, shaking his head as he leaned off the headboard and crawled over to the edge of the bed. “I just…” he blushed before continuing. “I just want to see what’s behind those dark sunglasses, especially if things were to get heated again.”

 The younger man that was across from the speedster cleared his throat and shifted in his seat nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “I know Wally. It’s just…” Nightwing paused as he tried to think of a way to explain the situation. “It’s complicated with him. Even if I do try and talk to him it’s still going to be a no.”

 Wally studied him for a moment, trying to decide if he truly believes in what he was saying to him. Wally truly understands that the Dark Knight has strict rules when it’s about revealing their secret identity. Heck, he remembers asking his uncle if he knew who Batman truly was and even he didn’t know. He could understand the hesitation of revealing it to him. It makes him slightly wonder if there’s more to it than just the rule that Batman had created.

 “There isn’t something else is there? Perhaps another reason as to why I haven’t seen your eyes yet?” The speedster asked slowly, watching his boyfriend’s shoulders tensed up at the question. “There is… isn’t there?”

 “If people find out who we are… our enemies can use that against the people that we tell.” Nightwing told him, knowing that it was half the truth in his words. He truly wishes that Wally would drop it and they could go back to what they were doing before. However, he knows how persistent his boyfriend can be at times and he also know that he won’t drop it unless he gets a real answer.

 Wally leaned forward on the bed and stared at the younger hero, wishing that he could see what kind of facial expression he was making. He honestly wonders if his eyes were blue, or green or heck hazel. “I understand that babe,” he told him. “But I believe that there’s more to it than that. Am I right?” he asked, hiking a brow at him.

 Nightwing didn’t answer him right away and Wally knew that he was right after all. Wally nibbled at his lower lip, trying to think of a way to break the awkward silence that had followed between them. “At least tell me that you’re not a serial killer,” he says in a joking manner and his upper lip curled up when his boyfriend scoffed at him. “That’s not really an answer. I gotta know what I’m dealing with here.”

 “No, Wally. I am definitely not a serial killer,” Nightwing told him with a shake of his head. “It’s just…” There was a pause. “I don’t want you to think differently about me if you were to discover my identity,” he said to him honestly as he took a deep breath.

 Wally stared at him with wide eyes and got up from his bed to kneel in front of Nightwing. He used his thumb to lift his chin and even though he was wearing sunglasses, he knew that he was staring directly into his green eyes. “Even if you are a serial killer. It wouldn’t change the way that I feel about you, Nightwing. You can trust me. I know that I am an annoying speedster who likes to eat a lot and don’t know when to shut my mouth at times, but I do know on how to shut the fuck up when I need to. Just tell Batman that okay? Maybe then he can finally let you tell me because I am so dying to know what color your eyes are,” he leaned in to give Nightwing a chaste kiss on his lips. “I love you. So damn much.”

 Wally knows that it was rare for Nightwing to cry and when he saw a train of tears flowing from his sunglasses, he gently wipes them off with his fingers. “I love you too, Wally and…” Wally froze when he watched Nightwing reached up with shaky fingers to slowly take off his sunglasses. “And I want—”

 Wally reached up with his hands to stop Nightwing from removing them. “Babe, I don’t want you to get into trouble. If he finds out…”

 “Didn’t you just tell me a moment ago that you know when to shut the fuck up when you need to?”

 Wally pressed his lips together in a thin line and rolled his eyes at him. “Yes. But we both know how Batman is. He’s gonna know that you—”

 A pair of lips made Wally stop talking and he had moaned when Nightwing’s teeth had bit his lower lip to open it so his tongue to slip inside his mouth. Wally placed a hand onto his chest to gently push him away and licked his lips. “Are you absolutely sure you want to go against Batman’s orders?” he asked breathlessly, gulping when he saw Nightwing’s hands reached up to touch the handles of his sunglasses. “Wing.”

 Neither of them said anything to each other as Nightwing slowly took off his dark sunglasses and Wally squinted his eyes as he tried to figure out why his eyes were close and why the heck he had looked so familiar even though he has not seen his eyes yet. “You can back out anytime. I won’t be mad,” he promised him in a reassuringly way.

 “No. I want to do this. Just…don’t freak out, okay?”

 Wally cocked his head to the side in confusion by his comment and was about ask him what he had meant by that, but his question was caught in throat when Nightwing had finally open his eyes and Wally’s whole body froze when he did.

 Blue. His eyes were blue.

 It was so blue, Wally thought he was staring into an ocean and the more he stared into them deeply he was finding himself lost in them and honestly, he wouldn’t mind being lost in them and the more he had studied his boyfriend’s face the more he realized as to why he had looked so familiar to him. He had to blink several times in order to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him and even rubbed them just in case.

 “R-Richard Grayson? You’re—You’re—"

 “Actually… I prefer to be called Dick Grayson,” Dick corrected, clearing his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He sat still in the desk chair when Wally continued to stare at him in shock. “Wally—” he started, trying to come up a way to make this whole Secret Identity Reveal less awkward.

 “It makes sense,” Wally interrupted him, eyeing him up and down. “As to why the Dark Knight was so harsh on the whole ID thing…which means,” his mouth fell open as the pieces fell into place the more he had thought he had thought about it. “No way…”

 Dick Grayson knew what his older boyfriend was smart and that he had figured out the reason by himself but waited until he had said the words before saying anything else. He sucked in a deep breath when wide green eyes met his blue ones and knew what was coming next when he had opened his mouth again.

 “Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

 Wally watched Dick nod at him slightly and Wally’s mouth made a O shape in shock and Dick sucked in another deep breath as he waits for him to speak again. “You really have pretty eyes, Dick.”

 Dick blinked several times as he processed as to what the redheaded speedster just said. He was confused about his statement. Shouldn’t he be more concerned about more important matter at hand? “Is that the only thing that matters right now?” he asked, hiking up a brow at him.

 Wally scratched the top of his head as he shrugged his shoulders. “I mean did you want me to freak out over the fact that the billionaire is freaking Batman and that you’re Nightwing?” he asked him, cocking his head to the side when Dick’s shoulders stiffen. The speedster shook his head. “Because I don’t care about that kind of stuff. You know me better than that.” Wally walked closer to where Dick was at his desk and leaned in closer to him when he had brought his face closer to his. “You could be a stripper and I would still love you.”

 Dick rolled his sapphire eyes at him. “You’re such a—"

 “Sap?” Wally suggested, wiggling his eyebrows when the raven-haired hero snorted at him. He cleared his throat and leaned in to brush his nose against his boyfriend. “I’m being for real though. I would still love you. No matter what, babe.”

 “I know,” Dick said with a huge blush on his face. “And I also love you too. Thank you for accepting me.”

 “I will always accept you. Don’t forget that. Ever.”

[flashflashhundredyarddash]

okay the halbarryiris polyamory post lets gooo

tw for internalized homophobia and biphobia

so barry spends his childhood bouncing around between foster homes so he doesn't really worry about relationships

once he gets to college he realizes he's bi and he's like oh. oh NO.

he very much does Not want to deal it so he sort of decides that he'll only try to date women

oh barry

i also headcanon that barry has pretty intense anxiety

so he graduates college, gets a cool job, and then oh holy shit barry has superspeed now

so he meets iris and hal at roughly the same time; he meets iris separately as both barry and the flash, and he meets hal as the flash

hal immediately discloses his identity and barry is like sfliefne but he gives up his pretty quickly because the type of personality that makes you become a secret superhero is also the type of personality that makes a person Very lonely

so hal doesn't Really label himself anything like if anybody Asks he'd say that he's mostly straight but he's not opposed to anything

so his first reaction to meeting barry is like oh Hot Guy Alert, HOT GUY ALERT

barry was the first guy that hal like really wanted to actually take out but barry gives off very Straight vibes so hal just flirts very aggressively to see if barry will take him up on it

so fast forward a few months and barry is definitely falling for iris BUT he also... has feelings for hal. this is Not Good. he wants to ask iris out but he also?? wants to ask hal out??? OH NO. he asks neither out because he doesn't know what to do.

so barry is wracked with indecision and finally hal is like FUCK IT and tells barry that he's into him and they kiss

but barry really quickly retreats and is like uhh im into someone else

and hal is like OH UHH SORRY

and barry is like BUT IM INTO YOU TOO

and hal is like OH YES TELL ME MORE?

so basically barry fesses up and hal being a Coastal California Girl is like oh damn hey you know polyamory is a thing so if youre down im down

AND BARRY IS LIKE POLYAMORY IS A THING?? (barry grew up in the midwest the only exposure he had to polyamory were mormons and barry is a Good Jewish Boy)

so yes now barry is like. polyamory is an option and hal says he's fine with being nonexclusive so hal is like ASK IRIS OUT and barry is like is it weird that my kind of boyfriend wants me to ask another woman out and hal is like your kind of boyfriend is volunteering to be your wingman trust me you need my help

when iris was in college the venn diagram of people working on the school newspaper and the gay straight alliance was a circle so yes what im saying is that iris has 100% been in a polycule before

iris is also like hal in that shes mostly straight but isn't opposed to being with a woman

so when barry asks her out shes like YESSSSSSS LETS GOOOO and then barry on the FIRST DATE freaks out and is like i have a kind of boyfriend but were open and iris is like yessss but i want to meet the kind of boyfriend

so hal and iris meet and hal is kind of into iris but iris is Not into hal like she LIKES him but she's not into him but anyways yes now barry has an OFFICIAL boyfriend and girlfriend

but because of the Internalized Biphobia and also living in the midwest barry tells people he has a girlfriend but never really talks about hal

:(((

iris decides she doesn't want to date anyone but barry, and hal dates like two or three other people the whole time he's with barry but he usually cuts it off before they get to anything serious

apart from the Internalized Biphobia barry keeps up pretty healthy relationship negotiating skills so he moves in with Iris (he also has a bunch of stuff at hals but hal lives across the country and also goes into space pretty routinely)

so anyways once barry has been with them both for several years he really wants to make both his relationships more permanent but because both gay marriage is illegal at the time AND bigamy is illegal barry decides to marry iris

I KNOW :(((

hal is sort of like :( but he gets it and barry and hal have a very separate and different relationship than barry and iris

though barry and hal never get married hal makes it pretty obvious he doesn't want to be with anyone else after barry and barry loves hal and always wants to be with him too

also when barryiris take in wally it was sort of a. very quick decision they had to make but hal decides he really Doesn't want to be a parent (nor to any kids barry and iris may or may not have) but he is Uncle Supreme

so yeah they decide not to tell wally for a multitude of reasons so barry just takes a lot of "business trips" when really he's spending a weekend at hals

ANYWAYS YEAH once dick finds out (detailed in my last birdflash post lol) dick is like yeah im not keeping this a secret from my boyfriend i can't do that to him so yall are gonna have to tell him

SO THEY TELL WALLY

WALLY IS VERY UPSET FOR A WHILE but gets over it once him and barry have a tearful heart to heart about it

also as barry gets older he's more wililng to tell people about his boyfriend he's still kind of quiet about being polyamorous but he is like YES, MY BOYFRIEND, HAL JORDAN

also while flash can't acknowledge his relationship with iris he CAN acknowledge his relationship with green lantern

and of course the whole fucking green lantern corps know hal is dating the flash like alien jesus christ we get it jordan

so yeah that's the barry/hal/iris relationship and though barry and hal never Officially get married barry does start wearing two rings on his ring finger

[anothertimdrakestan]

Damijon Christmas Present!

FOR THE DAMIJON SECRET SANTA I HAD... @nymph-patt

dear nymph:

hi love! i haven’t written in a fat minute and i’m a little rusty so bear with me hehehe. i hope you have a wonderful holiday season! all my love -elle!

I’ve got a fluff christmas fic and a lil headcanon for ya! 

Merry Stress-mas

“You can’t plan Christmas like a battle strategy Dami,” Jon groaned as Damian wheeled a whiteboard into their living room. “Actually, I’ve found it to be quite similar. Pay attention Kent, I know sticking to the plan has never been your strong suit.” Damian’s foot was tapping like crazy, Jon noted his clear anxiousness- needless to say Damian wasn’t the holiday type. Makes it a million times harder when it’s your first Christmas together as a couple. 

*super-couple. 

Jon gasped as Damian flipped the whiteboard like a school teacher, revealing meticulously drawn out plans mapped in expo-marker. “We start with my family, we stay until Jason is ten shots in, after that Christmas always becomes a nightmare so we head out. With your super speed it’ll be only an 14 minutes 37 second trip to your family where we stay for the majority of the night. At the end you rush us back to Gotham to console Dick after Bat-Christmas fails as always. Our emergency word is tyrannosaurus should anything go wrong at the drop we flee. Any questions?” Damian was flying through the plans, pointing at bulleted lists and analyzing possible flaws. 

Jon took a deep breath, a smile creeping over his face. “I didn’t think you’d care so much about our first Christmas together with our families, it’s kind of sweet.” Lazily he reached for Damian, clinging to his back while Dami shook his head, mumbling as he edited the board. “Not really our first Christmas Kent and I definitely do not care about family tt,” Jon didn’t reply, he just smiled into the crook of Damian’s neck.

“Our suits bring down our aerodynamic potential so I’ve taken the liberty of adjusting our arrival time to 15 minutes 43 seconds. Does that sound accurate?” Jon hummed in response as he straightened Damian’s tie, it was already perfect but he’d take any excuse to get closer to Dami. “Ready my love?” Jon glanced at Damian who was checking his watch. “Yes.” Damian responded, absent mindedly clasping Jon’s hand as they made their way to the mansion. 

“DAMI’S HERE!” Steph’s screech announced. She was hanging off the banister as she stole popcorn pieces from the massive tree. “Wonderful- Miss Brown I must ask you don’t eat the decorations tonight, have some festivity,” Alfred shook his head as he made his way to Jon. “Magnificent of you to join us Master Kent, I assume you will also be heading to your family’s festivities as well?” Jon opened his mouth but Damian answered first. “Yes Pennyworth, we plan on just saying for hors devours,” his curt reply brought a knowing smile to Alfred’s lips. “Always planned with you Master Damian,” his accent was playful making Jon chuckle. 

Dick descended the stairs, Damian groaned at his bright green and red striped suit, Jon couldn’t help but laugh either. “Hellllooo super boyfriends! Are-You-Readyyyy-For-Tonight!” Dick practically skipped towards the two, pulling them into a tight hug before Damian could slip away. “We won’t be long Grayson we must attend the Kent family Christmas too,” Damian nodded curtly, shifting closer to Jon who got the message and moved forward into the living room. 

“Actually, where are all the bat-siblings? And where did Steph run off to?” Jon noticed no one was around but Alfred who was preparing something delicious in the kitchen. Dick began chuckling, a devilish smile spreading across his face. “Oh, everyone is down in the batcave. C’mon.” Damian looked taken-aback but Jon was never to shocked by batfamily-antics. 

The two followed Dick to the secret door. “Now, we heard from a little super birdy [Dick winked at Jon who was now openly grinning] that you were a little nervous about having to deal with two Christmas’ this year, so we felt it’d be easier for everyone if we just-” Dick popped open the door to a winter wonderland of a batcave. A large table was put out, filled with their family members. “Merry Christmas!” A chorus of laughter broke out as Damian’s jaw dropped. 

At the table were the batfam, Kents, and even a couple speedsters littered around. All were laughing and smiling at one another. It was the biggest family gathering Jon has seen ever. “No need for crazy plans my love, just enjoy tonight with everyone,” Jon whispered to Damian as he scanned the room. “I- How did you- Thank you,” Damian settled on the last words of praise for the wonderful man who made every single day better. “No need for thanks, I’d get you the world if you wanted it, but for now let’s have a very Merry Christmas!” Jon took off towards his family and Damian would help but feel the corners of his lips betray him with a smile. Heart full he made his way down to his family.

“JASON DO NOT FLIRT WITH KARA SHE’S OFF LIMITS!”

“WALLY DID YOU EAT ALL THE COOKIES ALREADY?”

“BRUCE, CLARK, STOP FIGHTING OVER WHO GOT THE OTHER THE BETTER GIFT. YOU’RE BOTH RICH!”

very merry indeed. 

~

Okay so I haven’t absorbed much batfam content at all for weeks so hopefully my spin on the HC is still cute : )

I don’t think Jon gets enough credit for how observant he is. 

Too often Jon is forgotten, the second super boy, the sidekick, the boyfriend, the man who left everyone for space. 

It’s true, technically. But Jon is so keen at reading those around him, especially the un-readable Damian Wayne that I would argue it’s a super skill in of itself.

He gets it from his mother you know, Superman was always a little dense, but, though no one believes it, he always had Lois to help him out. Too often the quieter, smarter, more analytical side gets forgotten and that’s no different with Jon. His friends don’t see the way he checks up on them, taking in their facial expressions and reading them to know the right thing to say at the right time to help them out. They don’t realize he spent whole days memorizing their heart beats and their breaths to know if they’re ever in peril. And they don’t see the way he looks at them so fondly, beyond grateful they’re in his life.

Lois sees it.

She saw it when Jon met Damian. 

A young boy mesmerized by the wittiness and strength in the human boy. The greatest irony, the Superboy more human than the murder weapon now called “Robin”. But the two hit it off almost instantly- though Damian may not agree to that last bit. 

Lois knew Jon adored Damian, every deep red was “Robin Red” every Wayne Ent. building they walked past brought up stories of his adventures with the youngest Wayne, every Justice League trip meant begging for his dad to send him to Gotham for the weekend while he was out. He was young, but Lois knew a pair of soulmates when she saw them. 

There were these nights when they were teens. Jon would burst out of bed and rush to his mother. He never needed to say anything. There was this look in his eyes, Damian needs me. “Go” she’d always whisper, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead thinking back to when Clark would do the same for her. 

She remembers the frantic December weeks Jon spent toiling on Damian’s Christmas gift. “What do I give a trillionaire who has the world?” Jon would whine and mope around the house for any semblance of inspiration. 

Your heart Jon, all he wants is your love. Lois always thought to herself, she was quite aware of the two boy’s growing infatuation with each other, her husband was always slower in the “feelings” department and if he was slow she imagined Bruce was a damn sloth. So, she let the boys feel safe in her presence. Damian slowly spent more time at her home when Clark was out, she grew to have a sort of friendship with Damian. He’d comment on whatever news article she recently wrote, endure a three second reply and be on his way. She was always astounded at how up to date he was on all her pieces. 

Lois was always proud of the love Jon showed Damian. She’d be the first to tell Bruce he needed to hug his damn kids, but there was a special kind of caring Jon held only for Damian. A love woven only for the two of them. Like an invisible string linking them no matter where in the universe the other was at, there was a friendship, a kindness, a passion, a love.

Overtime, Jon’s analysis of Damian led him to his own feelings. And over an even longer period of time Damian discovered his own. Jon never stopped caring, he never stopped worrying, and he never stopped loving. 

Those, are the parts of Superman that Damian, and the world, need most. 

~

Merry Christmas! <3