#what the h e l l

[lover-of-skellies]

Started watching some asmr stuff out of boredom, and my soul nearly left my body at one point

I was just minding my own business, setting up everything to make a summoning sigil, and then some anime girl starts slobbering all over my ear, help

[heavensinhell]

bad influence.

sophiana drabble, angst, human au.

tw; slight substance abuse, mentions of substance abuse, suggestive.

word count: 2597

——————

it wasn’t always like this. she didn’t want it to end like this. hell, she did everything to avoid it ending like this.

but fate catches up, just as how the rain did, dripping down their skins, merging with their tears. they held each other in their arms, sobbing more than they’d did ever in their life — or maybe it was just her. maybe she was the only one shaking, the only one sobbing. but when sophie held on tight, arms wrapped around her waist, she knew; it isn’t just me.

——————

biana always hung out with sophie now, with their school’s anniversary week over and both of them free to do anything.

it was amazing, really. a week ago, she’d just find out there’s someone else in her grade living in the same suburbs as her — at the same block too! her new friend, sophie foster’s, house was literally just behind hers, and even remembered that she’d always passed, playing with the barking dogs in their small yard. now they’d spent early evenings walking one of the said dogs around the neighbourhood.

she’d met sophie during dance practice for their presentation in the intramurals, but she wasn’t joining; apparently, she was the one representing her class for the pageant, and rightfully so. she was beautiful.

blonde hair in soft curls, tiny ringlets. gold flecked brown eyes that feel like the earth has opened up before you and is offering up their treasures for you to adore. soft, matte red lips. she had asked her for her lipstick ones, but she looked at her confused and said she didn’t have any. her confusion — crinkled eyebrows, narrowed eyes, and lips half a frown, half a pout. how can she be so simply beautiful?

not that biana herself wasn’t a sight to behold. she truly was; her evening’s sweetheart award during their prom night proved that.

sophie nudged her, head tilted. “i don’t think i’ve ever asked, but you have a flare of confidence.” there it was again, crinkled brows, narrowed eyes, and cute, oh-so cute lips, evidence of her curiosity and confusion. “why didn’t you join the pageant?”

biana raised her brows, lips twitching in a smile. “because you would’ve lost.”

the blonde nudged her, now her nose crinkled, too. “i’m serious!”

the brunette had only laughed in turn, but sat down on the grass, letting opera nuzzle into her knees.

it was half past six, the moon and the stars illuminating the soft, early night. soon, the sun rays would disappear entirely, leaving the moon to glow in all its glory. soon, in the turn on the next block, she’d have to drop off her best friend at home. so, she’d tell her short tale seated in the grass in front of an unoccupied house. there were perks in being one of the last phases in their subdivision; no one liked being last. many of the houses are empty, be in because they’re un-bought, or their real owners only bought them to spend their summers. houses too beautiful to be called home, maybe.

“so?”

now it was biana’s nose crinkling, looking over at her friend. “so.”

“so why didn’t you join the pageant!”

the blonde pouted, gently picking her dog back. it made biana giggle. they both liked animals, so when one wouldn’t share, the other would take back what was theirs. whether it was a stuffed, teddy animal or a real one.

“i wasn’t home, remember.”

she’d told the story before — leaving the country a month before, therefore missing so much stuff, like the general practice for their prom.

the blonde laid her head against the other’s shoulder, nose crinkled. “but the auditions for the pageant was wayyy after prom.”

biana snorted, head shaking. “there was also our english project to think about. i was one of the writers, which was a stupid decision,” kicking away a pebble, a pout formed in her lips. “like, i just got home! they were pressuring me to write while my grandparents were telling me to fix more documents. like, wasn’t that why you sent us out the country in the first place? like—“

anger shrouded her aura, her vibes so she gently pushed sophie’s head off, covering her face with her hands. “basically, i didn’t audition because i was too pressured. if i joined, i’d have to win. ‘you’re gonna join, so you gotta win. if you don’t that’s okay, you tried you best — but knowing you, your best would have you winning’ like, gee! no pressure!”

sophie had wrapped her hands around her shoulder, her other hand snaking in to hold hers.

and her heart fluttered with butterflies.

that was one of the things that were so painful about sophie. she’s loving, she’s sweet, and she’s friends with a lot of people. so she’s caring — loving, even — to a lot of people. and it was ok! you’re supposed to love your friends. she was amazing for that. but sometimes, she’s so stupidly oblivious. sophie would hold their hand, cup their cheeks; like now. people trust her a lot, vent to her a lot. and she doesn’t mind it, doesn’t mind comforting people. she treats people right, the way you should. a basic human with basic human decency and basic human sympathy. but that was rare. so people end up mistaking their platonic feelings for romantic, and biana was no lesser a victim.

but still she melted into the hug, crying into her friend’s shoulder, her hands fisted, fingers entangled with the other.

a cough had made the brunette jump, moving far from her friend. if her fear was right and true, it would be sophie’s overprotective father. but no, it was way worst — her boyfriend.

vien had flirted with biana once, and, of course, being a stupid 13 year old, she’d let him. it was the beginning of her mental decline. how someone like him had pulled sophie was beyond her.

maruca stood beside him, looking far, far away from her. obvious that the both had them had been looking for her together, or, if biana was being really, really honest, vien was pulling some shady shit. not that she hasn’t warned sophie about it. she’d been crinkle brow’ed then, when she found out sophie and vien were classmates in the eighth, and started spitting insults left and right, slipping multiple times and calling him some things. warned her, “he’s a cheating, lying fuck. oh, and guess what? he smokes! he drinks! i do, too — but i don’t overdo it!” sophie had agreed, but somehow, to her horror, they’d ended up together.

the ravenette, eyes narrowed, had his distance. horridly scared of dogs, he was. but when sophie met her eyes, head tilted, her lips twisted into a soft, pleading smile, she sighed and took the leash, walked it home, sophie’s home, and came back, an eye’s distance away, maruca leaning against the car, smoke escaping her lips, her breath hitched. biana shook her head, opening her palm, before taking a puff of the vape for herself.

“gonna kill it again?” the blue-streaked brunette muttered, slipping to her knees, head against the others legs, breathing slow.

“gonna kill him, matter of fact.” she hissed, watching him bury his head in her neck, arms tight around her waist.

he demonised her: gave her a short temper, horribly emotional overall, and made her do impulsive things. him and his horrible friends, maybe that’s why they’d kept preying on her.

she hated it, but it was no more a horrible situation than what she felt earlier for sophie. a mere human, with humane needs, sophie gave her love, and those blasted boys gave her attention. poor biana vacker, with the poor life choices, teenage hormones, and human needs. wow.

she’d taken another hit when maruca stood up, leaning towards her, inhaling the smoke that left the brunettes lips. her breath hitched, the brunette gently laying her head against the other’s chest.

“let’s go, bia,” the girl whispered, hands slowly wrapping around her waist, as if she was scared. scared she’ll shatter. “she knows how to go home safely.”

she hated that, but she hated watching them even more. it made her sick, genuinely.

maruca had dragged her back to her house, head bowed as she greeted her parents. “lord and lady vacker,” with the slightest amusement in her voice.

it was kinda embarrassing, really. being the daughter of royals. or maybe that was because she was raised in a simple life, the way her parents wanted. look at how pressured she was when her grandparents got involved, the reasons they left the country, the reason they were practically royalty. thank the gods for her parents.

they hanged out in her room a lot, but the air was awkward. biana knew maruca longer, loved her longer, but never once did she cry to her, opened up to her. it was obvious she was hurt by that, but she wasn’t gonna bring it up. the darker girl gave her a cheek kiss, their way of goodbyes, and left for home.

and biana stood there. wondering how she’d ever work out her feelings.

maybe she stood for hours, because it was dark out, and that’s when jolie, sophie’s elder sister, had knocked on their door, looking for sophie.

“sorry,” biana frowned, slipping into their living room, staring at her sleepy eyes. “ but i’ve not seen her since noon, ms ruewen.”

but jolie pulled her for a hug, how edaline had, when they’d met. and despite being adopted, sophie hugs like the two of them. she would’ve melted if she wasn’t so embarrassed, but not to fret; jolie had let her go, smiling and thanking her, “i’ll let you know when we find her,” her smile was so genuine, she couldn’t believe she lied. she gave a respectful bow, and left.

she’d kissed her mom’s cheeks in a daze and gave her dad a hug, before slipping back into her room. sophie was missing. oh my gods. what did they do?

it was friday — three days before she could go to school. not that it mattered, honestly. but if something had happened, oh no. she couldn’t stop worrying, sitting in her bed — how did i even get here? — worried, worrying. the running-hands-through-hair-when-stressed? apparently she got that gene, too, because by the time she’d fallen asleep, she’d had a tangle of brown for hair. and those three days made her sick. jolie never came, never chatted. she was left worrying, worrying, worrying. and worst, she’d blamed herself.

if she didn’t leave them alone, would sophie be missing still? if she didn’t let maruca whisk her away, would she still be in her room, pacing, worried? no one messaged her about it, too, god, now her mind was running faster than her family’s cars. what would she do, what could she have done? oh god, oh gods —

and it was monday. the weekend passed like a blur of her worrying, waiting, being ignored. fuck, did something happen?

she was scared. she didn’t want to go and see, so she listened to music in her classroom, hidden under her hoodies, stressed, so stressed, what the heck.

but somehow, her other friends were able to coo her into the canteen, and vien, fucking vien, was okay, cackling with his friends. it took all of her will power not to jump at him, claw at him, where’s my best friend—when she’d noticed a head of blonde hair, ruffling brunette. sophie and amy. or… keefe and amy? either way, there was sophie’s other sister.

coming closer, she’d stopped dead in her tracks. there, back facing her, was sophie foster, hair cut short, her curls embracing her ears, jumping lightly as she laughed that heaven-given laugh. amy’s eyes had met hers, and the soft green turned steel, and when sophie turned, heaven, oh heaven, she was still so beautiful. the brunette wanted to break down, cry, hug her — she was alright, it was alright.

but when her eyes weren’t glowing with happiness, they were scared, in despair, before giving off the same steel gaze her little sister did, and the foster sisters walked away without another word.

old biana would’ve thrown a tantrum, eyebrows creased, nose crinkled, an expression of “who does she think she is, defying me?” but this biana, this new biana, just stared at where she stood, before regaining her posture, ignoring the gazes on her back, staring at her, what the hell just happened? she left, eyes on the floor, unblinking. she knew if she did, they’d know there had been tears.

it went like that for days — how many, she didn’t know — seeing sophie in the halls, the cafeteria, the streets. and that sophie was ignoring her, giving her sad eyes. she blamed her, too, biana decided. to her, it was her fault. and now, maybe, just maybe, maybe it was her fault. maybe she was to blame. maybe that was how their friendship would end.

the girl kicked the poor, innocent rock in front of her. it’s been weeks — maybe two, fuck it, she didn’t care. and it was so painfully obvious. dragging herself out of bed, rat tails less of tails, more of bird’s nest, tangled under her puffed hair. clothes messy and mismatched, unlike the trendsetter she knew herself to be. maybe in the future, she’d be horrified to see herself in this state, that she had let herself go to that hole. really, it was bound to happen. her life went to shit when she landed from that airplane — god, i wish it just crashed. it was selfish, wishing a group death, so she wouldn’t be all alone in her misery, but that’s what she’s become, it seems.

the rain had gotten stronger, sprinkling her uncovered skin. just as when she didn’t bring a goddamn umbrella, it was bound to storm for hours on end. as if things could get any worst.

and it did. damn you, universe.

there, blonde beauty herself, had run into the bus station. how silly, fate was, stringing them together, just the two of them, under a storm.

she looked at her phone. half past six. oh, nostalgia! oh, universe! oh, fucking destiny!

biana had an oversized hoodie in her bag, she just remembered. how amazing, the human mind was. when the self had been hurt, it cared not. i’ve been through this a lot, it’s okay! but upon the sight of another, the other being someone it cared about, it remembered something, something that could’ve helped the self as well. maybe it was proof that the self lacked care for itself.

she took it out of her back, awkwardly walking closer. sophie looked up at her, but biana had looked away, focusing on putting the hoodie on the other girl.

“biana.” she said it so simply it hurt, like the weeks of hanging out didn’t mean anything. like the weeks without each other was nothing.

“biana,” her voice hitched now, locking her hands in the other’s, but she quickly pulled it back, still looking down.

“biana, my gods,” she’d moved closer, and biana felt her cup her cheeks, tilting her head up to meet her eyes.

there were tears dripping down her cheeks — or was it the rain? no, they fell from her own eyes. biana was crying, too. the tears falling in silent grief, but when sophie pulled her close, running her fingers through her tangled hair, whispering softly, i missed you, i’m sorry, i love you so, so much. she broke, holding on tight, broken, breathless sobs leaving her lips.

stay with me, i don’t want you to leave.

she’d thought it, maybe whispered it, sophie holding her close, dear to her heart. the storm raged around them, and she could feel herself getting wet.

she’d gone with no explanation, but that didn’t matter — she was here now, she was in her arms now, they’d fix this. they’ll talk it out, like they always do.

but right now, all biana wanted was to suffocate in her embrace, drown in her affection. god, she gave the best hugs.

[moondvncer]

is that a dog tag in the pic

IT'S LITERALLY A NORMAL NECKLACE???????????

[teaboot]

IM LOSING MY FICKING MINDDD

[emotionaldisaster909]

Hey!

HEY!

Have you seen this?????

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS????

THESE ARE

SCREENSHOTS

FROM AN ADVERTISEMENT VIDEO

FOR NOODLES

The noodle brand is ��Man Xiao Bao” by the way

WITH OFFICIAL DONGHUA DUB

HELLO??????????

SOURCE: WEIBO, TWITTER

[amanitacurses]

[clownsuu]

Wally talks to his dad about his love life

Home I feel is a really good listener (maybe a little too good since he eavesdrops a lot on accident- very observant of his surroundings)

cw minor obsessive/possessive behavior on first photo under cut

I remember I freaked out years ago when I found out some bugs, specially some spiders, have lil beaned peets

[tagerrkix]

[russellius]

2024 BRITISH GP : Thursday | © James Moy

[art-is-kayos]

Phone games

[moon932]

do you guys think neuvillette’s perception of himself is also influenced by how people regard the rain?

like i know there are the melusines, his whole story quest was about that. but something that always always sticks out to me is whenever neuvillette brings up the rain, he’s always apologizing for it.

take for instance, in his when it rains voice line: “Ah, my apologies. This heavy rain must be quite the inconvenience for you.” this is under the assumption that he’s the one causing it to rain and not a natural cycle. which adds a whole other layer to it because he’s essentially apologizing for his having and showing his emotions.

and we know he likes the rain. he enjoys taking walks when it’s raining and finds solace in it when he’s stressed or needs time to sort out his thoughts.

this thought first stuck out to me from aforementioned story quest, because in the flashback scene the first thing we hear is “Ugh, it’s raining again?” which considering these are neuvillette’s memories, and that’s the first thing he remembers when it’s raining-

there was also that line where he says that there is a difference between how others perceive him and how he perceives himself. which if we’re going with him associating himself with the rain, which why wouldn’t he? is there really any question to why he’d see himself as separated when the first thing that happens when it rains- when he expresses emotions- is people’s derision?

yeah logically he would know people don’t usually make that connection, bc the hydro dragon is only supposed to be a local legend to the common folk, but insecurities don’t really care about logic y’know.

idk, i always love seeing neuvillette explored in fics and stuff and this is just something i don’t think i’ve seen really delved into? and i think in this situation it would be more akin to him leaning into his apathetic front that he’s known to have as the chief justice because what else should he do? show emotions? but look at how everyone already reacts to that when they don’t know it’s him specifically.

also, this got me thinking of vautrin and his impact of neuvillette’s character, so maybe be a look out for that rambling in the future if you’re interested in that? :>

[dreamingticklee]

cant stop thinking about the concept of the 12 days of christmas song but each number is what you get tickled like "three rib pokes", "7 tummy scritches", "eleven knee squeezes" ect and having to go through the whole song as more and more tickles get added and repeated over and over 😵‍💫

[technicalthinker]

hello i am going to die in that movie theater

[shitpost-it-tristan]

T H I S. GUuH— G U u U u Y s S

T H I S👏 H A S👏 NOT 👏

L E F T M Y M I N D🗣

I know it's a small detail but I love small details!!! way too much

Man, we don't even know if the— "loOkAtThat ✨️hiiigh D e f i n i t i o n~✨️"

Scene happened the same way! (and I just remembered she was originally gonna be,, "sTrAddLiNg" lil homie.)

But HolyShit if it WAS!! (or something similar) She used the same gun that nearly killed him,,, to shove him BEHIND HER—

The original scene had the "Fix-it, get behind me" line, but the words, with ACTIONS! Actions speak louder than words, BUT BOTH?? Calhoun, yoUR LOVE IS LOUD– nah for real, it hits different. She's (obviously) panicked, and instead of shooting right away, her instinct is to make him get BEHIND HER.

It just hit me.

1. She was behind them And sHE SPRINTED, shoved him like, fuckin- "mOVE BITCH GET THE WAY"

"NAH, NOT THIS TIME."

"Ugh.. cyb–NONOTTHEHANDYMAN" man, yall get it–

"F E L I X‼️"

2. she made sure he wasn't IN THE LINE OF FIRE.

I have NO MORE W O R DS.

Psst @bashfulgnome

"Felix and Tamora are ✨️THE COUPLE✨️"

[aster-daydream404]

I had a dream about narilamb again that was kinda sort of mixed with mao mao and she ra? And also mixed with living in like a dictator-ish kinda society with a timeloop going on

How the lamb is forced to sacrifice themselves because theyre the one chosen to clean up and fend off the radioactive lab on lockdown which is where he and narinder meet. They fall in love but somehow, the lamb always ends up dying. And the cycle repeats.

It drives narinder insane especially because hes the one that will keep on remembering even after each world reset. But it doesnt matter bc they keep falling in love anyway.

Lamb eventually remembers anyway in each timeline, and the two of them try to find a way to get out of the time loop together, but they struggle to go against it and so the timeloop repeats after each of the lamb’s death (literally heartbreaking)

Until somehow, they figure out a way to stop the lamb from dying, creating a new timeline or somewhat rather a more alternate universe??? And their they were able to be together peacefully without worrying abt shit forced out of their control and also adopted a bat child together (HELP????? HAHAHAHAHWHAS)

AND MY POINT OF VIEW LITERALLY KEEPS ON FLIPPING BETWEEN NARINDER AND THE LAMB ALL THROUGH IT. ITS SO FUNNY ITS INSANE.

[cablecar-s]

to love and self loath

Description :

With the death of her lover too much to bear, she makes the decision to run away from her life as Spider Woman, finding solace in the most crime ridden place in the U.S: Gotham City.

Note:

Hello! I'm currently just testing the waters of Tumblr at the moment, so bear with me because I have no idea what I'm doing. Constructive criticism is welcomed, just remember to not be mean >:/ Enjoy the first chapter!!

part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6

Prepare For Trouble

"You're Spider-Woman, right?" He looked at her with a knowing yet amused smile on his face, all the while the woman who stood before him could only stare at him with slight bafflement. Eyes wide, lips slightly parted, she blinked at him, beginning to stammer.

"I.. What? How could you..? What kind of crazy.." She let out a small mix of what seemed to be a huff and laughter in trying to play off his not-so-false statement.

Her crush could only give her a look that read all too clearly as 'Really?' which led her to promptly give up, a sigh of defeat leaving her lips.

"I.. Yeah, you got me. I'm.. I'm Spider-Woman." She looked at him with a defeated smile. "How'd you know though? I thought I was pretty secretive!" She raised her hands up in defense, making him laugh.

"Well, with how much you sometimes ditch me last minute every time I hear sirens going off or how you always disappear out of thin air when something big or small happens, it was pretty easy to deduce the reasons why." He chuckled softly.

"You are also talking to the most smartest person in his entire school." He quickly added.

The female vigilante could only slightly scoff at this, looking around, as if someone else could hear the ridiculousness that was coming out from his mouth.

"Really now?" She questioned, almost mockingly.

Slowly, the two teenagers inched closer to one another while continuing to bicker, a teasing smile on both of their faces until finally they were mere inches away from one another.

"I hope you're not waiting for something." The teenaged boy said teasingly, a smile on his lips.

"No, not at all." The girl hummed, smiling back.

With the night air nipping at their skin, the warmth of their breaths could be felt on one another. And as they leaned in for a kiss, the floor beneath them fell in an instant, and they were soon falling down the clock tower.

With her spider suit on, breathing now heavy, adrenaline pumping into her veins, she watched as the boy she loved since high school began falling, watching as her single web was shot down towards him.

It was silent in that moment, everything having gone in slow motion, her web slowly reaching out to him, but was only seconds too late. The web, sticking itself to the man at the last second, his head still hitting the cold, hard floor, killing him in an instant.

The sound of her cries echoed in the now broken clock tower; grief, guilt, and anger consuming her body, until...

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP

In an instant the woman woke up, covered in her sweat, her heart pounding against her chest. Her fight and flight instincts having kicked in, her eyes darted around her new apartment, her brain slowly catching up as to where she was. 

The muffled sound of cars honking from outside her window was heard, the slight musty smell that her apartment had, and the multiple of unpacked boxes laying around in her small bedroom had slowly calmed her down.

Memories from a few days ago came back to her again, making her sigh while simultaneously burying her face into her hands, that night continuing to haunt her time and time again no matter how many times she had tried to forget. 

Finally turning the alarm on her phone off, she got herself out of bed and went to her bathroom to freshen up, her morning not doing so well with that dream of hers. 

Pulling her hair back from her face, the woman left her bathroom and started to continue where she had left off from yesterday with unpacking her stuff. Putting her playlist on shuffle, she began digging through all of the boxes that held her belongings, putting them in their respective places.

The female vigilante was glad to have gotten away from New York, it gave her time to take a break from playing Spider-Woman—and to hopefully heal. Though it's obvious someone from above thought it would be funny that she would be transferred in the most highest crime rated city: Gotham City.

There goes her vacation.

Though Gotham City should be fine without the help of Spider-Woman shouldn't it? They have all the other vigilantes that kept Gotham fairly safe.

From Batman and Robin to Nightwing, Orphan, Spoiler, hell they even have someone to protect Gotham in the morning, which would be Signal. Of course there was also Red Hood, though she still wasn't so sure if he was to be counted since he did run a few drug cartels.

Wasn't really her business though, as long as she didn't have to do any fighting in the mean time of her slight vacation. 

Boy was she wrong.

"I need you to take some photos of our vigilantes." Her new boss ordered.

"I'm sorry?" The woman furrowed her brows, staring at the woman who was busy typing away on her computer.

"You heard me. Pictures. Vigilantes. Stat." Her voice was monotone, yet it had a slight intimidation to it. 

The vacationing vigilante did her best in holding back her frustration, moving her arms a bit to exaggerate her words just a bit. 

"But Gotham is a lot more crime ridden at night. Can't you have one of the men do it? I'm sure they'd be less likely to get mugged unlike me." She couldn't help but huff, nothing but familiar with this attitude this older woman had.

She was very much the same as Jameson back at the Daily Bugle.

It wasn't long until the woman peeled her eyes off from her computer screen to stare at the vigilante with sharp eyes.

"Listen sweetheart, the reason why you were even transferred here was because of the crystal clear pictures you had taken of Spider Woman over back from where you're from." Opening a file cabinet from her desk, she flipped through a few divided folders before pulling one out in particular and opening it up, slightly tossing it in the middle of her desk.

Photos that she had taken slid itself out from its place in the divider, all of them of which were in good quality and all had good angles to them, only because she was quite literally taking pictures of herself in order to even obtain a job as a photojournalist.

"So it's either you take photos as nice as these of our vigilantes or we can throw you back to New York, your choice." Quite literally, Jameson's female doppelganger looked back up at her new transferee before going back to typing.

Letting out a small sigh, a muttered "Yes ma'am" left her lips before leaving her new demon boss' office. She really can't catch a break can she? 

Well it's not like she wasn't a night person in the first place right? Being able to do whatever she wanted during the day, and once the sun had disappeared and the darkness and rain had taken over Gotham was when it was her time to go out and do her job.

The only downside was how incredibly freezing cold it was in Gotham once night had hit. She could stand the cold to some degree, as a New Yorker she was quite used to the cold, but Gotham was a whole other story.

She should probably install thermos into her suit. As much as she didn't want to think about vigilantism, she knew deep down she would end up doing it, only reason she had brought her suit, which was buried in the deepest parts of her closets.

As her uncle had said time and time again: With great power comes great responsibility.

Being way too busy being deep in her thoughts while slightly, not really, looking as to where any of Gotham's vigilantes may be swinging by, the hair's on her body shot up, the familiar feeling of a tingling sensation in the back of her head appearing.

With swiftness, she side stepped a hand that had tried to take hold of the back of her neck. Turning around, she found herself eyeing three men, all having sinister smiles on their faces.

Just what exactly was her luck today?

"Come on boys, don't you think three of you is a bit much for a single woman like me?" She questioned, a nervous chuckle leaving her lips.

Every step back she had taken, they had taken two steps forward. They had glanced amongst each other, snickers leaving their mouths.

"Not with a lady as pretty as you." One of them commented.

Slowly, they had backed her into a closed off alleyway, all three of them laughing once her back had hit the brick wall.

Her eyes darted around, checking every crevice, every shadow, trying to see if any of Gotham's vigilantes will swoop down to rescue her, and save her the trouble of having to take care of these men herself. 

But there was no one, not even the slightest of movements, not a glint of lenses shining in the dim lighting. Welp, looks like she's on her own for tonight. 

"You guys, really don't want to do this." She warned them, but they only laughed more. They always laugh. Who wouldn't though? A helpless woman who you've backed into a corner telling you they're gonna regret what they're gonna do?

Good thing she wasn't just any ordinary woman though.

"We're gonna have so much fun with you pretty lady." One of them cackled.

"Ugh, how gross..." She muttered.

Glancing around one last time, this time, making sure there would be no bystanders to witness as to what was going to happen.

Pulling up the hood to her winter coat, she let out a sigh, raising one of her arms, pointing it towards one of the men.

"You asked for it." 

In the blink of an eye, her webs shot out from her wrist, a long string going straight for the one in the middle, before he was heaved straight towards the woman before making a harsh impact with a trash can lid.

"Ooh, you'll be feeling that tomorrow." She winced.

Grunts of surprise came from the other two men, but no matter how odd it was for webs to shoot out from a woman's hand, they proceeded to run at the female. With ease, she dodged their attempted charged attacks.

Her hands, opposite of the two men, shot out webs and took hold of the back of their heads before she pulled at the connected webs, causing the two men to bash their skulls together.

"You'll definitely feel that tomorrow." She chuckled. 

Taking a few steps back, she hesitated for a moment and stared at them before quickly rearranging the positions of their bodies.

"Just in case..." She muttered. With their backs all facing each others', she bundled them up in her webs, a precaution if they ended up gaining back consciousness before the morning

Dusting off her hands, she let out a satisfied hum before securing her hood once more before quickly jogging off, not wanting to be found at the scene of the crime. That would only cause herself more trouble. 

"Lets just call it a night, I'm freezing my ass off here." She muttered to herself, trying to bring her coat as close to her body as possible, not wanting to lose what bit of warmth her body was keeping.

Unknowingly to the spider though, a mysterious figure with their infamous red helmet had stumbled upon her small clean up, the two barely missing each other.

He stared at the scene in front of him, his helmet quickly getting to work in scanning the mysterious webs. With his boots softly kicking at the small puddles on the ground, he crouched down, taking a closer look at the webs.

His helmet broke down the composition of the webs, seeing how it was made with a few chemicals. Reaching out his hand, he began to touch the webs a bit, trying to rip at it for a sample.

It clung to his leather glove, and it took a bit of force until it got unstuck, it almost took his glove with it with how hard he was pulling.

"The hell..?" He muttered to himself.

He rubbed his fingers together, some of stickiness staying on his gloved fingers. He took out his knife from one of his secret pockets instead and cut a bit of the web off, making it cling to his blade.

"This shit better come off..." He grumbled before putting his knife away. 

Standing up, he took out his grapple from his utility belt before disappearing into the night. 

---

The spider quickly shot up from her bed, her breathing irregular and covered in her sweat again, tortured once again by that never ending nightmare. Her eyes darting around her bedroom once more, she takes slow deep breaths before covering her eyes with her hands, the palm of her hands pressing into her eyelids.

Letting out a deep sigh, she got out of her bed, doing her morning routine once more. Scrolling through her phone, she looks at the news of Gotham City, most of them mainly about the many crimes of the city, some of politicians, and others of Bruce Wayne. 

Before putting her phone down though, a message popped from the top of her screen, it was from her new boss.

"I better have those photos by the end of this week!!!!" It had read.

The woman only rolled her eyes, turning off her phone so she could dump her face in water. 

Leaving her bathroom, she rubbed her moisturizer onto her face while making her way to her living room that also shared her kitchen. Starting up her coffee machine, she made herself a quick PB&J in the meantime. 

Leaning against the counter as she slowly ate her sandwich, the smell of coffee beginning to waft in the air, the vacationing vigilante took a good look at her small apartment. 

It was.. 

A bit bland to put it nicely. 

Guess she was going shopping today. Quickly downing her coffee without trying to burn her tongue, she quickly got dressed and headed out to do a bit of shopping, to make her apartment just a bit more welcoming for the time that she was staying in Gotham. 

Though she had a bit of a tight budget, she managed to buy a few things well within it that there was a little left over that she could buy herself dinner.

By the time she was done shopping though, the sun was beginning to set, meaning that it was nearly time for the criminals of Gotham to come crawling out of their hiding spots to cause some trouble.

"Shit..." She muttered under her breath, holding onto her plastic bags tightly, her shoes tapping against the cement as she quickly tries to make it back to her apartment before she got mugged.

Her senses have heightened a bit as a sense of panic and wariness began to settle in her stomach. Her eyes flitted about, cautious of every corner, every shadow, every alley, the last light sunset disappearing over the horizon.

Cursing under her breath, her steps quickened, and then there she saw it. A blur of bright red, green, and yellow flying in the air; it was Robin.

Her boss's text from this morning came back to her, which only made her curse more. Of course she didn't bring her camera. The handles of the bags hanging from one of her arms, she quickly fishes out her phone from her back pocket, turning the flash on to take a quick picture of Robin before he disappeared off into the night.

She cursed at his nimbleness, taking a small step back as he flies above her, but just as she was about to take the picture, she had bumped into something sturdy. 

Blinking, she slowly turned around, only to come face to face with someone's chest, Batman's symbol on a black shirt, but instead it was in red.

Slowly, she looked up, only to find herself face to face with the Red Hood.

Click!

The flash to her phone went off as she took a picture of him.

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