#and I just know he wouldn’t have lost DC okay

[artemis32]

vagabond

my batfam obsession has finally come in handy (reader is like, late teens, early twenties??)

This was meant to be a drabble, but I went a teeny tiny bit overboard, and by overboard, I mean this is 5.6k words - there will also definitely be a part two <33

Enjoy :)) Or don't. I can't tell you what to do

****

dc masterlist

****

“Okay,

Let’s do this one last time

My name?? You don’t need to know my name. All you need to know is that I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the last six years, I’ve been the one, and only, Recluse.

….what? Spiderman?

No, no, none of that nonsense. That’s so overused. Plus, I’m a woman, and Spiderwoman just feels like a bit of a mouthful. 

Yeah… Recluse. I was bitten by a recluse spider. 

…ironically, I hate spiders.”

****

Hear me out.

You’re a Spider person(??), involved in the Spider verse. You have the usual Spiderman backstory (sort of), and you’ve got the same incredible senses and abilities. I imagine you having a slightly superior spider sense and speed compared to other Spiders – think Cindy Moon. And obviously, the name, Recluse, means you were bitten by a recluse spider (I fucking hate spiders), but that also means that you get all the qualities of a recluse spider. Mainly necrotic venom and the ability to camouflage. You can’t exactly turn invisible, you just have the uncanny ability of blending in like a chameleon. It’s kind of creepy, I won’t lie.

Regardless of your abilities, you were there when Miguel lost his temper and when Miles ran away. 

Except you made the mistake of trying to help Miles. Why wouldn’t you? He was just a child, and he only wanted to keep his family safe. Anyone else would’ve done the same in his position. Suffice it to say, that pissed Miguel off. Majorly.

And while Miles managed to get away without a dimension-travelling watch, you weren't as fortunate. You fought tooth and nail with other Spiders, not wanting to hurt them and not wanting to get caught. You barely managed to escape with your life as you tapped a random location into your watch and zapped off to another earth without a second thought or a proper plan. But not before the Spiders giving chase had managed to damage your watch (and you - they’re strong as fuck, of course they managed to do some damage).

Now, as you stand on an empty rooftop, examining your watch in the rain, you're beginning to think you may have fucked up. 

Slightly.

The watch still prevents you from glitching, you've confirmed that much. Thank goodness.

But it is broken. You know it is. Because you can't reach anyone else in the Spider verse. And you can't see what universe you're in. You feel like you’ve been thrown in the deep end, and the fact that you can barely stand doesn’t help.

****

Stood in the rain on a rooftop in the middle of nowhere, injured and all but stranded, was not how you had planned on spending your Saturday night.

As you distractedly tinker with the watch in a pathetic attempt to fix it, grumbling to yourself about your ruined weekend place, your spider sense goes haywire, ringing so loudly in your ears that your head spins.

You're so disoriented that you barely manage to dodge the dagger thrown your way.

A dagger that's... shaped like a plane? No, it looked more like a bird?

You step back cautiously as a man emerges from the shadows, jumping down from a ledge just above your head. 

He’s dressed strangely, which is one hell of a statement coming from you, someone dressed in a skintight spider suit. But-

“Really? A cape? Isn’t that, like, super impractical?” 

The question leaves your mouth before you can think about it, but really – did Edna Mode teach people nothing?

He walks closer without a word. His silence is almost as unsettling as his gaze. It feels as if he’s dissecting you. He keeps a safe distance between the two of you. 

Hm, he’s not completely lacking in the common-sense department, at least.

Then, after much deliberation, he speaks.

“That light- you fell from the sky?”

His voice was cautious, every word measured and serious. His eyes scanned you from top to bottom, taking in your appearance without a word. 

You sigh and prop a hand on your hip, trying to appear nonchalant, trying desperately not to wince at the flaring pain in your ribs. You were in no position to fight, so you’d either have to run, or talk your way to safety. 

If there was one thing you were good at, it was talking.

“Yep. You’re so observant.”

He scowls, his mouth pinching slightly at the corners.

Okay, maybe sassing the man with a dorky superhero cape isn’t a great idea… At least, not while I can barely stand.

So you change tactics.

“I’m sorry, I just- Look, uh, where exactly am I?” 

The look on his face tells you that that was not the right question to ask.

Great. A sceptic. That’s exactly what I needed.

So you backtrack, laughing awkwardly as you wave your hands dismissively.

“That was a… a joke- A terribly timed joke. I apologise. Uh, your suit is… nice?”

Now he seems more exasperated than cautious, and he takes a step closer, reaching a hand out towards you.

Your spider sense flares, and you know that something about this man is dangerous. He appears young and relatively harmless, but appearances can be deceiving, you of all people know that.

So, you do the only thing you can think of at that moment. The only command your instincts give you. You jump away. 

You jump.

And, naturally, you stick to the wall.

It’s nothing. It’s such a small action, one you’re more than accustomed to. You do it all the time, climbing walls and ceilings, scaling the sides of buildings. Other Spiders do it too. Even the civilians back on your own earth are used to it.

But it’s not nothing.

The man before you seems stunned beyond words, his outstretched hand hanging in midair as his jaw drops. He stares at you as you stand there, exactly perpendicular to him, sticking to the wall and defying all laws of nature as if it’s nothing.

His hand clenches in a fist and he reaches for a bo staff, the metal snapping loudly as he swings it outwards, the leather of his glove creaking as he tightens his grip.

“Who are you? Your name. Now.” he demands, his jaw clenched tightly.

You tilt your head. 

Was this guy an idiot? The first rule of secret identities is that they’re, y’know, secret?

“Oh, well, I’m Recluse. Who are you?”

He ignores your question, slowly approaching you again, looking at you curiously. It might have seemed innocent to a third party, but your head was still ringing. You couldn’t let this man get too close to you.

You sigh heavily.

Running it is.

You point your arm outwards, startling the man, who takes a wary step back. Before he can react or reach for you, you shoot a web out and swing away. His bo staff slams against the wall seconds after you leapt from it, the wall denting and crumbling from the force of his swing.

The look on his face was priceless, first fear at the sight of you jumping over the edge of the building, then surprise, then a flash of anger as you mockingly saluted him as you swung away. You’d laugh if your ribs didn’t feel like they were seconds away from shattering. 

You swing through the unfamiliar city, the buildings passing by you in a flash. Coming to a stop is painful, your head swimming as you nearly slam into the side of an apartment building. 

Thank God for spider-like adhesion.

You sit there for a long moment, taking a second to catch your breath and gather your bearings.

After you've managed to shake the dizziness away, you swing to the street down below.

While you think over your piss poor plan of finding some civilian clothing and learning more about this universe, you try to ignore the aching throb in your ribs. You weren’t too concerned about the injury – one advantage of being Spiderwoman was that you healed at an incredible rate. You’d just have to grin and bear until you healed.

****

Wayne Enterprises.

They specialised in a whole lot, but all that really interested you was their science division. In particular, the tech and biotech sector. The company seemed eerily similar to variations of other mega corporations you’d seen in your time travelling through the multiverse.

Stark Enterprises. Alchemax. Oscorp Industries. Roxxon Energy Corporation.

The list was endless, but you’d decided, after hours spent in a cramped internet café doing informal research on the strange dimension you found yourself in, that investigating Wayne Enterprises was the best place to start if you hoped to ever fix the watch and return home.

Your plan of action was simple. Scratch that, it was terrible - held together with little more than hopes and prayers. But with your abilities, you were confident you could pull it off.

That’s how you found yourself confidently walking through the foyer of Wayne Enterprises, acting as if you were supposed to be there. Swiping an access card off of some poor, unsuspecting office worker was easier than it should have been.

You wandered around the reception area for a while, carefully surveying the room before approaching the elevator with the air of someone who knew where they were going.

There’ll be signs for each division… Right?

Wrong.

Twenty minutes later, you’re still wandering aimlessly through corridors, hoping the right room would magically present itself to you.

So caught up in your own frustrated musings, you nearly miss the department you’d spent almost an hour looking for.

The sign above the door is pathetic - faded and barely visible, peeling and yellowed at the edges, like some old poster left out in the sun to age.

Shoving your irritation to the back of your mind, you quietly open the door, wincing as it creaks. Popping your head through the gap, you peek around the small room, and-

Nothing.

It’s completely empty, the thick layer of dust settled over the countertops seeming to mock your failure of a heist.

A silent huff of annoyance is all you allow yourself, quickly shutting the door and continuing on your way. Determination fuels your every step, intent to find something, anything, so that your breaking-and-entering excursion wouldn’t be for nothing.

****

Success.

You definitely weren’t supposed to be in here. Not that you were supposed to be in the building in general, but this?

‘This’ being what appeared to be the CEO’s personal office, if the floor to ceiling windows and expensive leather furniture was anything to go by.

You’d long since discarded any pretence of searching for the biotech department. Now, you were just snooping around, curious to see what exactly the CEO of Wayne Enterprises had laying around.

Naturally, you’d come across a few pictures of him in your investigation of Wayne Enterprises, and all you’d thought about the moment you’d seen his photo, was that Bruce Wayne was undoubtedly one of the most attractive men you’d ever met.

If you weren’t caught in such a dire situation, you might have taken the time to fawn over him a while longer.

The office is odd. There’s something about it that you can’t quite put your finger on, something uncanny. Maybe it’s that lack of colour or warmth, or the lack of any personal effects.

But that couldn’t be it. You’d seen plenty of rooms similarly decorated, but there was something about this in particular that set your hair on end. Not your spider sense, but your unconscious mind.

It almost felt as if you were being… observed. As if an unseen force was breathing down your neck, pinning you in place.

You distract yourself from your ever growing unease, pulling open drawers and rifling through cabinets. 

What an obscene amount of paperwork.

Truly, you don’t expect to find anything exciting or noteworthy. Maybe an office cellarette, maybe a Courtesan cigar.

What you don’t expect is to find the parts you needed to fix your watch. 

The parts that were supposed to have been in the biotech department.

Before you have much time to contemplate about why the tech worth billions is shoved behind a bookshelf, the door opens.

You’re on the ceiling before he even enters the room, your breath tight in your chest, the klystron conductor clutched firmly in your fist as you try not to make any sudden movements.

Certain abilities you’d gotten as a result of the spider that bit you came in handy more often than not, namely the capability to survive weeks, if not months without food or water, and the preternatural proficiency you had hunting at night. Most useful had to be your camouflage abilities.

And while you were able to camouflage yourself, it came with its own set of drawbacks and caveats. Specifically in the fact that it was a camouflaging ability, not invisibility.

If you moved too suddenly, even someone unaware would notice you.

It takes you a moment to realise that the man is Bruce Wayne. 

He looks different than in the photos - his back is broader, his hair darker, and his eyes…

His eyes-

Your head feels like it’s being split open, a buzzing so persistent filling your ears that you almost slip off the wall, your adhesion faltering for a moment.

There had been one or two stories within the Spider Society, of moments where someone's spider sense had gone so haywire they couldn’t tell up from down. There’d been a time where, supposedly, someone had even passed out from the pounding pressure in their skull.

Initially, you’d thought it was an exaggeration, a newfound hero overplaying a fight gone wrong in an attempt to save face.

Now, as he surveys the room, his azure eyes lingering on you for a moment longer than they should, you understand what they meant.

Panic isn’t enough to describe how you feel at that moment.

You feel too exposed, your nerves raw and laid bare. 

It… almost feels as if he knows you’re there.

But that’s not possible. There’s no way.

You allow yourself the slightest sigh of relief, releasing the searing breath in your chest as he turns, moving towards his desk.

His silhouette is broad and domineering as he bows over his laptop, the sound of his tapping at the keys filling the sweltering silence of the room. 

With his back turned towards you, you take your chance, slowly, so slowly making your way across the room, still sticking to the ceiling all the while.

You pause for a moment, freezing when you catch a glimpse of what exactly is on his screen.

The camera feed.

There you are.

Entering his office with a wide eyed look on your face.

And-

And that’s you, barely ten minutes ago, rifling through drawers and shelves.

He pauses then, on the frame of you holding the klystron conductor with a satisfied smile and a slight sparkle in your eyes.  He sighs heavily, his head dropping forward as he taps two fingers against the tabletop.

You don’t linger to see his reaction, dropping down from the ceiling and slinking out the ajar door.

****

After you’d hightailed it out of the building as soon as you could, you hadn’t dared to look back.

That man… Something about him set your nerves on edge. He wasn’t normal. 

Thankfully, you’d managed to get out without much hassle, and now you were wandering somewhat aimlessly through the city, looking for a place to set up shop, so to speak.

Spying a seemingly abandoned building across the street, you decided it would have to do for now.

As you cross the road, aiming for the darkened alleyway across the road, you’re slammed off of your feet. 

By a car.

Someone hit you with a goddamn car.

You lay there, in the entryway of the alley, gasping for breath as you press your forehead to the wet concrete beneath you. But no matter how deeply you breathe, you can’t seem to force yourself to your feet.

Spider sense my ass – what the fuck was that?! No warning, nothing!

The edges of your vision turn black, and you pray that you don’t pass out as a pair of polished black leather shoes approach you.

A man crouches down in front of you, his words drowned out by the ringing in your ears.

He reaches out to you, intent on pressing his palm to your shoulder. 

You pass out before he can touch you.

****

You might’ve been unconscious for a few hours or or a few weeks. You weren’t sure.

All you knew was that you were in what appeared to be a medical facility, and you were restrained. 

On the bright side, you felt a ton better than you had before you passed out. Though a look around proved that it might have been because of whatever concoction of drugs they’d given you to numb the pain. 

Well, with your increased metabolism, that comfort probably wouldn’t last too long.

You lay back, content to stay there until a doctor or nurse came in to check on you.

Twenty minutes later, long after the medication had worn off, someone entered the room.

The man, grey-haired and dressed in an immaculately pressed tuxedo, pauses for a moment when he realises that you’re awake before continuing on his course towards you and proceeding to check your vitals.

“How long have you been awake, Miss?” 

You don’t respond.

Or rather, you can’t.

Pain grips you like a vice, wrapping its fingers around your abdomen, digging its claws into your skull.

Stupid damned metabolism.

Apparently, your pain and distress are visible enough for the old gentleman to see.

He frowns, leaning closer slightly for a moment before striding towards a row of cabinets, sifting through them before returning with a needle and a small glass vial. He squints slightly as he fills the needle.

A lot of what happens after that is lost to you in your pained daze. You’re awake, aware, but barely.

The older man is gone by the time you manage to pull yourself out of the strange, aching daze.

In his stead is Bruce Wayne.

The heart monitor betrays your panic, the sharp beeping filling the echoing space of the room.

He doesn’t speak or move from his spot beside your bed, instead observing you with a flat look as your heart rate slowly evens out again.

After a long bout of silence, he hold up a hand, waving it slightly, and-

And he’s holding the klystron conductor.

Of course.

“Do you want to tell me why you were ransacking my office for a multibillion dollar piece of tech?”

Your hands clench and unclench around the stiff sheets, and you lick your lips before responding. 

“No, not particularly.”

You pause. 

“Do you want to tell me why you hit me with your car?”

The corner of his mouth twitches.

He finds this funny?! What a psycho.

“Well, you did steal from me.”

“So you hit me with a car?!”

He raises an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed with your raised tone.

“Regardless… I’m guessing it has something to do with this.”

Every muscle in your body goes rigid as he holds up your watch, casually dangling it from his forefinger as he carefully observes you for any signs of a reaction.

Okay, okay, just… play it cool. 

“What, a watch? Pfft, keep it, it’s not worth much. Just some piece of crap I won in a claw machine ten years ago.”

Your knuckles are white from the force of your grip as you all but strangle the bed sheets beneath your grasp. 

He smirks slightly, nodding empathetically.

“Ah, of course. So, you won’t mind if I toss it in the trash, right? Since it’s just an old piece of crap and all that?”

You shrug, keeping your eyes on his and away from the watch. “Go for it.”

And he does.

He tosses it in the trash can beside your cot, still watching closely from some reaction.

You remain nonchalant.

“...hm, well. Rest up then. You’ll need all your energy- Prison in Gotham is a harsh place.”

You blanch.

“Prison? But- But technically I didn’t even steal! You got it back, didn’t you?”

His mouth quirks slightly at that.

Great. He finds amusement in my suffering.

“While that’s true, you did break into Wayne Enterprises. And my personal office. I have the evidence. That’s grounds enough for an arrest, wouldn’t you agree?”

He stands, sliding his hands into his pockets and taking a casual stance.

Fine. I can play along for a bit.

“...okay. I-I’m sorry. Fine, you can hand me over to the cops, just- Just please let me rest for a bit? I think you might’ve concussed me.”

He huffs a laugh, his eyes lighting up in amusement. He knows you’re lying. And you know he knows.

“Okay. Take all the time you need.”

He leaves without another word, not looking back.

And not a moment too soon.

As the door shuts, you glitch, painfully spasming, your cells electrified and fizzing.

You fall out the cot, collapsing onto the floor as you grip the edge of the trash can, rifling through it in your search for the watch.

Slipping it onto your wrist and tightening the clasp, you-

…this isn’t my watch.

The door opens again and in strolls the culprit, a self-satisfied look in his eyes.

“Just a piece of junk, huh?”

“Oh, fuck y-”

You almost bite your tongue off mid sentence as you glitch again, clinging to the railing of the cot as your muscles stiffen up and your blood roils in your veins.

He’s speaking, confused and panicked as he calls out to you, and then someone else, rushing towards you. You think his hands might be on your arms. You aren’t sure.

Then it’s over. You’re hunched over, all but sprawled on the sparkling white tiles, shivering and sweaty, fighting the urge to throw up. 

But it’s over.

You squint up at Bruce.

His face is hazy, and so is the figure behind his.

Everything is hazy, but you can feel the strap of your watch on your wrist, his hand just above it. You can feel how dry your mouth is, and the pounding of the growing migraine in your temples. And you can feel your spider sense tickling the edge of your consciousness, slowly growing in urgency with each passing moment.

“What the hell was that?”

The voice is a new one, one you haven’t heard before. It belongs to the figure lingering behind Bruce.

His face comes into focus as the effects of your glitch wear off.

Blue eyes. Just as startling and off putting as Bruce’s.

In fact, he seems like a carbon copy. Almost. His skin seems slightly more tanned, and he’s leaner than his older companion. Shorter too, though just by a few inches.

“That…” you say in a weary manner, “was a glitch. A painful one. I don’t recommend trying it.” 

“A glitch?”

You deadpan, pushing yourself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall adjacent to your cot for support.

“Yeah. I just said that. Pay attention.”

“So that watch keeps you from… ‘glitching’ then?” 

Bruce and his companion sport matching expressions of intrigue and dread.

“Yep. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

“...what’s a Gryffindor?” 

Good God, I should’ve let Miguel kill me.

“...doesn’t matter. I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

You get up with an embarrassing amount of difficulty, grunting as you pull yourself up using the cot’s railing. Your enhanced healing could only work so fast, it seemed, and clearly Bruce had done a number on you with the bumper of his car.

The short stride to the door is cut short as the young Bruce lookalike steps in front of you.

“Sorry, but we can’t let you leave just yet. Where exactly are you from?”

“Earth. Please move.”

“I can’t do that. You should sit back down, you don’t look too hot.”

You let out a strangled noise of disbelief.

“Excuse me, I look very hot. All the time.”

A deadpan look is all you’re granted in response.

That’s it, I’ve had enough.

“Seriously. Move.”

“No. Sit down.”

Bruce sighs, massaging the bridge of his nose as you and his mini-me engage in a stare down.

“Okay, that’s enough. Dick, back up. Miss, please, sit down before you hurt yourself.”

You pause, glancing at Bruce, then back at the man in front of you.

There’s a slight pause, and then-

You burst into a fit of giggles, clutching your pained ribs as you stumble back and collapse onto the cot.

“Your name is Dick? Dick? Seriously?”

His eyes harden at your laughter, his mouth pressed in a tight line.

“...it’s not that funny,” he mutters, unimpressed.

“Yeah it is. Who willingly allows themselves to be called Dick? I can think of six penis jokes off the top of my head. You’re practically begging for them.”

Bruce interjects before either one of you can continue, sending Dick a sharp look.

Ha. Dick.

“That’s enough. What I want to know is why you’re glitching. And you won’t be going anywhere until I find out.”

You deadpan, fixing him with an incredulous look.

“...no offence, but you can’t really keep me here.”

“I can, and I will.”

You snort, laughter bubbling up in your chest once more.

“No, I mean- You can try, but you probably won’t succeed. No hard feelings though.”

“What, you mean because of your superpowers? Trust me, they won’t do you much good around here.”

His words give you pause, and you stare up at him silently for a moment.

“I don’t- What are you talking about?”

“There’s no use playing dumb,” Dick interjects. “It won’t get you very far. We know about your abilities, and we’re telling you that we know about them so that you don’t try anything.”

“And what exactly do you plan on doing if I do try something? Money can only get you so far.”

Your words make Bruce’s mouth twitch into a small smile once again.

“I have a theory, one I hope you’ll entertain for a moment.”

He looks at you expectantly.

After a moment of deliberation, a heavy sigh, and a nod, he smiles in a self-satisfied manner and takes a seat on the foot of your bed. After a short nod to Dick, he exits the room, leaving you and Bruce alone.

“I think that you’re from Earth, like you said. Just not this Earth. I think that you’re from another universe or dimension, and you’re ‘glitching’ because you’re not meant to be here. Am I right?”

It’s an effort to hide your reaction and keep your face blank, but you manage. Barely.

“Well, that’s certainly an… interesting theory. What sparked that idea?”

He shifts, staring at you for a moment, resting his palms on his thighs.

“...you fell from the sky. Out of what I can only assume is a portal. And your cells are basically decaying without that watch- or at least, that’s what my colleagues at Star Labs tell me.”

You stiffen at his words, squinting for a beat.

“How do you know I came through a portal? The only person around then was that idiot with the cape.”

Bruce frowns at your words.

“The cape isn’t stupid. It’s practical.”

You deadpan. “It’s a deathtrap.”

“Regardless. I know about all that because…”

He pauses.

“Because I’m Batman.”

“...Batman? Is that supposed to be a superhero alias or something? That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard- Did you pick it yourself?”

He lets out a noise of exasperation, annoyance painting his features.

“Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Changing the topic. It’s annoying.”

“...sorry.”

He shakes his head. “So? Am I correct in my assumption?”

You take a moment to think, really think, weighing your options. He didn’t seem like a bad person. Yes, he did hit you with his car. And yes, he wouldn’t let you leave, but…

But your spider sense had gone radio silent. If you were in any danger, it’d be ringing like crazy, so…

“Yes. Yeah, you are. I’m not from this Earth. I’m from Earth 662.”

“Earth… 662?”

“I just said that. Does everyone on this Earth struggle with processing information?”

He fixes you with a stern look before continuing on.

“So I assume you’re stranded here? That’s why you were trying to steal the klystron conductor.”

“Uh uh,” you tut disapprovingly. “I was borrowing it. I would’ve returned it… Eventually.”

Bruce nods along, rolling his eyes slightly as he continues.

“...Earth 662, huh… How many variations of Earth are there then-”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Your response is immediate and stern, leaving no room for debate.

Thankfully, Bruce doesn’t kick up a fuss.

“Hm… Well then, do you know how to get back?”

“Of course I do. I just need to fix up the watch. Hence the little heist I pulled off at your office.”

“And do you know how to fix it?”

You press your mouth into a tight line, avoiding the knowing look he gives you.

“Well, I mean… how hard can it be?”

He sighs. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

There’s a pause, a lull in the conversation, and neither of you say anything for a long while, both lost in your own thoughts.

“Okay. Here’s what I propose. You obviously don’t know what you’re doing-”

“Hey!”

“-so I’ll help you out. I’ll help fix that watch of yours, and let you stay with me while we try to find you a way back home. In exchange, you’ll tell me about things from your Earth, and about the multiverse. Sound fair?”

As much as you’d like to argue, to refuse his more than generous offer, you know you can’t. You were smart, but not in the areas needed to fix the watch. 

You needed his help.

Damn it.

“...fine. Deal.”

His hand feels cool and calloused in yours, and his grip is firm and reassuring.

If only you knew then how wrong things would go. Maybe you’d have refused his deal.

****

Four months later.

“...still nothing?”

“No. I’m sorry. I’ve sent Dick to Central City to find a few more parts.”

“It’s not your fault, I just… I really want to go home.”

It had been months. 

You’d been stuck on this strange Earth, so similar to your own, for months.

While the Wayne Manor was nice, and its inhabitants lovely, you missed your home. You missed your family.

But there was nothing to be done about it. You’d damaged your watch more than you’d originally thought, the travel mechanism was completely destroyed. 

Initially, you’d been foolishly optimistic, believing you’d return home within a week.

But that week had passed. Then another. And another. 

Time kept passing, and you were still stuck here, four months later. 

At least you had decent company.

While you didn’t exactly trust them, you’d grown fond of them. You might even have begun to consider them friends.

Dick had grown on you over the months, despite the rocky start to your friendship. He was reliable in a way that reminded you too much of the many variations of Peter Parker you’d met throughout your time in the Spider Society.

Tim, who you’d discovered was the ‘idiot in the cape’ you’d met on your first night on this Earth, was just as easy to get along with. At first, he’d thrown you off a bit with his unsociable personality, but he’d slowly opened up over time. Really, he was more of a nerd than anything else. 

And he’d heeded your words of wisdom regarding the cape.

Damian, Bruce’s ‘prodigee’, was someone you still had trouble getting along with. Your relationship had improved over the months, but barely. Before, he’d outright ignore your presence. Now, he at least graced you with a nod of acknowledgement or the occasional verbal greeting. 

How kind of him.

Bruce had become somewhat of a parental figure after he had walked in on you crying one night. While you were embarrassed, he’d taken it in stride, comforting you as best as he could, reassuring you that they’d find a way to send you back home.

“Oh, I know, I know. We’re all trying our best, just… try to be patient. We’ll find something soon, I promise.”

His palms rest on your shoulders, patting you reassuringly.

You nod in agreement, too tired and disheartened to say anything else as you mumble something about going to bed, turning to leave the room.

****

“And you’re sure no one knows she’s here? If they found out…”

“Yes Dick, I’m sure. I’m not an idiot, I know how to wipe a hard drive.”

There’s a slight lull in conversation as the two wait for the rest of the group to arrive.

A few minutes later, Bruce enters the room, Damian trailing behind him. 

He walks to where the two are seated and puts the klystron conductor on the table before them.

“That’s the last one. Have you done everything else?”

Tim nods, gesturing to a singular hard drive placed on the coffee table.

“That’s the only remaining evidence of her presence on this Earth.”

Bruce nods and sighs, looking between the three men with him before Dick interjects.

“Do you- I mean, are we really going to do this? We’re supposed to be the heroes. This… This isn’t something we can undo.”

All three of his companions hold a steely glint in their eyes as they nod.

“I’m sure. It’s better this way. She’s just a kid, she doesn’t know what she needs. She’ll thank us for this in a few years.”

There’s a tense pause for a moment before he speaks again.

“Do it.”

And just like that, the final klystron conductor is destroyed, along with any hope you’d had of returning home.

“...she’ll thank us.”

#yandere #female reader #dark content #spiderwoman reader #spiderverse spoilers #spider-man: across the spider-verse #dc #batman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #robin #kidnapping #injuries #unmentioned violence #yandere batfam #yandere batfam x reader #batfamily #yandere batfamily #yandere batfamily x reader

[commenter2]

Scrambled Eggs review

We get to see the Hotel crew interacting without Alastor for a change, while Alastor meets up with some old pals when babysitting the Eggs.

There are Razzle and Dazzle, I was wondering where they were after the first episode.

With this being Hell, Pentious’ paranoia and want to defend himself must be common with the people. Maybe if there were less demons with asshole or perverted personalities we’d see that. Plus if this continues HH and HB is going to become like Family Guy and depend on that kind of stuff for every joke.

We finally got a name for the scientist from the pilot, Odette.

Carmilla Carmine, an Overlord centered on weapons. Her introduction could lead to some interesting fights.

Vaggie is kind of right, just because someone flips you off, doesn’t mean they want you dead. Niffty on the other hand is someone you should always worry about as she will likely want to do more than murder you.

It’s another example of how we wouldn’t have gotten the storyline if it happened, but I’m surprised Charlie or Vaggie (mostly Charlie) didn’t bring up the idea of having the Eggs join as part of the Hotel’s staff. They look like they could try and aid in cleaning and repair.

I also do like that Charlie didn’t, as so far I’ve seen a lot of examples where Vaggie sacrifices more in the relationship, so I’m counting this as an example of Charlie taking Vaggie’s word/side.

They made the famous Alastor pic of him eating deer into an animation!

BTW with his room being part swamp and the writer’s love of making memes, how long before we get a Kermit the Frog joke from this? If the writers ever decide to do that, they should get YouTuber DevilArtemis to help since he knows a lot about Kermit :)

Another change in Al’s voice when he said “that’s a lot less fun”. Now thinking back to the last episode, Vox had something similar going on with his voice so maybe it’s a common trait for sinners like them but I feel like that is a too simple reason for Alastor of all characters.

Another example of Charlie’s reality altering illusions. Did I ever mention who I think she could fight in an episode of Death Battle?

Is Vaggie afraid to lead people? It is an interesting idea but we have seen her doing just that before, though I guess those previous time could be considered “angry outburst/feelings”. I am one of the people who thinks Vaggie is a former Exorcist and if there is the slightest chance that is true, I could see this being a reason why she left. A bit off topic but going back to something I said in my Overture review, this also would have worked for the alternate idea of how it was common for Heaven losing Exorcist every year till now, as maybe they “lost” some because they quit during/after Exterminations.

Technically Husk did catch Angel, so there is trust their but annoy him and he’ll stop helping.

IDK how to describe it, but its nice seeing the fun art style that Angel and Cherri were drawn as in the pilot return for Angel, Husk, and Pentious here.

With the situation you and Hell are in Charlie, any progress should be considered good.

So that guy’s name is Zestial Modre. You think he talks that way because he is chronologically very old, or just for effect as I’m guessing he’s the Overlord of Fear? You think DC Comics/Warner Bros. would be okay with Vivzie if she gave Zestial a power similar to Scarecrow’s fear gas or have his full demon form look similar to Parallax, the emotional entity of Fear? Viv worked with Disney for a bit, so I bet Warner Bros. would be okay if it meant getting one over their rival company.

If you turn on subtitles, one of the Egg Bois is named Frank. I recall it being said that the Eggs are cloned from an original Egg, so could Frank be said original?

Sure Al, nothing suspicious happened during your break.

Not even the Eggs know about the name thing.

An Overlord meeting! 

I recall Zilla being tall, but not THAT tall. Also does any still ship her with that guy she was seen with in the pilot, the one who was laughing at Charlie and said they should leave?

Nearly everyone in Hell has sharped teeth, so how is Rosie any different Frank?

Apparently the VA of Carmilla is also a dancer, fitting given how Carmilla looks like a ballerina. Also as LK Yusei Fudo would say, “what is up with her hair”?

“Older generation vs. never generation” trope. How long before Velvette makes a “okay boomer” joke?

The Exorcist severed head! Didn’t see that coming! 

Now apparently there are theories of Lilith being disguised as Rosie, which I could see, but I do want to point out that she was shocked at the severed Exorcist head. Lilith seems like a kind of actor, so she could have acted being surprised but it’s still something that should be pointed out.

Looks like Zestial agrees with me that it’s possible that something else could have killed the Exorcist. Also that it sounds like he IS very old, maybe even older than Sir Pentious.

I’m wondering if this scene could help later on if there is a future scene where people blame Charlie for moving up the next Extermination, but then Alastor and maybe the other Overlords defend her by revealing the severed head. If it means preventing Charlie from having a “all is hopeless” scene then I hope it does.

It is interesting that the sinners are divided about if they should use the knowledge of knowing Exorcist could be killed to fight back or wait till they either learn more or to not risk having the whole Pride Ring population be wiped out. Both sides make sense but also have their flaws.

Looks like Angel and Cherri have some competition with Zestial and Carmilla for the title of number 1 BFFS.

“Respectless” is my favorite HH song so far. Really love how it switches between opera music and rap.

HOLY CRAP ODETTE AND CARMILLA ARE RELATED!!! THIS is going to be fun and lead to some interesting discussions, like is she (and the other girl Odette is always with) adopted or did Carmilla and the others die and get sent to Hell around the same time?

Again I get that this is an M rated show, but the series is already good enough that I don’t think it always need to rely on extreme violence and NSFW stuff, as it kind of killed the mood after seeing what happened in the next see. Again, Family Guy.

WHY! 

Another example of why the “Vaggie is a former Exorcist” theory could be true.

I bet Vaggie has been dreaming about thrown Angel to his doom XD.

Liking how Charlie said there are other ways to solve things, going back to an older comment about her and Lilith having different views of how to make Hell thrive.

I’m going to count this as Charlie and Vaggie’s first fight, but at least it’s a good one since its just Vaggie being mad at herself of her lack of leadership and Charlie being mad (more annoyed/concerned) of Vaggie unnecessarily blaming herself.

Confirmation that the other girl (named Clara) is also Carmilla’s daughter.

So Carmilla killed the exorcist. OR MAYBE she witnessed who really did and had to promise to not tell or else something bad would really happen to the point being the fall gal would be a slap on the wrist in comparison.

With Carmilla being against fighting Heaven, I wonder if she could become a potential Hell based ally of Charlie’s in the future. They both want to protect the people they care about from Heaven so I don’t see why not.

Vaggie’s line of “There’s so much I wished that I could say”, is ANOTHER possible hint at Vaggie’s Exorcist past.

Another great song, showing how similar Carmilla and Vaggie are, which again could help in making a future alliance between the Hotel and Overlord.

Yeah I shouldn’t be surprised that Alastor is going to keep the Exorcist info hidden, since he loves chaos. Also a possible an ally of that Roo character, who is on my list of possible characters being behind everything.

Again, Charlie and Vaggie are cute!

It’s adorable to see Pen sleep with the eggs like an actual snake.

SEE! THE EGGS CAN LEARN!

“character not realizing the dumb/innocent/etc. character is actually talking about something real and big to the story” trope.

I’m late bringing this up, but does anyone else think there should be end credit segments at the end of SOME episodes? I mean thanks to movies and videogames it is a surprise when there aren’t any, plus it would have been fun in some cases. Maybe they’ll do one for the season finale.

That was great episode! We got Overlords, great songs, hilarity, and some big reveals.

I really like the idea of Carmilla being a mother, as it adds more to the “always serious businesswoman” vibe she gives off. I’m also hoping it leads to pics where her daughters spend time with their “Uncle Zestial”. Speaking of which, he was a good new character to look about, reminds me a lot of Jack Skellington with a pinch of DC’s Scarecrow with his interest in fear.

We also got news about the dead Exorcist and while I’m okay if Carmilla did kill it with a weapon, I still like the idea of how she is taking the blame or else she will suffer by the hands of the true culprit. It also brings up the drama as the Vs could make this worse for everyone if they decide to get people to fight the Exorcist. At least if they do and fail, Charlie will no longer be the target of the sinner’s anger.

Nothing that bad besides that one creepy NSFW scene as it was annoying that it happened after a pretty big scene.Leave your thoughts about the episode below.

#hazbin hotel #vivziepop #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel carmilla #hazbin hotel vaggie #hazbin hotel egg bois #hazbin hotel zestial #carmilla carmine #hazbin hotel zilla #hazbin hotel rosie

[lapetitechatonne]

Day Two: Mistaken Identity

day two of dp/dc week 2022!!! this one gets a bit dark too, if panic attacks trigger you i’d suggest skipping. as always, the ao3 tags are there for a reason! anyways, i cried while writing this one so. good luck.

ao3 link!

Kate’s Masterlist here!

in the dark all shadows look the same - 2.5k words

It was actually a nice night, Danny thought as he looked out over the Gotham City skyline. You still couldn’t see the stars, but the breeze was warm and the fog had lifted for the night. The full moon lit up the sky over the inky water of the bay as it crashed against the rocky shore.

In a different time and place, he could see himself staying in a place like this. Full of life—full of ectoplasm—and with someone else to watch over its people. Somewhere his obsession would quiet to a dull thud in the back of his head because there was someone else taking care of the criminals and terrorists. Maybe he would help the odd old lady cross the street or give a homeless kid a hot meal, but he wouldn't have to protect.

He tightened the wrap around his thigh, just trying to get the bleeding to stop knowing that in this life, he’d probably never know anything close to peace.

Rude.

“Danny,” a quiet whisper barely carried over the noisy streets.

He turned to Danielle who was sitting up against the brick wall behind her. She was doubled over in pain holding her abdomen, her blue eyes glassy and distant.

He tied off the wrap and slid back next to her, pulling her into him. He hissed as the tender bruises on his back came in contact with the jagged brick, but luckily Danielle didn’t notice. Hopefully, he could convince her into sleeping at least for a few hours before they had to move on.

They were sitting ducks up here, he knew that the church under them would confuse anything Vlad was using to follow them, but it wouldn’t last for long—he would've gone of a hospital or graveyard but it'd be too obvious.

At least they grabbed enough supplies that they didn’t have to worry about stealing from a hospital. Danny hated hospitals—the worst kind of liminal spaces in his opinion—but that didn’t mean he wanted to rob one. He knew how precious life was.

Danielle whimpered, leaning her weight onto Danny’s shoulder. She was warm, warmer than even a human should be, which wasn’t a good sign.

Danny felt the dull, ever-present panic in his ribs grow. His chest tightened and he fought back the tears trying to build up, he couldn’t do this right now. He couldn’t.

He tried to count his breaths like Jazz taught him to.

In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three four. Out, two, three, four.

His lungs hurt. So did his ribs and his legs and his back—and everything.

In, two, three, four.

He squeezed his eyes shut trying to block out the light.

Hold, two, three, four.

He just wanted to go home.

Out, two, three, four.

He just wanted to be safe.

He lost focus on his breathing as he choked over a shallow sod. His head started to spin like he was freefalling through air without anything there to catch him. His limbs tingled and suddenly he was very aware of how weak he was.

He was too weak. Too weak to tell his parents the truth, too weak to protect Danielle, too weak to fight Vlad—

Too weak too weak too weak too weak too weak—

He gasped as he felt Danielle tighten her hold on him. Her tiny hands held him with an iron clad grip.

He pulled her closer, winding his arms around her until he was clutching her like a child with a teddy bear. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest against him. Could feel her body heat against his cold. Could hear the rhythmic beating of her heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He breathed in time with her heartbeat. She was here. She was alive. He would keep her safe.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The breeze chilled the tear tracks running down his cheeks. He was alive. He would be okay.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They both would. He didn’t know how, but he had to believe that. He had to.

“I love you,” Danny felt more than heard Danielle as she muttered into his chest.

A new wave of tears pushed against his sinuses, pressure building behind his eyes.

“I love you too.” His words were garbled and broken, but Danielle seemed to understand because she just held him tighter.

He felt bad that she was comforting him—after all, how many nightmares and knee scrapes did Jazz get him through, he should be able to handle this just like she did—but she was a grounding presence in a turning world. He wasn’t sure he knew up from down right now, all he knew was he wasn’t enough.

He wasn’t strong enough. Quick enough. Brave enough,

He wasn’t. He wasn’t, he wasn’t he wasn’t hewasn’thewasn’thewasn’t—

His heart stuttered as he felt himself spiraling like an invisible hand reached deep into his chest and twisted his heart until it was upside down. His stomach pulled taught until his insides threatened to tear, bile biting at his throat.

He didn’t know how much longer he could do this.

“Danny!” He felt more than heard her panic, her hands digging into his tender skin.

Focus. He had to focus.

He fought through his cloudy vision, looking down at Danielle. Her eyes were wide with fear, focused on a singular point over his shoulder. Danny twisted around to follow her gaze, it wasn’t like her to get—

Oh no. No, no, no, nonononononono—

The moonlight lit up a dark silhouette, with two distinct points at the top.

Vlad found them. He found them.

He couldn’t breathe. Every hair on his body stood up and he scrambled to push Danielle behind him. The ectoplasm in his chest jumped to life, mixing with the sudden rush of adrenaline.

But he was still too weak from their last fight to properly fight. Danielle was barely keeping her body together—the best he could hope for was letting her get away, get help.

Get someone who could be enough.

“Danny,” she gripped his arm and back, voice cracking over desperate sobs, “what do we do?”

Danny let the green fill his eyes, he couldn’t transform but he could try and look as menacing as possible.

The figure moved closer and Danny scrambled back. As much as he wanted to fight, every inch of his body was begging him to flee, to run away and never look back. But he couldn’t leave Danielle. And he was too weak to hide the both of them.

Never enough, always too weak. Can’t do anything right, can’t protect anyone. What a waste of an afterlife.

His vision blurred at the edges, green light reflecting in the tears running down his face. He would protect her. He had to protect her. Even if it killed him.

“When I tell you to,” he whispered, his voice catching on almost every syllable, “run. Just run.”

She sobbed, holding his hoodie tighter, “No, I won’t leave you. I won’t—you can’t ask me to—”

“Promise me, Danielle,” he continued to inch backward as the shadow moved slowly stalking them, “Please. Just—please.” He needed her to be safe. Then he could die here in peace, knowing that the last few moments of his life were spent doing something good.

That he wasn’t a complete waste of life.

“I won’t leave you,” she said because a the end of the day she was too much like him, “not now, not ever. Please don’t ask me to.”

Danny felt his heart drop. So that was that. They would both die here.

That didn’t mean Danny was going to make it easy for the bastard. He would go down bleeding and biting because he wouldn’t die quietly.

He would die like a Fenton. Yelling and cursing and punching until he faded from existence. He hoped his parents would be proud. Jazz would be proud.

The shadow disappeared, leaping into the air and landing in a big black mass before them, still obscured by the darkness. His heart pounded in his chest as he dig his feet into the concrete beneath him. He pushed down the bile and the tears and the worries.

He raised his fist staring defiantly into the black void.

“You can’t have her. You can’t have either of us,” his voice was shaky but his conviction never wavered.

He let his fists glow green, pulling on the ectoplasm deep inside of him. This fight would take every ounce of power he had—and then more.

So he pushed every bit of his being into his glowing hands and shot at the figure. It was weak—just like him—but he couldn’t focus on that. Not now. Not when everything hinged on him pressing on.

He fired again. And again. And again.

Each bolt was weaker than the last, and the figure moved so quickly that Danny couldn’t even be sure he was hitting it. But he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t waiver.

His head was spinning, high-pitched ringing echoing in his ears, but he fired anyways. He tried to focus his vision but it kept going in and out like a bad radio frequency. The shadows morphed together and he couldn’t tell if it was because they were moving or because his vision was going black.

He took a deep breath but it wasn’t enough. It was like someone sucked all the oxygen out of his body, leaving him heavy and tingly all over.

Another bolt and his knees gave out underneath him. He crumbled to the ground, trying to hold himself up on all fours but his arms were too tired. They buckled, leaving him panting on the cold concrete, just trying to salvage enough energy to stay awake.

“Danny!" Danielle shouted, but it was echoey. Distant. Like she was a million miles away.

He twisted on the ground, trying to push himself up only to fall over again. In his shaky vision, he could see Danielle standing in front of him, her arms out. Protecting him.

Like he was supposed to be protecting her.

No, no no no no nonono.

She should be running away. She should leave him there, save herself—but he knew she never would.

They were too much alike. Now he would get the both of them killed.

He reached out to her, too weak to form words. But she stood in front of him, as stubborn as only a Fenton could be.

He didn’t want it to end like this. Not when there was so much for her to live for—for him to live for.

He’d never graduate. Never move in with Sam and Tucker like they promised, never see Jazz graduate Harvard, never take a road trip with Danielle. There was so much he’d never do. He’d never see.

His heart ached as he realized how much he wanted to live. How much he wanted both of them to live.

His eyes fluttered shut, unable to keep them open as he prayed to anyone—anything—that would listen.

He just wanted to live.

That was his last thought as the world around him was consumed by darkness.

Danielle had lived long enough to see the true evils of the world. Her father trying to kill her, the homelessness, the poverty, the hurt that thrived in every place that she visited.

But she’d also seen hope. She watched broken people heal, watched the poor lift each other up, seen the kindness that lived in the hearts of people. She’d seen enough to know she wanted to see more. To be someone’s light when they needed it most.

She stood in front of Danny, protecting him with her body, and even though she knew he’d never forgive himself she had to do this. The world needed him. It needed a hero like him.

Not some abomination like her.

“Leave him alone!” she yelled into the shadows. She didn’t have any real power, but maybe Vlad would accept her in his place. Maybe she could convince him that Danny was too valuable to die, that he should just kill her instead.

It was what he wanted after all. Without Danny in the way maybe—just maybe—he would be safe.

“Just—just take me,” she stumbled over sobs, trying to seem as courageous as she could—but she wasn't very good at that— “I’m the one you want. Kill me. Just me.” She whispered the last part, but she knew he would hear.

The large mass moved towards them, and she knew this was it.

She sobbed openly—because she wasn’t as fearless as Danny, she couldn’t face down death like he could. She closed her eyes, arms still out wide waiting for the inevitable. She just prayed he’d only take her. That his obsession with Maddie and Danny was enough to spare him.

The figure blocked out the little bit of light Danielle could see through her closed eyes. He was right in front of her.

She whimpered and all she wanted was to pull into herself. But she stood strong. Like Danny would. Like he had done for her. She hated that it was such a waste of effort, all those times he saved her from the brink. Maybe it would have been easier for all of them if he just let her die the first time.

But that wasn’t who Danny was. And she loved him for that. She loved him so much.

She hoped he knew that. Because she’d never get to tell him again.

But she could do this for him.

She flinched as a hand touched her shoulder. She expected it to grasp her tightly and pull her away from Danny. Maybe it would be filled with unbearable electricity or scalding flames.

But it didn’t do any of that. It just sat gently on her shoulder, like it was trying to reassure her. Trying to calm her.

But that didn’t make sense. Vlad’s touches, even his kind ones, were never gentle.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the voice was unnaturally deep, but there was a softness around the edges.

It could be a trick. A sick and twisted way to make her feel safe before ripping out her heart.

She took a deep breath, still trembling, and dared to open her eyes.

Through the darkness and the tears, it was hard to see, but the figure in front of her wasn’t ghostly at all. There was no glow, no piercing red eyes, only white slits where the eyes should be.

It was a mask. A cape. A costume.

It was Batman.

She actually laughed, watery and broken, seeing his face. Or mask. Or whatever.

It wasn’t Vlad. It wasn’t Vlad. They were okay. They were safe.

At least for the moment.

“I thought. We thought—” she wasn’t sure what to say as she lowered her arms and whipped the tears off her cheeks.

“You thought I was someone else?”

Danielle just nodded, feeling the blood rush to her head. She was so tired and dizzy and she hurt all over.

“Why don’t we get you somewhere safe, and then you can tell me about it?” he asked, and Danielle felt her lip tremble.

Not for a moment did she think he would want to help them, would care. But here he was, crouching in front of her offering them safety.

Danielle nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

There really was kindness in the world. Even in the most unlikely places.

#angst #tw for panic attacks #danny's having a rough time #based on the idea that vlad and batman's shadows look the same #i cried while writing this #the ending line gets me every time #dp/dc week 2022 #mistaken identity #dpxdc #danny phantom #dani phantom #batman

[benbamboozled]

So I’ve been wanting to read more red hood comics but ngl I’m so confused by all the different connected arcs? Like when I started I just got the red hood compilation book so I didn’t have to track anything down but right now there’s Gotham war which is both Batman and cat woman? And it has more than one author? And also the man who stops laughing?? Which has art that looks the same as some of the Gotham war panels I’ve scene people post I think?? Idk. If ur up for it I would really appreciate some help understanding how to know what’s what cause I’m so lost. Also everyone has been talking about specific authors and stuff and I have no idea about any of that either. So yeah would greatly appreciate any info ur willing to share I know I’m asking about a lot of stuff.

Okay so. DC likes to do EVENTS sometimes, where a bunch of titles set in the same “family” (Arrows, Supes, Bats) will all crossover with one “through” story.

So, Gotham War was essentially a “Batfamily” event (so, an event centered on Gotham) that was a “Batman Vs Catwoman” storyline that crossed over with the Batman and Catwoman titles, and also had two Jason-specific issues for the event, and I thiiiiink one standalone issue.

Generally speaking, the way DC handles EVENTS is by having authors already writing the titles involved (titles = specific lines like BATMAN or CATWOMAN) also continue to write the issues with the crossover storylines.

So, for example, Chip Zdarsky is currently the main writer for the Batman title. He wrote Batman issues of Gotham War. Tini Howard is the current Catwoman writer, she wrote the Catwoman issues of Gotham War. Matthew Rosenberg is currently the… “holder” of Jason (meaning he has been the most consistent writer for him lately, having written Task Force Z and TMWSL), and so he wrote the Jason comics involved in Gotham War.

That’s how you end up with the issues involved in an EVENT being like…

Batman #Bleventeen

Catwoman #Fivety-one

Gotham War: Red Hood #1

Gotham War: Battle Lines #1

Batman #Bleventeen-one

Catwoman #Fivety-two

Gotham War: Red Hood #2

Batman #Bleventeen-two

Is it unnecessarily confusing and often leads to conflicting continuities within THE SAME EVENT? It wouldn’t be DC if it weren’t!!!

Rosenberg is also currently writing TMWSL, and that both crossed over with Jason’s Gotham War storyline in Jason’s book and is picking up where Gotham War left Jason.

As for artists, idk how DC works specifically, but they can sometimes work on multiple books at the same time. (I think at one point Dan Mora was doing Batman and World’s Finest and another one??)

So. Basically, don’t feel bad for being confused, DC makes things pretty much as confusing as it possibly can. (And also people have the habit of not sourcing their images on tumblr which can cause confusion when you’re trying to find out about a book.)

Hopefully that…cleared some things up? A little? Maybe???

Lemme know if you have more questions!

#ask answered #DC does not in any way make it easy to read their comics.

[queenretcon]

I have slept on it, so here is a mostly unorganized list of every thought currently in my head on the blue beetle movie. lots of spoilers. this is really long.

SHE WASNT BEAS DAUGHTER. I WAS STRESSED.

That was straight up Ted’s origin story. Why did a Jaime movie include Pago island or carapax at all. You could’ve made a movie about one of Jaime’s stories and you literally just adapted Wein Beetle?

(Despite my frustration at it being included in a Jaime led movie, it was a good adaption of that source material. but again, why make it the source material?????)

I don’t know why DC doesn’t believe the best legacy character of all time can stand on his own two feet and why they don’t understand the magic of the three beetles all bringing something radically different to the legacy but it was my biggest frustration.

Despite that, I thought it was a really good movie, and in the end most of the things that frustrated me won’t matter to the kids getting to see themselves reflected for the first time. And people in my theatre definitely enjoyed it. Jenny & Jaime’s kiss got like. A lot of claps. I am not with them in that space but it was nice the movie got applause.

He was a perfect Jaime. I knew he would be, but goddamn. In general, it was a really well-directed and acted movie with great visual design with a script that was very weak at points.

(people clowned on the ‘family makes me strong’ cliche stuff in the trailers and it was very cliche and on the nose in how the script incorporated it.)

I am probably going to see it again soon now that I’m not sleep deprived and sick with anxiety over the whole thing fdjdjjsksk

okay into specific shit I keep thinking about: Bro was that Jarvis’s skull or Dan’s they crushed. that shit is haunting me.

Victoria sucks. Jenny is generic and doesn’t make sense to me but not offensive. I liked Rudy by the end.

I think most of Jenny’s screen time would have been better spent on setting Khaji Da up as a character rather than a resource. That “KHAJI DA” moment was fucking electric when it happened in the comics for the first time and the movie totally mishandled it. Khaji should be a huge presence in a Jaime movie I feel.

On that note, the “Khaji, I need you” was probably one of my fave moments. More of that would’ve made me happy.

The first scene with the transformation was pure fucking joy. They captured perfectly the terror and horror of Hamner’s art in those first few issues when Jaime doesn’t have control yet and the suit looked SO good. I didn’t think it looked bad by any means in previews but even after seeing all those previews I literally gasped seeing it because it looked so much better on the big screen. Seeing the picture perfect recreation of the lights at the fingertips was like a transcendent experience I’m different now

In general the fight scenes were great. I still hate Khaji’s voice and how much the movie version seems modeled after iron man shit but seeing the reach alphabet on screen was like. A level of joy I didn’t expect it to be fjdksksks and the moments of khaji just pulling out toy after toy to an increasingly into it jaime was really fun

I was nervous about grown up milagro because I just personally have a very firm concept of grown up milagro she’s important to my future jli ideas but um. mouthy goth in stompy boots with fishnets who punches hard and calls women hot is actually literally exactly who she is to me so. big fan of that adaption.

They did Bianca DIRTY. I liked that she influenced Khaji to start speaking Spanish (I love that khaji started speaking Spanish) but she felt like a totally different, worse character than comics Bianca who fucking rules. leaving out entirely that she was a doctor frustrated me and could’ve made the Alberto heart attack scene much better. A lot of more interesting character was lost to “streamlining” that wouldn’t have been necessary if they focused Jaime’s movie on Jaime’s supporting cast instead of ted kord fanfic

Killing Alberto was a fucking mistake and focusing a JAIME REYES story on anger and revenge was frustrating. So much of what makes him special was ignored I felt and they tried to make him a more generic superhero type when Jaime was a new kind of hero who influenced a lot of legacies that came after him.

Which leads me to Dan! The decision to make Dan’s connection to Khaji the same as Jaime’s sucked. Jaime is special BECAUSE he can utilize the scarab in a way neither of his predecessors could. They undercut THE PROTAGONIST to make some old white guys look better. It made me very frustrated.

No dentist reference :( pre-law instead :(

Nana being a former revolutionary was delightful, but her using a ted-designed Gatling gun to mow people down completely ruined any attempts to have Jenny stopping kord industries from making weapons matter. That SHOULD have been a good plot point, but the movie couldn’t stand by it.

Here is the section where, despite complaining the movie focused on Ted too much, I focus on Ted too much:

Listen he’s bad at having a secret identity but not “scarab tile mosaic over the secret entrance to his lab” bad

I understand the narrative & social reasons to have Jenny’s mom be what inspired Ted to be a better person than his family but as a Ted fan it did irk me to imply his compassion for the little guy was something he had to learn rather than something he always had that set him at odds with his family. Like I understand why and I don’t have an issue with it being included in this version of the story but I am required to point out it isn’t true of the comics character

I wanted to hate the extended focus on teds lab but omg that’s my friends teds houseeeeee. I loved the suit and the video game console and the fact it was my friends teds houseeeee in a movieeeeee

I lost my goddamn mind at ‘like Batman but with ADHD’ like yes! you correctly boiled him down to his essence!

when Jaime went to put on some of Ted’s clothes I was like ‘lol they’re not putting him in anything Ted would wear’ and then he walked out in a matching silk tracksuit in beetle colors so like yeah movie you got me there he would own that

BUG AS MECHA. I was BESIDE MYSELF.

Like I can NOT stop thinking about that scene. With the bug crawling over the wall while some Ted-as-hell 80s music blared with three of my favorite little comic people inside. I am also different now after this scene. I will probably see this movie in theaters several more times just for this scene.

“Kickstart my heart” being the song tho Ted you are so annoying and I love you

me for most of the movie: SHUT UP ABOUT TED SHUT UPPPPP

me at the after credits scene: if I don’t hear everything about ted right now I will die

I find ‘trapped in a computer’ stories really compelling and unsettling. The chances of me writing movie verse fic with fucked up weird tech horror is high. I love tech horror.

Mike Norton is related to a family friend and from the area and I happened to go to the movie with my family bc I was visiting for my moms birthday and so we did all lose our minds at somebody we’ve met being thanked in a movie credits fjdjdjsksk

#talk tag #this probably actually isn’t every thought but this ended up so long god

[tumbleweed-palmer]

The Big Talk: Jimmy Palmer X Reader

This was started for the summer bingo and I just now found the time to actually finish it. This was supposed to fulfill the cop, lost, and car squares. Some slightly smutty moments towards the end so Minors DNI please.

A wrong turn and a flat tire during a bad snowstorm forces Jimmy and Y/N to have a talk they've both been avoiding.

===========

Jimmy couldn’t stop the low groan from escaping his lips, doing his best to peer through the wet smeared windshield, silently cursing his poor choice in buying a lower quality windshield wiper fluid. It seemed the fluid was aiding in doing more smearing than wiping.

He really hadn’t been prepared for the weather to turn so quickly and so drastically.

The snowy weather was making an already awful day ten times worse.

He took a quick glance beside him at the woman sitting on the passenger’s seat, the words spilling from his lips before he could stop himself. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’m such an idiot.”

She shook her head knowing this was the third time he’d uttered those words in the past hour. “You aren’t an idiot, Jimmy, it's fine. It happens to the best of us.”

Jimmy let out a heavy sigh shaking his head as he replied. “I just can’t believe I not only missed our turn but I’ve managed to drive so far before I even realized it. We’re who even knows how many miles away from where we need to be and I can’t see a thing out of this windshield. I’m the one who offered to carpool and I managed to get us so lost. I don’t even see a turn off to get back to where we need to be. I can’t believe this is a one way road. I don’t even see an exit sign to any towns. All I’ve seen for miles is woods.”

“It’s okay, it’s really no big deal.” she responded, reaching out and giving his arm a gentle pat.

Jimmy let out another sigh, unable to let it go. “It’s all because of this stupid weather. It’s interfering with the cell towers. I mean, my sense of direction isn’t great to begin with…but the weather is making the GPS go down and I think the snow is getting worse. I can’t believe I got us turned around so easily and we’ve been lost for hours without me even realizing it.”

He paused another sigh escaping his lips. “I wish we would have just been able to get some motel rooms for the night. No one should be driving in this. Look at the road. It’s practically a blizzard out here. We are literally the only ones out driving in this mess.”

She let out a soft laugh giving his arm another pat. “Bold of you to assume NCIS would reimburse us for a motel.”

The comment did manage to put a slight smile on Jimmy’s lips, the corners of his lips upturning despite the guilt and embarrassment still swirling in his gut. 

He managed to speak a small cynical laugh leaving him. “True, I don’t think we’re high enough on the NCIS foodchain to get any sort of travel budget..even if the defense insisted that Meyer couldn’t get a fair trial in DC or Norfolk even.”

He paused a small frustrated sigh leaving him. “It wouldn’t be so bad if we actually got anything done today. I can’t believe we sat in that courthouse all afternoon just to be told that the trial was going to be pushed back.”

She nodded her head, a soft sigh leaving her. “Who would have thought that every JAG lawyer meant to represent our side today would have eaten a bad batch of shellfish.”

Jimmy shook his head rolling his eyes ever so slightly. “I still can’t believe the defense insisted that the trial needed to take place all the way out here in the sticks. I know Meyer has the right to a fair trial, but this is ridiculous. We drove all this way in the middle of a winter storm, and now we’re going to have to drive all the way out here again in two weeks.”

She nodded her head taking a sip from the 20 oz bottle of soda she’d grabbed with the measly dinner they’d managed to grab after they’d left the courthouse. She spoke as she placed the bottle back in the cupholder. “I know, it makes it ten times more frustrating that it is for someone like Meyer.”

She paused thinking of the petty officer that had been taken in the year before. The guy was pure scum, but even scum got a day in court.

She adjusted her seatbelt giving Jimmy a small smile. “For what it’s worth, I can think of a lot worse people to have to carpool out to the sticks in the middle of a snowstorm with. At least we have the drive together.”

Jimmy couldn’t deny the way his heart lifted at the comment. How could one little comment from her make his heart swoon?

He often felt his heart swoon when it came to Y/N Y/L/N.

It had been that way since she’d been hired.

They’d all been in shock when Abby had admitted she wanted to hire an assistant, but there were going to be some terms and conditions of course. She had a bad go with her last assistant. So, if she was going to finally admit she could use a little help she was going to be the one doing the interview process. An assistant would only be hired on Abby’s terms.

Y/N had been the lucky hire.

Jimmy was partially sure it was love at first sight for him, if such a thing existed that is.

That feeling of adoration had only grown since the moment he first set his sight on Y/N.

How could he not adore her? She was perfect. If such a thing as perfection existed then Jimmy was sure she was it.

How could he not think of her as the epitome of perfection? She was equally smart, sweet, funny, and pretty. It was a combination that Jimmy Palmer was helpless to resist. 

From their very first introduction in Abby’s lab, Jimmy Palmer knew that he was absolutely screwed.

He’d been down this path before, hopelessly crushing on the pretty girl who saw him as nothing more than a nervous morbid geek. He’d been down this exact road a time or two.

He could remember way back when he’d first realized that pretty girls existed. He’d been a late bloomer of sorts, so shy and awkward for so much of his youth. He’d been pretty late in middle school just about to enter high school when he’d finally begun to notice girls.

 Melanie Jacobs…that had been his very first crush's name. He could still remember exactly what she looked like; big blue eyes and stunning strawberry blonde hair, braces with purple bands on her pearly white teeth, and she smelled like a combination of strawberry scented Teen Spirit deodorant and Bath and Bodyworks Sweetpea body spray.  

He’d been hopelessly enamored with Melanie Jacobs, but she’d not even noticed he existed. That was until she’d become his lab partner in a middle school Biology class…then she’d noticed him. She’d noticed him for all the wrong reasons. 

Jimmy Palmer had recently learned about medical examiners and he’d been a bit too enthusiastic to share this newfound knowledge with Melanie during a dissection of a frog.

Needless to say Melanie Jacobs was less than impressed with Jimmy’s newfound wealth of knowledge.

It had set a horrible pattern for Jimmy Palmer’s interactions with the opposite sex. He shoved his foot in his mouth the second he was faced with any interaction with a pretty girl. He already tended to shove his foot in his mouth in most of his interactions, but the second he was face to face with an attractive girl he became even more hopeless. He turned into a stuttering awkward pathetic klutz who couldn’t shut up. It was a deadly combo. He was an awkward extravert. 

As the years had gone by he’d managed to have a couple of girlfriends by some miracle. 

Jimmy wasn’t totally an absolute loser destined to be alone, but usually when he somehow managed to land a girlfriend it didn’t take him too long to find some way to wreck things. Either his girlfriends grew sick of his clingy tendencies, or his awkward tendencies, or his workaholic tendencies, or his morbid interests. There was something about him that always managed to scare girls away.

This was a particularly worrisome trend given what he’d finally worked up the courage to do a few months back.

He could admit that from the moment Y/N had begun to work at NCIS he’d made it his mission to learn as much about her as possible. He knew that this mission sounded somewhat creepy when he said it outloud. 

He wasn’t stalking her…he just paid a lot of attention to her at work and during nights out with the team…he paid attention to what she liked.

He’d learned a little about her from casual interactions and overheard conversations. She didn’t care for capers or eggplant. She didn’t get the point of drinking espresso. It was just overpriced over-caffeinated tiny coffee shots she insisted. She liked Indian food and always went with the same order but it had to be extra spicy. She preferred fruit flavored candy over chocolate and had a weak spot for Peach Rings. Her favorite color was forest green. She didn’t care for the color turquoise. Her favorite earrings were a small pair of real pearl studs that had been her paternal grandmother’s. She liked wearing dresses more than pants any day of the week. She was tied between loving Halloween and Christmas. She liked horror movies, carving pumpkins, and haunted houses as much as she liked decorating Christmas trees, holiday parties, and making gingerbread houses. She had a couple of sisters and a fairly large extended family, but she didn’t particularly like visiting her hometown as she felt it was far too tiny. She preferred dogs over cats. She liked getting her nails done though she tended to keep them pretty short given she claimed it made wearing gloves in the lab far easier. She wore an Elizabeth Arden perfume called Sunflowers. 

The one piece of information that had helped Jimmy finally work up his nerve to make his move, had been her love of art.

A few months ago he’d made yet another excuse to wander down to the lab when he’d spotted the sketchbook that Y/N had shyly been showing Abby.

The sight of the sketchbook and the realization that it belonged to Y/N had been the one thing that had finally pushed Jimmy to man up and make the move both Dr. Mallard and just about everyone else on the NCIS team had been pushing him to make for so many months now.

He’d felt the words leave his lips before he’d had the nerve to talk himself out of it. “There’s a new art deco exhibit at the Smithsonian Art Museum…uh..there..there’s other art there too, but the art deco exhibit is brand new.”

He’d resisted the urge to slam his palm against his face as Y/N had looked up from her sketchbook, her eyes meeting his, clearly waiting for him to continue.

He knew he was in too deep now to shut up without making things far more awkward. So he’d decided to grow a pair and go for it. “Do you have plans for Saturday? I wanted to go see the exhibit…If you want to go…we could get dinner too, as in a date.”

There’d been an awkward moment of silence, Abby causally excusing herself a knowing smirk on her lips.

Jimmy had felt his heart sink at the silence fearing he’d screwed everything up. He spoke his cheeks flushing a deep shade of pink “That was probably inappropriate…I mean, we’re at work and didn’t we just attend a department wide sexual hasrassment seminar?…that was probably…That was probably a total Tony move…uh can we just pretend that didn’t just happen and accept that I’m a total dork?”

“I don’t think that this constitutes harassment, Jimmy…It wasn’t horribly inappropriate…I mean you aren’t anything like Tony as far as your approach…As far as you being a total dork, I think that’s part of your charm…I  don’t have plans on Saturday. I’d like to go on a date with you.” Y/N had finally spoken, pushing all the insecurities he’d had to the side.

The insecurities hadn’t managed to stay away for long.

They’d gone out on several dates thus far over the past couple of months. They’d even shared a few soft chaste kisses on these past few dates, but the insecurities had remained ever present in Jimmy’s head.

He hated to admit that he was so lost when it came to Y/N. He’d never been the best at navigating his way through the complex inner workings of a romantic relationship.

He liked to think that he was emotionally intelligent. He just had the bad luck of being a bit of an emotional mess who was incapable of not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was never sure what to say or do when it came to actually having a romantic relationship especially with someone who he felt was so out of his league.

The big what are we talk was constantly hanging over his head.

They hadn’t exactly established what this was between them. It had been about two months thus far and they’d gone out on so many dates, but they’d not discussed anything about what these dates meant to them. 

His insecurities told him that Y/N didn’t see these dates as being as serious as he hoped.

How could she see this as being anything serious? A voice in the back of Jimmy’s head taunted him with these doubts. She could probably do so much better than him. She could so find someone who was far less nervous and far less of a human disaster. He knew they were a mismatched pair. She was pretty and cool and he was such a giant geek and somewhat awkward looking as far as he was concerned.

His insecurities screamed that Y/N couldn’t possibly see these dates they’d been having as anything remotely worthy of being an actual romantic relationship. A voice told Jimmy that Y/N saw everything between them as being totally casual. She probably didn’t see it as anything more than them having a little fun. 

Afterall, hadn’t that been the case with Jimmy’s involvement with Michelle Lee the year before? 

Michelle had seen everything between them as just a bit of fun, a way to blow off some steam.

Then again everything with Agent Michelle Lee had been solely sexual. 

Things with Y/N were a bit more PG-rated. They’d done no more than share a few goodnight kisses at her doorstep. 

Jimmy wanted to ask what was happening between Y/N and him. He wanted to man up and have the big relationship talk.

His insecurities kept a firm grip on his tongue though.

He feared to broach the subject because he feared that he wouldn’t like the response he got.

Then again, didn’t Y/N initiate all those goodnight kisses? He didn’t think Y/N was the kind of girl that just kissed a guy without it meaning something.

He didn’t think she was seeing anyone else. Jimmy certainly wasn’t seeing anyone else.

Didn’t all of that point towards this being something serious between them?

Still even with those little clues that this might be something more than casual, his insecurities kept him silent.

To be honest lately he was finding the silence unbearable. 

Not knowing for certain what this was between them was driving him insane.

He hated not knowing but he was terrified of knowing. He wanted to be her boyfriend so badly but he was terrified that she didn’t want him. 

His head was a mess and he had no idea how to even approach the subject and put an end to the torment.

Jimmy frowned, his stomach dropping at an all too clear thumping noise just outside the car, the car jerking ever so slightly. He was unable to ignore the slight pull to the steering wheel, he tightening his grip on it as the car began to swerve to the left side of the road. The icy road made it a bit more difficult to straighten his path. 

Y/N couldn’t stop the slight gasp from leaving her lips as the car jerked roughly Jimmy doing all he could not to fishtail his Acura, the poor little car not managing well on the icy road and the apparent car trouble they were encountering.

Jimmy spoke under his breath, rarely used curse words slipping from his lips. “Shit, Damn it.”

He let out a sigh of relief as he managed to regain control of the car, slowly pulling over to the side of the road and putting the car into park. He flipped on the hazard lights, a soft groan leaving him. “This can’t be happening.”

He glanced over at Y/N, his stomach knotting up as he broke the bad news. “I think we have a flat.”

“Are you sure?” She blurted out adjusting her seatbelt, clearly still trying to calm her racing heart.

Jimmy swallowed a thick lump developing in the back of his throat a condescending voice sounding out in the back of his brain ‘great first he got them lost and he’d managed to get a flat. He was proving himself to be a wonderful driving companion.’

“Yeah I felt a thump back there and I can feel the steering wheel pulling. It’s gotta be a flat. We must have hit a nail or something…who even knows. This road looks like it’s seen better days even without the snow and ice.”

He adjusted his own seatbelt, another groan leaving his lips. “I don’t suppose you have cell service?”

Y/N reached down into the floorboard grasping onto her purse and digging through it for only a moment before she finally located her cell phone. She stared down at her phone, her stomach dropping a frustrated sigh leaving her. “Not even a hint of a bar.”

Jimmy reached down into his suit jacket pocket locating his own phone, a low whine leaving his lips as he glanced down at it. “Same here, no service.”

“So, I guess triple A is out of the question then?” Y/N only half joked trying not to say the quiet part out loud.

They were screwed.

She turned in her seat trying her best to peer through the rear window as Jimmy spoke his heart sinking down into his pelvis. “Nope, no chance of calling for help.”

She shook her head, her own heart sinking. “There’s not a car in sight…it’s getting really dark quickly. It must be the weather. The snow isn’t getting any lighter.”

Jimmy nodded his head, that guilt bubbling up in him all the more. She most likely would never carpool with him ever again. He’d made a real mess of things.

He took a deep breath knowing he had to step up and be the one to fix this. He unfastened his seatbelt turning in his seat to peer down into the back floorboard. “I have a camping lantern somewhere back here. Maybe if I have some light I can go out and at least look at the tire situation.”

He let out a small triumphant noise as he located the lantern grasping onto it as he turned back in his seat. “I think I have a tire iron and a spare in the trunk. I should have a few tools too. It’s not a great spare and the tools are pretty old, but it might be enough to get us a little further up the road. We’re bound to hit a town at some point. If we can find a town we can most likely find a mechanic.”

Y/N stared out the windshield, her stomach turning at the state of the world just outside of the car. “In this weather, when it’s this dark out? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Jimmy shook his head determined to be the one to fix this all. He wanted to be Y/N’s boyfriend, well a good boyfriend would step up, fix the flat tire, and get his girlfriend home safely. “What choice do we have? We don’t have cell service.”

Y/N parted her lips wanting to argue that it was far too nasty outside to even attempt to fix a flat but Jimmy didn’t give her a chance he fast to speak he managed to locate his coat putting it on over his court appropriate suit. “Just sit tight. I’m sure I can fix it. There’s no sense in both of us facing the snow.”

She felt her heart sink as Jimmy opened the drivers door, a harsh cool draft spilling in through the open door as he managed to exit the car.

She sighed her head falling back closing her eyes as she tried to calm her nerves. This day couldn’t get any worse.

She bit the inside of her cheek, debating ignoring Jimmy’s insistence that she stay in the car. Perhaps she could at the very least hold the light for him while he changed the tire. He shouldn’t be out there trying to fix this all on his own, not in this weather.

She sighed, opening her eyes and sitting up in her seat. She peered through the darkened windshield, her stomach dropping all the more as she took in the state of the weather. She wasn’t sure if it was all in her head but it looked like the snow was getting heavier.

Yes, it definitely did seem like the snow had gotten worse. She couldn’t ignore the sound of the wind practically howling right outside the car. 

She let out a heavy sigh as she reached down into the floorboard and grasped on to her coat. This was ridiculous. Jimmy couldn’t stay out in this.

She unfastened her seatbelt and shoved her coat on. She double checked that the car was unlocked before she reluctantly opened the passenger’s door.

She kept a tight grip on her coat, holding it closed the best she could as she slowly made her way around the front of the car doing all she could not to slip on the icy road. This was a horrible time to wear heels and a dress. Her black stockings did little to protect her from the chill in the air.

She peered through the darkness, snowfall, and howling wind searching for Jimmy’s form as she neared the rear of the car.

She sighed as she finally spotted him still digging through the trunk the lantern in his hand struggling to light his surroundings.

Y/N managed to speak up, raising her voice over the howling wind. “Jimmy, please get back in the car. This is insane. The snow is getting worse.”

Jimmy jumped a little shocked by her presence. He peered up at her, also struggling to see through the darkness and the storm. The cold damp air was making his glasses fog up and build moisture which made it even harder to see his surroundings. “It’s fine, I’ve got this. Just get back in the car. One of us should at least stay dry. Everything is fine, it shouldn’t take me much longer. I’ve just got to find all my tools. Don’t worry about me.”

Y/N shook her head far too stubborn to give in to his demands. “It’s not fine, it’s freezing out here. Come on, get back in the car. You’re going to catch your death out here. Forget the tire. We just need to wait out the storm.”

Jimmy parted his lips ready to argue with her that he could handle this. He was perfectly capable of handing this. He should be the one to handle this.

Y/N didn’t give him a chance to argue with her. She spoke again, not above begging him. “Please, Jimmy. Just get back in the car and wait this out, please, for me.”

Jimmy felt any stubborn resistance melt at her requests. He shut the trunk they both slowly making their way back to the front of the car moving slowly on the icy road through the chilled wind.

They both let out a heavy sigh as they renentered the car the chill to their bodies not disappearing even when the doors shut out the cold wind.

Jimmy placed the lantern down on the dashboard in front of him he taking his glasses off doing his best to clean them with his tie a low frustrated groan leaving him as the moisture on his glasses smeared along the lenses.

Y/N rubbed her hands together unable to believe how cold and damp she’d gotten from the minimal amount of time she spend outdoors. “It’s so awful out there. I can’t believe it got so nasty so quick.”

Jimmy let out a heavy sigh nodding his head in agreement. “No kidding. It’s a mess.”

He put his glasses back on not entirely satisfied with their cleanness but it was better than nothing.

He stared down at the dash a soft sigh leaving him. “I don’t think I can keep the car running for too long. We need the heat, but who knows how long we’ll be out here. I don’t want to add an empty tank onto a flat tire.”

“Were you able to get a look at the tire?” Y/N asked cringing at the bad news about the heating situation.

Jimmy nodded his head, his throat growing tight guilt bubbling up in his gut once again. “The tire is shredded. I have no idea what we ran over but the tire is a disaster. I couldn’t get a good look at it to see if whatever we ran over was still embedded in the tire or not.”

Y/N sighed nodding her head in understanding, she still rubbing her hands together trying her best to warm her skin. Her fingers felt frozen solid. “Why do I feel like this is going to be a long night.”

Jimmy swallowed the lump in his throat trying all he could to shove down the guilt. “I think our chances of catching a good samaritan out on the road tonight are slim. No one but us is insane or dumb enough to be out in this.”

Y/N sighed staring down at the dash daring to ask the question she didn’t want to hear the answer to. “How long will we have the privilege of a heater?”

Jimmy felt that guilt bubble up all the more rapidly. “Not long…I just don’t want to risk us running too low on gas when we don’t know how far the nearest town even is.”

Jimmy reluctantly placed his hand on the ignition cringing as he turned the key shutting off the engine. He glanced into the rearview mirror, an idea crossing his mind. “I have a blanket in the back floorboard…it’s kind of scratchy, but it may work. My mom always told me to keep a blanket in the car just for situations like this.”

Y/N nodded her head a small smile crossing her lips at the mention of Jimmy’s mother. She could admit she found it kind of cute, how close he seemed to be to his mother. She’d gotten the impression that Jimmy Palmer was a little bit of a mama's boy, though she had a feeling he wasn’t the annoying kind of momma’s boy who couldn’t cut the umbilical cord. If anything he just seemed to have a lot of respect for the woman. He’d seemed to indicate that from the age of ten on that his mom had essentially been a single mom. He seemed to have a lot of adoration for her.

Jimmy spoke again, nodding to the backseat. “We can get in the back, share the blanket. If we’re going to have to wait out this storm until morning we may as well be comfortable.”

Y/N gave him a slight smile nodding her head as he took off her coat and kicked off her high heels. “Let’s see if I can in the backseat without having to get out of the car.”

She turned around in her seat getting on her knees somehow managing to crawl through the tight space between the drivers seat and the passengers seat.

She fell into the backseat the movement clumsy but at least successful.

Jimmy followed her in suit, ditching his coat as well. His movements were a little less graceful than hers and he couldn’t stop the less than attractive grunt from leaving him as he practically fell into the backseat.

He managed to stand up the best he could in the car, leaning over between the tight space between the drivers seat and passengers seat as he grasped onto the lantern he’d left on the dashboard.

He fell back against the backseat resting the camping lantern on the armrest between the drivers seat and passengers seat. 

He managed to reach down to the floorboard finding the blanket he’d promised. It was a horribly unattractive thing; scratchy, a little on the thin side, and a shade that could best be described as pea soup green. He knew it was better than nothing though. 

He opened the blanket Y/N scooting closer to him as he covered them both.

They sat in silence for a long while neither were sure what to say. They were both a little frustrated by the turn of events tonight had taken.

Y/N couldn’t stop the chill from running down her spine, her damp clothing making it harder to get warm even with the blanket's presence.

Jimmy noticed as she began to run her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm herself. “We should get warm soon.”

Y/N spoke, shaking her head, a realization crossing her mind. “Not with these wet clothes. Wet clothes make the dry blanket useless. We can’t retain any heat if we’re stuck in these soaked clothes. We have to ditch some layers if we’re going to get warm.”

Jimmy felt his cheeks flush at this statement. He cleared his throat trying not to gawk at Y/N as she pushed back the blanket and reached behind her finding the zipper to her dress. 

She pulled her dress up and over her head revealing the black slip she wore under the dress. She allowed the stockings to follow, glad to be rid of the damp fabric.

Jimmy stared straight ahead, ditching his shoes and damp clothing as well, his heart racing. He stripped down to his boxers and undershirt praying that the glow of the lantern was low enough that she wouldn’t notice just how pink his cheeks had grown.

Y/N got back under the warmth of the blanket, she not shy about scooting close to Jimmy. He took a deep breath, his heart still racing as he wrapped his arm around her waist, she resting her head against his chest.

She spoke a soft sigh leaving her. “There, that’s better already. Now we should get warm.”

Jimmy cleared his throat his cheeks flushing all the darker he realizing his voice had risen a pitch. “Yeah, better.”

He shifted in his seat unable to focus on anything else but how soft her skin felt. She was so soft. It was something he’d noticed before of course. Each time her hand pressed against his during a dinner date and everytime her lips met his during a chaste goodnight kiss after a date. Her skin and her lips were so soft.

His heart continued to race he unable to stop thinking about the slip she was wearing. It was so short on her body and it hugged her curves so perfectly. It was high enough that the warm skin of her thigh was pressed against him, the silky material of the fabric of the slip feeling heavenly against his palm.

He felt his cheeks grow even darker, the lower region of his body unable to stop itself from perking up at the sensations of her soft skin and the closeness of her against him.

He spoke trying so hard to distract himself from the lust beginning to flow through his body. “What a night huh?”

“Yeah no kidding. The cherry on top of our day.” She remarked the giggle that left her doing little to smother down his lust.

He shushed the voice in the back of his brain that insisted that she probably noticed just how turned on he currently was. She would probably notice at any moment just the reaction he was having to her state of dress and she would think he was a huge pervert. All they’d done is share a few innocent kisses so far and here he was lusting after her like some drooling mindless horndog. 

He felt anxiety swirl in his belly joining the lust.

The silence returned, the only sound filling the air was the howl of the wind outside. 

Jimmy wasn’t sure what came over him…maybe it was just his inability to sit in silence when he felt anxious. He usually resorted to running his mouth when he felt anxious. He talked too much as it was but the habit only intensified when he felt anxious. 

He felt the words leave his mouth before he could stop them. “So we’ve been on a lot of dates lately.”

He cringed at his own comment. Way to sound smooth, he taunted himself silently.

He felt his anxiety swirl all the more as Y/N spoke she seemingly not finding his comment as awkward as he did. “We have.”

Jimmy felt the words continue to spill from him he unable to keep his mouth shut for even a second the panic switch in his brain overriding any ability to shut up. “Are..uh, are you seeing anyone else?”

He cringed at the question, he suddenly realizing that she might interpret his question in the worst way possible. What if she assumed he was asking because he wanted to see other people? He didn’t want to see other people. 

He spoke again, quick to speak he stumbling over his words. “I’m not…I mean…I-I don’t want to see other people. I’m not going on dates with anyone else. So I-I was just wondering if you…you know you are seeing anyone else?...or you know want to?”

He bit down on the inside of his cheek feeling like he’d made a mess of things with his giant mouth. He’d made things so awkward. 

Y/N widened her eyes at the question, it taking her a bit off guard. She managed to give Jimmy a reassuring smile, her hand reaching down placing over his hand on the arm that wasn’t currently wrapped around her. “I’m not seeing anyone else, nor do I want to.”

“Oh, uh…good…cool. That’s uh, cool.” Jimmy replied, closing his eyes cringing at his own words.

He felt so immature. He felt like a nervous middle schooler all over again. He was sure middle schoolers were capable of being more smooth than he felt right now.

“It is cool.” Y/N remarked a somewhat teasing tone to her voice.

Jimmy felt his cheeks flush all the more he clearing his throat. 

He took a deep breath he finding the words. “I’ve never been good at this kind of thing?”

“Good at what?” Y/N asked knowing one thing she’d learned about Jimmy was that sometimes he needed a little coaxing. He occasionally got a bit too in his head and let his anxieties get the best of him. He sometimes needed a little reassurance when he was trying to sort out his thoughts without totally freezing up.

Jimmy took another deep breath, he deciding his best bet would just be to be blunt. He couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He was so sick of keeping silent and letting the questions torment him. It was now or never.

“Having the big what are we talk…I was, well I was kind of a late bloomer. I didn’t even have my first kiss until the last semester of my freshman year in college. I’ve always been like this…like, I don’t know, just awkward…a  mess.”

“I don’t think you’re a mess.” she replied quick to reassure him.

He shook his head a weak smile crossing his lips. “I appreciate it, but I know I’m a disaster. I never know what to do or say when it comes to dating…it doesn’t help that my last relationship was all physical…I felt pretty used by the end of it to be honest…I just, I.”

He paused feeling his throat grow tight as he decided to just be blunt about it. “I like you. I like you a lot…I more than like you…I’m crazy about you. I don’t want to see anyone else but you…and I don’t want you to see anyone other than me. I’ve had more fun on our dates than I’ve ever had with anyone. I want us to be official…I want to be your boyfriend.”

He closed his eyes his heart racing all the more anxiety growing all the more apparent in his gut. He couldn’t help but to think that he sounded like such a disaster. 

He felt the words leave him he speaking so quickly that he was almost certain Y/N couldn’t understand a word that left his lips. “I have been wanting to ask you about this but I’ve had no idea how to even approach the subject. I was just afraid you didn’t feel the same and you just saw this as something casual. I mean we’ve kissed but I got in my head that maybe you didn’t see it as serious and then I felt horrible for even thinking that because I don’t think you just kiss guys when you don’t mean it. I just got into my head about it all and it’s been driving me insane and I had no idea how to even say the words to you, but I am crazy about you and I want to man up and ask you. I want this to be serious. I can understand if you don’t feel the same and I promise I’m not a jerk who’s going to pout if you don’t feel the same I am…”

He didn’t have a chance to keep rambling Y/N gently reaching up her hand placing over his lips she quick to speak. “Jimmy, slow down and take a breath.”

He felt his cheeks flush all the more he nodding his head frantically. She pulled her hand from his mouth she allowing the massive amount of information he’d just dropped on her to roll through her brain.

“I haven’t been kissing you without it meaning anything. I just…you seemed so nervous.” She admitted her own cheeks flushing.

She cleared her throat as she spoke again knowing that she’d never quite been too great at this herself. “I didn’t want to spook you.”

“You were afraid of scaring me off?” Jimmy asked dumbfounded by this information.

She nodded her head a soft laugh leaving her. “Can you blame me? You’re the most intelligent and the sweetest guy who’s ever asked me on a date…Do you have any idea how excited I was when you finally asked me out on that first date?”

He shook his head frantically he slowly absorbing the information he stunned by it.

She spoke her hand placing back over his as she spoke. “I have liked you from the moment we met…I know that sounds silly and overly romantic….maybe naive even. I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight, but I knew I was at least crushing when we first met. Then you seemed so nervous around me. You finally asked me on a date and I thought the nervousness would fade, but I could still feel it. I thought you might run away the first time I kissed you, but then you kissed back. I kept kissing you on our dates after that, but I never pushed for it to go further…Like I said I didn’t want to scare you off. I thought I’d let you push for more…I wanted to move at your pace.”

Jimmy groaned a self deprecating laugh leaving his lips. “I move at a snails pace…I thought I was letting you push for more and we were moving at your pace.”

“So we’re both bad at this.” She pointed out making him giggle the realization washing over him.

“We’re both hopeless dorks.” He admitted shaking his head unable to believe it. This entire time he’d been scared of her rejection and it seemed she’d been scared of scaring him away.

They’d both been terrified and totally unaware of it.

She spoke it suddenly hitting her they hadn’t addressed one of his earlier statements. “I don’t want to see anyone else either…and if you saw someone else I’d probably…no I’d definitely be pissed…I’d be so jealous I couldn’t stand it.”

She spoke again before he had a chance to respond to this. “I want you to be my boyfriend. I want to be your girlfriend.”

“Really?” He blurted out a voice in the back of his brain telling him it couldn’t be this simple. 

So rarely in his life were things ever this simple.

“Really.” She responded she leaning up her lips brushing across his.

This kiss was much like the chaste goodnight kisses they’d shared in the past, but it didn’t take long for it to grow more impassioned.

It seemed that the realization that they’d both been waiting to move at the others pace had pushed past some of the shyness.

She couldn’t stop the moan from slipping past her lips as he coaxed her mouth open his tongue sliding along hers as the kiss grew more intense.

She took a chance moving over to straddle his hips the space in the backseat tight. His lips kept pressed hers his hands placing at her hips trying to help keep her situated in his lap in the tight space they were allowed.

She was unable to stop herself from grinding her hips against his as they continued to kiss his hands daring to roam her body over the slip she wore.

He moaned as her lips parted from his she pulling the slip up and over her head leaving her in a revealing pair of undergarments.

Jimmy felt his cheeks flush he working up his nerve to lose his undershirt it her turn to moan at the sight of his bare torso.

Her lips met his again he caressing her body as he returned to rocking her hips against his. He knew the lower region of body was clearly showing her just how much he was enjoying this but any shyness he’d felt over this reaction earlier in the evening was long gone he freely doing his best to rock back against her.

He moaned as she ran her hands through his hair messing it they continuing to grind against one another the cold they’d felt moment ago long forgotten.

He ran his hands along her back underneath her bra caressing her bare skin. She took him by shock as she reached behind her unhooking the clasp Jimmy moaning all the louder as her bare torso was revealed to him.

He stared down at her breasts sure that he was completely brainless. Her lips met his a giggle leaving her lips at his expression. She wasn’t sure if any other guy had ever stared at her body quite like this. He was an equal mix of adorable and lustful. He was by far the sexiest man she’d ever dated. She’d forgotten to add that compliment along with mentioning his intelligence and his sweetness.

She went back to grinding against him they continuing to make out it obvious that they were growing more and more bold the longer they spent kissing and grinding.

He managed to turn them allowing her to rest against the backseat he resting between her thighs he returning to grinding against her. She allowed her hands to trace his spine this change in position just as wonderful as their previous position.

She pressed her lips to his neck nipping at his skin not helping but to like the idea of leaving a mark behind.

She ran her hands down his back she sliding them underneath his boxers unable to stop herself from grasping his backside encouraging him to rock against her a little more enthusiastically.

Jimmy groaned as his lips parted from hers. His body was screaming at him that he wanted this to proceed so badly he could almost cry. He was sure he’d never been so turned on in his entire life.

His heart was screaming a little louder than the lower region of his body though. He stilled his hips his voice frantic his cheeks flushed from more than lust. “I want you so bad right now. You have no idea.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea.” She teased pulling her hands from underneath his boxers tracing his spine.

Jimmy sighed his over-romantic heart screaming so loudly. “You deserve so much more than this. I want this so bad, but I kind of want my first time making love to you to be in a more romantic location…you know one with a bed and better lighting.”

She smiled up at him a little shocked that he was able to see through the haze of lust. He spoke again clearing his throat as he further explained himself. He stumbling through it a bit at the end. “I want to really be able to fully see you and have room to really enjoy you our first time. This backseat business is kind of cramped…and I don’t know about…you know uh, protection. I mean…I’m uh, I’m clean but I uh…and I’m sure you’re clean but you know.”

She chuckled at this comment nodding her head. “Not looking for any unplanned pregnancies.”

He felt his cheeks flush the words leaving him. “No, I mean…I love kids…I want kids…I uh…I’m pretty sure I don’t want to conceive my first child in the backseat of a car though.”

He resisted the urge to bury his face against her neck almost certain he’d made things so awkward. He was talking about concieving future hypothetical kids with her. What if she didn’t want kids? What if she thought he expected kids sometime soon?

His fears died as she spoke a small laugh leaving her. “I love kids too, but I agree…I don’t think this is how I want to make them…If I get pregnant I’d much rather it be in a more romantic location…and I’d like us to wait a little while on that.”

Her own cheeks flushed at this comment she fast to speak again clearing her throat. “As far as safety goes…I’ve got an IUD.”

She pressed a kiss to his cheek fast to speak once again. “I agree though. I’d like our first time to be a bit more roomy than this and better lighting might be nice.”

He let out an soft sigh relieved that he hadn’t made a huge mess of things with his big mouth.

He was beginning to realize that perhaps Y/N didn’t mind his big mouth as much as he feared she might.

She spoke a small teasing smile crossing her lips. “So…would you be opposed to making out? I promise we won’t get too carried away.”

He answered her with a press of his lips to hers the two of them realizing that waiting out this storm was going to be more fun than they’d hoped.

—----------------------

It was warm despite the cold outside. His back hurt a little and it was either from the tight space in the backseat or the fact that the clasp to a seatbelt was digging into his back.

It was hard to feel too uncomfortable with the weight of her on top of him and the feel of her skin along with the warmth under the blanket he’d draped over them the night before.

If this was what it was like to wake up with his girlfriend in his arms then he was ready to sign up for it.

He frowned, his sleep being interrupted by a firm tapping noise.

He struggled to pull himself from sleep as he began to focus on the persistent tapping.

He peeled his eyes open, the sunlight too bright. He’d taken his glasses off and tossed them in the front seat at some point last night so his vision was slightly blurry from more than sleep.

He felt his heart drop as he finally located the source of that persistent tapping.

The highway patrol officer looked less than amused to come across the amorous couple. He was peering at them through the backseat in a way that made Jimmy’s stomach turn.

He spoke his voice gentle, thankful the blanket covered Y/N’s form given that she’d never put her bra on the night before and had remained in a pair of panties. “Hey baby, wake up. Uh…there…there’s an officer here. Don’t panic, okay, I’m going to sit you up and keep you covered with the blanket. I won’t let him see anything.”

Y/N felt her own heart drop at this news, her mind pulling from sleep to a less than pleasant wake up. 

Jimmy kept his promise keeping her covered by the blanket knowing he’d rather expose his boxer clad form than have her body revealed to a total stranger.

He tried to put on a brave face as he sat up gently opening the door the words falling from his lips. “I can explain everything, officer. We got a flat tire and we were trying to keep warm and I have my ID. Just let me get my pants.”

“I’ve called a tow truck. I suggest you two make yourselves decent. Town is a couple of miles from here. The roads are a mess so you two might want to consider getting a motel till this mess clears out. I’m going to let you off with a warning.” The officer was fast to respond he apparently feeling just as awkward about this situation.

Jimmy barely managed to work out a thank you officer as they were finally left alone.

He groaned his head falling back to rest against the seat. “That highway patrol just saw me in my boxers. Oh god, I hope Dr. Mallard doesn't ever find out about this. I can hear him telling me that this behavior is totally unbecoming of a future medical examiner.”

“Dr. Mallard isn’t the one you should worry about. Tony is the one you should be afraid of knowing about this.” She remarked Jimmy feeling himself pale at this statement.

She leaned down finding her clothing as she spoke. “So it sounds like your car might be out of service for a while…or at least the roads might be. I think I heard something about a motel room…you did say something last night about being interested in better lighting and more space to work with. I bet we can find plenty to do while we wait for the roads to clear up.”

Jimmy felt the grin cross his lips, he reaching down to the floorboard fast to find his pants. “I did. I think your boyfriend can find plenty of things to do while we wait for the roads to clear up.”

She spoke giving him knowing smile. “If you can’t then your girlfriend has a few things in mind.”

He felt the smile grow all the more both at the promise and the word. Girlfriend, the word never sounded so beautiful.

#Jimmy Palmer #Not beta read we write and die like men #Jimmy Palmer X Reader #Jimmy Palmer fanfiction #jimmy palmer fanfic #ncis #ncis fanfiction #ncis fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #jimmy palmer smut

[unsleepingtales]

Burrow’s End episode 8

Two minutes in and I’ve lost the plot this is delightful

I’m gonna be totally honest gang I am exhausted and distracted tonight so we’ll see how this goes

Let’s hear it for the muas btw. Knocking it out of the park every single time

We’ve skipped hat and gone straight to miter.

Oh yeah the hat chant was fun

SHES PUTTING ON THE POPES HAT

Siobhan I love you

Unsleeping city shirt!

She’s so chill about it lmao

Tula’s heart is still beating???

The name of their cop show 😭

My body is composed of tubes :)

What has happened to your family indeed

Erika <3

Oh goddamn okay

What

Revenant Tula confirmed! Fascinating

Oh I thought that was gonna be a comedic beat and then it Was Not

Oh is this a thing Geoffrey cast on her???

Wait when she said ‘the winter we had lost dad’ did she mean Kenji or Geoffrey?

This does not feel like the whole truth.

Jasper looks SO devastated

You cannot really blame them

Oh that’s some thoughts that sound a lot like suicidal ideation

Yeah just checked the warnings! Glad they put the warning in for it.

Oh Geoffrey info!

Avaaaa

DAMN

She has needed to snap for so long

Oh Rashawn 💜💜

We are EIGHTEEN minutes in Jesus Christ

Let’s hear it for ttrpg safety tools! And players that communicate with one another!

MeatWolf merch when

It is NOT kosher

God what is with GMs and the word viscera.

Bennet!

I mean you could have said like. Explain or something but go off

Oh nooooo

I’m very not alive :)

Ok good thank you

Good lord

Hello???

“Since we got here” you’ve been here One day but ok

No? That’s not at all what was said?

It really does seem like a magical hat

That seems like a good call yeah

How did we get here things were SO tense like two minutes ago

GIRL

That was NOT subtle

Thorn is so fucking creased 😭

If Bennet turns out evil I will cry

Guys maybe chill. You just got off the topic of the killing.

What point are you trying to make??

You cannot try to pull the ‘we’re new’ card right now

That makes me want to Die in My Body

What’s the DC on democracy?

Thorn cleric level??? Is that new or was that there last ep and I missed it??

Is this just a normal thing that happens??

If you didn’t want me to fuck it up you wouldn’t have had such a whimsical redwall-ass name I am DEAD

Yeah no it’s the accent and the whimsical name it has nothing to do with jwc’s Astronomical talent or storytelling ability

He’s reluctant but he is still a cult leader cmon now

Jesus

OH ok

That was wild few seconds

How is he rolling so well now?

What

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

Awwwwww

The DEEPEST betrayal from her husband

She’s already dead man

Nuclear radiation did that sweetheart.

What

How do they have guns

Horrifying!

MeatWolf Merch When

They’re coppers now? Maybe don’t? Idk idk idk

Just a thought!

Erika <3

No yeah sometimes you do just need the shit kicked out of you

So… are they gonna tell Bennet that they put spies in the police force

I saw that eye twitch

Gotta nudge the homies

That was such a muppet face Brennan just pulled

What a lovely moment actually

The name bit keeps getting me-

Oppenheimer 😭

Warby Parker is Not that affordable lmaoooo zennioptical.com forever

We’re getting so many sponsors this week

was that just a fritos bit sweetie or did you wanna do something in character I’m dead

Maybe it’s the week I’m having but the jokes are hitting harder this week

The sass

We’re roughhousing :)

After this season I’m gonna try and make an actual timeline of events

Oh god that was just this morning

Aww Erika’s face

That is so purely sweet

Oh they’re GONE

augh

Psychic damage in real life

The energy is wild rn

Lotta strong feelings

Okay here we go

He’s hot though.

Sabotage??? Like by stoats sabotage?

He’d already been exposed to the radiation

Oh my god

Five??

Oh that’s not gonna haunt me at ALL

SHE’LL BE BACK

What the fuck is happening Aabria. Aabria what.

Phoebe?

God I wish I knew more about this specific section of history so I could know what’s in historical context and what’s Burrow’s End lore

God radiation is so fucked up

The shadow puppet show! We found the light and began the world

Ooh I just noticed the gm screen changed and you can see inside now that’s so cool

An egg threat!

I’m

I’m gonna lose it I think

I need to have an in depth understanding of things please

I would like to know what is going on :) I am stressed and confused :)

Plot twist they’re all vegetarian now

Oh my god Aabria you’re brilliant

I am terrified!

Ok it’s 2 am I’m going to sleep and hopefully I don’t have nightmares about stoats I will be back to rewatch and re-freak out tomorrow!

#verbal component #reactions #burrow's end #burrow’s end

[msfcatlover]

NTT bugs me a LOT so PLEASE tell me about Dick and Jason bonding bc we were robbed

OKAY, SO! This got super long. I’d apologize, but I have so many feelings, and “sorry” is not one of them.

. First of all: after they defeat Trigon, I have no idea why we get scenes of most of the team having these soothing recovery-bonding moments with their families but for some reason Dick doesn’t get that??? When his “worst fear” as shown by Trigon was very specifically that Jason’s Robin training under just Bruce wouldn’t be enough, the scene Dick sees being Bruce dead & Jason brokenly sobbing that he tried his best, with the “worst self” counterpart to Dick telling Dick this was his fault for not being there for them. Dick’s worst fear is literally shown to be losing his family due to not reaching out to them and we don’t even get to see him, I don’t know, driving up to the manor or knocking on the door? You’re telling me that after a vision like that Dick Grayson wouldn’t want to visually confirm Bruce & Jason are okay? We don’t even get to see him call??? Golly gosh, did we just run out of page space & stiff the leader of our ensemble of his emotional payoff???????

This is the perfect moment for Dick to take a more active role as Jason’s big brother (we could’ve had Titans missions with Robin!Jay & Nightwing, goddammit, Jason could’ve complained about being cold to Dick’s face! That joke is x10 funnier if Dick’s standing there, now in pants, defending his original Robin design.) Dick now has experience training younger heroes, he has more patience & a longer fuse than he had as Robin, he is ready to be a mentor figure for his little brother. 

In my head, there is a whole arc where Dick goes flying home on his motorcycle, too emotional to even think of going for the phone (between the vision he had & Raven seemingly dying, you really can’t blame him,) because he just needs to know, he needs to personally confirm that they are okay. He’s jumping off the bike before it fully stops moving, letting it skid down the gravel driveway (the paint job will be ruined, he will bemoan this choice later, but in the moment safety doesn’t matter so why would a few scratches?) Dick hammers on the door until Alfred opens it, and yanks Alfred into a hug before he can get two words out; Dick lets go almost as quickly, because Alfred isn’t who he came to see.

(Dick goes to the manor, not the Batcave, because the Batcave isn’t home.)

I can’t decide if Dick sees Bruce or Jason first; it really come down to whether I want to imagine Dick picking Jason up like a piece of luggage and dragging Jason into Dick’s hug for Bruce, because once Dick sees Jason, he is not going to be letting go. Bruce realizes something must be wrong even before Dick tells him about Raven (though he’d certainly never deny Dick a hug, when Dick all but jumps into Bruce’s arms like he’s 9 again.) Jason is so fucking lost right now; at this point all his interactions with Dick have been short & curt, and included Dick outright denying Jason had any right to be Robin (hey, if DC can mix continuities then so can I! And the pre-Crisis moment when Jason asked for Dick’s blessing now that Dick was Nightwing, and Dick snapped at him about Robin still being Dick’s identity even when he wasn’t using it is so good for its angst potential, I’m taking it.) Poor Jason was under the impression Dick sorta-kinda hated him, that he was a nuisance at best, and now Dick is running down the hall with a shout of Jason’s name just to pull Jason into a hug so tight it’s actually hard to breathe, so like??? What is going on???

Dick tells them about losing Raven (maybe he mentions having to “fight our fears,” but he definitely doesn’t tell either of them about the fear-vision,) says something about being worried and this putting things in perspective. Then Dick takes a deep breath and steps back, looks Jason in the eye, and tells Jason that Dick will be helping with his Robin training from now on. (“Don’t look so excited. You’re going to hate me by the time we’re done.”)

AND THEN! Then we get Dick training Jason, and patrolling with Jason, and bowing out of certain social events because he promised this portion of his time to Jason already and he’s not going to break that promise. We get some mission running long, and Dick rushing home after dark to find Jason still waiting, because he didn’t want to believe Dick would just ditch him like that (Jason may or may not have gotten into a fight with Bruce about whether Jason needed to lower his expectations since Dick was still figuring this whole “adult” thing out, and also that Dick’s never been good with appointments because ADHD-induced timeblind!Dick, my beloved.) We get Dick helping Jason perfect certain moves, and Jason spinning around with a big grin like, “Did you see? Did you see me do it?” while Dick smiles proudly at him and tells Jay how awesome it was. We get mid-patrol snack-breaks, which they’re fully allowed, but still sneak in because it’s just more fun that way. We get late-night conversations over ice cream, and getting to fight as a team, and just, AH!!! We were robbed! They should’ve been bonding, it would’ve been so cute & wholesome, and just compounded the tragedy of Jason’s death.

We could’ve had Nightwing!Dick & Robin!Jay on the Titans at the same time. We could’ve seen all Dick’s friends’ reactions to his new little brother, rather than just another kid in the Robin suit while Dick was out of town. Maybe Donna wouldn’t have fucking projected so hard, she called Jason by Dick’s name the one time they worked together. Maybe Jason could’ve been a valued member of the team in his own right, like he deserved.

.

The other major event that makes me desperately fantasize about them getting to bond is… Listen. Fuck the mid-Crisis Starfire wedding arc. I do not have words for how much I hate the Starfire wedding arc and how everyone treats Dick like trash during it. It pissed me off so much, I had to put the whole damn series down and cleanse my palette with something else for a few months. Do not get me started, because I have already gone on 2 separate hour-long rants, and nobody wants to see me frothing at the mouth over this one stupid fucking arc that I hate so much, it killed my love for RobStar, a ship I have been sailing since before I knew what shipping was.

ANYWAY.

Dick fucking deserved better, so Imma give it to him. Fine, let all that happen, up to & including Bruce saying, “Oh, I almost forgot! Happy birthday!” while driving away, ignoring how obviously distraught Dick was. Something-something-crime fighting, Bruce is allowed to fuck up, failure to appropriately express his emotions (often at the worst possible times) is one of his most consistent character traits. Whatever.

Here’s what I want: Jason beats Donna to Dick’s apartment. How? No fucking clue, he called in a favor or something. So instead of Dick opening the door to Donna’s accusations when he’s already belligerently drunk, he opens it to an awkward baby brother while he’s still tipsy. Jason wants to apologize for Bruce being an asshole—not in the “I’ll take responsibility” way, or the “I’m carrying a message” way, but in the “It was shitty of him to treat you like that, and I’m sorry you had to deal with it” way—and wanted to bring Dick his birthday presents before they’re even later than they already were. Because they’re brothers, and Jason knows how even the smallest gesture of recognition can matter. So here Jason is, with an obviously hand-wrapped parcel and a homemade cake that’s more than a little lopsided (and probably a few days old, because the mission wasn’t supposed to keep Dick away that long, and I think Jason would’ve wanted it fresh from the oven when Dick got home,) but it’s decorated after the Nightwing suit with a big red R on the top, and it’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for Dick in weeks. The nicest thing anyone’s done since Dick left Earth. The only sign his birthday wasn’t entirely forgotten by everyone in his life, and the only person who seems like they were looking forward to seeing him again after the mess that was Tamaran. So, y’know, maybe he freezes in the doorway and tears up a little; blame it on the alcohol.

The banter is tense at first. Jason’s obviously a little disturbed to find Dick drowning his sorrows, and Dick quickly hides the bottle while apologizing for it (“You weren’t s’posed to see me like this. I never wanted any of you to see me like this.”) Neither of them wants to acknowledge just how upset Dick is right now. There’s probably jokes about Jason using Dick as a guinea pig for his culinary experiments, and how maybe they shouldn’t light the candles in case Dick’s whiskey breath starts a fire. They talk about light, shallow things, like which rogues escaped while Dick was away (never mind the Crisis,) and whether Jason finally managed to master that one flip he was working on. After, Jason catches Dick staring wistfully at a picture of Kori on the wall and blurts out, “Hey, you wanna get out of here?”

They go see a movie at a late-night theatre, and mock how unrealistic the fight choreography was. 

(Maybe they run into Donna at some point, but the fight doesn’t escalate because they’re in public & Dick’s basically sobered up by that point. Maybe Donna bangs on Dick’s door until it comes off its hinges, and finds an apartment empty except for the remains of two servings of chocolate cake and a ball of wrapping paper that missed the trashcan when someone tried to throw it. In any case, Dick & Donna don’t drag all their worst grievances with eachother out as weapons in a moment of shared pain, and Dick doesn’t go after Brother Blood’s cult alone.)

(Maybe Jason defends Dick’s honor, and says everything to Donna that I wanted to say while she was telling Dick it was all his fault Kori didn’t come back with him.)

(Maybe they go back to Dick’s apartment, and he’s finally tired enough to ignore all the lingering signs of Kori and just go to sleep. Maybe Dick insists on making sure Jason makes it back to Gotham safely, and then stays because it’s almost dawn by that point anyway. Either way, they fall asleep in a pile and Jason probably misses school the next day; he reserves the right to be a grouch about it.)

#I am not looking for discourse; if people like The New Teen Titans original run you probably don’t want to read this. #Anyway #// #batfam #dick grayson #jason todd #batbros #dick grayson nightwing #nightwing dick grayson #nightwing dick #robin jason #robin jason todd #they’re brothers your honor #batman #teen titans #my writing #mine #my life #Questions #captainlordauditor #batfam fic #batfam fanfic #batfam fandom #Jason Todd can cook

[writing-for-life]

The Facet Is Not the Jewel...

Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

I am a child of the 80s. I basically grew up reading DC and Vertigo comics. Especially Frank Miller’s Dark Knight and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman have stayed with me beyond my (goth) teenage years: Some of it might be pure nostalgia, but a good story with depth is a good story with depth.

While I always was, and always will be, a writer at heart and have managed to supplement my main income with writing to a decent degree, I also chose to have a “day job” pretty early on: There was that whole thing about confidence and the starving artist trope, enough said. Today, I might tell my teenage self to have more faith, but I don’t regret getting a degree in something else: I care about people, and I believe in the healing power of storytelling, so I feel I can combine both, and that’s what I do.

I always have a keen interest when a new TV or film adaptation lands, and of course it is totally impossible to escape the current hype around “The Sandman” (which, as you will know by now, I feel very attached to myself). Without wanting to go into the depths of the series, I think it was brought to the screen beautifully. Like the next person, I hope for season 2 (Netflix, can you make up your mind already?). It felt true to the comics while at the same time being adapted perfectly to the screen and today’s world.

However, one aspect of the fandom has me completely flummoxed (well, not really, I’ll get to that later): The Morpheus/Hob ship. And before anyone gets their knickers in a twist: I am queer myself and have experienced enough bi-erasure from both straight and gay people to last me a lifetime, so I definitely don’t have a problem with queer relationships.

Even if Tom and Ferdinand have chemistry (to be honest, I think Tom has chemistry with everyone, but I don’t always read it as sexual. Maybe I’m too old), and a potential romantic undertone has been confirmed by some of the show’s writers: It just means it’s been left purposefully vague or ambiguous to make all audiences happy.

As an example: To me, as a bi person, their relationship in the series didn’t vibe as anything other than deep but platonic. Does that mean it was only platonic? No, it just tells us that we see what we potentially want to see. And naturally, that’s the beauty of storytelling—it holds space for all sorts of things.

I’m totally fine with them having sexual and/or romantic chemistry, or if people perceive it as such, and I welcome it.

But here’s the rub: It is the vastness of the ship, but the complete insignificance of this aspect to the storyline, that has me scratching my head. In a way, the narrow fandom-focus on it makes me a bit sad because so much of the beauty of “The Sandman” gets lost in it.

Do I believe that Morpheus’ capability to feel sexual and romantic attraction is fluid?

Absolutely, I think that is a given due to what he is and how others perceive him. Canonically, we obviously see a strong preference for CIS women (or ethereal beings that would pass as such), but other things have been changed for the TV adaptation. So it wouldn’t really matter if it were in any way important to the plot.

Do I think that the relationship to Hob is purely platonic, and that it has a purpose in the story arc that goes far beyond mere sexual or romantic attraction?

Also yes. A platonic relationship/friendship isn’t less deep, people! Maybe actually the opposite: Morpheus’ relationships to romantic partners never last (and in this case, it actually doesn’t matter if they were heteronormative or queer). The relationship to Hob does last—probably because it isn’t romantic/sexual.

I already hear the legions of Dreamlings protesting:”That’s just because he never found the One, but Hob is!” I mean, seeing it like that is totally okay for (smutty) fanfics and whatever people are daydreaming about (not judging, totally on board myself ;)). Beyond that though, it just seems so far removed from the deeper significance of their relationship.

I just have this feeling that if we get a season 2, people will go absolutely nuts if Hob doesn’t get decent screen time, and I am thinking to myself: “Why would he, apart from very particular parts of the story (especially towards the very end) that we might not even get to see?” Yeah, you can probably tell I’m fun at parties…

What I also find bewildering is the general zoning in on the aspect of sexuality in this context. It doesn’t even matter if it is homosexuality, bisexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality… All of it is, in my opinion, already so normalised in the comics (if you think of when they were written), and especially in the series, so the complete and utter focus on it is certainly... interesting.

By letting the sexuality of the characters and their (imagined or real) romantic afflictions (which, 9/10, seems to originate in our own desire to bed them—it had to be said ;)) take centre-stage, the beauty and depth of the story get totally buried under something that feels so shallow to me it makes my heart ache a little (my problem obviously).

Spoilers ahead… Don’t read on if you have never read the comics and still plan to do so. Also: Trigger warning for certain mental health references

Morpheus’ arc is a hero’s journey without a happy-ending (although I guess that depends on your definition of “happy ending”). It is essentially a long planned, carefully orchestrated suicide:

He knows that he, like so many people and entities around him, cannot change (despite some semi-successful attempts at becoming a bit warmer and gentler: In the comics, he is pretty much an arsehole for a very long time). He feels deeply but represses those emotions frequently so they don’t overwhelm him. Not least because of this, he has acted incredibly (maybe not always intentionally) cruelly towards the ones he loves (and others) throughout his existence. Pride is one of his weaknesses. These aspects of his personality also have been brought to the screen: If you didn’t get the hint in episode 4 (his refusal to forgive Nada), or when he, later on, kills Hector right in front of Lyta (he clearly could have done this differently to make it less emotionally painful and traumatic), I rest my case.

His inherent rigidity, and what it brings on from this point onwards, is ultimately part of his demise, and I believe he is fully aware of it (too many cues to mention). Much like someone who plans to commit suicide and doesn’t act in the spur of the moment, he gets his affairs in order, and he makes up for some of his past mistakes. That’s not the same as laying down a rigid sense of duty: Tragically, it is the very essence of it.

If you wonder about Hob’s function beyond being a potential love-interest or friend: He, like Destruction (and Delirium), continuously does what Morpheus ultimately cannot: Change. He is holding up the mirror to Morpheus, who, unlike him, is forever caught in his sense of duty and responsibility.

Morpheus could have made entirely different choices several times, especially in “The Kindly Ones”. He purposefully painted himself into a corner on at least three occasions that would have been easy for him to act upon differently. He chose not to, again for reasons of being committed, but also for reasons of being done. He decided that the only way Dream could keep on existing was letting the aspect of Morpheus die.

There’s a beautiful scene involving the facets of the dreamstones, of which the ruby held most of Morpheus’ essence and the emerald will be passed on (it’s more complicated than that, but this is already longer than planned). I’ll just leave this sitting here, and you can make of it what you wish:

So, to all the Dreamling shippers out there: I love what you’re doing, I believe in ship and let sail. But a deep part of me also thinks I don’t want to see it on the screen. The good thing about stories is that they can hold such ambiguity. I hope that if we get more seasons, many won’t be totally crushed that this might not be a story with the ending they hoped for. Not for Hob x Morpheus anyway, but then again: Who knows...

#sandman #the sandman #morpheus #dream #hob gadling #dream of the endless #stupid stuff i think about #sandman meta #sandman spoilers #the sandman meta

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

The Demigod From Asgard - Steve Rogers x Reader (Part 26)

Summary: You finally find out what Hydra’s plan is and come face to face with the ghost

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Angst! Fluff! Canon Typical Violence! Injury to Major Character! Slow burnn!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics​

Series Masterlist / Masterlist

Chapter 26: Return of the Dead

When you woke back up, you were lying down on the backseat of the car. Your head was pounding, every muscle ached and your ears were still ringing. Your head resting in someone’s lap, their hand gently stroking your hair. Opening your eyes, blinking a couple times, you look up to see Steve looking down at you.

“Hey, you okay?” He asks quietly when he sees you awake.

“My head feels like it’s full of cotton” you mumbled your hand moving to rub your forehead.

“What happened?” You ask not remembering much.

“Well first you saved us all by creating that force field thing, you must have worn yourself out because you collapsed soon after hitting your head. Me and Nat got you out before the Strike team arrived” Steve tells you his hand moving to rest on your abdomen.

“I don’t even know how I did that” you admit looking up at him.

“Well it was impressive either way” Steve says with a small chuckle.

“Wait if you’re here who’s driving?” You ask furrowing your brows.

“Nat is we’re heading back to DC to a safe house” Steve tells you.

“Oh okay, cool” you say moving to sit up.

“Whoa, whoa no, careful stay down” Steve says pushing you back down.

“Steve I’m fine” you tell him trying to sit up again but he stops you.

“No rest, your body is clearly exhausted” Steve tells you leaving no room for arguments.

You sigh in defeat moving to get comfortable, keeping your head on his lap looking up at him. He looked fine, not a single cut or bruise. Just covered in a load of ash. You smile to yourself thankful that you were able to keep him safe. You wouldn’t know what to do if you lost him. You’d lost so many people already you couldn’t bear to lose him too.

“I’m sorry about Hydra and all that” you tell him making him look back down at you.

“It’s okay, just wish I had done more, prevented all of this” he sighs looking up and out the window.

“Hey” you say grabbing his hand and making him look back down at you.

“You did everything you could, you saved thousands of lives by crashing that plane. You did the right thing, like you always do. Nobody could have predicted this, no one could have stopped it, not even you” you tell him stroking his hand with your thumb.

He lets out a deep and shaky breath giving you a small smile “thank you” he says quietly.

“Now you get some rest too, you don’t need to be the hero all the time” you tell him.

“Fine but only if you do too” he says smiling down at you.

“Deal” you smile.

It was the early morning by the time you’d gotten back to DC. Steve helped you out of the car, insisting that he kept an arm around your waist despite you telling him you were fine. He led you and Nat down the street towards a house. Knocking on the door.

A few moments later a dark-skinned man answered looking between the three of you.

“Hey man” he says greeting Steve.

“I’m sorry about this we need a place to lay low” Steve apologises.

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us” Nat explains.

The man looks down at you all in surprise before stepping aside “not everyone”

“Sam this is Y/N, Y/N this is Sam, the guy I told you about” Steve says introducing you.

“Ah the demigod” Sam says holding his hand out.

“The running friend” you greet shaking his hand.

“Bathroom is down the hall for you guys to get cleaned up, you need a first aid kit?” Sam asks.

“No, I think we’re good, just a shower” Steve says shaking his head.

“By all means go ahead, I’ll grab some spare towels” Sam says before heading down the corridor.

“Y/N you go first you took the brunt of it all” Nat says nodding over to you.

“Okay, thanks, I’ll be quick I promise” you say stepping away and following Sam.

You got as much grime and dust off of you as you could without taking too long in the shower. Your headache was already subsiding, and your muscles no longer felt like they had been injected with lead. Stepping out of the shower you quickly dry off using your powers to your advantage. Quickly slipping back into your clothes discarding the hoodie which was covered in dust.

When you head back through to the kitchen Steve tells Nat to go ahead. You sit down next to him with a large sigh.

“How’s your head?” Steve asks with a sympathetic smile.

“Better, doesn’t hurt anymore, just need to take it easy for a bit” you tell him resting your head back against the couch.

“That’s good, once this is all over, we can rest as long as we want” Steve says smiling gently.

“Where’s Sam gone?” You ask noticing he wasn’t around.

“He’s gone to go get more food, figured he wouldn’t have enough” Steve says.

“Well with your appetite I think he’s guessed correctly” you joke making him laugh.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, shifting so he was facing you.

“Hey um in the car when I said about shared life experience” he says glancing down.

“Yeah?” You say remembering the conversation.

“Well, I just wanted to say, I’m glad I’ve got you, you know, understanding what it’s like to not be from this modern world” he says glancing back up at you making you smile and your stomach flutter again.

“Me too, I’m glad I have you” you smile, him smiling back at you before clearing his throat, shifting again.

“Well I was just thinking that maybe when this is all over we could-“ Steve starts.

“Shower’s free!” Nat calls from down the hall interrupting Steve who sighs looking down.

“We can talk later, now go shower because god do you stink” you say with a playful smirk.

Steve laughs shaking his head at you “fine, talk later” he smiles before standing up and heading down the corridor towards the bathroom.

A few minutes later Sam arrives back carrying two full shopping bags. You stand to go help him but he tells you to sit back down and relax.

“I wasn’t sure what you guys preferred to eat in the morning, or if you needed to eat some superfood or something so I got a load of sausages, eggs and bacon” Sam says.

“A breakfast fit for every superhero” you chuckle.

A short while later you were all cleaned up and fed. Steve eating about 3 servings of eggs and bacon. The three of you soon started to discuss what your plan of action was.

“So, the question is who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?” Nat asks leaning back in her chair.

“Pierce” Steve sighs.

“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world” you point out.

“But he’s not working alone, Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian star” Steve recalls with a sigh.

“So was Jasper Sitwell” Nat says.

“So the real question is how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?” You sigh knowing exactly how insane and difficult it sounded.

“The answer is, you don’t” Sam says walking over.

For a moment you thought he was going to stop you, but he just puts a file down on the table.

“What’s this?” Steve asks leaning forward to pick up the file.

“Call it a resume” Sam says leaning up against the kitchen counter.

“Is this bakhmala?” Nat asks picking up the picture “the khalid khandil mission, that was you?”

“You didn’t say he was a pararescue” Nat says turning to Steve, passing him the photo.

“Is this Riley?” Steve asks quietly.

“Yeah” Sam sighs.

“Heard they couldn’t bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?” Nat asks.

“No, these” Sam says pushing the file towards Steve.

Steve opens it up and you look over his shoulder to see exactly what it was.

“I thought you said you were a pilot” Steve says looking back over at Sam.

“I never said pilot” Sam chuckles shaking his head.

“I can’t ask you to do Sam, you got out for a good reason” Steve sighs shaking his head.

“Dud Captain America needs my help, there’s no better reason to get back in” Sam smiles.

“I’m assuming you don’t just have these lying around” you say looking over at Sam who shakes his head.

“Where can we get our hands on one of these things?” Steve asks.

“The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall” Sam says making you smirk.

“Sounds like someone already tried to get it back” you say making Sam chuckle shrugging his shoulders innocently.

“Well shouldn’t be a problem for us” Steve says.

A short trip to Fort Meade later, you had tracked down Jasper Sitwell and were moving into position to intercept him.

You had placed Sam in a nearby cafe with a phone ready to call Sitwell. Nat was in an empty office building, gun with a laser sight at the ready. While you and Steve waited in a car just around the block.

Soon enough the car door opened and Jasper Sitwell was looking down at you surprise. You had a small flame in your hand ready to go.

“I’d get in otherwise you’re gonna have a nasty burn” you warn.

Jasper visibly gulps before sliding into the car. A few moments later both Nat and Sam appear. Sam sitting in the passenger seat, Nat sitting in the back blocking Jasper’s escape.

Steve drives the car a couple blocks away before pulling into a back alley. Getting out of the car Steve grabs Sitwell by the collar and drags him inside and up the stairs.

When you get to the roof Steve throws Sitwell through the door “tell me about Zola’s algorithm” Steve says.

Jasper gets to his feet stumbling back as you Steve and Nat continue to approach.

“Never heard of it” Sitwell lies.

“What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?” Steve questions.

“I was throwing up, I get seasick” Sitwell says backing up until his feet hit the edge.

Steve grabs him by the lapels of his suit stopping him from falling.

“Is this little display meant to insinuate that you’re gonna throw me off the roof? Because that’s really not your style Rogers” Sitwell smirks with a beat of confidence.

“You’re right, it’s not” Steve says letting go and smoothing out his jacket

“It’s hers” he smirks stepping back so Nat could kick Sitwell in the chest sending him falling back off the building.

The three of you listen as his screams get quieter before getting louder again. Sam now wearing his falcon wings carrying him back up and dropping him behind the three of you.

As you all turn to approach Sitwell he holds his hands up to stop you.

“Zola’s algorithm is a program for choosing, insights targets” Sitwell admits.

“What targets?” You question.

“You! A TV anchor is Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defence, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Steven Strange, anyone who’s a threat to Hydra, now or in the future” Sitwell lists off.

“Future? How could it know?” Steve asks confused.

“How could it not! The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it. Your bank records. Medical histories. Voting patterns. Emails. Phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola’s algorithm evaluates people’s past to predict their future” Sitwell explains.

“And then what?” You ask.

Sitwell shakes his head “Pierce is gonna kill me” he mutters.

“And what then?” Steve presses.

“Then the insight helicarriers scratch people off that list. A few million at a time” Sitwell says.

“Shit” you mutter as the reality of the situation sinks in.

“we need to go now” Steve says looking over at everyone.

Grabbing Sitwell you dragged him back down to the stairs and to the car. You, Nat and Sitwell sat in the back. You in the middle seat. Steve sat in the front while Sam drove to the Triskelion.

“Hydra doesn’t like leaks” Sitwell say fidgeting in his seat nudging you as he does so.

You send a glare his way and he instantly stops moving.

“Then why don’t you try sticking a cork in it?” Sam tells him.

“Insight is launching in 16 hours” Nat says leaning forward “we’re cutting it a little close here”

“I know we’ll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly” Steve says.

“What? Are you crazy?” Sitwell exclaims “that is a terrible idea!”

He doesn’t get to say anymore as something lands on the roof of the car. Before you could react a metal arm crashes in through the window, grabbing Sitwell and throwing him into an incoming truck. The attacker starts shooting through the roof of the car making you and Nat scramble forward. You land in Steve lap grabbing his head as a bullet flies though his headrest were his head used to be.

Steve slams the car into park throwing the guy off the top of the car. You all look out to see him land several feet away, his metal arm clear as day. There was no doubting he was a ghost story anymore as the winter solider stood right in front of you.

Nat pulled out her gun going to shoot him but doesn’t get a chance as a car slams into the back of you. Sam tried to keep control of the car as it skids towards the winter solider. The soldier jumps back onto the car punching through the windscreen grabbing the steering wheel and ripping it away.

Without the steering wheel the car starts veering out of control. The car behind crashes into you again, making your car hit the central reservation and begin to flip.

“Hang on!” Steve shouts slipping his shield onto his arm before grabbing Nat and Sam.

You wrap your arms around his neck as he hits the car door off its hinges. The four of you crash to the ground. As the car door skids along the ground it bounces a couple times knocking Nat and Sam off. As you and Steve get up you see the winter solider fire a grenade at you. Steve pushes you out of the way holding his shield up just in time but the force of the explosion sends him flying off the overpass to the streets below.

“Steve!” You shout you go to follow but you have to duck for cover when bullets start flying.

You had no gun on you, so were completely pinned down, the shooters too far away for a good shot with your powers especially with so many civilians still around.

The shooting stops for a moment allowing you to sneak closer to the gunmen. You watch as the winter soldier jumps down to the streets below after Nat. 3 more gunmen then grapple down after him, leaving two on the overpass.

You could see Sam approaching one, so you take the other. You see him attached his grappling hook but you force a large gust of wind his way pushing him down to the ground. Before he can even get up you freeze his hands to the ground standing over him kicking him in the face to knock him out. You grab the gun from him, looking up to see Sam had taken down his guy and also gotten hold a gun.

The two of you run over to the side to see Steve pinned down behind his shield. You and Sam start shooting down the gunmen allowing Steve to attack the one with the large machine gun.

“Get down there, I’ll cover you” Sam tells you.

You leap over the side controlling the air around you to control your fall. You land just behind Steve both of you crouching behind a car for cover.

“Go I’ve got this!” Sam shouts down to the two of you.

“You go left, I’ll go right” Steve says before the two of you run off.

You run down the street keeping low to avoid being spotted. One you got close enough to the winter solider you paused behind a car. You watch as he rolls something underneath a car several feet in front of you. You spot Nat’s phone on the ground and realise what she’d done.

Glancing around you spot the redhead crouching opposite you. She gives you a couple hand signals telling you what to do. Once the car explodes you jump up starting to fire at the winter solider. It was enough to distract him allowing Nat to jump him and attack.

He throws her off him into a car, but before he can attack, she throws a shock charge at him. As she runs away you start firing at him again to cover her escape. As you start to back up yourself you run out of ammo.

“Shit” you curse throwing the gun to the side.

You turn and start running in the same direction as Nat keeping as close to cover as possible. As you go you see civilians stood watching in horror. You shout at them to get back, sending a gust of wind to force them back when they don’t listen.

As you weave through the cars you feel a sharp pain rip through your shoulder. Crying out in pain your drop to the floor shuffling back towards a car for cover. You glance down at you shoulder wincing when you see blood oozing out of the bullet hole.

As you start putting pressure on it you hear someone land on a car behind you. Looking over you see the winter solider aiming his gun directly at you. You quickly duck for cover waiting for the spray of bullets. Instead, you hear the tell-tale sound of a metal fist hitting Steve’s shield. Leaning back against the car you see Nat running over to you.

“Are you okay?” She asks crouching down beside you instantly examining the wound.

“GSW, went straight through the shoulder” you groan as she touches it.

“Okay keep pressure on it” she says as she grabs and rips the lower half of your top off.

She ties the fabric tight around your shoulder to help keep the pressure, but you both knew you needed something a bit more substantial.

“Come on we need to move” she says, slowly helping you stand.

As you get up you see Steve fighting with the winter solider. You see him flip the soldier over ripping off his mask. As the solider turns back around you instantly recognise the face.

“Shit” you mutter, Nat looking over at you confused.

“that’s Bucky” you whisper.

You watch as Steve rises out of his fighting stance to face his old friend. The soldier holds his gun out at Steve but Sam flies in kicking him away. You and Nat start moving over Nat grabbing the grenade launcher on the floor. She fires it over Steve’s head toward the solider who once again was aiming at Steve.

The smoke cleared and the solider was gone. However, you all were quickly surrounded by Strike. You watch as they hold a gun right up to Steve’s head. They force you down onto your knees, handcuffing you and attaching a collar round your neck. You could feel your energy levels drop immediately, the ability to use your powers being taken from you.

As they load all of you into a van all you could do was watch Steve. He looked shocked and distraught. It was a feeling you knew well, after all you’d seen your brother come back from the dead. Steve had just witnessed his best friend bucky return from the dead.

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Series Masterlist / Masterlist

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#NiamhWrites #the demigod from asgard series #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #captainamerica #captain america x reader #captain america x y/n #captain america x you #marvel #mcu #Chris Evans

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Hello, Darlin'

Fandom: DC, Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, f!reader

Word Count: 3823

TW: Angst, Heartbreak, Language, Mentions of Sex, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort

“Why are you going out with that asshole? You know you don’t really like him.”

You groaned loudly at your sister’s comment. You knew Liz was right, but Evan was a great distraction and pretty decent at sex, so you put up with his less-than-ideal qualities. Sure, he was a complete idiotic douche who had no respect for you, your friends, or your career, but he also didn’t mind that your heart wasn’t in this relationship and your thoughts were always with someone else. He once mentioned he liked to imagine you as one of the various Victoria’s Secret Angels during sex, but you couldn’t hold it against him. Not while you were picturing a certain tanned, muscular, military colonel every time the two of you were together.

Taking another sip of your tea, you said, “He’s alright. I mean, yes, he trashed my place and nearly burned it down with a half-smoked blunt, but he promised he wouldn’t let that happen again.”

“Sis, that was the second time that happened! Wake up! I know things have been rough since-” you shot her a look and she rolled her eyes. “-you-know-who, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw yourself at the first penis that you find.”

“Wow, that’s classy. Thanks for that image.” You heard the doorbell of the café ding behind you, but you ignored it. “Listen, I’m not just ‘throwing myself’ at the first guy I see, alright? I just…. I needed someone and Evan was there. No, I don’t think he will be my Prince Charming, soulmate, husband for life. But he’s something. And right now, I need that.”

Suddenly, Liz’s eyes grew wide at something over your shoulder. “Umm… Sis?”

But you ignored her as you assumed she was about to make another crass comment or dig at your expense. “No, just drop it okay. Yeah, what happened with-” you tripped over his name as Liz continued to make strange, pointed faces at you“- Rick was devastating. But it’s been almost eight months and I moved on. What other choice did I have? It’s not like I’ll ever see him again.”

“Hello, darlin’.”

You froze, a cold chill running down your spine as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over your head. You glanced at Liz but she just threw up her hands as if to say “I was trying to tell you.” Ever so slowly, you turned around to face the man who had just spoken. And there standing before you, was the previous love of your life. Colonel Rick Flag.

He looked both exactly how you remembered him and yet a completely different person. His large jacket hid his body but you could tell he had lost a lot of weight and muscle. He was leaning heavily on the table next to him as if he was having trouble standing on his own and his face was pinched in what almost looked like pain. He looked exhausted, with deep, dark bags under his eyes and his skin was much more pallid than it had been. Yet despite all of that, it was still Rick.

Still that same sweet smile, the same hazel pools staring back at you, the same dirty blond hair that was somehow both messy and styled at the same time. And with just one look, all the feelings you had sworn were in the past came rushing back along with the memories of the two of you together. When you met him at a charity fundraiser for those affected by metahuman disasters. Your first kiss on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at sunset. Talks of the future and moving in together as you lay in bed still wrapped around each other. And the memory of how he blew up your perfect relationship in just one night.

The shock on your face hardened and you glared at the man. “Rick. What are you doing here?”

He looked sheepishly down at the floor. “I wanted to see you.”

“I meant more ‘what are you doing in DC’ but are you telling me you specifically tracked me down here?” Your glare deepened.

“You always take your lunch break here with Liz on Fridays. I had just hoped that was still the case.” He leaned slightly to the right to gaze around you. “Hey, Liz.”

“Rick.” Your sister grumbled tensely. She knew how badly he had hurt you and though she was your younger sister, she was extremely protective over you. So you knew she wasn’t much happier to see him than you were.

Yet, whatever was going to happen next, you knew needed to be handled one-on-one. “Liz, can you give us some privacy? Please.”

You felt her eyes drilling holes in your neck, but you never took your eyes off Rick. “Are you sure? I won’t mind staying and giving him a piece of my mind.”

A slight smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. “I appreciate it, but I think this needs to be a conversation between just Rick and me.”

You heard her stand, and she squeezed your shoulder as she passed. “Fine, but I’ll just be at the bookstore down the street so call me if you need any backup.”

You nodded your appreciation as she made her way to the door. But just as she passed Rick, she paused and muttered, “If you do anything to hurt her again, military training or not, I will kill you.”

A soft, sad smile crawled across Rick’s lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as Liz exited the café, you gestured to her now vacant chair. “Do you want to sit down?”

Rick nodded and slowly made his way over to the seat across from you. His movements were laborious and deliberate and as he finally settled into the chair, you noticed a thin layer of sweat now coating his forehead as if that small trek had taken a large toll on him. This from the man who used to go to the gym at least once a day, who could run a record-setting marathon, or who could lift you up with one hand.

Incredulously, you shook your head at the shade of the man in front of you and asked, “Jesus, what happened to you?”

“Long story. Let’s just say it’s a damn near miracle I’m still sittin’ here today.”

You stared down at the table as you mumbled, “Are you okay?”

He let out a soft sigh. “Yeah, I will be. It’s been a long road of recovery but I’m finally gettin’ back to a halfway decent condition.” He paused for a moment. “Darlin’-”

“Please don’t call me that.” You said, squeezing your eyes tightly against the tears starting to form.

“Yeah… I guess I don’t have that right anymore. Sorry.” Rick said sadly as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I need you to know I wanted to call you the second I left. I knew I screwed up and I wanted to try anythin’ in my power to get you back. But I got called away on a mission before I could. And then…. I was hurt. Bad. Coma for a few weeks. Ventilators and shit for weeks after that. Then months of physical therapy. And it never felt right tryin’ to contact you then. I didn’t want to play the sympathy card to try and get you back.”

“Get me back? Rick, I’m so sorry whatever happened to you happened to you, but that was all after you left. None of that changes what you did. You broke my heart. Out of the blue. One day we were talking about looking at houses and buying a ring, and the literal next day you came over and told me you were leaving DC for good in less than 24 hours and we were through. Do you have any idea what that feels like? To have the rug so utterly pulled out from under you like that? I was completely blindsided! And you never gave me an explanation! Just, ‘I have to go’. What kind of bullshit was that?”

He flinched at each of your accusations, but you didn’t relent. “It destroyed me. I almost lost everything because I couldn’t deal with it. I couldn’t get out of bed for over a week. I would have lost my job if I hadn’t been saving up all my time off for that trip we had been planning. Rick, I loved you with my entire heart and soul and you just…”

“I know, I know, and I am so sorry! If I could do it all over, I would in a heartbeat! I never wanted to leave you, I just-” he stopped himself before he could explain further.

“You just what, Rick? There has to be some explanation, some reason you did what you did.”

“I can’t tell you,” he mumbled softly.

“Then we have nothing more to discuss here.” You stood to leave, but Rick’s hand shot out and grabbed your wrist.

“Please…. I need you to understand, it was never because I didn’t love you or I didn’t want you. Leavin’ was the hardest thing I have ever done and it kills me to know I hurt you so badly. I never meant to-”

“Then why did you do it!” You silently cursed yourself for the tears that began flowing down your cheeks. You had sworn to yourself you would stay strong, and you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry, but it was all too much. “Rick, I would have done anything for you, gone anywhere with you, waited however long you needed, but you never gave me a chance! You just left the moment there was a complication and you didn’t even try to work through it. How in the world did you expect to come here and get my forgiveness for that?”

“I did it because I love you and I was tryin’ to protect you,” he blurted out.

Slowly, you sank back into your chair. “What do you mean? Protect me from what?”

“I can’t-”

“Rick, if you want any chance of me understanding, or finding a way to accept what you did, you have to tell me.”

He stared silently at you for a long time, a look of conflicted indecision on his face. And just as you were about to give up and walk away, he said, “Waller didn’t like that I was spendin’ all my days off here in DC. According to my enlistment requirements with ARGUS, as long as I was at Belle Reve for debriefs, mission assignments, and a once-a-week trainin’ with the Task Force, I was able to maintain my residence in DC since that is technically still my assigned base of operations. But Waller didn’t like that because it gave her less control over me. So, she looked and looked but when she couldn’t find any loopholes, she resorted to less…. legal options.” He fell silent for a moment as he fiddled with the handle of Liz’s abandoned coffee cup. But eventually, he asked, “Do you remember that American flag you found layin’ on your pillow and the one in your car? The ones you thought I placed there as a joke?”

You nodded. “Sure, right before you left. Colonel Rick Flag of the US military. It just made sense it was you.”

“It would have. And that was the point. It wasn’t me, but it was a message for me. The same day, just before you called to ask about them, I got a text from Waller. There were no words, just an American flag emoji. That’s it.”

Your brow furrowed as you tried to understand what he was getting at. “So, your boss stuck a flag in my car and on my pillow? Why?”

“She wanted me to know that she could get to you anytime or anywhere she wanted. The places you should have been the safest. She wanted to show me that I couldn’t protect you from her. So, when she ordered me to move back to Louisiana permanently, I went without question.”

You thought long and hard about everything he had just told you. From what you had learned about Amanda Waller from your time with Rick, it didn’t sound unrealistic that what he was saying was the truth. He had already told you how she manipulated him and his ex on his first mission working for her so the idea that she would now come after another of Rick’s girlfriends made a lot of sense. But that still didn’t explain his reaction. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you. I knew as long as I went along with what she wanted, she wouldn’t bother you but if I told you, you would be livin’ in constant fear that she would make a move on you at any time. Also, I figured if you knew, you would want to come with me. But I didn’t want you to give up everythin’ you worked for here. You have a life, friends, your sister, a career you love. Besides, I needed to keep you as far away from Waller as possible.”

“And now….”

“Now we made a deal. We have information over her that makes it so she can’t touch us without causin’ an international incident.”

“Who’s we?” you asked.

“Me and the remainder of the Task Force. We found some information on the mission where I was hurt and it was big enough to free all of us from under Waller’s control. But, I had to resign. I’m no longer a part of the US military.” He glanced at you hesitantly before adding, “That’s why I wanted to track you down. I needed to let you know I’m movin’ back here to DC. For good.”

“And why do I care? Huh?” Tears once again began flowing down your face. “Why does that matter to me? You couldn’t have honestly expected to waltz in here, tell your little story, and I would just jump back into your arms? Rick, you destroyed me. That isn’t something I can just forget. And besides… I’ve moved on. There’s someone else.”

A look of pain flashed across Rick’s face but he quickly covered it up. Clearing his throat, he said, “I never expected you to forgive me immediately. I just thought…. I don’t know what I thought. And I’m glad you were able to find someone new.”

“Yes, Evan is everything you weren’t and he is exactly who I needed to help me get over the pain you put me through.” It wasn’t a lie exactly, but there was no way you were going to admit the real reason you were seeing Evan. “And in fact, maybe you should get going. He’s supposed to be meeting me here at any moment.”

Rick nodded as he started to stand. “I get it. I have no right to have expected you to forgive me or that you hadn’t moved on. I’m the one who ruined everythin’, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.” He started to walk away, but just as he was about to pass you, he placed his hand on your shoulder. This first physical contact sent a shudder of desire through your system as your body betrayed you. “But truly, I’m glad you found someone and you’re happy.”

You gazed up into those hazel eyes you had missed every moment since he left. “Rick, I-”

“Dude, get your hand off my girl!”

Mentally, you cursed Evan and his terrible timing. Why did this have to be the one time in your relationship that he wasn’t late for something?

Slowly, Rick turned to stare at the newcomer. He took one look at Evan before turning back to you with a face that screamed “This. This is who you’re with now”. But you ignored him and turned to your boyfriend.

“Evan, it’s okay. This is just….. an old friend. We ran into each other and were just catching up. He’s not bothering me. And besides-” you shot Rick a look “-he was just leaving.”

But you should have known better to expect any kind of understanding or decorum from Evan, especially as you noticed how dilated his pupils were. Then again, that shouldn’t be surprising since he was on something more often than not.

He stalked up to Rick and shoved him hard in the chest. Normally, Evan’s pathetic strength wouldn’t have even made Rick stumble. Yet in his weakened state, Rick went sprawling back, landing harshly on the floor as he clutched his chest. Instantly, you were by his side, softly brushing his hair off his face as it contorted in pain.

Evan rolled his eyes at Rick. “Come on, man, I barely touched you.” Then he turned to you. “Isn’t it bad enough you mentally fuck another dude every time we’re together, now you got to actually fuck one? God! I was never enough for you!”

“Evan…” your voice was low and threatening, silently begging him to shut up, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Instead, he looked past you to glare at Rick. “She do that with you too? Call out some other dude’s name as you’re doin’ it? With me, the thought of that fuckin’ military douche is the only way she can get off. Maybe you’ll have more luck, and you can actually make her forget fuckin’ Rick Flag.”

You burst into tears instantly. Never in your life had you felt so humiliated. You couldn’t care less about Evan or how he was acting, but the thought that Rick knew-

Jumping to your feet, you shoved Evan out of the way and rushed out of the café. You had felt Rick try to grab your hand, try to stop you as you tore from his side but that just made things worse! He knew. He knew you still thought of him every night. That the only time you could really enjoy yourself, the only way you could reach your peak pleasure was while thinking of him. It was utterly mortifying!

Stumbling as you struggled to see through your tears, you ducked into the nearest alley and leaned heavily against the wall. You buried your face in your hands and sobbed. All of the feelings you had been holding back since Rick walked into the café just added fuel to your breakdown and you were soon hyperventilating as you struggled to catch your breath.

Suddenly, a pair of muscular arms encircled you, pulling you into a broad chest. Without hesitation, you wrapped your arms around Rick as you clung tightly to him, sobbing wetly into his chest. Part of you was somehow even more mortified at the thought of him seeing you like this, of holding you now that he knew the truth. Yet, another part of you, the larger part, needed this. You were right he had lost quite a bit of muscle but the hug still felt the same as always. And as you burrowed your face deeper into his chest, you felt his heart thumping loudly against your cheek. You had always loved resting your head on his bare chest and listening to the sound of his heart, but for some reason, it felt slightly off from how it used to. Maybe you weren’t the only one who had a broken heart after all.

When you finally began to calm down and your sobs softened into sniffles, Rick slid his finger under your chin and lifted your head up to face him. Your cheeks grew hot and you tried to look away, but he held you firmly in place.

“It’s okay, darlin’. I’ve thought about you every single day. And, uh, not always in the most respectable way.” He blushed deep red but continued. “I know this doesn’t change anythin’ about how you feel about us movin’ forward. In fact, it makes me realize even more how deeply I hurt you. But I need you to know I never meant for any of this. I was just tryin’ to keep you safe. And I’ll admit, I didn’t go about it in the right way, but I never thought….” He sighed deeply. “I guess what I’m sayin’ is I don’t blame you for not wantin’ to give me another shot. From here on out, I’ll leave you alone. But if you ever change your mind, my number’s still the same.”

He placed a long lingering kiss on your forehead, then released his hold on you. Giving your hand one final squeeze, he turned and walked out of the alley. Staring after him, you watched the man of your dreams walk out of your life for the second time. You considered everything that had happened eight months ago and everything Rick had told you today. His reasoning didn’t make up for what he did, but it did put his action into context. And while you weren’t in any way ready to forgive him, you also weren’t ready to lose him for good.

“Rick!” You rushed out of the alley and down the street in the direction he had headed. Not surprisingly given his current condition, he hadn’t made it very far.

He turned to look at you as you approached. “Did I forget somthi-”

You crashed into his lips cutting him off mid-word. He stiffened in surprise for just a second before surging into you. His tongue pushed between your lips as you ran your hands up the back of his neck and threaded them into his hair. Wrapping one arm around your waist, he pulled you in closer to him until your two bodies felt like one. His heart thumped against your chest and for a moment, you forgot everything that had happened. It was just you and Rick and nothing else mattered.

But eventually, reality came crashing back and you broke away from Rick. He stared at you, his eyes dark with a lustful longing, but he respectfully took a step back. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Well… that was unexpected.”

“I’m sorry. I just couldn't let you go without doing that at least once.”

“What does that mean? For us.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to forgive you, you hurt me too deeply for that. But I’m willing to talk. Maybe see if we can find a way to work past this. Build something new from the ruins of what we had.”

“So…. Dinner? Tonight?” he asked hopefully.

“How about we start with coffee tomorrow afternoon,” you said with a soft smile.

“Anythin’ you want, darlin’.” He paused. “Oh, sorry, I forgot, no ‘darlin’’”.

Your smile grew brighter, and you took his hand. “Maybe the occasional ‘darlin’’ is acceptable.”

He beamed back at you. “Whatever you say, darlin’.”

Tag List: @merlehs

#sfw repost #fic #request #rick flag #rick flag x reader #rick flag x f!reader #f!reader #joel kinnaman #the suicide squad #suicide squad #dc #dc x reader #angst #hurt & comfort #hurt and comfort #language tw #mentions of sex tw #humiliation tw #heartbreak tw

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

Hello Darlin'

Fandom: DC, Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, f!Reader

Word Count: 3823

TW: Angst, Heartbreak, Language, Mentions of Sex, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: Thank you to @sociiallydiisoriiented for requesting "it’s not like i’ll ever see [my ex] again,'' but said ex is standing behind them with Rick Flag 💖 And thank you to @loverhymeswith for beta reading for me!

“Why are you going out with that asshole? You know you don’t really like him.”

You groaned loudly at your sister’s comment. You knew Liz was right, but Evan was a great distraction and pretty decent at sex, so you put up with his less-than-ideal qualities. Sure, he was a complete idiotic douche who had no respect for you, your friends, or your career, but he also didn’t mind that your heart wasn’t in this relationship and your thoughts were always with someone else. He once mentioned he liked to imagine you as one of the various Victoria’s Secret Angels during sex, but you couldn’t hold it against him. Not while you were picturing a certain tanned, muscular, military colonel every time the two of you were together.

Taking another sip of your tea, you said, “He’s alright. I mean, yes, he trashed my place and nearly burned it down with a half-smoked blunt, but he promised he wouldn’t let that happen again.”

“Sis, that was the second time that happened! Wake up! I know things have been rough since-” you shot her a look and she rolled her eyes. “-you-know-who, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw yourself at the first penis that you find.”

“Wow, that’s classy. Thanks for that image.” You heard the doorbell of the café ding behind you, but you ignored it. “Listen, I’m not just ‘throwing myself’ at the first guy I see, alright? I just…. I needed someone and Evan was there. No, I don’t think he will be my Prince Charming, soulmate, husband for life. But he’s something. And right now, I need that.”

Suddenly, Liz’s eyes grew wide at something over your shoulder. “Umm… Sis?”

But you ignored her as you assumed she was about to make another crass comment or dig at your expense. “No, just drop it okay. Yeah, what happened with-” you tripped over his name as Liz continued to make strange, pointed faces at you“- Rick was devastating. But it’s been almost eight months and I moved on. What other choice did I have? It’s not like I’ll ever see him again.”

“Hello, darlin’.”

You froze, a cold chill running down your spine as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over your head. You glanced at Liz but she just threw up her hands as if to say ��I was trying to tell you.” Ever so slowly, you turned around to face the man who had just spoken. And there standing before you, was the previous love of your life. Colonel Rick Flag.

He looked both exactly how you remembered him and yet a completely different person. His large jacket hid his body but you could tell he had lost a lot of weight and muscle. He was leaning heavily on the table next to him as if he was having trouble standing on his own and his face was pinched in what almost looked like pain. He looked exhausted, with deep, dark bags under his eyes and his skin was much more pallid than it had been. Yet despite all of that, it was still Rick.

Still that same sweet smile, the same hazel pools staring back at you, the same dirty blond hair that was somehow both messy and styled at the same time. And with just one look, all the feelings you had sworn were in the past came rushing back along with the memories of the two of you together. When you met him at a charity fundraiser for those affected by metahuman disasters. Your first kiss on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at sunset. Talks of the future and moving in together as you lay in bed still wrapped around each other. And the memory of how he blew up your perfect relationship in just one night.

The shock on your face hardened and you glared at the man. “Rick. What are you doing here?”

He looked sheepishly down at the floor. “I wanted to see you.”

“I meant more ‘what are you doing in DC’ but are you telling me you specifically tracked me down here?” Your glare deepened.

“You always take your lunch break here with Liz on Fridays. I had just hoped that was still the case.” He leaned slightly to the right to gaze around you. “Hey, Liz.”

“Rick.” Your sister grumbled tensely. She knew how badly he had hurt you and though she was your younger sister, she was extremely protective over you. So you knew she wasn’t much happier to see him than you were.

Yet, whatever was going to happen next, you knew needed to be handled one-on-one. “Liz, can you give us some privacy? Please.”

You felt her eyes drilling holes in your neck, but you never took your eyes off Rick. “Are you sure? I won’t mind staying and giving him a piece of my mind.”

A slight smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. “I appreciate it, but I think this needs to be a conversation between just Rick and me.”

You heard her stand, and she squeezed your shoulder as she passed. “Fine, but I’ll just be at the bookstore down the street so call me if you need any backup.”

You nodded your appreciation as she made her way to the door. But just as she passed Rick, she paused and muttered, “If you do anything to hurt her again, military training or not, I will kill you.”

A soft, sad smile crawled across Rick’s lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as Liz exited the café, you gestured to her now vacant chair. “Do you want to sit down?”

Rick nodded and slowly made his way over to the seat across from you. His movements were laborious and deliberate and as he finally settled into the chair, you noticed a thin layer of sweat now coating his forehead as if that small trek had taken a large toll on him. This from the man who used to go to the gym at least once a day, who could run a record-setting marathon, or who could lift you up with one hand.

Incredulously, you shook your head at the shade of the man in front of you and asked, “Jesus, what happened to you?”

“Long story. Let’s just say it’s a damn near miracle I’m still sittin’ here today.”

You stared down at the table as you mumbled, “Are you okay?”

He let out a soft sigh. “Yeah, I will be. It’s been a long road of recovery but I’m finally gettin’ back to a halfway decent condition.” He paused for a moment. “Darlin’-”

“Please don’t call me that.” You said, squeezing your eyes tightly against the tears starting to form.

“Yeah… I guess I don’t have that right anymore. Sorry.” Rick said sadly as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I need you to know I wanted to call you the second I left. I knew I screwed up and I wanted to try anythin’ in my power to get you back. But I got called away on a mission before I could. And then…. I was hurt. Bad. Coma for a few weeks. Ventilators and shit for weeks after that. Then months of physical therapy. And it never felt right tryin’ to contact you then. I didn’t want to play the sympathy card to try and get you back.”

“Get me back? Rick, I’m so sorry whatever happened to you happened to you, but that was all after you left. None of that changes what you did. You broke my heart. Out of the blue. One day we were talking about looking at houses and buying a ring, and the literal next day you came over and told me you were leaving DC for good in less than 24 hours and we were through. Do you have any idea what that feels like? To have the rug so utterly pulled out from under you like that? I was completely blindsided! And you never gave me an explanation! Just, ‘I have to go’. What kind of bullshit was that?”

He flinched at each of your accusations, but you didn’t relent. “It destroyed me. I almost lost everything because I couldn’t deal with it. I couldn’t get out of bed for over a week. I would have lost my job if I hadn’t been saving up all my time off for that trip we had been planning. Rick, I loved you with my entire heart and soul and you just…”

“I know, I know, and I am so sorry! If I could do it all over, I would in a heartbeat! I never wanted to leave you, I just-” he stopped himself before he could explain further.

“You just what, Rick? There has to be some explanation, some reason you did what you did.”

“I can’t tell you,” he mumbled softly.

“Then we have nothing more to discuss here.” You stood to leave, but Rick’s hand shot out and grabbed your wrist.

“Please…. I need you to understand, it was never because I didn’t love you or I didn’t want you. Leavin’ was the hardest thing I have ever done and it kills me to know I hurt you so badly. I never meant to-”

“Then why did you do it!” You silently cursed yourself for the tears that began flowing down your cheeks. You had sworn to yourself you would stay strong, and you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry, but it was all too much. “Rick, I would have done anything for you, gone anywhere with you, waited however long you needed, but you never gave me a chance! You just left the moment there was a complication and you didn’t even try to work through it. How in the world did you expect to come here and get my forgiveness for that?”

“I did it because I love you and I was tryin’ to protect you,” he blurted out.

Slowly, you sank back into your chair. “What do you mean? Protect me from what?”

“I can’t-”

“Rick, if you want any chance of me understanding, or finding a way to accept what you did, you have to tell me.”

He stared silently at you for a long time, a look of conflicted indecision on his face. And just as you were about to give up and walk away, he said, “Waller didn’t like that I was spendin’ all my days off here in DC. According to my enlistment requirements with ARGUS, as long as I was at Belle Reve for debriefs, mission assignments, and a once-a-week trainin’ with the Task Force, I was able to maintain my residence in DC since that is technically still my assigned base of operations. But Waller didn’t like that because it gave her less control over me. So, she looked and looked but when she couldn’t find any loopholes, she resorted to less…. legal options.” He fell silent for a moment as he fiddled with the handle of Liz’s abandoned coffee cup. But eventually, he asked, “Do you remember that American flag you found layin’ on your pillow and the one in your car? The ones you thought I placed there as a joke?”

You nodded. “Sure, right before you left. Colonel Rick Flag of the US military. It just made sense it was you.”

“It would have. And that was the point. It wasn’t me, but it was a message for me. The same day, just before you called to ask about them, I got a text from Waller. There were no words, just an American flag emoji. That’s it.”

Your brow furrowed as you tried to understand what he was getting at. “So, your boss stuck a flag in my car and on my pillow? Why?”

“She wanted me to know that she could get to you anytime or anywhere she wanted. The places you should have been the safest. She wanted to show me that I couldn’t protect you from her. So, when she ordered me to move back to Louisiana permanently, I went without question.”

You thought long and hard about everything he had just told you. From what you had learned about Amanda Waller from your time with Rick, it didn’t sound unrealistic that what he was saying was the truth. He had already told you how she manipulated him and his ex on his first mission working for her so the idea that she would now come after another of Rick’s girlfriends made a lot of sense. But that still didn’t explain his reaction. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you. I knew as long as I went along with what she wanted, she wouldn’t bother you but if I told you, you would be livin’ in constant fear that she would make a move on you at any time. Also, I figured if you knew, you would want to come with me. But I didn’t want you to give up everythin’ you worked for here. You have a life, friends, your sister, a career you love. Besides, I needed to keep you as far away from Waller as possible.”

“And now….”

“Now we made a deal. We have information over her that makes it so she can’t touch us without causin’ an international incident.”

“Who’s we?” you asked.

“Me and the remainder of the Task Force. We found some information on the mission where I was hurt and it was big enough to free all of us from under Waller’s control. But, I had to resign. I’m no longer a part of the US military.” He glanced at you hesitantly before adding, “That’s why I wanted to track you down. I needed to let you know I’m movin’ back here to DC. For good.”

“And why do I care? Huh?” Tears once again began flowing down your face. “Why does that matter to me? You couldn’t have honestly expected to waltz in here, tell your little story, and I would just jump back into your arms? Rick, you destroyed me. That isn’t something I can just forget. And besides… I’ve moved on. There’s someone else.”

A look of pain flashed across Rick’s face but he quickly covered it up. Clearing his throat, he said, “I never expected you to forgive me immediately. I just thought…. I don’t know what I thought. And I’m glad you were able to find someone new.”

“Yes, Evan is everything you weren’t and he is exactly who I needed to help me get over the pain you put me through.” It wasn’t a lie exactly, but there was no way you were going to admit the real reason you were seeing Evan. “And in fact, maybe you should get going. He’s supposed to be meeting me here at any moment.”

Rick nodded as he started to stand. “I get it. I have no right to have expected you to forgive me or that you hadn’t moved on. I’m the one who ruined everythin’, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.” He started to walk away, but just as he was about to pass you, he placed his hand on your shoulder. This first physical contact sent a shudder of desire through your system as your body betrayed you. “But truly, I’m glad you found someone and you’re happy.”

You gazed up into those hazel eyes you had missed every moment since he left. “Rick, I-”

“Dude, get your hand off my girl!”

Mentally, you cursed Evan and his terrible timing. Why did this have to be the one time in your relationship that he wasn’t late for something?

Slowly, Rick turned to stare at the newcomer. He took one look at Evan before turning back to you with a face that screamed “This. This is who you’re with now”. But you ignored him and turned to your boyfriend.

“Evan, it’s okay. This is just….. an old friend. We ran into each other and were just catching up. He’s not bothering me. And besides-” you shot Rick a look “-he was just leaving.”

But you should have known better to expect any kind of understanding or decorum from Evan, especially as you noticed how dilated his pupils were. Then again, that shouldn’t be surprising since he was on something more often than not.

He stalked up to Rick and shoved him hard in the chest. Normally, Evan’s pathetic strength wouldn’t have even made Rick stumble. Yet in his weakened state, Rick went sprawling back, landing harshly on the floor as he clutched his chest. Instantly, you were by his side, softly brushing his hair off his face as it contorted in pain.

Evan rolled his eyes at Rick. “Come on, man, I barely touched you.” Then he turned to you. “Isn’t it bad enough you mentally fuck another dude every time we’re together, now you got to actually fuck one? God! I was never enough for you!”

“Evan…” your voice was low and threatening, silently begging him to shut up, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Instead, he looked past you to glare at Rick. “She do that with you too? Call out some other dude’s name as you’re doin’ it? With me, the thought of that fuckin’ military douche is the only way she can get off. Maybe you’ll have more luck, and you can actually make her forget fuckin’ Rick Flag.”

You burst into tears instantly. Never in your life had you felt so humiliated. You couldn’t care less about Evan or how he was acting, but the thought that Rick knew-

Jumping to your feet, you shoved Evan out of the way and rushed out of the café. You had felt Rick try to grab your hand, try to stop you as you tore from his side but that just made things worse! He knew. He knew you still thought of him every night. That the only time you could really enjoy yourself, the only way you could reach your peak pleasure was while thinking of him. It was utterly mortifying!

Stumbling as you struggled to see through your tears, you ducked into the nearest alley and leaned heavily against the wall. You buried your face in your hands and sobbed. All of the feelings you had been holding back since Rick walked into the café just added fuel to your breakdown and you were soon hyperventilating as you struggled to catch your breath.

Suddenly, a pair of muscular arms encircled you, pulling you into a broad chest. Without hesitation, you wrapped your arms around Rick as you clung tightly to him, sobbing wetly into his chest. Part of you was somehow even more mortified at the thought of him seeing you like this, of holding you now that he knew the truth. Yet, another part of you, the larger part, needed this. You were right he had lost quite a bit of muscle but the hug still felt the same as always. And as you burrowed your face deeper into his chest, you felt his heart thumping loudly against your cheek. You had always loved resting your head on his bare chest and listening to the sound of his heart, but for some reason, it felt slightly off from how it used to. Maybe you weren’t the only one who had a broken heart after all.

When you finally began to calm down and your sobs softened into sniffles, Rick slid his finger under your chin and lifted your head up to face him. Your cheeks grew hot and you tried to look away, but he held you firmly in place.

“It’s okay, darlin’. I’ve thought about you every single day. And, uh, not always in the most respectable way.” He blushed deep red but continued. “I know this doesn’t change anythin’ about how you feel about us movin’ forward. In fact, it makes me realize even more how deeply I hurt you. But I need you to know I never meant for any of this. I was just tryin’ to keep you safe. And I’ll admit, I didn’t go about it in the right way, but I never thought….” He sighed deeply. “I guess what I’m sayin’ is I don’t blame you for not wantin’ to give me another shot. From here on out, I’ll leave you alone. But if you ever change your mind, my number’s still the same.”

He placed a long lingering kiss on your forehead, then released his hold on you. Giving your hand one final squeeze, he turned and walked out of the alley. Staring after him, you watched the man of your dreams walk out of your life for the second time. You considered everything that had happened eight months ago and everything Rick had told you today. His reasoning didn’t make up for what he did, but it did put his action into context. And while you weren’t in any way ready to forgive him, you also weren’t ready to lose him for good.

“Rick!” You rushed out of the alley and down the street in the direction he had headed. Not surprisingly given his current condition, he hadn’t made it very far.

He turned to look at you as you approached. “Did I forget somthi-”

You crashed into his lips cutting him off mid-word. He stiffened in surprise for just a second before surging into you. His tongue pushed between your lips as you ran your hands up the back of his neck and threaded them into his hair. Wrapping one arm around your waist, he pulled you in closer to him until your two bodies felt like one. His heart thumped against your chest and for a moment, you forgot everything that had happened. It was just you and Rick and nothing else mattered.

But eventually, reality came crashing back and you broke away from Rick. He stared at you, his eyes dark with a lustful longing, but he respectfully took a step back. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Well… that was unexpected.”

“I’m sorry. I just couldn't let you go without doing that at least once.”

“What does that mean? For us.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to forgive you, you hurt me too deeply for that. But I’m willing to talk. Maybe see if we can find a way to work past this. Build something new from the ruins of what we had.”

“So…. Dinner? Tonight?” he asked hopefully.

“How about we start with coffee tomorrow afternoon,” you said with a soft smile.

“Anythin’ you want, darlin’.” He paused. “Oh, sorry, I forgot, no ‘darlin’’”.

Your smile grew brighter, and you took his hand. “Maybe the occasional ‘darlin’’ is acceptable.”

He beamed back at you. “Whatever you say, darlin’.”

Tag List: @loverhymeswith, @babblydrabbly, @bewitchedignition, @edwardbaldwin, @sociiallydiisoriiented, @fairchildflag, @lacontroller1991, @heresathreebee, @madkovacs, @mayhem24-7forever, @allourstarsareshinning, @sunshineflowerchild789, @skvatnavle, @yespolkadotkitty, @spooky-ghosts

#fic #request #rick flag #rick flag x reader #rick flag x f!reader #f!reader #joel kinnaman #the suicide squad #suicide squad #dc #dc x reader #angst #hurt & comfort #hurt and comfort #language tw #mentions of sex tw #humiliation tw #heartbreak tw

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Chasing Shadows (6)

AO3 -> first, last, next

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS  IS A CROSSOVER.  As Bruce Wayne begins to slowly recover from the loss of his son, two   separate mysteries open up old wounds. Who is the unknown leaving clues   hinting at a return to Gotham, and who is the phantom pretending to be   his lost son? Is it just a coincidence they’re active in Gotham at the   same time? Or are they connected?  

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

Stephanie was not going to cry. She wasn’t. Well, maybe she would after she was out of her current predicament and away from the prying eyes of the asshole known as Batman. Seriously, why was she trying to prove her worth to the man? Wait, it’s because he was freaking Batman, that’s why.

She just wanted to set up a situation that would show him her competence and that she was just as capable as Tim, or Dick, or Cass. It was never her intention to cause a city-wide gang war that threatened to take everyone and thing with it. That’s what she got for deciding to use one of Batman’s own contingency plans. For someone who made plans for everything, he liked leaving out important details like that the so-called crime boss Matches Malone, who was super important to making this plan work, was just one of his aliases.  So now, there was a massive power vacuum in the city during to most of the organized crime losing their heads and some of the lieutenants because she enacted that plan.

Even though Batman didn’t want to see her back on the streets, she had to do something. It was her fault this happened, and she needed to do something to help get things back under control. Sure, Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl were doing their best. Catwoman and some other acquaintances were assisting too. Even Tim had been forced out of retirement and had taken up the Robin mantle again. Surprisingly, Phantom hadn’t shown himself to any of them, but they did have reports he was trying to keep the fighting away from some of the hospitals.

That didn’t matter right now. What did matter was finding Orpheus.

Orpheus was a newer vigilante in Gotham. Bruce did something to help get him trusted by the various gangs in the city, and since they couldn’t use the Matches Malone persona to get things under control, they were going to attempt to use Orpheus as a figurehead for the gangs instead. If all went well, it would stop the gang war. But, he’d gone worryingly dark, and Steph had made it her mission to find him. It was the least she could do to help fix things.

And that’s how she found her way into a trap. She managed to find Orpheus in one of his few safe houses (conveniently supplied by Bruce). For a brief moment, she thought everything would be okay as she began explaining what he needed to do. But something caught his attention, and she barely had time to respond when her world went temporarily black.

Coming to with a pounding headache, she found herself restrained on a chair with the villain known as Black Mask paced in front of her. With the exception of occasionally dealing with his organization, the False Face Society, she hadn’t personally met him before, but his appearance was unmistakable. Due to a fire he set when he first came on the scene, his face now looked like a blackened skull mask. He’d been slowly regaining power in the organized crime world of Gotham since his escape from Arkham. He was known to be ruthless with a penchant for torture which wouldn’t make her situation better.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good. I need to have a little chat with you, Girly.” He moved closer so she was forced to look at him. His putrid breath made her eyes water. “I know the Bat has some sort of plan to get this godforsaken mess under control. I was gonna ask that associate of yours, but he put up too much resistance.” His gaze moved to the side where Orpheus laid unmoving on the floor in a pool of blood. The ashy color to his skin suggested he was already dead.

This was all her fault. Not only did she set up the meeting that led to this war, now the guy they needed for being able to stop the needless bloodshed was gone.

What was she going to tell Bruce?

Why was she even thinking about that? She was currently bound to a chair by a madman and escaping intact needed to be her priority. Taking stock of her surroundings, she noticed that there was one door with light filtering underneath it. Moving shadows suggested there were people guarding the door. There was one window large enough for her to escape out of. Thankfully, it just looked closed as opposed to boarded shut. If needed, she could just break through it. Good. Now she just needed to get out of the restraints which thankfully just seemed to be rope.

Let’s see. Did he remove the hidden blade she kept in her gloves for this very reason? No? Good. Now, she just needed to grab it and cut the ropes while not cluing him into what she was doing. Easy enough.

Moving to the lone table in the room, Black Mask placed a briefcase that had been leaning against it on top of it. With a rather loud click, it popped open, and he began removing things such as a revolver, a hammer, a white mask, and what appeared to be an electric screwdriver. That one made her a little nervous.

“Nice, aren’t they?” Mask had noticed her watching him. “Just like you Bats, I like to be prepared when I ply my trade. You never know what you might need when you need to make someone talk.”

“Funny, that’s just what I was thinking.” The new mechanical voice seemed to come from the shadows.

Mask grabbed the revolver off the table and pointed it towards where he thought the voice came from. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t particularly like being interrupted. So, I’ll give you the count of five to show yourself. One… Five.” He fired and put a hole in the wall, but there was no sign he hit anyone.

“Put that down before you hurt yourself with it.” The voice warned as someone emerged from the darkness in the same place where Mask shot. His red helmet glinted dangerously in the dim light: the Red Hood.

This situation just went from bad to worse. They had some reports he’d been dispatching any gang members who dared approach Crime Alley during the war. Once the gangs got the message to avoid the area, they started getting reports of him appearing in other areas of Gotham and doing the same thing. They even suspected he may have been the sniper who assisted Bruce and Cass during the assault on Tim’s school that caused him to come out of retirement. He seemed to have strict morals regarding who he would and wouldn’t attack as he only seemed to kill people who were known killers, traffickers, or high-ranking drug dealers. If they didn’t have those crimes, he tended to just knock out or incapacitate them. He was especially lenient with kids and teens.

Hopefully, that meant that he would help her escape. But with his unknown issues with Batman being enough that he harmed Tim, she wasn’t sure if he’d help Black Mask or not.

“And just who might you be?” Mask snapped as he pointed the gun at Hood. “Oh wait, I don’t really care.”

Hood made a noise which almost sounded like a scoff as he seemed to vanish back into the shadows. Panicked, Mask fired a few more shots without hitting anything.

“Enough of that.” Mask froze as Hood wrapped his arm around his neck from behind and held an unusual blade up to his throat. Was it a kris? Steph noted that Hood’s sleeves were rolled up and didn’t seem to have those strange markings Nightwing’s video of him showed. Had that been a temporary thing? Or was there something more to it? “I’m going to give you one warning. Go after Bats all you want, but the kids are off limit.”

“And just why should I listen to a nobody like you?” Mask hissed at him. “I can have dozens of men in here in an instant to kill you.”

“Go ahead and try.” Even through the helmet, Hood seemed amused. “You’ll find that they’re currently indisposed. But even if you decide I’m bluffing, do you really want to be caught in the crosshairs?” When Mask stopped struggling, Hood snickered. “That’s what I thought. As part of our little deal…”

“What deal?”

Hood pushed the knife a little more into Mask’s throat. “You leave the kids alone, and I don’t brutally murder you. That kind of deal.” Hood’s shoulders shook as if he was silently laughing. “Anyways, maybe I should give you some info about Batman as a show of good faith. I mean, Hush seemed to appreciate some of the information I provided him.”

“You’re the informant the Riddle mentioned?” The words slipped out before she could stop herself. They had no idea how much he knew about Bruce’s operations as Batman and personal life, but it seemed to be extensive. This was bad. Just how much damage could this man simply by selling that?

Hood glanced at her. Well, at least he seemed to. God, she wished he’d take off the damn helmet.

“I almost forgot we had an audience. Dove, can you get her to safety?” he seemed to ask the air.

“Can you seriously stop calling me that?” The sound of the disembodied voice made her jump. She briefly noted the air around her seemed to chill before it felt as if she was doused in ice water. The next thing she knew she was on the ground outside with Phantom worriedly floating beside her.

…

Bruce had been in the middle of reviewing the current situation on the streets with Dick, Tim, and Cass while Barbara chimed in from the comms when Stephanie hesitantly walked into the cave. Bruises covered her face, but other than those and the exhaustion seen in her shoulders, she seemed otherwise okay. She carried a paper bag which appeared to have something substantial within it.

“Steph, what happened?” Tim questioned as he and the others went to go help her. After Dick gently took the bag from her, double checked what it was, and placed it on one of the work benches, Tim and Cass supported her as they led her to the Med Bay.

“Black Mask happened. Batman,” she directly looked at him as her voice wavered with emotion, “he killed Orpheus.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Slit throat. Mask confirmed it, and I saw the body when I came to.”

Anger and frustration momentarily filled Bruce’s mind. He needed Orpheus to be able to stop this mess, and now that he was dead, everything they could do to help salvage the situation fell to pieces. Why was she even there with him? Was she the one who led Mask to Orpheus? But at the same time, he was glad she appeared to be okay. Sure, she wasn’t his, but he did care for her, even if he didn’t think she was currently good enough to be on the streets.

“When you came to? What happened?” Dick asked her while Alfred appeared and ran a diagnostic on her to check for hidden injuries before treating her.

Her lip quivered for a moment before she explained how Black Mask tied her up in hopes of getting information out of her. That was concerning. Sionis was well known for torturing people, but she didn’t appear to be severely injured. That was explained as she revealed that Red Hood appeared from the shadows and kept him at bay while Phantom helped her escape.

“I don’t understand, why would Red Hood help you?” Dick tilted his head in confusion. His own interaction with the man had greatly troubled him.

“Hood warned Mask not to harm me or any of the other kids,” she huffed in insult at the word, “helping Batman. When I demanded answers from Phantom about why he was working with that man, he said something strange. I don’t know if it was a slip or not. He said that ‘Hood would rather die again then let another teen hero die.’”

His eldest shared a look with Tim. Odd. Bruce knew they were investigating something on their own regarding Hood, even after Tim temporarily stepped down from the Robin mantle. That look must have something to do with their research. “Phantom joked with him not to die again when I eavesdropped on their conversation,” he explained slowly. “I hate to say it, but maybe both of them did have at least a brush with death.”

“It just doesn’t make sense. He clearly had an issue with Tim, but he came to my rescue?”

“I think he has more of an issue with Bruce than me,” Tim explained while tapping his arm as Alfred gently tended to Stephanie’s wounds. “Whatever it is, it’s bad enough for him to ignore his own morals.”

“Perhaps.” Bruce wasn’t so sure of that, but at least the man helped save one of their own this time around. It also continued to surprise him that Phantom would continue to willingly work with him. There was just something about their relationship they were missing. “Did you get anything else from Hood or Phantom.”

She shook her head. “Other than Hood confirmed he was Hush’s informant, no.”

“That man has a lot of information he shouldn’t have,” Babs murmured from over the coms. “I haven’t found any evidence of tampering in our systems. Bruce, I know it’s unlikely, but with Phantom being able to pass through walls, is it possible he managed to get into the cave?”

“I have considered that,” Bruce acknowledged. “However, I haven’t received any notifications on our security regarding Phantom’s unusual heat signature or anyone appearing from a place they shouldn’t. It doesn’t rule out the possibility, but it does seem unlikely at this point.”

A quiet rustling sound interrupted them. All of them glanced over to find Cass peeking inside the bag Stephanie brought in. “Plants? From Red Hood?”

“I almost forgot about that. Phantom told me to take it.” Stephanie made a face. “It’s pretty hefty, and I briefly thought it was a severed head. Phantom seemed offended by the idea. Though I’m not sure if that’s because I thought he’d give me a severed head or that Hood would have done that.”

“We might as well take a look,” Dick suggested. “It’s not like we’re making any breakthroughs with the current situation.”

As much as he didn’t like it, his son made a point. Besides, the temporary distraction might give him the needed break to be able to look at the war with fresh eyes once he returned to it.

Moving to the table, the others crowded around as he opened the bag and placed the contents on the table. What he found was an unusual plant with single stalk and large bulb that had six vines of another plant wrapped around it. The vines appeared to be morning glory, but he wasn’t sure of what the other one was. A piece of paper was tucked in between the vines which had written in typed letters, “Looks like you’re trapped between a rock and a hard place.”

Hood’s sense of humor wasn’t appreciated.

“I haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” Dick murmured before gesturing to the plant with the bulb. “I haven’t really seen them in the US, but they’re common in parts of the Mediterranean. It’s a Sea Squirt.”

Bruce hummed for a moment. The note most likely referenced the part in “The Odyssey” where Odysseus had to sail between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, but these plants were more puzzling to him. After a few minutes of research, he found his answer.

Morning Glories were also sometimes referred to as a Messina Creeper, and the Strait of Messina has been put forth as the historical location of where the monsters lived due to a known whirlpool in the area. Hood must have decided its vines would nicely reference Scylla especially because the plant was also sometimes considered a symbol of life, death, and mortality.

The other plant, the Sea Squirt, almost made him chuckle. One of its many names was Charybdis Maritima which explained why he would have chosen it. But Bruce was surprised to find that the plant was sometimes used as a ward for evil spirits.

There was one other surprise waiting for them. When Bruce gently lifted the plants to double check if Hood might have made a mistake and left some sort of trace clue on it, he found another piece of paper gently tucked into the vines of the Morning Glory. Unfurling it, he found it was a note addressed to his alter ego of Matches Malone:

 “Malone, will tell Mask Orpheus was your lynch pin. Will try to convince him to impersonate Orpheus and rally the gangs. Use it to end this. Too many innocents involved.”

Was it just a coincidence? Or did Hood know what Bruce’s plans were supposed to be? There was a good chance the latter was true. However, there was also a chance he was lying to Mask to gain a bit of rapport with him for the moment. Bruce was going to have to not only up the security on his systems, but also review all security for any signs they might have missed.

“Stephanie, are you absolutely certain Orpheus was killed?” he turned to see the teen nervously standing behind Cass. When she nodded, he ran a hand over his face. “For now, keep an ear out for any reports of him. If Hood’s note is truthful, there’s a chance we can use that to turn this around.”

“Wait, you’re not going to just believe this guy?”

Bruce understood Barbara’s outrage. This man had been playing with them for months and had a growing body count. However, between the amicable relationship between the helpful Phantom and his almost desperate attempts to keep Crime Alley safe from more destructive crime, it wasn’t a stretch to think he did indeed want the war to end as quickly as possible.

“But if he’s being honest, this might give us the edge we need.” Dick seemed to choose his words carefully.

“Agreed. For now, we will work under the assumption things will continue the way they currently are. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything we might be able to use to get things under control,” Bruce instructed as he watched his kids and Stephanie interact. He’d been lucky today. As much as he hated to admit it, he owed Red Hood for keeping Stephanie safe.

…

It turned out, Red Hood had seemingly held up his promise. Someone posing as a very convincing Orpheus approached Bruce in the following days. However, thanks to Stephanie’s information, he knew to be vigilant for any signs it could be an imposter, and there were a couple very slight but telling slips. This was exactly what they needed to finally finish the war that ravaged Gotham.

After telling the imposter he was planning on getting what was let of the gangs into Robinson Park and place Orpheus at the led, he left the man and contacted the GCPD to start herding the groups in that direction. Even knowing that Black Mask was setting up a trap, the situation was still risky. He would need an extraction, so everyone would be on standby to make sure things went smoothly.

At the appointed time, he met up with the imposter. Through the coms, he knew everyone, including the GCPD, were in place to end this. Before there was a chance for him to get surrounded, Bruce sprung the trap and revealed it truly was Black Mask under the guise. As predicted, he tried to get the gangs to rally and attack him, but Dick did his part and managed to race in on one of his cycles and extract him before the GCPD started pelting the gangs with rubber bullets.

He had hoped that the GCPD would just stick to the rubber bullets, but at the urging of one of the captains, some switched to real ones, killing several of the criminals. It hurt. This was done specifically to try to end the bloodshed, but he should have known better. However, some of the better funded gangs started fighting back and managed to break through the police blockade. He knew that would happen and instructed the others, including Selena, who had offered to help, to take a couple of the different neighborhoods and capture the ones the police could not.

For the first time in days, Bruce believed there was hope on the horizon. At the same time, he couldn’t help feel as if this war wouldn’t end without at least one more damaging blow.

=====================

Notes:

Trying to work with the War Games arc in the comics is a pain. And I actually didn't know this until I was doing research, but Black Mask is a master of disguise. I mean... his family did own a cosmetic company... which he burned down. He had a habit of doing that.

With that out of the way, here's the Odyssey clue for stop 10: Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla is a monster with 6 heads who was once a beautiful woman - transformed by a jealous Circe into a monster. She lives in the rocks overlooking where Charybdis lived, chained to the bottom of the sea sucking in water and everything else while awake creating a massive whirlpool. This area, believed to be the Strait of Messina, is lined with rocky cliffs and to pass through the area either you lost everything if you strayed too near to Charybdis or lost 6 men to Scylla.

Why didn't they just go around? Well, the other way was to go through the Clashing Rocks (Symplegades) and Wandering/Roving Rocks (Planctae) which had only ever been passed successfully through once, and that was by Jason and the Argonauts, and their ship, the Argo, was still damaged in the process.

Anyways... this section of the Odyssey is believed to be a possible origin for the phrase "between a rock and a hard place." There is debate that this might have actually originated with a mine dispute in the southwestern USA, but semantics.

For the plants, firstly, the morning glory is sometimes also called the Messina Creeper. And, as we know, since it's a vine, it can have multiple arms which I'm using to represent the heads of Scylla here. Also, the plant can represent life, death, mortality, and love in vain which continues the life/death/undeath trend with the plants I've chosen.

The sea squill is a fun plant with a huge freaking bulb. It has a few scientific names, including Charybdis Maritima. How could I not use it? They do grow in Greece and interestingly, it's been used as a ward for evil spirits as well as a rat poison

#Chasing Shadows #Danny Phantom #DP #DPxDC #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #DP crossover #DP au #Odyssey AU #danny phantom crossover

[thecrystalquill]

Lux - Part Two

Peter Parker x Santana!Reader - Diablo’s daughter

Marvel/DC crossover

A/N: hope you’re excited to read part 2! Let me know your thoughts.

A bit of angst but it’s fine. Also reminder that reader is (at least) half Latina(x) - bc of her dad, duh. No physical details but she knows Spanish. (References to her Latin heritage throughout are influenced by my own)

Masterlist       Series Masterlist

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

Part Two ~ Cafe Con Leche and Chocolate Chip Cookies

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

          The soft tunes of her alarm woke (Y/N) slowly, coaxing her out of sleep. The hum of early morning traffic was the next thing she heard, car horns and road rage, just like every other city guaranteed.

          Tapping her alarm off, (Y/N) laid in bed a little longer, letting her eyes adjust as she mentally prepared herself for the day ahead. Today was March 7th, a difficult day for their small family.

          As quietly as she could, (Y/N) for herself ready for school, trying her hardest not to wake her father; he could do with the sleep in. She dressed herself in something dark and comfortable - jeans, cheap converse, and a black sweater. No colours today.

          It was 7am when she made her way to the kitchen, preparing a decent breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast for the two of them. Hopefully the smell would wake him in a better mood.

          It was a slow start, the radio played at half-volume, noting the weather and traffic for the morning before it began some cozy morning music. “Morning, Mija.”

          “Morning, Dad.” She greeted with a smile, he smiled back, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. She passed him his cafe con leche, which he gratefully accepted, and slid over his plate.

          Neither of them spoke as they ate, sitting in contemplative silence at the dining table in the kitchen. She wouldn’t ask him how he was feeling, what would be the point? She already knew the answer.

          “How’d you sleep?” She asked instead, taking a sip of her coffee

          Chato sighed, leaning to his side to affectionately pat her shoulder. “Okay,” he replied, but neither believed it. “You?”

          “Okay,” she repeated, giving him another sad smile. “You sure you don’t want me to stay home today? I really don’t mind, saves me having to listen to Mr Hall’s daily speeches about whatever’s got him mad today.”

          He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m gonna go to work for a few hours.” She gave him a look, but he gave her the best reassuring smile he could manage. “I’ll be fine. Promise.”

          It was quiet again for a while, both lost in thought, neither wanting to leave. Until (Y/N)’s alarm bleeped - 7.45, time to head to school. She sighed, before standing and collecting her things and throwing on her jacket. “I’ll see you there when I get back, yeah?”

          “Yeah,” her dad nodded, standing to receive her hug. They stayed like that for a minute or two, then he kissed her head as they parted. “Stay safe.”

          “You too,” she said, collecting her keys and heading out the door.

          “Hey, loser, I got you something.”

          (Y/N) looked up from the plate she was poking at with a plastic fork to be met with an ice cream container. “Ice cream?”

          “No,” MJ rolled her eyes as she sat next to her, opening up the tub as if it hid stolen valuables. “Cookies, had some left over last night,” she explained, taking a dramatic whiff and placing the tub between them, lead by a chef’s kiss, “perfection.”

          (Y/N) laughed at her friend’s antics, pushing her half-eaten tray of less-than-satisfying cafeteria food aside and accepting a cookie. “You’re the best.”

          “I know.” She admitted, pulling out her latest read and opening it on the table, giving half of her attention to her friend - which was more than usual, when there was a book in front of her.

          “So,” (Y/N) started as she bit into the double chocolate cookie, “done any more sketches lately?”

          Michelle shrugged. “A couple. Saw a cool pigeon yesterday, did a little watercolour on that.”

          “Cool.”

          Another comfortable silence as they snacked; MJ often said it was one of the best parts about their friendship, that they didn’t need to fill the silence with meaningless small talk; that I’d they had nothing much to say, they simply didn’t. “How you doing?”

          “I’m okay,” (Y/N) replied, playing with the zip on her hoodie. “My dad’s gone into work today, so I’m meeting him there. Hopefully it’ll keep his mind off things—”

          “I was literally only three marks off an A! That’s so unfair.” They heard from beside them, turning to see Ned and Peter sitting a few feet down the table, talking loudly. “I mean, sure, a B plus isn’t bad but still—”

          “Hey, losers,” growled MJ over (Y/N)’s shoulder, keep it down a little, hm?”

          (Y/N) didn’t think it was a big deal, but she knew how protective Michelle could get over her friends (it’s not like she had many). “What was the B for?“ she asked to ease the tension (it was no secret that MJ enjoyed the fear in their eyes under her glare).

          Peter cleared his throat and pulled on the collar of his sweater a little. “Um, Spanish test. I usually do pretty good but, uh… we just learned a bunch of new tenses and… well I-I didn’t have a lot of time to study, so…” He drifted off, taking a bite of his sandwich.

          “I could help you, if you want.” She offered. Oh crap- why did I say that? Now I’ll have to make plans to tutor this stupidly attractive dork - in a Latin language or all things.

          Peter raised his eyebrows. “You would?”

          Shit. “Well… I mean, if you think it’d hell, I mean—”

          “Wait, you don’t even take Spanish.” Ned interrupted, his face scrunched in confusion.

          The three of them stared at him, each giving him their own expression conveying a message somewhere along the lines of ‘are you fucking for real right now?’.

          It took him a minute. “Oh… right. Sorry.”

          “Anyway…” Peter started, sparing Ned the embarrassment, “er, that’d be a big help. I- If you can, though, it’s fine if not. I mean, like, you don’t have to but I… I’d appreciate some help…”

          “You could come over tonight!” Med beamed, barely sparing Peter a glance. “We’re having a movie night, d’you like Star Wars? We’re watching the prequels.”

          (Y/N) wished she could agree - it’s hard to say no to that much excitement. “I… uh… no I can’t tonight. I have plans with my dad. It… it’s my brother and sister’s birthday…” Saved by the bell. She collected her bag as people started to make their way out of the cafeteria.

          “Oh cool,” Ned called as she started to leave, “have fun!”

          “Dude, what’re you doing? Y’can’t just invite her over- she probably doesn’t even like Star Wars!” Peter cursed as they got up.

          “What? It’s called being a wingman. You’re welcome.” He grinned. “And anyway, she’s got plans, so it doesn’t matter—”

          “No, morons.” MJ groaned, punching Ned’s arm, ignoring his protest. “Read the room once in a while, will you?”

          “What are you taking about?” Asked Peter concernedly.

          Michelle sighed, grabbing her bag. “Her siblings are dead.”

Taglist:

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• @j-s-l-m

• @emily2003alzaga

• @slytherinroyalty16

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#peter parker x metahuman!reader #peter parker x mutant!reader #peter parker x dc!reader #peter parker x reader #peter parker #chato santana x daughter!reader #chato santana x reader #diablo x daughter!reader #el diablo x reader #marvel x reader #marvel/dc crossover

[fadeouttowhispers]

hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near

A/N: see the ‘disclaimers’ in the first one. Same thing applies: unbetaed, imperfect, probably not their final-final form. Rewatching the show has meant getting lots of ideas, and I was able to write this one rather quickly. Let's chalk it up to being sick when I wrote it. It's a bit different from the others (and not just because it's over 500), but not less ridiculous. I think it's obvious but this is set between Arctic Radar and Holy Night, in S4. Enjoy ♥️

Christmastime was probably the best time of the year to be at the White House – it was joyful, with its colorful lights and lovely live music, and this year, after an overwhelming victory at the polls, the jubilation in every staffer’s face was palpable. Unfortunately, Katie knew this feeling wouldn’t last for very long... Which is why the words in the email sent by her former mentor sitting in her inbox didn’t really surprise her. In fact, the kept promise made her smile.

“Hey, Mark,” she called for the colleague sitting behind her, poking him on the shoulder playfully. When the redhead turned around, he followed her finger to the screen. Katie’s eyes begged him to keep it quiet as she whispered, “Danny’s coming back soon.”

“For good?” Mark sounded as surprised as she has been, but the email answered it all. “Oh, okay, just for a couple of days. So… For now.”

As the email read, the erstwhile senior correspondent was coming back for the holidays, making a brief pit stop in DC to say hello to his friends, and to make sure his apartment was still standing, before flying out to his family’s home in Michigan for the remainder of the holidays. But first, he was heading to Bermuda for a short vacation. “No doubt to drink some rum,” Katie quipped. “He could’ve left that part out, so we didn’t have to feel jealous.”

“Maybe he wants to get lost there, after spending so much time traveling around the other side of the Atlantic,” Mark joked back. “Maybe this is the proof of life we need in case he’s not back here on December twenty… something.”

“There’s also this…”

Katie realized she needed a bit more cloak and dagger, as C.J. had entered the room to get Steve about a quote from earlier, and they were now standing by the doorway. Her mouse highlighted a passage – the one with the special request.

I’m pretty sure my press credentials are still valid, but I’ll ask around to make sure. I say this because I’d love to drop by as a surprise just before everyone leaves for the break. Is there any way you could keep my return quiet? I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but I’d love to see everyone again.

“Can we do this?”

Mark considered for a second, pondering the possibilities. Keeping it quiet should be relatively easy, especially if only the two of them knew about it. “You know what? He would make a pretty fun Press Santa.”

“You just want to get out of it,” Katie pointed out, biting back a smile. “You know C.J. will make a crack about Canada not having the same simple traditions as the US. Again.”

"Or how redheads are interchangeable," Mark smiled affably. “Think about it. Unless somebody else finds out and tattles, C.J. would have no idea who’s under the costume. He’s already cleared, so there shouldn’t be a problem there. And… You know she’s the person he wants to see the most.”

“She would be thrilled, too. So excited, actually. They’ve always had this…”

“Indescribable thing?” he completed.

“Yeah. She was happy to see Sawyer on his pit stop after Myanmar, but this…” Katie just raised her eyebrows, wordlessly conveying what she couldn’t say out loud. “It’ll be better.”

Mark nodded in agreement, looking discreetly at the Press Secretary. “I heard the other day that she brought our wayward friend up to Mitch… So I think his return would be a good present on its own.”

“You’re not wrong,” Katie said diplomatically, as she watched C.J. leave the Press Room. She had a front-row seat to their dynamic for months and knew better than to bet against Danny. “Let me find out about his travel plans, make sure he’ll be here that day. I’m sure he’ll be game with whatever we throw at him. We can discuss specifics as we get closer, but I think the Santa idea might do. We’ll get some laughs out of this Christmas miracle.”

#the west wing #fanfiction #~ficlets #mark o'donnell #katie witt #cj x danny #creggcannon

[roobylavender]

I feel like just the way comics have progressed over the years that I’m officially okay with saying never getting dick and kory back together in the same way that I don’t want Talia and Bruce to be together. Like I love them dearly and I think their love is weird and you really have to look at the way they loved each other to really understand them as people, but to me it’s special that the love was there and now they have to live that decision once it was broken off. Thought I still greatly want Mar’i Grayson to exist and like in my mind Dick and Kory have like another night where the comfort each other with the intention that they won’t get back together in that way and then Kory has her and her solo is about navigating both motherhood and what she wants out of life and finding a new place to lay roots and coming to grips with how her child would navigate earth life and I think it would come full circle too with like Dick’s plans and surprising him and putting a dent in his plans like she always has. Dick wouldn’t be the kind to want a child if he wasn’t married (if he would want a child at all) and like it would be reminiscent of the time he talked to Roy about maybe wanting children with Kory. Like I want to see new discovery with Kory and this is one small part of many discoveries I feel she could have. But also I love when Dick’s plans don’t go to plan, like that’s my favorite kind of Dick. Maybe that’s why I find so much do his recent stuff so forgettable and bland. He doesn’t learn or push himself towards anything or reflects on anything about himself. He’s just there.

And to add to that like knowing that Kory tried to make a new Tamaran and she was pregnant with and her husband died and she lost that world too. Like the natural progression from that arc would have/could have been this. Like if DC really wanted to play into that everything matters then wouldn’t Kory have had some memory of these things? I don’t know I just love the idea her finding herself and being loved without restrictions by her own child.

sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for SO long but i really couldn't agree more! mar'i strikes me as a unique narrative entity really capable of challening kory and dick both in distinct ways while nonetheless allowing them to cooperate and heal whatever rifts there are between them without necessarily needing to dive into a relationship all over again. i think that's something really lacking with a lot of modern dc relationships if anything there's so much focus on drama that writers don't even want to entertain genuine relationship development whether it's platonic or romantic. that's what made waid's flash run so good (despite my issues with linda's diminished agency) in comparison imo. the heroing was impt but so was developing those interpersonal relationship skills towards some tangible end rather than allowing for this cyclical non-growth that eventually dulled out the characters (which is what the writers after him did)

#outbox