#i feel like a few more things would need to be established before the Joker's inevitable end

[starry-bi-sky]

Childhood Friends Au: Jason

there's something burning in the empty room inside my head fill it up with doubt let it in, let it spread

When Jason gets Tim's text in the groupchat, he ignores it. And then a short series of buzzes distract him from a drug bust. It hasn't even been that long since he reconciled with the family, with Bruce. He thinks that perhaps he should have left it sooner.

He glances at it momentarily when the buzzing stops and he doesn't need to knock out more guys. He sees Tim's question dedicated towards him, and his response is instant, his thumbs flying over in response.

He doesn't care, he's trying to patrol.

(He does not have Danny's number in this phone, it's new. A model from this year rather than one from four years ago. He wants that old phone back. He hasn't even looked at their old letters yet.)

(Jason bets that they've been packed away in storage with the rest of his things. He doesn't want to visit the manor, but maybe he should. Just to find those letters again. He's not sure if he's allowed to.)

And then Tim says its Danny, and Jason flies up to the past texts to find the photo before he can think. And then there is Danny staring right at him again, with the same old smile on his face that he always aimed at people. Lopsided, Danny's favorite kind of smile.

Something old, something new. He's got piercings, and his eyes are as blue as they've ever been. He has an undercut, it looks self-done. It looks good. He looks tired.

Danny's good at hiding things from people, it comes with the purchase of being a street kid. But Jason can't have someone else's back without knowing the ins and outs of the person in question. Jason knows when Danny is tired, and Danny knows when he is too.

Before his death, whenever Danny came over he never missed a beat in telling Jason that he looked like shit. Were Bruce's fancy rich-people, cloud-made mattresses too soft for him? He can find him a moth-eaten street mat for him if he needs it. It'd be like the good old days.

(Jason wishes he could have told him he was Robin, but it wouldn't be safe.)

Jason had to see him with his own eyes, had to confirm with his own eyes just how much Danny had changed. It's just his luck -- if he has any left -- that he arrives to Bruce's dumb gala just as Danny steps out onto their once-shared, west-end balcony.

He drops down, something heavy in his throat, before he can properly think it through. Danny looks up before his feet even touch the ground, like he knew he was there. Jason wonders if he did. There is a cigarette in Danny's mouth. Something old. And something flashes in his eyes that Jason cannot place. Danny looks tense.

Jason feels like he's made a mistake.

In the end, watching Danny walk away feels a lot like Jason is losing something -- or is he missing something? Is it both? He wants to reach out, grab Danny's arm, but his feet are glued to the balcony floor. There are so many things he wants to say, but his tongue has glued itself to the roof of his mouth. Something has crawled into his mouth and died.

So much has been said with so little words. He wants to spin Danny around and ask him so many questions.

What do you mean you spoke to my ghost?

What do you mean I told you the Joker killed me?

What else have I told you?

The Fentons were right?

What happened while I was gone?

Why are you scarred? Where did those come from?

(He is not blind. He saw those silver lightning scars etched into his best friend's skin, saw that it disappeared under his sleeves. Danny did not have those the last time Jason saw him, the last time he was alive.)

(The sight of it makes him alight with murderous intent. He wants to take his best friend by the front of his shirt and shake him -- who did this to you? Who did it? Tell him, he will fix it.)

(But he can't. He doesn't. Doing that means revealing who he is. It means telling his best friend that he has been alive for the last five years and he did not tell him. It would mean telling his best friend that he did not want him to know.)

You're going to kill the Joker for me?

What have I missed?

What do I not know?

You look so tired.

But before he can even get his mouth to move, Danny is gone back inside. The door swinging open, music once muffled now blaring out for only a few seconds before Danny is slipped back inside.

And Jason is left on the balcony, alone, with more questions than he thought he would have. He stares at the broken cigarette on the ground, it feels like a metaphor for something. Jason can't figure out for his second life what it is.

Maybe it's not a metaphor at all, maybe the curtains are sometimes just blue. Maybe sometimes your best friend just tells a vigilante that he is going to murder someone; that he is going to avenge his best friend with his bare hands and feel no remorse for it.

It is what Jason wants Bruce to do, wants someone who loves him to do. But he's not sure if its something he wants Danny to do. Not when he has been living a normal life -- or as normal as it could be -- without hide nor tail knowledge of what Jason used to do, or what he does now.

What have I missed?

Danny. He's missed Danny. He didn't look into Amity Park out of fear of what he'll find; of what he might do. But now Jason thinks he might have to.

Danny has talked to his ghost. Danny is going to kill for him. He has that look in his eyes that Jason knows so familiar; the one where he needs Jason to play distractor while he stole something from the corner store. The one where he looks a kid five years his senior in the eyes and kicks him in the dick because he cornered him and Jason, itching for a fight.

There's a look so familiar in his eyes; the one of a boy that's set his mind to something and he is going to do it. He can't call it the eyes of a cornered animal, because Danny has never been cornered, not when he's been with Jason. He calls it the eyes of a boy about to do something he will never regret.

He watches him leave with the Vlad Masters guy. He hides atop the roof and eavesdrops. The paparazzi have since left now that it was much later in the night; they are not the bigger fish, even if they sometimes parade it to be.

"I thought I told you to make nice." Vlad Masters scowls as he walks to the other side of the sleek black limousine. "To not embarrass me."

Jason frowns at the way he talks. His fingers itch, and something old lurches in his chest: the same old protectiveness that he used to feel whenever he and Danny were about to get into a fight. And then, later, when they would stand inside Bruce's galas with people who couldn't care less if they breathed or died.

Danny scowls right back at him, all venom and bite, and leans against the side of the car. "I did make nice -- as nice as I could when you dragged me here."

Vlad Master rolls his eyes, huffing. Jason's frown only deepens. It's not easy to make Danny do anything he doesn't want to. His sister has tried, so have his parents, as well as his teachers. But Danny is wild and so is Jason. Rebellion and disobedience -- no, independence -- cut into them from the streets like its broken glass.

Jason doesn't remember Danny ever mentioning knowing a Vlad Masters. They must have met after Jason died, then. He doesn't like him. He's the same as all the other socialites in that party. There is a greed in his eyes that Jason knows rots down to the core of him.

"I thought you would enjoy being here, little badger." Masters tries, and his tone makes Jason ruffle. As does the nickname. Danny's scowl only ever deepens, his fingers curling to dig nails into his palms. He looks at Masters like he wants him to burst into flames. "You are friends of the Waynes, I thought you would like the little reunion."

"Whether I did or didn't is none of your business." Danny says. The door clicks open on Masters' side, as if they remembered that they were on the street rather than in the car. Masters climbs into the back, and Danny opens the door. He only reaches in though, and pulls out a old hoodie.

Danny pulls it over his head, and his vest and button-down are hidden underneath it. "Don't wait up you old fruitloop, there's someone here I need to see." And he slams the door shut with more force than necessary.

(Jason makes a mental note to look into Vlad Masters. Who is he to Danny. How did they meet? There is an old animosity between each other that Jason has never seen before. Not even when they were on the streets. Not to this extent.)

Jason's heart seizes up. Danny's reminder early surges to the front of his mind. Right. That's right. He's going to go see him. Jason. He is going to lay flowers on his grave. He remembers that Jason likes zinnias. There are no florists open this late at night, Jason thinks.

He follows Danny from the rooftops. Danny sticks close to the buildings, slipping in and out of shadows. Jason wants to know where he learned how to do that. Where did he learn how to move without a sound?

Five years is a long time to be away from someone, Jason thinks. Something that fills him with dread. Five years is a long, long time. He's afraid that it's been too long. Will he still know Danny like he used to, if he asks? And if he doesn't?

More, more, more. More questions than answers. More things that Jason doesn't know about someone he used know to like the back of his hand. It scares him, and he hates it.

(There is scarring on Danny's hand that Jason has never seen before. Maybe that's the metaphor he was missing before. Maybe there are still more.)

Danny moves like a ghost down Gotham's streets, his hands shoved into his pockets without a care in the world. It is confusing. It is concerning. It is proof that more things have changed than Jason likes.

Danny somehow finds a florist open at this time of night, and buys a bouquet. And like he told the Red Hood, he buys zinnias. Reds and yellows. For a moment, Jason thinks that Danny knows. He wonders if he does.

What would he have told him, if he was a ghost? He told him that the Joker killed him. Maybe that means he told Danny he was Robin too, like he always wanted to. But couldn't, because it wasn't safe, and it wasn't just his secret to tell?

Why has nothing changed, now that he was alive again?

"Did you know," Danny starts, when he sits down at Jason's grave with flowers slipping gently from his fingers, before the tombstone below. Jason is as close as he can without being seen, hiding like a ghost. "That red zinnias mean stead beating of a heart?" He smiles sardonically, "You picked quite the flower, Jay."

(There is an echoing in his ears, Danny's voice faint in the back of his mind. Ghosts can hear you when you speak to their grave, did you know? Jason can hear him better than he should.)

Jason knows the irony. Perhaps it's got double the meaning now, now that he's alive again. Danny doesn't know that though, sitting before his grave with flowers that symbolize a beating heart. Between the two of them, Jason thinks that the only heart here is Danny.

(Between the two of them, the only heart here is one that's made between the two of them.)

"Yellow zinnias," Danny continues, resting his chin in his hand, "mean daily remembrance." His smile tilts on the axis of his mouth, a wrinkle between his brows. He looks pained. Hurt. There is no comment made. Like it doesn't need to be said.

Jason thinks he can hear it anyways, and his heart twists like someone took it and twisted it like a rag, trying to drain the dirty water out of the cloth. He hurts.

I miss you. Is what he hears. Is what Danny doesn't say. Is what Jason knows he's thinking anyways.

I am right here. Is what Jason wants to say, but doesn't. He is right here. But his feet are grave-bound to the floor, and a part of him feels like he's clawing out his own grave again. But the dirt falling is endless and merciless. He can't get free.

He bites his tongue, a lump in his throat. Shame wells in his heart and Jason wants to shrink away from this. His feet are grave-bound to the floor.

"I'm sorry for not visiting sooner." Danny says, hand dropping out of his chin to pick at the ends of his sleeves. His smile fades into a frown. His voice wobbles. "I'm sorry, I don't have an excuse. I should have."

Please don't be. Jason thinks. He doesn't think he can be upset about it, not when Danny is laying yellow flowers on his grave that mean remembrance. i think of you daily. Not when Danny was going to kill the Joker for him.

Jason still doesn't know what to think of that. He still isn't sure if it's real or not.

"I went to one of Bruce's galas today." Danny says, and Jason knows. He saw him there. Danny smiles weakly. "I know, right? First time in five years. Vlad dragged me along, you remember him right?"

No, I don't. Jason thinks, and he feels a flutter of anxiety. A sense of impending doom. A choking dread. What else have I missed? He thinks again. Why doesn't he remember? Danny told him about Vlad, but it can only be from when he was a ghost. How long was he a ghost before he was revived? How often did he and Danny speak?

Jason doesn't like not knowing things, he doesn't like not knowing things about himself.

It would be so easy, a little voice whispers, to reveal himself now. To step forward and take his helmet off. To tell Danny that he was alive. To demand answers that only Danny could know.

But then what? When Danny inevitably asks his own questions? About how long Jason's been alive? Why he was dressed the way he was? Why he didn't say anything earlier, on the balcony?

(But he did say it earlier, when he offered Danny the cigarette and silently asked him for his thoughts.)

Jason is afraid of what Danny might think of him, if he tells him what he's done. About the blood on his hands and the bridges he's burned. What if telling him is just more gasoline on another bridge, with Danny holding the match? He stays silent. Fear is a powerful motivator. It's a powerful deterrent, too.

"The asshole blackmailed me into coming." Danny says, drawing his knees up to his chest. He looks disinterested. Annoyed, actually. Like what he is saying isn't sending alarm bells through Jason's mind. Like what he's saying doesn't concern him. "It's really dumb, actually."

He sighs, long and tired. There is grief etched into every line and pore in his face. "I could have handled it without even needing to come to the gala, I've done it before." He mutters when his eyes open. His fingers brush against the petals of the bouquet.

(And that only sends more alarm bells ringing in Jason's mind. Red lights blaring. Distress fills the cavity of his lungs. What has he missed?)

"I only agreed because I missed you," Danny says, "and Bruce. He invited me to come over sometime soon, to catch up. I agreed and I'm not sure why I did."

Jason didn't know that.

Danny continues talking. Jason listens in dutifully. He feels like a stranger imposing on his own grave. It's ridiculous. It makes sense. He feels like he should slink away and let Danny talk to his grave in peace. He cannot bring himself to move.

If he closes his eyes, he can pretend that he's sitting in front of him, like it's the good old days and they're back in Jason's room in the manor. Staying up late and trading stories back and forth. Sneaking out to the balcony and climbing onto rooftops they’re not supposed to go on. 

Jazz is getting her psychology degree. Him and Sam had a big fight a few years ago, but they’re better now. Tucker wants to start his own tech business. 

And on and on Danny goes, rambling about every little thing he can think of in the last five years since they last talked. He jumps back and forth between topics, when he remembers something he cuts to it. And then jumps back off to the next thought passing through his mind.

"I don't know what I want to do." Danny says, finally, after he exhausts every other topic to talk about. "I wanted to be an astronaut, but now I'm not so sure." His knees draw up to his chin, and he looks so sad. He looks nineteen. Small despite his size.

Were they really just nineteen, verging on twenty? Jason feels older among his years. Fourteen feels so far away.

Danny breathes in slowly, it's a sound that trembles. From where he stands, Jason sees Danny's eyes film over with tears. He makes a choked out sound that sounds like a terrible mix of a laugh and a sob.

"Where did you go?" He whispers. He tries to smile, and it is this pained, awful thing that drops within a second. Fingers clutch at his legs, diggings wrinkles into the fabric. "I know you're still here. Where did you go?"

There is no answer. Guilt is an animal with claws, and it burrows into Jason's heart to make itself home between the tendons. Tears slide from Danny's eyes down his cheeks. He still cries for him, five years later. Five years after. Jason feels worse.

"I haven't stopped looking for you." Danny continues, his voice cracks, and the words run over Jason's ears like water sliding off a duck's back. He doesn't hear it at first -- no, he doesn't understand it at first. And then when he does, he plunges his hands into the waters of his mind to drudge it back up.

You're looking for me? Do you know I'm alive?

It's another question to Jason's never-ending list.

"You might as well tell me where you are now." He smiles again; tries to. It wobbles, lips pulling back to show teeth as more tears spill over and carve red marks down Danny's face. "Or I'll find Cujo and sick him on you. He's gettin' real good at tracking things you know."

Jason doesn't know who Cujo is. But it sounds like a dog. He knows Danny's always wanted one, but their apartments would never allow it. It's not like his parents could afford one either.

There is a silence that hangs over them, with only the sound of the city around them. Danny seems to tremble more and more as each second passes, until finally a bubble pops. His smile drops, and so do his knees that were pressed into his chest.

He doesn't say a thing, not with words anyways. He hunches over and hugs himself with nails that dig into his elbows, failing to stifle a years' old grief. Jason wants to flee, lest he breaks his word to himself and steps out to console and dry Danny's falling tears. It feels like a betrayal unto himself to only stand there and watch him drown in his grief.

Guilt is a thing with claws, and Jason leaves the cemetery with hatred eating his tongue. Danny deserves the privacy that a ghost cannot give him. Jason may no longer be a ghost, but he is still the next best thing. either way I'm left holding onto the shovel and rope digging in the dirt finding bones, finding ghosts

#dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dpxdc crossover #childhood friends au #dead on main #really thought long and hard about whether or not danny should kill the joker in this update #but that feels too soon #i feel like a few more things would need to be established before the Joker's inevitable end #so this is not half as long as the first part but this also only addresses the immediate aftermath of Red Hood's meeting with Danny #rather than spanning over multiple years building up Jason and Danny's relationship and jason's death and danny's return to gotham #word count: 3k #i'm a little disappointed i wanted to get to 9k like before but i think Jason's pov deserves a little more attention on its own #im still unsure of whether or not i should have added more or not

[into-crazy]

nights like this

Ledger!Joker x Reader drabble

Summary: You climb into bed with J for some snuggles.

Warnings- none, J style fluff, ages 18+

I was in the mood for this, so I wrote it. Who doesn't love a little soft J every once in a while, right?

It had been an extremely exhausting past couple of weeks for Joker. He came very close to being captured by the Batman, and he'd done everything in his power to make sure that didn't happen. So when he was certain that he was finally in the clear, he came straight home to you.

J has been asleep for hours since he's been back. He was extremely exhausted and went straight to bed after he ate. It's currently half an hour until midnight, and he'd arrived earlier in the afternoon. So he's been out for some time. You gave him time to recover, seeing how this is the first time he's properly eaten and slept in days. However strong and incredibly stubborn as the man is, his mind and his body can only take on so much before he needs a break.

You always take care of him when he comes back. Such as checking his body for injuries, making sure he gets cleaned up, preparing him something to eat, and anything else that he needed. Now of course, J never made you do these things. You do them because you want to. Because you care about him. He accepts the things you do for him, and he doesn't take advantage of your caring nature. Not that you would allow him to, which is one of the many traits he likes about you.

While J slept, you'd tidied up around the place and used a good amount of your time to relax. Doing what you would normally like to do when you have the chance. It was relaxing, and you felt much better knowing that J was home. But eventually, you began to miss him. Even though he was right in the other room, you couldn't help but start to feel lonely. After all, it had been a few weeks since you've had any form of intimacy together. And you wanted to make up for that. Taking into account that he's still sleeping, you decide to just get into bed and cuddle up next to him.

The bedroom is dark as you walk in. Your eyes gradually adjust to the darkness while you tiptoe your way over to the bed. You find J widely sprawled out on his back under the covers. His soft snores indicate that he's probably in a deep state of sleep.

It had taken a long time for J to get comfortable and trusting enough to fall into a deep sleep around you. In fact, you can still recall the very first time that he did. Treasuring that moment forever in your heart, as it officially established his complete trust in you. So now when he goes to sleep he relies on you to watch over him. That is the only case in which he'll be able to get a good amount of rest. He's made it very clear that when one of you is asleep, the other is awake. Under no circumstances will he go to sleep at the same time as you. Because then no one would watch over either of you, and that would put you both in a vulnerable position.

Regardless, you have no intention on going to sleep. You only want to lay next to him, to be close and feel his warm presence. However, as a precaution, you set an alarm for thirty minutes from now on your smartphone. Just in case you happen to doze off.

You slip off your bottoms and toss them to the side. Left in your shirt and panties, you move carefully under the covers. Trying not to wake J in the process. You slide yourself in the area directly under his arm, getting as close to him as you possibly can. Luckily, your movements don't seem to disturb him one bit. He must really be out cold. Since you've made it this far, you use this opportunity to wrap your arm around his torso. That way, you can hold on to him.

After making yourself comfortable, you let out a sigh of relief. Finally. It was an effort well worth it.

You look up at J's face and simply stare at him. He had taken a shower recently, so his face is without his signature makeup. His scars are even more visible when he doesn't have all that paint covering them. You can't help but find them to be even more beautiful every time you see them. His body is warm, and he smells so good. Even after using your cleansing products does he still retain his own distinct scent somehow. You hope it'll always stay that way. Moving your hand to his chest, you can feel it steadily rising and falling with every breath he takes. You close your eyes and bask in his peaceful embrace. With every passing second, your chest swells with enormous amounts of love and adoration that you have for him.

J has never told you he loves you. But you'd like to think that somewhere inside of him he feels something close to love. And that's good enough for you.

You press your nose into him in attempt to feel him even closer. Holding him tighter and wishing your body could melt into his own. Your movements seemed to have roused him from his deep slumber. Shifting and stretching his limbs as he awakens.

He opens his eyes, blinking a few times before looking around and then down at you. "Mm, hello there."

"Hi J." You smile up at him.

"How long have I been out?" He yawns deeply at the end of his question. His voice deep and husky from sleep.

You trace your finger along his chest. "A few hours. Seven or eight, maybe. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to climb in bed with you."

"Missed me that much, huh?" J laughs. He doesn't mind that you're here with him. In fact, he likes feeling you pressed against him like this. It's been a while since he's felt you too, after all. He nudges you playfully, "don't go falling asleep on me yet, doll. I'm gonna need another hour or two."

"I won't. I only wanted to hold you for a bit. A few more minutes then I'll get up, I promise." You assure him. "Go ahead and get some more sleep. I know you need it."

J hums and closes his eyes. Moving his arm to wrap around you better, so that he can hold you more comfortably. His hand rubs comfortingly up and down your back a couple times before resting there.

You lay still in his grasp as he falls back to sleep. Head resting cozily on his chest, listening to the harmony of his breathing and the beating of his heart. Sounds you love hearing together. It's not every day you get to hear them. So you capture every bit of it that you can. Nights like these are ones you hold on to. They're where you feel at peace. The only downside is that you know that you'll have to get up eventually. That sooner or later J will get up, and eventually leave again. There will be nights where you get to lay like this, and some where you won't. As it has always been. That's what it's like loving the Joker.

But for right now, you don't want to think about eventually. You'll just bask in the warmth of this moment. Staring off into the darkness, in the safety of J's arms.

#into-crazy #heath ledger joker #tdk joker #the dark knight joker #ledger joker x reader #ledger joker x y/n #joker x reader #joker x y/n #ledger!joker #ledger joker #the dark knight #fanfic

[jokeringcutio]

"Drabble: The Magician" - Reader x ArthurFleck (established/Joker) & Unrequited Reader x TheGrabber

Crossover time: Fandoms: Joker 2019 + Black Phone 2022

Rating: PG13? Warnings: None really, possessive Arthur, Hints at Arthur already being Joker. Jealousy. For : @lussiane333, Hopefully the first of many crossover drabbles. ~~ Masterlist - Request Box - Support me on Ko-Fi ~~ "Drabble: The Magician" It wasn’t crowded, but most of the audience consisted of children. Most, not all. Beside you, Arthur sat, hand twitching nervously. The magician in front of the audience magicked balloons from out of his hat and tore up a newspaper to make it whole again. You were impressed, even if you’d seen most of his tricks before. But this man was good.

You let your eyes drift to Arthur whose jaw was clenched. He wasn’t as pleased. The white-painted face might have something to do with it, a poor imitation of his own makeup mask. Not quite a clown. But there was more to it, you thought. Perhaps he missed performing? After all, he used to be the one to make the children smile.

Your eyes drifted back to the magician. His fingers were nimble, his draws quick. You felt his eyes upon you a few times, and encouragingly smiled at him whenever he looked your way. Blue-grey eyes, bright and light unlike any you’d ever seen. They bore into you and left their mark. You glanced at your side again, but Arthur’s vivid green eyes were upon the man in front of you, observing his every move.

The man asked a child from the front row to assist him with his next trick. She loved it, and so did the crowd. He was quite good with kids, you thought, charming even. His voice was light and high, not his natural, you thought. The man asked a boy up next, and you loved how he engaged the entire audience, making them go ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ and giving a round of applause that made the children he chose as his assistants feel special and proud.

If this had been all, you’d have thought the man to be a pleasant and well-skilled performer. But then something happened that changed it all.

“For my next trick I will need a volunteer,” his eyes roamed the small crowd, then came to rest on you. “How about you, little lady,” he said in his jolly voice. But something about his gaze wasn’t as playful. It was predator-like. “Would you like to help me out?”

You hesitated, feeling how Arthur by your side tensed when the magician chose you. But everyone was looking at you with such great expectations. Refusing would not do, would it? It would only draw more attention to the two of you and you could not risk that. You didn’t want people to notice Arthur and risk it all.

You took a moment too long to decide, and the magician made it even harder for you. “Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for my lovely assistant,” here he paused to look at you again and gestured for you to come hither.

Frozen and uncertain of what to do, you felt Arthur’s elbow in your back, encouraging you to step forth. Hesitatingly, you stood up and approached the magician.

His grin grew when you stepped closer, then he took off his hat and bowed. You noticed how his long hair was greying at the roots. It resembled Arthur’s hair, though less curly and more wispy. Then the hat was on again and the man straightened his spine. “What is your name, love?”

You whispered your name, which he repeated loud enough for everyone in the back to hear. Another arm stretched out, palm upward, and another plea for applause, after which the magician performed his trick with a coloring book – of all things. He guided your hand with the paintbrush in it, saying a magic word as he tried to fill the black-and-white page with color. It didn’t work the first time. But when his hot hand encircled yours, and his warm palm pressed tight against your skin and guided your hand and the brush in it, the book was suddenly filled with colors.

When you glanced at Arthur you saw the shadow over his features. The magician’s hand was still possessively over your own. His body pressed close to yours. Like Arthur’s, you thought. He’s like him.

He bowed deep after he thanked you, a predatory grin on his lips. You recognized it. Of course, you did. And so had Arthur by the look on his face. It was like a thunderstorm had come over him. He sat with his arms folded in front of his chest when you returned to your seat next to him, lips curled downwards like a theatre mask. He was angry. Surely he understood that you had no other choice? That refusing the magician might have risked exposing Arthur, even if he was in his normal clothes.

You didn’t fail to notice how the magician’s eyes kept sliding back to you all through his performance. He was like Arthur, all right. The thought alone sent shivers down your spine. Because you knew how Arthur was. Who he was. And what he had done.

After the performance, the two of you walked home, arms linked. Arthur was still bristling. “I did not like the entertainer,” he said, voice nearly a whine but not quite. He was doing his best to sound unbothered, when clearly, he was angered beyond belief.

“The magician?” you asked, feigning innocence.

“That one.” It was as if a shadow fell over Arthur’s features. His lips pressed into a thin line in displeasure. You had hoped to see a show with him would have lightened his mood. Instead, it had done the opposite.

“You don’t like anyone,” you said, feeling the warmth of his body against yours. He took long strides as if he was eager to get away. You had to try and keep up with him, which you only managed because of your linked arms.

“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but I especially don’t like that man.”

The two of you rounded a corner and you halted, forcing Arthur to come to a stop as well. He looked down at you, clearly confused. His green eyes sought yours.

“You know what?” you said, looking up at him. A small smile slipped on your lips when you whispered. “Neither did I.”

You could see Arthur’s mind racing. Usually, you were his voice of reason, the one who berated him and told him that he was overreacting. To hear you agree with him on something like this was quite new. But you had felt it. When your eyes had locked with those blue-grey ones of the magician, you knew there was something wrong with him. “There’s something about him,” you said. “Something,” you hesitated, then finished with a whisper. “Dark.”

“Dark?” Arthur turned to face you, not noticing how the topic of your conversation was now in front of you. A big black van with Abracadabra on the side was parked next to the sidewalk. You noticed how the green and blue letters shimmered in the sunlight. Behind it stood a very familiar man, a brown paper bag in his arms. You recognized attributes from his magic act. The top hat was on his head and his face was still painted white. But his piercing eyes that had betrayed the darkness inside of him were now hidden behind glasses.

“Good afternoon to you,” he piped, sounding way too jolly. His stage voice again, you thought.

“If it isn’t my lovely assistant.” Your name rolled off his lips like dripping honey, syrupy and sweet. You felt Arthur tense next to you, his whole pose rigid. The magician seemed to nearly drop his bag. The flowers that lay on top fell out of it.

“Oh my, would you look at that!” the man exclaimed. “I am so clumsy! Pardon me.”

But you were in front of him on your knees already, picking up the fallen items and handing the flowers to the magician with a shy smile. “Here you go,” you said, not realizing what you were doing until it was too late.

The magician put his bag in the back of the van and turned to take the flowers from your hands. A smile twisted his lips when his fingers brushed past yours. “Why, thank you, dear. Flowers, for me already? We only just met…”

You froze and practically felt Arthur seething a few paces behind you. But the magician was unperturbed. He leaned forward, stepping closer to you until you felt the heat radiate off his body. A scent drifted to you, cologne and a whiff of manly testosterone.  

Then he was leaning back again and the distance between the two of you increased again. He turned to place the flowers in the back of his van. “I was just kidding, sweetheart,” you heard him say. Then he turned to face you again. You wished you could see his eyes behind his glasses, to know the look that was in his gaze now. Was he jesting as he claimed? Or was there more to it like you suspected?

“You seem frightened,” he stated, voice finally losing its high and pleasant lilt. In its stead, a raspy low voice came out. Was this his true voice, you wondered? Or another character in him?

“I am sorry,” he said, looking aside, “I did not mean to scare you.” His smile had faded and you thought he might be honest now. Your heart was thumping wildly in your chest. He was lucky, you thought. So very lucky that Arthur hadn’t brought a gun with him.

He hadn’t, right? Oh shit, had he brought the tiny one that he sometimes hid in his shoes?

You turned around to come face to face with Arthur. He had come closer and now stood behind you. The magician’s gaze must be resting on him too now, because Arthur was an imposing sight to see, standing tall and carrying a grimace of displeasure that could strike fear in anyone.

“I am sorry,” the magician said. You heard how his smile must have turned wry. “I was just telling your daughter how lovely an assistant she was.”

The reaction was instant. You felt how Arthur’s body tensed, then how his arm encircled your waist and he pulled you close. His grasp possessive, strong. This would leave no doubt.

You wondered if the magician’s eyes grew wider behind the glasses, because you swore you saw them raise. Then a frown slipped onto his face. “I see,” he murmured.

“I am sorry, Mister…” Arthur waited for the magician to answer, which he did.

The magician nodded curtly at Arthur while he introduced himself. “Albert,” he said, voice raspy and low still. “Albert Shaw.”

“Well, Mister Shaw, it seems that you are treading on dangerous ground.” A smile grew on Arthur’s face, one much like a shark’s. “You should be more careful with your assumptions in the future. You’ve been,” here Arthur paused to wet his lips, “awfully impolite.”

Those words invoked mental images inside your mind of Arthur at his worst, gun drawn and pointed at a helpless victim’s head, already on the floor on their back. You’d seen it before. Awfully impolite. Society. Triggers that made Arthur’s anger surface. Then Arthur broke you out of your thoughts when he turned to you and whispered near your ear, but loud enough so Albert, the magician, could hear, “It is time to go.” And then more pressing, “now.”

You nodded and placed your hand on Arthur’s forearm, a signal that you would follow him. Arthur’s gaze was a dangerous one, fully aimed at Albert as he took you away, back to the pavement. His arm was firm around you, his breathing heavy. A dangerous glint was in Arthur’s eyes and you knew, you just knew, what was going on inside that brilliantly obscure mind of his.

A plot for revenge. A plan for retribution.

Albert had touched something that was his. Something that Arthur had laid claim on. You.

And now that he had the magician’s name, there was no doubt in your mind that you would see that name appear in one of the newspapers pretty soon. Albert Shaw. Murdered. Visited by none other than the Joker.

Unless your feelings about the magician were right. Unless he was as dangerous as the Joker who had claimed you as his own. ~~ Masterlist - Request Box - Support me on Ko-Fi ~~ ~ Fin ~ AN: I am open to requests. This story was not beta-read, might do that later.

#drabble #joker 2019 drabble #arthur fleck x reader #female reader #reader insert #reader x villain #joker x reader #grabber x reader #the grabber x reader #albert shaw x reader #black phone and Joker crossover #older men with longer hair #the grabber x you #the joker x you #arthur fleck x you #arthur joker x reader

[devilwearsgreen]

DP x DC AU: Extra Notes

More concept pieces that I didn't want to put in the main post:

[Concept] [Age Chart]

~~~~~

When Danny got to Gotham he chose to go by the last name Gale. When Jason decided he wasn't going back to Bruce, he started going by Jay Gale, and dyed his hair the same colour as the twins. I'm thinking the red hair of his earlier character design.

After taking the three newly resurrected back to his apartment, they spent the first night on his couch (the only comfortable furniture he had) and soaked up the calming ectoplasm Danny was emitting. When he was able to, Danny went out to steal two single mattresses; but continued to sleep on the couch. When Jason was coherent enough he felt guilty about it and insisted Danny take the bed. They argue for a bit before deciding to just share. One for them and one for the twins. This is a habit they don't bother breaking even when they get better apartments. 

Danny chose Gotham because the amount of curses in such a relatively small area hid his presence in plain sight. And the Lazarus Pit under the city provided him with the exoplasm he needed to survive. But some of those curses are really nasty… and surely not all of those curses are necessary right? He can't just leave them there when he can do something about it right?? So Danny also becomes the local supernatural expert, making the city a better place one curse at a time. 

Danny doesn't have much time to think about schooling for the first few years in Gotham, But when Jason  gets well enough and established enough to really contribute to their income, maybe he gets his GED and gives college a try. 

I don't know what happened to Danny’s friends and family in this au, but maybe he does a psychology major as an honour to Jazz.  (Being the older sibling is hard! No wonder she was so high strung!) Danny as the Arkham Psychologist anyone? It's one of my favourite concepts!

Danny and Tim Frequent the same coffee shop. Tim hears the things the baristas say about this regular that's been coming in for a few years before him, and becomes immensely curious about the one guy in Gotham that orders more espresso shots than him. Whenever they are in the store at the same time, they get to talking. 

The twins are only a year younger than Damian, and are a lot more carefree and adventurous. At first Damian takes this as a personal affront; what's so special about these immature brats?? But they grow on him and actually get him to loosen up and act his age sometimes. The three of them add Jon to make a quartet and cause nightmares for the faint of heart.

Although the twins do receive training, they never pick up the vigilante lifestyle. Reasons being 1) They have already died once and don't feel like inviting it, and 2) they have seen how worried Danny can get about Jason and how Worked up Jason can get about Danny, and they don't want to worry either of their big brothers. Although I do like the idea of them apprenticing under Dr Leslie in the future.

In place of getting training from the League of Ass (sorry,  Assassins), Danny teaches Jay the sword fighting he learned from Pandora, the hand to hand from Frostbite, the weapons training from his parents, and everything he can think of from his own years of desperate fighting. This changes Jason's fighting style just enough that no one that knew him before would recognize it. (Remember that the LoA trained Bruce too)

Danny could have sold Ice Sculptures for a few years, and it was a good source of money; but once certain villains start taking interest and its unmelting nature starts piquing curiosity, he stops. This, however, introduces scarcity, and his few sculptures become some of the most valuable things in the city. When he eventually starts making them again, he's not expecting the ferver, to hilarious effect.

Danny doesn't kill the Joker. He doesn't even hurt the Joker. That's not his place and not his thing. But there is no way in hell he wants that man to be roaming the streets while he has little brothers to protect. So he takes measures to prevent the Joker, specifically, from escaping Arkham. Very successfully. The Joker goes even more insane seeing others escape when he Can't. But he never manages to hurt anyone. Danny makes sure of it. 

Because Danny is now watching over the Batfamily, he prevents Damian's death entirely. And If/ When Dick goes undercover at spyral, Danny makes sure he can keep in touch with the family.

I also believe that the reason Bruce doesn't notice that Jason's grave becomes empty in cannon, is because the League of Assassins goes back to fill it in. Danny doesn't  even think about doing that. So Bruce knows that someone Robbed his son's Grave. Crime drops a bit while Bruce is on that warpath. But of course he doesn't find anything, all of the footage is blurry or nonexistent. I think it would be funny if he thought the LoA was responsible for it, even though he's in the exact wrong dimension to be correct. 

#dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #batman #jason todd #danny fenton #Jay Gale's brothers #this one has some fun ones #if i do say so myself #i think i want to expand on Danny being the supernatural expert #maybe in another post

[shirophantomvox]

How Illumi, Hisoka, and Chrollo would react to their S/O in the hospital

Hi, anon! You are welcome to join my Discord Server if you are a fan of Hxh, Voltron, or both! I promise this is a safe environment! This is an interesting topic for sure! To the other anon(s), I am working on your request! This will contain both fluff and angst. I forgot to include Leorio in this, so I’ll include him in the next HxH post. You’ll have to forgive me, I have 2 more requests in my inbox and I am not feeling the best. I just got my second Covid shot and it is hurting like hell. Nevertheless, I encourage you all to get your shot if you can. I will be on this site one and off and I should be on it for real next week. I have run out of ideas to write and I began to think I was annoying people with my HxH content (no one said this I just assumed). This post has 1974 words. After these requests are finished, I plan on doing a character analysis for Leorio.

Anyway, let’s get into the post!

We’ll start with Hisoka this time.

Hisoka

In all honesty, this man has heard of a hospital (since he sends a lot of people to it after fights) but has never been in one.

The signs, floors, staircase numbers, and elevators all confuse him. He has only been in one once when he was a kid and has never been again.

He isn’t a social butterfly in this setting because this is a professional establishment and not a college party. Asking for directions takes quite a toll on him because of his established pride. You know guys act when they want to find a destination on their own and will go miles out of the way instead of just asking for direction.

He doesn’t talk to anyone; all he wants to do is find you and make sure you are alright.

He is the tallest person in the freight elevator. So tall that everyone at turns to look at him at once for at least 10 seconds and turn back around surprised.

“How tall is he,” one of the nurses ask.

“Tall enough to be my house!”

This annoys him. He takes out the Joker card and lays it against his thigh but realizes he cannot make any hasty decisions. His bloodlust was activated merely out of irritation and not by threat. You were on his mind and destroying these worthless humans wasn’t an option for today.

He approached the guest desk and waited for about 2 minutes before he was acknowledged.

“May I help you,” a smug receptionist asked. Wow, these people do not know who they’re talking to.

“I’m here to see y/n.”

“Y/n is in room 345. Go down the hall and to the right all the way down.”

This man nearly ran with a quickness! His jester shoes somehow made the floor shake as he ran.

You were awake, eating the horrible food the hospital provided and watching TV. It seemed like you were doing ok, but you had just been in a car accident. Your arms and right leg were still sore. It was so bad that you’d be fine with Hisoka carrying you everywhere.

When you two are alone in serious public places, he doesn’t play games or tricks. He is often portrayed as a ruthless man, but in settings like this, he places the jokes and games aside for later. When he enters your room, he is silent for 30 seconds. Much too long. He was shocked; he walked around your hospital bed, pulled up a chair, and stared at your cast. It had many names written on it.

“Yes, I am ok.”

“I apologize for not being there for you,” he began to say.

“Shh… it’s ok. This is life. It hurts like hell, but I’m a trooper!”

Admiring your cast and its multiple fonts of handwriting and messages, he grabbed a sharpie marker, wrote his name, with a heart and spade next to it. Surprisingly, his cursive was very neat and legible.

“I didn’t know you knew how to write in cursive! Why don’t you write me letters?”

“I see you every day and it hurts my hand.”

The doctor wouldn’t be in for another 1 ½ hours, so Hisoka used your thigh as a pillow as he took a nap. He had been up for countless nights thinking about you. He was screwing up so bad, Chrollo let him leave early.

“As soon as your better, we will fight again. I won’t go easy on you. You won’t be in the hospital but you get the jest.”

Illumi

Illumi isn’t the type of man to overreact in these types of situations. When you both agreed to date each other, you knew you all were tough cookies. You were aware of the dangers of dating an assassin and he knew about the dangers of dating a bounty hunter. People hated you both and you targeted.

One night you both were caught in a vulnerable state. While you both enjoyed chocolate milkshakes at a laid-back 1950’s styled diner, two men were previously thrown out for fighting. While your back was turned one of those men shot your arm, causing you to carelessly throw your body to the ground due to impact.

While everyone else was screaming, Illumi jumped to the ground and tied his hair tie around your arm to temporarily stop the bleeding.

“Illu, why does it feel cold in here,” you managed to breathe out.

His heart dropped to his stomach for the first time in history.

“Don’t say things like that!”

Illumi is already horrible at displaying emotions, but all he could do is frown in fear. Once the EMS came barling in, he demanded that he ride with you.

Illumi hadn’t experienced anything like this since Killua had been injured when he fell from a tree.

You and he were separated when you were rushed into surgery leaving him alone in the waiting room.

When Illumi is stressed and cannot properly display how he feels, he tends to act in “odd” ways.

He begins to furiously turn pages in magazines or bother the receptions every 2 minutes about the status of your surgery. When the woman finally says that you’re still alive, he tones it down a little.

Illumi is open to conforming advice from strangers; he has been receiving it secretly from strangers. Since Silva was busy abusing him, he often found comfort from “the streets”.

He has a bad habit of pacing back and forth and fidgeting in his seat while horrific images fill his mind. All he has seen is pain and even though he was used to it, he didn’t want you to go through it as well.

While sitting in his seat (finally!) and head in his lap, doubled over indescribable sorrow, a little girl walks up to him with her hands folded and a doll under her arms. Illumi feels her presence and looks up. The girl’s curly hair covered her endearing eyes and her smile is wide.

“They’ll be alright. I just know they will,” turning around returning to her mother, the girl said with confidence.

On cue, Illumi placed his hand over his heart, smiling just a little.

He walked quickly to your room once you were out of surgery.

His speed walk mimics one of a soldier; his left arm in since with his right leg. His shoes echoed throughout the hall.

As soon as he enters the room, he shuts the door harder than usual and gives you a tight embrace. This surprises you! You’re lucky if he lays his head on your shoulder!

Illumi had been working out lately. He wanted to beat you in the “squish the melon” contest. He is very competitive and even if he lost, that doesn’t hurt his ego. Not in the slightest. Since it was just the both of you alone, he bends down to hug you tight, so tight that your face is squished against his.

This behavior is only surprising because he usually doesn’t coddle you even when you get hurt, but this time he realized that you could have died from the gunshot wound.

After that he kissed your forehead and almost simultaneously the doctor barreled in just missing the sweet moment between you and your beau.

Chrollo

When Chrollo is holding meetings with the Phantom Troupe, he always appears to be neutral. That is very important. A leader has to show strength even through the worst/hurtful times of their lives.

Chrollo had gotten a call from Nobunaga that you had gotten hurt on a mission and had actually gotten captured by the enemy. Phinks was able to get you back but you suffered horrible injuries.

This is protocol; they do this for any of the members. The troupe was oblivious to the fact that you and Chrollo were dating. They thought you were here to replace Uvo.

In situations like this, he is calm on the outside but screaming on the inside. Common sense will tell you if you are startled by the news you’ve just received and you begin to drive, you could cause more harm on the way to your destination.

Chrollo is very silent; he doesn’t call to check on your status or anything; he would rather see it for himself.

You were a trooper! After all, you are dating a dangerous robber.

Chrollo already knew what room you were in so he just went.

“I knew I should have kept y/n by my side. Y/n insisted on doing my dirty work that they almost died! How foolish could I have been?” He constantly cursed himself for letting his guard down with you.

He always gave you room to think and complete your own tasks but he can’t help his protective nature; one he has for the troupe but times 10.

His childhood friends had been shot by law enforcers, his home was horrific, and the last thing he needed was for you to be gone. You were keeping him afloat in society.

When he opened the door, Phinks was sitting in a chair, one leg over the other, laughing at a TikTok video.

Nobunaga on the other hand was watching the world news and seemed invested that he didn’t hear Chrollo enter the room. Once they both saw, they stood to their feet.

“Y/n is ok boss. They suffered a few cuts and burns, but they're breathing.”

Chrollo’s straight face remained as he stared at you.

Chrollo’s silence is something the troupe has internalized as a sign of anger, rage, or both. When he didn’t speak and just stared, everyone knew that their next mission was going to be a brutal one.

Chrollo is a man that isn’t afraid to express how he feels. He could cry right now if he wanted to and no one would dare laugh at him or insult him. After all, Nobunaga cried when he realized Uvo was dead.

Nobunaga and Phinks excused themselves as they saw him place his hand over his mouth.

Once the door closed, He pulled up the chair, grabbed your hand, and gently squeezed it. His warmth woke you up instantly and you turned your head. You winced in pain causing Chrollo to jump from his seat, moving to your right side so you wouldn’t turn your head too much.

“I’m glad you're alive, darling. What were you doing putting yourself in danger? Feitan could have handled the beast!”

He isn’t trying to doubt your ability to fight, he’s just concerned for your safety. Even so, why would he insist that you join the spiders?

A tear dropped from his face as he silently kissed your hand three times. You smiled warmly and placed your right left hand on top of his.

“I am fine, boss. You need not worry. I’m a trooper, remember?”

He placed your hand against his dry cheek and continued to kiss it. You were his lifeline and he wanted to spend every moment with you.

#hisoka morow #hunterxhunter #hunter x 2011 #hunter x hunter #illumi zoldyck #hxh 1999 #hisoka #chrollo lucilfer #chrollo #hxh illumi #illumi #hisoka morrow x reader #hunter x hunter x reader #hunter x hunter x you #hunter x hunter x y/n #illumi x reader #illumi x y/n #illumi x you #chrollo x y/n #chrollo x oc #chrollo x reader #chrollo x you #hxh headcanons #hxh imagines #hxh chrollo #hxh x reader #hxh 2011 #gon hxh #hxh fanart #y/n

[animeyanderelover]

What if the darling was childhood friends with the yandere and didn’t know about their hidden feelings for them? How would they react to a darling calling them “a good friend, kinda like a big brother!” Headcannons for Kiba, Kakashi, Madara, Hashirama, Tobirama, Eren, Jean, Armin, Levi, and Joker?

A wild field on characters. I like it.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, clingyness, harsh behavior, sabotage, manipulation, blackmailing

Reaction to calling them a good friend/big brother

Hashirama Senju

🌳Hashirama is rather obvious with his crush from a very young age on, telling his darling that he wants to marry them later on in his life and supporting them and being very affectionate with him from a very young age on. So his darling has to be very oblivious to not notice this because everyone else does. Hashirama’s darling is probably just so used to Hashirama being in general a very sweet and affectionate person and never minded it that much, growing just up with the mindset that this is just Hashirama being Hashirama.

🌳I can see Hashirama as someone who would even after getting older tell you very often that he loves you very much. And if you’re really that oblivious you just think of it as nothing too serious and could just answer him that you love him too and that he’s like a big brother for you. And you could have just as well given Hashirama a direct hit in his face because that hurt. Hashirama would honestly start questioning himself if he did something wrong and wasn’t obvious enough with his feelings for you. He wants to be anything else than this.

🌳He would handle this situation similarly like I described it in the rejection Hc’s. He would try to bring you in a tricky situation where you have to rely on his help and support. Additional to that he would try to make himself look like your savior and try to make it clear what he feels for you. And you better learn to love him or things will become more unpleasant.

Madara Uchiha

🌑Madara falling for a childhood friend seems definitely possible to me. Madara needs a long time until he falls for someone and I can see him being a bit less intense than he would be normally with a s/o who is his childhood friend. He established a great trust and faith in them and they most likely also in him. Madara is more subtle with his signs that he loves them since he still carries some pride with him, but sharp observers will be able to notice the signs.

🌑Madara can be seen as a big brother for you for a few reasons. You’ve known him since your youngest days and he definitely trains with you to help you getting stronger. Sometimes he’s a bit rough, but you will improve over time. Madara isn’t someone who would tell you that he loves you, not being a vocal person. If he would ever grumble that he likes you it can be mistaken by you as him just being nice to cheer you up a bit. Madara doesn’t handle something like this very well, a rejection would still be the worst, but that’s quite scary as well. The air would suddenly turn very suffocating and he would stare with narrowed eyes and clearly not satisfied at you.

🌑It’s incredible that Madara didn’t use force on you before, simply because your long term friendship protected you from this. But after this he will become more forceful with you. A lot more. I’m not above thinking that he might at first try to charm you a bit, but his string of patience is rather thin. But in the end it honestly doesn’t matter because after going missing-nin he took you with him anyways. And then he’s going to have a lot of time to teach you on how to behave.

Tobirama Senju

🌊Tobirama needs a lot of trust and faith in someone to fall for them, acknowledging them and their skills. Tobirama is another one who isn’t too open about his feelings, his arrogance keeping him from fully admitting his feelings at first. He needs time to open up to someone.

🌊He is another one who would react the worst to this. Here again, rejection is still the worst for him, but it’ll still be not nice to witness. His facial expression would darken up and he would suddenly leave you alone, confusing you to why what has gotten all of a sudden into him.

🌊Tobirama isn’t merciful, forcing you if he has too. Enough of an asshole to drag the people you hold close to your heart into this mess and in the end you won’t have much of a choice to crawl to him and beg him to help you.

Kakashi Hatake

📖You’re a childhood friend of him? Then be prepared that this man became hella overprotective over you after Obito died and even more after what happened to Rin. This might have been the two main events that made him Yandere over the darling in the first place. Kakashi wouldn’t vocally admit when he’s in love, but he would definitely try to court his darling by sending them here and there small gifts and presents and being in general a pure gentleman.

📖He’s someone who likes to baby his darling and helping them with pretty much everything whilst being at the same time the playfully teasing type. That can lead you to thinking of him as a overprotective older bro. And Kakashi wouldn’t show how hurt he actually is by this. No, no, he keeps his composure.

📖It’s a rather tricky situation for Kakashi because he knows that he’s good looking and charming and his plan of courting you normally backfired somehow since you only see him as an older brother. Kakashi is smart about this and would prefer to not force you into anything. Not like he won’t do it if triggered enough. But for now? He’ll rely on bribing and blackmailing, probably involving family and friends and making sure that they’ll talk you into giving him a shot all whilst setting scenarios up where you or your family are in slight troubles and he appears to help you.

Kiba Inuzuka

🐕Kiba is another one of the category “I had the biggest crush on you since we were children”. Boy is a show-off, especially in front of you and whilst not directly saying that he’s in love it should be more than obvious by his behavior. Kiba does everything his darling says from him, showers them in compliments and has the lovesick look in his eyes whenever with them. It’s hard to not know his feelings.

🐕Kiba is in general someone who expresses all his emotions most of the times very openly. So you would know that something is wrong the moment you tell him he’s your best friend and like a bro to you. Hurt puppy eyes and he would somewhat shrink a bit together.

🐕You don’t know how he feels for you and even worse, see him as a friend. Kiba isn’t someone who often asks for help, but in this case he’ll ask his friends and his sensei for help and if they could eventually insert the one or other good word for him when with you. Would also try to impress you more and give you the feeling that he can be more than just a good friend.

Eren Yeager

👊A loyal soldier for his darling and another terribly obvious one with his feelings, always trailing behind his darling and starting to yell as soon as someone says anything against them. Eren is extremely overprotective and makes his feelings rather clear from the very beginning. The darling has to be pretty obvious to not notice. But since Eren acted that way since they were child’s they might just think it’s normal for him to be so affectionate and clingy. He did lose many people after all.

👊Eren is normally someone who is never mean or aggressive to you. But when hearing that he’s only a brother for you he might become a bit more snarky before leaving you, realizing that he might insult you if he doesn’t quickly goes away. Eren doesn’t know how to act around you the next few days, choosing to avoid you until he’s come up with a solution.

👊His friends would want to help him, especially Mikasa and Armin. But unless he really messes something up or is really clueless Eren wants to win your heart all by himself. He would try to impress you and be a show-off, in human and Titan form.

Armin Arlert

🐚Armin is needy and affectionate-starved for his darling, a complete helpless case. And you can bet your ass that he’ll clinge to you at all possible times. You’re his sun, you’re the reason why he can be a little bit more courageous.

🐚Armin is way too shy to confess his love and his clingy behavior can be easily brushed off as something else if we ignore the massive blush he always has on his face. I think from all the people he would have the best reaction to this.

🐚Of course he’s hurt that you only see him as a friend. But Armin is a highly selfless Yandere when it comes to you and wants to just stay near you so he wouldn’t be too devastated. He’ll just continue making you happy and protecting you the best he can and then maybe some day he’ll be able to be worthy of your love. As long as you at least pay attention to him he’s fine.

Jean Kirschstein

🐴For Jean it remains a mystery how he managed to befriend an angel like his darling in the first place. He’s just so grateful over this fact and prepared to protect his darling and be deserving for his darling. But even in a friendship he would still sometimes feel too insecure and prefer to watch from the distance.

🐴Together with Armin the best reaction to this. He’s already amazed over the fact that you two are childhood friends in the first place and knows he shouldn’t be too greedy and force you into anything. Being a friend of yours is already a gift from heaven itself. He can’t ask for more until it’s time.

🐴Jean isn’t selfish nor greedy, being a bit depressed, but never expected to be more for you in the first place. Why would you like him if there are better people in the first place? As long as you aren’t disappointed in him or in danger he’s fine with staying as a friend. Jean has patience unlike many others in here.

Levi Ackerman

⚔️No wonder he became Yandere. You’re the only person who he has left and who supported and was there for him throughout his whole life. Levi would be more soft since the both of you are already very close to each other. That’s the only reason you aren’t locked up. If you’re a part of the scouts be prepared to be with Levi all the time. He can’t lose you too. Not to Titans and also not to other people who think they can take you away from him.

⚔️Levi would go silent for a short moment after you told him this, having an unnerving look on his face. He would react similar to Eren, only difference being that he’ll let some of his steam off through training. But he would be really pissed off the next few days after that, snapping at anybody who tries to talk to him.

⚔️Levi is someone who would try it either two ways. The less pleasant way would be blackmailing you and forcing you. The second possibility is only possible because he has already established a good relationship with you. The possibility that he’ll try to court you a for the most part normal way since as much as he’s ready to use force, he doesn’t go this way if he doesn’t have to. Deep down he wants to be loved by his darling without having to force them.

Joker

🤡Being a childhood friend of his means that you were most likely an abandoned child yourself and in that case it’s very highly likely that you only see him as a big brother because he took care of all of you. That also means that you’re most likely a troupe member as well.

🤡You wouldn’t even know how frustrated he really feels with the smile he’s giving you. He isn’t so dumb to show you that he isn’t happy with hearing this. You might start feeling awkward around him when finding out he loves you. Joker doesn’t want to take the risk that you might distance yourself from him.

🤡Manipulation is the way to your heart and the troupe helps is forced to help him. Joker is clever about this situation and will most likely set scenarios up where you’re that far emotionally pushed that you actually start crying and he will in these times be your shoulder to cry on and comfort you. Another useful method is isolation. He’ll manipulate you into avoiding everyone except him.

#yandere naruto #yandere naruto shippuden #yandere hashirama #yandere hashirama senju #yandere madara #yandere madara uchiha #yandere tobirama #yandere tobirama senju #yandere kakashi #yandere kakashi hatake #yandere kiba #yandere kiba inuzuka #yandere black butler #yandere kuroshitsuji #yandere joker #yandere attack on titan #yandere aot #yandere shingeki no kyojin #yandere snk #yandere eren #yandere eren yeager #yandere armin #yandere armin arlert #yandere jean #yandere jean kirschstein #yandere levi #yandere levi ackerman

[cherry-glade]

only ever pain (until you)

pairing: jason todd x reader

summary: it’s been a while since this has happened—jason’s been having a good run—but life is always out to get him, and soon enough, he's curled up into a ball of nothing but pain, aching muscle and brittle bone. luckily, like the last few times, he has you now to help him get through it.

warnings: some angst, jason being mostly touch-averse in this, jason also being quite self-deprecating, sensory overload, hurt/comfort, ptsd and hallucinations, chronic illness (fibromyalgia).

w/c: 4786 words

Jason doesn't know why it happens—maybe it's a side effect of either the Lazarus Pit, or of living in a world that he doesn’t belong in, where he should technically be dead, or perhaps it's just the trauma from the Joker's beating coming back to haunt him—but some days, it's as though all Jason is capable of feeling is pure, unadulterated pain.

He knows that it’s going to be one of those days from the minute he wakes up, wincing and turning away as the sun peeks through the window and makes his eyes sting, even though they’re still closed. He tries to roll over onto his stomach, not realising that the sheets are tangled up around his legs, and ends up falling off the bed with a dull thud, knee bashing into the floor.

Shoving the sheets away, Jason pushes himself up into a sitting position, stretching his leg out and noticing the faint redness to his skin, but he doesn’t take much note of it as he rubs at his surprisingly sore knee, preoccupied by the sudden throbbing pain in his head and behind his right eye, a sure sign of an incoming migraine.

Groaning, he stands up, damn near clinging onto the bedside table for support as he picks up his phone up and taps on the screen to check the time. It’s nearly noon, so you must already be at work. Jason usually wakes up on time though for you to kiss him goodbye, and the fact that he didn’t today is just another sign that things are probably going to end up going to shit.

Jason’s legs feel weak as he walks to the bathroom. He swears he can feel each individual fibre in the carpeting, rough against his feet. Jason pushes on and relieves himself before washing his hands and splashing cold water onto his face, nearly collapsing into a heap on the floor, but he manages to catch himself before he cracks his head open on the sink.

”You look like a piece of shit that got turned into roadkill, and are very lucky that Y/N isn’t here right now to witness this,” Jason says to his reflection in the mirror above the sink as he leans forward, noting his bloodshot eyes and the bags underneath them, skin paler than usual.

He blinks hard at the mirror and then stumbles out towards your kitchen, regretting not putting any socks on first as his bare feet come into the contact with the tiled floor, cold and leeching any remaining heat from his body. Jason fills the kettle up with water and switches it on, studying the darkening bruise on his knee as he waits for it to come to a boil.

Surprisingly enough, the bruise is already reddish in colour, almost verging on purple and tender to the touch as Jason prods at it with his fingers like a curious child, hissing at the pain radiating from it. He tries his best to ignore the dull ache as he makes himself a quick cup of jasmine tea, specially bought for him by Alfred, fingers trembling all the while.

Jason has to pick up his mug with both hands, taking a moment to let the warmth of the tea seep through his body, and then makes the mistake of taking a step back towards the bedroom. He vaguely recalls having a conversation with Tim and Damian, a while ago now, about if he would rather walk on heated coals or a trail of Legos. Remembers Damian absentmindedly mentioning that he’d already done the former as part of his training in the League of Assassins.

Remembers chiming in himself and saying that he’d done the same, then having to squirm away from Dick when he’d gotten that oddly sad look on his face as soon as Damian mentioned it—that look that said Jason was going to get a hug whether he liked it or not. Jason had barely escaped by pushing Damian into Dick’s arms instead, and Dick had apparently been appeased by that as he curled around Damian like an octopus, still giving Jason puppy eyes.

This, right now? Taking this single step? It feels infinitely worse than both options combined.

Jason grits his teeth and forces himself through walking the few paces to your shared bedroom, feeling like he’s about to collapse onto the floor the whole way. He has to take a break when he reaches the doorway, clinging to the doorframe with one hand, and tries to keep his other hand to stay as still as physically possible so it doesn’t spill, even as the handle of the mug feels bruising against his palm.

Jason takes a moment to breathe in deep, resisting the urge to claw at his own neck and chest as his pulse quickens and his heart beats harder against his ribs, as the insistent buzz under his skin grows even more insistent, like it’s trying to seek his attention over the throb of his migraine, over the ever-growing pain in his knee and his trembling hands and his dry throat and chapped lips and the keen desire to have you by his side.

Jason isn’t even exaggerating when he says it feels like it’s been years when he finally reaches the bed, practically falling down onto it. With shaky hands, he brings the mug to his mouth, breathing in the subtle sweetness through his nose before taking a sip of the tea, regretting it immediately when it feels as though molten lava is being poured down his throat, clogging it up to the point that Jason’s nose burns when he tries to force down the urge to choke.

Instead of being stupid and trying to drink any more of it, Jason decides to set the mug down on the bedside table so he can wait for it to cool down, his hand jerking when he sees something other than tea in it. Jason stares helplessly, frozen in place as liquid spills over the rim of the mug and trickles down its side, leaving a faint stain on it, the colour reminiscent of dried blood. He blinks when his eyes start to water, and the tea is its usual colour again, a rich, golden caramel.

Jason stares for a little while longer and then decides to get back into bed so he can wait, for both his tea and you. Curling up into a ball is easier said than done, especially when he can feel every single hair on his body rubbing against the sheets when he pulls them close to his chest, then yanks the covers over his head like he’s trying to smother the pain as he squeezes his eyes shut.

His last thought before unknowingly succumbing to the darkness of sleep, selfish as it might be, is that though he hates being so reliant upon you, though it makes him feel weak and not so different from a leech, asking for everything from you and giving nothing in return, he wants to hear your voice telling him that he will get through this, and that you’ll be with him every step of the way.

***

Jason awakes from his restless slumber to the sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door, even though he remembers leaving it open. He knows it’s you though, because you’re the only one who ever bothers knocking anymore, even if the door is open, in an attempt to give him the space he sometimes needs. He tries his best to focus through the pain and realises that you’re knocking in a pattern, the same pattern you established with each other a while ago to ask if he was okay.

Jason nearly bites through his lip to stop himself from crying out as he reaches an arm out from under the covers to knock on the wood of the bedside table thrice, the nauseatingly coppery taste of blood lingering on his tongue. He wants you to tell him everything is going to be okay, even though he knows it isn’t going to be that way for a while, if only to delude himself into thinking so.

“Jay? Are you having a day?” You call out softly, and the ringing in his ears doesn’t stop him from hearing you shuffle your feet. Jason ignores the sound of his teeth grinding together as he summons the energy to peek out at you, squinting at how you’re stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob with both feet firmly outside of the room. Somewhere deep inside him, past all the parts that scream with pain and hurt and anger, it warms him to see that you’ll still respect his boundaries.

He nods at you, regretting it when his migraine comes back with a vengeance. It feels like someone’s hammering at the inside of his head, trying to break out of it. “You okay with touching?” You whisper, finally stepping into the room.

He isn’t sure. Touching his thumb to his chin makes his skin burst into a flurry of sensation, and Jason only refrains from scratching at his face because he knows that you know he wants to do it, going by the stern look on your face. “Can try, but… not skin,” he rasps out, wincing at the way his voice sounds. It’s hoarse and raspy, like he’s been screaming for hours. He could’ve been, in his sleep.

You come closer, casually tugging a pair of gloves out of your pocket and sliding them on. Other than the fact that they’re very soft, the gloves aren’t anything special. When you first found out about the pain, it had been Jason wearing them so he wouldn’t scratch himself, but both of you quickly found out that the material was far too itchy against his sensitive skin, and now it’s you who wears them so that you can help him without accidentally touching his skin and sending him into a frenzy.

Jason watches you as you step in front of the bedside table and curl your hand around a mug that he hadn’t noticed until then. “Jasmine tea?” You ask him, and Jason holds his shaking hands out to take it, but you move it away and put the mug back down, shaking your head. “It’s gone cold. You must have made it before you went to sleep.”

“I—don’t remember,” Jason murmurs, suddenly feeling very lost. He thought you had made it for him. Your mouth twitches into a small frown as you study his face, and your hand rises like you’re about to touch him, faltering midway before falling back down to your side.

“I’m going to get you some water,” you say, waiting for Jason’s nod before leaving to do just that, and Jason knows you’re coming right back, but he somehow misses you even more now than he did when you were at work. His shoulders are tense until you return to his side with a small glass, half-full of water.

“Do you want me to hold it for you—”

“Can do it myself,” Jason interrupts you, insistent on doing at least this without having to be so dependent on you. But once the glass is in his hands, water keeps sloshing over the sides, his teeth clacking into it because of how much his hands are shaking. Your gloved hands come up to support his, holding the glass steady, and he does his best to shoot you a thankful look as he takes a careful sip. He’s sure it’s lukewarm, but it feels like shards of ice scraping against his throat, almost making Jason choke.

Once the glass is empty, you set it down with a clink and crouch down next to the bed, facing him. “Have you eaten?” You ask, and Jason just about manages to shake his head, feeling sick. Your frown deepens momentarily before smoothing out entirely as you stand up again, taking a few steps back so that you’re not looming over him.

His skin is itchy. He feels dirty. Jason doesn’t realise that he’s scratching until you say his name sternly, startling him when you place a gentle hand on top of his. Your eyes scan over his face, and you must see something on it because you straighten up, a somewhat determined look in your eyes as you slowly peel the covers off him, baring Jason’s body to the cold darkness of the bedroom.

“Bath time,” you tell him, a small smile on your face. Jason shivers violently.

“Dirty? Am I dirty?” He asks, vaguely aware of the fact that he’s slurring his words, focussing more on how hot his face feels. Your smile wavers and it feels like his blood is boiling inside him as you shake your head, muttering something to yourself about him getting worse.

“But—”

Jason looks down at his hands, which only shake even more when he sees crimson pooling in the crooks between his fingers, staining his cuticles red and drying into the lines of his cracked palms. Red drips from his fingertips, staining the sheets beneath him. He doesn’t want to touch you, to dirty you with his red hands.

“They’re dirty,” Jason says, showing you his hands, and you shake your head again.

“You’re not dirty,” you say out loud this time, looking Jason in the eye. “You’re having a bath because it’ll help with the pain,” you explain to him like he’s a child, but Jason can’t find it in himself to get annoyed. He shivers again, but this time it’s because of the sudden cold he feels, because of the goosebumps rising along the surface of his bare arms as the buzz under his skin roars for his attention.

“I’m not?” Jason asks, still hesitant, and you repeat yourself as your eyes flicker over his face, telling him that he isn’t dirty.

“Come on,” you gently coax him until Jason eventually pulls himself out of the safety of the bed, a whimper escaping from between his clenched teeth when his feet touch the floor and pain shoots through his body. Your eyes are glued to him, concern clearly written all over your face as Jason battles his way to the bathroom and then starts to undress as you fill the bathtub, resisting the urge to scratch as the fabric of his clothes drags uncomfortably over his skin.

He studies his trembling hands as you pour some odd-looking powder into the water, dipping your hand in and swirling it all together until you’re left with a slimy mixture. You turn to him with an expectant look on your face like you’re waiting for him to do something, and then it clicks, and Jason’s nose wrinkles as he presses his lips together in a thin line.

“Sweetheart, you need to actually get in for it to have any effect,” you remind him, a teasing undertone to your voice. Jason pulls a face and steps up to the tub, wincing as the muscles in his legs sprain when he tries to swing his leg over the edge to do as he’s been told. But you come up next to him, holding one of his hands as lightly as you can to support him as he manages to climb into the tub, slowly sinking down until he’s sat down and almost fully submerged.

For a moment, it’s almost too overwhelming for him, and then the continuous sensations of hot and cold and pain and numbness, of all too much and nowhere near enough, they all slowly ease. Jason sinks a little lower into the water, hands shooting out of the water to grip onto the sides of the bathtub so he can ground himself as he closes his eyes and leans his head back against the wall, slowly breathing out through his nose.

Jason isn’t sure if he’s relieved or terrified by how easy it was to get his body to just shut up, but doesn’t ponder on it, revelling instead at how he can now simply feel without hurting so much.

He must zone out for quite some time though because he ends up tuning back in to the sound of your voice, smooth and familiar as you tell him about your day at work. You aren’t holding his hand anymore, but are still sat on the rug next to the bathtub, watching him with sharp eyes.

Once again, Jason is reminded of the fact that you’re too good for him, too good for someone with blood on his hands and vengeance on his mind, for someone who is capable of feeling nothing but anger in his heart. Once again, he wonders why you choose to stay, why you keep choosing him even though everyone else in his life does the opposite.

There’s an odd look on your face when Jason turns to look at you. You don’t say anything, not pushing him, but wait for him to speak in his own time. He’s fiercely reminded of how much he loves you and swallows down the lump in his throat which threatens to choke him.

“They’re red,” he finally croaks out, and his tongue feels too big for his mouth. “My hands are red, and they’re always gonna be red with people’s fucking blood, because that’s all I’m good at. That’s all I can do.”

“Jay—” you start, frowning, but he cuts you off with a shake of his head which makes him feel like he’s about to throw up.

His bloody hands shake. “I’m never going to be clean,” Jason whispers, but even that is too loud for his overly sensitive ears. “When people look at Red Hood, at me, that’s all they are ever going to see. Blood on my hands.”

“Jason, baby,” you murmur, and Jason doesn’t think he’s ever heard your voice so soft before. He turns his head to look down when your gloved fingers graze the tips of his, even though it makes him feel like his brain is pounding violently against the inside of his skull.

You’re asking if you can hold his hand, and Jason takes in a deep breath as he slowly uncurls his fingers from the death grip they previously had around the edge of the bathtub, then flips his hand over so his palm is facing upwards.

You don’t cover it with your own like he’s expecting, but manage to slide yours underneath Jason’s so that you’re cradling his hand. He has to fight hard against the instinct to snatch it back.

“You wanna know what I see?” You ask as your eyes fall to his hand, but it isn’t really a question, and if it is, it’s clearly rhetorical. Your gloved fingertip traces over the lines in his palm, and it doesn’t hurt as much as Jason had thought it would. Instead of thousands of tiny needles piercing through the surface of his skin, it just feels like sharp little pinpricks of sensation.

He looks up at you, and you look right back at him with soft eyes and a softer smile. Jason’s pretty sure his heart skips a beat in the same way it always does when you smile at him. “I see strength, and I see kindness, and I see good.”

Your eyes lower to look at his hand again. “I see scars and callouses and bruised knuckles, and fingers that haven’t healed right after being broken. I see the hands of a man who has worked hard every single day of his life, who doesn’t stop working even though it hurts sometimes, because he’s just like that.”

Your eyes meet, and Jason has to take in deep breaths after seeing the fierce look in your eyes, even though his chest is painfully tight. “I see hands that disarm bombs and shoot guns and break assholes’ noses. Hands that help and protect and love, so, so much.”

Jason exhales shakily through his nose, eyes stinging. He doesn’t deserve this, he knows that. He’s known that he doesn’t deserve you since the moment he met you, since the first time he dared to utter your name with his unworthy tongue, to touch you with his undeserving hands.

But you make him sound like this wonderful person, somebody who actually deserves to have you and love you, and Jason doesn’t know how you can see him like that. He’s killed and tortured and hurt people, both physically and emotionally, he’s not good at all, but he couldn’t bear to lose you if you ever came to the realisation that you’ve been wrong about him all along.

Loving you is the best thing he’s ever done, the greatest choice he’s ever made, and the closest he can get to being good is being good to you. If that’s taken away from him, he’s doomed to an eternity of making the wrong choices.

“When I look at you, I see someone who is brave and gentle and strong. So strong,” you emphasise with the gentlest squeeze to his hand, almost like you think if you put too much pressure on it, his bones will cave in and shatter beneath your touch into dozens of tiny pieces, just like Jason’s heart does whenever you say things like this to him, like you actually mean it.

“I see a man who has been hurt by the world around him so many times, but he’s come out fighting every time.” Jason flinches at that, turning away so he can watch the condensation slowly forming on the tap, a single water droplet threatening to spill from it.

“Jay,” you whisper shakily, and he can hear the swell of emotion in your voice. But Jason knows that you’re not asking him to turn back and face you again, though he feels like he should so he can lean in and kiss any revealing traces of wetness off your face, even if it makes his lips feel like they’re being seared right off his face as he touches them to your soft skin.

“I wish you could see what I do when I look at you,” you admit, eyes no longer burning into the side of his face as you steady your voice again, sounding like you’re determined to prove it to him, that he’s worthy of your love and time.

“You deserve every good thing in this cursed world that we live in, and I wish I could give you that, but I can’t,” you say, voice cracking halfway through your sentence, and you sound truly heartbroken about it, about the fact that—that Jason deserves more, and he’s not getting it.

The water droplet leaks from the tap and lands on the bottom of the tub with a faint splat. Jason doesn’t hear it because he’s too busy staring at your glossy eyes, tears threatening to spill over the delicate tips of your eyelashes and down your face.

You blink and a tear runs down your cheek, just one, leaving a faint streak on your face as you breathe in deeply through your nose, trying to pull yourself together before you speak again. “All I can give you is my love and my time, and hope that that’s enough for you.”

You look back down at his hand cradled in yours again and there’s a faint smile on your face, like you know something he doesn’t. “These hands which you think are red? The same hands which you think will only ever ruin everything they touch? They’ve never hurt me.”

“These hands right here?” You say, shaking his ever so slightly, but not so much that it hurts. “They hold me when I’m happy and when I’m sad, when I’m angry and when I need to feel safe.” Your eyes meet his again, bright with warmth and determination. “My heart is in these hands, Jason, and you’ve never done it wrong. Ever.” Jason briefly considers arguing with you but he really doesn’t have the energy to—this bath is making him strangely sleepy.

But you must see the intent in his eyes because you shake your head and continue, just as stubborn as he is. That isn’t a bad thing, not at all. It’s why you work so well together.

“When I got into a relationship with you, I trusted you to take care of my heart, and that’s exactly what you’ve done,” you explain. “So all I’m asking is that you trust me to take care of you, because I know you deserve it, whether you agree with me or not.”

Jason stares at you and you stare right back, your smile growing ever wider as Jason’s eyes dart away and his cheeks warm slightly. He loves you so much.

“I think you ought to know,” Jason starts, meeting your eyes as water trails slowly down the back of his neck, making him want to claw at his skin, to press his nails into it and drag them along the surface until it’s raw and itchy and as red as his bleeding heart. “If it weren’t for the fact that the thought of touching someone’s skin makes me want to peel the fucking flesh right off my bones, I’d be kissing the shit out of you right now.”

Your wet eyes go soft again, as does your trembling smile. “I appreciate the sentiment,” you laugh, undeniably fond, and even after all this time, it makes Jason want to squirm a little. He refrains, but just barely.

You stare at each other for a little while longer until you speak up again, asking if you can wash his hair. It’s not that he needs to have his hair washed, but he enjoys the feeling of your fingers in his hair, adores the sound of your voice as you tell him a story or sing to him to replace the silence or distract him from the thoughts racing around his mind.

So naturally, he agrees, and soon enough, he’s facing the wall with you balanced on the edge of the bathtub, warning him before you scoop up a handful of clean water and pour it over his hair. You start to hum a simple song, briefly pausing to tell that you’re going to shampoo his hair before continuing.

He tenses up, trying to prepare himself for the feeling of being overstimulated when your hands land in his hair, but warmth tingles through him instead in the same way that it does whenever you touch him with no plans other than to love him, and really, Jason was a fool to expect anything else, seeing as you’ve only ever touched him with the best intentions in mind.

“I love you,” Jason murmurs quietly, and you don’t tease him by telling him you know that like you sometimes do. Like Jason himself did when he finally became comfortable with the fact that he loves you and you love him too.

In fact, you don’t say anything at all, still humming that same song as you gently massage your fingers through his thick hair, paying particular attention to his white streak. It occurs to Jason that maybe you didn’t hear him.

Or maybe you just somehow know like you always do that this was something he needed to say, that it was something he needed to learn for himself without finding out that you knew how he felt before he did, something that he needed to come to terms with so he could finally put a name to the way you make his heart try to punch out of his rib cage and right into your hands whenever you smile at him or say his name or praise him, or kiss his tears away and take him into your arms after he’s had a nightmare without a word of complaint.

“I love you,” he repeats anyway, hoping for you to understand, and you try your best, leaning in to press your mouth to the wet skin on the back of his neck, mouthing words against it that Jason can’t quite make out, but he’s pretty sure he can have a good guess. It makes him shiver again, but in a good way this time.

“I love you,” he says a third time, and now you get it. Now you hear what he’s really saying.

I love you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for always choosing me. Thank you for helping me through this.

Your mouth curls into a smile against his skin. “I love you too, Jason,” you whisper, voice tender. And Jason hears what you’re saying too.

I love you. Thank you for letting me.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #dc #sfw #my fic

[autisticcassandracain]

it’s nearly 3:30 AM and I have an appointment tomorrow but instead of sleeping I’m busy feeling annoyed about Jason and I feel like I gotta get this out of my system before going to bed so. I feel like Jason would be an infinitely more interesting character if, instead of challenging Batman on his no kill rule, he challenged Bruce on the existence of the Batman to begin with.

What I mean is this: it’s not a particularly novel concept to challenge Batman on the no kill rule. Like, at all. Everyone and their mom has done it, with varying levels of complexity and success. Jason’s moral system isn’t fresh or unique by any stretch of the imagination. The only thing that sets Jason apart from all the other villains/anti-heroes who have challenged Batman on the no kill rule over the years is that Jason is Bruce’s adopted son, and that Jason has actually come back from the dead, so he offers a unique perspective as the victim telling Batman his methods aren’t good enough. Which isn’t terrible, I suppose, but I still have... issues with it. 

I’m not a Jason buff by any means, and I haven’t re-read a lot of the comics related to him in a few years, so take my analysis on him with a grain of salt obviously, but it’s always bothered me that Jason is so willing to kill not just top criminals and supervillains, but also the average mook, if they get in his way. Jason’s poor background is often pointed to as a reason for why he has the moral system he does, and it’s always fallen flat for me, since Jason should know better than to kill the average mook precisely because he was poor. Likewise, he should know better than to think killing criminals, even the ones that deserve it, will actually solve anything in the long run.

The cause of the majority of crime is socio-economic inequality. People often turn to crime because they are poor and have very little other options. The illegal drug trade also exists due to socio-economic inequality. Jason, having been poor himself, and having had a criminal as a father and an addict as a mother, should know this. So why does he think shooting drug lords and their mooks is going to solve anything? Even if he manages to control the whole drug trade and has killed everyone else, he might be able to make things a little saver, but it’s not a long-term solution by any means. It doesn’t address the root cause of why crime flourishes in Gotham.

The criticism most often labelled at Batman out-of-universe is ‘Bruce Wayne could do a lot more if he used his money to fix the socio-economic inequality than he ever could as Batman’, which is a criticism I find unfair for a variety of reasons (I think it makes more sense to criticize the trend of making rich people superheroes than to single out one particular superhero for falling into this trend), but nevertheless, it’s not wrong. Bruce Wayne has long been established as a philanthropist in comics, but it’s relatively rare for a comic to really delve into the ways he materially helps people as Bruce Wayne, not Batman. And of course, running a company like he does means that he will inevitably fuck over some group of people, which as also been shown in comics. Charity by millionaires is, in no way, going to fix socio-economic inequality in the long term, but Batman needs to maintain his fortune in order to be able to continue his operations as Batman efficiently.

I think Jason could’ve been a way more interesting character if that was the angle with which he challenged Bruce. A Jason who, after dying a violent death, comes back to see that absolutely nothing has changed; Batman is still there, Robin is still there, the Joker is still there, nobody stays in jail due to the inherent corruption in the system, and Gotham is as poor as ever. And he becomes disillusioned with superheroism, doubting that it could ever do any material good at all. So he goes the other way, and tries to fight crime by establishing grassroots initiatives and activist communities to fight socio-economic inequality.

 And when Bruce inevitably finds out he’s alive, Jason challenges him on the effectiveness of Batman, pointing out that despite his best efforts, he’s managed to make no headway at all in his war for crime; if anything, you could argue he’s made it worse, both in that Batman attracts weirdo supervillains like the Joker, and in that Wayne Enterprises as a gigantic corporation will, inevitably, fuck people over in some, way, shape, or form. 

Like idk could just be me but while it’d probably be less exciting in that it involves less punching, I think a Jason who challenges the very idea of superheroism as an effective tool to fight crime and challenges Bruce’s morality as a millionaire is infinitely more interesting than Jason as yet another villain who thinks Batman’s no kill rule is ineffective. 

#my posts #it's also maintain the rich vs poor angle but in a way that doesn't make jason look like a gigantic shithead #bc i DO know poor ppl who think criminals deserve to die and they're all shitheads. every last one of them. #i don't. want this to end in the tags #but i need to tag this for my own administration #hnnnnnnnnnnnnng #ok here goes #jason todd #bruce wayne #infodumping #i feel like this post is either going to get 0-2 notes #OR i just swung my bat into a hornet's nest and I'm going to get a lot of replies to this I don't want to read

[thr-333]

Could you possibly do one where Mari/Mari and marine is/are the daughter/son of the joker?

I actually planned quite a lot for this after you asked but could never get my thoughts to make something comprehensive so I give up here's what I got!:

-Twins are Joker and Harleys kids born before the two split up(and so help me they will split up this story needs gay aunt Ivy)

-As you might know, these two clowns have another kid; Lucy. Harley left Lucy with her sister when she was born. In canon, she thinks Harley is her aunt but I would say in this fic she learned the truth when the twins were also dropped off.

-So the twins grew up in Gotham with their aunt and big sister knowing full well who their parents are; as such they make the responsible choice to suppress every part of themselves that resembles them and constantly dye their hair in an effort to avoid looking like them. You know healthy coping mechanisms. -

-Naturally, Marinette has brown hair with blue eyes and Marion blonde with brown eyes.

-Their personalities are a bit different from Mismatch. 

-Marion is still a trickster and a trouble maker but this time around has Marinette fully involved and responsible for his shenanigans. He has a bit of a habit of talking to himself(or singing random phrases), sometimes in the third person; he hates when he does, so Marinette always tells him off. He’s always gets the impulse of dying his hair outlandish colors and will vehemently deny his favorite color is green.

- Marinette is crafty, both figuratively and literally. She’s smart, her mother is a doctor after all she can be manipulative to people that arent her(close) family to protect the ones she cares about. She has a deep-seated fear of becoming a trophy, an object to be put on display like her mother and so dresses the opposite and pushes away her love for fashion.

-They will always call each other Mari but if someone else tries they both answer its a nickname they strictly use for each other.

-In a world where Gotham exists it makes absolutely no sense that Gabriel wouldn't start his reign as Hawkmoth in Gotham(the place with the most negative emotions like geez) so that works out perfectly for the twins becoming heroes(Adrien can move to Gotham or be left in Paris to be kept safe your choice)

-Instead of the twins proving themselves by helping an old man up off the street they go a step further is beating up the thugs that try to rob him(all Fu’s set up of course). When they come home to find two mysterious boxes on their beds they make the only rational conclusion children of the joker would; it’s a bomb!

-Not wanting to get the police involved for obvious reasons they find the security footage(which gets the police involved in a different way) and start tracking down fu to see why he’s trying to kill him.

-And as you may recall at this point in canon Ladybug and Chat Noir are defeating an Akuma, well they're not here they’re off to beat up an old man so thats Batman’s job for the time being.

-The twins get caught up in the fight as civilians and are saved by Batman who immediately recognizes them(you don't think Batman has case files on all of Jokers hellspawn?) so that’s gonna be a problem later but never mind that for now~

-The twins track down Fu, who is wondering why they aren’t out fighting the Akuma. Long story short Fu comes back to the house with them and proves they aren't bombs giving them the miraculous.

-I’m a bit indecisive on the names. I thought Marinette would be Red Bug and Marion Black Cat(yes I know that names already taken I don’t care). But I thought Crimson Bug would work better because then their names would start with the same letters. Then I wanted alliteration like Black Bug and Crimson Cat but that obviously doesn't make any sense since Chats color is green not red-- then I realized it would be completely in character for them to call themselves that confusing everyone in the process so no one quite sure whos name is who(if you wanna write it go with whatever I just thought it could be funny)

-As for costumes Marinette's probably wouldn't be skin tight because deep down she really doesn't want to look like that but more practical armor or less form-fitting at least. Marion's hair turns green when he transforms something he freaks out about and Marinette's turns red(glowing or not either would look cool)

-So anyway they go off to defeat the akuma blah blah blah Batman seeing these two young untrained superheroes can only think of one thing: I have to adopt them. So that’s gonna be fun!

-Anyway they go back home trying to be sneaky and immediately get caught by Lucy: ”Don’t tell Aunty!”-- ”Oh I already know” (her names Delia by the way)

- So now the twins get a support system and a family that will look out for them unbelievable right? This support system immediately threatens Fu making sure he actually trains them and doesn't just set them loose on Gotham.

Anyway that's the end of my semi-cohesive plan and here's a vague outline for the fic:

1. Becoming ladybug and chat noir setting up adoption, and school(Bruce invites them to Gotham academy to keep an eye on the jokers children)

2. First day at school setting up Artemis(and by extension young justice), and own passions, Adrien is also at this school now so Marinette falls, Jason finds out falling in love with Marion

3. Becoming friends with Artemis, convinces them to give their passions a try, Marion runs from hood, some let me adopt you stuff also Jason's spite for Cat Noir

4. Skip a bit of time a few months or so, young justice need help Artemis suggest mari and mari, Marinette has a smackdown with batman about their heritage, at odds with young justice Artemis comes to their defense. Young Justice have an ‘oh’ realization on the job when Marion sings a lullaby to a scared child, now the young justice form the mari and mari protection squad

5. Doing ladybug and cat stuff batman approaches them again this time luring them into adoption with a partnership on finding hawkmoth, Red Hood and cat fight. Marion comes back all huffy and there's a scene with Lucy this time comforting them, Marion goes out to get air runs into hood marion bristles stirring Jason to meet him as a civilian, class come to visit, at odds with lila

6. Doing well at school even made a few friends when the Paris class come to visit completely under lila’s control, lila tries to slander the twins for not worshiping her only to out herself when she tells everyone they laughed at her(the twins never laugh), Jason also drops by further discrediting her, lila tries to throw their heritage in their face but they get support openly working with heroes as civilians, this little section ends quite happily with them being sort of accepted at school and batman tolerating their existence for not attacking the person who tried to make their life miserable

7. Time skip few years out of high school now, ladybug and cat are working well with gothams vigilantes widely considered part of the batfam even if no one knows each other's identities. As mari and mari they are doing good work mainly outside of gotham. Marinette is starting a fashion boutique with a little financial help from Wayne enterprises she also does costume design for heroes and villains, villains mainly because she can't stand their current outfits. Marion quite likes his music but isn't sure how he will feel in the public eye is great friends with Jason and the skip picks up with them officially starting to go out identities unknown. They are still hesitant about their identities in civilian life Marinette starting her business under a false name and Marion cant start his because of his heritage. Jason officially has to admit they are going out to the family is met with grilling by aunt and sister, joy by harley once she tries giving them sex advice they leave, his brothers tease and both are tense about Bruces reaction but he begrudgingly accepts. Are out as ladybug and Cat still snippy with hood but it’s not as bad they are closing in on hawkmoth. Go to hang out with young justice as well they aren't well-liked in Gotham but they’re fine with that(not really)

8. NOW things can go to shit joker finally has enough of them deciding to get a hold of them but I think it should be as ladybug and chat revealing their identities to the world. The twins are terrified rightfully so. Get saved now it’s weird between hood and marion, marion feeling betrayed Jason knew who he was and knew who his father was but still decided to date him and he just can't understand why. Adrien was so scared for Marinette and now they both have to work out why. Gotham is at odds the heroes they admire are born from a villain they fear. Bats are a bit weird feeling like they were tricked while also kind of acknowledging the twins are good people

9. Harassed in their everyday life now the twins go to young justice where they get met with awe for being established independent heros, bats there are acting weird but the twins say something to shift perspective leaving to let them mull on it. Jason tries to apologise saying he doesn't see Marion like that blah blah Marion has a breakdown asking how he can be anything but a villain. Marinette's having whiplash going from loved to hated and still dealing with the trauma of seeing her father. They snap. In public a big ol scene and they get akumatised everyone sees it, it’s on tv. Hawkmoth comes out to get their miraculous the batfam can’t beat him. He’s monolouging probing at their deepest fears when they snap back to reality realizing none of it’s true every part of them has worked to be good people and they are they don't hand over their miraculous beating the akumatizaton and beating hawkmoth while akumatised.

10. They are released from the hospital a few days later, getting hesitant recognition on the streets. It's not thunderous applause but it is something. Their family comes to pick them up, Adrien is crying to Marinette about not scaring him like that(her family took him in when Gabriel was revealed). Marion gets picked up by Jason they patch things over. They get accepted into the batfam and work as ladybug and cat for everything. Marion decides to start playing music and Marinette reveals her face to her fashion brand.

[dwellordream]

A Six of Crows Review: Joost and Inej I

This marks the beginning of my review of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Before I go any further, I want to provide context for my experience/knowledge of the book and its fandom. Six of Crows was published in 2015 when I was 16. I picked it up in a bookstore and read the first few chapters idly while shopping, before putting it back down.

At the time, my dislike of what I’d read was probably primarily fueled by the realization that it was by the same author as Shadow and Bone, which I had tried to read a few years before and disliked, and because at the time I was aging out of the YA genre in general and had very little patience for many of its familiar tropes.

In recent years, Six of Crows and its companion and predecessor series, the Grisha Trilogy, have become one of the most popular YA series online. The avid fan response and promotion of it on social media no doubt led to the Netflix series being greenlit and it is obviously trending at present due to the success of the series. With all that in mind, I’ve decided to try Six of Crows again and see for myself what all the hype is about.

Some more caveats: I am 22 years old. I am aware Six of Crows is YA literature intended for a middle and high school audience. I will not be holding it to the standards I would hold an adult grade fantasy book, in terms of prose, themes, or content. I am aware that I am not necessarily the target audience for the book and these reviews are in no way intended to shame or disparage anyone who enjoys the book.

Criticism is a healthy part of any fandom and does not necessarily constitute hate. I will likely critique elements of the book in my write up. That does not mean I have a personal vendetta against the author, publishers, or the TV show. Please do not take this as a personal attack if you’ve enjoyed the book. This is just intended to promote discussion and to gather my own thoughts.

If you follow me, I am tagging this as ‘in review’ so you know what to block if you don’t want to see my posts on your dash. I will be going through 1-2 chapters per weekend. This weekend I will be looking at the prologue, aka Joost, and the first Inej chapter.

Jumping into things, here is Joost:

The prologue is our introduction to Ketterdam, the setting of Six of Crows. It’s been a very long time since I read Shadow and Bone and so all I really know is that Ketterdam is a city in an island known as Kerch, based off the map. The major countries or kingdoms of the mainland to the east appear to be Fjerda, Ravka, and Shu Han, though it is unclear how they differ from one another at this point.

Ketterdam through Joost’s eyes is a sinister and dreary place, a city under a grimy night sky and full of dangers. Joost works as a hired guard for a very wealthy man named Hoede, who keeps grishas, powerful magic users, as indentured servants. Joost is infatuated with one of them, Anya, a healer, though he knows she is not likely to return his affections and furthermore cannot wed without the permission of her owner. We also learn that grishas are at risk for being kidnapped and sold by slavers due to their value. However, the indentured servant system of Ketterdam thus far doesn’t seem to be much better than slavery, given how little freedom the grisha have.

Overall, the prologue is supposed to give us a sense for the setting of Ketterdam and interest us in the main hook of the novel, which seems to be a mysterious substance that grisha can ingest to heighten their powers for the benefit of their masters, though it has the risks of making them uncontrollable. How well is this done?

Through Joost’s perspective we can glean several things; Ketterdam is a dirty city with rampant income inequality, full of crime and corruption. Magic is an established system within Ketterdam, but the magic users do not seem to be at the type of the hierarchy despite their powers, which suggests they are a minority to the extent of which they can still be controlled by the elite class of non magic users, if they have enough money and power.

It is also very obvious through the references in the prologue that Ketterdam is heavily based off the Netherlands during the Golden Age, which was Amsterdam’s (Ketterdam… Amsterdam… not subtle) economic and cultural boom during the 17th century, aka the 1600s. Notably the world’s first stock exchange began in Amsterdam in 1602, and it was a major port and trading hub for the Dutch East and Dutch West India Companies.

It is not clear if Ketterdam is also intended to be a 1600s-esque society, timeline wise, but we know that rifles are common place and there is a thriving merchant class who rule as opposed to old aristocracy, which seems to indicate a Renaissance style setting, as well as the urban environment in general. (That said, from the advertisements for the Netflix show, they seem to have updated it to a more Victorian-era 1800s society, in terms of fashion and general aesthetics).

Overall, the prologue does its job. It gives us a vague idea of what Ketterdam is like, how the society is structured, and who holds the power. It also ends on a suspenseful cliffhanger, leaving Joost’s fate unclear. Where it falls flat is that I think a little more time could have been spent fleshing out Joost as a narrator, even if this is his only showing in the book.

His internal monologue comes across as a bit dry and mechanical, as if the author is aware he is just a means to an end to start the book off with a bang, and he quickly turns into a walking camera (just there to report events to the reader, with no internal input from him), for the second half of the prologue, as we switch to just watching Anya and Hoede through his eyes. That said, it’s not a major problem, as Joost is clearly not intended to be a main character, and his narration still effectively conveys what is happening and sets the dark tone of the novel.

What I would have liked to see from the prologue is perhaps the POV of Anya herself, or the small child she is being forced to experiment on, as that might have been a more compelling and immerse introduction to Ketterdam and its dangers rather than the fairly bland and neutral Joost, who doesn’t really feel like a character so much as a bland stand-in for the reader. If we were put in the shoes of Anya, suddenly called upon by her power hungry employer to participate in this unethical test, or in the shoes of the small boy caught up in the middle of this, it might have been both more thrilling to read and given a more gritty sense of what it’s like to be on the lowest rungs of Ketterdam’s society, at the mercy of the most powerful.

Moving onto Inej, we run into some similar problems. After Inej’s first chapter, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about her, other than that she was an acrobat as a child, that she is part of the street gang known as the Dregs, and that she intensely values loyalty. This isn’t a problem, per say, but while that’s all good to know, it doesn’t give me any sense of Inej’s actual personality, which doesn’t exactly bode well. Like Joost, she comes across more as a walking camera and occasional tourist guide as opposed to a human character with her own worries, hopes, and fears.

I think this may become a recurring problem with Bardugo’s writing - ie all tell, no show. Inej is good at telling things. She tells us where we are as we follow her to the location of a stand-off between rival gangs, she tells us that Kaz, their leader ‘doesn’t need a reason’, though she never exactly explains what that means other than that he is widely feared, she tells us that she is very fond of her knives.

But in terms of writing, we shouldn’t have to be force fed all this information via her internal monologue, which, again, entirely cuts out once the action picks up, just like Joost’s. While I don’t need her thoughts on every threat or gunshot, it would be nice to feel as if she hadn’t just vanished from the story completely as soon as the dialogue starts.

We also meet Kaz and Jesper, though I couldn’t tell you much about them utter than that Inej clearly admires, even venerates Kaz as an accomplished intimidator and chess master, and that Jesper is clearly the joker of the group.

It also feels incredibly weird that this parley between gangs in happening in front of the city’s stock exchange. Inej tells us this is because the Exchange is one of the few remaining neutral territories, but it’s also heavily guarded, which means every time a gang wants to parley, they have to pay out the cash to bribe all the guards to very pointedly ignore a meeting between rambunctious and trigger happy street gangsters on their literal doorstep.

I understand why Bardugo chose this location, wanting to contrast the violence of the gang members with the economic injustice that the Exchange and its merchant rulers represents, but it just seems a bit silly. They couldn’t meet at the docks? In an alley way? This is like picturing the American Mafia hosting a public meeting at the New York Stock Exchange with a bunch of cops twiddling their thumbs nearby.

The foreshadowing that Bollinger is the traitor (‘I’m not going to bet on my own death’) also seems very heavy handed and a little much, but I’ll let it slide.

It’s also not really clear while Inej is present at this meeting in the first place. Kaz commands her to keep watch from above, but he has also put a contingency plan in place that doesn’t even involve her, having bought out some of Geels’ men from under him. Why put Inej looking down from above if you’re not involving her in this plan? Her only role seems to be to watch, and she doesn’t even have a gun she could play sniper with. It just seems like a hamfisted way of getting Inej out of the danger zone so the author can have her as a passive spectator to the violence that follows.

This is my main problem with this chapter. It’s supposed to introduce us to Inej, but really, it’s introducing us to Kaz. Which is fine, but as he also has a POV in this book, it seems a bit lame that her own chapter is completely overtaken by showing off A. his smarts and B. how dangerous he is, despite being dismissed as a young ‘cripple’ by the likes of Geels.

Geels is also… not a greatly done villain. I get that he’s supposed to be small fry and is just a precursor to much more threatening opponents, but his every line of dialogue feels designed to show off how cool and Machiavellian Kaz is in comparison. He doesn’t seem like an actual hardened criminal who has underestimated his opponent, but a somewhat cheesy cartoon thug who unironically says things like “How are you going to wriggle your way out of this one?” with his full chest. The effect is comical, and not in a good way.

This chapter also shows off Kaz’s sadistic side in full display, which is probably one of the only interesting things about it, though it would be nice if we got any input at all from Inej on this… instead she completely vanishes from her own narration, to the point where she might as well not be present at all. Kaz has no qualms about tracking down his enemies’ weakness, such as lovers and family, and threatening them.

But the open horror and shock Geels reacts with seems incongruent, as if Kaz were the first up and coming gangster to actually consider threatening someone’s family or girlfriend. That seems pretty par for the course for violent criminals trying to claim territory and unnerve their rivals, yet Inej and Geels himself react as if no one had ever thought of sinking to the level of ‘do what I want or I’ll kill your loved ones’ until Kaz invented it. It just feels a bit silly and on the nose.

Really, my overarching issue with this chapter is that it’s not about Inej at all, it’s just an introduction to the Kaz Brekker fan club. I don’t automatically hate Kaz as a character, but his introduction is heavyhanded and comes at the cost of any establishing character moments for Inej. The most we get out of her is her brief pangs of sympathy for Bollinger despite his treachery, and her brief reference to her childhood. Maybe future Inej chapters will totally change this, but right now, it’s not a great sign of what’s to come.

I can think of about a hundred things Inej could have done or said this chapter to develop or establish her personality at all, but all we got was her briefly holding a knife to someone, and her briefly saying a prayer for Bollinger. I think it would have worked much better had this plan to catch Geels with his pants down been Inej’s invention or at least worked out between her and Kaz, rather than her just there to play lookout and admire how cool Kaz is.

Or at the very least, we could have seen the scene referenced where she searches the crime scene of the assassination, instead of that getting two lines and an entire chapter being devoted to what boils down to a pissing contest over which gangs gets rights to a certain neighborhood.

Next week, we will look at Kaz I.

#in review #six of crows #ya lit #inej ghafa

[forevercloudnine]

new 52 scarebat ship meme

(I had @heroes-etc​ give me more questions, but for scarebat this time, since we talk about it 24/7 but I never post about it. These are from this ship meme.)

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other?

There’s only one feature of Bruce’s appearance that’s scarier when he’s not wearing the batsuit, and that’s his creepy blue eyes. Especially the way Greg Capullo draws them where they’re sickly pale and have ridiculously constricted pupils.

So his eyes would definitely be in the running for Jonathan’s favorite feature, even if seeing them would require Bruce’s mask to be off, which is something New 52 Scarecrow explicitly avoids. Yes, that character trait only exists to justify why Batman’s identity is still secret after Scarecrow mind controls and subsequently institutionalizes him in “Gothtopia,” but I think it’s interesting so I’m going to pretend it’s not shoe-horned in there for meta reasons.

Actually having to see Bruce without the cowl on would definitely permanently break the illusion of Batman as a nightmarish inhuman bat demon, which I’m sure is a large part of the appeal for anyone as obsessed with fear as Jonathan Crane. But Bruce’s creepy eyes would be a serious consolation prize. 

Bruce’s favorite of Jonathan’s physical features is rough, because Jonathan is famously not great re: physical features. I’m going to say his mouth, because a) that’s where the snark comes from, and b) the New 52 establishes that in one of their earlier encounters, Jonathan had sewn his own mouth shut, so it’s one of those things where a bad first impression turned positive later on leads to more fondness than if you’d made a good impression in the first place.

I just looked up the panel where he does it and I DID forget how incredibly gross his lips look here, which makes the fact that I have chosen it as Bruce’s feature seem really funny in retrospect. But I do think that seeing Jonathan’s mouth healed and unmutilated would be a reassuring reminder of how he’s stabilized since their first encounter, at least to the point that he isn’t hurting himself anymore. Also, Bruce buys him a lot of chapstick.

Bonus alternate answer that did not make it into the Google Doc:

9. How open are they with their feelings?

Bruce and Jonathan are both pretty competent deceivers in the New 52; Bruce always, Jonathan depending on how the writer is feeling (though you could argue that Bruce just has a stronger grip on reality, while Jonathan’s skill at obfuscation varies with how lucid he is).

...I was going to use Detective Comics #23.3 as an example of Jonathan being a good liar, but actually upon re-reading I’m realizing that only 1/4 rogues buy his attempt at manipulation. So maybe he’s considerably worse at hiding his intentions than he thinks he is. Regardless, he doesn’t ever attempt to disguise his obsession with Batman.

Whether or not he’d express romantic feelings or try to hide them is debatable. There’s no Masters of Fear equivalent in the New 52 establishing that he was ever mocked or punished for expressing romantic feelings for someone, though there is a flashback panel in his origin emphasizing that he was always lonely in this regard (and coincidentally doesn’t specify that his interest is in women, which is fun).

In Green Lanterns #17 he has some internal monologue about how fear is his romance and he needs Batman to feel it, but it is an INTERNAL monologue, so it’s not clear if this is something he would express to Bruce or keep to himself. Or if he’s even fully processed it himself, given how incredibly out of it he is in this comic. Most of his spoken lines are just kind of screaming incoherently. Bruce gets pretty snippy with a Green Lantern at the end of the issue for suggesting that Jonathan should be punished for his crimes as if he were in control of his actions. 

Bruce is a similarly complicated answer, since for all his deceptions and shadowy mystery he pretty much wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to romance. It’s just that his heart doesn’t express or process emotions the same way as anyone around him, which can create conflict. His (seriously underrated) love interest during Scarecrow’s origin arc, Natalya, spent most of her time dating him thinking that he didn’t care about her for this reason. He was trying to express that he loved her, but he mostly did so through complimenting her skills, which she never took as serious declarations of affection because he wasn’t being straightforward and she was insecure.

Jonathan does not himself seem like someone who would be especially secure in the idea of another person having romantic feelings towards him, so I assume that while Bruce might THINK he’s being open with any romantic feelings he develops, he would in reality just be really confusing.

13. How do they react to being away from each other?

I actually think that in general, Jonathan is one of the few people who would have no issue dealing with Bruce’s tendency to unexpectedly go AWOL for long periods of time, given that he himself has a tendency to fixate on his work to the exclusion of everything else.

But New 52 Jonathan specifically probably has pretty serious abandonment issues due to his father putting him in “the pit” and dying before he could take him out, meaning that Jonathan was waiting for his dad to come back for him for God knows how long, until Jonathan Sr.’s employers finally sent the police to investigate. 

So while in general I think he wouldn’t be very clingy, any impression that Bruce had died or otherwise wasn’t coming back for him would probably be incredibly triggering. If Bruce could assuage this reaction by occasionally sending updates that at least indicated he was still alive, then I doubt Jonathan would have any problems with his absence.

(@heroes-etc​: bruce sending like a checkmark emoji once a day. jonathan hears his phone ping, looks at the screen, and goes hm. good. and doesnt respond.)

Bruce meanwhile has no problem ditching literally any love interest at any time if something crime-related comes up, unless he’s considering quitting the cowl for them (as Joker probably accurately fears will happen with Catwoman in Prelude to the Wedding). But I don’t think he’d stop being Batman for Scarecrow, nor would Jonathan ever want him to — he’s interested in Batman, not necessarily Bruce Wayne.

But even though Bruce wouldn’t have an emotional problem with distance, I think he would get similarly paranoid if they went too long without contact, though for different reasons than Jonathan. Unlike some other villains (*cough* Joker and Riddler), Scarecrow has machinations that don’t require getting Batman’s attention, so if he decided to continue with his less legal experiments, he would not feel compelled to get Bruce involved. While the “World’s Greatest Detective” would probably not have an issue keeping an eye on Jonathan while he’s in Gotham, he’s considerably less capable of that in space. And Jonathan is definitely a rogue he would be obsessed with keeping an eye on, even if he reformed. 

Batman & Robin Eternal established that Dick’s first supervillain conflict AND first mission leaving the country was chasing Scarecrow across the world for an entire summer, which is kind of insane considering how early it was in Batman’s career. Like, he did not have an army of children to watch Gotham for him while he was gone. He had one child, and he took that child WITH him. He left Gotham undefended for months, JUST to catch Scarecrow. Sooo that in of itself implies he wouldn’t be great at keeping his distance.

15. Does their view of themselves differ from their partner’s view?

Well, Jonathan occasionally sees Bruce as a giant bat demon, so yes.

Outside of that very obvious differing view, Jonathan in general sees himself and the rest of the rogue gallery as more vital to Batman’s identity than Bruce considers them; the extent to which he’s right varies depending on your interpretation of Bruce’s character, but it’s definitely not something Bruce would ever consciously think or say. 

This is related to something that’s definitely a misconception of his, though, which is that the majority of Batman’s job revolves around supervillains like him. In Kings of Fear, when Jonathan blackmails Bruce into letting him come on patrol with him (which is a whole thing in of itself), he’s shocked at how boring most of Batman’s work is. Which probably goes along hand in hand with sometimes seeing Bruce as an almost mythologically inhuman figure. 

In his defense, it’s not like he has a lot of context for what the minutiae of Batman’s job is like. He’s either fighting Batman, hiding from Batman, or imprisoned by Batman in Arkham, a place where everyone else also spends all their time fighting or hiding from Batman. Which would really skew your perspective.

Interestingly, Bruce and Jonathan are both people who pride themselves on being extremely self-aware. Both of them probably inaccurately. You can rant about how you have a perfect understanding of your troubled mental state all day long, but if you’re still dressing up like a monster at night to indulge the power fantasies you created as a traumatized child by scaring the hell out of people, there’s probably a level of self-realization you haven’t gotten to yet.

Bruce however is at least self-aware enough to regularly be able to analyze his way out of fear toxin induced hallucinations, which Jonathan is unable to do — when he’s not depicted as having become immune to his fear toxin due to overexposure (as he is in Green Lanterns #17), he can be defeated with the same formulas that Batman regularly manages to resist (like his honestly embarrassing breakdown in Nightwing #50). 

Which ties into the difference between how he sees himself and how Bruce sees him: Jonathan obviously visualizes himself as a “master” of fear. He actually has the same internal monologue about fear and trauma that Bruce does in Batman: The Dark Knight #13: “Make it your own... run to what you fear... stare it in the eye... until it whimpers and backs down.” But Bruce doesn’t see Scarecrow as conquering his fear; he sees him as addicted to it, to the point of his own detriment.

Which is interesting, because Jonathan clearly sees his Scarecrow persona as a way to regain control after being victimized by his father’s fear experiments throughout his childhood. I guess Bruce’s perspective would be that Jonathan’s father instead got him addicted to fear as a child, so his attempts at agency as Scarecrow are just a) reliving his trauma over and over and b) compulsively inflicting his own trauma on others. There’s probably some truth to that, even if overall it’s probably an oversimplification (and coincidentally pretty much EXACTLY what Riddler argues Bruce is doing by “funding” Batman in Batman Annual #4, so there’s that).

20. Did either person change at all, to be with their partner?

The obvious answer here is yes, because Jonathan is a supervillain with no regard for human life while Bruce is a superhero who has dedicated his life to protecting people. So presumably one or both of them would have to make serious compromises to be together. HOWEVER. Scarecrow’s primary motivation is to research, understand and inflict fear, while Batman’s modus operandi is making his enemies afraid of him. So despite their contradiction in morals, they’re uniquely positioned to advance each other’s goals, were they to ever join forces.

Bruce never has a problem using fear toxin on Scarecrow, presumably partially out of an “eye for an eye” sense of poetic justice, but also because Batman is practical and it’s a nonlethal weapon that’s always available to him while fighting Scarecrow. If he could have fear toxin customized for his own use, it’s hard to imagine him being unwilling to use it. In Gothtopia he actually advocates for using what’s leftover from Crane’s new formula on all the inmates at Arkham, which seems about as insanely morally ambiguous as it gets. Arguably, putting fear toxin in his smoke bombs would be considerably less wrong than drugging mental patients out of their mind when they’re supposed to be receiving therapy (this is also the issue where he illegally releases Poison Ivy because she did him a favor, which is both morally questionable and relevant to the current topic).

Jonathan obviously already thinks Batman is the most interesting possible case study in fear; it’s why he keeps coming back to Bruce and Gotham despite being one of the more independent villains in Batman’s rogue gallery in the New 52. So though he would have to give up actively kidnapping people (which would be a huge sacrifice, I’m sure), teaming up with Bruce would give him unrestricted access to his favorite test subject. Unfortunately, it seems very possible that he would fall back to old tricks if he ever felt that he’d gotten everything he could out of a partnership with Bruce. Fortunately, that would probably take a VERY long time.

#scarebat #jonathan crane #scarecrow #bruce wayne #batman #ship meme #every day i think about the parallels between bruce and jonathan's childhoods that were set up by their new 52 origins #well. not every day #pretty goddamn regularly #i used to absolutely despise the new 52 scarecrow origin + characterization #but scarebat redeemed it for me

[2ndaryreactsandscenarios]

SF9 (Request) Reaction to: Clarification That We’re Together

Through it all, you finally ask them what’s the label of you two.

I apologize for how long this took. I hope the person who requested it enjoys it. Thanks for stopping by this blog~

Youngbin (The Hardworking Leader)

With everything that had happened, it was only natural to wonder if you two were officially a thing. Youngbin’s gaze always seemed to linger on you more than usual, and he seemed more on edge lately. So one night, you two were watching TV when you called out to him. Youngbin looked up from the TV and at you.

“What is it?”

You searched for words to say, deciding to lead on, “Can I ask you a question?”

Youngbin looked away from you. “...Sure. You can ask me anything.”

You were about to ask him what you two were, when he stopped you.

“Except for that.”

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you meekly said you didn’t even get to finish the question.

“See? Stop that. You know if you act so cute I won’t be able to hold in how happy I am.”

You were so shocked you nearly fell from your seat. You asked him why in the world he would have to hide how happy he was.

“Because… I’m too shy right now to come out and say, ‘This is my LOVER’!” Youngbin hid his face behind his hands and you tried to pry them off so you could see his face.

“Please give me another week or so. I will ask you properly then and I will spoil you a ton. But right now, I’m so happy I could probably cry.”

Inseong (The Smartest and the Eldest)

Inseong seemed grumpier as time passed by. You noticed it, but were preoccupied with your current question of life: What exactly were you and Inseong supposed to be right now? Were you friends? Lovers? What were you two in terms of labels?

So one lunch outing you finally decided to ask him. You asked if you could ask--

“No!”

You finally looked at Inseong (really looked at him) and realized he was in such a grumpy state that the staff was cautiously stealing glances at him in case he snapped. You asked him what was wrong. He looked at you before swallowing and taking a breath.

“...It’s nothing. What’s up?”

You glanced away from him before asking him. He dropped his utensils loudly when he processed your question. 

“Well, gee golly gosh, I DON’t KNOW! Let me just ask my magic eight ball? Oh, are we dating or not? I could ask YOU that question.”

It took only a glance to realize the truth; Inseong had been asking the same questions you were inside. You smiled and glanced away (in the direction of the most beautiful staff to grace this establishment). He took it as a challenge.

“Hey. Keep your eyes on your boyfriend.” You giggled and asked him if that was what he was? He looked away and blushed. “You are so embarrassing.”

Jaeyoon (The Bright Jokester)

Jaeyoon was caught off guard by your question. You had brought it up after a few days of contemplation. For the past few days, Jaeyoon had been clingy and a bit more touchy than usual. Stuff like holding your hand and putting an arm around you. Now you didn’t necessarily mind since he always stopped if you were uncomfortable and only did it in a light manner. But even so, the physical proximity seemed a lot smaller than before. Hence you asked him if you two were dating or something?

After noticing how much Jaeyoon was fumbling through his words you explained yourself. Ultimately saying that while you didn’t mind the close contact, he just never asked you if you two could date? He never even said that he liked you.

That set Jaeyoon back in motion. He scoffed playfully before taking a step closer to you, effectively trapping you between himself and a wall. But you weren’t taking his jokes today and daringly kept eye contact. He slid his arm up and placed it on the wall beside your face (KABEDON).

“I think I’ve been pretty clear about how I felt? What about you?”

You said you liked him, which caught Jaeyoon off guard. You liked him, but you needed him to say it. This wasn’t something you were okay with just glossing over. Even though you hoped you would hear it more often, you needed to hear it at the beginning to not have doubts.

“Doubts? How could you even doubt that I would like someone as amazing as you?”

The words slipped out, and you could tell it was involuntary the way his arm left the wall to cover his mouth. You smiled before pushing a little further. Was this goofball supposed to be your boyfriend?

“Who else would I be? I do like you after all. So… can’t we be together?” Today would go down in history as the day you won over Jaeyoon.

Dawon( The Acting Joker)

Dawon would be the most obvious with the change. Being jittery and having tons of energy all the time. He seemed super attentive of you and you noticed it (how could you miss it). So you finally sat him down and asked him why he was being so happy and jumpy.

“I mean, it’s finally here. We’re an official couple.” He hugged you and while it was a nice hug you gently pushed him away. You asked him since when were you two a couple. When did you talk about it together?

“Well, we did--” 

It would be then that it struck Dawon that the two of you had never really talked about officially dating. He looked around confused before asking you.

“Well, don’t you like me too?” (POINT DAWON)

You regained composure after that fatal blow and said that yes you did, but he never asked if you two would officially date. Dawon nodded before facing you fully.

“Then, I will. Please give me some time to think about and come up with a nice way to ask you. Can you wait a little longer? I’m sorry I was this much of a klutz.”

And you decided to wait of course and Dawon came up with the perfect way to ask you out.

Zuho (The Charismatic Daydreamer)

The thing with Zuho is that nothing would really change between the two of you and that would be why you were confused. You felt like you had made your feelings clear and for the most part you thought it was really possible that Zuho liked you back. So one day in the studio, you asked him.

“We’re dating aren’t we?”

You were surprised, before saying you would like to date.

“Well we are aren’t we?”

You nodded slowly before muttering how you had thought things would have changed a little bit.

“Well what sort of changes did you have in mind? I can’t promise full blown nicknames and roses everyday, but if there is something I could do, what’d you have in mind?”

And you mentioned the proximity thing. You two were never really sharing space or holding hands or hugs. Nothing really couples like. You were standing in front of Zuho who was seated in a spinning chair.

“You mean like stuff in dramas?”

You nodded but thought for a moment how that may be a bit much. In the time you took to think, Zuho pulled you into his lap and hugged you.

“Something like this?”

You were caught off guard and was surprised. But you nodded. He hid his face in the crook of your neck and sighed in embarrassment.

“Maybe we could start off by holding hands first? This is a little too much for me. I think it’s a bit too dramatic for my beginner at love heart.”

Rowoon (The Caring and Cheerful)

See, Rowoon would be a bit of a romantic and think that your bond was so strong that it was beyond words. Hence why he was taken aback by you questioning your relationship. He would think back and where he went wrong in his thinking, and would just be a little bit disappointed. Guess real life wasn’t like movies.

“I thought we were together. As in dating. But I understand if that’s not what you want--”

You cut him off with a hug. 

“Um? What happened?”

You said you were glad that this really was you two dating. You didn’t want to get your hopes up when he could have been just being nice. So you were really glad to be dating him for real. Rowoon smiled.

“Yeah. It’s for real.”

Taeyang (The Thoughtful Fashionista)

Taeyang would be a little different. He would notice that things were definitely different between the two of you, but he was unsure if this was how you were with everyone. So he would test the waters a little bit.

“Can I have a hug?” You would give him a hug, despite the questions in your mind.

“Can I hold your hand?” You would do that as well, wondering why Taeyang was acting so cute all of a sudden. And then the next question came.

“Can I kiss you?” You would laugh but nod your head. He wouldn’t do it though, because he needed to know that he was the only one first.

“So since you’ll let me kiss you, can I take that to mean we really are dating right now? I don’t think you kiss just any old friend…”

You would ask him if that was why he was acting all weird just now, and he would nod. You would assure him that you only would kiss someone you really really like, and you hoped that that someone would stop being silly and kiss his significant other. 

“Understood~” Taeyang would smile and fulfill the final question, planting a sweet old kiss on your lips.

Hwiyoung (The Emotional Gentleman)

With Hwiyoung, I feel like he would be the one to need clarification. He would have the question burning inside of him and every single lingering touch or lingering hug would have him questioning whether it was all in his head or if you two were actually something more now. It’d definitely drive him a wall, and he would wind up finally just asking you in a super beat around the bush way.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Promise you won’t get mad?”

“Depends on what you ask.”

“You swear you won’t start acting weird if I ask?”

“Just ask already--”

“I NEED YOU TO PINKY PROMISE YOU AREN’T GONNA STOP TALKING TO ME!!”

All in all, Hwiyoung would be glad he asked. You would bashfully tell him that you were under the impression you two were a thing, before asking if that was wrong or if he had a problem with that. Hwiyoung would pull you into a hug and take the biggest breath.

“I’m just glad I really haven’t lost my mind. That’s more than okay with me. I’d love it if we were a thing. I mean I AM glad we were a thing. I mean-- I’ll just stop talking.”

Chani (The Brave Maknae) 

Chani would give you this look when you ask him if you two were dating. He would make a big old deal out of it by having you sit down at a table, seated across from one another.

“Today, Sunday the 12th, at 3 pm, my dearest has asked me what is the current status of our relationship. I am here to report the results to you today, stay tuned.”

You would roll your eyes at him, and he would then turn his attention away from the invisible audience and back to you. 

“Now if you don’t mind me asking, why do you ask if we’re dating or not?”

You would explain that something between the two of you had changed recently, and Chani had just seemed to be so attentive and nice towards you. You didn’t know what was going on.

“First of all, how rude, I’m always nice to you. Secondly, you base this off of feelings and even you don’t know what it is. What about me? What if things seem normal to me? Go ahead and ask me.” You would do so.

“Absolutely not. You keep walking around here looking adorable and junk. How can I be mean like normal when you act extra cute like this? You are really making my life harder, you know that?”

This would cause your dear old face to turn a few hues closer to red, and Chani would point at your face (pointing ain’t polite fellow homo sapiens).

“Look! Just look at yourself! I’m your boyfriend and I can’t take it.”

You would stare at Chani all wide eyed, and he would cover his mouth, not realizing what he said until it was out.

“And that’s the show folks. I am out of here. Good night.”

Chani would try to make a break for it, and you would wind up teasing him for the rest of the day. Leaving Chani embarrassed but still a bit happy.

If you took the time to read this reaction, thank you so much for your time. Stay happy and healthy! Make yourself a magnificent morning/afternoon/evening/night whenever in time or whenever in the world you may be and I hope to see you all again soon. Bye bye~

#sf9 reaction #sf9 reactions #sf9 imagine #sf9 imagines #sf9 scenario #sf9 scenarios #sf9 request #sf9 request reaction #sf9 request reactions

[jisungsmochi]

the froyo girl - zcl

chenle x frozen yogurt shop worker!reader <333 / lots of fluff and pining hehe / wingman!jisung (had to do it to ‘em) 

this should be fun!! read more for this series here

word count: 3.3k

summary: working at the frozen yogurt shop at the local mall was fun for the most part. except for when this particular group of boys enter the store almost every evening, and make a ruckus. for the most part, they don’t completely drive you crazy but the one boy with the loud laughter and the jet black hair with hints of dark blue, had you swooning.

//

“yeah so i told renjun that i didn’t want to study together on friday and he was kind of upset so- y/n? are you listening?” your friend, jiwon snapped her fingers in your face. you shook your head to rid of your dozed off state, looking at the girl in front of you. you were currently standing behind the counter at the frozen yogurt shop you worked at. it was a fairly small establishment, only a few tables set up inside and outside and usually two employees working a shift at a time. unfortunately, you were the only one called in for work, as your coworker was currently on vacation. you didn’t mind though, the shop never got too out of hand, after all, it was mainly a self-serve type of business.

you were speaking to jiwon who had started dating her coworker, renjun, from the diner. you knew all the gritty details of their mini rivalry, in which you always lectured her to be nicer to him.

“sorry, i just feel really drowsy today” you sigh, looking down at the variety of treats in front of you.

“are you feeling sick or something? you shouldn’t have forced yourself to work!” jiwon began to worry, ready to hop over the counter to take you home.

“no no, it’s not like that. i didn’t get much sleep last night because of those group of guys who always come in later in the evenings” you yawn, confirming the fact you were completely exhausted. you had allowed the group to stay in store after hours. you knew that you should have flashed some sort of authority onto them, but everytime you saw him, you got nervous.

“y/n! you can’t let them push you around like that, you have to stand your ground” jiwon tried to hype you up, only earning a small nod in return.

“i know i know, it’s just everytime i see h-“ you immediately stop yourself, knowing how she was going to react. jiwon smirked at you, wiggling her eyebrows. you held your face in your hands and groaned.

“you have a crush on that dude that laughs really loud! the one that sounds like a dolphin” she chuckles, causing you to blush in response. you had heard his friends chant his name a few times, chenle. you always found your eyes drifting towards him. how he dramatically swung his head back while laughing at something his friends said, how he always managed to overflow his cup with oreo crumbs, and especially how he always gave you a smile before he left. you knew it didn’t mean much, but you couldn’t help but feel warm inside everytime he did so.

chenle and his group started hanging at the shop around two months ago. you vividly remember the first time you interacted with him.

he walked in with his best friend, who you knew was jisung, the boy who worked at your local convenience store. you weren’t paying attention to them at first, your main task being fixing the oreo froyo machine. it had suddenly stopped working a few minutes before, and your coworker was currently on the phone with the manager about the situation. chenle stood behind you, instantly frowning at situation. you felt some figures near you, eyes widening at the boys who returned the look. you gave them a small smile,

“sorry guys, the machine is broken, we’ll have it back up and running soon. but you can try the red velvet flavour, it’s new and a personal favourite” you kindly explained, wiping your hands on your apron.

“oh okay, thankyou! goodluck with fixing the machine though” chenle smiles softly, moving to grab the red velvet flavour. you couldn’t help but overhear the conversation,

“but dude, oreo is your favourite flavour” jisung mutters,

“it can change” he shrugged, instantly making you feel giddy. it was simple things like that, which made you infatuated with the boy. what could you say? you were a sucker for him from day one.

chenle and his friends were once again, hanging inside the shop. your coworker bid you a farewell before reminding you to lock up. you nodded at her, wishing her a good night before wiping down the rest of the counter top. you could hear chenle’s laughter echo throughout the whole shop, it never failed to make you giggle to yourself. you didn’t notice, like every other time chenle was staring at you. he watched as you blew bits of your hair from your face. he watched as you huffed after finished wiping the counter top, and threw the wet towel into the bucket. he watched as you cheered to yourself for landing the shot, which made him smile even more. jisung noticed, nudging his friend’s shoulder,

“stop staring and go talk to her” he tried to encourage the dark haired boy.

“you know i can’t, s-she looks busy” chenle tried to excuse, now both boys’ eyes were directed at you. you were leaning against the counter, eyes fixed on your phone, waiting for the boys to finish up.

“she sure looks busy” jisung smirked, deciding it was time for him to meddle a bit. chenle watched as the younger boy waltzed up to you. his other friends were equally as shocked, but brushed it off, going back to their conversations. chenle tried to make out the words being exchanged between you and jisung,

“hey there” you look up, eyes meeting those of the tall boy.

“oh hi, may i help you?” you shove your phone in your pocket, giving your attention to him.

“are you busy after your shift ends?” he suddenly asks as your eyes widen. you weren’t sure what his intentions were, your eyes subconsciously flicking to chenle who was glaring at jisung.

“i-i’m sorry, are you asking me out?” you furrowed your eyebrows, trying to read the situation.

“only if you want me to” jisung chuckled. you stayed silent, eyes still flicking over to chenle. the dark haired boy was listening the entire time, hoping you’d reject his friend.

“i’m flattered but i-i uh like someone at the moment. it would be kinda weird to go out with someone else, right?” you nervously answered, not wanting to let down the boy in front of you.

“ahh i see, no hard feelings there, have a nice night, y/n” jisung smiles softly, walking back to his friends. you stood in place for a solid minute, what the hell just happened? why on earth did you confess to jisung that you liked someone? god, what if chenle heard it all?

when jisung sat back down, chenle slapped his arm harshly,

“what the hell was that?” chenle confronted his friend,

“relax, i just wanted to see if she had feelings for someone. it could be you, you know” jisung shrugs as he shoved another spoonful of froyo into his mouth.

“but what if it’s not me? and it’s like some cooler dude from her school” chenle sighs in defeat, accepting that he didn’t have a chance with you.

“god you really don’t see it, do you? she kept looking at you when i was talking to her. it must mean something. now grow some balls and talk to the girl, she’s not gonna bite!” jisung exclaims, waving his arms dramatically. chenle chuckles at his actions, jisung’s words floating at the back of his head.

maybe he needed that extra push.

it was your day off, yet you still found yourself at the mall, third-wheeling with jiwon and renjun. you trailed behind them, sipping on an overpriced smoothie. jiwon turned back at you, ushering you to stand in between her and renjun. you and renjun had gotten closer since he started dating jiwon, so it was common for both of them to give you advice on random things. they looked their arms with yours, as the three of you walked in unison.

“so y/n, jiwon told me you have a crush o-“ you cut off renjun with a cold glare, making him freeze.

“jiwon! why did you tell him?” you whines to your friend as she gave you pleading eyes.

“i’m sorry! i tell him everything, it just slipped up, i swear” jiwon sighed. you ended up shaking your head, accepting the whole situation.

“it’s okay, and yeah i do have a crush. his name is chenle. he and his friends come to the shop a lot. and weirdly enough, one of his friends kinda asked me out?” you explained to the couple as they listened intensively.

“what?! you got asked out on a date?!” jiwon’s jaw dropped as the three of you ended up in the food court, now seated at a table.

“not really, i could tell he wasn’t being serious. jisung is a joker kind of guy” you shrugged, thoughts leading back to that moment.

“what did you say to him?” renjun questioned as you snapped back to reality.

“uh well i just told him i liked someone else” you shyly let out, causing the couple to smile at eachother before landing their eyes on you.

“i see what’s going on here, it’s a classic wingman move” renjun begins, capturing your attention. “jisung must have asked you out, as a way to figure out if you were taken or single. and since you don’t believe he was interested in you, who’s to say he wasn’t asking on behalf of someone else?” renjun smirks at you, causing you to reanalyse everything that went down that night.

“i mean, that kind of makes sense? boys will always be confusing” jiwon chimes in, rolling her eyes at renjun.

“so you think that, maybe he asked on behalf of chenle?” you whispered his name, too shy to say it aloud. renjun nodded, giving you a pat on the back.

“well what should i do then?” you question, eager for more advice.

“i think it’s best you wait it out. he may think that the person you like, isn’t him. in that case, you should probably try and make conversation with him, it’s a good start” renjun continues to encourage you, jiwon now giving him heart eyes. you smiled softly at how infatuated they were with eachother. you were surprised at how clever renjun was with his advice, so you all ended up planning how you would inevitably talk to chenle.

it was a thursday night, the one day of the week where the mall was open until the late hours of the night. jiwon and renjun visited you, going over your initial plan to speak with chenle.

“what time do they usually come in?” renjun asks, taking a scoop of frozen yogurt into his mouth.

“around 9? they end up staying until closing time anyway” you confirm, wiping down the edges of the counter.

“so what’s the plan?” jiwon asks you, making sure you memorised everything.

“when he comes to pay for his frozen yogurt, i will start a conversation with him, and then eventually get his number” you nod along with your words, not noticing how the couple was looking at you with concern.

“okay but can you actually talk to him?” renjun teased, causing you to snap your head to face him.

“yes i can! i’m very good at talking to people, it’s part of my job duh” you roll your eyes playfully at the boy.

“i’m just making sure okay! we should start heading home though, we have a movie date planned” renjun pulled jiwon to his side, running his hand softly against her arm. you smiled at how adorable they were,

“have fun you two, but not too much fun” you gave them a stern glare as they walked out of the store, hand in hand.

the clock struck 9, and as if on cue, the group of boys entered the store. you noticed that there was someone missing, only counting four heads instead of the usual five. your eyes met jisung’s as he gave you a small wave, in which you returned. you frowned when you didn’t see his other half standing with him. chenle didn’t come with them today. your heart sunk, your plans all going to waste. you sighed to yourself before serving the rest of the boys. jisung approached you slowly, noticing that you looked rather down today.

“hey, are you okay?” the tall boy asked, full of concern. you nodded softly, unsure of how to respond,

“y-yeah i’m good, your total is $4.80” you tried to crack a smile. jisung couldn’t help but give you a solemn look. before you took his money, you decided to question him,

“i hope this doesn’t sound weird but where is your friend? the one with the loud laugh” you smiled at the last part, taking the money from jisung.

you didn’t see it at first, but jisung’s face lit up at the mention of his best friend.

“oh you mean chenle? he’s studying for this huge exam tomorrow, and decided to ditch us” jisung smirked at you, slowly connecting the dots.

“a-ah okay, that’s too bad then” you shrugged, handing him his change.

“yeah it is too bad” jisung walked away from the counter, immediately grabbing his phone,

big head 1: CHENLE, GET UR ASS TO THE MALL RIGHT NOW

big head 2: JISUNG, SHUT UP IM TRYING TO STUDY

big head 1: Y/N ASKED ME WHERE YOU WERE, DUDE SHES INTO YOU

big head 2: don’t prank me bro, i’m not in the mood

big head 1: i’m not lying, i promise! she really did ask for you, she seemed kinda down actually

big head 2: wait what?! dude chemistry can wait! i’m on my way

chenle dropped everything on his desk. he grabbed a random denim jacket from the end of his bed and rushed out of his house. he hopped into his car, speeding off to the mall. you observed the group of boys while waiting for your shift to end. your eyes were glued to the seat that was reserved for chenle. you sighed to yourself, knowing that it wasn’t going to work out anyway. you had pretty much lost all confidence in talking to chenle, accepting the fact that maybe you just had your hopes set too high. you wanted to text jiwon about everything but you also didn’t want to interrupt her date with renjun. so you started cleaning the machines, prepping them for the next day. you heard the chatter of the boys slowly die down, knowing they were ready to leave soon. you heard the shuffling of chairs, followed by a chorus of ‘thank you’s as you turned and gave the boys a small wave, your eyes once again landing on jisung who had a smug look on his face as he left. you shook your head at the thought, before starting to pack up the chairs. you were just about ready to switch off the lights and close up when a puffed out chenle startled you. he pushed open the door of the shop, causing you to jump back in surprise. you let out a small yelp, followed by nervous laughter.

“u-uh may i help you?” you managed to let out, watching as chenle caught his breath. you pulled out a chair for him to sit on, furrowing your eyebrows at the sight in front of you.

“d-do you have any water?” he managed to huff out, as you rushed to the small freezer of beverages, handing him a water bottle.

chenle chugged down a solid half of the water before looking over at you. you were now seated across from him, your hands in your lap, waiting for him to start a conversation.

“i uh, i’m sorry for barging in, especially when you’re about to close” he starts, you shake your head before saying

“it’s alright, i don’t mind” chenle smiles at your words, heart beating faster than normal.

“i just wanted to uh, see if you wanted to-“ he stops himself, trying to gain more courage to finish,

“what is it, chenle?” you gave him a reassuring smile as he copied your expression.

“you know my name?” he gasped in awe as you let out a small giggle.

“of course i do, with the amount of times you have paid with your card, it’s hard not to glance at your name” you smile as he buries his head in his hands, too shy to face you.

“and also, your group of friends aren’t the quietest bunch, so i took notice of you” you widened your eyes at your words, shocked that you would blurt something out like that. chenle found it adorable, softly blushing at how you admitted you noticed him.

“i’m sorry about that” he sighs before continuing, “i think you’re really pretty and i wanted to ask you to hang out, just the two of us” he avoided your eyes, keeping them fixed on your hands placed in your lap. you were stunned by his words. the boy you had been silently admiring for weeks had just asked you out on a date. you didn’t know how to respond, causing chenle to look up at your shocked expression. he cracked a small smile, which calmed your nerves,

“i would really like that” you nodded eagerly as chenle took your hands in his.

“i was hoping you’d say that” he mumbled, as the two of you talked for the next hour. as it was getting late, you locked up the shop and accepted chenle’s offer to drop you off at home. it was so easy to talk to chenle, you facepalmed yourself for not doing it sooner. he was so witty and charming, he always had something interesting to say, you never got bored.

“don’t you have an exam to study for?” you questioned the dark haired boy as he pulled up to your house.

“eh it’s no big deal, i had more important things to tend to” you blushed at his words, instantly feeling yourself fall for him.

“i’ll see you soon, chenle” you smiled widely at him before getting out of the car. he waited for you to enter your house before leaving your driveway. as soon as he got home, he called jisung to update him on everything.

“you actually got the girl” jisung gasped,

“i guess i did” chenle spoke, still in shock. jisung chuckled from the other end,

“not without my help though” chenle rolled his eyes at his best friend,

“thank you man, i owe you one”

“like owe me a meal? or like a new phone?” jisung teased,

“neither now go to bed” chenle hung up, tapping through his contacts, eventually reaching yours. he smiled softly, typing a quick message,

“goodnight y/n! have sweet dreams, let’s talk soon!”

you completely gushed when you received the message, rolling over in your bed in glee. it was an indescribable feeling. you were overwhelmed with happiness. after weeks of pining over chenle, it was unknown to you that he felt the exact same. you had renjun and jiwon to thank, as well as jisung. the fact of the matter is, you lucked out on one of the sweetest most fun loving guys in the world, and you couldn’t be happier.

#zhong chenle #nct imagines #nct dream imagines #nct fluff #chenle imagine #nct writing #nct fic #nct serie #nct chenle imagine #nct dream #jisungsmochiimagines #jisungsmochi masterlist

[crqstalite]

19. — fireworks for kodelyn and kallan? i'm intrigued by them :0

Fireworks

-

Shepard,

I was informed there was to be a light show somewhere on the strip later tonight. Lt. Vega compared them to something called fireworks. I am unsure of what that means but curious. If you’re free, I would enjoy the chance to watch them with you.

- Kallan

----

Kodelyn initially hesitated over the request, reading over it for any hints towards non-benevolent intentions. A light show on the Citadel seemed innocent enough, something friends would do. She hadn’t seen them in some time.

Yet this was an assassin that asked her to see it with her. Yes, she had plenty of friends who were, by definition, mercenaries and assassins like her. Every single one of them had used their respective guns more than once. 

Except Kallan Gautheir was in a league of her own, and not by her own doing. Not a few days ago, this was the same woman that had attempted to kill her. The same woman who wore her face with contempt. The same woman that tried to steal her life right out from under her.

Understandably, Kodelyn’s a bit suspicious. Light shows with your own clone didn’t come with a manual. Or an explanation.

In the moment, it had seemed like the right decision. To grab her hand and pull. To tell her she had more of a purpose than to be...well, her.

It felt like staring at a mirror in that split second Kodelyn had leapt forward and wrapped her fingers around her wrist. As if she were talking to herself, trying to talk her down from squirming out of her grip. To a point, she thinks she was. Projecting, that was. Kodelyn had surprised herself. She was angry. Furious. Brooks, Cerberus, to an extent even the Illusive Man had convinced this woman she was good for nothing but what they’d set her out to do. Convinced her she could never be her own person, follow her own passions. Her entire personality was wrapped up in becoming something she wasn’t.

Or something she was, technically. Kodelyn has to remind herself sometimes that she is really a complete copy of herself. As far as any DNA scanner was concerned, she was Shepard. Well, they both were. Kodelyn was the real one. The alpha prototype, as it seemed. She knew that. The average passerby did not.

Saving her seemed like the right thing to do. The only thing to do.

Those dark, but somehow bright mahogany eyes had widened upon realizing Kodelyn didn’t intend to kill her outright. Surprise painted her entire expression when she was offered to live what life the Reaper’s invasion would allow her. Speechless, when Kodelyn had told her she was free. As if she’d been speaking in tongues or another language, completely spaced out just on that idea alone.

Had she ever been offered a choice like that before? Something says she hadn’t. Something says her short life had been nothing but being told what to do without even a second thought. Kodelyn wants to rectify it, even if she’s fumbling trying to figure out how.

But at the same time, and a little more selfishly, she doesn’t think she could’ve sat back and watched herself die. Watched herself fall to her death among the Citadel wards. That may have haunted her for much longer than she could’ve handled.

Lately Kallan had been staying in the apartment, shut up in the room she’d claimed for herself, closest to the door. Kodelyn had expected her to want to explore, but she’d made herself scarce. When she wasn’t doing that, she was occasionally giving heart attacks to the crewmates that came over to visit. It was a little amusing. EDI was currently the only one successful at knowing which was which upon first glance (which Joker claimed was cheating, rightfully so with her biometric scans), but Kallan had managed to confuse the rest of them. Kodelyn couldn’t help but laugh when James had come over, and Kallan had come out of her room to grab something from the kitchen. All in good, unintentional fun for those on the Cerberus SR-2 crew as they got to know the not-her.

But short of that, Kallan had never made a request to go out somewhere with her. She’d been silently observing, quietly answering questions when prodded. Sitting at the kitchen counter in the mornings with her nose in her omni-tool, or staring out the big picture window in the living room. But the last day or so, she’d been showing some sort of fledgling personality. Curiosity about things outside of the Reapers, mostly a fascination with EDI, but also an academic one of the biotics on the crew. She’d gone out with Miranda earlier in the day, presumably so that Miranda could compile more data on her, but she’d seemed pleased when she returned.

Kodelyn can’t read her. Maybe that speaks more volumes about her herself than it does about her clone.

Placing the datapad back down on her nightstand, she slips a sweatshirt on and pads downstairs. Would it hurt to grant her request? Probably not. Kallan would know better not to start anything, especially in the middle of a gathering. It could be worth giving her the benefit of the doubt, after all, until the party all they have is time. Maybe Kodelyn just wants to sate her curiosity about her as well.

Kallan herself is watching one of the vidscreens with great curiosity, her head slightly tilted to the right. Kodelyn isn’t sure what she’s watching, most likely a drama off one of the vid channels, but she taps the woman on the shoulder. It’s almost as if she’s electrocuted her, the biotic jolting and whipping her head around to look at her. 

“Don’t freak out.” Kodelyn holds her hands up, “Just wanted to see what you were up to.”

It takes her a moment, a critical eye roaming over her form but Kallan relaxes back into the couch, “Then...I am up to nothing. I was curious what entertainment the Citadel had, but I’m not quite pleased with what I’ve found. There are...a lot of inaccuracies in the vids that portray the Alliance.”

“I’m not surprised.” She answers, leaning her forearms on the couch’s back. To a point, she wonders how Kallan can tell the difference, but just how much she knows about their military is an unknown, “People love a good story way more than they do facts.”

“That seems counterintuitive. How could you build a story on a shaky foundation of skewed details?” Kallan furrows her brows, gesturing at the screen. Her reaction makes Kodelyn smile, how many of these had she ever seen? She doubts Cerberus would’ve been showing her entertainment media. Maybe Tali could show off Fleet and Flotilla to her before they had to ship out again, “Regardless, is there something you needed?”

“Got your message. Can’t say I saw any adverts for the show, but lead the way.” Kodelyn nods towards the front door, “I’ll have to admit, I’ve never seen one on the Citadel before.”

Her eyes brighten, pushing herself up from the couch, “You haven’t? I thought they were common.”

“I don’t spend a lot of recreational time down in the wards. This shore leave is one of the few times I’ve been for longer than a day or two.” She answers, “Could be fun.”

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was.”

-

Childlike wonder. That’s the only word Kodelyn has to describe the look on her clone’s face when they’d arrived to the venue, watching the show with wide eyes.

Another one of the lights flashes over the strip, crackling with artificial pink and blue fireworks. Kodelyn had been pleasantly surprised, they weren’t nearly as loud as she’d thought they’d be, but just as bright. It seemed to be part of one of the nearby establishment’s routines for the weekend crowd, Kallan had just managed to catch it a few hours prior to them lighting it.

Her excitement was infectious. It’s a little odd, seeing her own face brightly smile in a way she knew she hadn’t in years. Seeing anything flying over head that weren’t bullets was...probably a new experience for her. When she’d said blank slate, Kodelyn hadn’t taken it as seriously as she should have.

She nudges the other woman’s shoulder with her own during intermission, “Good view, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Better than good.” She pulls her jacket tighter around her, turning to face her, “I’ve...never had the chance to see something like this.”

Then she was right. Kodelyn prods the question, “How much of the galaxy have you seen, Kallan?”

Like a wilted flower, the question makes her expression fall, “Not much. The strip, the archives...even the Normandy. All new places in the last couple of months. Before then, I’d never been off the station where they woke me up.”

Kodelyn feels like she’s understandably stunned, “You’ve never been to the Citadel before?”

Kallan is silent for a few moments, other pedestrians passing behind them, “I’ve been cooped up in a Cerberus facility for most of the time I’ve been alive. Brooks kept me there, taught me what I needed to know. Walking, talking, learning how to exist. There wasn’t time for vids or games or whatever else, I was learning how to be you. I’m probably the most mal-adjusted thirty year old to ever exist, to be entirely honest.”

She isn’t sure how to answer that. Her clone was mature, probably recreated with similar neural pathways to put her right at the mental age of thirty, but her memories aren’t there. They aren’t her’s, and she’s...

Still a person. A person with no idea of friendship, comradery, even love. If she did, it was probably skewed by Brook’s treatment of her.

“I’m sorry.”

Kallan raises an eyebrow, “Why? It isn’t as if you were the one that created me.”

“No. But...” What answer even is there? She feels a bit guilty, as if there was something she could’ve done or should’ve done to prevent what’d happened, but there isn’t anything she can think of short of not coming back at all, “It’s not fair what happened to you.”

“I don’t think fair mattered when they woke me up.” Another lightwork goes off, the crowd roaring with excitement. Kallan’s expression lifts into something more wistful while the green lights plays with the shadows on her face, “I don’t have childhood memories, and sometimes I don’t know where you end and I begin.”

“You’re your own person now, Kallan. You’re free to do whatever you want now.”

“I’ve never known true freedom.” The other woman leans against the railing again, rocking back and forth on her heels, “To be entirely honest, I’m not sure what to do with it. It goes against everything I was trained to do.”

“Nothing wrong with breaking a few boundaries.”

“Maybe so.” Kallan says. She gently pulls at the hair on her head, “That freedom does spell something other than looking exactly the same as you now.”

“Got any ideas on what you’ll do?”

“Nothing yet. Lawson -- Miranda, she suggested a new hair color. EDI suggested something far more drastic, but I’m not partial to artificial eye colors. Or tattoos.” Kallan says, softly smiling, “Red maybe. Or blue. Or maybe I should shave it all off. If I had any credits, I might buy something that’s not black or Alliance blue.”

“I’ll see what I can do about it. I don’t have many of my own I can offer you, but I’ll transfer over some funds.”

“Oh.” Her surprise is genuine, yet the idea seems to please her, “That’s very kind of you.”

“It’s the least I could do. I wouldn’t toss you to the wolves like that for fun.”

“I suppose I should think more highly of you.” Kallan tilts her head skyward, “Regardless, I should actually be thanking you for what you’ve already done for me.”

“I’d think I’d be one of the last people you’re thanking.”

“I’d be spattered somewhere in the wards if you hadn’t stopped to help. If you’d let me go.” Kallan says, “If the roles were reversed, I don’t think I could have done that. You’re a good person, Shepard. Guess I wish I was too.”

“Well, you didn’t take the opportunity to kill me in my sleep last night. I think that’s a step in the right direction.”

Kallan chuckles, “That’s only because Alenko would have noticed.” Seeing Kodelyn’s stunned expression she crookedly grins, “But you’re right. If I wanted to, I would have.”

“Kallan, I’m not sure how to take that. You did try to kill me, on my own ship. Only a few days ago.”

“I’m serious, believe it or not. If I killed you, I’d be blamed, and then where would we be? It wouldn’t benefit me at all.” She shrugs. Her voice gets softer, “I wouldn’t want to kill the only person who’s shown me any real respect.”

“Yeah. I trust you won’t try anything against me, and hopefully not my crew either.”

“It’d be the same outcome. I might not have your mind, but I am smarter than that.” She steps away from the railing, glancing around at the people nearby, “Fun how I’m only discovering this side of life at the end of the world as we know it.”

Lightworks crackle above their heads, bathing them in white light speckled with red. Kodelyn puts a hand on her shoulder, “Better late than never.”

#kodelyn shepard #kallan gautheir #oc #original character

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

Batshipping masterpost

Sometimes asking yourself the question “what would it take for me to ship these two characters together?” helps you come up with really really good stories that you otherwise might never have thought of! 

Very fun writing exercise. Do recommend.

ANYWAY. I like Batman, so I asked myself this question about him, and these were the results! 

(Featuring: Catwoman, Riddler, Twoface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Azrael, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Aquaman)

What would it take for me to ship Batman with that character? A few key ingredients: 

If they are/were a villain, a redemption of sorts. A slow process of coming to terms and actively deciding “yeah, that’s not who I am anymore.” 

A connection, a distinct moment where they’re able to talk to Batman as more than just an old enemy or a League ally. A spark that generates interest in developing the relationship further.

An establishment of explicit trust. This usually comes in the form of Bruce revealing his identity to the other and trusting them (maybe tentatively at first, but even so) not to give it away.

An introduction to the kids. I am one hundred percent positive that this is, for the vast majority, not a voluntary action on Batman’s part. But if you raise nine kids to be detectives, you can’t expect to keep secrets from them for long! And once they know you’ve been sleeping with that former villain, you’re going to have to justify that to them somehow.

Then the whole cycle starts again as the villain redeems themselves in the eyes of the kids and gains their trust and acceptance too. Good stuff.

Note: my interpretations of these characters are entirely my own and by no means do all of them line up with any sort of canon. I just sort of do whatever. 

Also: some of the bullet points below address some of the mental health problems in the villains, so proceed at your own discretion.

Catwoman: I really like the Gotham tv show’s dynamic between Bruce and Selina, which is to say, they were childhood friends with an early attraction to one another, but had a falling out sometime around the very beginnings of Bruce actually becoming Batman. She spends a few years as a professional thief. He sends her to prison a few times. But eventually she settles down and opens up a casino or whatever, where she deals information under the table. Alfred and the kids know her these days as an ally rather than enemy. So it’s just a matter of her realizing that her attraction to Bruce is deeper than originally assumed, and that if she wants to be with him she has to really dedicate herself to that idea, and for him to realize that she’s being serious and that he needs to prioritize spending time with her over obsessing over his work.

Bruce takes his mask off dramatically, saying something along the lines of “it’s me, Selina” and she’s like “yeah I know.” “What?” “You do this thing where you pace back and forth and nod your head up and down when you’re thinking. Never known anyone else who did that but Bruce Wayne.” “...Oh.”

Childhood friends interpretation is also great because Alfred already knows her and likes her. And she has all these embarrassing stories about 14 year old Bruce to share, which means that even the most resistant of the kids warm up to her right away.

Riddler: the first line in his Arkham file is that he has an obsessive need for attention. And Bruce KNOWS that. But it takes years for it to occur to him, incredibly sleep-deprived and staring down one of Ed’s death traps that he really, really doesn’t want to deal with today....what would happen if he just, y’know, gives it to him? The attention that he wants? And the results are instantaneous. It’s like the floodgates are open and Ed just can’t stop talking. It starts out snide and derogatory, the same way he usually talks to Batman, but the longer it goes on the more it deteriorates into something oddly helpless and vulnerable. Bruce has been so used to cocky, swaggering Ed that it never really occurred to him that this was someone suffering, who needed help. So he sits down and does his best to convince Ed that he’s not going to take him in (how many times has he been sent to Arkham? And what good has it done him, really?) and they talk. He leaves out of necessity (bank robbery in progress, says Barbara’s voice in his ear) but he goes back the next day, and again after that. Ed gets attention from Bruce without having to resort to crime to get it. Bruce gets a break from head busting and an outlet for some of the stale energy inside his head. They tell each other riddles and play strategy games and get to know each other, for real this time.

Ed stops worrying so much about proving that he’s smarter than Batman. Instead he channels all that energy into uncovering Bruce’s secret identity. It’s just another one of their games. Bruce has kept that secret for a long time and he’s confident he can keep it up, but Ed’s always alert waiting for him to slip up, to leave a clue

Option 1 for how he finds out: he sets up an elaborate trap, making it seem like he’s in danger and the only way to save him is for Bruce to take his mask off, so he does. Ed is outraged. “REALLY? BRUCE WAYNE? FUCKING REALLY?” he yells, dropping all pretense of being in danger. The robots he made for this setup drop like puppets with cut strings. Bruce gets ready to Fight.

Option 2: Some other villain reveals Bruce’s identity before he gets the chance (Arkhamverse style). Ed is outraged. “HOW DARE YOU LET ANYONE ELSE BUT ME DO THAT” he yells while Bruce tries his best to ignore him and focus on calling the JL to fix the whole situation somehow

Option 3: Bruce just tells him. Ed is outraged. “I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO FIGURE IT OUT YOU IDIOT”

The kids are Not Happy about Bruce dating Gotham’s Most Annoying Super Villain

Twoface: again I gotta go with the whole ‘they were friends when they were younger and Bruce had a raging crush on him’ setup. Cause that adds a whole layer to Bruce’s part of the story, watching Harvey become Twoface and assuming responsibility for locking him up every time he gets out. One day something happens in Gotham- string of murders or something, it’s not important really what it is. Bruce goes after the person responsible and his trail leads him to Harvey. So he busts into the safe house, intending to intimidate anything Harvey knows out of him, and then throw him back in Blackgate. “Ohohoho, noooooo, you got this all wrong,” Harvey says when he figures out what Batman’s getting at. “That motherfucker put a dozen of my men in the ground. This is personal. You want me to tell you what I know, you’re going to take me with you.” And Bruce agrees. Cause he knows Harvey’s got a certain moral code that he can be trusted to stick to, and it’s the most painless way of getting what he wants from him anyway. Working with Harvey is weird, though. He shoots a couple of goons going after Batman and gives him that lopsided smile, says “I’ve got your back,” and suddenly Bruce is like 20 again and Harvey is bringing him a coffee, smiling. During their chase they have a dramatic rooftop showdown with whoever it is they’re chasing. Bruce turns around just in time to see one of the thugs push Twoface over the edge. He gets caught up in the moment and practically screams, “Harvey!” Of course, he’s able to dramatically swoop in and save him, though it’s a pretty close call. When Harvey comes to he sits up and says quietly, “It’s been a long time since anyone’s called my name like that, did we have that kind of relationship?” and Bruce panics and tries to brush it off as his imagination, but Harvey shakes his head and says “once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it, man. It’s you under there, isn’t it, Bruce?” And it turns out that knowing Bruce’s real identity turned out to be exactly what Harvey needed. Cause he can identify some of the duality he feels about himself in Batman, now. They spend some more time together, talking some of that out, and it doesn’t take long for Bruce’s crush to return en force.

Poison Ivy: He lets her go. He knew she was at that scene, and she knows he saw her, but he lets her go, cause it wasn’t a big deal. No one died, relatively little property damage, and that jerk deserved it anyway. The next day there’s a potted plant sitting on GCPD’s doorstep and they call Batman thinking it might be dangerous, but it’s just a lovely specimen of a rare flower, which he knows is her way of saying thanks. (He doesn’t let the police know that, though. He just puts it in the back of the Batmobile and tells them it’s nothing he can’t handle). He takes it home with him and treats it well. And she knows it, can kind of sense it, distantly. They have a few more run ins over the course of the next few months and they take it easy on each other, having this sort of mutually unspoken agreement. Eventually something happens for her to need to talk to Batman, so she digs her roots in deep and finds that flower...in the garden at Wayne Manor. She leaves a message for Batman and they meet up and talk about whatever she needed. She doesn’t mention the Manor, so he asks about it. She just shrugs and mentions something about Bruce Wayne’s recent efforts in protecting the environment. “Maybe we’re not as different as I thought, after all.” They give each other more little presents from afar. One day she sees him hanging around (where she knows he knows she can see him), and drops by to talk. He offers her a ride home and ends up spending the night.

This one I think he owns up to before the kids can figure it out. Pam’s a good source of information, and if he was desperate he’d call her even with all of them watching. They’d all think he’d been bewitched, of course. It’d take a while to convince them all otherwise.

Harley Quinn: all it takes is for him to get his first glimpse of the real her and decide that Joker victims need to stick together and help other Joker victims. After the breakup and the subsequent recovery, she’s living free (albeit under Constant Surveillance) in Gotham, and he checks in every once in a while, just to make sure she’s doing ok and not reverting to her previous, Joker-driven, rocket-fueled bad habits. One day there’s an incident in her neighborhood- maybe someone was going after her and Bruce was there protecting her, or maybe it wasn’t related to her at all. Regardless, it’s her who finds him after the explosion and takes him home and gives him first aid. He’s groggy and panicky when he first wakes up in a strange place (not a hospital, not the cave) with an IV drip in his arm (he’s not in a hospital, where did that come from!). It gets worse when he realizes that his mask was blown right off his face in the blast. It gets SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE when Harley appears in his field of vision, waving around a tablet pulled up to Bruce Wayne’s wikipedia page, in full psychologist mode, ranting about how he’s been going about dealing with his childhood trauma All Wrong. But they talk, and she promises not to give his secret away. “What would I have to gain from that? You’d stop coming to visit me then!” It takes a while for the two of them to figure out exactly what’s going on between them but once they’re both sure the others’ intentions are good, they develop a good, strong relationship.

Bonus points if, at any point in the above time space, she walks up to him one day and hands him an unmarked usb drive. “What’s on this?” “My daughter.” “What.” “My daughter! Her location and everything about her.” “Is she...Joker’s?” “I dunno. Could have been him or any one of a number of other guys. Mistah J threw some really wild parties. *shrug* The only part that really matters to me is that she’s mine. And if anything ever happens to me, she’ll need someone to look out for her, y’know?” “And that’s me???” “Well, helping people in need is one of your compulsions, after all. Especially kids, or else you wouldn’t have so many of your own.” 

I usually imagine Jason as one of the ones kind of sticking up for Batman, citing how crime has all but disappeared since he started sleeping with whatever particular villain and that who are they to police who Bruce shares his bed with anyway (BONUS bonus points if he’s just entering the early stages of coming to terms with his own bisexuality and never realized that Bruce was bi, too), but that wouldn’t be the case with Harley. He’d feel pretty hurt about that, I think. On the other hand: Dick has been around since Harley’s debut on the scene, and has always thought of her as relatively harmless and even respected her to a degree, as a fellow acrobat, so he’s cool with her dating Bruce

Azrael: His JL team goes on hiatus for a little while, so he calls Bruce up like “uhhh, I don’t really have much of anywhere else to go, so can I come back to Gotham for a while?” And Bruce tells him that they’re actually experiencing a pretty calm stretch for a change, but yeah, he can come if he wants. At first he’s excited because he’s never been invited to the actual, og Batcave, but there really IS nothing going on. He meets Alfred, who offers him tea. He meets Steph and Tim, out of masks, lounging on the couch playing Street Fighter. They assure him that if literally anything happens, one of their gajillion alert systems will let them know. He goes off in search of Bruce, finds him sitting at the kitchen table making his way through a veritable mountain of paperwork. Eventually he admits that he doesn’t really know what to do with himself in the downtime. “I usually try to use time like this to do things for Bruce Wayne, instead of for Batman,” Bruce explains. “You should do something for Michael Lane, while you have the chance.” “But...but...but I’ve been Azrael full-time for years now...” “Alright, well, what did you like to do before you were Azrael?” “UHH...” Before he can short-circuit too much trying to come up with an actual answer to that question, Bruce puts aside his paperwork and takes his arm. They get in the car and Bruce takes him to like a hobby shop or something. They buy model kits and a cookbook and some yarn (”one of the kids can teach you”), and he promises that one of these days they’ll clear some space on the lawn to play football. Michael hasn’t experienced this level of anyone caring for his well-being probably ever? and all he can do is stammer something about “is there anything I can do for Bruce Wayne in return?” “You can keep me company while I file all my paperwork, I guess.” So he sits at the table across from Bruce and builds his little ATAT model kit feeling happier than he has in a long time. Bruce can tell that a little more attention would do him good, so they spend some more time hanging out which leads to having some deep conversations and building up feelings for each other, it’s all very cute

Right at the beginning of Michael developing his crush on Bruce he realizes that something’s different, but doesn’t quite realize what it is, and his mind jumps to the worst case scenario right away. He locks himself in his room, calls Bruce at work, panicking, and says he thinks his St. Dumas brainwashed obsession with Bruce might be coming back. Bruce tells him to calm down, they’ll run some tests. All the tests come back negative, but Michael is visibly shaken, so Bruce offers for him to hang around Gotham a little longer so they can monitor him, which is what leads to his extended stay in Gotham

Mr. Freeze: One day something changes. One day the realization finally, finally clicks into place. There’s a huge floating JL base in the sky and aliens living on Earth and people coming back from the dead and healing from miraculous injuries and plagues all the time. If it was going to happen to him, it would have happened by now. It’s over. Nora’s not coming back. That day he laces up his boots and loads his gun and walks over to the little diner on the corner and wrecks it. Batman gets the call, and obviously he knows that something’s different, this isn’t Vic’s MO, but he goes anyway, of course. Vic blasts away at him with his freeze gun, wildly, recklessly, screaming and ranting the whole time. Bruce dodges out of view, and Vic transfers his aggressions to the nearest object in sight: a table. He blasts that thing in half, and then in half again, and keeps going until it’s nothing but splinters and he’s just standing there, gasping for breath. “Victor,” says Bruce from behind him, “tell me what’s wrong.” “Nora’s dead,” Vic mumbles under his breath. Bruce comes around to face him and Vic is looking at him with THE SADDEST puppy dog eyes he’s ever seen. (I know what you’re thinking right now. “Mr. Freeze can’t do puppy dog eyes.” You’re WRONG, I’m telling you) “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that out loud, I think... I d-don’t...I don’t know what to do…” and Bruce is like, darn, I can’t take this fool to jail. So he brings him back to his chilly lair instead and sits him down and talks him through it a little. Leaves him with a phone number to call if it gets real bad again, but makes the first call to check up on him later anyway. This one is a sloooow burn, it takes Vic MONTHS to get over Nora, couple weeks to realize he MIGHT? be developing feelings for Bruce, couple more weeks to wrestle with the guilt of that. Learning Bruce’s identity is the thing that really brings all of it to a head. Maybe there’s an attempt on Bruce Wayne’s life and later that day Batman shows up with the same pattern of lacerations on his cheek, or broken leg, or whatever. Vic’s not an idiot. He can put two and two together. When Bruce finally takes off the helmet in front of him, it’s a huge relief. To be able to say “I know what it’s like to lose people” and for Vic to know he’s not just talking about heroing. They get closer and closer from there. Their relationship is a weird one, with a lot of compromises to make, but they do the best they can.

The kids don’t particularly mind Bruce going out with Vic. He’s not so much a villain as he is just a guy who’s been dealt a bad hand in life and done the best he could with it. But having around makes the already-cool cave soooo much colder, which isn’t so fun.

Clayface: There hasn’t been an incident with Clayface in years. He’s older, little calmer, little more mature (I like the New 52 plotline of him joining Kate’s crime busting team, but this little scenario works even without that part thrown in). Still, when Bruce hears he’s back in town, he figures he should probably pay him a visit anyway. Just in case he’s planning something. But he goes to the address he was given, some apartment building in Kingston, opens the door, and finds Basil. Not Clayface, Basil Karlo, sitting in a chair by the window reading a paper. “Haven’t seen that face on you in a while,” he says, still unsure if it’s a trick or not. “Oh,” Basil shrugs, unsure if he should be worried about being tossed in jail again or not. “Well, it’s my face. The one I’m most familiar with, takes the least amount of concentration to keep up with. I did make some changes, though, see? Few gray hairs, few lines on my face. Do I look older?” “Yes. It’s a good look.” He keeps checking in with him, cause you can never be too careful, and then because he actually starts to enjoy Basil’s company. Their relationship is one of the more light-hearted ones on this list. They get wine drunk and make out on the roof of the apartment building, very giggly.

“If I learned anything at Arkham, it’s that there are some things that you know are wrong with you, but there are also things that are wrong with you that you aren’t even aware of, and that you couldn’t identify or fix even if you tried.” “One of the psychologists told you that?” “No. I shared a cell with Tetch for a few weeks. That dude is so much more messed up than you realize.”

Superman: Clark calls him up saying something about a mystery in Metropolis that has everyone stumped, and maybe the World’s Greatest Detective wouldn’t mind helping him out? So Bruce drops by to lend him a hand. The ‘mystery’ turns out to be a group of unfamiliar aliens who’re out to get Superman (I don’t care why. Maybe they’re holding some kind of grudge, maybe they’re bounty hunters, maybe they want to sell him off into space-gladiator slavery, whatever). These antagonistic aliens have been very careful in their preparations- they’ve done all the math, and come up with special weapons specifically designed to hit Superman hard enough to knock him out. But they didn’t plan on Batman being there with him, which throws them off just enough that Superman is able to chase them off successfully. In the midst of that fight, though, Bruce takes a hit. A hit calculated for Superman. It breaks several of his ribs and punctures a lung. Clark panics, scoops him up and flies him to the nearest hospital at record speeds. They’re able to stabilize him at Metropolis, and then they send him back to the Watchtower for further treatment. When he wakes up he’s pretty disoriented and confused, but Clark (who had been listening for a change in his breathing and heartbeat from a couple rooms away) comes rushing in, ushering him back to bed and promising to explain everything. Bruce is woozy and wonky enough from whatever drugs they gave him that he lays back down and lets Clark hold his hand protectively without argument. He listens to Clark’s explanation, mumbles something about calling Alfred, and promptly falls back asleep. Clark feels so guilty about his injury that he won’t leave his side for weeks, even following him back to Gotham once he’s well enough to leave the Watchtower.

“God, when will they finally just kiss already,” Jason says, taking cover with the rest of the family in the cave. “I know, right,” says Steph while Tim, Cass, and Duke (and Alfred) all nod in agreement. “SHUT UP,” yells Damian, having a hard time adapting to the idea of his dad and his best friend’s dad getting together

Any Superbat is good Superbat but I enjoy it best in the context of ‘they’re old enough by now to be embarrassed about how angsty and competitive they were when they first met, and they both have huge extended families, and the rest of the JL has been watching them dance around each other for YEARS, JUST KISS ALREADY DAMMIT’

Wonder Woman: I don’t usually imagine Bruce as a flustered kind of guy, but Wonder Woman is everything he wants to be when he grows up and he can’t help it. She’s so effortlessly cool, calm, and collected. And she’s a natural charmer, the public loves her. She always manages to come at things with a fresh perspective that has helped unstick his too-logical train of thought numerous times. She paid him a compliment once and he sat in the batmobile in the parking lot thinking about it for like twenty minutes. One day they get assigned to a League PR thing together that turns into an assassination attempt (surprising no one), but everything turns out ok. Minor damage to the surrounding buildings, a few people injured in the mass chaos, that’s all. She goes looking for him after returning from talking to the local cops, and finds him with a toddler girl on his hip, holding hands with her six yo sister, helping them look for their parents. And she just has to stop and marvel for a minute at how soft his voice is??? How the toddler isn’t even crying??? He bends down to hug the little girl bye after returning her to her fam and Diana almost has a heart attack. “I see that the gods have blessed you with an affinity for children of all ages,” she says. By the time he straightens back up he’s Batman again. “What do you mean by that?” “I can never get kids to warm up to me like that in situations like these...I always thought it was because I was just too big and imposing. How did you do it?” “Oh. Well. You know. *gestures vaguely* You just gotta give them what they want.” “And what is that?” “Security. A promise of safety from an adult that they can trust.” She doesn’t quite get it but she watches him, and talks to his sidekicks sometimes. It amazes her how much kindness and love are hidden under that mask of his. When he smiles from the heart he could melt glaciers. So she starts to press, just a little, just to see how he’ll respond. And once she figures out exactly how flustered he can get, too, it’s all downhill from there.

Martian Manhunter: This one is literally one of the sweetest, most pure relationship dynamics I think I’ve ever written, which really caught me by surprise! The way I think of it is like this: When they first meet, Bruce is really, really uncomfortable with the idea of having J’onn in his head, so J’onn tries to keep telecommunication with him to a minimum. So when Bruce gets his attention during like a meeting or something and subtly lets him know he needs to talk, J’onn knows it must be important. So he opens up a private channel and helps Bruce deal with whatever it is (I don’t know exactly what that would be, only that it’d be some kind of sensitive topic best kept between the two of them). And over the course of that, all those one-on-one mind convos, Bruce starts to get used to talking like that with J’onn. In return, while they’re working together, he helps J’onn get used to human physical contact. It starts with small things- handshakes, little pats on the shoulder- until J’onn is comfortable returning them. One day J’onn has a bad day and it’s Bruce that comes to find him, to comfort him. He doesn’t really say anything, just puts his arms around J’onn and holds him close. Most humans- and hell, even most Martians- wouldn’t have done that for him. What else was J’onn supposed to do but fall in love with him?

I really liked the scene in JL8 where J’onn was trying to, like, share a memory with Bruce or something, and instead he ended up unintentionally stumbling into some of Bruce’s trauma memories, which freaked both of them out pretty badly. I think that little scene would fit quite nicely into this scenario. Bonus, if it happens in the really early days of the League, it doubles as the moment when J’onn first learns Bruce’s secret identity.

Flash: It’s been a longtime headcanon of mine that Barry is very active in the Central City community, not just as Flash, but as himself, too. Namely, he spends a good deal of his free time volunteering with the local homeless shelter slash food bank. I mean, come on, just by the very nature of his powers, is it any surprise that he has a vested interest in ending hunger in his community? One day he stops Bruce in the hall in the Watchtower, and clumsily explains that he needs to ask a favor. The shelter has been looking to expand their operations for some time, but right at the last second one of their backers pulled out. They’re short 7k for the payment on the property they needed to make tomorrow, and Barry didn’t know where else to turn to get that much money that quickly. He promises to pay him back, somehow, eventually. Bruce cuts him a check right there for 10k, and tells him to consider it a gift. Later he even publicly endorses the program on social media, saying he thinks Gotham should implement something similar. Barry invites him down to see the building he paid for, so Bruce rolls up his sleeves and spends the day volunteering with him. It’s a chance for both of them to see a side of the other that they’ve never seen before. Bruce watches Barry shine like a ray of sunshine, bringing light and laughter to a room full of people at their very lowest. Barry watches Bruce inspire trust and confidence in complete strangers, like magic. Not to mention, that smile- Barry tries not to use his powers out in the open if he can avoid it, but he discreetly flashes over to stop a tray or something from falling, and of course it doesn’t escape Bruce’s notice. He grins at Barry from across the room and Barry’s heart fully stops for a second.

I like to think of Bruce as a little older than Barry. Just a little, just a few years. Just enough that Barry always feels like an inexperienced, incompetent baby in the face of The Batman

This one throws the kids for such a loop once they find out about it. “THIS is what you’re attracted to, Bruce? THIS???”

Green Lantern: what I know about Hal is that he’s sassy. And what I know about Bruce is that if anyone he doesn’t have the ability to tell to go to their room is sassy with him, he gets snippy. So he and Hal butt heads a lot. One day Hal is venting to Superman in like, an elevator or something about how Bruce just Doesn’t Get It, Clark, He Doesn’t Understand Me, and Clark says, “well, Hal, can you honestly say that you understand him, either?” And suggests that maybe he should spend some more time actually getting to know Bruce before passing judgement. Hal takes that to mean ‘maybe I should go to Gotham and spy on Batman for a day’. When he spots him doing his best to hide inconspicuously on a nearby rooftop, Bruce rolls his eyes and ignores him. Dick spots him too, though, and invites him to the cave in hopes that maybe they’ll be able to settle whatever their argument was about (Jason, Tim, and Steph break out the popcorn and get themselves front row seats for the Drama). But in the end, an up-close perspective was exactly what Hal needed to realize that there was more to Batman than had been meeting his eye. He watches Bruce juggle ten different comm feeds while giving a press conference AND directing his kids’ efforts in the field at the same time, and he earns a new respect for Bruce. He gets where he’s coming from now, and why he’s always so cautious all the time. The guy has a lot to lose. So he mans up and apologizes. Bruce accepts the apology graciously, says he realizes that they’re fundamentally different people but that he values Hal as a comrade and respects his prowess with the ring, and Hal is like, ‘ah. We Are Friends Now.’ He spends more of his time on Earth with Bruce, and along the way he trips and falls headlong into a debilitating crush on him. Like, a visibly obvious crush. Bruce finds it adorable.

Green Arrow: Bruce and Ollie get invited to the same billionaire shindig one day and neither of them can think of a good enough reason to not go. Ollie’s recovering from a bad ankle sprain, and Bruce hasn’t slept in days, so instead of socializing with anyone else there they just sit in the corner and hang out with each other. Midway through the event Bruce closes his eyes and does this forceful little sigh through his nose. Ollie knows him well enough by now to know that small outward signs indicate big amounts of internal emotions with Bruce, and this is about as frustrated as he’s ever seen him out of mask. Normally his act is impenetrable. “What,” he asks, imagination running full speed ahead thinking about what might have happened, “what’s wrong?” “Firefly just broke out of prison,” Bruce growls, reaching for a refill of whatever he’s drinking. “Wh- Wait, who?” “Pyromaniac, serial arsonist in Gotham.” “How exactly did you learn this?” (read: do you have some kind of spider sense I don’t know about?) Bruce just gestures to his microscopic earpiece. Ollie offers, probably against his better judgement, to take a trip to Gotham and help catch Firefly. Bruce, barely able to see straight at that point (bad combination of sleeplessness and alcohol), accepts. So Ollie gets the full treatment, a trip to the cave and tea from Alfred and a haranguing from the kids and a trip to Blackgate with Firefly, even. In return he offers to have Bruce over in Star City sometime. Ollie is usually a little on edge around Bruce, but then he starts to see the real him and finds out that he does, in fact have a sense of humor. They have goofy adventures together and it’s all very cute

Aquaman: Arthur is hotheaded and when he gets in a Mood, the sight of Bruce and his stupid unmovable face just makes him angrier. But once during a mission, when Arthur is busy working himself into a panic, not knowing what to do, it’s Bruce that snaps him out of it. Grabs him by the shoulders and demands that he get a hold of himself. And it’s enough of a shock that it actually works- Bruce tells Arthur the plan, and Arthur does it without argument. No one is more surprised when it works than he is. He is SHOOK. Eventually he swallows his pride enough to go up to Batman and admit, “I think I’m still too emotionally invested in this, can you help me?” Bruce agrees, of course. He does his best to explain how he always keeps his emotions in check, especially when lives are on the line. It occurs to Arthur to wonder what kind of toll that takes on a person. He decides that Bruce could probably use a little vacation of sorts, and invites him to spend a day with him in Atlantis. A day in the life of a king, if you will. Bruce rolls his eyes and agrees, just to play along, but he ends up really enjoying it. Yes, there are a dozen-odd irons in the fire waiting for him when he gets home, but this time he finds that he actually has the energy to deal with them for once. Which is a good enough excuse to go back and do it again, and spend more time with Arthur in the process.

Dami is usually super resistant to Bruce dating anyone, but he would be ok with Arthur, I think. Like, “you bagged a king? Ok, respect”

Extra notes:

I feel like a lot of my thoughts about Clayface and Martian Manhunter specifically could also apply to Killer Croc, too, in a way. I mean, he’s not EVIL. He’s just never really been treated like a person, and so he embraced his image as Killer Croc instead of continuing to face that rejection. But if anyone can look past his exterior and see the needs of the man within, Bruce could. Feels a little weird to think about but maybe there’s something there.

Polyshipping is GREAT may I interest you in some ot3s??? SuperWonderBat is one of the more obvious ones, and I love it (cause Diana gets to play with TWO flustered boys) but BatLanternFlash is also top tier. And then there’s the villains! RiddleBatCat is one of my favorites! Also TwoRiddleBat and BruHarlIvy. The possibilities are endless!

I considered adding Lex and Slade to this post, but in the end I left them off. Cause it’s hard for me to see those as anything but weird, inherently unhealthy relationships. They’d make great black ships though : o

When talking about Bruce dating someone else from the JL, there’s DOUBLE the kids to embarrass. Can you imagine you’re like, Roy Harper or something, somebody’s sidekick, and you walk in and find BATMAN in bed with your mentor???? WILD

This post really got away from me, haha. Thanks for reading! Hit me up if you ever need someone to talk about Batshipping with (especially rarepairs, I got you fam)!

#My writing #DC comics #Batman #batshipping #fanfiction #oh my god this post is so long #I'm gonna tag everything imaginable #batcat #riddlebat #twobats #bativy #batquinn #uh... #azraelbat? #batfreeze #claybat #superbat #wonderbat #batmartian #batflash #batlantern #arrowbat #aquabat