#invading manhunters island

[milftigress]

i hate that they’re writing bruce to be like comics bruce and making jason the angry robin as if that’s all he’ll ever be and like bruce threatening to toss jason in Arkham …. Im over that shit like cmon bro

#red hood: outlaws #red hood and the outlaws #red hood outlaws webtoon #red hood outlaws webtoon spoilers #rhato spoilers #I’m drunk and Not Having It #like cmon can we get bruce trying to reconcile with his son instead of the talking to jay in a condescending way #and telling him he’s a toddler as if bruce isn’t also throwing a bitch fit over jason and his team taking a job that just so happened to be #invading manhunters island #and stealing a Martian relic WHICH THEY DIDNT KNOW WAS A MARTIAN RELIC???? #*screaming* #like pls stop writing bruce Like That and stop making jason that Anrgy RobinTM

[7potato7]

So, Xie Lian descends from Heaven without stopping to let Ling Wen get even a single word in. He goes back to doing what he normally does, completely unaware that he just turned literally all of Heaven upside down. He spends several years this way (maybe even decades?? he has an excellent track record hiding from people) but Feng Xin and/or Mu Qing eventually find him and go wtf dude. So, since he's technically a fugitive now (Heaven saw him ascending, destroying everything, then rapidly descending similarly to a terrorist (except terrorism as a term doesn’t exist yet, so the xianxia equivalent ig) attack, oops. Speculation is that he works for Hua Cheng!!! which makes the man himself feel a certain type of way ofc) he flees down the Silk Road and ends up in Rome. He DID spend the time he was still in China (or the territories that would become China, since I'm estimating this at around 0 CE for my own sanity) trying to defeat random ghosts to repay his debt, but quickly realized it was futile.

ofc Feng Xin and Mu Qing now realize that this wasn't a terrorist attack! They already knew that, but Xie Lian's reaction is only proof! They go to Jun Wu, who decides that "Xianle" should be reinstated to his rightful position in Heaven. Yay! Except now they can't find Xie Lian Anywhere. Cue manhunt.

Meanwhile Xie Lian has been enlisted to the Roman army. Which, hey, he'd rather not do that. So he manages to finagle himself into a position on a small northern island which shouldn't see too much conflict. However, this is very much not the case! The Britons relied on the Roman army to defend themselves from the Saxons! So, Xie Lian just deserted and quietly retreated to gather scraps in some forgotten corner of the island. He gets caught in a storm and winds up in Ireland. He's still there when the Romans leave the island in 410 and when St. Patrick comes in 433. Turns out St. Patrick isn't actually an ascended official! How disappointing. For unrelated reasons, Xie Lian returns to Briton, now thoroughly "invaded" (read: culturally integrated) by the Angles and Saxons. He putters around the island for a while longer before heading back to the mainland (read: was exiled to the mainland. For witchcraft. In a boat with rocks in the bottom (very pseudo-historical, as far as I know the 5th century Britons were most definitely not executing people for witchcraft. Witchcraft was a fun hobby they did on the side, not a crime. However, I’d like to see you see someone stand up after being shot in the eye and not throw him in the sea. Yeah, that’s what I thought)).

He hitches up with the Merovingians, who deeply appreciate his rockin' haircut. Clovis (famously brutal and murderous, but then again who isn't), however, Did Not appreciate his ability to walk off a stabbing. Clovis stabs Xie Lian a couple extra times to be sure, then cuts his head off and sets him on fire. It takes Xie Lian about a decade to come back from that, so now it’s 511 and Clovis is dead. Xie Lian decides that he should try some other place on for size.

He ends up in a catholic monastery in Spain. This is where he learns to read Latin, which will later help him learn to read Spanish, French, German, English, you name it. Obviously, he can't pay the entrance fee, so he's a lay brother doing grunt work. He's fine with this. Although he has gathered some knowledge of the local religion, it's not something he can afford to be questioned on (thankfully, literally no peasant ever was educated in the scriptures so he was fine). The atmosphere vaguely reminds him of Mt. Taicang (in literally the vaguest possible sense), and he wonders if this is what Mu Qing had to deal with.

Then the abbot notices he hasn't aged and decides that he's an angel sent by God. Xie Lian decides it's about time for a change of scenery. They've probably forgotten about him in Briton, right?

Unfortunately, he's not that lucky. The abbot isn't willing to let him go that easily, and he and his successors chase him around Spain until 711, at which point they have other problems. Xie Lian reaches Briton and joins another monastery because that was nice. Poverty, chastity, obedience, thy name is Xie Lian!

Fortunately, this monastery is more willing to "overlook" his lack of aging. Unfortunately, this monastery is Lindisfarne, and is destroyed by Vikings in 793. Noticing that Xie Lian doesn't die when killed, the Vikings decide that he's the mortal incarnation of Thor, obviously. They take him with them, fit him out with armor and weapons, and bring him back when they sack Westphalia. He doesn't like killing anyone, but that's fine with them! They're just glad to have the mortal incarnation of... probably not Thor with them! While Xie Lian is still upset that they killed all those monks, he's gotta admit this is the best people have treated him since... his first ascension... ah, shit, he's gotta get out of here. He’s been having too much fun, this was supposed to be penance, mental spiral, etc etc. Maybe just in a bit, though.

They keep asking him to stay just a bit longer, kill just one more sea monster, please, your holiness, until suddenly it's 911 and Rollo is sacking what will become Normandy. When the French king gives it to them as a "please stop, thanks," Xie Lian goes there with Rollo. Then he leaves. The newly dubbed Normans are sad, of course, but they can't keep holding their god back! In reality, Xie Lian is worried that his bad luck is going to catch up to him.

For a while, he falls back into his scrap collecting ways -except, it isn't as easy in medieval Europe. They live in small, insular communities that don't much like strangers. So he eventually decides to just... hide in the woods.

At this point, Feng Xin and Mu Qing have obviously realized that Xie Lian isn't in China anymore (if you're wondering how it took that long, it's because they got distracted by the Warring States Period and the trail went cold). So they follow legends of a strange looking man who didn't die when stabbed to Spain. However, Xie Lian isn't in Spain. He's in the part of the world that will eventually become Germany, trying to avoid being pressed into a Crusade. Yes, it is already 1096. Keep up.

He does end up going on the Crusade as a cook. That lasts a day before they decide to throw him on the frontlines to "soften up the Moors." Xie Lian fakes his death. I could choose a specific battle, but I don't particularly care to. It was probably Antioch. Fine, it was Antioch.

He spends some time in the Byzantine Empire, which is rapidly crumbling. He flees after the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, thankfully with only minimal injuries this time. But on his way out, he briefly sees Feng Xin and Mu Qing in the chaos, fighting on the side of the Byzantine Empire. They also see him, but he leaves before they can do anything about it.

So Xie Lian fucks off to a random island in the Mediterranean. This ends up being the Island of Rhodes. He stays there doing his little scrap collecting do da until 1306, when the Hospitallers move in. Shortly after that, they themselves are booted off to Malta in another invasion. Xie Lian goes with them, bc what the hell, these guys kinda suck, they deserve the bad luck.

Xie Lian is still in Malta when the Black Plague hits in 1349. It... brings some old wounds back up to the surface. Best to just forget about it. He sticks around, anyways.

The Inquisition begins in 1478. The Hospitallers start to give him funny looks. However, he is widely viewed as a living saint, so they don’t really do anything. Xie Lian fakes his death, then barricades himself into a cave and meditates for around fifty years before coming back out. No one recognizes him. He does this a couple more times, with varying lengths of meditation. He should probably just move on, but it’s awfully difficult to get on and off Malta. Also, it’s kind of nice there.

In 1565, Xie Lian almost single-handedly holds off the siege of Malta with the aid of the inhabitants while the Hospitallers cower in their monastery. Really, these monk guys have gone downhill over the centuries. Of course, the Hospitallers and Ottomans rewrite the narrative, but who would expect any less? The truth is just embarrassing for everyone involved.

In a rare stroke of luck, Xie Lian leaves the island after the siege. Just a few short years later, in 1573, the Inquisition moves in.

It is now 1615. Xie Lian is very tired. He returns to the mainland after the siege, and now everyone is fighting over something called "indulgences." He wants to go home. He does go home! Jun Wu finds him immediately, oops. He'd been watching Mt. Taicang (insane behavior, it's been 2,000 years bro) and obviously noticed when Xie Lian went to pay respects to his parents. Xie Lian narrowly escapes and runs as far as he possibly can. Your pick whether it’s just because of the stalker-ish behavior or a Bai Wuxiang reveal. Either way, he runs all the way to the New World.

Of course, he doesn’t have the money to just... book a ship there. He signs on as an indentured servant. What are a few years off his life anyways? Unfortunately, before that can happen, he gets mugged and accidentally murders the guy. Instead of being an indentured servant in exchange for land, he is instead working off his debt to the guy's family. Which is fine, of course.

It's not, in fact, fine. After his service is done, he once more fucks off to the woods. At this point, however, most Native Americans know to be wary of foreigners, so he keeps to himself. If he gets shot by mistake a few times, it's fine, he shakes it off. At least they aren't guns. In most cases. He'll take what he can get.

He finds a cave. He meditates in the cave. He doesn't come out until 1850. It's almost being in the coffin again, except he can leave anytime. He just. Doesn't.

The shackle around his neck cracks slightly under the force of spiritual power he’s cultivated. He doesn’t notice.

The world of 1850 is very different than the world of 1650. Manifest Destiny is real and thriving. Suddenly the relatively friendly local tribes have been replaced by a bunch of other, less friendly people. The mountain used to be called Maskwa Wac, but now it’s Bear Mountain and Xie Lian is in Connecticut, apparently??? Mostly people call him strange names when he tries to ask questions, so he avoids them.

He isn’t used to people anymore. They aren’t exactly willing to get used to him, either. Centuries of dirt don’t wash out with a single bath. After two centuries in a cave, he has to relearn how to talk, write, and generally interact with the world. Culture has changed, language has changed, the entire world has changed. Xie Lian is exactly the same.

In 1863, Xie Lian finally manages to get a job. It’s gotten significantly harder to live without a job, so that’s good (maybe he should invest in this newfangled “identification” thing). Building the trans-continental railroad is a great gig for someone like Xie Lian. He’s strong and more than willing to work. The pay isn’t bad.

Unfortunately, some boulders fall on him after a misplaced TNT blast and his coworkers leave him for dead. But hey, hadn’t he heard of something called a “Gold Rush” talked about nostalgically in bars? He’s pretty sure it’s over now, but it’s worth a shot. He’s already partway there.

He only gets mauled by like three bears on the way over. It was good that he’d seen a few before at that point, or else he’d probably think they were yao. He also got shot several more times, whether by Native Americans or settlers.

The people out West hadn’t gotten a forty-niner in decades, but they’re willing to give him odd jobs mopping at bars and fixing fences and such. It’s almost nostalgic. They hear news about the South seceding and the war that follows, but it isn’t something that really affects them all the way out here. Xie Lian is glad to avoid it.

After only a couple years, he decides to go back to the East Coast. He doesn’t want to bring bad luck on these people’s heads, after all. He accidentally zig-zags down into Mexico and into South America, then overcompensates back up into Canada before finally making it to New York City.

It’s 1910. Almost the moment he steps foot in the city, he gets hit by a car. Somewhat delirious, he mistakes the car for a demon(?) and tries to kill it.

Insane asylums are not fun.

The important part is that he eventually gets out (or that’s what he tells himself). He doesn’t have the motivation to bother with a job anymore, so he bums it on the streets collecting scraps like he used to. Problem is, there’s a lot more homeless people in the post-Industrial world than the pre-Industrial one. Lots of competition for food and shelter. Usually, if it comes to a fight, Xie Lian just lets the other guy have whatever it is. It’s not like it’s life or death for Xie Lian, after all.

He gets picked up by the police, who aren’t so bad yet. Corrupt, yes, but this isn’t the Gilded Age anymore. They drop him off with a referral to work in a car factory (Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry) and only a few bruises.

Machinery, ah... it tends to... break around him. He doesn’t last long at his new job. Neither does his job last long with him as an employee. The factory burns down. The owner has Xie Lian dropped in a river with rocks tied to his ankles. What goes around comes around, really.

In 1917, Xie Lian is drafted into WWI. So, of course, he ends up in the trenches. He’s just glad that he’s basically immune to every disease known to man. Most of his comrades aren’t so lucky.

This isn’t the type of war Xie Lian remembers fighting in -though his memories are a bit blurry at this point. They fight for inches of ground in exchange for hundreds of lives in muddy, dismal conditions. The mud kills almost more than the bombs do.

The despair is the same. That much never changes.

Xie Lian leaves. He had to. No amount of martial prowess could help stop this war. Perhaps strategy would, but even if they let some random soldier into the war room, Xie Lian wouldn’t know how to strategize with modern guns, let alone tear gas.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing are still looking for Xie Lian, of course. But the trail went cold years ago.

Hua Cheng is holding on to his existence by his fingernails these days. He’s expanded his influence globally, but he still can’t find His Highness anywhere. Ghosts everywhere tread on eggshells. In one night, he replaces every single carving and painting of Jesus in Europe with one of Xie Lian. The papacy is in an uproar, taking it as a sign from God Himself. The only person who doesn’t find it funny is Xie Lian, who is very confused. Also white supremacists. They don’t like it very much either (that just makes it funnier). It turns out that Xie Lian has been canonized as a saint a few separate times over the centuries. “His bones”/relics are in six separate churches. People start freaking out. A large portion of the Catholic church believes that Xie Lian is either Jesus (and that the rapture had already happened centuries ago) or the Antichrist. This causes a massive schism in Protestant and Catholic churches alike. Islam becomes the main Abrahamic religion. Xie Lian does his level best to ignore the people bowing to him in the streets and shaves his hair off with a bowie knife.

On another note, Jun Wu gave up on finding Xie Lian centuries ago. Turns out Xianle was just a spot of mud on his Heavenly canvas after all.

This is good. It means when Xie Lian sprints his way back across the world, Jun Wu isn’t watching Mt. Taicang anymore. Xie Lian, still a martial god, makes it there in a week at top speed. However, Mt. Taicang isn’t the same as it used to be. There’s a fence around the base, and big fancy houses everywhere. When Xie Lian touches the fence, it shocks him as if he’s been struck by lightning and he blacks out for a second. His first thought is that it’s some type of array (that some other cultivation sect has set up there, an optimistic voice whispers deep in his heart), but it’s just an electric fence of course. He climbs over.

His parents’ well is full of cement.

Xie Lian returns to the trenches. He was only gone for three weeks. His excuse is that there was a messed-up transfer. No one believes him, so he gets court martialed for desertion. It doesn’t go through. If he’d deserted, why would he ever go back to the trenches?

Eventually, he goes back to America. It was the furthest he could possibly get from his problems, after all.

It’s nice to be able to write “homeless veteran” on his signs. The police bother him less. Well, slightly less. People keep saying the economy is bad, but it’s always been bad for Xie Lian. He barely notices the differences anymore. He barely notices anything.

Then another war starts. Eventually, in 1942, Xie Lian is picked up and thrown into an internment camp. He isn’t Japanese, but he can’t exactly say he’s from Xianle, a long dead country no one has ever heard of. This is actually a massive turn in luck, because he meets Banyue and Pei Xiu in the camp. They’ve also been mistaken for Japanese, because that’s what a... misinformed forger put on their green cards when they got off Angel Island.

They all got out in 1946. Pei Xiu manages to get a low-paying job, but Banyue struggles to find work for her skillset (snakes) and Xie Lian still doesn’t have any identification. Pei Xiu quickly loses his job, and they all end up homeless again.

They’re at Stonewall when the riots start in 1969. The first brick was thrown by Marsha P. Johnson, the second by Sylvia Rivera, and the third by Shi Qingxuan, who now goes by Shi Xuan. They’ve had a bit of a rough time of it over the centuries since his brother was killed and they were knocked from Heaven, even losing an arm and leg, but they were kept immortal by her Ghost King. They don’t ever talk to each other, but Shi Xuan knows he’s watching. How else is she still alive? (If she keeps his camps close to waterfronts... well, that’s just their preference. Nothing to do with the head she can sometimes spy poking over the waves).

Shi Xuan recognizes Pei Xiu, but he recognizes nothing of the once-glorious Wind Master in them. She hits it off with Xie Lian and joins their group.

Technology is changing. Everything in the world is closer than it used to be. Privacy is quickly becoming a non-concept, especially for homeless people. There are cameras everywhere. Xie Lian, Banyue, Pei Xiu, and Shi Xuan don’t have access to this sort of technology.

Jun Wu, Feng Xin, Mu Qing, and Hua Cheng do. In 2003, a video of a homeless man telling a police officer off goes viral on LiveJournal and MySpace. On a completely unrelated note, several immortals show up in various American cities. Jun Wu is contemplating moving the Heavenly Court. Scientists are calling the sudden outburst of silver butterflies an invasive species.

It’s 2005, and Xie Lian hops onto the subway. It has been 2,803 years since he was banished. In an empty subway car, he meets a Ghost King in red.

#please don't take this too seriously #this is crack thinly veiled with angst #or angst thinly veiled with crack? #one of those #tgcf #modern au #canon divergence #if anyone sees any timeline mistake lmk #it's been a while since I got my history minor and Wikipedia is only so helpful

[eddieexcellence]

SOUR CANDY

part v: accomplice or hostage

E. Munson x fem!reader

Synopsis: back in Hawkins for spring break, the reader is back from college. She gets sucked into the madness again for the fourth time with her best friend and younger friends. Plus an unexpected and unwelcome face.

Type: fixit fic, angst/comfort, enemies to lovers trope

Warnings: anxiety attacks, cursing, let me know if I miss anything??

Words: 3k

Author's note: sorry for the delay!! It’s been a busy month for me, and I haven’t had much time to myself!! I hope you guys enjoy!! I’m not too confident about this part, feels kinda cut off but I didn’t want to keep you guys waiting, but the next part has more of this scene?? Like I said in my last update, I’ve been working on the other parts as well!! Hopefully you guys like!!

You were fidgeting with your fingers sitting next to Eddie as he anxiously kept glancing out the window at whoever. The sun was now almost set and it was dark in the boathouse.

“Please tell me who’s looking for you right now!” You pleaded. He still hadn’t told you who his angry mob was, it had to be at least over an hour since they first arrived.

“It’s the assholes you and Harrington would associate with.” Eddie still kept his eyes out the window, making sure you two would be safe.

He was mad you were here, and had been dragged into this. Of all the times he could’ve been inconveniently stuck with you— it was now. You seemed to always be there to press the salt into his wounds, you always made sure of it even if it wasn’t the best time. His sanity was hating it. He wished you two had not taken so long bickering while taking a nostalgic break. If you hadn’t you wouldn't be in this mess, and it would just be him. He wouldn’t feel your shoulder pressed up to his, and your warmth radiating through his leather jacket. The smell of your shampoo and perfume wouldn’t be invading his senses causing him to involuntarily take deep breaths as if the scent was anchoring him, a much more pleasant smell than the stale stagnant fishy odor of the boathouse. Jason Carver and his cronies were only a mere 100 feet from you with crowbars and who knows what, out to get him, and he was too busy paying attention to the notes of your perfume and the pressure of your arm against his to almost not notice the danger.

You on the other hand were trying to think of a plan. “Maybe I can talk to them, distract them? My cars down the road I have weapons, another walkie, I’m sure there’s a blanket in the trunk as well. You can hide until I can get back?” You brainstormed out loud, trying to remain positive.

Not wishing Eddie any ill will, also how would you bug him and pick on him if he was beaten to death or in jail? You were the charismatic babysitter, you managed to weasel into Eddie’s trailer, and get you and your friends out of tons of messes before with your cute smile and bat of your lashes; what was so different about this? Maybe you could avert their attention from their manhunt and get Eddie out of the boathouse to your car til you were able to leave inconspicuously? Sounded thorough enough.

Eddie looked over at you, “first off, Babysitter has illegal weapons in her car? How the hell do you get any gigs?”

An annoyed look crossed your features as you rubbed your temples. “Key word illegal, Munson. Second off add secret in there. So when you get out of here keep it that way.”

He then had a grim expression, a frown setting on his full lips. “I hate to break it to you Princess, when they realize you’re protecting me you’re going to be exiled to the island of misfit toys too.” He quickly looked back up through the window before ducking down again. “Or maybe they’ll be convinced you're my next victim. First the cheerleader, then the journalism nerd, next the goody two shoes babysitter?”

You stilled, though sarcastic he had a point. Either way, you with him didn't look good for you or him. You were now an accomplice or hostage, you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh my god,” you breathlessly said in between nervous laughter. That was the funniest thing you heard all day. “Oh my god.” You repeated laughing louder, Eddie looked at you like you lost your mind, his frown now a scowl.

Eddie rolled his eyes, clicking on the walkie talkie in his hand. “Dustin, please? Are you there?” He looked beside him at you, silencing your nervous giggles. “Your babysitter, it’s broken.” He added with a sigh.

As you calmed down, you realized how much trouble you two were in. How you were stuck with a man that annoyed the daylights out of you, while being hunted by people you never wanted to associate yourself with after high school. Whenever you were out of this mess, you never wanted to be in this close of proximity to Eddie ever again.

You grabbed the walkie out of Eddie’s grasp. “I swear to everything, we are screwed! So screwed and I’m stuck here! With Munson, that in itself is fucked up! We need help!” You were frantic as you quietly shouted into the walkie.

Eddie then swatted your arm lightly holding his finger to his lip before grabbing the walkie from you.

“Uhm, never mind.” He said into the machine before setting it aside. Shouting could be heard from outside, you and Eddie looked at each other both of your eyes wide. He glanced at the boat. “Let’s go,” he said, walking over and starting to untie the small vessel.

“What the hell are we doing?!” You whisper shouted. He held out his hand, motioning to step inside the boat.

“The one thing I do best, run.” His tone wavered, and he sounded defeated. It’s all he’s been able to do so far, run away from the problem. If you were by yourself and knew nothing you would’ve as well. You hesitatingly walked towards him and the row boat. “If we stay low and get far out enough maybe they won’t notice?”

You gulped and nodded, what did you have to lose at this point? You took his rough calloused hand that seemed to swallow yours in size, both of your palms clammy as you climbed over and took a seat. He got in, pushing the boat out so you two could start rowing.

“Keep your head down,” he instructed as you two got out of the boathouse. Rowing in sync as fast as you could as you two went out into the middle of the lake under the pale moonlight.

“First running, now rowing. Who knew I’d need to do so much athletic activity out of high school?” You quietly mumbled mainly to yourself, but the man with the dark curly long hair next to you that kept blowing in your face, snorted.

“Yeah, as much as I enjoyed your cheerleader phase, my personal favorite is when you tried out for volleyball.” Eddie chortled remembering your valiant efforts at being athletic to fit in with Steve and your jock friends. You paused rowing for a minute. Eddie looked at you, “what are you doing?”

“You paid attention to all of that?” You asked in awe.

“Uh yeah, seeing you make a fool of yourself was the highlight of my days when I was selling to all the jocks under the bleachers.” He said it like it was obvious. Though watching you bounce around in the cheerleading uniform was a sight to see. Not to mention seeing you take a couple volleyballs to the noggin in the not so modest uniform was quite amusing. You weren't the most poised or graced girl on the team, you were one of the cutest he would give you that. He wouldn’t say that out loud. He’d take those thoughts to the grave before ever letting anyone hear thar.

“Can we get back to rowing now?” He started rowing himself.

You shook off the hurt you felt, of course it was for that reason, and nothing else. You didn’t know what else you expected. Definitely not him watching you because he might’ve missed you or to feel any other way than spite or happiness to watch you make a fool of yourself.

“Hey freak!” Someone yelled from the shore. “Where do you think you’re going?” You turned to see Jason Carver, and another one of his cronies behind him. “Holy shit, are you getting ready to sacrifice someone else?!” He yelled from the shore starting to strip out of his suit.

“Shit,” Eddie got up, trying to start the motor of the small row boat. “C’mon you piece of shit!” He got frustrated. You tried to keep rowing going back and forth between each side. The engine would sputter but not turn over. “C’mon you gotta help me out here, man!” He told it. He tried a couple more times with profanities cursing at it. “Nope? All right. Okay.” Before he grabbed his oar and helped you row.

“Maybe if you talked to it more nicely.” You jeered at him.

Even when his angry mob swam to get to him, you had to make a comment. “Whose side are you on, Y/l/n?” He yelled, his nostrils flared slightly. Maybe now wasn’t a time for your comment as you saw he was actually furious.

“Sorry,” you squeaked out and focused on rowing. Jason was already catching up to you two. You saw Eddie’s watch glow in the darkness; 9:23pm. How long have you been stuck with him? It definitely didn’t feel like it was that long, but you had spent a good majority of the late afternoon and now night with Eddie.

“Is that goody two shoes, Y/l/n?” Jason’s cronie asked him. Goody two shoes, you wanted to scoff at that.

“I think it is!” Jason shouted back as he swam faster to you two. He got near the boat and the man next to you jumped up holding his oar up.

“Hey, stay back man! Stay back!” He was swinging the wood around at Jason as he got closer.

“Don’t hurt her!” Jason yelled at Eddie. He looked back at his friend who had stopped and was wading in the water. “What are you doing? We almost have him!” He turned around and saw the boy just floating there. “Hey Patrick! Patrick?”

The boy named Patrick continued to wade in his spot before out of nowhere he went below the surface. Jason called for him again. You had shot Eddie a wary glance, and he gave you the same look. You didn’t know what the hell was going on.

After a few seconds the water erupted and Patrick came flying out into the sky. Eddie jumped startled, falling out of the boat. You didn’t flinch. All you could do was look at the airborne body. Patrick’s head was tilted upwards, arms and legs sprawled out.

You heard Eddie emerge out of the water gasping for air, but your eyes were still glued to Patrick’s lifeless body as you could hear it start to bend and break. You were mortified, unable to take your eyes off of him as you started to see his body follow the sounds. You felt someone grab your hand and pull you over into the water before you could actually see anything too mortifying. You screamed but a hand covered your mouth and you were pulled into a chest. You could feel the cold rings of Eddie’s against your lips as he kept your back turned away from Patrick, your hand holding on to the side of the boat to stay afloat. All you could hear were the bones breaking, and yours and Eddie’s out of breath panting. You closed your eyes tightly as if that would help from preventing the sound of bones breaking from entering your ears. Then it stopped and all was heard was Patrick’s body falling into the water.

“Y/n we gotta go.” Eddie whispered gently in your ear. “I’m gonna let you go now.” He told you as he removed his hand from your mouth and his arm from your waist. You floated there soaking wet, eyes staring at the other side of the shore. He hoisted himself into the boat, extending his hand. You grabbed it, letting him pull you into the boat and took a seat beside him. Eddie started rowing for the both of you, letting you just sit there for a moment.

The both of you were silent just processing what had happened. You had none of your things, no idea what you would do when you reached the shore. Jason now knew it was you with Eddie, whether you were going to be called an accomplice or Eddie’s next victim was up to him. Nonetheless you were going to be a part of the manhunt for Eddie. The sound of breaking bones had seared into your memory. No doubt the nightmares would come back. Like they had when you first saw a demogorgon, then when you watched the Mind Flayer leave poor Will’s body, and when you were almost killed by it in Starcourt Mall. Eddie Your thoughts just kept running and overthinking.

You could feel your chest tighten, and you start to breathe erratically. You had gripped onto your chest as you hyperventilated. Eddie looked over at you concerned.

“What’s going on?” He tried to ask, but you couldn’t respond just grasping onto your chest more, shaking your head. “Shit,” he stopped for a moment. He remembered when you two were friends, he’d found you a couple times like this at your locker or at a picnic table after school when you’d dread going home, because you knew your parents would be fighting or yelling at you. He tried to remember what he’d do to help you.

You were trying to do your usual 5,4,3,2,1 method in your head, but in the darkness with only the moon lighting the lake it was difficult to look at your surroundings. All you could really see was the dim features of Eddie. His skin practically glowing because he was so pale, you could see the frizz of his hair that was weirdly enough a halo around his head, his silver ring clad hands grabbing an oar to continue rowing you both to safety, and the look of concern in his dark eyes.

You smell the lake water, the dingy musty smell of the boat, mixing with the faint smell of your perfume, and Eddie’s natural scent with the note of the cheap cologne etched into his leather jacket.

You could hear sirens in the distance approaching, the sound of frogs croaking in the cattails at the shore, and the faint singing from Eddie?

Eddie always had his Walkman on him when you were younger, so he’d let you listen to whatever tape you wanted when you’d go into an anxiety attack. As much as you loved metal, you still loved pop music and a bunch of other genres that played on the radio. He’d grumble about it, but let you ‘contaminate’ his music player with whatever tape you’d be listening to even if it wasn’t metal.

The one band he remembered most you’d always listen to was Fleetwood Mac. A bit corny in his opinion since the only time he heard it was when his uncle was fixing his car or the old couple that lived in the RV next to his trailer would blast it when they were drinking. He didn’t know the lyrics well. He would really only pay attention to the chords or beat of the songs, but he needed you to get focused so you two could get off the lake. The last he needed was to be caught up in another murder, and for you to be in the mix as well.

“So there you go again, you say you want your freedom. Well who am I to keep you down? Na na na something something something.” He sang off key quietly. You were looking at him, still hyperventilating, but listening to his voice. “Like a heartbeat that drives you mad, in the stillness ehh na na na.” He drifted off, having a terrible time remembering the words rowing for the both of you, switching back and forth on the sides of the boat. “Landslide, you can go your own way?” His voice was no longer confident just basically saying any Fleetwood Mac song together.

You had stopped heavy breathing and took a deep breath, still internally panicking, but it was doing the both of you no good in the body of water. Besides, you could panic more once you were on shore and save Eddie from singing any longer and butchering one of your favorite songs. You grabbed your oar and started to row again. He visibly relaxed as you got back into the swing of rowing with him.

“Oh thank god,” he mumbled to himself. You bit your lip trying to hide a smile. You kept quiet, not exactly knowing what to say, well you had ideas, but you didn’t know how ill timed they would be. When was anything in your life rightly timed though?

“I hope you're not the lead singer for your band, Munson.” It slipped through your mouth before you could stop it. The sarcastic remarks reserved for him never having a filter.

He shook his head, “I’d like to have you know I can actually sing. Just not your shitty music choices.”

“Fleetwood Mac is not shitty, you say that about any band that isn’t labeled heavy metal.” You countered back, feeling thankful to be arguing rather than panicking.

“If it made you start rowing again, I’d sing Madonna.”

“Angel is one of my favorites,” you said in a ‘matter of fact’ tone.

“Please Y/l/n, the more you talk, the more faith I lose in your taste in music.” Eddie scrunched his nose.

“Yeah well I already lost faith in yours, when you declared Megadeth the new Metallica.” You snapped back playfully.

“As long as you’re rowing you can lose faith in my music taste all you want.” He replied. You rolled your eyes as you two continued to have a quiet heated debate about music to the shore. Ironically this is how all your other anxiety attacks ended when you were around Eddie when you were younger too. Maybe just with a little disdain and intensity now.

taglist: @sunfairyy @eddiemunson4ever @babygirlwilly @creme-delacreme @ultracolorfulnerdcollection @thicc101q @mcueveryday @ariegoldhouse

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #sour candy fic #eddie munson smut #eddie munson headcanons #joseph quinn #stranger things imagine #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson imagine

[sue-daily]

How have you not gone insane from all the Mileys

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future

And you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

Hey, geeks!

I bring a message from the future

There's a new revolution heading to computers

It's '73 but it won't be too long

'Til we can get the TV to play a game of Pong

But it's time to breakout of the house

The crazy days of Space Invaders await us

Arcade potatoes

Swap the shooting range for computer games

Arcade renaissance, pre 8-Bit's booming days

A new decade, welcome to the 80's

Pac-Man's the latest new craze, Q*Bert's the rage

The first personal computers let loose

As Manic Miner grabs your time and to fight is truly useless

Elite gave legions of wee-little boys

A deep space region and freedom of choice

Now, here comes the console

The first one sold portended an industry of dimensions untold

The birth of franchise, Mario Brothers

Donkey Kong, Monty Mole, I'd tell you the others

But the list'd go on and on

Longer than I can tell

Until the 90's when the game became handheld

Meanwhile, I bought stories of another time

And point-and-click arrived from the shores of Monkey Island

Ever want to see your chums beat right up?

Well, Daniel-San, you need to try Street Fighter

A tournament with all your buddies in your front room

Is all good until you fight online on DOOM

Hijack your mind, your momma can't abide this

Night Trap might lack morals, it's a moral crisis

What are we doing to our youth?

They're shooting people glued to screens with superglue

Computers need to be banned when the laws broke

Ban Manhunt, ban Grand Theft Auto

Try something musical but if you've a sore throat

I have what you're after, Parappa the Rapper

Tomb Raider, the tune invades your brain

Get in her way and she'll make you taste the pain

A sport's a game, always and it's hard fact

Then a game became a sport and it's name was Starcraft

Kids used to play with dolls and a house

The Sims is the same but controlled with a mouse, yeah

Open worlds abound but rarely 3D, hey

Until the Elder Scrolls and GTA

Wait 'til you see the scale of the monsters and bosses

That you face in Shadow of the Colossus

Things are getting bigger, more decisions, more maps

Millions of simultaneous players in Warcraft

All the people, so many people

See, your whole family can get involved in Wii Sports

And more people means more money, more flair

For big blockbusters, COD: Modern Warfare

Even more people, more freedom, more indie games

Limbo, Fez, Super Meat Boy, Braid

Revolutionizing gameplay, a mind blast

Constructing infinite destructible worlds, Minecraft

Gaming on the telephone, yes, I know it sounds absurd

Fruit Ninja, Farmville, Angry Birds

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future and you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future and you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future and you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future and you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

When gamers came along, the planet laughed at us

But this is gaming in the future and you haven't heard the last of us

Dismissing this is just an enormous fallacy

So, open your mind and let it alter your reality

Gamers!

The world is ours

Now, where shall we take it?

[project-rebirth]

Prologue: Look What I Found Under This Big Rock – OP.“Apocrypha”

She was dead. It was 3PM on December 25 and Shirai Kuroko, a 1st year middle school girl with chestnut twintails and wearing nothing but a purple negligee, lay collapsed and unmoving on her bed in a Tokiwadai Middle School student dorm. She was completely dead.

As dead as a jellyfish rotting on the beach.

“Onwee-shama…still hasn’t come home…”

Yes.

Her roommate Misaka Mikoto had yet to return after being sent to the hospital after the injuries she had received just a few days prior to the Violent Violet incident (Even though the injuries she sustained were relatively minor in comparison to some others who were caught up in it), but knowing her, the attractive Onee-sama was off enjoying herself elsewhere on Christmas and her cute underclassman had failed to board Noah’s Ark in time. She may have been sent to a deserted island all on her own. Shirai Kuroko had been tragically rejected. And it hurt all the more because she knew there was no ill will behind it.

She did not even have it in her to flail around in frustration. A monotone ringtone played from the phone she had left by her pillow, so she reached out with her face still down in the pillow and spoke in a deep, zombie-like voice.

“Uwehhhh? A joint manhunt with Anti-Skill?”

“They’re apparently planning a major arrest. And isn’t that kind of violence your favorite thing, Shirai-san? The adults are actually offering to let you run wild for once, so you should probably take them up on it.”

Judgment apparently had a lot of work piled up even on Christmas.

She briefly considered resorting to pretending she was in too much pain to get out of bed due to being on her purple period which would curse you unless you forgot it existed before you turned 20…but then she had a different idea.

Yes.

If there was going to be some major incident happening, wouldn’t Misaka Mikoto be more liable to show up?

She leaped out of bed, fixed her mussed-up hair, and hurriedly responded.

“Understood, Uiharu!! I will be there right away! Where is ‘there’, by the way!?”

Tokiwadai forced impeccable behavior on its students, so the dorms were strictly locked down around Christmas, but work for Judgment was an exception. This was Shirai Kuroko’s first Tokiwadai Christmas, but she managed to strut right past the dorm manager and out the supposedly impregnable front entrance in her winter uniform and a very long scarf.

“Now, then.”

She let out a breath and vanished into thin air.

She was a Level 4 Teleporter.

She could only teleport things a distance of 81.5m at once and she could only teleport a weight of 130.74kg at once, but by repeatedly teleporting herself, she could move at speeds greater than a racecar. All while circumventing the restrictions of the asphalt roads.

The safety of District 7 could vary a lot depending on the area, but she made her way to one of the less safe areas. There was decidedly unartistic graffiti spray painted on the walls and presumably stolen and abandoned bicycles were lying all around. There were no Christmas decorations in evidence.

A habit instilled in her by her job(?) took over and she photographed the registration sticker on the underside of the bike seats.

“Is this the place?” she asked over the phone.

“An Anti-Skill truck should be parked nearby, so go find them. I’m busy with my own work, so I unfortunately won’t be able to join you. …Eh? Oh, what is it? Ehhh!? You want me to turn all this into an automated processing flowchart today!?”

After some sounds of a struggle, the call ended.

(I guess I have to do this.)

Being out and about gave her more of a chance to run across her beloved Onee-sama, Misaka Mikoto, than lying dead on her dorm room bed. Especially when there was trouble afoot. Her motivation was impure as could be, but she hoped they would forgive her if she could restore order to the city while she was at it.

She knocked on the door of a large steel truck that looked like a windowless bus and the door opened from the inside.

It was larger than a van, but it actually felt cramped on the inside. Both walls were crammed full of industrial computers and the excess space was piled high with boxes of weapons and ammo. There were no ordinary lights, so the glow of monitors and heat of machines filled the limited space. This was apparently a logistics vehicle that handled data control and materiel provision more than transporting people.

(And this is only the backup. Does that mean they have more personnel deployed than would fit in one bus?)

She looked skeptical. Anti-Skill was the grownup organization that preserved order in Academy City. In terms of the world outside the city, they were similar to the police. She knew they were a highly organized group of volunteer teachers, but this appeared to be a largescale job even for them. Just think about it. How many police officers would be needed to chase down a single robber escaping through the streets? It would be unusual to find that not even 30 was enough.

“Excuse me, but you requested my presence here. I am Shirai Kuroko of Judgment. If this major arrest required calling me in, does it involve an esper?”

They were not as polite as a phone shop’s receptionist. First, her voice was absorbed by silence and a few sharp glances turned her way after a bit. “The customer is always right” did not apply with civil servants. Plus, Shirai was not actually a customer. Finally, a nearby woman, who appeared to be an operator, spoke up.

She curtly gestured further back in the truck with her chin.

“You’re working with her.”

That seemed awfully cold after Shirai had gone out of her way to name herself and express her enthusiasm for the job, but she accepted it since she had seen some girls in her class who tried and failed to play the tsundere like that. Then she looked over in the indicated direction.

Much to her surprise, the person that she was to  work with did not look like your typical anti-skill officer based on the clothes they were wearing as well as the apparent age of the person.

She appeared to be a girl who looked around the age where she was in her last year of high school or starting her first year of university, though if she played her cards right, she looked like she could be any age. The girl had light purple hair, brown eyes and looked like she was wearing an old school uniform that surprisingly still fit her well. She  was sitting at the table with a laptop, seemingly engrossed in whatever she was looking at.

“.....”

For some reason, Shirai was under the impression that she gave off the air of a NEET or some kind of shut in, And just when she had that though, the NEET girl turned her head towards Shirai.

“Hm? Oh, you’re that girl I’m working with.... Shiroko was it?”

“...Shirai Kuroko. I am from Judgement. You don’t look like you’re from Anti-Skill... who are you?”

“Ah, that’s right. I suppose I don’t seem like your common law enforcement officer do I? My name is Kihara Jikan. I’m a special researcher that’s been recruited by the Governing Board to help Anti-Skill with the large operation that’s taking place.”

Shirai raised an eyebrow. She was familiar with the name Kihara and how that family of scientists were responsible for all sorts of atrocities. The likes of Kihara Gensei and Therestina Kihara Lifeline comes to mind. But there was a chance that Jikan was not involved in anything like that,, so she had to refrain from judging her for now.

“So, what is this operation we are participating in? Are we finally arresting MINUS?”

“To be clear, you can’t let anyone know about this. Because we live in an age where people will do just about anything to get material for an online video or social media post. Unfortunately however, it’s not MINUS. You see, in recent times, dangerous individuals and organizations from the Outside have infiltrated Academy City. The governing board has finally had enough and decided to do something about it, hence why we’re both here. Welcome to Operation Apocrypha Shirai-san.”

Infiltrators from the outside? Shirai knew there were instances of people breaching Academy City’s security and entering, but she did not know it was on a scale like this, especially something that warranted the full resources of Anti-Skill and Judgement.

And based on Jikan’s tone, Shirai could tell that this was a situation that took precedence over MINUS, who had gone rather quiet after the District 19 incident.

“These invaders are not espers or anything we are used to dealing with. These people and organizations operate on laws and concepts that are completely out of our current understanding, but thanks to the OUTRANK list that we got from the anonymous source called The Guardian, we know who is in this city and what we can expect when we engage them.”

Jikan shifted her laptop so Shirai could see before moving from a tab that had some stuff regarding research into Multi-Universe Theory and Temporal Quantum Mechanics before moving to a tab that held a really long list of names of organizations and their members, as well as some other names who were not really affiliated with any particular organization.

Shirai looked at the names and gave it a read through. She had never heard of these people or groups before, however she was more astonished by the number of them listed. These people were really in Academy City?

“Hamanchi Eggoko, Lea Alecto, Rosimontis The Purger, The Wild Horse... are these people seriously in Academy City?”

“OUTRANK doesn’t lie I’m afraid. Those people are either already in Academy City, or is expected to come here. Lea Alecto and Rosimontis The Purger are big enough threats on their own, several members of an organization known as The X has been spotted in this city including the one named Shinpachi Oni, the Wild Horse. Oh, and the names you listed are all Harmfuls. They are the ones you should be careful of.”

“Harmfuls..?”

“Yes. You see, we have a category system that separates the very dangerous elements from the less dangerous elements. The names you went over are all in the Harmful category, while others have been placed into the Beneficial category. It’s to know who we need to use the proper amount of force against really.”

Academy City was under attack.

Many hostile individuals and organizations were in the city illegally and were most likely here for some nefarious purpose. Looking at the organization called The X, as well as some of the others, there was great concern to be had for the security and safety of the city and its residents,but there were a lot of it that seemed unbelievable, at least on paper.

But then there was a thought that came to Shirai, something that should be asked now.

“I do have a question. Why is it that these third parties are entering the city in the quantity that they have? Is this a coordinated effort between the groups, or is there something here that they are looking for?”

“It’s hard to say whether or not the groups are working together, but based on what we have gotten, they seem to be mostly operating on their own. As for the second point, we believe that they are after some kind of experimental device that I can’t get into, but it’s imperative that none of them get their hands on it. Academy City tech can’t fall into the hands of outsiders.”

“So, does that answer your questions for now? We are expected to apprehend Bazuko, one of the members of X soon so we can find out what the organization is really doing here as well as to give us the locations of the rest of their members, so I hope you are ready for some action, Shirai.”

This was a citywide sweep of forces from the Outside. Shirai had heard a few things about something called the Third Side or Cosmic Side being talked about on internet forums (the only reason she knows about it is because Saten Ruiko told her) but she could not give any clear definition of what the cosmic side was really supposed to be. It felt like a fictional thing spoken of only in rumors. Like a few separate incidents had appeared connected by coincidence, creating the illusion of something larger there. Yet it was all too ominous to just laugh it off in that way.

But this sounded exactly like something her Onee-sama would get involved in. If these Cosmic Siders or whatever was going to be causing problems on a scale like this, then it was only a matter of time before Mikoto threw herself into the fray. She was heavily involved in that last incident, so it was only natrual that she would appear somewhere down the line.

With that possibility filling her mind, Shirai Kuroko was ready to engage the enemy with more vigor than she normally would have.

“Then let’s do our best to stop the criminals that are infiltrating our city!”

Start: Operation_Apocrypha

@tetsuwan-atom​ @lawain-dimensional-heroes​ @xbloodsoakedx​

#Toaru Majutsu no Index: Rebirth Testament (Main Verse) #Devoted Underclassman of Tokiwadai's Ace // Shirai Kuroko #Researcher of Temporal & Dimensional Mechanics // Kihara Jikan #Arc: Operation Apocrypha #Drabble

[anemoiarp]

Hey guys! So here on Anemoia, we will be allowing character histories and personalities from the three primary canon comic timelines (new earth, prime earth, and rebirth), with any amount of in-mixing from those or any other DC adaptations. For example, if you wanted to play Bruce Wayne from New Earth but preferred the way rebirth handled a specific event or facet of his personality, you’d be more than free to add that to your characterization! The same concept goes for DCAU/DCEU/etc timelines, or other adaptations. Anemoia is meant to be a mixing of canons, so we definitely encourage making characters your own!

Because we won’t solely be following any one single canon timeline from the comics for the site’s history, we’ve written our own timeline specific to the Anemoia universe. These are the only solid, unalterable events in our universe, so they’re pretty important! As such, our TIMELINE will be the first site preview and can be found under the cut! Enjoy, and feel free to send a message if you have any questions about specific events!  

** Lastly, this timeline will largely remain the same but it IS subject to minor changes by staff before the site is actually open.

334BC Vandal Savage, under the name Alexander the Great, begins a series of campaigns that lead to him conquering the Persian Empire.

45BC Under the name Julius Caesar, Vandal Savage wins the Great Roman Civil War assuming total control of the government.

1200S Vandal Savage begins a successful campaign across Asia and Eastern Europe, creating the Mongol Empire under the name Ghenghis Khan.

1400S Ruling Wallachia three separate times, Vandal Savage, under the name of Vlad III Dracul becomes a national hero and considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history. He ultimately goes on to inspire stories of Dracula

1888 Vandal Savage murders at least 5 women in London, England becoming known as Jack the Ripper. This is the last public persona Vandal Savage takes, deciding to work from the shadows from then on out.

1918 Diana Prince arrives in the world of men.

1961 Justice Society is formed.

1979 Jonathan and Martha Kent find and adopt a young Clark Kent.

1995 John Constantine (19) attempts to save a young girl from a demon, ultimately failing and Astra Louge is dragged to hell by the demon Nergal.

1997 Bruce Wayne (23) becomes the Batman.

1998 Reverend Richard Jiwe is murdered by his half brother General Maksai in order to claim the Tantu Totem.

1999 Jefferson Pierce (24) returns to Southside, Metropolis. Finding it overridden by crime, he takes on the mantle of Black Lightning.

2000 Alec Holland (25) is transformed into Swamp Thing after the explosion of his lab releases a bio-restorative chemical he had been working on into the Louisiana swamp.

2000 Dick Grayson (8) is taken in by Bruce Wayne after the death of his parents. He becomes the first Robin and works closely with Batman.

2001 Clark Kent (22) begins his superhero career officially -- newspapers and media beging calling him the Superman.

2001 Oliver Queen (20) is stranded on a desert island. When he returns home he becomes the Green Arrow.

2001 Ted Kord (21) becomes the second Blue Beetle, but does not inherit his mentor's ability to use the Scarab.

2003 Dinah Lance (18) becomes the second Black Canary, assuming her mother's mantle.

2003 Hal Jordan becomes the Green Lantern for sector 2814.

2004 Arthur Curry (23) becomes Aquaman.

2004 Donna Troy (13) becomes Wonder Girl.

2004 Roy Harper (14) becomes Speedy.

2004 Barbara Gordon (15) becomes the first Batgirl.

2005 Barry Allen (22) becomes The Flash.

2005 Guy Gardener receives a green lantern ring, becoming a backup lantern for sector 2814.

2006 Attempted invasion by Apokolips prompts the formation of the Justice League by Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. They add to their ranks over the years.

2006 Wally West (15) becomes Kid Flash.

2006 Garth becomes (15) Aqualad.

2007 The Teen Titans are formed by Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, Speedy and Wonder Girl. Over the next few years, they add to their ranks.

2007 Due to a crippling accident, John Stewart is recruited to the Green Lantern Corps to replace Guy Gardener.

2009 Dick Grayson (17) assumes the new alias, Nightwing.

2010 Jason Todd (11) becomes the second Robin.

2011 Michael Jon Carter (29) travels back in time from the 25th century and using his knowledge of history, stages high publicity heroics.

2012 Barbara Gordon (23) is shot by The Joker. After recovering, and in spite of paralysis, she assumes the new alias, Oracle, and continues to aid others in the field.

2012 There is a lab accident in STAR labs while Silas Stone is investigating Apokoliptan technology. His son, Victor Stone (18) is caught in the blast and subsequently becomes Cyborg.

2013 Jason Todd (14) is killed by The Joker.

2013 Dick Grayson (21) moves to Bludhaven.

2013 Mari McCabe (25) returns to Zambesi, reclaiming the Tantu Totem from her uncle. Mari becomes Vixen.

2014 Tim Drake (13) becomes the third Robin.

2014 Doomsday crashlands on Earth and immediately begins a path of terror and destruction. When the Justice League is deployed to battle him, they fall in a matter of minutes. Eventually, Superman is able to defeat Doomsday, but not without sacrificing himself.

2014 Superman's body is taken from his mausoleum by Kryptonian technology, but not before Lex Luthor is able to obtain a sample of his DNA.

2014 Black Adam with a small team he assembled stages a military take over of the country Kahndaq, freeing it from the reign of a brutal dictator.

2014 Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man (Ralph Dibny), is murdered, her body horribly burned.

2015 In the wake of Sue Dibny's death, Bruce Wayne begins work on project Brother MK I.

2015 Following Superman's death, four men claiming to be Superman emerges in Metropolis. The Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Superboy and Steel -- all using the name Superman, some even sharing some of his memories.

2015 Mongul invades and subsequently destroys Coast City with a large spaceship, reducing the city and everyone in it to a giant crater.

2015 The real Superman reemerges from the kryptonian matrix which had been healing him, originally he returns with only a fraction of his powers.

2016 Possessed by the entity of fear, Parallax, Hal Jordan nearly destroys the Green Lantern corps, leaving those few survivors to salvage what has been lost.

2016 Kyle Rayner becomes the new Green Lantern after the fall of the corps, wielding one of the last green rings.

2016 Young Justice is formed by Impulse, Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl. They add to their ranks over the years.

2016 Anissa Pierce (18) and Jennifer Pierce (16) take up the superhero mantle like their father, calling themselves Thunder and Lightning.

2017 Jason Todd (18) returns to Gotham with the new alias, Red Hood.

2017 Stephanie Brown (17) becomes the fourth Robin for a short time. She eventually trains under Barbara Gordon to become the third Batgirl.

2017 Bludhaven is destroyed in a chemical attack known as "Chemo" and is quarantined.

2017 Having learned from his first defeat by the Justice League, Darkside employs agents to earth to destabilize Earth's power structure, he does this by trying to shake humanity's faith in their heroes. The most prominent of these agents is Glorious Godfrey, or G. Gordon Godfrey as he's known in his television personality.

2017 The United Nations creates Checkmate, a chartered metahuman monitoring force.

2017 Wally West takes up the mantle of The Flash, alongside Barry. Wallace West takes the title of Kid Flash.

2018 The first Observational Metahuman Activity Construct (OMAC) is officially created, with the intention to gather information on metahumans throughout the world -- both hero and villain.

2018 Young Justice renames itself ‘Legacy’ as they become increasingly stable and serious as a team. They earn a government sanction.

2018 Simon Baz (17) becomes a new Green Lantern for sector 2814.

2018 Children across the globe are being tested for the metahuman gene and many of them are going missing, sold into metahuman trafficking.

2018 Bruce Wayne is “killed” by Darkseid. Dick Grayson takes over the title of Batman.

2018 Damian Wayne (17) arrives in Gotham after Talia al Ghul reveals that he is Bruce Wayne's son. He’s mentored by Dick Grayson, and takes up the mantle of Robin. Tim Drake becomes Red Robin.

2019 Jessica Cruz (18) becomes the newest Green Lantern for sector 2814.

2019 Jaime Reyes (18) is found by the Scarab, becoming the third Blue Beetle.

2019 Bruce Wayne is returned to his proper place in time. Damian Wayne (18) creates a new branch of the Teen Titans separate from the Titans, primarily lead and mentored by old members of the original team. 

#anemoiarp #site preview

[batking-lich]

a list of scooby doo movies where they met real monsters (based off of my terrible memory and wikipedia)

-the two main live action movies (and also one of the reboot movies maybe? didn’t velma get possessed by a witch or something?) had real monsters, but we won’t count them because the relation to the animated series is tenuous

-zombie island (to be fair this was supposed to be way in the future)

-alien invaders (though i can’t remember if scooby and shaggy saw/remember the reveal)

-witch’s ghost (the one they chase at first is fake, but in the climax ben ravencroft is an actual witch who summons the actual ghost of an actual witch)

-i’m willing to count cyber chase because the virus did manifest in the physical world and wasn’t someone in costume but whether it counts as a “monster” in this context is debatable. i feel we’re working on the assumption that “monster” only includes beings that are supernatural or extraterrestrial in nature

-there are multiple films with scooby, shaggy, and scrappy containing real monsters (ghoul school, reluctant werewolf, boo brothers are the ones i remember off the top of my head) but they don’t include the whole gang and i don’t know what their place in continuity is so i won’t count them

-goblin king (though i think memories were wiped at the end, though shaggy and scooby might remember. i don’t lol)

-also not counting the various batman crossovers for similar reasons (though wikipedia says clayface and martian manhunter were in one, but i haven’t seen it so can’t confirm if they saw or not)

-it is implied at the end of the loch ness monster that nessie is real and scooby got a glimpse

-isn’t there an actual evil sword and a dragon in samurai sword? i don’t remember that one well

-an after-credits scene of camp scare says the monster is real (if wikipedia is to be believed; i don’t remember the film well enough to say) but since the gang left with the impression that a masked criminal was the culprit it doesn’t count

-similarly with shaggy’s showdown, wikipedia says there’s a moment where the monster is shown to be real but i haven’t seen that one so idk if the gang sees the ghost. wikipedia implies no, so it doesn’t count

in conclusion the scooby gang have met a fuckton of actual monsters thanks for coming to my ted talk

#bats makes a post

[iphoenixrising]

Anything Angsty with Tim please. Recommendations, a fic anything, just feeling angsty .... (P.S doctor!tim is everything I've ever needed and looking forward to AOB part 5! You're amazing! Good luck with your day)

Hi babe. I’m sorry I kept this for so long, but I am def aware how much you love your pain (lol) and I had this idea spinning for a while, so… Yeah. But ah, I started thinking about this what-if from the Fracture Verse and it got really long and intense really fast>.Destroyed. Basically, the Titans take on theinvaders and most the JL mentors take their sidekicks for some R&R exceptfor Red Robin, who goes back to the Tower to take care of himself and Batmanjust kind of lets him go.Well, What-If B just wasn’t having any of that? What if shit started getting so real there and just ALL THE KNOWLEDGE DROP HAPPENS THERE INSTEAD OF A YEAR LATER O_O  Like, Tim has only been back from his little torture vacay and then the mind fuckery of the Insurgents and just!

So…here it is.

**

All-in-all, invading aliens are douche canoes.

Seriously.

Kon, Cassie, Bart, Rave, Gar, and Miguel are allin agreement with him on this one; especially after they were all trapped in anendless of loop of their worst moment, worst losses, worst failures while stuckin the alien’s most powerful weapon: the Mind Trap.

Sure, it had been his brilliant, last-ditch ideato jump ball to the wall into the trap, giving him the access to their neuralnet he needed to break the hive mentality and shut them down from the inside.

It doesn’t make anything, any of it, anybetter.

While he’s reliving Kon’s final moments, Raven’snear insanity at the hand of Trigon, Gar’s out-of-control power ripping hisbody apart, Cassie’s nearly fatal injuries, Bart’s last wishes while hecoughs up blood and bile, Miguel watching his beloved slip in a coma to hoveron the edge of death—

While he’s doing all of that, Cassie is gettinghit with a two week span of time he was tortured as Tim Drake, Kon is getting aload of life with a ruptured spleen bleeding out, Bart is feeling the contagiontaking hold to kill Batman’s sidekick, Gar is feeling the pain when he, Damian,and Dick are fighting it out after the Robin tunic was given away without hisconsent, and Miguel is feeling a whole lot of owfuck from that time theRed Hood tried giving him a second smile to worry about.

But what matters in the end? With Raven’s help,he’s able to keep part of his mind partitioned off from the alien device so hecan live through the atrocities of his team and hack the invader’s tech at thesame time—enough to put in his carefully recalibrated virus to take them thefuck down.

The trap faded around them once the virus his jackpotand breaks the neural-net connection, essentially making the invaders as potentas five-year olds throwing temper tantrums.

The following beat-down is enjoyableenough to make up for the hour spent reliving their worst moments and fears, inhaving those moments share with the rest of the team.

Well, not really.

But still, it’s a pretty sweet revenge fight.

As per usual, the JL appears out of the sky overSan Fran once the main body of fighting is pretty much over and done with.They’ve already started on clean-up with the local authorities when Superman,Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Zatanna, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, GreenArrow, and the Batman show up to take a look around at the nice pile of former mayhem.

It’s a surprise when Superman goes straight forSuperboy, eyes wide with concern, gripping the teen’s arms and asking quietlyif he’s been hurt, is he okay? Does he need to go to the fortress for somehealing time?

Wonder Woman is similarly concerned upon seeingWonder Girl wavering with some bloody patches on her elbows and ribs, but it’sthe younger hero’s eyes that really bother her. Without a word to therest of the Justice League, she takes one of her protégé’s arms around hershoulders and takes to the sky, intent on going to Paradise Island for theyounger to recuperate.

The Flash pretty much catches KF in anall-encompassing hug, blurting out how bad ass the younger speedster didon such terrible bad guys, how proud he is of what KF did here today,how they need to check him over before he collapses, and just let me feedand care for you, little bro.

Zatanna feels the sharp, aching throb of paincoming directly from Raven, the power radiating in shards of agony. As a fellow magic user, she has no qualms going directly to the youngerwoman and talking gently, almost begging her to come to New York and the quietroom set-up to negate magic and allow for healing.

Martian Manhunter, who’s known Gar for years,sees the strain, the trembling, flinching muscle, and just pulls theunresisting Beast Boy up in his arms with something spoken softly against themop of green hair, and flies off with a nod to the Bat.

Red Robin, beaten and abused, bloody andlimping, is glad the JL came for his team; the aftermath of this, the rawnessof it, the pain, would be a real bitch for them to deal with. They would needthe support and the time to come back from the slideshow of horrors they allexperienced.

He turns away from the members of his team beingtaken away by their mentors and friends, going up to Cyborg with a copy of thevirus he created to take the Insurgents down, and gave the JL membersome of the deets about the who, what, when, where, and why since, you know,invading aliens are usually part of the JL’s extensive repertoire ofass-kicking.

He finally puts the bo away now that clean-upcrews are underway and the invaders are being detained by A.R.G.U.S.  Withthe job over and done with, he pulls a grapple in one bloody hand, fires it atthe convenient rooftop to take to flight. Their part is done and AmandaWaller’s people can figure out what the fuck to do with the aliens.

At least from here, he’s close enough to theTower to get half-way there without doing more damage to his ribs and theterrible concussion—

(V)

—Vash the Stampede, hitting the back of hisbrain pan. He needs antibiotics and first-aid to stop the bleeding as well aspossible other bad shit, like septic shock, from setting in (since,really, it’s ass) before he starts up adding this little sitch to theTitan’s records. Then he needs to get back on the hunt for those curiouslywell-funded labs getting Black Market equipment, and—

The slight paf of another zip line shakeshim a little in mid-air.

The shadow of the Bat is coming right up behindhim, dark cape flaring out behind the older vigilante so Red can plainly seeB’s arm already out to grab him around the middle and pretty much pull himright the hell off his own zip line.

“What the f—!?”

But they’re moving through the air, his wordslost to the rushing wind while B’s line attaches to the Batplane flyingoverhead, retracting to bring them closer to the dark silhouette in the sky.

With his back pressed up against the yellow ovaland symbol on B’s chest (and once upon a fucking time this meantsomething, didn’t it?), and that arm like iron around him, Red’s lip curls upin a sneer, shouting over the Batplane’s engine making his hurting jaw achejust that much more.

“What the hell do you need?” The unsaid can’tthis wait? Is right there.

B leans in to talk against his ear while they’restill in mid-air, probably not at all aware of the ringing so loudanyway, “I don’t need anything. Hold on.”

But through the lightheadedness, the strikes ofvertigo, the nausea rising up, Red still clenches his aching jaw and focuses onhow the hold around his gut hurting this much proves he’s pulledsomething probably important.

“Then I don’t want a ride to the Tower. I’ve gotit” Because he does. He’s had to have his own back for the better partof two years, before and after he brought B back from being lost in time andleft the Bats to figure their own shit out. He’s stayed away from their familywhen he’s in Gotham, stayed back because, well, Replacement, right?

Even if he and Jason are on better terms than ‘letme show you the pointy end of this knife,’ he’s still not even fucking goingthere.

The exit door to the Batplane slides open rightunder the cockpit. “I’m not giving you a ride to Titan’s Tower.” Is B’srumbling reply as they close in.

“Not all of us can jump from one crisis to thenext. Give me 48 hours and then you can email me with whatever intel you’reafter.” But he’s blinking behind the whiteouts, feeling sick and fuzzy, theinjuries that apparently aren’t going to just wait a minute.

“I don’t need any intel, Tim,” B snapsout, seemingly angry at something.

Red is too far into the pain game to really givea fuck about more of this little back-and-forth with his former partner.“Then what the hell do you want?” He snaps back, gripping the armaround him at the wrist, pulling his secondary grapple for, you know, justin case.

(Well, it’s not like they’re on good termsor anything—B has a Robin, so what’s this all about?)

“Stop it. You’re going to fall,” the arms getstighter with his meddling, and Red gasps out a pained noise when somethingtender is squeezed right along with it. His upper body flops over B’s arm in anattempt to curl up against the pain.

He barely realizes they’re up through the doorand into the cockpit while the plane glides smoothly on auto-pilot. The minuteB’s arm falls away, he can brace himself on the control panel and try tobreathe without puking.

Gloved hands turning him makes him jerk back astep as far as he can in the small space, pulling away.

“Just…just get me to the damn Tower,” ishoarse, blood on the Batplane’s floor now. Great, he’s going to probably get a rightbitching in his voicemail from Alfred explaining what a pain in the assbloodstains are to get out, Sir.

“I’m not taking you to the Tower,” Bgrowls back.

And there it is again, Batman is gripping hisbicep, pulling him closer, the whiteouts dipped down and the free hand rovingover the torn places in his suit.

“Then why the fuck am I in here, and—and stopthat. Shit!” His knees wobble, his move to pull back aborted when agloved hand presses along his left side. Bile rushes up into his throat,swallowed back down by sheer fucking willpower.

“The Titans just took on invading aliens,Tim. You need medical attention and time to recuperate. Your suit stood up tomost of it, but you’re bleeding.”

Again. There it is. B saidhis name more times in the last ten minutes than he has in the last year. What.The. Ever. Loving. Fuck. Is. Happening?

“Then—” he stutters out between panting breaths,fighting the dizziness and pending gray edges to his vision, “let me go to the fuckingTower so I can patch myself up.”

B seems to finally get that something isrotten in Denmark, and lets Red pull out of the hold. With his vision failingand go time eminent, Red fumbles back at the control panel in an attemptto slam the button that will open the door back for him to jump out of and firehis extra grapple. Then he’s going to be hitting the Medical floor in like, sixminutes tops because much longer and he’s going to be in oh shit landjust like when the Triad—

He misses on the first shot because B knocks hishand away and the exit stays closed.

“Wh-What the hell are you—?”

And sometimes, B is just that guy becausethe corresponding blow to his worst injury is such a fucking dickmove.

But it has the intended effect, showing how weakhe apparently is because his knees knock together and go out on him. He wouldhave ended up on the floor if B hadn’t swept him up like some fainting lily andkicked the co-pilot’s chair around with one foot to set him down in it.

“You’re in no shape to go back to the Tower,” Bmakes it statement punctuated with the last hit.

“…asshole…” he faintly gasps while the painmakes him clench his jaw against a noise.

“We’re going to talk when I’m not worried aboutinternal bleeding and broken bones. Since when have you been taking care ofinjuries this extensive on your own? I’m fairly sure a stipulation to joiningthe Titans was that you keep me updated when you get hurt.” B fills in, handspausing when he realizes the Red Robin’s suit design is…different. Verydifferent. The design has changed, along with the security traps (and hewonders when it happened. He should have the current designs of allhis sons’ suits, including armor schematics and the necessary details).

His Bat sense is going off about everything,more so than when Clark first picked him up from Gotham to inform him theTitans are in the fight of their lives because invading aliens managedto bypass the Watchtower’s systems.

He’d set the Batplane for follow them, alreadyworried about how Red Robin would be holding up while Clark sped them as fastas possible to San Francisco, meeting up with the other JL members on the way.

None of them had to say how worried they were,it was evident, even if you weren’t the so-called World’s GreatestDetective.

But the nagging something tugging at hisinner sense when Red shot his grapple without even a word to him isgetting stronger, is making him worry a hell of a lot more than he was even anhour ago.

He feels out the obvious injuries, even withRed’s hand weakly shoving his away.

“No internal bleeding, nothing broken. Thisconcussion is the bee’s knees thanks. A stop at the Tower to drop me offwould be just—” and yes, B, that was one of their agreements.Back when he was still Robin, when someone actually gave a fuck. Healmost comes out with that, but stutters to a halt because Batman gives nofucks about anything but flicking out a razor-sharp batarang and cuttingthe tunic right up the center, pulling away the dented, broken armor to get tothe body suit and main bleeders underneath.

“Tim, I said I’m not taking you there. No one isgoing back for the moment, and you need medical treatment, these look serious.”B already has the gloves and gauntlets off, “Batcomputer,” he turns slightlyand gets the acknowledging boop, “full body scan of Red Robin. Send results toAgent A.”

“N-No, no, not—” but his arms flop uselessly andthe six-minute window has already passed him up. It’s fail timeapparently.

Behind the whiteouts, B’s eyes narrow with thisconsistent fight. There’s something very wrong here, something wrong when hisformer Robin is fighting him tooth and nail when he’s half-loopy on blood lossand exertion. “Yes. There is no way in hell I’m leaving you in the Towerby yourself like this. Not going to happen, Tim. I am not goingto let you bleed out all over your computers.”

And B shoves his cowl back to show thoseelectric blue eyes, narrowed stubbornly when there’s my way or no waygoing down.

“Why,” he stutters when black replaces gray andhis brain fuzzes more, starts shutting down because of the impending owfuck,“the hell does it matter? I’m not your fucking responsibility anymore, right?”

He tries to sneer, tries to move, tries to snarland snap about why not a little bit of fuck-off for your day, butnothing is responding to command. Before he blacks out, though, he gets to see thelook of utter shock on Batman’s face, and well, the small surge of satisfactionat getting the drop on the Dark Knight leads him to the way—

Out

**

“Septic shock?” Dick gasps, utterly dumbfounded.

“Yes, Master Dick,” Alfred carefully works,aproned and gloved, cleaning the last of the ragged, raw injuries before hewould need to wrap them. The boy on the bed isn’t moving except for his chestrising and falling with slow, even breaths.

He does, however, press a button on the touchpadabove the bed in the Cave’s medical area to show the outline of a human bodywith a glaring red circle.

“It seems Master Timothy is no longer inpossession of the viscera necessary for fighting off infections.”

Bruce in only the body suit, Dick in sweats andt-shirt, and Damian without the domino all turn to Alfred.

And stare.

“You are saying he no longer has a spleen?” Damiverified, “and is thus more prone to illness?”

“That is precisely what the scans are showing,Master Damian, and I ran them several times to verify.”

The youngest Bat blinks once, blinks twice, andturns back to the unconscious form of Tim Drake lying still and silent. It wasbad enough the four of them received a nasty shock while peeling the RedRobin body suit off to reveal a mass of still-healing welts, burns, and brokenskin marring the span of Tim’s back (what the hell happened?) andthe other injuries in the process of healing, injuries that look suspiciouslylike torture on his upper body, arms, and hands; not to mention howAlfred huffs angrily at the visible curve of ribs standing out against paleskin, but finding out he also lost, you know, a semi-crucial body part sometimesince his last Bat-physical (hearing the date is the next shocker of thenight) is pretty much the last straw.

“I’m going to do some research. Let me know ifhe comes to, Alfred.” B turns away with a snarl, the muscles in his back andshoulders tight.

“I shall, Master Bruce. However, I have nointention of tying him down to the bed frame. Should I be detained with dinner,please refrain from using cuffs.”

“I’m not making any promises,” Bruce snaps back,already in his chair at the Batcomputer to start digging into the last sixmonths of Red Robin’s vigilante career and Tim Drake’s personal life.

Gingerly, Dick ruffles Damian’s hair and movesto sit on the medical bed by Tim’s hip, staring up at the closed eyes and slackfeatures. He doesn’t process Alfred taping gauze down on the current injuries,but picks up a bruised and battered hand to hold in both of his while lookingat a very obvious scar now that he knows some of what’s been going on inthe time since Tim has been back to the Manor after the Robin mantle went toDami.

(And Dick feels like a right bastardbecause he remembers coming up the stairs, thinking Tim might have been in hisold room after their thing with Ra’s people before B had been found—whenhe thought Tim might have come to his senses and come home to be RedRobin here with them…and found Tim’s room empty. His things moved out, theshelves missing his usual array of books and video games, no clothes in theclosets, no extra suits in the hidey holes, no shampoo in the shower ortoothpaste on the sink. The Flash shower curtain is gone, replaced by a genericone in most of the other guest rooms. And just turning in circles, the hardweight in his chest, the utter pain when he realized Tim never meant to comeback. He was already gone from the Cave where Alfred had patched him up,where Tim had told Dick specifically, “You’re my brother. I knew you’dcatch me.”)

He sighs, shoulders rising with the move. Hedoesn’t say anything as Alfred continues to dress the injuries and Tim sleepson.

It’s not very long before a sharp intake ofbreath from the computer draws their eyes, and B is typing furiously to getmore information. Hacking into the Tower’s mainframe is child’s play,especially when he has Vic doing the hard work.

Tim’s ghost drive, however, is yielding moreresults than he anticipated.

The video file labeled Triad makes hisstomach churn.

Dick leaves Tim to sleep off the drugs andantibiotics, for his fever to slowly come down under their ministrations. Hegrins a little at Damian asleep in the chair next to the medical bed and stepsover to the computer where Bruce is looking grim, fists clenched tight on thecontrol panel.

Dick almost asks, almost, until hecatches the video playing—

And watches Tim Drake take a whip to the backwhile their former Robin is screaming.

“Oh…Oh my God,” he blinks, chest tight,nausea rising up when the footage skips and the next scene is Tim being helddown by the arms and shoulders, the remains of his business suit ripped to givea span of bloody skin for the glowing hot iron bar to be set down.

He doesn’t know when he moved or when B got tohis feet while the two of them try very hard not to be sick as Tim screamedover and over on the security footage.

They stand together, silenced by horror as theslideshow continues, as Tim is tortured over and over, as one of their ownattempt to escape, gets to the control room and tries to get a communicationout to the outside world.

By the time they have the full picture of howthose marks got there and what Tim Drake had to go through, Bruce is deep inthe Bat, anger radiating from every pore.

Tim was abducted outside Wayne Enterprises ashis daytime persona, as Tim Drake, CEO, and none of them had known a damn thingabout it.

**

It’s almost forty-eight hours later.

The Bats are in from patrol and upstairs to dohuman things, like sleep and eat and bathe (because the sewers of Gotham are nastyno matter how many times you’ve been down there—the sitch never gets any better).B has scrubbed down and changed in the Cave, making sure he was free ofcontaminants before coming over to check on his still-sleeping Robin. Handsaccustomed to delivering pain are absurdly gentle when he lays a palm on theback of Tim’s neck, glad to see his temperature is finally getting back tonormal, and checking the IVs as well as the bandages on Tim’s healing back andnewer injuries on his side and knee. He ruffles the too-long hair gently beforegoing up to check quickly on Alfred and the boys before planning on coming backdown to stay close to Tim, hoping he might be stable enough to wake up and talkto them.

So the Cave is empty for the moment when themachines attached to the sensor clamped on Tim’s finger and the little stickypads on his chest start to pick up slightly. Not enough to trigger analert, just enough for him to blink open his bleary eyes riding the dredges ofpainkillers and sedatives.

It’s the Bat-cocktail of owfuck.

Really, he should have known better.

The fog is clearing out while his head flops onone side to look around and see where he’s—and what’s happ—how did—?

His head flops to the other side, eyes wideningwhen he realizes the big car is parked a little past the curtain, and on theother side of him, the Batcomputer looks the same, but there’s a few morethings on the control panel.

He gets the urge to violently hurl oncethe screeching overhead signals where he’s at just in case, you know, theremight be any doubt.

The air in his chest chokes off, leaving himcoughing hard for a few seconds, enough that the pulsox beeps once in warningand he struggles to get himself under control.

The haze of painkillers is still there, but nothingshort of death is going to stop him. Instead, he uses the lead to pull thelittle machine close to him and manages to pop the casing off. A few wires and boom,he takes the sensor off his finger and the monitor keeps going. It takesmaneuvering for him to sit up enough to reach the heart monitor and do prettymuch the same.

There’s cameras everywhere, but he’s sure no onewould be watching (because why would they?) as he stands on stiff,aching legs, manages to stumble a little before righting himself.

The knee isn’t going to get better anytime soon,so he’s good to be limping around because at least that means he’s onhis feet.

The Red Robin suit they must have taken off ofhim is folded neatly on a workstation table, easy to pick up.

He feels immensely better with the body suit on(even if the pressure on still-healing injuries is about a bitch, damn);boots, gloves and gauntlets, harness and utility belt. It’s enough to rock.

A domino goes on while he nabs his somewhatstitched back together cape, but the armored tunic is totes a lost cause.

Bummer.

With the machines beeping steadily behind him,Tim leaves the tunic, makes his way further down into the Cave, favoring theleg, moves as straight-backed as possible to keep the marks on his back frompulling and getting sore all over again, as been the pattern in the last monthsince he’s been back from a certain little vacay.

(And it’s fucked how B probably saw thosemarks isn’t it? Just another check in the who gives a shit category…but,the old memorial case with Jason’s Robin suit is still there where it’s alwaysbeen—and a double-take confirms it. His first Robin suit is in a new case nextto it. Mother. Fucker does it makes his chest hurt.)

The line of just in case vehicles is inthe same place it always was. A crappy beater for Matches Malone, a van forpick-ups, an Ambulance in case shit gets real. A covered car in the backcorner that is terribly, achingly familiar, and his eyes skitter away from it,just like he did with the memorial cases.

Instead, he goes to one of the four Ducati’sserviced and ready to rock, lifts up the seat while balancing on his good leg.Keys fall into his palm, so score.

His hip only hitches slightly when he throws thebad leg over the bike so the good one can steady it, and the bruises tomorroware going to be fucking beautiful.

But for the moment, all good. He’ssitting down at least, and flips the bike on, raises the bad leg to start theengine—

When Dami drops down from the ceiling vent andlands a few feet in front of him at a crouch.

No suit, no domino, but the pose is all Robin.

A Robin in his pjs, but then, well, there’sschool and shit in the morning isn’t there?

“Drake,” a low, almost-question.

“Nice to see you too,” he smirks with oldbitterness, just waiting for it.

Dami’s eyes go from the whiteouts to the bikeand back up. “This…is not a favorable course of action,” is said morecarefully than he can remember the Demon ever being.

“What now?” Because seriously, what now?

“You have been recovering from septic shock,”the youngest informs him, still in that crazy careful tone. “Among otherinjuries. It would be best if you stayed where you could be monitored shouldyou relapse.”

Now he thinks he might be more loopy on the I’mfucked up cocktail than initially assessed. Things just aren’t…aren’tmaking sense here.

“I’m in a multiverse aren’t I?” Is a stupid butkind of valid question.

Damian, however, is not amused.

“You are a fool. This is not surprising. However,as I have been informed, your team stopped an alien invasion. That if nothingelse would merit time, Drake.”

“Telepaths that want to take over our world are assholes.Haven’t you figured that out yet?” He comes back easily, “and I have a place torecoup. It would be nice to be on my way there right about now.”

The bad leg comes down, shooting a thrill ofpain up, but fuck it. Really. He needs to get out of here before JasonTodd comes around to give him a bro fist or something else just ascrazy.

The engine purrs to life against his thighs.

Again, it’s opposite day because thatlittle brat is leaning against the handlebars, scowling and talking over theengine instead of doing things like, you know, moving.

“I would not do this if I were you.”

He blinks behind the whiteouts. “I don’t knowwhat the fuck is going on here, but this is getting to creep-tasticsproportions.” He leans over the handlebars as much as he can without someserious owfuck hitting, “you wanted me gone, Demon. Riff raff,remember? That cut zip line? You think I need a written invitation toget the fuck out?”

Dami’s eye widen a fraction before narrowing,the little asshole leaning in as well like they’re going to fight it out forsome crazy reason because this is what they all wanted butwere too chicken-shit to tell him.

“Dick’s too nice to say it, but you think hereally has to after all this time?”

“Grayson—” Dami starts, voice raised to be heardover the purring engine.

“Never wanted me either. I guess you and JasonTodd were right all along. Want to gloat about it? How about you do it overSkype so I can get back to my life?”

Dami growls, baring his teeth in a snarl, “no,you fool. Grayson has missed you unbearably in the last twoyears. He has attempted to keep track of you while you searched for Father andthen later when you re-joined the Titans. He is the one that built the case foryour Robin suit.”

And just…what the ever-loving fuck?

“I am aware of how things were left whenI began my own time as Robin, Drake. I am aware of—”

“Get off.” Because now he’s blinking behind thewhiteout, his eyes getting hot and wet fast. “Get the fuck off.”

“No!” Damian snarls back, gripping thehandlebars tighter, like he has every intention of holding on. “I refuseto let you leave like this!”

And so, apparently it’s time to spell it out.“No one gives a shit if I’m here or not.” He shoves himselfstanding, old, buried pain rearing up from the terrible place in his brain panwhere he’d buried it all just so he could keep moving. “They let meinherit the cape because I was an asshole kid and found out theirsecret. They let me keep it because I did an alright job at keeping Bfrom fucking himself up like Robin is supposed to do. And he took me inbecause my fucking father was murdered when my identity was compromised.It’s ‘adopt an orphan syndrome,’ Damian. That’s it. I fucking Get.It. Now.”

Those eyes narrow, color rising to the youngervigilante’s face. But Tim leans down, blinking rapidly behind the whiteoutbecause he’s not going to give him or any of them that fuckingsatisfaction.

His voice is low, almost angry if it didn’tcrack, giving away more than he wants, especially to Damian. “Besides,why would they want the replacement when they’ve got the real son in thecape anyway, right? You said that, and you were right, weren’t you?”

“N-none of that—Drake…Timothy, youdon’t honestly,” and the twelve year old almost looks his age for once, “youdon’t honestly believe that.”

The corner of his mouth twitches up in a veryunfunny smirk, “I’m a detective, Damian. I don’t believe anything until I haveevidence.”

The younger Bat sputters a moment, looking oddlyshell-shocked, but he doesn’t let go, refuses to give up, “evidence? Openyour eyes, Drake. Father ordered the Justice League to attend your battleas soon as he knew, made Kent come to pick him up as he knew it would be thefastest way to get to you.”

“What part of aliens wasn’t clear? Thatis usually JL territory, we just happened to call dibs.”

Dami’s fists tighten around the handlebars, “Ihave been Robin for three years. Three years, Drake. If there isanything I have learned in that time, it is how Father would not leave any ofhis Robins behind. Not even you.”

Welp, that’s going to be a very hardeventual realization for the kid. But really, it isn’t any of his businessanymore. None of this is.

He sinks back down slowly, painfully becauseit’s time to go. “Get out of the way.”

The hair on the back of his neck, however, cutshim off, makes his straighten up again on the bike and rev up the engine. Damiisn’t moving, but is just staring at him looking like he might pull out thatwicked katanna for a little sliced n’ diced vigilante rather than dealwith his shenanigans. Not like it’s nothing new.

But the ghost sensation has drawn the brat’sattention as well, those eyes drawn over Tim’s left shoulder.

Without turning to look, he gives the standard,“thanks for the pick-up. Let me know when you need the next batch of intel.We’ll have a crime-fighting party with confetti and everything.”

The hand on his bicep is something he hadn’tanticipated, startling him to look up at Bruce’s bare face and angry eyes.

Oh shit. Batman’s not a happy camper. Time tohit the dirt.

From his other side, Dick comes out of nowhereand reaches around him to turn the bike off and take the key out of the ignition.

Oh, so that’s how it is? After all theyears he put into maintaining the bikes and cars just like everyone else—

“Like I said,” he deadpans, trying very, veryhard not to get pissed off at the snub, “thanks for the pick-up. I’ll gettogether whatever data you’re looking for when—”

“Get off the bike, Tim,” Bruce emphasizes theorder with a tug to his arm.

“Seriously?” Well, there goes the best ofintentions, “I’ll bring it back if this is a problem.”

“Not the point. Get the hell off the bike.”

He shoves himself to his feet, already planningon hitting up Kon in a quick text just to get a ride out of here as fast asfucking possible, itching to jerk his arm out of B’s hold (and dammit,he hates to do that now that Clark isn’t being an asshat extraordinaire). So helets it ride for the moment since, well, he pretty much shouldn’t be hereanyway, so the lecture is probably going to be fucking spectacular.

His hip hitches again when he swings his legback over the bike, but it’s only slightly painful this time around. Nope,there’s more pain elsewhere that has nothing to do with skin and soft,fleshy bits.

He in no way is prepared for Bruce pulling hisarm up and around those massive shoulders, bending down enough to be aboutTim’s height. The limp isn’t as bad with B supporting him with an arm aroundhis waist (under the worst of the older marks) and gripping the wrist, walkinghim right the fuck back into the depths of the Cave where Alfred is waitingwith hands properly folded behind him.

“Ah, the patient is awake,” Alfred is calm,cool, and collected as per usual. “Perhaps a stronger dose of painkillersshould have been in order.”

“Not necessary,” he fills in shortly, pullingaway from Bruce as soon as possible, a passing glance off the machines he’dreconfigured. “Thanks for patching me up, Alfred.”

The butler sighs through his nose and it’s sopainfully familiar. “Of course, Master Tim. If you would be sokind as to change clothing, the bandages will need to be checked again.”

He holds up a hand, “again, not necessary. I’mon my way out—”

Dick shoves sweats and a t-shirt in his chest,jaw clenched tight enough that a muscle is jumping there, and it’s fine,he gets it. Dick doesn’t want him there. He really doesn’t need this—

“I’m trying to be out of your hair,” hegrowls back at the former Batman and current Nightwing. “I didn’t ask tocome here. Not my bad.”

If anything, Dick’s expression gets even angrier.Angry enough that the hands holding the clothes are trembling finely until Timtakes them just to get the older vigilante to step back.

“Drake,” and it’s really saying something when Damianis the one stepping between them, trying to keep, well, whatever peacedistance can realistically bring. “This is difficult to believe, but there is agrave misunderstanding happening here.”

His eyebrows draw together, head tilted down tothe youngest, but he wisely remains silent because there’s volumes hecould say about that.

“Do you need assistance, Master Tim?” Alfredcuts in, trying to divert the brewing storm raging in Dick and Bruce’sexpressions, “I should say some of your injuries must be rather painful at thisjuncture. Your back, for example—”

“I’ve got it. Thank-you.”

“Very good, Sir. Once you have changed, I have adelightful pot of coffee and breakfast—”

But those words make his head snaparound, “coffee?”

Because yes. The answer is always yes.

Alfred hums knowingly, “indeed. I believe it isthe Sumatra brand you seem to favor?”

And dammit. Just, dammit Alfred.

In reply, he limps back to pull the curtainclosed in the sectioned-off medical area, flopping the sweats and t-shirt downon the gurney. Deep, cleansing breath, and he reverses order, taking off glovesand gauntlets, boots, utility belt and harness, cape and dom, leaving the bodysuit for last (since there’s the most owfuck of the day).

“Tim? You okay?” B’s voice is softer, floatingover the partition, his silhouette against the curtain.

“I’m fine,” he taps on his wrist computer withone arm through the t-shirt. Getting the sweats on is painful but it’s whateverreally, the knee isn’t going to get any better so no use whining about it.

Instead, he puts the wrist computer back on hisforearm and comes out a la civvies, his too-long hair probably wrecked,but with a KO of approximately two days?

He shoves the curtain back, cracking his neck,and starting to move to intercept Alfred’s approach. “Bandages are clean, soI’m good. Thanks.”

The butler tisks and gently simply steers MasterTim back to the gurney, “I will need to check your levels as well as theinjuries you are unable to see, Master Tim. You certainly cannot assessyour back unless you’ve taken to perform feats of magic?”

The others approach, watching with grave facesas the butler allows a cup and saucer inside the medical area, an excuse tokeep Tim’s hands busy so work can be done.

“My levels are f—” The smell hits like anaphrodisiac and his eyes fall half-mast just because coffee.

“Do not say ‘fine.’ For a young man without thenecessary organ to build up proper immunities, then I would dare to say yes.However, for a crime-fighting vigilante, your white cell count is woefully deficient.”

Oh. So that’s whatthis is about?

Shit.

“I’ve had enough time to adjust.” Is all hebites out as the butler gloves up, winds a stethoscope around his neck.

When B’s hands plant on his hips like he iswinding up for the mother of all lectures, and Damian puts a hand toDick’s forearm to stop him from saying whatever might be ready to comeout of his mouth, Tim realizes how much of a thing this might be.

The butler, however, just frowns, “then I willpose the obvious question, Master Tim. How many episodes of septic shock haveyou experienced before now?”

His jaw clenches, eyes close briefly becausewhen he got off that fucking ship—

The pinch to his inner elbow jars him out of it(luckily) or he might still be smelling stagnant water and imagine the worldrocking under his feet.

“Twice,” and he leaves it at that, going morepale at the bits flashing through his brain pan.

Alfred removes the syringe, tapes a cotton ballto the small wound. “Twice, Sir?” is quiet, neutral.

Tim swallows, looking at the span of wallinstead of any of them, “yeah.”

“Once recently I’m afraid?” And Alfred sets theblood sample aside, easily moves a gloved hand to be under Master Tim’s stillholding the delicate saucer. The minute clattering stops when he does.

“Yeah,” hoarse, but fuck yes.

“Your back, Tim?” now Alfred’s tone is movinginto soothing, someone that can (used to be) be trusted.

Still staring at the wall, keeping himselftogether, Tim gives a short, pointed nod.

“What—” Dick steps a little closer to his side,not enough to set him off, but enough to reach out, slowly, easy, “who did thatto you, Timmy?”

His shoulders tense with the contact, and heblinks hard, shaking himself out of it, shaking himself the fuck back tothe present. He lifts the cup and takes a drink of utter heaven.

It helps to steady him, to keep his head outof the two weeks he spent being tortured as Tim Drake, CEO, and the more recentfight with dick bag aliens.

“I took care of it.”

“That doesn’t tell us anything,” Dick counters.“Timmy…you were tortured.”

And well, yes. Yes, he was.

“Yup,” is his soft admission, staring down intothe depths of his coffee while Alfred moves around behind him and the shirtinches up his spine, making his hackles rise just slightly. “I was.”

And he knows, he knows, Alfred was tryingto be careful, wasn’t trying to do anything, but the wounds, the memories, allof it was still so new and raw, that when the touch hits the wrong spot,reminds him of a burning iron bar pressed against his shoulders, he chokes andmoves without thinking.

The cup and saucer crash to the floor, and he isup, moving away, spinning in mid-air, landing at a crouch with his legand back screaming, his eyes wide, hand automatically poised in a nerve strike.And he can fight, he can fight, and he can win. He can save them thistime, save them all, and he can—

He can, he will.

Whizzing and moving, focused on not throwing up,focused on not stopping.

Bruce is gripping his face between those massivepalms from one blink to the next, and Tim realizes he must have been movingagain because they aren’t standing by the medical area anymore.

Instead, he’s pinned down on one of the big matsused for practice and training half-way across the Cave, the vinyl soft andworn-in under the arm Bruce has pinned at the wrist. His back is fucking agonybecause he’s laying down on the healing injuries. Worse, he’s shaking likefuck, the coffee in his stomach rolling with it.

“Tim! You need to stop. Just. Stop.”

But it’s just as bad because he can’t be helddown.

That…he’s not good with that, and hiships take over regardless of owfuck, bucking up enough to get Bruce offhim so he can turn over, land on all fours and gag.

“Fuck…fuck…fuck…fuck…”

He gets a million vigilante points for notthrowing up his coffee.

A. Million.

Plopping down on his ass to try getting air backinto his lungs, however, is seriously the best idea for the moment even if he’sshaky as fuck and probably embarrassed the shit out of himself.

(Regretting letting him back in now,aren’t you?)

Dick kneels in plain sight, ducking down tocatch Tim’s rapidly blinking eyes. “Hey, just me,” is meant to be soft andsoothing.

It’s not.

Instead, Tim closes his eyes again it and triesto calm himself but his brain is too fuzzy, still half-stuck on the ship, inthe mind trap, in his team’s memories—

“…something for me, Tim. Let me know you’rewith us.”

He doesn’t open his eyes so he can’t see whateverexpression is on those faces.

“Should have just…dropped me at the goddamnedTower,” he manages hoarsely, bringing his knees up to hold his heavy head.

Bruce, refusing to be diverted, gets closeenough to wrap his long fingers around Tim’s ankle slowly, carefully. “No,” heclaims slowly, mind working furiously at the flow of new and disturbinginformation, “no, Tim. I’m glad, very glad, I brought you home.”

The laugh coming out of Tim’s bent head ishalf-way to a sob (home? There hasn’t been a home in a while actually),and Bruce’s hand moves up to grip into a calf instead, sliding subtly closer onhis knees.

Dick paces right beside him, being absurdlycareful, recognizing the reactions, the instincts Bruce bred into all hisRobins to fight when you’re out of all other options. It’s knee-jerkreaction to any situation.

“You blanked out for a few minutes there, Timmy.It looked like,” he hesitates slightly from saying it even if he has plentyof experience dealing with this kind of thing, “you were having a flashback.”

“I don’t talk about it,” is the hoarse reply,the horrible panting sounds finally easing down.

“I think we’re going to try checking over yourinjuries again,” Dick gingerly touches a few fingers to Tim’s limp hand,“without trying to set you off, okay? We’ll…Timmy, we’ll be right here withyou.” His finger firm a little, squeeze Tim’s fingers before the hand jerks outof his hold, the leg moving away from Bruce.

Tim scrambles backwards on the mat, shoves tohis feet because ignoring pain is something he does like a boss, but pity?Oh, he gets all kinds of pissed off about it.

Just ask Kon. The impressive choke hold issomething the super is probably never going to forget.

“I don’t need checked over. I don’t needanything other than a way to get back to my damn Tower—” and the fuckaway from here is implied.

Because really. They can stop this moundof variable bullshit anytime now.

“I don’t need whatever in the hell this,” andhis hands flutter around for a second, “this shit is all of a sudden. I lead mydamn team, and it doesn’t effect how I work. How I’ve workedfor the last few years. I’m. Fucking. Good.”

Bruce’s mouth flattens into a grim line, staringat his third Robin, the son that took his name without qualm, the son he’d letget too far the fuck away because he felt like he didn’t belong in hisown home. And Dick might share the burden of that, the younger vigilantenearly radiating beside him facing Tim down, ready to stop him if he tries tobolt.

And Bruce doesn’t feel bad about Damian andAlfred slowly coming up behind Tim to box him in, takes a moment to beratehimself for thinking he was doing the right thing in giving Tim the spacehe thought the former Robin needed to heal. The same space Dick needed when hehad to move on from the Robin mantle.

But he’d inadvertently caused both hisformer Robins nothing but pain by giving them the space to throw their bodiesinto the Mission to try and escape the devastation, the loss.

It’s another black mark under his name, but ifanything, Bruce, the Bat, has no qualms rectifying his mistakes.

And he’s perfectly fine starting now.

“Tim,” interrupts the snarling commentary on howRed Robin isn’t fucking anything up (which is unnecessary because Brucealready knows it), and makes the injured bird abruptly pause. “Let meget this straight.”

The third Robin stops, seems to mentally re-set,like when they started up a new case and the personal lives had to be left inthe Cave before they got into the big car for the upcoming night. It’s enoughof the old Tim that Bruce takes a few cautions steps, holding up fingersto tick off so he’s got Tim’s attention on the visual.

“You were kidnapped as your daytime persona, asTim Drake, not Red Robin—”

Oh shit. Well, World’s GreatestDetective. Of course he’d find out. It happened in his city.

“—they tortured you on a ship in the middle ofthe ocean. You escaped, brought them down, and turned them in to severalbranches of authorities. Four days ago, you showed up as Red Robin when theInsurgents hit Earth’s atmosphere. You went into a fight with your team againsta psychic horde without calling for back-up. And you won. Allright so far?”

“Sounds…about right.”

Bruce hums, nods, “and…why do you thinkI would questioning how effective you are as a vigilante?”

Wait.

Tim’s mouth works but nothing comes out because,well, point.

“I have no idea why you’re trying to convince mewhen I’m already well aware how incredible you are in the field. I don’tneed any other justifications. What I need to know,” and Bruce unfoldshis arms, hands loose at his sides, trying to look less intimidating so Tim’shackles won’t rise again, “is when your spleen was removed and what criminalcaused it. What I want to know is if you’ve seen anyone to help youthrough the trauma you went through on that ship. What I want to know is whyyou keep telling me you’re fine and you handle it when you are obviously notfine. No one, Tim, no one could be after all that.”

And the younger vigilante stares up at him,taller than the last time Bruce had a chance to really see him, withnarrow eyes that are already calculating his next moves. B knows it because hesees Tim’s eyes slide to Alfred and Damian, slide over to Dick before comingback to him. It’s saying something when the Bat is hovering at the fore of hismind, ready for another mad attack if Tim flips back into those flashbacks andstarts fighting by instinct.

“What I need to know is,” B counterssoftly, “why you didn’t come home when you needed to.”

When Tim stays silent, when his beaten, batteredbody gets as straight as it can, Bruce sees enough, knows enough.

He nods slowly, like he gets it, whateversilent message Tim is putting out, and returns that intense look, sees so muchhidden under the exterior that he should have picked up long before this verymoment.

“You three go upstairs. Have some downtime,” hewaves a shooing hand at Dick, Damian, and Alfred, “Tim didn’t get his coffee,and I honestly don’t need any more caffeine induced contingencies on my hands.”

“Bruce—” is Dick’s desperate attempt tostay because now he knows how much of this, how much of it isright on his head.

“Dick. Go have some downtime.”

Dami isn’t happy, is looking with his headtilted up, those dark eyes all for the scowl on Tim’s face, the sneer.

Alfred, however, steps between them, MasterTimothy and Master Bruce to break the stare down and lift a fresh cup andsaucer into the younger vigilante’s hand. It breaks the oldest man’s heart whenMaster Tim…hesitates.

But the hands are steady when the coffee istaken, and the young Master is looking carefully away from the butler, a musclein his jaw flickering.

“Thank-you,” is said softer than the rest.

“What else could I do, Master Tim? My life isdedicated to caring for my family, and that includes you.” A small pat to theyounger man’s head while the angry, defensive expression falls to wide-eyed andslack, like the younger Master is genuinely surprised. The saucer isheld tighter in busted fingers when Timothy’s spine snaps straighter and heblinks rapidly, trying to harden himself, pull his strength around him like acloak so none of them can see what abject pain he is in—how he obviouslywas very certain he no longer belonged here, with them all.

“Oh Tim,” the butler sighs sadly, gently, “thismay be untoward, so forgive me, but it is so nice to see you. As much as wehave missed, as much as you have suffered and succeeded, I am still so happy tohave you home.”

The reaction is those wide eyes, the true tellto Master Timothy’s thoughts returning to his face and immediately seeking outany deception on the butler’s part, any lies or placations, any shred ofevidence to support his previous theories.

Alfred smiles, just a small curve of his lowerlip, when the younger man’s shoulders lose a small bit of tension, just enoughto prove he found no lies here. When he can have just a hint of belief. It’sjust enough for Alfred to fit a hand on the younger man’s shoulder and squeezewith infinite gentleness before he’s herding two of his other charges up into theManor, casting a glance back at the long line of Master Bruce’s tense backbefore he and Master Dick exchange a very concerned look.

**

And they leave Tim and Bruce in the Cave withthe fluttering of bats, the gentle hum of working equipment, with damagedsuits, and healing bodies, with injuries and trauma.

It’s such a painful thing for Bruce, staring atTim and remembering a younger kid standing in the same place with the Rover his heart, the suit of his Robin and that crazy, wide grin in anticipationfor nightfall when they could move together.

When Tim’s team was Batman and Robin.

“None of this is necessary,” and it’s RedRobin’s voice, unshakeable and reliable. A leader. A vigilante.

And not the person Bruce wants to talk toright at this moment.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce cuts off that train ofthought, seeing past the denials and old pain, seeing past everythingTim is spitting out, the abject hurt, the theory that maybe, maybethey’d just been-been using him all this time. That he was just a kid ina cape or something just as ridiculous. “I’m sorry it got this far. I’m sorrynone of us, me or Dick or Alfred jumped in to remind you that you will alwayshave a home here, no matter what.  There’s no excuse for it, Tim,absolutely none.”

The younger vigilante frowns harder, his thoughtprocesses obvious to the World’s Greatest Detective.

“Once Damian and I could realistically worktogether, Dick left out of Gotham to trail the Titans and see if he could atleast talk to you, but the team was moving fast, so he wanted to waituntil you were in town again. But, regardless, we let this go on for toolong, letting you get further and further away without checking in, withoutcoming back.”

“I didn’t need to.” Tim interjects, firming hisjaw, still staying as far inside the mask as he possibly can, trying to protecthimself.

And Bruce finally sees it.

“And you don’t have to do this,” the youngervigilante puts the cup and saucer down immediately, eyes never losing that hardedge, “at all. It’s not necessary at this point. I’m still going to be theintel guy, the IT solution. I’ll still come when you call just like I’ve alwaysdone.”

“That’s not good enough.” Bruce insistsback, arms loose by his sides, “it was never supposed to be needed over wanted,and it isn’t like that. You won’t believe me until you have evidence, I knowalready, but Tim,” and Bruce comes up on him, not the stalk of the Bat or thestride of the daytime persona, it’s all Bruce Wayne—

Dad.

He’s careful but firm, hands tilting his son’sface up a little, taking in the widening eyes of surprise, “Tim, you arealways, will always be one of my sons. Just like Dick and Jasonand Damian. That’s what you agreed to when you took on the mask. You becamemine and the Batman’s, our Robin, our partner, our son, and yes,yes this is necessary. It’s completely and totally necessary becausealong the way the important things got pushed to the wayside, and it’s so farfrom fine that I can’t even begin to list the problems here.”

And the younger vigilante has the most probablereaction Bruce can predict.

He fights.

“Bullshit,” is hoarse, angry when Tim shovesaway, steps back, “and I don’t need bullshit, Bruce. You think Idon’t get it? I was the kid that figured out your secret, you hadto keep me, to keep me quiet about it. So of fucking course you’d let mewear the R. What would I have done if you hadn’t? Just because I got goodat it doesn’t mean I don’t fucking recognize how it never should have been me.It should have been Jason and then Damian. It should have been blood,not some fucking kid you never wanted.”

And God it hurts, these things tearingout him like fucking poison, like rancid bile he can finally vomit up, to get outof him.

“And you did good. You did great, Bruce,dealing with me. You really did. You did the best you could under thecircumstances,” and fuck, yes, he means it because Bruce was there forhim when he was Robin, when Dad died, when his world was going to shittime and time again. Bruce put up with his crap more than anyone in his entire life—evenhis real Dad. “I appreciate it, all the shit from back then. You don’t—” andhis chest hitches, but he grinds his teeth, straightens his back for it, “youdon’t even know how much I needed you. How much I respect you, how muchI wanted to be your partner and friend, and you gave me that, Bruce. You didthat for me, but…but your real son has the cape now, just like italways should have been, and I understand that. This,” and his handswaffle back-and-forth while he looks away, tries to choke down the bitternessall these realizations still leave behind, “this is the way it should havehappened. This is—” not okay, never fine, not really, “how itshould be.”

But when he looks back, chances a glance, hejerks a little because Bruce’s expression is—

(Is there some fear toxin somewhere? What thehell?)

The hands at Bruce’s sides are clenching intotight fists, his forearms cording, muscles getting tight.

“How long have you felt like this?” Theoldest vigilante demands in a low, dangerous voice, “how long do youthink I’ve just been tolerating you? How could you even— Jesus,Tim.”

But really, he’s the detective, right? “Iforced my way in,” he deadpans, “you never chose me, Bruce.”

And even though he’s come a long way from thatRobin to now, he’s still not fast enough to dodge Batman.

Nope. That’s not happening.

Because Bruce is across the span separating themin a skiff of shadows, literally picking him up off his feet with an arm aroundhis waist below the healing whip marks, the other hand buried in the hair atthe back of his head, pushing his face into Bruce’s neck and shoulder (and he’sshaking, Bruce, Batman, the unstoppable, the indomitable, is shaking).

The move is so out of what he expected,so unpredictable, Tim’s eyes are wide, just blinking wetly, hands up toautomatically brace himself on Bruce’s biceps.

“In…in the beginning, I was terrifiedof you,” Bruce blinks back his own wet eyes against the side of Tim’s too-longhair, “I was so scared of getting another innocent kid hurt, and you were…youwere so smart and so brave. You were fearless, Tim. You were perfect forthe job, but if I got you hurt, if I got you killed, if this world losteverything you are because of me and my Mission… then there would be noredemption. And I—” and Bruce grips him tighter, breathes in slowly,presses the side of his face into Tim’s hair harder, “I couldn’t lose you too.I couldn’t lose you, Tim.”

And that. To hear that it wasn’t becauseof Jason Todd, to hear that he was valued back then for himself, has Tim’sheart give a painful throb in his chest, makes him hold on to Bruce like he wasstill that Robin.

“In the beginning, I didn’t want anotherkid in danger. I didn’t want another person’s life in my hands, I didn’twant anyone else to suffer because of my choice to do this, to be Batman, to bethe crime fighter Gotham needed. So…so you-you were partially right. Backthen, I didn’t want you involved. When you helped solve Dick’s caseand-and you gave me no choice, Tim. You proved to me you were everything Ineeded Robin to be, everything Dick was, everything Jason was, everythingDamian is learning to be. There was no way I could let you go.”

And God, to hear that, just to hearthat from Bruce.

It’s more than he ever expected.

“You’re more than just a kid in a cape.You always were. You were always the kid I needed, the kid that groundedme, the kid that was so much like me that you should have been a Waynefrom the get-go. Just like Dick and Jason. You taught me just as much as Itaught you, and even though I never wanted to overstep my boundaries, I neverwanted to try and take your Dad away from you because—” and Bruce has to pause,has to let his eyes spill over because back then? Back then when Jack was anass, was a damn terrible father, Bruce still couldn’t fight him because, “—becauseif mine had lived, even if he couldn’t understand me and what I grew into…Istill would have at least had him.”

And Tim bites down on his lip hard enough todraw blood, but it doesn’t stop his eyes from spilling over too, from his armsmoving to wrap around Bruce’s shoulders and hold the fuck on.

“But,” Bruce breathes in, rolls his eyes upwardto try and calm down, “but when you still lost him, I…There was no question,Tim. There never was. You were my son just as much as his, and there was nevera question as to where you belonged, that you have a home here. Not-nota room, not a cot in the Cave, not a locker for your gear. Your home,Tim. And I…I thought I was helping, letting you be the vigilante you needed tobe. When you brought me back and it was Damian in the R, I… I understood why,but I still missed you. I was still…upset with Dick, doing thatwithout telling you, without giving you an opportunity to have your say. I wastrying to give you time to stop hurting, to grow from it. I was trying not topush you too hard, to make it hurt worse.”

Gentle movement, Bruce walking carefully towardthe medical gurney still carrying Tim without even straining, still holding himclose, still so painfully angry at himself for how long these thingsmust have been buried in Tim’s psyche, how all of it must have pushed thisyoung man to his breaking point.

“And I…” Bruce closes his eyes briefly as ithitches, “and I failed you, Tim. I’m so sorry that I failed you as your Dad.I’m sorry you ever thought I only wanted to keep you from telling mysecret because it was never about that.”

But Tim, hanging there, limply, pain a dull redthrob in his brain pain, gripping Bruce around the shoulders tight,hides his face away from the realizations, from the things he never imagined.

Bruce folds himself down and rocks justslightly, comforting them both a little with the motion, “and you’re not goingto believe all this. Not for a while. I know you, young man, and you’regoing to need time to believe in me again, to believe in the family, andthat’s-that’s okay. That’s completely understandable. I’ll give you as muchtime as you need, but goddammit, Tim, I’m not letting you getthat far out of my sight again. I’m not ever going to let you go. Whether youlike it or not, you’re stuck with us, kid.”

He doesn’t laugh or chuckle, still in a state ofshock since he really didn’t imagine this in his future, or well ever.

After all this time, all the bad guys andterrible night, all the sacrifices and job well dones, he’d pretty much figuredit was really…over.

This is a whole lot of unexpected that his brainpan can’t handle all at once. He needs time to think about it, to review theevidence.

“Give me a chance, Tim,” is breathed gently againsthis ear, “don’t give up on me yet. Please, don’t give up on me.”

“You’re an idiot,” he finds himself saying backwith a scratchy throat, “I didn’t give up on you when the world thought youwere dead. Like I’m going to start now?”

And Bruce, B, the Batman, just breathesout in the quiet dim of the Cave, holds this almost nineteen-year-old on hislap like he used to do to Dick when the kid was on overload or he’s finallygotten Damian to just deal with it.

“When I really believe you mean that, I’ll let yougo back to Titan’s Tower.”

That does earn a snickerbecause really, Bruce?

“Can you just—” and the World’s GreatestDetective hesitates for a second, not sure how hard he wants to push whenthere’s been some progress made tonight.

“…you want to know about the spleen thing,don’t you?”

Bruce pats the uninjured leg a little and nodswith Tim’s head tucked under his chin.

Closing his eyes, Tim sighs out through hisnose. But, well, to start gathering evidence, this might just be the way tostart.

#winter answers #with horrible pain and angst #and BATDAD #tim drake #bruce wayne #dick grayson #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #the JL #the Titans #fracture #what-if #you kind of need to read it to get some of this #it's sad and slightly hopeful #hurt!tim #my fic #my writing #long post

[yainterrobang]

List of the Week: Bisexual YA Books

As a bisexual teen, I can’t count that many times I’ve seen myself and my sexuality reflected respectfully in a YA book. Luckily, that number is slowly but surely growing, and there are more and more books published every year with bisexual protagonists. Still, a lot of them aren’t discussed and promoted as much as they deserve to be, so when Nicole asked me to write a blog post about it for YA Interrobang, I jumped at the chance.

I haven’t read all of these books yet, but am definitely planning to and have heard fantastic things about all of them. I’m including both released and unreleased books, so you have books to buy or check out from the library now as well as books to preorder and/or become excited for.

Adaptation by Malinda Lo Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Release Date: September 18 2012 Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Far From You by Tess Sharpe Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release Date: April 8 2014 Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis Publisher: Amulet Books Release Date: June 17 2014 Amara is never alone. Not when she's protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they're fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she's punished, ordered around, or neglected. She can't be alone, because a boy from another world experiences all that alongside her, looking through her eyes. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she's furious.

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz Publisher: Simon Pulse Release Date: March 3 2015 Etta is tired of dealing with all of the labels and categories that seem so important to everyone else in her small Nebraska hometown. Etta doesn’t fit anywhere— until she meets Bianca, the straight, white, Christian, and seriously sick girl in Etta’s therapy group. Both girls are auditioning for Brentwood, a prestigious New York theater academy that is so not Nebraska. Bianca seems like Etta’s salvation, but how can Etta be saved by a girl who needs saving herself?

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books Release Date: January 5th 2016 Elli was only a child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic in service of her people. The only life Elli has known has been in the temple, preparing for the day when the queen perishes—and the ice and fire find a new home in Elli, who is prophesied to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule. But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Release Date: September 6 2016 Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Not Your Sidekick by C. B. Lee Publisher: Duet Books Release Date: September 8 2016 Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain.

A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith Publisher: Roaring Brook Press Release Date: October 25 2016 After a failed suicide attempt, Reiko’s parents send her from their Seattle home to spend the summer with family in Japan to learn to control her emotions. But while visiting Kuramagi, Reiko finds herself slipping back in time into the life of Miyu, a young woman even more bent on revenge than Reiko herself. Reiko loves being Miyu, until she discovers the secret of Kuramagi village, and must face down Miyu’s demons as well as her own.

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley Publisher: Harlequin teen Release Date: January 31 2017 Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory. And it's mostly about sex. So when Aki and Lori set off on a church youth-group trip to a small Mexican town for the summer and Aki meets Christa — slightly older, far more experienced — it seems it's going to be a summer of testing theories, and the result may just be love.

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde Publisher: Swoon Reads Release Date: March 14 2017 When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect is for it to change their lives forever. While Charlie dodges questions about her personal life, Taylor starts asking questions about her own.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books Release Date: March 28 2017 Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Release Date: May 2 2017 All Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on.

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate Publisher: Amulet Books Release Date: May 2 2017 Jordan Sun is an Alto 2, which — in the musical theatre world — is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a spot in the ecosystem, but nobody’s falling over themselves to express their appreciation. Then the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s elite a cappella octet. Worshiped ... revered ... all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember Publisher: Duet Books Release Date: May 4 2017 Mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded  on the mermen’s glacier. But when Ersel’s childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier’s brutal king.To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she’s come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books Release Date: June 27 2017 An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way.

#ya lit #ya books #weneeddiversebooks #we need diverse books #mackenzi lee #list of the week #list

[romancemedia]

Young Justice: Outsiders Countdown Day 21 - Alienated

Alienated focuses on the Team and Justice League working side by side on a covert mission to learn more info on the Kroloteans as they preparing to leave Earth. However, a battle breaks out and the team soon make a shocking discovery that will change their lives FOREVER.

This is one of the most Action-Packed and Intense episodes of Young Justice: Invasion. The 16 hours are FINALLY revealed when Miss Martian explains while placed under Vandal Savage’s control, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Hawkwoman were transported to a planet called Rimbor and went on a 16 Hour rampage, attacking everything in sight. Ultimately, because of the Justice League’s attack on Rimbor, the Kroloteans invaded Earth in retaliation. After the discovery of the 16 hours, the rest of the episode focused on the Team and Justice League on a covert mission to the Kroloteans emergency base on Malina Island, but what they didn’t expect to find was the return of Aqualad... who has turned traitor against them and has joined forces with his father, Black Manta following the discovery of his true lineage as well as the death of Tula. Yep, That’s Right, Tula, Aqualad’s unrequited love. When Aquaman and Lagoon Boy found themselves face to face with a traitorous Aqualad it was a real OH MY GOD moment. It was a shock of a lifetime seeing a former friend, teammate and protégé having turned against everyone. 

Every moment with Aqualad was super intense and I still couldn’t believe it. Aside from the Aqualad drama, the battle on Malina Island was AMAZING where mentors and protégés worked side by side in the fight against the Kroloteans, including... Superman & Superboy, Wonder Woman & Wonder Girl, Aquaman and Lagoon Boy as well as the entire Batman Family. This was a real extra special treat that I’m truly grateful this episode provided and it was great to see Superboy and Superman have built a much better relationship compared to the first season. Plus we got another surprise when a mysterious figure planted a bomb and the Kroloteans have a unknown “competitor” for whatever they were doing on Earth. By the end of the episode, the Justice League and Team share a heartfelt goodbye with their mentors as the 6 accused JL members decide to stand trial for their actions and leave Earth to travel to Rimbor, leaving the Team to deal with the new danger threatening their world all by themselves.

Overall, this was a real OH MY GOD episode that will leave your head spinning trying to make sense of everything that happened.

#Young Justice Invasion #My Thoughts #My Edits #DC #Young Justice #Aqualad #Kaldur #Superboy #Conner Kent #Nightwing #Dick Grayson #Batgirl #Barbara Gordon #Robin #Tim Drake #Superman #Clark Kent #Wonder Woman #Diana Prince #Batman #Bruce Wayne #My Thoughts Young Justice

[melanesianews]

Papuans continue protests against racism and hatred

By Asia Pacific Report – August 21, 2019, By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific

Protests are spreading in Indonesia-ruled West Papua in response to harassment of Papuans during explosive incidents in Javanese cities last week.

Indonesia’s president has urged calm after some of the protests turned violent, but he’s been criticised for not directly addressing a festering racism problem.

The unrest was triggered when dozens of Papuan university students in Surabaya were assaulted by a mob on Saturday and later arrested.

ne of the students had allegedly trashed an Indonesian flag on the country’s independence day anniversary.

The angry scene was echoed in an incident in the city of Semarang where a Papuan student dormitory was surrounded by civilian groups demanding the students fly the Indonesian flag.

Nationalist sentiment was running high at the weekend, as it always does on independence day.

Anti-Papua sentiment

An Indonesian researcher with Human Rights Watch, Andreas Harsono, said anti-Papuan sentiment was also on the rise in the country.

“Military-related militias are starting to increase their campaign against Papua by showing that the Papuans (are) refusing to raise the Indonesian flag, hoping that it will exasperate the situation on the island of Java, Indonesia’s most important island,” Harsono said.

The students were repeatedly called “monkeys” and other racist slurs, sparking thousands to march in the streets back in Papua.

In Manokwari, videos posted to social media showed the parliament building on fire and roads blocked by burning tires.

The unrest prompted Indonesia’s President, Joko Widodo, to appeal for calm.

“I know that there are hurt feelings but as fellow citizens the best thing is to forgive each other,” Widodo told a media conference.

Widodo urges forgiveness

“It is okay to be emotional but forgiving is better. Being patient is also better. And be confident that the government will continue to safeguard your dignity and prosperity.”

Indonesia’s police chief, Tito Karnavian, has focussed blame for the destruction in Manokwari on the people who posted about the Surabaya incident on social media. He described it as hoax news.

But US-based Papuan independence leader Octo Mote said this response, along with that of the president’s, was disappointing.

“Now the Indonesian President, he ignored what’s going on. Then he said, ‘ok guys just apologise to each other’. So West Papuans should apologise for what? He doesn’t condemn the racism. He doesn’t say racism is not right.”

According to Mote, harassment of Papuans is a long running problem in Indonesia.

Octo Mote … “From the beginning, this is an Asian (people) who invade Melanesian land, seeing us as sub-human beings with black and curly hair.” Image: Jamie Small/PMC

“From the beginning, this is an Asian [people] who invade Melanesian land, seeing us as sub-human beings with black and curly hair.”

He said the allegation about Papuans disrespecting the Indonesian flag in Surabaya was simply used as a trigger by the mob, who laid siege to the students’ dorm.

Everyday racism

“Because of that hatred, they try to find a way. That’s what happens not only there but that same incident happens in so many cities outside of Papua. As a journalist who worked there so many years, we experienced this in our daily lives under Indonesian colonialism, the discrimination and racism we experience in everyday life,”

Mote said.

Monday’s peaceful protest in Jayapura was the biggest in Papua in years. There have been surprisingly few arrests, even where the protests turned violent such as in Manokwari.

On Tuesday a local resident, Ucu Sawaki, said the city’s streets had quickly returned to normal calm.

“Police is still everywhere and the security is also good this morning but still people are still afraid to go out from the house. So just couples, motorcycles and cars but it’s not like in the past.”

Indonesia’s government said it had restricted internet access to Papua and West Papua provinces as the protests took place.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communication and Information said it had acted to throttle access in several areas because of the potential for disinformation to create social disorder.

‘Throttling social media’

“We can say that the purpose of throttling is to prevent the wide spread of hoax (fake news) that trigger action,” the ministry said.

But it is unlikely that such measures will stop Papuans protesting this week. Indeed, the monkey slurs directed at their students have provided a new impetus.

Yesterday, large mobilisations took place in other Papuan cities, including Merauke, Biak and Nabire. However in Sorong, as Papuans took to the streets, 250 prisoners escaped from the local jail amid the chaos. A manhunt by local police is underway.

Also, in signs of an impending crackdown, Indonesia has deployed more military forces to Papua to quell the unrest.

This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand

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#Asia Oceania #Melanesian Culture #Octovianus Mote #racism

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.19

335 – Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, emperor Constantine I. 634 – Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire. 1356 – Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures the French king, John II. 1676 – Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga. 1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget. 1796 – George Washington's Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public. 1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen. 1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Iuka: Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price. 1863 – American Civil War: The first day of the Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, the bloodiest two-day battle of the conflict, and the only significant Confederate victory in the war's Western Theater. 1864 – American Civil War: Third Battle of Winchester: Union troops under General Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Jubal Early. With over 50,000 troops engaged it was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley and was not only militarily decisive in that region of Virginia but also played a role in securing Abraham Lincoln's election in 1864. 1868 – La Gloriosa begins in Spain. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris begins, which will result on January 28, 1871 in the surrender of Paris and a decisive Prussian victory. 1870 – Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican. 1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time. 1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield dies of wounds suffered in a July 2 shooting. Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes President upon Garfield's death. 1893 – Women's suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote. 1916 – During the East African Campaign of World War I, colonial armed forces of the Belgian Congo (Force Publique) under the command of General Charles Tombeur captured the town of Tabora after heavy fighting. 1939 – World War II: The Battle of Kępa Oksywska concludes, with Polish losses reaching roughly 14% of all the forces engaged. 1940 – World War II: Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz to smuggle out information and start a resistance. 1944 – World War II: Battle of Hürtgen Forest between United States and Nazi Germany begins. 1944 – Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union is signed, marking the end of the Continuation War. 1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich. 1952 – The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England. 1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob). 1970 – The first Glastonbury Festival is held, at a farm belonging to Michael Eavis. 1970 – Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos. 1971 – Montagnard troops of South Vietnam revolt against the rule of Nguyễn Khánh, killing 70 ethnic Vietnamese soldiers. 1973 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has his investiture. 1976 – Turkish Airlines Flight 452 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Osmaniye, Turkey, killing all 154 passengers and crew. 1976 – Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jets fly out to investigate an unidentified flying object when both independently lose instrumentation and communications as they approach, only to have them restored upon withdrawal. 1978 – The Solomon Islands join the United Nations. 1982 – Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University bulletin board system. 1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence. 1985 – A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City. 1985 – Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music. 1989 – A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171. 1995 – The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto. 1997 – Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria where 53 people are killed. 2006 – The Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared. 2010 – The leaking oil well in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is sealed. 2011 – Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all time saves leader with 602. 2016 – In the wake of a manhunt, the suspect in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey is apprehended after a shootout with police.

#Events

[joeforever-blog1]

Fire Emblem (1995)

Fire Emblem (1995)

Prince Mars, heir to the throne of Aritia, has fled his homeland and the invaders bent on conquering the entire continent. Together with the Aritian Knights he hides and bides his time in the friendly island kingdom of Talus. Though criticized for constantly daydreaming or being in a bad mood, he has found a friend in Sheida, the princess of Talus. Together they indulge in hayrides and shopping trips, or just standing upon the parapet and looking out over the land. However, despite how pleasant life is, he cannot forget the circumstances that separated him from his land and forced his beloved sister to sacrifice herself for him.

Try four more:

Empires: Holy Warriors - Richard the Lionheart and Saladin (2005)

Yo soy Chucho el Roto (1970)

Andy and Zach (2011)

Death Valley Manhunt (1943)