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mysisypheannightmare · 1 year

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No Hugs, Please - Chapter 8

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7

Word Count: 1251

Warnings: Not much, just a misinterpretation of the situation

Notes: This one's a short chapter to kind of set up the next part of the story. As is always the case with 'Angst with a Happy Ending', things have to get worse before they can get better.

Change was inevitable.

But such a quick evolution could never have been expected.

Patton had stopped hugging him. Roman had stopped, too, but Logan had to admit it was such a bizarre shift in behavior for Patton especially.

At first, Logan had thought it'd been an oddly quiet and mostly-peaceful day as he observed the others and attempted to partake in his new journaling activity, only to later realize a full thirty-nine hours had passed without a single hug from Patton. That was bizarre, to say the least, but when he checked on the side, Thomas' morality appeared emotionally stable and sticking to his common routines. Each time he checked, Patton was doing his usual activities–watching cartoons, baking cookies, and making puns–nothing unusual or indicative of being upset.

However, at one point, Patton noticed Logan’s presence in the kitchen, and he watched as Patton exited the room to suddenly pull Roman and Virgil into an extra-tight hug, squeezing the other two with a big smile on his face.

While Logan was grateful to not be involved in that interaction for once, it did make him wonder…

What had he done to cause this?

–

Three full days had passed, and no hugs from Patton or Roman.

He should be glad, considering he hadn’t had a single chill run down his spine or experienced any overwhelming nausea from unwelcome contact for days now, but, surprisingly, he found the absence of such disgust and discomfort unfamiliar, likely after so many years of having to get used to it.

He'd studied the other sides for so long to understand their tells and desires, categorized what they enjoyed and disliked, all for the sake of conflict resolution management whenever it would be needed. He thought he knew them quite well at this point, so for them to abruptly change like this? It was perplexing.

Patton gave hugs as if they were currency, and his admiration was both the mint and the distributing bank. Sure, he hardly seemed to spare a thought for Logan's reaction to such a thing, but it was clear Patton wouldn't pass up an opportunity to give anyone and everyone a hug, especially when he was in such a chipper mood.

And if Patton was otherwise acting normally, and engaging with that activity with the others, but was now avoiding that type of contact with Logan then that clearly meant something was wrong. More specifically, it meant Logan had done something wrong.

If hugs indicated Patton's love, then the sudden lack of hugs potentially indicated his ire.

Logan must have truly upset him, because, as he’d come to learn over the years, Patton was always very forgiving. For him to abandon such a principle, he must have believed Logan had crossed a line and that his apology the other day hadn’t been nearly adequate enough to resolve it.

That must have been the missing piece of the situation that he’d struggled to understand. The reason the conversation had felt so off the other day was because Logan merely apologizing was nowhere near equal to the inordinate damage he’d caused.

He hadn’t thought to equate his disruptive behavior with an equivalent apology or any additional steps that may need to be made. He’d been so focused on apologizing so they wouldn’t assume he was shirking his promises of improvement that he hadn’t bothered to consider their emotional turmoil and to utilize a proper apology and reparations instead of just doing what he wanted.

But perhaps it wasn’t too late.

–

Back to the figurative drawing board, Logan returned to his room to review what he knew and determine his next step.

He had to admit, he was rather relieved to not have to endure physical contact with the other sides, but he knew it shouldn’t come at the steep cost of the mutual friendship that he’d worked so meticulously to maintain for several years. Besides, he’d already prepared himself to handle physical contact over the years, so it would only be a waste if it no longer occurred, right?

He would continue his current methods and improvements on his behavior to prevent reactions to that contact, just as initially planned, and also fix whatever this new problem was in the meantime.

Now, the quotient of Patton’s forgiveness would require more than an apology to determine its result. There was a missing factor to the equation, so he simply needed to review past debacles and their favorable outcomes in order to determine the best approach.

Though, Logan couldn’t help but wonder if he would truly be forgiven, considering he had known Patton and Roman to be so physically affectionate for their entire existences. For them to both suddenly stop like this, he was sure they must have done so intentionally, implying their dissatisfaction with him and his behavior was steadfast and may be difficult to disrupt.

But that would also mean their claim of forgiveness the other night was a farce. They had…lied. But why?

He supposed there could be many reasons someone may lie in any given conversation, considering how often it can happen for any purpose. Perhaps they didn’t wish to speak their mind in the moment and wanted to settle the issue another time? Or maybe they were under the impression they needed to maintain pleasant conversation due to Logan being the one that breached the topic during their evening activities but they feared his reaction if they were honest?

Was that it? They were moving the conversation along quickly so they could maintain the necessary distance due to his earlier outburst?

Logan could understand the concern on their behalf, but that meant even his assurance that no further misbehavior would occur wasn’t enough to sway their perception.

He really would have to do something more to properly resolve the situation.

Well, outside of their penchant for physical affection, he knew that Roman and Patton certainly enjoyed gifts, and he had already intended to spend more time with Virgil (eventually, that is), so perhaps he could offer them something as a form of appeasement alongside an additional apology to the group. Ah, but his words weren’t enough last time. That plan would be too formal, whereas Roman and Patton preferred dramatic, emotional gestures. He’d simply have to do better!

He would determine appropriate gifts to give to each of them, but perhaps to show his genuine intentions, he could present them to the other sides individually with a rehearsed and more emotionally-worded apology, as well as a more confident acknowledgement of his dedication to behavioral change and betterment.

Surely, that was the answer here. Covering every concern, resolving each aspect of the problem, and showing that he'd already made progress should do the trick this time!

And if that still didn’t work, then supposed he would simply have to move forward with this new setting where the other sides refused to get along with him. He could likely manage with them acting more like colleagues, getting tasks done but not as a family unit, he was sure of that. It wouldn’t be ideal, as his work up to this point will have gone to waste, but he could make the best of it for Thomas’ sake in the end…right?

He tried not to dwell on the thought.

Determining the best options for gifts would be a welcome distraction at the moment, anyway, so he got to work yet again.

No matter what happened in result, he knew he needed to try his best.

Taglist: @angels-are-beautiful @falseh0od @illogicalthinking @malqueeb @honeybee125 @rizzyluke @pricklyfish777 @kingbinoftrashland @captainthomasrobbie

#logan sanders #logan angst #fanfiction #sanders sides #patton sanders #roman sanders #no hugs please #a short chapter but still a long post

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theoldkyokodied · 8 months

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Really quick doodles of a few scenes from the stream yesterday. Including combat flirting taunting, gale’s magnificently distracting shoes and.. whatever you wanna call gale agreeing to give 15 gold to astarion 😐😑😐😑😐 (that’s me blinking)

#bloodweave #astarion x gale #gale x astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale dekarios #astarion ancunin #they are so funny god help. thank you to whoever sat Neil next to Tim #my roommate turning to look directly at me whenever they were interacting lik bestie please stop I am trying to be normal. don’t look at me #my roommate also said Neil acting low-key obsessed with gale and I could only say wow he’s just like me fr fr.#if I didn’t still struggle with getting shadowhearts likeness you would get a drawing of her hugging bing bong too but alas …#anyway the stream was so fun #can’t wait til tomorrow hehe

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mochipong · 4 months

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Your last prayer—ten thousand years late(r)

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sadccx · 3 months

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instagram sadbelive

#couple #kiss #+18 only #love #photography #+18 blog #hug me #hug me please #i love him #sarilmak #sarilsakgececek #i love you #lovers #touch #touch me #sevgili #sadbelive

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chloesimaginationthings · 3 months

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FNAF movie Vanessa out traumas Michael Afton

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cutetanuki-chan · 5 months

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I gave my body and my voice But do you think I had a choice?

audio is 'The Star Song' by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley

#do you ever think about gideon and feel a deep sadness #someone give her a hundred hugs please #she had enough #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #gideon the ninth spoilers #harrow the ninth #harrow the ninth spoilers #nona the ninth #nona the ninth spoilers #kiriona gaia #gideon nav #commander wake #john gaius #harrow nonagesimus #her little foot #ianthe tridentarius #art #animatic

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chaos-bringer-13 · 2 months

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I've seen a lot of people writing Danny as a space ancient and Dan and Dani as ghosts with moon and sun cores, being sort of parts, versions of Danny and therefore weaker. Now, consider: Dan and Dani are both powerful ghosts with really cool cores and stuff but Danny is just some guy™

Dan, who came from an alternate timeline and is kind of from the future but also not, is Clockwork's apprentice and will eventually become an ancient of time. He probably only agreed to have some lessons with Clockwork to understand better what happened to him, but he enjoys his apprenticeship now.

Dani, with her love of travelling, loves seeing all the different places the world offers to her, and that includes space and different planets and maybe even parallel universes, and she accidentally ends up being an apprentice of the space ancient. For now she's probably a baby ancient of freedom or something like that, but she might become an ancient of space in the future.

We can also have something like Dan having a core of destruction or Dani being the Speed Force if you want it to be dcxdp, or any headcanon of yours about their cool powers.

And then there's Danny. And yeah, everyone knows that he's super powerful, but also he's just some guy.

It can go different routes. Does everyone know that Danny is just Danny? Or do they think that with siblings (well, technically a clone and an alternate version, but whatever) so powerful, he must be even stronger? Is Danny actually something terrifyingly eldritch and ancient and strong, almost a god, but he just doesn't know himself? Or is he just really some guy?

Now, because it's obvious that I have a dcxdp brainrot, have a regular "JL summons/meets a powerful ghost" but its Dan and Dani, and they keep mentioning their original/brother who won a fight against them at some point. The JL is very concerned about Dan and Dani's godlike powers, and they can't imagine what Danny is like. And then they meet him (in his human form), and it's just a young adult in casual clothes, very friendly and helpful, with no evident powers. Imagine the confusion. Imagine Dan and Dani, radiating power, in their eldritch ghost forms, admitting that fighting Danny for real is the dumbest thing to do and not even they would succeed... And then there's Danny is jeans and silly t-shirt, waving shyly.

#DO YOU SEE MY VISION #please #I'm not getting enough sleep #my brain is obsessed with weird stuff #I want Sam who barely looks human because she's one with nature #I want Tucker who looks regal and dangerous in his pharaoh clothes #I want Dan look like he can destruct the Earth with a wave of his hand #I want Dani who is everything there is in the world and you feel it in your bones #I want Jazz who sees your soul and your mind and you know it and there's nowhere to run #I want JL to meet all of them before meeting Danny #I want all of them to admit in their different ways that Danny is the greatest of them #I want JL to be VERY worried about meeting Danny #and then I want Danny to be as normal and friendly as possible #and I want him to treat all those eldritch creatures (his family and friends) as they're regular humans and nothing is weird about them #just hugs and love and praises #because it would cause so much confusion #this is NOT ghost king Danny #unless it is but he doesn't know (and either no one knows or no one told him because it's funnier this way and he's super oblivious)#dpxdc #dcxdp #dp x dc #dc x dp #DPxDC #DCxDP #danny phantom #isn't a crossover if you don't want it to be #could be any crossover if you do want it to be

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thevoidstaredback · 30 days

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How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

It had been a long few minutes since he'd opened the door and there were a lot of questions running through Dick's head. Most pressing of which was how this kid seems to have information he should not have.

"How did you..?" he asked, but the words wouldn't leave completely. There's so much he wants to know, so much he wants to ask.

"How do I what?" Danny tilted his head like the child he seems to be is.

"How do you know?" Dick knows he sounds weak. There's no hiding that, but there are a lot of implications in what the kid has said so far and none of it is painting a very happy picture for him.

"Oh!" Danny had the audacity to smile, "You want to know how I know you moonlight as a vigilante!" And of course he knows. Dick knows he knows, but he'd held a little bit of hope that the child Danny was mistaken. Danny's smile softened a bit as he explained, "Your hair and voice match up in both jobs almost perfectly. Not to mention your build and how you hold yourself. There's also the matter of your overall vibes, but that's not something living beings can normally pick up on." Excuse him? "Well, not living humans, at least, so no worries on that end!"

"Excuse me?" Dick was fairly sure his heart just stopped beating for a moment there.

"Anyway, I was a hero back home for a while, too. I know what it's like to have to walk the tightrope between maintaining a civilian cover and a hero persona. I know how it feels to have to keep secrets from everyone because anyone who knows will be in danger." he rambled, Though, admittedly, our circumstances are quite different. I was working as a hero all hours of the day as well as going to school. You only have to worry about properly balancing between day and night jobs. Either way, me having more to bounce between just makes me al the more qualified to help you!"

Oh. Oh he did not like that. He didn't like a single thing that just came out of the kid's mouth. Because that's what he is, a kid. "Are you...Are you alright?"

"Not in the slightest," Danny admitted with an even smaller smile. Then, it brightened, not quite to a grin, but to something similar, "But I'm here to make sure you are."

He gets points for being honest, but Dick felt his heart shatter. He knew for a fact that he'd never worked with this kid before. He also knew that the Justice League didn't know about him. If they did, he would've been picked up and dropped with either the Young Justice team or the Titans.

Dick wasn't going to ask why he became a hero because that's not his place. It's more of a 'third mission with the team' kind of questions, anyway. Most of the heroes didn't have many options when they took up the mantle. Asking what Danny can do is a more appropriate question, but he wasn't going to ask that, either.

"Now that that's out of the way," Danny turned a few pages from the table of contents to another one that was topped with 'Why Sleep Scheduling Is Important' in the blue glitter pen that Dick was starting to suspect he favored. "You're not getting enough sleep. Following you around - no one's been able to find me for a while, so don't worry about that - for the last two weeks has given me some really worrisome information on you."

Dick was worrying. He was worrying a lot and even more questions were coming to the forefront of his mind.

"Your dayjob is as an officer on the Bludhaven Police Force, or BPD for short." He was looking over the page he'd turned to very aptly and Dick realized that the kid had notes written on him. "The average hours per week for police across the country is forty hours. Gotham and Bludhaven are the exceptions. As a member of the BPD, you work a solid two days and two hours. Six nights a week, you work as Nightwing from eight in the evening to three in the morning. The last day, you take off, which is good. No deserable pattern, so good on you for that. Regardless, that's seven hour nights and ten hour days, with one day off and one day on call as an officer. Seven hours are now left in your day for personal time, eating, and sleeping. That's not a healthy way to live."

Oh, god, the kid had honest to god notes on him! What the hell!

Danny didn't even skip a beat as he pulled Dick's attention back to him and his binder. "I've drawn up a schedule for you to follow." The back of the page had a meticulously drawn schedule, complete with blocks of time to eat, sleep, work both jobs, travel, personal time, and still have a bit extra left over. It was titled 'Ideal End Result' in green marker. "Drastic changes right away will only affect you negatively, so we're starting off smaller." The next page over had another schedule titled 'Where To Begin'. "I've only pulled one hour from your Nightwing hours because I know important that time is to you and the city. I am, however, going to be having you submit an appeal to your boss to cut back your hours from fifty a week to forty a week. That way, you'll only be working eight hours a day and not ten. You'll still be on call for one day, and you'll have that last day off. Altogether, you'll be going be going from working seventeen hours a day to fourteen hours a day. Nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, and eight in the evening to two in the morning. Not including breaks at work or travel time. It opens up a few more hours for you to sleep!"

"You really think the chief is going to pull back my hours?" Dick raised an eyebrow in question.

"He will if he knows what's good for him."

"You know I can arrest you for that threat, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't." And, damn it, he's right.

Although, there was now another thing he had to know. "How to you plan on enforcing this schedule of yours?"

Danny seemed to have been waiting for this. He got a gleam in his eye as he pulled a black folder from his bag, not breaking eye contact with Dick. He placed it on the table and pushed it across. "Congratulations, it's a boy."

Part 1 Part 3

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emo-batboy · 9 months

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Battinson and the JL ft. His Eventual Identity Reveal

(If you’re just here for the cutesy bits, skip to Attempt #2. Otherwise, STRAP IN CUZ IT’S A LOT)

Bruce Wayne of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is not the founder type.

He wouldn’t voluntarily join a book club, much less join a league of super powered vigilantes whom he does not know personally.

So in this universe, you probably wouldn’t call him one of the three Founding members.

But he’s still integral to the formation of the Justice League

It starts out with a friendly visit :)

Bruce is patrolling on a random night in Gotham when he notices a weird thing in the sky. It’s floating just far enough behind him that a less vigilant person wouldn’t have noticed, but Bruce is always watching his own back, and he takes it as a threat.

He strays from his usual path and then heads to a warehouse roof before turning to face the threat.

It’s Superman. All smiley and dressed in primary colors. The strongest, most powerful being on Earth just floating over like he wasn’t stalking Batman a second ago. Bruce does not like that.

“What do you want with Gotham?” He asks. “I don’t,” Superman says. “I wanted to talk to The Batman.” So this is some kind of fight? An intervention? A warning? Then Superman frowns. “You…are The Batman, right?”

Bruce only nods as he considers his options, but he can’t really do that when Superman has super speed, super sight, super strength, super breath, super lots-of-things-that-Batman-probably-doesn’t-know-of.

Then Superman surprises him by landing on the roof and giving him this pitch about a superhero group.

Superman and a few other vigilantes have been bouncing around the idea of teaming up together so they can help one another protect their cities. And The Batman was a “perfect candidate.”

“I’m not joining your club.” “It’s not a club. It’s a league.” “What’s your mission statement, then?” “A what?” Bruce fights the urge to roll his eyes. He still doesn’t trust this guy. “Take your league idea back to the drawing board then we can talk.” He does not intend on talking.

But two months later, Superman is back. This time, he brings another super powered vigilante named Wonder Woman.

She smiles, politely approaches him, and says “Superman tells me you want to learn more about our league.” That is not what he said, but he doesn’t bite.

Bruce can’t decide which they remind him of more: college recruiters or cult leaders. But because Wonder Woman genuinely seems to care about seeing this project through, and the roster she has of current like-minded vigilantes is impressive, he lets her talk.

And to give her credit, she definitely thought out the logistics more. It almost makes up for the time they’re wasting.

Okay, fine. They’re still way behind on concept, and it’s pitiful. He actually feels bad.

They obviously care! They just have no idea how to run a business like he does. Is it a bit cynical to think of this league of Justice as a business? Yes, but that’s the only way he can even conceive this happening and working.

Bruce asks about their organization’s leadership structure, and that’s when Wonder Woman falters a bit. “We want to work with each other, not for.” Bruce bites his tongue on that subject.

He asks about their scope of work. “We want to help as many people as we can, but that can be ironed out later.” Bruce bites his tongue on that subject.

He asks “Who’s funding this?” She answers, “We have a few members willing to pitch in, but the majority will have to come from generous citizens.” And that’s when he just stops asking questions. Because what?

If he could cry the grease paint off, he would.

They can’t just think every super-powered vigilante is going to sing Kumbaya and braid each other’s hair. There needs to be checks and balances within the organization to avoid tyranny and corruption. They need a reliable source of donations (that doesn’t immediately out Bruce.) They need a proper chain of command. They need to map out their area of responsibility. They need to design a VERY strict vetting process. It’s not sunshine and rainbows. It’s hard work!

So he says he’ll think about it again and complains to Alfred about the weird super stalkers.

But for SOME reason, Alfred doesn’t see the problem

Alfred encourages him to join so he can “make some friends.” But how can he trust these people if they can’t even make a half-decent pitch? It’s like a bad episode of Shark Tank.

And “make friends?” They’re all masked

But after a week of gentle nudging (read: very firm lectures), Bruce agrees. ONLY to keep tabs on the rest of the vigilante world and possible threats to Gotham

(And without his help, they’ll probably butt-dial Lex Luthor the nuclear codes or something)

And he is damn well going to figure out who these people really are before he helps them make a Super Organization.

Alfred figures out about half of their secret identities purely as a brain exercise while Bruce is out fighting crime and collecting head injuries like Pokémon cards. They figure out the rest together.

They also develop contingency plans for every single member. Just in case.

And after months of Batman being visited by random vigilantes, whom he has several choice words for about personal space—“This is my city. Go away.”—he accepts. On several conditions.

Not all of them are appreciated.

Attempt #1: “Making Friends”

After several scheduling conflicts, a lot of prep work, and a really good hype session in front of the mirror, Bruce heads on over to the first official meeting.

Batman arrives with a long list of things they need to do before going public. The first thing on the list?

Write A Mission Statement

What the fuck are they actually trying to do? Bruce thinks this is a great starting point.

And you’d think (you’d think) this Justice League thing would be easier to tolerate than the drawn-out exec meetings he has to sit through with boring, old businessmen who keep delaying things so they can hash out every little detail.

To Bruce’s absolute horror, he BECOMES the boring businessman who’s delaying things so they can hash out every little detail. He misses the boring, old businessmen. At least they knew what they were doing.

Every turn, he is argued with.

“Why do we need a mission statement?” “‘Power Structure’ feels authoritarian. Can’t we just share leadership duties?” “Do we really need this much paperwork?”

Bruce has the audacity to say, “We need to develop some sort of protocol that helps us analyze any possible threat.” But no. “Why can’t I just jump in? I have eyes.” “Jumping in without studying an opponent’s behavior could cause more harm than good,” he insists. “So what? I’m going to watch an alien monster go on a rampage through my city instead of fighting it?” “Yes. You don’t know what it’s capable of.”

Bruce already regrets joining.

All he hears is the others gossiping. “Is this guy really telling us how to be heroes?” “He’s got a major stick up his ass.” “I knew we shouldn’t have let him join.” And if that doesn’t dissuade him, he doesn’t know what will.

“How was the first meeting?” Alfred asks. Bruce scowls. “I’m not making friends.”

Nonetheless, Bruce sticks it out for weeks until they have some semblance of an organization. And, to his shock and amazement, it…kind of works.

The Justice League makes its debut, and Wayne Enterprises generously donates some money “out of spite” after Lex Luthor publicly denounces the league. (Honestly, Bruce would too if he hadn’t personally duct-taped it together himself.)

But the league starts small, just like he told them, they respond to natural disasters and public safety threats first (as per the outreach initiative) and focus on protecting communities in need (as per the mission statement.)

Yes, they still think Batman has a stick up his ass because he’s a stickler for writing incident reports, but no one else reads them so he has the right to be pissed.

He’s almost kind of sort of content with how it’s going. Even his reputation as a vigilante is improving.

That’s when another glaring difference between him and the other members appears.

Despite looking the same age as the rest of the team, Bruce is actually much younger?? Even excluding the aliens, gods, etc.

Most of his teammates are in their late 30’s, early 40’s. Meanwhile, Bruce is at the ripe age of 29 and a half.

He is the youngest by ten years.

Everyone kind of just assumes he’s the same age, though, so they make references to 80’s kids stuff that he only vaguely understands through Alfred and his business partners. He just sits there in silence like a child who snuck over to the adult table and is waiting to get caught.

So on top of the rift he (accidentally) created when they started the organization, it’s even harder to connect through similar interests. Other than punching people together.

And Bruce Wayne has a bad case of imposter syndrome when it comes to their superpowers.

He’s always in the corner brooding, and everyone’s like ummm antisocial much?

But 50% of the time, it’s because he’s thinking “I’ll never amount to the incredible heroic feats everyone else has accomplished. How can I possibly make a difference to the world if I’m already struggling to save Gotham?” Like a little emo freak 🖤

(Meanwhile, you couldn’t pay those mf’s to step foot in Gotham. This Bat guy’s crazy and he’s human apparently?! No way. Nuh uh.)

The OTHER 50% of his “brooding” is Bruce standing to the side with a mixture of concern and judgment because his teammates’ competency in certain areas is…alarmingly low sometimes.

One week, he finds himself thinking, “How do these grown-ass adults not know their way around a digital map? They’re 40, not geriatric.”

Then like a week later, it’s “These fucking war fossils don’t even know Morse code. I gotta do everything around here.”

One of the final straws is when he says, “Did they just break another fucking Keurig? Who does that, Alfred? It’s the fifth one.”

Suffice it to say, he’s not very personable. But is it his fault? Well yeah, a little bit. Like……..65% his fault.

(The remaining 35% is their moaning and groaning whenever Batman calls a meeting.)

Bruce’s irritation is totally justified.

God, he just wants to go home.

Why is he doing this again?

Attempt #2: Actually Making Friends

The first JL member to break through his cold, black exterior is Wonder Woman. She needs help with search and rescue after a sinkhole opens up near an elementary school, but no one’s available until Batman responds to her call.

He’s on the scene in less than an hour and makes quick work in securing the area. Thankfully, she catches him once it’s over. (He always runs off without saying goodbye.)

“Thanks for helping. Everyone else was just so busy. I’m glad you could fly over.” Batman mumbles something that she can’t quite hear. “What was that?” she asks. “I was busy too,” he repeats. She gives him a weird look, and he freezes up for a second as he realizes that probably wasn’t appropriate to say. “I mean…this was more important. There were kids in danger so it didn’t…matter if I was busy.”

Wonder Woman considers how awkward The Batman looks for a moment then smiles. So he really is human. “Well, thank you. The help was very much appreciated.”

Since then, several small acts of kindness and solidarity earn Batman some respect from the rest of the team.

One day, Flash complains about how boring their meetings are so Batman brings a massive bin of fidget toys. After placing them in front of the Flash, he mumbles, “These are for ADHD. They’re useful.” Flash almost cries with relief. He is very touched.

Another day, Green Arrow is severely injured in battle. Without a word, Batman leaves the fight, takes him to a safe location, stops the bleeding, and does it all while repeatedly making sure he’s awake and asking permission to remove certain pieces of clothing.

In another fight, Plastic Man’s mask is thrown off, and Batman sees his face. In a second, Batman tosses a smoke bomb, picks up the mask, and hands it back before anyone else can look. It costs them time and the element of surprise, and Plastic Man knows it, but Batman did it anyway.

A JL member’s stomach grumbles during one too many meetings. Suddenly, their little break room becomes a fully stocked kitchen with shelf-stable meal items and all the basic necessities. There’s a nut-free section, a gluten-free section, everything. The only reason they know it’s him is because anyone else would have admitted to it.

(He renovated the whole fucking thing. In one night. By himself.)

And they all see how gentle he is with children. Countless times, The Batman is spotted prioritizing young civilians at any given moment.

He has lollipops in his belt. And Bluey bandaids too.

It’s the little things that make them feel closer to him :)

And okay maybe his goddamn Mission Statement lecture wasn’t so bad

So they stop moaning and groaning

Okay, now it’s bonding time WOOHOO!!

Attempt #3: Kinda? Friends??

One day, Superman says he isn’t too fond of billionaires (because of Lex, obviously) and goes on a rant about capitalism. Bruce doesn’t dare contribute because 1) he’s the richest man in the world and 2) every other billionaire he’s met is insufferable.

(Including Oliver Queen who Bruce refuses to look at while Green Arrow “defends his city’s billionaire.”)

(And while we’re on the topic of Green Arrow, Bruce cannot forget the disappointing almost-fling two summers ago. He still holds a grudge.)

Green Arrow: “You’re all fashion nightmares. Who wears a cape in the 21st century?” Batman: “At least my facial hair isn’t longer than my dick.” GA: “What was that, Batman?” B: “What?”

Also Bruce is very attracted to Superman.

(He likes older men.)

(Yes, I am referring to Henry Cavill’s Superman.)

(Sue me.)

(But don’t get your hopes up. He does literally nothing about it.)

(Coward.)

One of the JL members complains about how sore they are after a few missions so Bruce cashes in his Monthly Attempt to Socialize and says, “Try yoga. It helps me.” “…Batman, you do yoga?” “Yes. My son got me into it….It’s good for you.” “You have a son?!” He is never socializing again.

They also learn that Batman has the smallest frame on the team. (Like yeah, he’s tall, but he’s also lanky, and everyone else is either an alien or a human dorito.)

One night, they need to sneak through the vents of some building so Bruce offers to do it. Someone says, “It’s a tight squeeze. Are you sure you can fit?” Then he just takes his cape and pauldrons and shoulder pads off and is suddenly like a foot skinnier

“Wait…is this why you’re so good at hiding in the shadows?” Bruce just glares at the Flash for a second before climbing into the vents.

(The answer is yes.)

A betting pool is started over whether or not Batman is part Bat.

In fact, several betting pools begin because no one knows anything about the guy??

Aquaman and Plastic Man go to great lengths to figure out what his hair color is.

They lose their shit once Bruce tells them he’s vegetarian.

Green Lantern: “Every time he opens his mouth, we learn something new. Next, he’s going to tell me he speaks Swahili!” Batman: “I do.” GL: “Oh, come on!”

Superman: “We need someone on the inside for this international operation to work, but that’ll take at least three months undercover.” Batman: “Don’t worry. I have connections.” S: “…In Shanghai?” B: “Yes.”

The Flash adds SHANGHAI?? to his conspiracy board

Bruce needs to stop trying to socialize. It’s better for everyone’s cardiovascular health.

A year or two in, they’re all introduced to Captain Marvel. Bruce is the first and only person to learn his true identity (kid Billy Batson) because Bruce is the only one with a kid. That way, he understands the weird Gen-Alpha humor and references.

Millennia-old deities don’t use the term Flop Era.

And, of course, they play FMK at some point.

(I mean, come on. There are like TWO mature adults on this team, but Martian Manhunter doesn’t know what’s going on until it’s too late, and Wonder Woman is busy at her day job.)

During that particular round, the celebrities are Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, and Kylie Jenner. Bruce does, in fact, want to kill himself, but he chooses Fuck instead because of this exact conversation:

Green Lantern: Come on, Bats. It’s just a game! Choose already. Batman: No. I’m against killing. GL: Oh, go fuck yourself. This situation is completely hypothetical, and you know it. B: Fine! Fuck Bruce, Marry Kylie, Kill Lex. GL: See? That wasn’t so hard :) Bruce:

He tried

Attempt #4: Ah shit, FRIEND?

The identity reveal comes about three years after he joins. He’s 32, has three kids, he’s been on hundreds of missions with them, the team’s over twice its original size, and there are domestic terrorists overtaking Manhattan.

Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and The Batman try to extract as many civilians as possible, but now they’re being hunted. After hiding in a warehouse and considering their options, MM finally suggests that they pose as civilians, which immediately creates uproar.

Bruce, however, realizes this is the only way out.

But it’s not dramatic or badass like that one JL episode. No, instead, he thinks about it, swallows the regret, and just—

Takes off his cowl.

And the whole room falls dead fucking quiet.

Then, “Oh fuck.”

(That was Green Lantern.)

Bruce just shrugs and mumbles, “Martian is right. It’s the only way.” And really fucking hopes the grease paint hides his red face because he is not having a good time right now.

He would rather die, actually, but they need to get somewhere safe and Fast.

The others look him up and down then nod slowly. “Uh yeah.” “Okay, sure.” “This is fine.” “We’ll do that.”

The others begin slowly taking off their suits and changing into something more casual. Bruce takes his off, revealing the skin-tight compression suit underneath, and stuffs his armor in the roll-up duffel bag that’s kept in his belt.

He changes into his drifter outfit, wipes his face clean, and suddenly, The Batman’s just a normal guy. (A very pretty normal guy, mind you. His teammates have eyes.)

“We can head to my place,” Bruce says. “It’s closer, and I know the train system pretty well.” And yes, he’s pretty soft-spoken outside of the suit, but now it feels even more obvious.

Meanwhile, the others are like—

Oh. My. God.

Oh my god, he’s fucking shy. Batman is acting shy in front of us. Dear fucking god. Batman is Bruce Wayne. And Bruce is shy so Batman is fucking shy?? Bruce is pretty too. Holy fuck. He is very pretty.

And he’s so young?? Oh my god, he’s a BABY wtf?! He’s like four inches shorter. Four inches tall! They’re all towering over him without his massive boots and armor, and he just hunches over with the big duffel bag like he wants to sink into the floor, and he’s so small.

Wonder Woman wants to put him in her pocket.

Sue her.

They end up taking the train back. Bruce has on the mask and cap that hides his face (poor Superman, he really likes his jawline) and they all follow Bruce as he gets off and on several trains at seemingly random stops. THEN when they’re finally in Gotham, they head into an abandoned-looking subway station that leads them into a…cave?? WTF

And in the middle of the cave is an elderly man with a cane and a three-piece suit just lounging on a recliner. (WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK—)

He looks up from his crossword puzzle and says, “Ah! You’ve finally made friends, I see?” Bruce rolls his eyes. “This is not a sleepover,” he gripes. “Shame. I was about to grab your footie pajamas for you.”

The man smiles at them. “A pleasure to meet Master Wayne’s work friends in person. Would you like some coffee? Tea? If you’re like him, this is going to be a long night.”

No one dares to question why this man recognizes them in their civvies

They also can’t tell if the footie pajamas line was a joke or not. After tonight, nothing is off the table.

(This is a minefield of information. Barry is having flashbacks to his conspiracy board. No one is going to fucking believe him.)

They all settle into one corner of the cave. Bruce leaves to change and comes back looking like this:

(Goddamnit, Clark is having a meltdown. His hair looks so good wet.)

At one point while they’re plotting, Wonder Woman glances over his shoulder to see Bruce checking some sort of security camera. A boy, maybe nine or ten, is sleeping in bed. “Is that your son?” Bruce clearly doesn’t want to answer, but Alfred gives him a look, and Bruce sighs. “One of them. Yes.”

Later, they have to analyze some explosive samples in the cave, and Barry, forensic scientist extraordinaire, has some choice words about the non-sterile environment.

Barry: This doesn’t look safe. Bruce: My lab is perfectly clean and functional. *bat screeches* Don’t worry about that.

For the rest of the night, they use the evidence they have to track down the organization while the rest of the JL suits up and saves NYC.

After a few hours, they’re safe to return to NYC for damage control. But Alfred refuses to let Bruce go with them. “Your sons are worried. Drive them to school, then you’re coming home and sleeping.”

Bruce clearly wants to argue, but the mention of his kids stops him. He sighs and turns to the others who are already changed. “Let me know if you need anything. I can be there in ten minutes.”

They all nod, knowing full well they will not be doing that. The guy clearly needs rest.

(Also, he is a single father of three and still goes out every night to punch robbers and crime bosses? Is he doing okay?)

Then they head back to NYC with so many questions.

But a lot of it makes sense too, actually. Maybe they just weren’t thinking about the man behind the mask enough to see it.

They learned a lot about their friend that night.

And they have a lot of bets to cash in.

FIN

Okay :D that was a lot! If you enjoyed it, please let me know. This has been simmering in the back of my head for months <3 Have a great day and drink some water :)

Hey bestie @bruciemilf

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captainsaltypear · 9 days

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today's adventure is brought to you by the phrase: "existential dread"

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc fanart #tadc pomni #tadc gummigoo #gummy #pomni #gummigoo #gumni #OKAY BUT SERIOUSLY THEYRE SO DOOMED YURI CODED WTF #scheeze art #pear post #THEY NEED TO HUG YOUR HONOUR #GIVE POMNI A HUG #PLEASE #Funnygummy

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mysisypheannightmare · 1 year

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No Hugs, Please - Chapter 7

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6

Word Count: 2058

Warnings: the barest food mention, typical angst

Notes: It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Sorry that there's been so much delay on this story, but I can assure you it's definitely not abandoned. This particular chapter had, like, three different versions since I first started writing it, but I think I've settled on this one. Hope it's alright!

(btw, this is back to Logan's POV, with a brief moment of Virgil's POV but the switch is obvious)

He hadn’t meant to react so harshly that night at dinner.

Logan usually spent so much time properly preparing his responses and keeping his reactions under control, so the unusual amount of unwarranted affection throughout that day had quickly become difficult to navigate, resulting in his horrendous outburst towards the others that night, followed by mortification and sulking in silence in his room well into the evening hours.

He should have better prepared or created some sort of contingency plan for himself when it came to such extreme situations, but he hadn’t. So instead, he ran away, as he had been prone to doing as of late.

Straightening his tie, Logan took a deep breath.

He had spent the majority of that night and the next day in his room, collecting his thoughts and diligently developing yet another newer, better system to regulate his stress and reactionary behavior in regards to situations like had been exhibited the evening prior, but he genuinely regretted having spent so much time avoiding everyone when he had just made the promise that he would cease doing so.

Every step to the door, every motion as he made his way downstairs to the common room seemed excessive and heavier than usual. He assumed it was the guilt of his actions, and upon seeing the other sides sitting and watching television together, he could confirm that was exactly it.

No one looked over at him as he entered the commons, not even as he hesitantly paused behind them on the couch before making a beeline for the kitchen instead. He wasn’t supposed to be hiding anymore, but he needed something to do with his hands before he began tugging aimlessly and unnecessarily at his tie or his collar, therefore displaying his nervousness.

He wanted to be sure to improve himself before ruining more of their evening activities, so it should be the best course of action for the time being, even if it only left him full of guilt.

Further misbehavior would be worse, after all, he told himself.

One glance back into the common room and catching the slightest movement of Virgil turning his head, likely taking notice of him.

He’d told Virgil the other day that he would not avoid him like he had been. Surely, there was some better compromise for this situation…?

He owed them an explanation, didn’t he? He should be expected to apologize for his actions, considering what happened.

Setting a kettle to boil on the stove, Logan forced himself to calm down and think out an adequate introductory phrase for the conversation.

Hopping right in with an apology would be efficient, but the others often preferred to deliberate on a topic before moving on. Well, he surmised, so long as this wasn’t a matter of debate, he should be able to get right to the point and then briefly explain his aims to improve before leaving them to continue on with their evening in peace.

“Patton. Roman. Virgil. May I speak with you all for a moment?”

Succinct. To the point. He reminded himself to keep this conversation efficient, for their sakes.

All three turned to him, then all looked at each other. Or, rather, Logan noticed it seemed more like Roman and Patton both looked at Virgil, who then nodded and they all stood to face him. He wasn’t entirely sure what that was about, but he figured it was something to deduce at a later time.

He held his hands together in front of him and spoke.

“I promise not to keep you long. I merely wanted to apologize for my behavior last night at dinner. It was reprehensible and for that, I am sorry,” Logan paused, keeping his voice steady and calm, to let them know he was serious. “I’ve already taken some time to reflect and have determined the most beneficial preventative measures for any future debacles, so you have my word that it shall not happen again.”

There. That should do the trick, he thought, as the saying goes.

Logan watched as Patton and Roman both shared a look and then stared at Virgil again, as if waiting for something.

Logan was well-aware that he rarely apologized, for a variety of reasons, so he expected the others may have been caught off-guard with his statement, but he hadn’t anticipated what Virgil would say in response.

“Oh, don’t worry about all that, Lo.”

Virgil had dismissively waved his hand in the air. Logan blinked, finding himself confused.

“It’s not fine,” he retorted, trying his best not to sound argumentative. “I should not have been so disruptive or gotten upset–”

“Seriously, Logan, it’s fine,” Virgil insisted, cutting him off. “Everyone has their bad days, so it’s okay.”

Virgil looked over at Patton, who was wringing his hands in front of him nervously. When Patton caught his eye, his eyebrows shot up with recognition, suddenly turning back to Logan and agreeing with Virgil.

“He’s right, Logan! We completely forgive you and don’t want you to worry, okay?”

Virgil then pointedly looked over at Roman, who then feigned a cough and simply added, “What they said.”

Logan said nothing. He wasn’t sure what was happening here, but something was wrong. Despite their positive responses, this outcome didn’t seem satisfactory at all.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else you’d like me to do?” he asked inquisitively.

Patton shook his head enthusiastically and then smiled at him. Logan didn’t like something about this, but was it perhaps possible the lot of them were still emotionally affected and needed more time to process the situation? That wasn’t exactly something he fully understood, so it could explain why the outcome seemed odd.

“Very well.” Logan took one last look at all three of them. While he was unsatisfied, they had responded with positive words and claimed to forgive him. He should accept that and not expect anything more.

“Again, sorry for interrupting your evening,” he quickly added. “I’ll be off to my room now. Good night.”

He sank out before the others had any chance to change their decision on the matter.

“Virgil, please, I need a hug after all that–!”

Patton had barely held out long enough for Logan to sink down completely before he’d turned to Virgil and wrapped his arms over Virgil’s shoulders.

“We really did mess this up, huh?” Patton pouted into Virgil’s shoulder.

Virgil sighed, patting Patton on the arm he had wrapped around him.

“It’ll be better soon, Patton. Just remember what I told you.”

Roman sighed,

“Are you sure this will work, though? I mean, I know I can control myself just fine, but it’s clear Padre over here isn’t going to last as long.”

He walked over to pull Patton off Virgil and into a proper hug. Virgil rolled his shoulders, trying not to seem bothered.

“This will work, Roman. Just keep the hugs between us for now and everything will be fine.”

Patton frowned, but nodded into Roman’s shoulder.

Virgil turned away from the other two, silently hoping this plan he’d thrown together would actually work. Logan didn’t want anyone touching him, so finally getting the other two to back off should fix everything…right?

God, he hoped so.

Logan was hard at work throughout most of that night. Motivated to find a proper solution for his outbursts against the other sides, he researched and narrowed down the best options to try. He had accumulated many preventative measures, but had yet to research their true efficacy within any case studies nor test those methods for himself.

By morning, he’d determined his first course of action in adjusting his behavior would be to take on more direct observation and document his findings. Journaling was a tactic that had often helped those struggling to express themselves, so perhaps notating what behaviors or thoughts may need further attention and research was a good starting step. He wouldn’t be changing anything too drastically, as to not affect the others or wildly alter his routines, but it would be a benefit if the method helped him to better reflect on his own behavior and his responses to others - for further analysis, of course.

And, as he had noted yesterday, he still wanted to fulfill his promise to Virgil about spending time with him, so he decided to give this new plan a trial run. He scheduled momentary breaks throughout his usual routines to document any observations or findings that may occur that day.

Notebook tucked under his arm, he left his room and headed back towards the common room downstairs. Given the early hour, he was most likely to find the others in the kitchen or living room, preparing breakfast or already partaking in it.

And he was right. Patton and Roman were talking to each other animatedly across the dining room table and Virgil was slouched over in the chair between them, head in his hands as he tiredly stared down at a small stack of waffles, only half-eaten by then.

He kept quiet, spoke when spoken to, and made sure to document anything notable as he continued on with his daily routine. Everything that he often would determine as typical behavior now felt more fresh and possibly foreign with this new plan enacted, causing him to alter his perspective a bit as he observed the other sides throughout breakfast and on into the rest of the day.

Notations and small phrases soon turned to full-length pages of notes as the day went on. He especially filled many pages after watching a bizarre argument break out in the hallway upon returning to his room that afternoon.

He wasn’t sure what to think of the whole scene that had transpired. But it was probably worth writing down, given that it was part of his new plan, right? He could research more about it later but could document specific details right now.

As the day went on, he noted similar moments happening with the other sides, whether he spoke with them directly or simply observed them from afar. He continued to note everything down, only seeing the emerging patterns after poring over his notes later that evening.

The others seemed to be avoiding him.

Not exactly new behavior, as this sometimes happened after a particularly egregious argument or for a brief period after Logan had reviewed another side’s contributions a bit more harshly than they anticipated. It was understandable, especially considering he’d experienced his own desire to avoid the others before he had determined a solution to his outburst the night prior.

However, he opened his notebook to spot repeated details that supported an emerging theory.

Roman seemed so quick to comfort Patton throughout most of the day today, and Patton was doling out hugs quite a lot, too. Virgil seemed to keep his attention on Roman and Patton, and occasionally Thomas whenever he requested it, but these observed actions lacked a known motive.

Like he’d already concluded, the avoidance was not necessarily new behavior. And, considering Logan’s outburst the other night, it was very possible their hasty forgiveness of his disruption may have been merely an excuse to avoid him until he could be truly forgiven.

But he had asked them directly what more he could do, and they had said nothing. If they wanted more from him, why hadn’t they just said so?

And then there was the matter of the argument he’d stumbled upon that afternoon. Virgil and Roman exchanged some sharp words as usual, only for Virgil to go a little too far after Patton asked them to stop. Virgil ceased their discussion and promptly apologized. Noble of him to do so, but once Patton and Roman told him it was fine, Patton asked for a hug and Virgil acquiesced, seeming uncomfortable at first, but then fine only moments later.

He’d written down what he saw because something about the exchange had seemed notable. It wasn’t until now, as he was reviewing it, really thinking it out, that he realized why.

It was completely different from his apology yesterday.

Sure, the severity of the situation was vastly different, but the casualness with which Roman and Patton issued their forgiveness remained the same. In fact, there was only one major difference Logan could determine.

His forgiveness had involved no hugging.

(Thanks for reading, even after all this time!)

Taglist: @angels-are-beautiful @falseh0od @illogicalthinking @malqueeb @honeybee125 @rizzyluke @pricklyfish777 @kingbinoftrashland

#logan sanders #logan angst #fanfiction #sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #no hugs please #look who's back!

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