Can you write one where the Rogers is assigning a new recruit to each avenger for training? Loki gets the new girl and he’s irritated thinking she’s just some normal human that hasn’t a clue how to fight properly because of her petite size. When it comes time for them to spar, she gives him hell. She fights with swords and is very skilled in the art. He says something to piss her off and she ends up blasting him away with powers she never told anyone about. Loki realizes what she is since he knows the magic she used. She’s part light elf but being half human she was abandoned and left to die just like Loki was. They end up bonding and work together on the team.

A/N: I hope you like it! I didn't focus a whole ton of them working together, but I feel like you get the point. It's a bit longer than my other one shots.

The Moon And Her Darkness

Summary: Y/N, the newest avenger, starts her first day of training. An unimpressed Loki’s doubts are proved to be wrong when she reveals herself to be stronger than he knew.

Word count: 2744

Warnings: angst, dick Loki

Forever Tags: @mm2305

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Your blood pumps fast through your body as you stare at the raven haired god. Ever since you joined the team, he’s been giving you dirty looks and eye rolls. You tried to not pay attention to it since you know of his past (and have been warned by Tony), but as the newest Avenger trying to prove herself, you find yourself longing for his approval.

It has been a week since Nicky Fury showed up at your home, extracting you from it, and throwing you into the lion's den you called the Avengers. You never signed up for it, but given that you were on the government’s radar for a long time, you’re not surprised. A couple mishaps here and there made them take you on their own terms. They’ve decided that having super powers is not something to be normalized and that you couldn’t live like a normal civilian.

Although you want to be home, the Avengers have already shown to be a great family. Nat and Wanda have already taken you shopping while Steve gave you a tour of the tower. As far as the others, they have been out of sight. Bucky avoids everyone, Sam with him because they’re glued to the hip, and Tony is somewhere else working on new technology with Bruce. Clint? Thor? Who even knows. You’ve been thankful for the attention they have given you.

Except for Loki.

You remember the attack in New York and you won’t lie when saying that approaching the god is intimidating. He stands with great pride and power, it’s hard not to feel small, but when he stares at you the way he does, it’s harder. He doesn’t stop looking at you as if you were a rat he found in a sandwich. Disposable. Replaceable. Disgusting. You don’t expect much from the God being that he’s only staying here out of punishment for the attacks, but you had hoped for a little something more. Even a prank or two.

When Steve told you that you were going to start training, you expected hand to hand combat like the rest, not whatever involves Loki being in the gym at the same time as the two of you. He hasn’t said a word, but just stared at you as Steve goes over some basic disabling techniques and defense. Most of it is already burned in your brain from your childhood, being a warrior and all, but you still manage to learn some new things.

But learning as to why Loki is there, that still remains unclear. Everytime you throw a punch or try to block one of Steve’s, Loki scoffs at you and rolls his eyes. He looks completely relaxed on a bench in the room, yet he could not be looking at you with a more tense gaze. He looks worried, as if you’re going to get beaten to a pulp.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” You yell at him.

Panting, you block Steve’s last hit and turn to the younger Odinson.

“Sorry?”

“Oh, don’t sorry me. Cut the crap, Loki. What’s up?”

“I believe the sky is.”

You grab a knife off the wall and aim it in his direction, startling him slightly but not even shocking Steve.

“You stare at me with daggers in your eyes and judge my every move. You have yet to even talk to me since I joined the team. What do you have against me, you ass?”

“Y/N-”

“Shut it, Steve!” You yell, quickly aiming the dagger at him before returning to Loki, “You. Talk.”

“It’s just pathetic, that’s all.”

“Pathetic? You’re calling me pathetic?”

You start to charge at Loki, but Steve quickly wraps his arm around your waist, holding you back from gutting the god.

“Y/N, I wanted you to spar with him after me,” he cuts in.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because he's a skilled fighter who matches your level.”

“Oh, so I spar with the tricker who decides I’m too pathetic to fight. He’s going to teleport or some shit and stab me like he does with Thor.” Loki’s eyebrows raise at the mention of Thor getting stabbed. “Yes, I’ve heard the stories. I’m not that naive, Steve.”

“I won’t leave you alone with him. I’ll be here to watch and guide.”

“What do you know about fighting with me? I have magic beyond belief” Loki asks the both of you.

“I know more than you think,” I spit, turning back to Steve, “Can we do something else?”

“Well, you coud-”

“I am not sparing with Loki.”

“Okay, then how about weapons? Whatever one you want to start with?”

Loki scoffs again at the mention of you fighting any other way than hand to hand combat. He’s lucky you’re on the same team as him or else you would have decapitated him by now just because of annoyance. How can a man so attractive be so obnoxious?

You walk over to the wall of weapons were Steve and quietly discuss which ones you’ll practice with. He recommends knives so you can spar with Natasha when he’s gone, but the swords are more up your alley. They remind you of your childhood, the weapon of your people. Some days, you miss them, but you know they are fighting their own battle that is too dangerous for you.

Picking up the swords, Steve warns you he is not good which makes Loki laugh again. He has the right to this time because how do you practice with a man who doesn’t know what he’s doing. You can’t last ten minutes with Cap before you’re tired of his flailing. He’s really not good.

“Loki, you wouldn’t happen to know how to use swords would you?”

“I have some experience. Asgard knights and Valkyrie used them, we were forced to learn.”

He stands and takes Steve’s sword from him. Turning to you, he smirks, taking you in. Your frame looks so small compared to his, nothing but a mortal. He’s never admit it, but he finds you slightly adorable, in a helpless baby sort of way. You take proper stance and stare at Loki dead in the eye, determined to prove him wrong.

The two of you run at each other, swinging at any unblocked area you can, yet never hitting. He blocks your swing, pushing you back but not down. Looking up at him, you scream and run, thrusting your sword towards his neck and legs. He blocks you again, but not without stumbling. Before he’s able to get up, you land a blow right to his chest, knocking the air out of him. He hooks his foot around your leg and flips the two of you over so he hovers above you, sword to throat.

“I’ll admit it, you are good, but not great,” he laughs.

He stands up and walks off, setting the swords back on their holder on the wall. You gradually stand up, fury in your bones for the way he speaks to you.

“You… are irritable!” You yell.

Right before Loki gets to the door, he turns to face you. Steve rushes to your side.

“Y/N, stop. He’s not worth it.”

“Oh, he’s not worth it, alright,” you mutter to Steve, “He’s not worth the pride. The praise. Whatever the ‘glorious purpose’ he thinks he has. He’s just an insecure little boy who needs to prove himself over others, make them feel small so he feels superior. Just a bully.”

“I’d watch your tongue,” Loki warns.

“Or else what? You’ll challenge me to a words competition? See who has the best insults or can sound like the biggest douche because I think we all know who would win! Another check mark for your book of things you’re better at than ‘midgardians’ or ‘mortals’ or whatever degrading nickname you think of next.”

Loki’s chest heaves in anger. You’ve never seen someone so angry or heard anyone yelling at you with concern like Steve. Nothing he says registers in your head as Loki’s daring looks fill your mind. You’d almost be scared if you didn’t know he’s full of empty threats. Just a scared little god boy.

“You imbecile, think you can scare me?”

“Actually, I think anything can.”

“I can take words from someone who does not know me, but to be called a coward is not something I take lightly.”

“So what are you going to do about it? Huh?”

“Nothing, I don’t waste my time on people like you.”

“Oh, people like me? Because the great Frost Giant Asgardian is sooo superior.”

“Don’t you ever say that.”

Loki rushes to your side, grabbing you by the throat and lifting you up against the wall.

“Loki, stop it!” Steve yells.

“This is not about you, Rodgers. I suggest you leave before getting in the crossfire.”

“I can’t do that. The safety of this team-”

“Is your priority. I know you are honorable, but I highly suggest you leave.”

Steve hesitates at the sound of you gasping for air. You cling onto Loki’s hand, tightly wound around your throat. His veins pop out of his hand like a dehydrated man. Steve looks back at you, eyes now closed to focus on your breathing.

“Put her down first,” Steve orders.

“Fine, always have to be the hero.”

Loki sets you down and your body goes numb. Everything hurts, your throat swelling. You gasp for all the air you can, feeling it go down your throat and enter your lungs. It’s fresh, comforting, healing. Leaning your head back against the wall, you barely open your eyes to see Steve by your side.

“Are you okay?”

Not energized enough to speak yet, you nod your head and place your hand on his shoulder. Steve looks over at you with worry before turning back to Loki.

“Leave, now.”

“Gladly.”

Loki turns to walk away, but doesn’t. He stands there to listen to you and Steve. At this point, neither of you care. You’re too focused on not dying.

“Can you breathe?” Steve asks.

You nod your head.

“I can get you help. We have a hospital room.”

“No,” you choke, “I’m fine. I just need a moment.”

Steve nods, but doesn’t listen. He gets up and leaves the room, rushing down the hallways to get a nurse, leaving you alone with Loki.

“Why haven’t you left?”

“No reason.”

“Please, just go. I’m tired of fighting. You’ve done enough.”

Loki turns to look at you. You look weak, but actually weak this time. The purple tint to your skin is fading as your lungs self regenerate as you keep breathing. Gripping onto the wall behind you, you stand up. Your knees are weak, making you wobble as you do. You’re not lying. You’re tired of Loki. You’ve barely spoken to the man and he’s made two attempts on your life in ten minutes. Sure, you teased him, but doesn’t he deserve it for being an ass.

“Weak.” He mutters.

That was the last straw. You look up at him. He stares at you as if the devil himself has entered you and your eyes glow bright red, but you know what is wrong. Holding out your hand towards Loki. A glow erupts from behind you, bright yet dark. It’s dark blue like the night sky and Loki watches it in awe. In seconds, Loki’s body is flung through the training room doors, blasting him into the wall of the hallways. He feels his rib breaking, his head hitting the wall. He yells out in pain as you slowly approach him, the anger seeping through.

“Never call me weak.”

Loki flips his head up to look at you, shock running through his body. At the sound of his body collapsing, the other Avengers come running forward. They look upon the sight of you towering over the trickster god with a look they’ve never seen before. Ethereal. Godly. You look as if you’re a queen staring at her peasant handmaid. Anger. Controlling. Power.

“What the-” Bucky mutters.

“You,” Loki gasps.

He struggles to stand as the team tries to help but he refuses. You two locked eyes but nothing was said. “You’re an elf.”

Everyone looks back at you with confused faces, but you don’t say anything. Your body goes hot at the mention of the word ‘elf’. The fire inside you fades out as anxiety places it, waiting for Loki to continue.

“I knew if someone was here to figure it out it’d be you,” you whisper.

“Light elf yes?”

“Yes, moon elf to be exact.”

“How are you here? Aren’t the-”

“Yes, they’re away. I was left to die. Our town got ransacked, everyone fled. No one stopped for me.”

“Then how are you here?”

“The Air elves. They got word of what happened and came. Found me. Took me back, but-”

“You weren’t suited. They found out.”

“Yes.”

There’s a moment of silence between you and the god. His eyes shine with sadness, tears coming to the corners. He looks at you with great pity as the wall inside you breaks.

“Can someone explain what’s happening?” Steve asks.

“Can you tell?” You ask Loki.

He nods, “Yes. Y/N is a moon elf, a tribe of light elves. They’re as high up as Asgard in the nine realms, powerful warriors. They’ve been at the center of every creature out there. People have been after them for their weapons, gems, and wealth. A landmark for every thief and warrior in the universe.”

“My town was destroyed when I was a little girl. Nobody wanted me because I was a child. I was a burden to them.”

“She was left for dead to be found by the Air Elves. Another tribe. Not as powerful. But they didn’t want her and there’s only one reason why they wouldn’t want a moon elf. She’s a half-breed.”

“Moon elves are the only ones who tolerate them. Half human, half elf. Considering many of them come from moon elves, they’re not despised, but Air Elves.”

“They dropped you off on Midgard to be picked up by someone else. I assume you hid your powers?” “I had to. I acted out once when I was little and my parents freaked out. They sent me away. I lived in a orphanage before some group took me, trained me, helped me hone in my powers. They saved me.”

“Until you got to old and left.”

“Didn’t know where to go. I became a waitress at some back alley bar, lived above it in an apartment with my manager. Lived paycheck to paycheck.”

“Then?”

“Nicky Fury came to me. I was on SHIELD’s radar and they wanted me on the Avengers.”

The room goes silent. Throughout your talking you missed the way Loki got considerably closer to you. You practically stand right under his nose. Loki raises his hands and places them on your shoulders, getting your attention. You two look each other in the eye for a long moment.

“I am… so sorry.”

You feel the tears forming in your eyes as Loki pulls you into his chest, holding you by your waist. The team watches in awe as the closed off god embraces you. Slowly, everyone leaves you two in the hallway. An hour goes by as you cry in Loki’s eyes.

Eventually, Loki picks you up bridal style and brings you to your bedroom. He helps you get dressed for the night and settled in bed before you grab his hand, making him turn back to face you. His eyes are no longer riddled with anger or hatred, but kindness and pity. He looks at you like you’re a little lamb to be protected.

“Yes, darling?”

“Stay with me?”

He nods before undressing and getting in bed with you. He pulls you close, your head leaning on his chest, and places an arm around your waist.

Every night goes on like this. No matter what happened in the day, even if you two got into an argument, Loki always found his way back by your side in your bed. You would have never expect it from how he treated you at first, but after the last few months since you met him, you find yourself growing closer to the god.

Loki slips into your bed for what feels like the 1482nd time. Resting your head on his chest, Loki pulls you close to his body.

“Goodnight, darling.”

Gender? In THIS Economy?

Read here on AO3!

Summary:

Duke is questioning stuff and goes to Tim for advice. (feat. trans!Tim and nonbinary!Duke)

“Here you go. One Batburger with extra pickles, extra onions, and extra extra mayonnaise.” Duke drops the paper takeout bag unceremoniously into Tim’s lap. “Your taste buds need a tune-up, bro.”

Tim unwraps his burger and takes a bite. Batburger may be questionable when it comes to copyright laws, but damn if they don’t pile on the condiments better than any fast food restaurant in Gotham. “Sounds to me like you simply haven’t reached the sky-scraping level of enlightenment that I have, grasshopper.”

“Enlightenment would have been going to Red Robin and using your uniform to get a discount,” Duke says. He sits beside Tim on the rooftop’s edge, their legs dangling side by side a hundred feet above Gotham’s plunging gray streets. He digs into his own burger and makes a face. “Enlightenment would also be getting the Robin Nuggets next time. This tastes like dried leather.”

“I like it,” Tim says with a shrug. “It has personality.”

“So does raw sewage, but you don’t see me eating that.”

Tim concedes the point. His communicator buzzes in his belt. He checks the screen and discovers an alert from Cass composed entirely of clown emojis and red harlequin diamonds.

Duke notices. “Should we get that?”

Tim pockets the communicator. “Nah, Spoiler’s got it. We have time to relax.” And he’s not about to pass up quality time with the one little brother who doesn’t hate him. It’s hard enough as it is for Tim and Duke to find the time, what with them being on opposite sleeping schedules and work snatching their attention away with grabby, toddler-sized hands.

“Don’t get a lot of that during the day shift,” Duke says. “Every time an alarm goes off, it’s my business.”

Tim knocks him in the side with his elbow. “That’s what you get for turning to the light side instead of kicking it in the shadows with us. More employees to go around.” He sips his soda for a moment. “Why did you come out tonight, anyway? I thought you stayed in on weeknights.”

“Right. I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” Duke says it carefully, like he’s testing the waters. “I need advice.”

Tim has to admit that his chest puffs out a little at that. It’s not often people come to him for advice when Dick and Barbara are right there, all full of adult wisdom that Tim is too pitifully shrimpy to possess. “What’s up?”

“It’s kind of...personal.”

“Yes, Bruce does have special powder for suit-chafing. It’s in the cabinet under the first-aid supplies.”

“It’s not that,” Duke says, though he snorts in half-hearted laughter. He looks down at his hands like he’s dreading the words lodged in his throat. “What was it like, realizing you were a dude?”

One of Tim’s eyebrows shoots up. “Oh.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s an invasive question.”

“No, no, it’s fine. You just caught me off guard, is all.” It’s not like this is the first time someone has asked. Tim used to be uncomfortable talking about it, but he’s grown up since then. Talking about his trans journey is as normal as talking about what he did yesterday. He eats a fry. “What do you want to know?”

Duke searches Tim’s face for a sign that he’s lying, that he should back off. When he doesn’t find one, he asks, “How old were you when you figured it out?”

Tim thinks back. “Nine, I think? But even before that, it’s not like I ever really felt like a girl. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know what. When I first heard about what being transgender meant, everything I’d been feeling until then clicked into place.”

“What was it like?” Duke asks, “growing up the way you did? Presenting as a girl when you knew you weren’t?”

Tim shrugs. “I don’t know. It was life at the time. I dealt with it.”

“Was it hard? Pretending to be something you weren’t?”

Tim doesn’t know what answer Duke is looking for, or why he’s so interested, but he won’t ask. “My parents always had this idea of me being the perfect daughter, all obedient and graceful and crap. I’m pretty sure their hope was to eventually marry me off to the highest bidder so they could reap the business benefits.”

“That sounds awful.”

Tim shrugs again. “I didn’t start feeling any different than I should have until around six or seven. I was always a tomboy. I liked doing boy stuff and playing sports, but my parents thought it was a phase I would grow out of. They’d make me wear dresses and go to fancy parties with them, all the while I just wanted to claw my skin off and go home.”

He remembers the nights he would lie awake in bed, imagining what it must be like to have been born someone else. Anyone else. To grow up as a little boy who was allowed to run around, to get dirty, to be himself instead of following some arbitrary guidelines someone else drew up the day he was born. He imagined what it would feel like to answer to a different name than the one he’d been given, which grated on his ears the longer time went on, like an itchy sweater he couldn’t shed. It was hell.

He gives Duke a sly grin. “But the upside of having absent parents is that there aren’t as many people watching you. No one cared if I went to school in the boy’s uniform instead of the girl’s. No one was there to stop me from cutting my hair short the way I wanted it.”

Duke's eyes widen. “You cut your own hair?”

“It went exactly the way you’re thinking. I had to go to the barber the next day and have them fix it because it was so uneven. But by the end of the day, it was the way I always imagined it. I was finally starting to look like the person I wanted to be.”

Duke stares intently at the remains of his burger as if the universe’s answers to an unspoken question were written in sesame seeds. “Did it get better after that? Did you feel...at peace?”

“‘Course not. The world wasn’t magically fixed just because I took a step in the right direction. My problems didn’t go away.” When he says that, Duke looks almost...disappointed? “But,” Tim adds, “it was better than it was before. I still had to act for my parents and the rest of the world, but I didn’t have to hide from myself anymore.”

“How did your parents react when they found out?”

Tim grimaces. “They...didn’t take it well.” He can still hear his father’s voice in his memories, bringing up therapy and camps and whatever places he could think of that would “fix” his little girl.

“But, after a while,” Tim continues, “it was clear that I wasn’t going to change my mind anytime soon. I guess they figured it would be easier to go along with it than fight me every step of the way. They still didn’t like it, but they tolerated it.”

Duke is quiet.

“Why do you ask?” Tim prods.

Duke’s expression doesn’t give anything away. It’s nights like this when Tim can see how perfectly Duke fits into this mental institution they call a family. For all that Duke thrives in the light, he keeps his cards just as close to his chest as the rest of them. He gives Tim a half-smile. “Just wondering.”

“Okay.”

They fall into weighted silence, the scales tipping on either side of their post, but never settling. Tim waits. He finishes his burger and busies himself with reorganizing the pouches in his belt, giving Duke the privacy to think.

“I don’t know,” Duke starts after several minutes, “if I’m a boy.” He looks at Tim. “I think I might be something else.”

“Okay,” Tim says calmly. “What do you feel like?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve always felt different, y’know? When I was a kid, it was because I was smarter than everyone in my class. And it was fine, because I knew what it was and how it worked and why it was a good thing, being the smart one. It made sense. Time went on, the other kids started catching up, but that mismatched feeling never went away. I never felt right in my skin.”

Duke’s face rises to the dark clouds, the Batsignal shining from the top of the police station like a holy beacon. “Then I met Batman. My powers started to come in and everything clicked into place, all at once. That was why I never felt like I fit in with everyone else, because I was different. I had powers. That must have been it.”

“But it wasn’t,” Tim guesses.

Duke shakes his head. “I thought it would be. I mean, what else could it have been, you know? It should have explained why I never felt at home in my identity. But time goes on, I learn how to use my powers, and it fixes some of it, but not everything. There’s still part of me that looks in the mirror and sees something off. Some detail out of place.”

“Do you feel like a girl?” Tim ventures to ask.

Duke folds over the corner of his straw wrapper again and again in tiny triangles. “Nah, I doubt it. I like some feminine things, but I don’t think I’m a girl. Or a guy. I think...I might be nonbinary?”

Tim does his best to channel Bruce’s “supportive dad” energy and smiles. “Okay. What pronouns do you want to use?”

“They/them, maybe? For a while?”

“Duly noted.” He puts a hand on Duke’s shoulder. “I really do appreciate you telling me.”

Duke rubs the back of their neck, their cheeks flushing. “It feels good to say out loud. Not just in my head.”

“Do you think you’re going to tell anyone else? You don’t have to if you’re not ready, but our whole family will support you.”

“Yeah.” Duke picks at their nails, nodding absently. “I know they will. I’m not worried about that.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

Duke takes a deep breath in, and Tim is reminded of a balloon close to bursting. “My parents aren’t dead. I’m going to get them back. And when I do...what are they going to think when they wake up after half a decade and find out that their son isn’t their son anymore? What if they don’t like the person they see?”

Tim can’t say that he hadn’t swum with the same thoughts years ago, back when the person who is Tim Drake was still on the drawing board. But there’s a difference between his situation and Duke’s. “Your parents love you, Duke. They’re not going to stop loving you just because you’ve grown up since they last saw you.”

“What if it’s too much? The superpowers and the crime-fighting and the new gender...it’s a lot to take in.”

“Well, sure,” Tim says. “It might take some time for them to get used to it, but this is who you are. They’re going to love it just as much as they love the rest of you.”

Duke smiles, and if their eyes are a little misty, Tim pretends not to notice.

“Besides,” he says. “If I were you, I’d just lead with the superpowers thing. Anything after that sounds perfectly acceptable.”

https://twitter.com/danganronpawiki/status/1378167423715704835

NOW THAT WE HAVE THE FULL BODY DESIGNS!

i have some snazzy little opinions, so let’s just go down the line: 

!!Really long post under cut!!

-Makoto is a basic bitch, always and forever, and we stan that -Taka looks like a Penguin and you cannot change my mind -Byakuya is just trying to look rich- -Mondo’s outfit is so extra i love it- he even added some probably temporary dye to his pompadour that was hard to see due to the lighting in the group pic -LEON! everyone was calling his fit ugly in the group pic and honestly i’m salty because he and i have the same sense of formal fashion. work it king! -Hifumi’s honestly suits him just fine, i was iffy when i saw it in the group pic but it doesn’t look too awful in full -Hiro..... buddy- i- i mean- what do i say??? it’s ugly as shit and really nice at the same time?? -Sayaka’s formal wear is a massive step up from the outfit she wears in her splash art- i never really liked that dress that much- even if it does have a cultural significance the design the picked felt cheap. But this one is really nice, and i dig it way more -Kirigiri looks pretty, it looked waaaay more purple in the group pic, but looking back the whole thing was over saturated for the lighting affects they did, so i shall forgive. she looks oddly nice in blue actually.  -AOI LOOKS LIKE A BETA FISH AND I’M LIVING FOR IT! GO QUEEN!! -Toko’s dress looks way better in full than i expected, because so much of it was covered up i kinda didn’t like it all that much in the group pic, but i’m really digging it now -QUEEN SAKURA! BEAUTIFUL!! A DAMN SUNSET OF A DRESS!!! i love seeing her indulge in being a gorgeous queen despite people’s remarks on her physique -Celeste! also beautiful, but girl are you a vampire?? the layers on that dress- and that’s a massive veil- she’s gotta be overheating in that thing.  -JUNKO! Fashionista know’s what’s up! it’s alot less gaudy than some of her casual outfits, but in a way that’s actually pretty good. i love the masquerade mask, it’s a nice touch -Chihiro....... Lucky Charms-

-Hajime’s outfit actually looks better in the group pic than here, i think it’s cause the yellow is more vibrant due to the saturation filter, so it stand out more -Nagito’s outfit is great honestly, i love how they put the shirt design on the sleeves, and i love the half-up hair, and the crooked bowtie- it’s great! -Twogami is a king, all he did was invert Byakua’s outfit and he just pulls it off so much better -Gundham’s is honestly underwhelming. This is Gundham Tanaka for fuck sake! Junko’s is more in character than this. where’s the drama sir???? -Kaz... buddy..... the colors look nice on your jumpsuit, but not an actual suit. I love the suspenders though -Teruteru’s outfit actually make him a bit cute. i’m about 80% sure the brown is suppose to be mud as to reference the fact that he’s characterized as a pig in more ways than one, but i’m choosing to call it a cola pattern ‘cause fuck you i’m going to be nice to him for once -Nekomaru’s suit is... it feels like a cursed amalgamation of a noir detective, a car sales men, a mobster, and a casino owner- and i just works so well on him -Fuyuhiko! i love it, fits him well, but the rolled up slacks are odd and kinda distracts me from the rest of the design- showing off some Bi pride there boss baby? -AKANE IS A DAMN QUEEN!! GOD PLEASE SHE COULD STRIKE ME DEAD IN THAT AND I’D THANK HER -Chiaki’s is simple, but it looks really nice on her -SONIA MY QUEEN! the oversaturation in the group pic did her dress dirty! i saw the blue originally and went “that isn’t her color”, but now seeing it without all the lighting crap she looks alot better.... and also a bit Elsa-ish -Hyoko’s in a lovely Kimono, but she’s always wearing pretty Kimonos, so it’s somewhat underwhelming compared to the rest -MAHIRU YOU SUMMER QUEEN! Mahiru has the best sense of fashion in the whole series imo, her wardrobe’s vibes make me so very happy. I grew up in a christian household (i’m not religious anymore btw) and use to be brought to services, and her dress gives me mad Easter Sunday Potluck nostalgia that i just can’t un-notice -Mikan looks too much like a hooker- i’m sorry, they really just went with the fan-service crap here and i don’t like it at all. Even if it wasn’t meant to be fan service, the dress looks tacky and has a shine on it that signifies it’s latex, so that’s just gotta be uncomfortable as hell- and for a clumsy character like her to try and survive a party in??? -IBUKI LOOKS LIKE FANCY RAVE COTTON CANDY!! THAT’S ALL!!! -Peko’s Kimono looks surprisingly nice on her, she wasn’t a character i’d assume to look good in a checker pattern but damn. i also appreciate how she still has the sword, bet- Fuyuhiko tired to convince her to leave it behind but failed

-Rantaro looks like a Used Car Salesmen. -KOKICHI MY BELOVED!!! i already voiced how much i adore his outfit when the group pic came out, so instead might i point out that he’s wearing high-water slacks and tall socks? it’s just as jarring as Fuyuhiko’s bi-slacks, but this is Kokichi so i feel like he did it on purpose. -Kiibo??? he dead ass changed his plating i-???? idk what i’m feeling towards it, but boy howdy am i feeling -GONTA!!! i love his suit, it’s out there in a good way, and i also love how he’s holding what looks like his casual coat. -Shuichi looks lovely in that suit, and i’ll never forgive everyone ever for saying he looked like a grandpa in it. It make him look a bit more Sherlock-esque and i love -3- -KORK IN A DRESS EVERYBODY MOVE!! i love how Androgynous his outfit is, both in gender and in time. like- is it feminine? masculine? modern? 1800′s england? who the fuck knows! -Ryoma looks good, but the fedora- who tf on the design staff decided to get cheeky?? eh- he’s vibing, doesn’t look too bad so long as you don’t hyperfixate on the pointy groin-stabber fedora -KAITO YOU SNAZZY GALAXY PATTERN SNORTING BASTARD! i swear he’s allergic to putting his right arm in it’s sleeve-. anywho, i love how even his dress jacket has a galaxy lining in it, i think it would have been funny if he was wearing galaxy dress shoes too but Maki would have chopped his dick off for that one -Kaede looks like her dress was inspired by one of those cinnamon peppermints- ya know the ones, they have the pink center and all that jazz? -Miu looks like she’s ready to hit up a casino in LA and honestly that’s such a good vibe! her skirt is a bit funky so it took me a hot sec to realize it was indeed a pencil skirt and not a fancy jumpsuit. -Tusmugi’s looks nice, i don’t have much else to say- kinda fitting considering her Plain Jane shtick -TENKO LOOKS LIKE SHE’S THIS CLOSE TO BREAKING OUT INTO A TAP DANCE AND I’M SO FUCKING HERE FOR IT!!! GO QUEEN!!!! -Kirumi is- well- i don’t go to Genshin Impact, but she looks like that one Genshin character, you know the one right? i think their name was a Starbucks drink size- they have a harp?? yeah -Maki’s dress is really pretty, it is a bit odd for her to wear that considering her character, but i can’t say she doesn’t rock it like the queen she is. -Himiko would be nicer without the transparent extra part- it make her looks like one of those half sphere popper things my friends terrorized me with in middle school. Other than that, you go you cute little magical girl you! -ANGIE OH MY FUCK!!! i love- i- dfj;adgad;jdgd!#2342nh;werkw??? i have no clue at this point what culture she’s suppose to be from, but that definitely looks like some traditional garb she’s got going on and holy crap is is pretty

Over all, i think the staff did a great job with this, i love a good lot of the outfits alot more than i though i would from the group pic. I do wish they would have added at least Komaru and Mukuro though- gimmy my queens yo!

Humans are Space Orcs, “Tanana.”

This was super fun to write this morning. A little bit funny, and I always enjoy hurting Adam a little, accept in a fun way this time no angst.

Hope you guys like it :)

Just a little bit closer.

The small creature looks on innocently munching on a crop of moss. It has four large eyes, two on either side of it’s head, six legs and is about the size of a small to medium-sized dog. It has really long ears, and if it stays still long enough, it’s going to be my dinner.

I scoot closer over the rock arm raised to the low ready, the spear clutched tight in my right hand.

The creature lifts its head.

Shit, it must have heard me. In my panic, I make a decision out of haste and throw the spear. It goes wild and clatters across the stone. The Drev rabbit takes off, and I am left standing stupidly in the middle of the open field weaponless and looking like a jackass.

“Tsa din dasdarish darat?”

I nearly leap out of my skin, turning around to find Hijan standing a few meters behind me near a coiltree.

“Shit, hijan, do you really have to sneak up on me like that.” 

The old drev looks at me in amusement. I Know she doesn't understand most of what I am saying, but somehow I  think she still gets it.

“Zha deengan.” I say, one of the first phrases I learned how to use. Being able to say I’m hungry is very important in any foreign language.

She tilts her old wizened head at me, “tsa tin danehanish ee dengish?” You were going to kill and eat that?

I shrugged, “Yid zha deengan.”

She crosses her arms, a habit she’s picked up from me, “ene tsa deengan datadish zha dadee sa deeng datahaik.” IF you were hungry I would have given you food.

I sigh, she wouldn’t get it, but still she walks over and hands me a miss twist. I call them that because of their distinct shape, kind of purple and in a strange sort of spiral. When you dry them out they are crunchy like chips though not particularly salty.

I munch absently on the weird plant? Fungus? And she absently plays with my hair. I try to shrug her off, but she’s a lot like my mother in the way that she won't let me be. I am about 100% sure she thinks I am one of her Drevlings. Which has caused a bunch of interesting changes in my life as of recently, not one of which was her decision that I wasn’t colorful enough.

Apparently Drev see humans a lot differently than we do. They can see the way the UV light interacts with our skin. She describes thousands of little spots which turn into swirling stripes. When I asked her to describe the color she said it was similar to turquoise or blue, though I obviously can’t imagine it.

Makes me jealous as hell though.

However, she said my “Carapace” wasn’t colorful enough. When I asked her what she was on about she clearly meant my hair and my nails, which are made up of similar stuff to the Drev carapace.

Long story short, I now have green hair and nails.

Yeah yeah, laugh all you want, but whatever the hell she put in my hair is not coming out. And when I say green, I am not talking like a nice moss green or forest green. I am talking like the color you paint your new Lamborghini kind of electric green.

Not to say that I haven't had my nails painted before, but never this color, and never in tandem with bright flaming green hair. Don’t know why everyone associates me with the color green. I would say it was only my second or third favorite color. Either way, I look super weird as of late, green hair green nails, no shirt, no shoes, and a slowly expanding five-o-clock shadow.

You know I am not a big fan of beards, mostly not a big fan of them on me, but I forgot to bring a razor, so in that department I am kind of fucked.

I mildly wonder if she is going to make me dye my beard green when it finally grows in.

She makes me grab my spear, grabs me by the hand and drags me back towards the village. She doesn’t let go of my hand. I don’t try to fight her, she is stupidly strong, and despite being a grown ass adult, I am apparently her child now.

The other drev find her adopting me very, very funny, but at least now that she has they don’t call me dazhit anymore. The last time someone called me a bitch in front of her, she kicked the crap out of them. I thought it was pretty funny personally. They danced around the circle like a loon expecting her to be weak in her old age, and she just stood there then jabbed them in the throat with the butt-end of her spear when they weren’t expecting it.

I laughed so hard I cried.

Ever since, they have treated me with a little more respect. 

We make it to the village, and with one hand she pushes me off towards the training grounds as if to say, “Go join the other kids.”

I sigh and roll my eyes but go.

The last time I tried to skip out she almost had my hide.

I go at her bidding meeting up with the others who are around my height. Hijan watches sometimes, and she has made it very clear that the kids deserve to get the shit beaten out of them. I don’t like it much, but these kids don’t seem bothered when you knock them around. In fact, most of them like it.

I think our trainer is a bit mad that I can actually fight.

I smile to myself 

Now that I do fight, I am at the top of the class.

The kids think I cheat, difference is I have different training than they do, and a lot more experience in combat despite what the Drev seem to think.

“Tanana! Naktan ts adon.” Tanana, my nickname, or my drev name I guess means alien. Hijan doesn’t like the name much, so she calls me tsata which means gift. Personally I am pretty flattered she thinks that about me.

I walk into the circle at our leader's orders and Dark ‘the other kid’ steps into the circle across from me. He’s an ugly little shit, and I’m not just saying that. He’s a dick to me on most occasions. When our teacher isn’t looking sometimes I make fun of his coloring, that usually shuts him up. I should probably feel bad for making fun of a kid, but I really don’t. He's a dick and everyone knows it.

Problem is now he has a bit of a vendetta against me, and is pretty hell-bent on putting his spear through my throat.

Good thing we only fight in hand-to-hand combat these days.

“Aleeshazh!” 

The kid does not wait till the end of go before he is charging at me hands wide Some of these kids are under the impression that guarding your center is like…. Dishonorable or something. They would be wrong because even Drev now it’s stupid to come in arms wide open. However, at this point I’ll take what I can get.

I dodge past two sets of arms and come in sharply towards hims middle. He has reach on me, so I go in close and brutally aim for what I am hoping is his liver, if Drev have them. My single punch has him staggering back across the circle gasping.

The teacher does not look happy.

I feel kind of smug.

Of course the little brat won’t give up, I’ll give him that, he isn’t a quitter, and charges for me again.

He’s making this too easy, 

I wouldn’t call myself a martial arts master or anything in the slightest, but before he knows what’s happening, he’s on the ground with my legs across his chest. I pin his lower arms with my right leg squeezing his upper arm between both. I have tight hold of his wrist, and just as he begins to squirm, I slowly place upward pressure on his elbow by arching my hips upward.

If I wanted to I could snap the joint.

Damn I love a good arm-bar.

He squirms and squeals for a couple of minutes as I continue to apply pressure until the teacher eventually tells me to knock it off.

I let go and he frowns at me. He doesn’t approve, but there isn’t uch he can do. My move wasn’t against the rules or anything.

He looks at me for a long moment eyes narrowing at my unconcealed expression of pride, and a hint of smugness.

I can see he wants to wipe the look off my face, “zha jasti tsa jej atatchan teeya dzhalakat.”

I grin, “Of course I am too skillful for children. Surprised it took you so long to see that.”

He does the drev equivalent of a frown. I know he can understand most of what I am saying, unlike others, but I think it still annoys him when I speak English.

Tough luck bro, my mouth goes way faster than my brain, its one of my worst qualities. If it didn’t I’d speak Drev More, but for now it was going to take practice.

“Ene tsa ditan atatchan juhkee tsa tehish zheengat s dzhal.”

Well shit. 

His if you are so skillful than you can fight with the adults was not an encouraging statement.

I honestly hadn’t meant that to come out as dickish as it did, but now  I was definitely already regretting my decision to be a smug bitch.

Guess that is what karma does to you.

I see Hijan at a distance, watching as I am dragged over to the next training field. The Drevlings follow at a distance chirping to themselves excited to see me get my ass beat.

We come up over the rise just as one of the training circle is in session. 

Two Drev go at each other with spears so hard sparks are flying. Their feet cut tears in the moss as they push each other across the stone. As we come up one of them is hit in the head so hard they are knocked completely out of the circle.

“Dazhit.” I mutter

Our teacher and their teacher stop to speak at each other. I can see them staring at me pointing and speaking quietly with each other. 

The older class adjusts themselves and looks on in great interest.

I don’t know these guys well, but I am pretty sure I am about to know the butt of their spears pretty well.

I sigh and shoulder my own spear, which…. Is significantly shorter than everyone else’s.

I’m not self-conscious.

“Tanana daeen hajish.”

I walk over as ordered my spear still over one shoulder.

“Tsak nantan tarik.” Your new teacher 

I lower my head, “Tarik”

She seems amused and motions towards the circle, “Tanana ts adon. Zha nin tsa tehish darat zhegingi jastat.” get in the circle, I want to see what you can do.

Oh, great.

I do as told stepping into the circle as she calls one of her students forward. She’s a light colored Drev, the color of cream/orange rose petals. I am pretty sure the Drev would consider her pretty…. Did I mention that she’s at least two feet taller than me?

No

Well she is.

She rams her spear butt into the dirt, and I swallow hard.

The Tarik waves a hand and we begin to circle.

I hold my spear like they taught me, though I am much better at hand-to-hand combat. We test each other for a minute moving forward and back, watching each other’s guard. Of course, she strikes first though.

I dodge out of the way quickly, expecting to come in and wrap her across the back of the knees, but she spends around and blocks me at the last moment. We connect together so hard that my hands go almost immediately numb.

She brings the butt of her spear around, and I am just barely able to duck under it. She comes at me again, and I step back as the spearhead slices past my chest.

My eyes go wide as I stare at my almost evisceration.

I barely look up in time to block her fro the side.

The hit makes my bones hurt.

I flick my spear up trying to catch her in the face, but she knocks me away with impunity.

She has me backed against the edge of the circle.

She doesn’t expect me to make it out. Too bad I have seen way more action movies than she has. As she cuts over me, I slide under the cu on my knees skidding over the rock and past her into the center of the circle. 

She turns to find me and barley blocks my strike.

I’m doing pretty good.

This isn’t so bad.

That’s when the kid gloves come off, and she strikes me so hard and fast I can barely raise my spear to block her. A vicious second later she comes in with the killing blow, or the crippling one.

Did you know you can knock someone out by hitting them hard enough in the liver?

Yeah I didn’t know that either, apparently the body sense major trauma and is just like nah fam I am not about that life. The vagus nerve gets activated too.

So there I am lying on the moss and the dirt curled up in a ball trying not to vomit or pass out.

I can hear that little gremlin Naktan laughing in the background.

God I hate him.

And I am in SOOO much pain. I am pretty sure my liver has been ruptured pretty sure I am going to die right here on the face of the planet.

I groan, “Hijan… help…. hijan .”

Yeah yeah practically crying for my mother like a wuss. I know no need to point it out 

But guys, I am dying. Or at least I am pretty sure I am.

Luckily for me she shows up and eventually the others leave. I can feel her running a hand through my hair, which would be nice if I wasn’t pretty sure I was dying 

Turns out though, I wasn’t dying, I am just pathetic 

“I’m sorry” from prompt list!!

-Truly Sorry-

prompt #13 “I’m sorry...”

Warnings: Swearing. TINY amount of angst

Summary: Eliana and Ethan get in a heated argument that causes uncertainty to grow in their relationships. How will Ethan make it up to her? - ONE SHOT

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long! I planned to have this posted 2 days ago but I’ve had some things come up in my personal life that caused me to hit the brakes a little on this but it’s finally here! Please like and reblog if you enjoy! It’s greatly appreciated💖 -S

Thank you @aylamwrites for the ask! YOU A QUEEN EVERYONE GO CHECK HER OUT! 💖🙌🏻 (Her OH fics are everything)

❤️-prompt list-❤️ (ask me!)

💖-full masterlist-💖

——————————-

Ethan’s POV

Guilt spreads through Ethan’s chest... Why am I so stupid! He looks across the room, his eyes settle on pictures of both him and his lover...

Why do I always push her away like that?

10 minutes before...

Eliana and Ethan were both in a very heated argument... I mean they have fights but this one was bad...

“You should calm down! It’s not a huge deal listen, I’m sorry Okay? You win.” Ethan says to a fuming Eliana.

“You’re not getting away like that! I’ve been trying so fucking hard these past few years to make you respect me! And one single thing changes that view and I have to listen to your lectures and all the stuff you hate about me! I’m sick of it!” Eliana rants. Ethan’s eyes widen. He can practically sees the pure anger rolling off of her.

Crap. She’s really getting mad about this... I need to calm her down so it doesn’t go overboard.

“E... I’m really sorry I haven’t respected you... I know I’ve been a dick these past few weeks but if you give me a chance I can make it up to y-“ Eliana cuts him off with her hand.

“That’s what you said before... I’m not sure if I can believe it again.” She sighed “Listen. I need some time to think... I know it’s sudden but I’m just gonna get a hotel for a while and process things. It just seems logical right now.”

Ethan’s eyes widen at her words. She wouldn’t just leave.. right? He looks at her as she packs a small suitcase of her clothes and toiletries.

Why am I so stupid...she shouldn’t leave me... god I’m such an ass...

After a few minutes she walks back into the living room with her bags. He frowns at her. “How long until you come back.” Ethan hoped she would realize she doesn’t need to leave. And that he loves her more then anything.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Awhile... I’m not to sure but if I find out I’ll text you. She said looking away from him. Not wanting to make eye contact

Shit.shit.shit.shit. I’m so stupid! Why do I always push her away?! Do something you idiot!

“... please don’t leave. I love you and I would do anything to make it up to you.” Ethan pleaded.

“I’m sorry Ethan, I need this space before we ruin this beyond repair. I’m doing this because I love you too.” Eliana looked genuine and Ethan just hung his head, not looking at her.

“..... ok, I love you. Please be safe. And text me.” He said. Eliana nodded and walked out, looking behind her shoulder as she turned down the hall.

Guilt spreads through Ethan’s chest... Why am I so stupid! He looks across the room, his eyes settle on pictures of both him and his lover...

Why do I push her like that...?

————————

Eliana’s POV

As soon as she got into her car her tears started to spill down her cheeks. I can’t live without him. I have to fix this and taking a break is the only way. She thought to herself.

Eliana drives around aimlessly trying to clear her head. After awhile she gets checked into her hotel and just plops down on her bed with a groan.

The room wasn’t anything fancy, it’s the last thing she could get for a last minute reservation. It had a mini fridge for food, a nice sized bathroom with a walk in shower. Their was one bed that took up most of the room.

I should unpack but...

I need to go to bed... she hesitates to text Ethan and tell him she was at the hotel. It’s just gonna be awkward, he can wait.

After she brushes her teeth and changes into her pajamas, she gets nestled into bed, her mind drifts off wishing Ethan’s arms were around her. She missed his little snores and the rise and fall of his chest. It was comforting. I miss that grump...

She smiled to herself and repeated the phrase.. I miss that grump. She stayed up thinking for awhile but ultimately drifted off into a deep sleep, still missing his warmth.

Ethan’s POV

Part of him was hoping that she would run right back through that door and fling her arms around his neck and tell him she didn’t mean it. But of course, she hasnt.

She has a right to be mad... but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

Ethan stared at the door for what felt like hours after she left. He felt more upset then he has in a long time.

She’s gonna forgive me, right? He wasn’t sure how she felt. She had calmed down after his short apology that was still, even then, cut off.

Ethan’s hands ball into fists. I’m not giving up on us. I’m going to do everything I can’t to show her that I love that impeccable goofball...

He smiled to himself with a chuckle.

Impeccable goofball...

The next day...

Eliana’s POV.

She was pacing around her hotel room, not knowing what to do. I have to pull myself together... Eliana throws on a skirt and her blouse with her doctors coat on top. It was her signature outfit and she loved it to pieces.

She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror after doing her daily morning routine. She reaches for her hairbrush in her bag...

More digging

Where is it?

More digging

Ugh it’s somewhere

More digging

Eliana sighs and flops down on her bed, think of the night she left their Condo...

Last night...

I have to do it for us... Eliana says to herself as she scrambled around to grab the things she needed to leave.

This is for the best right? Yeah of course...

Eliana continues thinking on the problem at hand that she forgets her hairbrush on the bathroom vanity...

Shit

I can’t go to work like this...

Eliana thinks back on all of the smaller stuff she left whilst in a hurry to leave and get her emotions together...

She groans as she throws her head back. I’m gonna have to get my ass out of bed and go over there to get my stuff.

She stares at her phone, then at the clock, and then back at her phone and she sighs while calling Doctor Emery about letting her take a half day and be in at 8:45 instead of 5:45. She grinned as she agreed and hung up to gather her things and walks to her car.

She pulls into a parking lot to text Ethan so it won’t be as awkward if she showed up without warning.

Ethan’s POV.

He hears a ding from his phone and he pirks up seeing Elianas contact name pop up.

Eliana: Hey, I forgot a few things last night... can I drop in for 5 minutes and grab them?

Ethan looked at the desk knowing it was her work day and he had the day off and nothing else to do... nothing else to do.... aha! Ethan’s brain sparked with a brilliant idea. He quickly replies.

Ethan: yeah of course, you have the key so feel free to come right in and grab your stuff.

Ethan hops off the couch and gets to work right away to prepare for her arrival.

Eliana’s POV.

She sighed looking at his text. It’s gonna be awkward... she turned on her car and plugged her GPS into her radio speaker and her mouth drops a little.

I really drove a lot last night. She thought as her GPS showed how far their condo was from the hotel.

She groaned and pulled out of the parking lot, beginning her drive.

5 minutes later...

10 minutes later...

15 minutes later...

“You have arrived at your destination” the voice rang out through her car. Sending a shiver down her spine at what’s to come.

She pulls in the driveway and sighs as she steps out of the car. She grabs her empty bag she was going to fill and walks towards the door.

She inserts the key into the lock and turns the doorknob counter clockwise until it pops open.

She walks in and and makes her way to the living room.

Oh my god...

Her breath hitched at the state of the living room. She noticed it was dark but didn’t think much of it at the time she was walking in. Wow. She said to herself at the sight Ethan had set up.

“Hello beautiful.” Ethan said wrapping his arms around her waist as she stared dumbfounded at him and their living space.

15 minutes before hand...

Ethan’s POV.

This has to be perfect. Ethan thought for the 10th time since his call ended and he got to work. He quickly put together a fort he and Eliana already had “blueprints” for and he knew it by heart. He smiles to himself as he put pillows on the floor of the fort, thinking what was to come. He grabbed as many of her favorite snacks and placed them into the cushioned area of his fort.

He then thought about his plan and what he was going to do to tell Eliana that he wasn’t going anywhere and she shouldn’t either. I love her and I want her to realize I would do anything for her. He said to himself.

He had a few minutes before she was supposed to arrive. He walked around, to nervous to focus his mind on anything else but her. He found himself picking up their old photos together. Most taken by Eliana much to his distaste at the time. He sighed picking up a photo of him and Eliana watching House M.D on amazon prime. The photo showed Eliana’s expert selfie skills as her middle and index finger pointed up into a “peace sign” whilst winking with a slight show of her tongue sticking out at the camera. He was glaring at her in the background, clearly trying to focus on the show and not her shenanigans. But was also clearly failing. He sighed at the memory.

Binge watching night...

“Smileeee!!” Eliana said while taking several selfies of the pair.

“Rook, you gotta focus on the show...” Ethan said motioning to the screen.

“Oh please, you just wanna watch so you can say that you figured out the case before anyone else did...” she said with a smirk.

He glared at her, capturing the moment Ethan now held in his hands...

Present...

Eliana’s POV.

She continued to gape at the set-up. Her gaze wondering the giant fort with the tv hidden under, her favorite snacks, even her favorite pillow was stuffed in her spot she usually took when they built this same fort.

She looked back at Ethan who was smiling warmly at her from around her shoulder, his hands where still rapped around her waist and he spun her around to face him.

“I love you.” He said, not even a moment later she crashed her lips to his and they’re faces smiling wide as they parted. She threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her up and spun her around, eliciting a fit of giggles from her.

“E... I don’t even know how to tell you how sorry I am...” Ethan said while setting her down.

“Hey, I’m sorry too. I should’ve talked to you more about our situation and I might just be saying that because I practically died without you.” They both laughed and he took her hand and led her over to the fort and they both sat down. He handed her a glass of her favorite drink to ever exsist.... grape juice. She laughed as he handed her a wine glass of it. They clinked the glasses together.

“To new beggings?” He asked.

“To new beginnings.” She replied

“I have to be at work at 8:45 ya know.” She said raising her eyebrows while taking another sip “I can’t binge watch all day.” She said. “I also have to grab my stuff from the hotel...” She added shyly.

Ethan tapped his chin and quickly got up, placing his glass down and leaving her in confusion. “What are you doing?” She said before he disappeared around the corner. He looked back at her and smiled. “I’ll be back in a second.” She raised an eyebrow as he left. He returned a minute later with a grin on his face.

“What did you do?” She asked with her brows furrowed in confusion.

“I convinced Emery to give you the day off” he said proudly as she gaped at him. A second later her surprised face turns into a smile that matched his. “We can grab your thins tomorrow.” He added before kissing the top of her head.

“I can’t believe you convinced her, she never lets loose, I’ll also probably get beef from Zaid when I walk into work tomorrow..” they both laughed in usion.

(Switching To Ethan’s POV kinda randomly...)

Ethan grabs the remote as they both get comfortable in the fort and Ethan smiles as she snuggles into his side.

He tilts her head up to meet his gaze. “I’m going to spend this day very wisely my dearest.” He kiss her softly and she smiled up at him.

“And however are you going to do that?” She said with a teasing tone. He kissed her hand, looking into her eyes.

“I have many things planned, starting with rewatching that one episode of Hosue M.D and showing you how much I love you a little later.” He waggles his eyebrows and she snorts, leading them into even more laughter and she pops an M&M into her mouth. He knew it was her favorite and soon enough they where watching the same episode they where watching when she took the picture. But this time glaring didn’t even cross his mind, he only thought of how lucky he was to be with her in that moment. He made a vow to himself to do better and never to jepordize their relationship for no reason in the first place. He loved her now, her loved her before, and will continue to love her for many years of happiness to come. He thanked his lucky stars for the beautiful goddess laying in his arms. And couldn’t ask for anything more.

The Good and the Bad: Arrow 8x09 Review (Green Arrow & the Canaries)

Arrow did another backdoor pilot for the spin-off even though 7x16 felt like one, 

but it’s clear from this episode things have been… retooled. 

Not always for the better. I liked Green Arrow and The Canaries more than I disliked it, but I’m an easy sell. If Olicity’s progeny are available via my television then I’m watching. Period. End of discussion. 

There’s good content for the writers to mine, but there’s definitely some kinks to work out.

Doing things a little different with this review. Yes, I can change. 

It didn’t feel like a fully fleshed out episode and I have a feeling we’ll be repeating this pilot in some form if Green Arrow and The Canaries is greenlit, so for now we’ll just hit the highlights – the good and the bad.

Let’s dig in…

What I Loved

This is the first episode immediately after Crisis, so we don’t entirely know how the present day is impacted, but the future certainly is bright. Mia and William have grown up in an almost paradise. Star City is the safest city in the country. There’s been no crime for almost twenty years and it’s all thanks to the city’s hero – Oliver Queen.

Source: feilcityqueen 

It’s nice to see Oliver being honored years later by the ungrateful twats of Star City. They are slightly less ungrateful in my eyes. However, it’s even more wonderful to see that Oliver’s children grew up safe, protected, and maybe even a little pampered. It’s everything he wanted for them. 

The big stick with this carrot of course is Oliver not being able to raise William and Mia.

Mia Smoak is the princess we were promised and she is ready to ascend the throne. I loved everything about her character. 

Source: kathmcnamara 

The alternate timeline/universe (?) has softened Mia. There’s no anger. No dark and twisty past. No hatred of vigilantes. No resentment over lies and betrayals. 

Mia knows her father was a hero, but she hasn’t grown up hiding out in a cabin with Felicity. Instead she grew up with William in the Queen Mansion (where she currently resides). On the surface, Mia’s life has been pretty friggin perfect, even if she’s a little adrift. That said, the Grand Canyon sized hole in her life is that her dad is gone.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Mia blissfully wakes 

Source: kathmcnamara

and is proposed to by… JJ DIGGLE!

Source: kathmcnamara 

We have a scantily clad naked Diggle boy and he’s already dropping down on one knee. This show is my crack.

This also means JJ Diggle isn’t evil! Plot twist!! Dun dun DUNNN!!!

Source: kathmcnamara 

Mia says yes after a brief hesitation and the DIGGLE BROTHER LOVE TRIANGLE HAS COMMENCED. I know I’m the only person who wants this love triangle, but I don’t care. 

JJ is the “good” brother and Connor isn’t “evil” but he seems like a colossal screw up with questionable facial hair. 

But also maybe I like the facial hair? 

It’s clear he has an adversarial relationship with Mia, but so many romances have been born from loathing. Enemies to lovers is a classic trope. I’m all in.

Of course, we’re supposed to expect Connor in Mia’s bed since the Season 7 flash forwards more than hinted at a brewing romance between the two, 

but instead it is JJ. A plot twist the Olicity fandom called ages ago.

John Jr. is new and improved though. There isn’t much to dislike about this version of him. He’s kind, sweet, sexy, attentive and pulling out expensive jewelry in the first five minutes. What’s not to love? There’s a smol and tol aesthetic happening too. Everyone knows that’s my shipping jam.

Things immediately get rocky though (pun intended). First, JJ gives Mia the Queen family engagement ring. 

Source: arrowdaily 

Mia makes a point of saying it was her mother’s which gives me the feels. 

I never had the same issues with Moira’s engagement ring others did, but even I can recognize there’s some bad juju in it

Next, Mia gets her memories back (more on THAT later) and officially remembers her fiancé was a psychopathic killer who ran one of her friends through with the pointy end of a sword. It’s a little difficult to kiss JJ after that visual. 

Things don’t get much easier after Mia accuses JJ of being the mastermind behind Bianca Bertinelli’s kidnapping. (Yes, she’s Helena’s daughter). He’s not the kidnapper. All his secrecy revolves around the honeymoon JJ is planning. It does lead to a truly hilarious moment between the two characters. 

JJ: Jumping to conclusions is I’m cheating on you not that I’m a kidnapper. For the record, I’m neither.

It’s a heavy moment, but I died. It’s going to be a little hard to pick out cake now.

The scene itself is heartbreaking. Charlie and Kat acted their asses off in it too. JJ thinks Mia doesn’t want to marry him. She hesitated before accepting his proposal (Yes, he noticed that Mia. So did I). JJ believes Mia is commitment phobic. It’s not wildly unlike how Oliver’s story began. Thank God there’s no cheating with siblings though.

Mia is merely struggling with the idea that her fiancé was a cold blooded killer in another world. She just needs some time to… adjust. She’s also a little commitment phobic. After stopping the real bad guys, Mia reassures JJ, but she doesn’t tell him the truth about who she is.

Mia: I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else."

I see your not-so-subtle wink at SmoakNHawke writers. I AM SO HERE FOR THIS.

The truly awesome moment with JJ’s character is when he gets his memories back too. I was not expecting this and was genuinely surprised. Charlie Barnett is a PHENOMENAL actor. He played that scene perfectly. 

Giving JJ his memories back is a stroke of genius because now he's a more complicated villain (I hope). He gets to struggle with his love for Mia and his loony tune desire to take over the city. 

Katherine McNamara also does a fantastic job of blending the two versions of Mia after she gets her memories back. 

Source: supercanaries 

She’s reeling from the suffering and loss, but Mia is still our bad ass princess who takes no crap. 

Source: oh-my-hades

She is still every bit the hero Oliver and Felicity raised her to be.

Source: feilcityqueen 

She’s just a little more pragmatic. Her communication skills are much improved. One of the best moments of the episode is when she gets to show up L*urel with her “new” experience.

Source: supercanaries

Mia telling L*urel where to stick it was a long time coming. We had to wait twenty five minutes for it to happen, but it was GLORIOUS when it did. 

Source: arrowversedaily 

William is a perfect cupcake, excited to be Mia’s man of honor, but bummed his boyfriend cheated on him. We hate Kevin. 

Source: arrowdaily 

He encourages Mia to join Smoak Tech, but she’s not sold on joining Mama’s company. William running Felicity’s company fills me with a deep and abiding joy.

William Clayton-Harris-Smoak-Queen is perfection from start to finish. 

Source: oliverxfelicity 

The chemistry between Ben and Kat is so natural. William’s good natured teasing about their “family heirloom” exuded warmth and love. 

Source: feilcityqueen 

I adore how comfortable the two characters are now. Erasing William and Mia’s separation is the best thing to come out of Oliver’s Crisis retcon.

ZOE IS ALIVE because I said she would be and I like to get my way.

Source: oliverxfelicity 

Din*h owns a bar (Thea’s old club) and lives in the apartment upstairs (Thea and Olicity’s old loft).  

Source: canarynetwork 

She woke up in the future after Oliver’s funeral and discovered she doesn’t exist in 2040. I’m only mildly curious about this. The bigger shock is Din*h is tolerable. She’s compassionate towards Mia and often serves as the peace maker between her and L*urel. She feels like an older and wiser Din*h Dr*ke. More like Season 5 Din*h, but not so angry.  

Also, hello that voice? She can be like Lorne on Angel and randomly break out into show tunes.  Juliana did a beautiful job.

E2 Oliver cheated on L*urel with Sara too. There is no universe where L*urel & Oliver end up together. Nobody hates L*uriver more than these writers.

What I Hated

L*urel. I hated everything about L*urel. 

At first, I thought I was being too sensitive, but after a certain point it was clear she is just an asshole. L*urel being unbearable in Arrow pilots is a tradition apparently.

It starts with how Mia gets her memories back. There were some spoilers out on this, but I wasn’t entirely sure how it would play out onscreen and yeah… total dick move. 

Source: supercanaries 

L*urel destroys Mia’s life by forcing unbelievably painful memories on her without discussing it with her first. And for what? So, Mia can help L*urel find her kidnapped friend. 

Even the newspaper article L*urel drops about the Green Arrow failing the city doesn’t excuse the way she gave Mia her memories back. I understand she is trying to convince Mia to be a superhero, but I feel a more effective approach would have been to sit down, grab a cup of coffee, offer the pros and cons of getting her memories back and then let MIA DECIDE.  

Source: supercanaries 

L*urel didn’t need to grab her from behind at her graduation/engagement party.  It had the uncomfortable vibe of mind rape and no amount of “girl power” makes that okay.

Oh hey - if  J'onn J'onzz from Superg*rl is going around and zapping people’s minds without clearing it with them first - 

What was with L*urel insulting Mia every two seconds? UGH. Where is that damn bird baton?

There’s a fine line between snark and nasty. L*urel was just nasty.

L*urel decides Mia is a lazy, self absorbed, idiot because she’s not immediately jumping at the chance to be the Green Arrow. She literally blew this kid’s life apart, gives her no time to process, and immediately begins insulting her because she’s not following all of L*urel’s commands.

On what planet does L*urel have any authority over Mia's life? 

They have a warm and fuzzy heart to heart about choosing to be a hero to smooth over L*urel’s wildly unpleasant personality, but it’s ludicrous. L*urel didn’t even rate a goodbye from Oliver. I find her suddenly being an expert on what Oliver would want for his daughter pretty tough to swallow. 

This conversation should’ve been with William. PERIOD.

Source: oliverxfelicity 

It’s insane L*urel is judging anyone about anything because SHE IS A MURDERER. But sure, being a socialite is the real crime. Thank goodness L*urel is here to stop all the shopping.

The show was desperate glaze over Bl*ck Sir*n’s history with bizarre explanations.

L*urel: I wasted a lot of time pretending to be something I wasn’t because it was easier.”

So, Bl*ck Sir*n was pretending to be a murderer because it was easier? 

That’s not a thing. You don’t pretend to a murderer. You just are one.

Bl*ck Sir*n wasn’t like Oliver Queen. She killed good and innocent people. We’re just supposed to accept she was always a good person simply because she says so? Sorry sweetheart, the evidence does not exist. I would send your ass to prison for a good 25 to life, but the network didn’t ask for my opinion about your participation in the new show. THEY SHOULD HAVE.

Then there’s the way they casually avoid things Bl*ck Sir*n has done.

Din*h: I can let go of the people I lost and mistakes that I made.

Din*h lost her boyfriend because L*urel murdered him. They ate French fries and drank milkshakes in a ten second scene and now we’re supposed to believe they’re best friends. Umm… no. If you want to make this friendship believable don’t pretend their history doesn’t exist. Most of your viewing audience is coming from Arrow. We remember that L*urel killed Dinah’s boyfriend.

L*urel: D you’re up. You ready?

Din*h: Never not.

Ugh. Cringe. Arrow was effortlessly bad ass because Stephen Amell made Oliver Queen look effortlessly bad ass. 

The action was show, not tell, and that includes the dialogue. There is no making L*urel and Din*h cool, so just-

And POSE. It’s like mannequins in a Macy’s window. YIKES.

Source: canarynetwork

They force this “Ra Ra Girl Power” nonsense with clunky lines and empty camaraderie while at the same time; L*urel eviscerates Mia’s life choices by insulting her all hour. If you want to bolster “female relationships” on this network then start with the women treating each other with respect.

There was a criminal lack of William, Zoe and Connor. TERRIBLE DECISION.

Hopefully, this changes dramatically if the show goes to series. This is what I meant by “retooled.” It is clear two different concepts are being slapped together. The one we saw in 7x16 and whatever KC pitched to the network. The biggest flaw in this backdoor pilot is how disjointed it feels.

It’s like there are two shows. Mia has her life with William, Zoe, JJ and Connor and the other show is Din*h and L*urel. It’s similar to Oliver and L*urel/Tommy/Thea versus Diggle/Felicity in the beginning of Arrow, but it feels really unnecessary to make that mistake again. I do not feel Green Arrow and The Canaries is Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz’s vision for what they wanted the spin-off to be and it is GLARINGLY obvious.

No mention of Felicity or Diggle. Yes, I understand why. We have to watch the Arrow series finale to find out what happens to our beloved characters. Mia and William never mentioning Felicity and JJ and Connor never mentioning Diggle & Lyla is WEIRD. Particularly since it was Mia’s graduation and her engagement party with JJ.

Stray Thoughts

 I vote for this to be Mia’s next tattoo. Source:  amunetblack

Well… that’s new information Din*h. Source:  shawgroves

Why is L*urel calling Din*h “D?” When did that start?

Rene is running for a third term. Do we need to be concerned about a utilitarianism regime happening?

I will never believe Din*h can do “Felicity stuff.” Where the hell is William?

“Oh frack you.” FINALLY.

The adversarial relationship between Mia and L*urel is a wise choice given how KC and Katherine McNamara interact online with each other. Or don’t as the case may be.  

What is happening with L*urel's boots? Are there bombs attached to them or something?

The lipsticks on L*urel and Din*h are not good. There's a lot of eye makeup happening too. Let's tone it down makeup department.

This is my face whenever I see L*urel too.  Source: supercanaries

You killed her fiancée L*urel. Pay your fucking tab.

Female Big Bad. Could be awesome. Just have to wait and see.

I'm really glad William and Mia are rich again. I missed billionaire money. It's fun.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 8x09 gifs credited.

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Unpopular opinion: god, Batman v Superman had some really good ideas that it chucked down the U-bend, and there are parts of it I really enjoyed. I don’t regret seeing it (and yes, I watched the Extended Cut. All three hours). I was just discussing this with @masutrout​, and here’s a slightly abridged version of my thoughts.

Look, I know no-one sets out to make a bad film, and with so many moving parts, a film getting released at all is a miracle. I know it’s not down to one person and (I’m quite glad) it’s not up to me, because I have no idea how to make films. But if I had, say, a magic lamp and a wish for an ideal BvS and DCEU in general... Here’s what I liked; here’s what I’d magically tweak in a parallel universe; here’s a rant. A 2.2k rant. An Extended Cut rant.

I know it's all desaturated and so on, but I genuinely really love Snyder's style. Dude can set up a shot, and he knows how to use chiaroscuro. In theory, I totally get why they'd look at him and go, "his shit is like comics brought to life, pick him." I wish he'd just... allow a bit more colour into it and let people colour grade properly, because the Metropolis/Gotham Clark/Bruce contrast could've been played up beautifully with visual language and colour too. I mean, I know he can do overwrought iconography and imagery, look at how they went to the trouble of CGI'ing Clark's cape in every scene because it was such a banner, and the pop of red. 

I'll admit, I wasn't always all-in on Affleck's performance, though it was one of his best in his back catalogue (I am one of the few people I know who has zero problems with him as an actor and tends to find it more the material, but I grew up on Kevin Smith films and his shtick works for me, even if he has a manner. I'm not too discerning). But. A Bruce who's tired and broken-down and greying and has lost even more, and still in the aftermath of that, tries to find hope and "I can't let this happen to anyone else" again, in the wake of one more death? God yes give it to me. A Bruce who's taller than Clark and just plain tall in general, because maybe Kryptonian ideals are different and because it'd give Bruce one more thing to desperately play down? God yes. Just... in general, middle-aged Bruce but without a lot of the Batfam stuff (which I like, I have a love for several of the Bats, but my favourite stories are always solo) with a regimen of painkillers and who's turned Wayne from an "I'll just jump into the water feature" jackass to a schmoozer and flirt and maybe a drunk. Take out the branding. I wanted Bruce as a broken idealist, not a fascist. It's actually way more fascistic than the original Dark Knight Returns, even. But goodness, the whole idea of an established, tired Batman is good. There’s a reason the comics and animations keep coming back to it.

"Superman was just a story. Superman was just the dream of some farmer from Kansas." I forget the exact phrasing, but everything about that idea, and this idea that Superman is as much an ideal for Clark to live up to as everyone else, and he’s daunted by it? Yeah. There’s something in there.

I loved everything about Jeremy Irons' Alfred. Seriously, everything. Tech guru, little less RP, little rougher around the edges, clearly has some scars of his own. Absolutely biting, even more than most incarnations, and gets all the best lines. Yes, keep that, it'll do.

I liked the voice changer... halfway. To me it makes way more sense than putting on a voice, which is a bit daft and way more variable. I just wouldn't have gone that heavy on the processing, so that Bruce sounded less like a hacker from 1999. I also thought it was a good way of representing how Bruce desperately tries to emotionally distance himself when he’s the Bat, and how his anger has made him colder.

Batman as just a rumour or an urban legend is great, and a wonderful contrast to Superman, who’s this bright, transparent... common god. Bruce never did it for credit, he did it to get it done. It’s stretching the bounds of credulity, sure, but in this strange, semi-operatic storytelling with heavy myth feel, it makes a bunch of sense thematically.

Bruce meeting Martha Kent, and their first meeting being him saving her life. Even this broken-down Batman who thinks he’s a mess. Actually, just more Martha in the DCEU in general.  I mean, I get why they didn't lean into it so much because they maybe wanted Bruce and Clark to feel more like equal peers, rather than Bruce being too dadly, but... god, again, more Martha. In JL, in something, if nothing else. Martha who's lost a son (Jason); Martha who later has a son in another city trying to do good and is worried as hell about them (Dick's canonically in Bludhaven PD at this point); Martha who is one of about five people in the world who knows who Batman is and hasn't spilt that information; Martha who saw Bruce at the cemetery and might have some really interesting things to say to him, angry or forgiving; Martha who is one of the few people who's seen the good in the Bat (when Bruce himself couldn't)... Man, I was so, so glad that fic leaned into that. I would read a regular comic book of just Martha and Bruce Being Reluctant Friends and Worrying A Little About Their Kids, But Maybe In An Enemies-To-Friends Way Because Holy Shit You Had A Fucking Spear What the Fuck.

No, really, wait, I’m going to go on about Martha again.  The scenes in BvS where she was basically saying, "God, don't kill yourself for them, come home, if they're gonna hate you they don't deserve you..." On the one hand she could've been a contrasting voice to Jon, but this way also makes sense. "I know you want to help but please don't kill yourself..." It was always both parents in the comics who affected him equally, even if the Donner films had his father's death, iirc. It was Martha who pushed to keep him, Jon who taught him not to break people and show off, Martha who taught him how to cook and be gentle with things and in Superman: Birthright, which MoS is heavily, badly based upon (I love that miniseries, time to read it again) she researches alien sightings in the hope he won't be alone. I get why they went for a more "grounded" Kryptonian uniform thing, but Martha made his costume, in the original canon. In all canons, she was a huge help in creating the "Clark Kent" persona (yeah, sure, maybe a woman would have something to say about making yourself quiet and shrinking in a room and having to look helpful and nonthreatening all the time, but Snyder and Goyer were never gonna be the kind of people to explore that and even Waid, whom I love, barely touches on it). Every other film or comic book is crap, dead, or crap and dead dads. Clark's relationship with his mother and father is hugely important.

Getting to see Bruce doing the society beat, and just a little more philanthropy would've been great. You don't have time to build that character? Sure, OK. Take out the Flash dream sequence and the sleeping-with-random-women, maybe don't have a totally unnecessary but kinda hilarious shower scene, and replace it with some identity weirdness where Bruce and Clark are stuck interacting as civilians a little more. Or something about what the hell happened with Jason and the manor, though I don't mind most of it being unexplained. There, still building character, still serving a purpose, you can fit a brief scene into your three hour movie. Civil War had a ton of "Steve Rogers and Tony Stark brood or sit in rooms talking to each other."

If they were going to throw away all the secret-identity potential, they could at least have done it interestingly. That scene at the gala made it clear how hard they both had to act, and Jesus, the idea of Clark eventually, finally finding someone else who has to lie and cut off what they can do, who has to bumble almost the way he does... That could've been interesting and also maybe worried the shit out of him. Or made him want to talk to this crazy billionaire who goes round combat-booting people in the face and try and get what his deal was, which could've led to more interesting misunderstandings. 

And then there's Diana, who's not a bumbler but a "nothing to see here, rich eccentric" type too (no wonder she and Bruce had weird insane chemistry in that "sizing each other up/I know exactly what you are" way), and why the hell does Clark basically never see her? I actually don't mind the whole "she's only here for her photo and never meant to get involved, so she's only needing to chase Bruce," that makes sense, but after Doomsday?! In Justice League?! She understands what it is for the world to be frightened of you, resistant to you, the urge to go and hide where it's safe with your family, the loneliness. I mean, just imagine MoS!Clark meeting her and the goddamn relief of it. And the way it could've played off the whole Jonathan Kent is a creepy "kill em all" weirdo now thing, if they insisted on keeping it.

Similarly, please god please show Clark being a journalist more. Perry chewing him out more. A mild hint of office politics. That's the perfect place to leaven a rough film with a dose of humour. People wouldn't have been so bothered by "Is she with you?", which is actually not that terrible a line next to some Marvel "zingers", except for it being so tonally inconsistent. A gentle thread, a few moments of it. Maybe have Clark save someone and have to scrabble to keep his identity a secret, like in MoS - maybe a minute, you could go for some physical humour or a mild sight gag. Obviously, this'd be pre-bombing the courthouse. Relatedly... 

Take out Nairomi and the branding. They serve very little purpose, story-wise, basically never come back into the plot, and only serve to make Clark and Bruce look like dicks unnecessarily when if you want to inject flaws, you have a ton of opportunities to do it with how they deal with people and their loved ones, how they deal with perps, and their brooding moments. 

Seriously, Bruce kicking the shit out of people and investigating shipments from the Black Zero and World Engine crashes would be enough to worry and piss off Clark, as would the whole "I am the night"/lack of transparency shtick. I mean, for a start, John Byrne retconned their first meeting that way in the 80s and that issue is actually great (Clark is trying to arrest Bruce when they meet, because he's young and idealistic and maybe a little up himself and he's been Supes for about five and a half minutes). Look: Clark is being revered and hates it. He blames himself for Black Zero, at least a little. He has excellent reason to be desperately projecting brightly-coloured not-a-threat and also hate that someone else is terrorising a city and violence is being revered, especially when Metropolis and Gotham are still so raw. I mean... Snyder and Goyer did the fucking stupid offensive 9/11 comparisons. Look at how that affected people and still does to this day; emotions run bloody high, and the entire point of Clark is that he's still human and terrified and guilty. And with Wallace O’Keefe and all the threatening notes... look, there's already a good plot in there! 

Meanwhile, Luthor clearly knows Bruce has been sniffing around the K shipments and could've just tipped off Clark about that as well, saying, "He clearly is gonna use it for his own power, and with how sinister and opaque and violent he's already been, he's gonna hurt people." Having his heritage used against people is one of Clark's worst nightmares, it was implied pretty clearly in MoS, and you'd still have the righteous anger. No branding needed. Kryptonian artefacts and the entire masked violent vigilantism are already enough "this is someone who thinks he's above people and can decide their lives" to piss Clark off. He could even investigate that as himself rather than Supes. You need it to be an unanon tip-off and Keefe wouldn't have access to that information? Sure, OK, just filter it through Mercy Graves and make her a "worried confidential source." I mean, she's in the movie and completely wasted. Why not actually, you know, do something with her? Clark wants to believe the best in people, and he might dislike Luthor personally, but he doesn't know Luthor's out to get him yet - or wouldn't, if the writing was better. Again, Birthright, the text Goyer repeatedly ripped from, did this brilliantly. The brand... it's overkill. Grimdark overkill.

I actually... look, I had a really fun, if baffled, time with this movie, but goodness I’d like to see what it could’ve been. And now all the film sites are waving goodbye to Batfleck again while running DC retrospectives due to Birds of Prey, and Cavill’s blue tights are in doubt, it seemed like as good a time as any.

CSUAPR prt 61 update

Once Lance was taken away for surgery things started happening in rapid precession. Hunter needed a nappy change. Hunk needed a guide through the hospital to book Shay’s appointment. Laith wanted feeding. Marco face planted from exhaustion getting out the elevator. Keith’s comms started ringing. Keith missed the call and ended up playing phone tag with his mother. Lucteal nearly punched a guy in the face for not apologising when he walked into Keith, who was still trying to juggle his hungry son and his comms. Mami called for an update on Lance, then Hunk nearly threw up from how anxious he’d made himself over booking said appointment as he wrung his hands the whole time they were walking. Feeling frazzled, Keith wasn’t entirely unsure it wasn’t all karma from nearly hiding his meeting with Krystaal from his husband. He could wait until after Lance’s surgery to meet with Krystaal, and give Lance that chance to be awake for it, or he could deal with it now and have news for him when he woke. When Daehra stepped up, he nearly kissed her. How normal parents dealt with these issues, he had no idea. Mami was so incredibly patient and able to juggle two grumpy babies and a comms. He... was not. Taking Hunter for his nappy change, sleepy Marco wasn’t allowed to hold either baby, but he did go with Daehra, who also promised to organise a bottle for Laith then meet them at the obstetricians offices. Thankfully Hunk had had the foresight to bring the nappy bag with him, or things would have gone from bad to worse. Babies needed so many extra things, which they’d had access too in Cuba thanks to Miriam’s smart thinking, now he was realising that a nappy bag was something that would always need to travel around with them, and that he’d have to keep it stocked with the right things for their boys. Lance would have known this. He should have known this. Maybe those few stolen vargas of sleep hadn’t been enough for him to be firing on all cylinders? Calling him as he sat by Hunk’s side in the waiting room, Keith was forced to pass Laith over to Lucteal so he could take his mother’s call outside the obstetricians offices. Keith had wanted to be there for Hunk the whole time, but with time running out he couldn’t not to take the call, and it wasn’t as if Hunk wasn’t currently stuck filling in paperwork regarding the nature of the appointment. Keeping his mother hanging until he’d slipped into the hallway, Keith sighed deeply as he raised his comms “Hey, mum” Dressed in his Blade uniform, her mother looked calm and collected. Not even the tiny bit of baby vomit on her shoulder could dent her presence “You look like shit” Sighing again, Keith already knew he did “Thanks. You’ve got vomit on your shoulder” His mother didn’t miss a beat “Better there than in my hair. What time are you arriving?” There it was. Straight into business. She hadn’t even asked about Lance or the boys “I’m not” His mother raised an eyebrow “You’re not?” “I can’t... Not to Daibazaal. I talked to Lance about it and he’s... I can’t leave here while he’s in surgery. I still want to talk to Krystaal, but his wishes come first...” It was Krolia’s turn to sigh “So what you’re telling me is, you want me to escort him all the way out there” “Pretty much” “Keith...” Digging the heel of his spare hand into his eye, Keith really didn’t want to fight. He knew he was messing up the plan, but he couldn’t leave. It was bad enough the boys were in the care of the others again, and though Lance had been through probably far more surgeries than Keith knew, he really couldn’t find the energy or will to be anywhere else. “Where is he?” Rubbing at his eye, Keith then let his hand drop “Surgery. There were... complications, yesterday. Meaning they needed to approach the surgery from another angle” “Complications? You didn’t tell me there complications” “You didn’t ask!” His tiredness carried in his semi snap “Look, I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to come to Daibazaal but I can’t. Lance is right. I want the twins first trip to be to Daibazaal because we’re coming to see you, not because we’re coming to see the man that tried to kill them” Krolia’s face morphed from vague annoyance to understanding. She’d always thought the war would end and she'd come back to Earth. That they’d meet at the shack and... and everything else that other life would have been “I’ll see what I can do. He knows no harm would have come to them, right?” “Yeah, mum. It’s not that... well, maybe a little bit but it’s mostly... We want to make good memories with them. He doesn’t deserve to see them, not after trying to take them away from us. I wasn’t going to tell Lance, that’s why I agreed...” Krolia set her lips in a firm frown “You said you were going to” “You didn’t see him, mum. He was so messed up from missing the boys’ first week. He needed Cuba. I thought... that I’d be strong enough to let the others take care of them, but I can’t...” Despite the glaringly obvious fact he was baby free... Recomposing herself, his mother managed to school her features to something more neutral that didn’t quite make it into her tone “I wish you’d called me sooner. I’ll need to clear things with Erathus. They’re not keen on Galra ships, much less a sudden visit. Where are you? Where are my boys?” “I’m at the hospital. Daehra is changing Hunter’s nappy while Lucteal holds Laith so I could take this call. You know... Seeing you didn’t want to answer when I called you back” “Korra needed feeding. You should see her now. She’s so much like you were at this age” Discomfort tugged at Keith’s chest. He hadn’t forgotten he had a new baby sister, who he hadn’t enquired over... It pained him to admit that thanks to their age gap he may as well be an uncle to the baby girl “I’ll have to take your word for it. How long do you think it’ll take to get clearance?” His mother shrugged “I can’t see it being a huge deal given both you and Lance are already planet side. They hardly need to know the nature of my visit. A varga, two tops. How long will Lance be in surgery?” “A couple of vargas. They’re performing micro-surgery, then he’ll need to be monitored for seizures before being moved back up to the main ward” “I’ll call when we’ve docked. I assume the others will watch over the twins during the meeting?” They’d have to... Marco and Daehra definitely needed the sleep, but hopefully he could swing a few more vargas of Hunk’s time. Hunk was already smitten with the boys. Both of them now owners of weird stuffed wolf looking toys that matched the larger on Hunk had bought for Lance. Their friend had blushed up a storm as he explained that he’d bought it because he knew how much Lance had grown into having Kosmo as his constant companion. Kosmo wasn’t allowed at the hospital, and Keith hadn’t thought about gifting his husband something “cuddly” to share his bed with. That was his job, after all “Yeah. Yeah. Hunk popped by for a quick visit, so I’ll see if he and Lucteal can watch the boys at the club. Is Kolivan coming with you?” His mother’s eyes twinkled, Keith knowing the teasing was coming “Do you want Kolivan to come with me?” “That’s not I asked” “You don’t usually ask for him. Can’t a mother be concerned?” Huffing are his mother, he felt stupid for asking. His emotions too scattered, and body too tired to take whatever crap she was trying to pull “Excuse me for trying to include him. In future I won’t ask my future stepfather if he wants to meet his grandsons. This is what I get for trying to include him. I never should have opened my mouth. Call me when you get here” Ending the call, Keith knew he’d been a bit of a dick to his mother. He’d just wanted to do the right thing by everyone. Kolivan hadn’t met the boys, and as his mother’s partner and the father of his half-sister, he kind of felt like it might have been nice to include him. He’d barely had a moment to breathe before Marco and Daehra were approaching him from down the hall. Today could quiznak itself right off. He was far too old and far too tired for any of this shit, and now he’d picked a fight with his mother after breaking their agreed upon plans. Someone out there really needed to invent a way to go back in time so he could back to the morning and spend it curled up with Lance as they both snored their heads off. * Dragged back to the club by Hunk and his gentle ways, Keith showered, ate, napped, and generally felt much more human for it. Leaving Daehra and Marco to sleep of their babysitting duties, Keith and Hunk headed back up to the room that Keith and Lance were sharing on the second highest floor of the club. Th’al had offered to make the penthouse available so they be able to share the apartment space, but Lance had wanted seperate rooms thanks to the twins. Kosmo was all over him the tick they walked in. Clothes strewn across the space from where his fur son had felt bored, deciding that he needed to redecorate by digging out mostly Lance’s clothes. Strangely enough it hadn’t felt weird to sit Kosmo down and explain to him that Lance needed surgery. His great big idiot of a wolf was far smarter than he’d ever let on, letting them leave with minimal fussing, even if he did nudge at Lance’s hands for all the extra pats he could get before Keith shepherded his husband out the door. Laying Laith down on the sofa, he was sent to the bathroom to humanise by Hunk, returning to find his friend had ordered room service before starting to straighten up. Collapsing backwards onto the king sized bed was a grave error on his behalf. The thick fluffy duvet calling his name as the urge to sleep until the meeting grew. Forcing himself to sit back up seemed like some kind of inhumane torture. Sitting up meant talking. Talking meant using the words. Using the words meant using the English. His brain didn’t have the power to use the English. His valiant efforts to stay awake were thwarted by Hunk promising to wake him when the food arrived. Needless to say, he didn’t. Letting him sleep for the next varga and a half, Keith woke to Hunk shaking his shoulder to tell him that Krolia should be arriving soon. Having pulled a “rambling Lance”, Keith had talked the ear off his poor friend all the way from the hospital to the club, unaware of how much he had talked or the way he’d jumped from topic to topic as he had. Knowing he was an idiot their friends group had let him mumble and complain, then go off on a completely unrelated tangent of how amazing his boys were. The previous night’s conversation in the cafeteria had drifted out of his mind, Keith forgetting he’d confided in Hunk, leaving him as confused as he was nervous about facing Krystaal. So many things had happened, so many things were happening, now wasn’t the time to be overwhelmed, even if his secondary instincts were prowling demanding some kind of revenge he couldn’t process that when his stomach felt somewhere close to the bottom of his boot. Had Hunk not been there to guide him around, as if he was on autopilot, Keith wouldn’t have made it to the space port intact. Nor would the twins have made the trip with him in the arms of Lucteal and Hunk. No. He’d said he wouldn’t put them in danger, so he couldn’t explain why he’d ended up bringing them with him. Kosmo was all the backup he needed, yet with his track record of attacking anything he deemed a threat towards Lance, he’d been forced to leave his ever faithful furry back up locked up in the hotel. There was nothing especially special about the Galra ship Krolia had piloted for the trip over to Erathus. It was just as grey and purple as every other ship in their fleet. Waiting at the dock, Kolivan had quirked an eyebrow at their “rag tag” group. One half-Galra who looked as if his head was off in the cloud. One man who dwarfed the sleeping child in his hold almost laughably. Then rounding out the group was the man carrying the other baby wearing a facial expression akin to what one might expect having stepped in faecal matter. The expression lost once his gaze cast down to Korra. She was so much larger than Keith remembered. In her clutch was Kolivan’s braid, drooled all over by the little girl, yet Kolivan was uncaring as he smiled with the corners of his lips at his daughter. Parenthood really suited his former mentor, Kolivan’s almost mechanical mannerism had softened significantly “Greetings, Keith, Hunk, and Lucteal” “Hey, Kolivan. Hello, Korra” Hunk nudged him with his elbow, Keith remembering if you wanted to greet someone you needed to use the words “Hey, Kolivan. Hello, Korra, you probably have no idea who I am...” Lame. That was “cringeworthy lame” as Lance would say, his husband would most probably be cringing in second hand embarrassment “She’s a smart little girl. You look... exhausted” Keith snorted. Exhausted was the polite way of agreeing with Krolia that he looked like shit “Long night. Day. Whatever time of hour it is... I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here” “You know Krolia. When she makes up her mind, there’s simply no telling her. She did mention that it would be an opportunity to meet your sons...” She’d mentioned it only because Keith had been forced to make her mention it. No. He wasn’t going to be bitter. His mother had been forced to change all her plans for him, for all he knew she could have planned something... “Uh. Yeah. Um... This is Laith and Hunter... Laith means “lion” back on Earth. Lance calls him his little lion cub. Hunter... is kind of obvious” Now he felt stupid not holding his baby boys. He should be proudly introducing them to their future grandfather, not standing in front of them and gesturing vaguely because he was a wreck. Shuffling up, Hunk placed his free hand on Keith’s shoulder, kind of angling the twin he was holding towards Kolivan “This handsome little man is Laith. I think he looks more like Lance except for his nose, but Hunter, Hunter’s the spitting image of Keith” Keith itched to take his son from Hunk, yet didn’t want to wake him before he had time to cuddle his crying away. Smiling fondly, his son far damn precious for his heart not to skip a beat “And their eyes... Lance says they have my eyes” “That’s true. I’m kind of shocked that he didn’t inherit Lance’s markings, or fangs or something” “Don’t insult him. He’s perfect the way he is. They’re both perfect” As Kolivan chuckled, Hunk gaped slightly. For his friend it was a rarely seen side of the Blade Commander. For Keith it was just another piece of evidence that being a father really suited Kolivan. Steamrolling through the moment, Lucteal didn’t appreciate the shared affection between both new fathers “Can we please move on? There is time to continue this conversation after you have met with Krystaal. Need I remind you we have limited time before Lance wakes. I would prefer that we didn’t continue to make spectacles of ourselves to the watching public. Lance would not appreciate the added attention. Especially when he wishes to keep both your children out of the media” Keith hadn’t noticed the few busybodies stopping to stare. None of them seemed to be on their comms, nor did the seem to have taken video or photos of the moment. They were all doing that creepy thing where they were staring thanks to the groups status. Drawing his brow, Kolivan gave a curt nod “Indeed. We should head on board. We have a secure room for you to meet with Krystaal and Krolia will be monitoring your meeting to prevent any incident arriving” “Is that likely?” Kolivan shook his head. Korra letting out a babbly kind of laugh as her fathers plait moved “No. He spent many movements sullen, refusing both food and water initially. When offered the choice of exile he was far too eager to accept. It was decided by Krolia that he needed to retrain and learn the gravity of his actions... Though it was a struggle not to let her shoot him as Lance had wished, and she was far too tempted to eject him out the closest available airlock. Any chance of advancement was ruined by his own actions. Penance is not generally the Galra way, but we are trying. Let us be going” The walk was short given the size of the ship. Korra spent her time watching him over Kolivan’s shoulder. Her eyes fixed on him as she continued to drool over Kolivan’s hair. Beside him Hunk kept pulling faces to entertain the little girl, mumbling sadly when her gaze didn’t move from him. Having not spent all that much time with her, Keith knew their was no way she could know he was her older brother. He loved the little girl fiercely, but was worried they’d never have that proper sibling bond. All his friends were far older than her. And all of them bore a heavy legacy. As it was, if he was the “Prince of Daibazaal”, then she was very much the “Princess”. The first born daughter of the joint rulers of transitioning empire. Keith sincerely hoped that she’d be able to be live a happy life, and that he’d be able to provide her with a shoulder to cry on, or an escape if she ever chose a different path than the ones that would appear before her feet. Lance would have loved to have been there. He would have gone crazy for how cute and inquisitive she was. To Lucteal they all must have seemed idiots. He had dozens of half-brothers and sisters. This wasn’t all new and exciting to him, but at the same time, he also wasn’t a father. Not that that stopped Hunk. He’d make a fantastic father. Realising where his thoughts were taking him, Keith gave himself a small shake. He couldn’t be cool before Krystaal if he was too busy being proud of his friends and family.

Pieces of April [16/?]

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21099044/chapters/50202530

Summary: On the anniversary of his death, Jason’s second life takes an abrupt new turn and he’s faced with a challenge that neither Batman nor the All-Caste prepared him for.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

Author’s Note: Here’s your daily dose of JayTim and baby for your quarantine reading pleasure! Stay safe, wash your hands and support your local healthcare, waste management and retail workers!

First Chapter

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The rest of the afternoon is spent on the phone, fielding calls from various departments and sorting out production complications. Interspersed are texts and Facebook messages from friends and family—Dick, wondering if dinner is still happening on Friday, Bruce wanting updates on the mob case, the Titans wanting to know if he’s coming to San Francisco that weekend—

Tim is evasive with all except the last one, informing Bart that there’s some family drama going on that will keep him home for a while. Once the speedster knows, everyone else will know, so it’s about as effective as sending a group text.

He resists the urge to phone Jason and see how he’s doing; he’s rather sure he won’t pick up.

(“I ain’t a damn kid that needs checkin’ up on, Drake.”)

Not that Tim is checking up on him. He just knows that whenever someone in the family is going through a personal crisis, that’s usually the time when Gotham’s rogues decide to act out.

So really, ensuring Jason’s stress levels stay manageable is a public service.

“Because that sounds like logic,” he chides.

Damian shows up around 3 o’clock and spends the next two hours alternatively disparaging everything about Tim from his too-long hair to how he organizes his filing system, to discussing WE resource allocation for an animal shelter he wants to open. The conversational whiplash is enough to make Tim’s head spin, and he makes a note in his phone to talk to Bruce about whatever it is that’s going on between them that’s so bad Damian prefers Tim’s company to his father’s.

Either Bruce put his foot down about another of Damian’s strays, or he still won’t agree that Robin should have a private prison to lock up rogues. 

Whatever the reason, Tim is very much out of his depth at the youngest Bat’s newest tactics for taking his frustrations out on Tim.

Though I guess workplace inconveniences are a huge step up from swords to the gut. Could always be worse, I guess.

It turns out he’s not the only one learning new and interesting coping strategies. Upon arriving home at six, he finds Jason tweaking the tech in his gear on the kitchen table, baby carrier three feet away.

His entire body is tense, like a spring ready to snap.

“Was she up all day or something?” Tim asks on the way in, putting his bag on the floor and loosening his tie.

Jason shoots him a baleful look. “She’s been crying all day. And she’s still barely eating. I think she’s starting to look a little yellow—Tim, why is she yellow?”

And Jason sounds—dare he say it—almost frazzled.

Right. Time for more damage control.

“I’ve got her,” Tim says, easing into Jason’s personal space and taking the baby. “You go to sleep. Or shower. Or watch TV or something. You’re starting to go batty.”

That earns a disgusted look, and even Tim winces because that was just bad.

“Did you seriously just say that?” Jason asks.

“No, you’re sleep-deprived and hallucinated it,” he replies.

“I’ll allow it,” Jason says, yawning. “But only because it could be true.”

Jason shuffles off upstairs and Tim heaves himself onto the couch, pulling out his phone to check his usual online haunts for potential cases or clues for his current case. Social media and forums are pretty good sources once you learn how to weed out the sensationalist crap.

After thirty minutes of nothing, he gives it up and wanders over to the dwindling pile of baby items. Jason hasn’t returned yet, so he’s either passed out from exhaustion in the shower or actually made it to bed. Since Tim can’t hear the water running, he supposes it’s the latter.

It won’t kill me to go without the pre-patrol nap today, I guess.

Studying the pile, he notes that the boxes with the crib, changing table and whatever else needed assembly, have all gone missing. Presumably, Jason set those up this morning in a fit of boredom or paranoia.

The only things that haven’t been touched are the blankets, soft toys and garments, other than whatever Isa’s been changed into already.

There are only about twenty different pieces of clothing, and according to his not-so-new best friend the Internet, that’s not going to be nearly enough given infant propensity to upchuck. Especially since it’s not all the same size. Tam had to guess how big Isa was, so at least half the onesies here won’t fit her for another month or two, which isn’t supremely helpful for right now.

Back to fiddling with his phone, Tim goes online to order some more supplies and discovers, to his delight, that there’s an entire line of pop-culture related babywear. Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Superhero logos…

He grins as he orders one of everything for next-day delivery, wondering whether Jason’s more likely to complain or find it funny.

Under normal circumstances, he’d probably find it funny. For someone else’s kid.

There’s still no sign of Jason after sunset, so Tim feeds and burps the baby, then sets up his laptop and tablet in the kitchen to check some of his surveillance feeds for the mob case. However, Isa protests every time he tries to put her down.

“What’s wrong with you now?” he asks. “You’re warm, you’re fed—” He takes a pause to check and change her diaper, during which time she continues to mewl at him, “—and you’re dry. Which means now’s the time you got to sleep, okay? New babies are supposed to do three things: eat, poop and sleep. So get on that.”

Once again he attempts to wrap her up and place her in her carrier, but the whimpering becomes flat-out crying, her tiny face becoming purple with rage and her eyes pinching shut.

“Okay, okay—putting you down is a no,” he sighs, tucking her back in his arms to rock her gently. He watches his computer monitor balefully, knowing if he’s holding the baby, there’s not going to be any hacking of Gotham’s CCTV tonight.

Could text Babs and ask her to do it. Except then she’ll want to know why.

Which is also a no.

One-handed, he searches out his phone again, looking up possible reasons for Isa’s current temper and potential solutions online. One thing jumps out at him and he brightens. A quick trip to the Nest and back, and he has what he was looking for.

Which is how Jason finds him when he finally comes back downstairs around eight o’clock, showered, rested and altogether more human-looking than what Tim came home to. He pauses at the foot of the stairs, squinting at Tim. “Is that your cape?”

“My cape is made out of state-of-the-art piezoelectric fabric substrates that can become a weapon with the right electrical frequency,” Tim retorts, trying not to feel entirely self-conscious from his seat at the kitchen table, wrapped in a makeshift mei-tai with Jason’s daughter drooling into his chest. “Also, that thing’s filthy.”

“And this is…?”

“My old cape,” Tim replies, going back to his computer. “Sometimes newborns just need to hear a heartbeat to calm them down. The best way is skin to skin, but I’m kind of in the middle of something, so this is the next best thing.”

Jason tilts his head to one side in consideration. “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, I looked it up online.”

“Of course you did,” Jason groans, rubbing his temple. “Because that’s what normal people do. I didn’t even think of it, I was too busy trying to get her to stop crying.” He huffs, almost rueful. “Why the hell am I surprised that you’re good at this? You’re good at friggen everything.”

Huh. A compliment. Those are almost as rare coming from Jason as they are from Damian. He must really be out of his comfort zone.

“Maybe it’s just because I have a certain measure of distance from it all,” Tim suggests, standing up to leave his temporary workstation. “If I suddenly found out I had a kid, I don’t know how I’d react.”

“Bull. You’re just like B. You’d just stick it in the back of your mind and forget about how to feel about it until you’re ready to deal.”

Tim feels a sudden flare of anger. “Is that actually how you think I am?”

“You going to tell me you’re not?” Jason challenges.

Tim opens his mouth to do exactly that, only to wrinkle his nose at the sudden stench arising from the lump of baby tucked against his chest.

“Ugh. Someone needs a change.”

Again. Guess I wasn’t so far off about the ‘eat, poop and sleep’ thing.

Jason snorts. “As far as conversation enders, that’s a pretty good one.”

Tim carefully unwinds the fabric from around his body and deposits the slowly waking baby into her father’s arms. “Tag.”

“You suck.”

“Serves you right for being a dick.”

He feels almost no guilt leaving Jason to deal with the soiled diaper and cranky baby this time, still smarting a bit about the resentful accusation that was lobbed at him.

Just because I can compartmentalize doesn’t mean I forget about things. Or that I don’t feel them.

He’s just not like Jason, or Dick, or Damian, who get angry and lash out as loudly and as viciously as they can. And he’s not like Bruce, either, since Bruce really can flip a switch and put something difficult out of his mind if it interferes with the all-important Mission.

Tim’s tried doing that, and as successful as he was in his quest to locate Batman when he was lost in the time stream, that period of Tim’s life was the most desperate and hopeless he’s ever felt. It was painful in a way that was different from losing his father, or Connor, or Bart—mostly because he was forced to bottle everything up to get the job done.

It was months after Bruce returned before Tim started processing things normally again.

Not that I should expect Jason to know that, he muses as he grapples through the rooftops of Gotham. He might know about me from my files and when we occasionally work together, but he’s never stuck around long enough to get to know anyone who came after him.

The night is at its darkest, cut through only by the Bat-signal in the distance. He won’t be running into Bruce tonight then unless the GCPD is bringing him in on the Gazzo case. It’s unlikely since there hasn’t been any retaliation yet. GCPD protocol dictates they’ll pass it off to Homicide until orders from on high turn it over to Major Crimes.

Red Robin ends up stopping two muggings and a drug deal before making his way to Gazzo territory to take some surveillance photos of his own. Security images are helpful in general, but he has camera tech that will let him focus on details the CCTV won’t pick up. 

It’s another relatively early night for him, returning home just after midnight to upload his findings to the servers and shower off the grit and grime of the city.

The apartment is silent, and he expects Jason and Isa to be upstairs in the newly built nursery, but upon closing the secret door again, he notices the faint sound of breathing. Creeping over to the sitting room, he finds Jason passed out on the couch beside Isa’s carrier. The television is on but not showing any channel, instead casting a solid blue light across the room.

Tim can’t help noticing how Jason’s habitual frown has eased in slumber. There’s no trace of a sneer or growl on his lips right now, his mouth parted only to breathe.

He has never seen the older man like this.

There are pictures of him at the manor, of course, most of them hidden away in dusty boxes. It’s only recently they’ve started cropping up at the manor again, though Tim isn’t sure whether it’s Dick or Alfred that’s been putting them there.

Hell, maybe it is Bruce. It’s the exact kind of gesture he’d make to try to tell Jason he wants him around more, without actually having to tell him directly.

Whoever’s responsible for them, Tim’s memorized all of those photos. The boy in those is always grinning or making silly faces or not paying attention to the photographer because he’s busy doing something he shouldn’t be.

If there’s a picture of Jason looking so calm and peaceful, it’s hidden away in Bruce’s personal files where no one can find them.

Tim can sort of see why given how vulnerable his predecessor looks right now. This is the Jason that Bruce remembers, the one he’s built up in his memory that’s different from the Jason once enshrined in the much-maligned class case in the Cave. This is the Jason Bruce is trying to find whenever he squares off with Red Hood and mourns as lost when he can’t find him.

Which is stupid since he’s still right here. I wonder if anyone else will ever realize that?

Tim decides not to wake Jason; he might have been a jerk before, but he should sleep while he can.

Instead, he settles in on the other couch with his laptop to review the surveillance shots he took himself and from the security feeds. If he can figure out just which of these mobster muscle heads is the easiest to break, he can get a better idea of what might have happened to the teenager in concrete.

I’ll just do a quick scan tonight, and study them in more detail tomorrow.

Of course, as usual, he gets invested in his work and doesn’t look up again until about four o’clock, when Isa’s sharp cry pieces the silence. Tim jumps, having completely forgotten her presence, but that’s nothing on Jason, who vaults upward from his spot on the couch, body tense and prepared to react to whatever caused the noise, friend or foe.

His hand is already reaching for a gun—one that Tim is thankful to see is no longer there.

“It’s okay, it’s just time for the next feeding,” he says quietly, trying to sound both casual and soothing at the same time. Based on the bleary look he’s getting from Jason, he’s less than successful.

Jason glares at his empty hand, clenched as if to hold onto something, and Tim must be on the verge of falling asleep himself because for a moment he imagines he can see the outline of a sword.

Great. Hallucinations. Tomorrow’s going to be a triple-shot of espresso day, I can tell.

And it’s suddenly occurring to him that babies and their sudden loud noise-making skills might not be the best thing for someone that’s suffered the kinds of trauma Jason has.

He makes up a mental note to look up some strategies for that. He’s not quite sure how he’ll bring up the subject with Jason. While Jason is adamant that Tim’s the most like Bruce, when it comes to avoiding problems, he’s the one that has more in common with the man.

For now, he decides to just act as normal.

“You know there’s a perfectly good bed upstairs?” he quips. “Thousand thread count, fluffy pillows, solid mattress…”

“Shut up. I was watching something. Guess I fell asleep.” Jason swings around and makes a move toward the baby, but Tim makes a motion to stop him.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it.”

“You already took her when you got back.”

“How do you know? You were sleeping?”

“I was resting my eyes.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Go to sleep or you’ll be face-planting in your coffee tomorrow.”

“I’ll be fine, I—"

“This isn’t your responsibility, Replacement. Go to bed—I’ll handle this.”

Jason is clearly not someone to be reasoned with when sleep-deprived; Tim always suspected that, of course, but he’s never had the up-close-and-personal experience. It doesn’t make him any less frustrated.

“The whole point of you staying here is for me to help,” he reminds him. “So would you just accept it already?”

“You’re also the one with a nine-to-five job and actually need the friggen sleep.”

Tim grimaces. “Fine. But I’m going to make up a schedule for us tomorrow so we can divide the babysitting more equitably.”

“You do that, boy scout. Why don’t you make a chore-wheel while you’re at it?” Jason jeers, taking the baby and heading for the kitchen. “This isn’t kindergarten.”

“Are you sure about that?” Tim shoots back, scowling in frustration.

Just for that, I will make one. See if I don’t.

⁂⁂⁂

Your feedback matters! I want to know what you think of my story, so feel free to leave kudos, a comment or as many of these emojis as you want and let me know how you feel!

❤️️ = I love this story! 😳 = this was hot! 💐 = thank you for sharing this 🍵 = tea spilled 🍬 = so sweet and fluffy! 🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good! 😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER 😢 = you got me right in the feels 🤯mind blown 🤬god damn cliffhanger 😫 whyyyyyyy?!?!?

Next Chapter

Starry

Jericho threw the door to the Inn open, making eye contract with Tom, who was behind the bar, polishing a glass.

“Hey Tucker! Look! I’m a fuckin bartender.”

Tucker looked at the nearly empty room. A man was passed out, head on the table, a glass of... something in his hand. There were little particles floating in it, like stars in the sky. Jericho picked it up, sniffing it. Gingerly, he sipped it, the strong taste overwhelming and disgusting, burning his mouth. Ew. He set it down, debating if the bad drink was a zombie thing or a Tom thing. Probably both.

“Alright. Where’s everyone else? I need to tell them something. And why are you-“

“Ladia asked me to help clean up a little. So I did! I found a really cool looking rock, and it’s mine now. But the guy came in asking for a drink so I got him one!”

Jericho ran his hands over his face.

“Look, where’s Wag? Where’s Sparkelz? Martha? Dianite? Mot?”

Tom set the glass down.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?”

“Where are they.”

Tom raised his hands in defeat, staring at the ceiling, thinking.

“Sleeping, I don’t know, probably with Ladia, new house.”

“New house?”

“Yeah, Dia and Mot got a house in the city.”

“With what money?!?!”

“Oh, they’re like, super fucking rich now.”

“Since when???”

Tom shrugged, “Dunno? They mentioned a bet of some sort a week ago, and now they’ve got a goddamn house.”

“Why was I never told about this?!?”

Tom jumped over the bar, nearly hitting the ceiling, landing without an ounce of grace.

“Because you were too busy getting dicked down by that wizard bitch. I can’t pronounce his name.”

Jericho flushed bright red, smacking Tom over the head.

“That’s not what we’re doing, and his name is Gijsbert. I need to tell you something.”

“That you’re fucking the wizard? I knew it! You’re traitoring all of us for wizard co-“

Jericho shoved him, Tom cackling. “No! Not that! Jesus, Tom!”

“Then what is it?”

“Stop interrupting me!” Jericho cried. Tom blinked owlishly. He was wearing a little leather sheath around his waist for that knife he got, thank god.

“I’m not doing anything,” he said with the tone of a man who knew he was doing something.

“Well-“

“It’s not my fault you talk so slow!”

“If you would just-“

“Come on, spill the beans. But it can’t be that bad-“

“There are shadows here.”

Tom shut his jaw with a click. His hand went to the knife on his hip. His green skin seemed just a little paler, if that was even possible.

“Like that Historian dude?” He whispered, “And the guys from the first island?”

Jericho nodded.

“We got to go tell them. Come on- follow me, I know where they live. Dia and Mot, I mean.”

Tom pushed past him and out of the bar, into the night enveloping Vatredas.

—

“It’s fucking locked?” Jericho whined. Tom shot him a glare from where he kneeled by the lock. He had two sticks he found in the ground and sharpened to thin, sharp points with his knife. Unsurprisingly, they made pisspoor lock picks. The house looked lovely, Jericho had to admit, stone brick and some sort of dark wood- it almost looked like a Dianite version of Martha’s house, except just a little more compact.

Tom leaned back from the lock, studying it with the gaze of a man who has never picked a lock before. That is to say, confused.

“I could kick it down,” he offered.

Jericho groaned, took a few steps backwards, cracking his neck. “Alright, I’m gonna do something, do me a favor and don’t scream.”

Tom looked up from the lock, face utterly confused, and not just from the lock.

Jericho waved his hand to shut him up, and thought of being on the inside of that door. A little flower petal slipping through the cracks of door. Swirling, slipping, then on the inside... The world swirled around him. He opened his eyes.

The foyer (was it called a foyer?) was just as nice as the outside, lit by lanterns and some strange orbs that floated in the air- probably magic. Not much tech in this universe, it seemed. He turned towards the door, undid the lock, and swung it open. Tom gaped at him, somehow more confused looking.

“You fuckin?”

Jericho waved his hand.

“It’s nothing. Um. Let’s go.”

“It’s not nothing! You! You fuckin! Wizard!!!”

“Come on, Tom, this is important!”

“Yeah! You teleported for the love of- how??”

Jericho covered his face with his hands, took a deep breath, then sighed.

“Let’s tell them,” Jericho said, “and then I’ll explain.”

Tom nodded, shakily standing up from outside the door.

“Yeah, you owe me an explanation.”

Heavy footsteps came from down the hall. Jericho whipped around, and there Dianite was, soaking wet, in nothing but a loosely tied bathrobe.

“I believe I’m owed an explanation as well,” Dianite cooed.

“Jericho can teleport!” Tom blurted. Dianite raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to say something, but Jericho quickly interrupted.

“There are shadows here,” he said.

Dianite’s face fell. He looked grim, as grim as one look while wearing a bathrobe.

“Then you both best make yourself at home. We have much to discuss.”

—

They ended up in the kitchen. Dianite made the three of them coffee, hot and fresh. It tasted nothing like the crap Gijsbert made, black and sour without sugar or cream. The fact it was warm instead of cold with disinterest (more like forgetfulness) made it just a little better.

Jericho took another sip.

“I don’t know much. All I know, really, is that they’re here. And they were in the first world as well, and... they’re bad news. Gijsbert is supposed to tell me more tomorrow. I’d like you to be there, since you, uh, know them.”

Dianite sighed.

“I don’t have my powers, Joshua.”

“It’s Jericho.”

“...Nevermind. I don’t have my magic. Can’t summon things, fly, anything. Still got my moxy, so does Mot... Tom,” Jericho sighed as Dianite turned to him, feeling the conversation start to go off it’s rails, “Do you know what size ring Mot wears?”

Tom shrugged, “Size 8? Mans got tiny hands.” He sipped his coffee.

“Good. I’m going to ask him to marry me.”

“Fun.” Tom said, taking another sip.

Dianite and Jericho made eye contact.

Tom spat out his coffee in shock, the words finally sinking in. He spilled it on himself, shreiking and cursing as he set the mug on the table, jolting out of the table and jumping in place. Jericho tilted his head, unable to tell if it was from pain or excitement.

“MARRY?”

“Tom, calm down.“ Jericho tried. Dianite was chuckling, the bastard.

“CALM DOWN? OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY YOU!”

“Tom, please,”

“HOLY SHIT! CAN I BE A FLOWER BOY? CAN WE BE FLOWER BOYS?”

“Tom, the shadows-“

“Actually,” Dianite said smoothly, “I was thinking you’d be my best man, Tom.”

Tom let out a wordless screech and Dianite laughed, hardy and happy.

“Alright, boyo. Keep it a secret. And Jericho?”

Jericho straightened up in his seat.

“Yes?”

“Let’s wait until tomorrow to discuss the shadows. We needn’t jump in head first while still uninformed. Now then,” he stood, speaking with an air of formality, “both of you, out. I have a bath to get back to.”

Jericho bit his lip, irritated beyond belief, but said nothing. If only he could’ve gotten Gijsbert to talk-

“Tomorrow, yeah, alright, sounds good.”

Jericho stood, knocking back the rest of his coffee like a shot, and walked to the door, Tom buzzing around him like a loud and coffee scented fly. He spoke in a rush, too fast to catch-

“Where are you going?”

Jericho sighed, almost sounding like a growl.

“Back to the library. Or the Inn. I need to sleep.”

“How can you sleep?” Tom shouted, “isn’t that amazing news!?!”

“Look, man, I just want it to be tomorrow already.”

Tom nodded, a little too frantic, taking Jericho by the wrist.

“Then stay up a little later, with me. The sun will rise when it rises but- look!” He gestured broadly to the sky, “It’s a nice night! All those stars!”

Jericho didn’t look at the sky, instead staring at the horizon. The sun would rise, eventually, and sunrise would destroy the black water of the sky. He slipped his wrist from Tom’s hold, watching as he stared at the sky, as if it would always be there, as if it would always be a glittering, golden night filled with stars.

He looked away from the sky. Staring at Jericho with a small, hopeful smile. Jericho shook his head.

They walked in silence back to the inn.

"Trust Me."

For  you @saps-sims  ( Yes I sent this to myself lmao!)

 Also going to throw in a NSFW warning because well it’s not M.K or Meg with out it going there lmao!

“You ready to go Meg?” I hollered buttoning up the last few buttons of my shirt and spraying .. maybe a little bit too much cologne … “Shit” the bottle broke thankfully not on me though. I quickly rinsed my mouth with mouth wash and grabbed my hat. 

This place required you to dress somewhat nice. This wasn’t your normal fancy restaurant this was a restaurant owned by vampires. With exquisite taste. which meant expensive elegant clothes.

Me and Meg liked to have fun and often we’d go shopping for each other.  we were weird I knew her size and of course her bra size.  daaaaaym girl  She was a  D cup lucky me. Not that it mattered but we would pick each other stuff out and then surprise each other with it.

“I don’t know do other couples do that?”  Or just us?

Anyway, I put my imported Italian I mean leather boots are pretty much Italian right?  on and walked out into our bedroom Where Meg was just slightly leaned over her vanity putting earrings on  

She could only wear real gold silver or what not. Mostly gold though silver makes me queasy a little not much though a little nauseous some times despite my dolphin bites well never mind they were some kind of metal in space that was nonirritating anyway not important.Here’s where it got weird.

A wig?  I don’t remember buying that?  Anyways it was styled and it was warm out not super humid but warm anyway it was spring-like April May I don’t remember the exact month.  I never saw Meg with long hair like that it was so pretty. okay, maybe I did. But I had my reasons. Like I said vampire restaurant. I was hoping it would help maybe mask her scent? If her head made one.

I’m not going to lie. I had my doubts about this place but, every once in a while We all had to gather to discuss things that were happening I hated it it was boring as fuck and I never really fit in my self, because I’m not fully vampire and a lot of people didn’t like that.

 But I was the Grand Master of Brindleton Bay .. Maybe that’s why nobody challenged me because everyone hated that area, it’s not heavily populated so the food source is sort of limited must be a water thing.

I wanted Meg to tag along this time because I really hated going, everyone else brought their spouses so I was going to bring mine. Little did I realize how almost stupid that idea was going to be.

“Wow…” I walked up behind her and put my hands around her waist it hugged the pudge but just the right amount.  She seemed somewhat annoyed though.  When she turned to face me. “Don’t say it   I know it makes me look fat…”  “You look good though.” 

 “Nah it’s perfect I like a little jiggle and you jiggle in all the right places I teased tickling her causing her to giggle. It was an A-line hybrid trumpet dress with a low back that tied up. and tie behind the neck with an open back that laced upThis dress prohibited her from wearing a bra but it could be tightened.It made access to the goods easier later on. I started to zone out.

  “ Mal…  .. “ MALIKOR!”    “ Huh, what?” I was distracted.”  “Can you tie me up?” Meg asked.

  “Sure..”   as I started the long and agonizing process of crisscrossing this thing I started to feet a aroused and casually pressed myself into her standing close to her so she could feel how hard I was getting because I’m a nasty bastard.“You perv..” She snickered  Is that why you picked this out? “Maybe.“ I winked as she turned around after I finished lacing her up.

I looked out the window, and heard the sound of a horses neighing and snorting had to be at least 6 of them maybe 8 of them I could see and a rather large carriage behind it. It was almost the size of a bus!  They had glowing eyes and they were huge.  And it was very gothic looking almost deathly which I found rather odd. But didn’t think much of it.

“That’s our ride..”  

“Wait what?” Whoa!  Talk about riding in style! Meg piped giddly 

 ‘Well ,we don’t fly there silly .Well at least I can you can’t. I said scooping her up.She let out a shriek of surprise as I literally exited our bedroom to our front second floor balcony and jumped from it. I can’t fucking jump skyscrapers or anything but I can jump a bit think sort of Dragon ball Z Okay bad example but I can jump pretty fast hop from one place to another. It beats getting distracted by street lights and moths… tasty moths. Meg buried her face after screaming. I threw in an overly enthusiastic WEEEEEEEEE .

(insert Siren/ A.J  reading a book or something as they pass her and his window lolol with Meg   SCREAMING)

I helped  Meg in first before getting in my self This carriage was huge it even had a bar in it with some  ghost taking orders  It was pretty scary considering my own heritage apparently it was up there for being super weird the weird wraith-like creature both handed us, wide-eyed doofuses, a drink Meg hung onto my arm so tightly her nails dug into my arm.

“What is this final fantasy 3?”  Am I in a video game? Meg asked.  “I don’t know maybe? I shrugged.   A gnarly creature greeted us it pretty much came out from under   Megs dress.

She gave it a kick   “ Wife not wearing  undergarments   lovely body ..” NICE BOOBIES YES!   Lucky man, you are Malikor yes.

“Ride will be  little long yes an hour or 3  hours  weather rainy there  lots of lightning do ring if need much else.”   Meg’s eyes were wide as she shook her head.  “We’re good thanks…”   a package appeared upon the table 

  “This must be the low down of all the shit that’s been going on in the vampire realm that I have to read.

“Ugh, I hate this crap. Wanna blow me while I do it?”  Megs features fell flat as she looked me dead in the eye. “I just had a gremlin crawl out from my dress a GREMLIN  who knows what else is up there.  “I could check I grinned cutting Meg off causing her to blush.  “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”

“No  blow yourself.”  She huffed and looked out the window. For a moment.  ‘Where is this place anyway?”“ Outside of  The Forgotten Hollow in a place called the Enchanted Vale   

Forgotten Hollow apparently is the place where humans tried to get into the vale and burned it down out of anger that they were denied entry. Thinking they were superior or some shit.,

Apparently, this was in the late medieval times despite what people think it’s freaking huge humans just aren’t supposed to know about it because they can’t really process what they are seeing here. It could literally fuck them up.

I saw Meg swallow nervously. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “ You’ll be fine, trust me Her eyes became glossy I could tell she was starting to feel a little scared.  That’s only if your heart is already corrupted or something. “Like the Zelda games?” 

 “Yeah, something like that I took my hat off and ruffled my hair. Even though I was wearing what Meg picked out for me I was still required as per tradition to sport my Area Grand Master Emblem or Badge which was an Anchor to represent the bay. The hat wasn’t necessary I just liked it and it made me feel more traditional.

I suppose I should get to reading this then. I sighed. About half an hour in my interest was fading and was starting to get distracted. Meg had fallen asleep her head on my shoulder. I pulled out my phone. “  Dammit no wifi”  Maybe I need a password.

I called over the whatever that thing was that crawled out from  Megs dress.  “Hey is there a wifi password I need?”“wifi?” 

 Yes .. please give phone will put password in.” Reluctantly I handed him my phone which he put in the password and handed it back to me.“Great thanks..” I whispered. I quickly checked my messages I texted Ren telling her to make sure her stupid brother did his homework Archie had his bath and Fae and Hunter were getting ready for bed.

But then I got another hankering … Noticing a curtain up above me I examined where it goes and noticed it was a privacy curtain and in case you wanted to nap or something I stood up and slid the curtain over and around the area we were seated in waking up Meg in the process. “ Are we there yet?” She snuffled.  “ No not for a while.  about another hour… Or 2.

I started to fidget as I was reading. Maybe I had adhd too  I couldn’t focus now that I knew nobody was watching at least I hope they weren’t.“ You okay?”    Me I’m fine I just have to piss real bad..”  Megs hand slid over my left thigh she inched closer and closer to my crotch and rubbed playfully.   She smiled seductively …she knew

 “ You sure it’s not cum real bad?” “You’re really hard right now,” I grunted  I’ve been trying to tuck it in my belt for about  20 minutes.

 “Poor baby…” She quivered her lip mocking me… 

“Yeah.. poor baby..” I raised a brow.  “  Do you want me to help you?” She canted her head in a way that suggested she maybe will do it or maybe wouldn’t   “It would be nice. I swallowed my voice cracking

. “If you won’t at least don’t make me jizz in my pants.” Her fingers toyed with my belt  “  “What do you say?”   

 “Please, just fucking suck my cock already .” 

“ That’s better, I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “I breathed a sigh of relief as she loosened my belt and started to tease me even more.  My dick was twitching like mad as she continued to tease me her warm tongue soaking the front of my briefs her lips leaving traces of lipstick around my bulge.

I wriggled slightly in the seat to get my pants down  I really wanted them down to my ankles a little more. She was taking her sweet time. Not that we were there yet. At least… I hope not. 

 “ Ungh finally..”  Her hands twisted around my shaft and stroked I know this was a pretty basic handy she spat on it for lube kinda gross but kinda hot at the same time.

I had to ask.. “Are you really wearing anything under there?”  Meg briefly stopped sucking me to answer but continued to stroke me. “Didn’t you offer to check?”   “I did didn’t I?”

And I didn’t spare another minute let me tell you, She sat with one leg on the ground and the other hoisted up on the bench with this look on her face. That just drew me in.  she pulled her dress away from her behind so her ass was on the seat but I still couldn’t tell if she was her dress was rather long. I slowly pulled her dress up over her knees and saw.

“ Well, what do you know you really aren’t wearing panties.” I could see clearly through those nylons

“You know how I feel about panties..” M.K fuck em.  

Meg stood up her dress rolled up from behind. She almost lost her footing when we went over a rather large bump this also forced me to my feet as it sort of threw me off the bench.

Slowly and carefully once it seemed like there were no more bumps  I rolled down that thin material while loosening the lace corset gusset whatever you call that thing. 

That was keeping me from what I wanted.

“Mal I don’t think..” She started I silenced her by kissing her neck gently nibbling on it while my hands  pulled the string keeping her chest in place her dress fell forward. Freeing her breasts. Shortly after her dress followed.

 It slipped down her body leaving my wife in only heels and pantyhose slightly pulled down  as I went down to pick up the dress I couldn’t help my self and kissed her thighs

 I threw it to the corner of the bench no sense getting that dirty. When she had to look pretty. “That wig looks nice on you,

” I commented.  “ If only my hair were really this long she sighed,” “You’ll always be fuckable no matter what you do with your hair… As long as you don’t cut it butch ass short.”

 I said continuously nibbling and kissing her neck as I slid myself inside her unable to stand it anymore.“You’re an ass hole ungh,” she replied her voice breathy as I went on full bunny mode thrusting wildly.

 I placed a hand around her throat gently and allowed my thrusts to get harder choppier and louder. I was forced to place a hand over her mouth for a second as a way to tell her to be quiet before I was able to massage those creamy white tits I love so much.

 I tugged and pulled and rolled her nipples between my fingers. She spread her legs wider for me that or she was going to pass out from pleasure “Oh god…” 

She whined almost pathetically  I’m gonna cum.” She whispered repeatedly between breaths and pants Unhh unnhh…"she purred before I grabbed her holding both legs around my waist and laid her back on that table. 

I bent over her and kissed her. My hands still glued to her boobies of course.We honestly had no idea how long we’d been at it but a sharp abrupt stop sometime during our heated love making that this time made me bite Megs neck hard enough with my fangs that it caused her to bleed a bit.

“OW!”  She cried. Like a lobster pinched her nose or something.  Without thinking she slapped me out of anger. “  It was an “ACCIDENT MEG!  “We’ve stopped moving.

“Now hold still.” And stop panicking you’ll bleed more. I didn’t get your jugular but close.” I’m kidding.” She shot me daggers for that one. 

  She was bleeding not too bad but bad enough which allowed me a quick moment To greedily lap it up it was serious enough to maybe require stitches but it was where her neck met her shoulder where it happened but it was deep enough to get a decent taste of her sweet life nectar.

  A quick lick from my tongue across what just looked like a  giant snake bite  across her wound would close and make the wound disappear completely.  We didn’t speak for a moment she was furious.

As I helped her get dressed. I felt horrible. She stormed out of the curtain once dressed to see what was going on.  After I pulled my pants back on and zipped my pants back up and grabbed my jacket and hat I quickly followed.

We both stood in awe.  Meg’s anger diffusing almost completely as her eyes focused on the huge gothic castle-like building.  

“Vampires all over the world must come here..”

 “I’ve never seen anything like this.  This is a restaurant? Or is it a venue?  The food here must be good then. …” She opened the door and stepped off the carriage. 

 “ Yeah hahaha” I  swallowed nervously. right behind her.

 “If this place serves food…”    

“I’m sure it does Mal.”

 Meg says as she held onto her clutch bag. But I brought some snacks just in case  hehehe.”  ‘At least it stopped raining anyway. I muttered.”  Not that I mind the rain. “

This place looks like it caters to every type of vampire out there at the moment.” “ Let’s hope.”

 I swallowed.  wondering if this was a good idea I quickly caught up with her and allowed my hand to curl around hers stopping her for a moment.

Pulling her out of an eager and excited state.  I couldn’t look at her I was totally ashamed of what happened and she was quick to pick up on it. 

“Mal it’s okay I’m sorry I overreacted her hand caressed my cheek still stinging from when she slapped me. I’m sorry I slapped you.  I know you’d never hurt me..”

“ Not on purpose anyway.” I snorted, my gaze finally shifting to look at her. 

“ But it’s not me I’m worried about.” “ Do you trust me?”  

I asked tilting her head up to look at me.

 “With my life.”  She shuddered but her expression was sincere  “That was all I needed to hear.” I smiled and replied with a quick peck on her forehead.  “ Stay close or things could get ugly alright?”

 I put my arm around her and escorted myself and her to the front entrance of …this strange place.”

 “Least it’s warm outside.”  I could hear music Classical music as we approached.

  Almost immediately we were greeted by a vampire that seemingly came out of no where.  He had a large book in hand. “Good Evening Sir, Madame may I have your names, please?”

“I’m Malikor Kregore Grand Master of Brindleton Bay.”

 I saw him smirk.  “So that place hasn’t floated off the map yet then.”  

“ Oh fuck off  very funny.”

  And  “Yours love?” his demeanor changing upon eyeing Meg becoming sweet on her.  

Megan Kregore  “lovely just like yourself.” as the vampire flipped through the book  “Ah yes there you are.

 Welcome to the estate. - You may board here for the night as well if you are interested. I mean You must be exhausted after all that swimming … “Oh for  Christ-“Please remember to “drink” responsibly enjoy yourselves!”.  he cackled. As he disappeared.  

“I swear I’m going to hit that son of a bitch with a brick,” I uttered to Meg as we walked through the door.

                                             End of  Part One

LA LA BABY| Chaotic Four

WHO:Iris, @oliver-puckerman, @gioharper, @stephaniepills WHAT: The four friends find themselves finally in California where some... things, happen on the first day Feelings emerge, lollipops are taken away, and someone makes another damn sex joke

STEPHANIE:

The plane ride went smoothly, none of any of the four teens luggage had gotten misplaced, and they didn't need to wait too long for the Ubber to head to her apartment. It wasn't anything super fancy but it was the teens home away from home, and it helped that after that one ubber trip they'd be able to use the car her mom left there for her. 

As they pulled up to the building, and got all their stuff out, she pushed through her bag to find her house keys. "You guys all know once we drop this stuff off, we need to go food shopping, cause I don't think i have any food here." She said truthfully, pushing her hair behind her ear looking between the group. "And with it being the four of us, it's probably better for a cosco run and not a target run"

OLIVER:

If there was one thing Oliver hated more than anything, it was being on a plane for long periods of time. He had always had a fear that the one time he actually flew anywhere would be the time the plane would malfunction and go down. He knew it was a fear that was likely never to happen, but he couldn't control how far his imagination would take him. Happy when the aircraft finally touched down in LA, Oliver could finally relax a bit more and really let his vacation start. Going down to pick up his bags, the young man laughed with his friends as they made their way through the airport.

Before he knew it the four of them had finally reached Steph's apartment. It had felt like a lifetime has gone by since the last time any of them had come to visit her, but it still gave the feeling of a long lost home. "Yeah, I really wouldn't trust any food that may have been left here before you moved back home.  Though are you sure? Since I'm sure majority of the time we might be eating out. What with sightseeing and Disney. Are we even going to be here often enough to cook ourselves dinner?"

GIO

The trip to LA was uneventful - he'd flown to and fro New York a couple of times when he went to Columbia, but he wasn't able to get any sleep the night before their flight.  Though he won't be admitting it out loud any time soon, he was excited. So, he spent  the four-hour flight time dozing off. A groggy Gio wasn't really pleasant company, but by the time they'd arrived at Stephanie's  LA home, he was up and fully awake.

"Costco's much better," Gio agreed as he plopped his bags on the carpet - he never  frequented LA, he never really found amusement parks fun and entertaining, but he'd take every opportunity to go out with his friends before they inevitably part ways. "We should do a bit grocery shopping, y'know - for domesticity, or when Oliver's stomach starts grumbling in the middle of the night," he grinned. Despite his suggestion, however, he sat down on the couch, slumping lazily against the seat.

IRIS

This was the first time she was going on a trip without her family. Sure had gone to summer camps since she was in elementary school and some of those included sleepaway camps; but those were only a few towns over and not a few states. And surely not more than a few days. This trip meant everything to her. Being the youngest in the group she was scared that when everyone went off to college they’d all lose time for her-- so this was the best way to gather whatever time they had left before that happened. A trip away from drama and a trip away from their parents so they could just be kids and have fun and not worry about anything or anyone. 

Once in Steph’s apartment she dropped her bags along with everyone else's before dropping herself to the floor. Instantly she made herself comfortable, swinging around to lay on the floor, throwing her legs up to rest on the other side of the couch. “Costco is best, we definitely need at least munching food when we’re not eating out or when we want to grab something on the way out. Also drinks.” She nodded, looking up at everyone. “Oh, also, Costco has those taste testing sample people out.”

STEPHANIE

Stephanie rolled her eyes instantly at Oliver, but laughed "I am not door dashing every night when we're here Oli. And Iris is right free samples for days at Cosco." She put her bag ontop of her suitcase before walking into the kitchen, trying to see what she had left in the cabinets before heading home after her show was unfortunately canceled.  Pulling her phone out of her back pocket she started making a list. "Does anyone have any special request that are must for the next week and a half or are we just gonna be four seventeen and eighteen year olds braving cosco without a list? "

OLIVER:

Rolling his eyes at how his friends picked on him, Oliver followed Stephanie into the kitchen, pulling open cabinets as he went. "I think we should plan a few nights out. I have an idea of what I'm going to make you for our date, but I don't have to write that down. Maybe a few pizzas we can bake, stuff Gio and I can barbecue, chips and soda. Other than that im not sure what all we'll want." Finally leaning against the counter, Oliver slung an arm around her shoulders as he watched her write down the things he mentioned.

GIO:

If Gio had bothered looking back, he would've noticed the dynamic between Stephanie and Oliver changing slightly. "We need to make a grocery list, I think," Gio shrugged, playfully resting his feet across Iris' legs. "It'll be a damn disaster, otherwise. Unless you want to spend half of the day at Costco." Frankly, he wouldn't mind. Costco was magical.

IRIS:

“We’d up buying crap we aren’t going to eat if you don’t make a list.” Iris threw in, knowing the four of them would run around grabbing whatever they wanted and end up spending hundreds of dollars. She sent a glare towards Gio, kicking her legs to annoy him but ultimately didn’t care. She was too comfortable to move. “Oh oh oh! Add candy to that. Specifically lollipops.” She said, reaching into her shorts pocket and yes, pulling out a lollipop, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth.

STEPHANIE:

As everyone talked, Stephanie was quickly typing the list into her phone, leaning back on the counter, a small smile crossing her lips when Oliver draped his arm over her. "You're saying as if being at costco all day wouldn't be a good time Gio" She said with an eye roll, and typed in Lolipops to the list.

OLIVER:

"Iris..I think it might be time we had an intervention about your addiction to lollopops. It's not healthy for someone of your size to consume that much sugar in a day." As he smirked in Iris' general direction, he couldn't help but give Steph a knowing smile as he nodded towards the pair. He couldn't take how adorable they seemed as they flirted with each other. "Do you guys want me to make us french toast before we leave tomorrow?"

GIO:

"I'll help you," Gio offered, his head lolling back to the edge of the couch to grin at Oliver, "And the Iris and Steph can cook dinner!" It seemed like a fair idea. "I'm kinda craving mac and cheese for dinner tonight. And, hm, a bunch of drinks," he added. "And no lollipops for Iris, nobody wants you to start jumping all over the place 'cause of all the sugar you're consuming."

IRIS:

Iris pulled the lollipop out with a pop, a pout adorning her face. “That’s rude. I have the perfect amount of sugar intake. Just because I’m tinier than all of you and it effects me more, doesn’t mean I have a problem. I can stop whenever I want to.” She shrugged, turning to Gio and pointing the lollipop at him. “You touch this, and you die.” She muttered towards him, a grin still adorning her face. Before calling out to the other two. “Yeah, we can make chicken or something in return.” She shrugged, popping the lollipop back in her mouth.

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie put an x2 next to the lolipops, knowing that just the fact it would piss off the both the boys. "Leave hear alone, we're all gonna end up on a sugar high either now or at disney so y'all need to calm yourself." She pushed up off the counter and walked out to the living room, and looking between the two on the couch. "Do you two wanna stay here and just send myself and oliver to get the stuff?"

OLIVER:

Watching as Stephanie wrote down two bags of suckers for his smaller blonde friend, Oliver made a mental note to be sure to take them out of the cart while she wasn't looking. He knew she meant well, but it really wasn't healthy for Iris to have a sucker in her mouth 24/7. "I'll leave her alone the day the two of them finally get together. Then Gio can take over for the both of us, and control his girlfriend. Maybe he can give her something else to suck on." He mentioned as he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

GIO:

Gio let out an undignified squawk at Oliver's sexual innuendo, "Jesus Christ," he choked out, not really knowing whether to laugh or cry. If it had been somebody else, he would've went with it, no doubt, but it was Iris. Iris was different. Gio could feel the heat in his cheeks rising, and he attempted to will it away by sitting up and reaching down to pry the lollipop from Iris' mouth, "Get that shit off,  or else Oliver will start spewing weirder shit!"

IRIS:

She was ready to die. Right then and there, bury her under the sofa, say nice things about her, she wanted to die. Sure, everyone was used to Oliver’s weird perversion to make sexual jokes but this one just felt different. Any moment now her life could fall apart with a few simple words and she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. She sat up, legs falling to the floor as she peered over at Oliver. “You’re a jackass.” She said, gasping in protest as she felt the candy leave her mouth. “Hey! Give that back! I don’t care what he says, he can go suck a dick for all I care.” She protested, climbing onto the couch and reaching over him to grab at her lollipop.

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie's eyes just widened at Oliver's comment. Yeah she had heard them before but it was never that extreme or about the elephant in the room. She pushed her hair behind her ear just watching everything. "Kay I'll let you two fight over the lolipop and.." she grabbed her bag as she spoke "you two can deal with what just happened with Oliver not having a filter some times." She debated on grabbing Oliver's hand but didn't and just hoped he was gonna follow her.

OLIVER:

You would think his friends didn't know he had no filter when it came to this subject. One thing that had yet to change in his growing up was the fact that he used his inexperience in sex as a way to make light of a situation. Truth be told, and he would rather die than let Iris and Gio know, but their threesome had actually been his first time. Maybe it was his defense mechanism, but he did feel bad about what he said when he saw the look on Iris face. "I'm sorry ris. That was uncalled for." Watching as Stephanie left out the front door, Oliver silently followed as he pulled the door closed behind him.

GIO:

Gio grunted in annoyance, stretching his arm upwards, far away from Iris' reach. "What the hell, get off me," he complained, trying to ignore the way his heart was beating wildly against his chest - Stephanie and Oliver were off somewhere doing god knows what, and they were alone. The asshole part of him thought how hilarious popping the lollipop into his mouth would be (and see the look of infuriation and shock on Iris' face), so he did, a shit-eating grin on his face. "'S mine now."

IRIS:

Iris just glared back at Oliver before putting her focus back on the task at hand. If there was one thing she took seriously, it was her lollipops; she didn’t eat many different kinds of candy, and lollipops were always her go to whenever she wanted something sweet. She shook her head, still trying to reach the lollipop, not hearing the door close behind them. “Dude what the fuck.” She exclaimed, reaching forward and grabbing hold of the stick, mimicking his movements moments prior. “You do know that has my salvia all over it?” Iris questioned, giving it tug , not caring she was all but hovering over him.

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie looked behind her when the door closed seeing Oliver, a small smile crossed her face. "So how long do you think it's gonna  both of them to realize that we're going to the store without them?" She asked grabbing her keys out of the zippered part of bag, and started to walk down the stairs to wear the car was parked.

OLIVER:

Patting his pockets to make sure he didn't forget his phone in the kitchen, Oliver glanced over at the redhead. "I doubt they will even notice. I mean did you see them? How can they not see that they are 100% in love with each other." Making his way over to her car, Oliver waited until he heard the beep of her car unlocking before he ran ahead so he was able to open the car door for her. "How long are we going to leave them here? Like are we just going to Costco? Or are we going other places as well"

GIO:

"Don't care," Gio managed to hiss out, the lollipop still wrenched between his teeth - he wasn't going to lose, it was childish, even for him, but the prideful part of him remained stubborn. "We've done worse," he grinned up at her, eyebrows raising up challengingly. Where did the audacity come from?  He didn't know. Probably their compromising position - which, he didn't mind at all.

IRIS:

Iris rolled her eyes, still determined to get the lollipop; even though it was more so to mess with him and win over him than the lollipop itself. Even out of school, she was still competitive as ever against Gio. No matter how embarrassed she might be at the fact that she was all but straddling him at this point. “Yes, yes. I know. I even know that that was a one time thing and as much fun as it was, not looking to do that again with Oli.” She shrugged, leaving his name out of it. She might try to put on a front with him, but she couldn’t lie to herself.

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie let out a soft laugh. "They are blind if they can see it." She murmured watching him walk in front of her biting the side of her lip. "You know i can get my own door." She teased going over and leaned on the car  looking at him. "I feel like we should just stick with Costco, but we can probably stretch it until they call us and ask where the hell we went"  she shrug a little bit.

OLIVER:

Oliver agreed wholeheartedly. He wasn't sure as to why they hadn't just gotten it over with, but if there was anywhere in the world that could spark up a romance, it was Disneyland. "trust me, I know you don't need me to take care of you, but just let me be a gentleman." Oliver complained as  he placed a hand on her waist before closing the space between the two. "Do you have a problem with that?" He asked with a slight smirk gracing his face. "Well I do have our date planned out, but if we did that today, we wouldn't be back until late tonight."

GIO:

Unfortunately, Gio caught the hint. With Oli?" He asked, pulling the lollipop out and waving it in front of Iris with a teasing smile on his face. Now that the both of them had considerably calmed down, Gio was all-too aware of Iris on his lap, but he made no move to push her away. "Here's your damn lollipop," he passed the candy back to her, "Happy?"

IRIS:

Iris had two choices, to try and correct herself, or just go with it. And considering the compromising position they were in, the fact that she really didn’t care all that much about the candy, and the statement their blonde friend had made earlier, she had a feeling playing it off wouldn’t get past him. “Yes, with Oli.” She grinned, taking the lollipop back from him and popping it in her mouth, halting her fight against him. “Considerably so, yes I am.” She said, pulling the lollipop out. “Though, it’s seemed to have lost it’s flavor.”

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie could feel her cheeks growing redder as Oliver's hands rested on her waist. Why was the smallest thing making her feel like they where kinda perfect in a way. "Fine, i can't say no to that." the redhead whispered rolling her lips between her teeth seeing the smirk play on his face. "No, but we should save that date for a full day in LA."

OLIVER:

Watching as she softly chewed on her lip, Oliver felt a sense of pride that he had this sort of reaction on her. "We should really get going, Steph. It's already going to take us a while before we actually make it back here." Nodding in agreement, Oliver waited for her to get in the car before closing it behind her.

GIO:

Iris' smile was infectious, and Gio found himself returning it with the same calibre. "Just with Oli?" He asked, with a joking lilt to his voice, although there was a little hesitance (hopefulness?) behind his question.  The mere fact that Iris still hasn't made any move to get off his lap was saying a lot. Maybe. "How unfortunate." He licked his lips, "Can't relate, though, my mouth still tastes like strawberry."

IRIS:

“I said what I said.” She shrugged again, twirling the stick between her fingers. She had one every single day, she knew the workings of candy; Iris knew the lollipop didn’t actually lose flavor, she wasn’t stupid, she just wanted to see what his reaction was. A simple test to gauge what her next choice would be. If she was being honest with herself, she was getting tired of the back and forth between them and needed to know if the feelings truly were one sided. She bit her lip, eyes flickering towards his. “Is that so.” She muttered, before mustering up all the Lopez-Pierce courage she could, surging forward and planting her lips on his.

STEPHANIE:

"Fine fine fine." Stephanie muttered getting into the car. She watched him walk around the car to get in himself. She opened google maps and typed into it Costco and set her phone down in the cup holder smiling when he got into the car. "Ready?"

OLIVER:

Pulling the seatbelt across him, Oliver only nodded as a signal that he was ready. "So can I ask you something?" Oliver paused as he tried to think of the best way possible to ask this without him seeming like he wasn't happy. "What made you say yes to a date? I thought.." trailing off as he gathered his thoughts, it took him a moment before he actually finished his sentence. "I thought you didn't have feelings for me like that."

GIO:

Gio freezes - the gears in his brain had stopped for a nanosecond. He certainly hadn't seen this coming; yes, sure, he'd dropped a lot of not-so-subtle hints and openly flirtatious to Iris, but he didn't expect her to... Return it. The moment their lips had touched, and the moment Gio gathered his shit together and kissed her back, the heavy tension in the air had snapped like a rubber band. Gio cupped her cheeks as he deepened the kiss, pulling her flush against him. Oliver and Steph had fucked off somewhere, but were they to suddenly walk in and catch them making out, they would have a lot of explaining to do.

IRIS:

Part of Iris was afraid she just made a huge mistake. Her whole family may be full of confidence but when it came to iris half the time it was pure ‘fuck it all’ mindframe. She knew there was something between the two of them, but she wasn’t sure if the extent of it was just something she made up in her mind. All this was flying through her mind in the seconds before he kissed back, and in that moment a rush of butterflies went right to Iris’ head without mercy. The lollipop fell from her hands, instinctively letting go to bury her fingers in his hair, really not wanting this moment to end.

STEPHANIE:

Once he was buckled, Stephanie started the car backing out of the spot, and started to drive out of the parking lot and getting on the road. She was about to turn up the radio but stopped as he asked that question. “A date. not datING” She said peering over at him hoping that didn’t come off as she wasn’t excited and ready for it,  but talking about the date made her heart race. “I’m an actress, i am good  at showing emotion when I wanna”  she whispered, looking back at the road as she started to change lanes, letting out a small breath. “Like if it wasn’t for the stupid gossip blog, i probably would have just kept pushing my feelings i’ve had aside cause I didn’t want to get between you and your music, or if we /had/ dated before, and i was out here and you saw pictures of me with other guys i wouldn’t want you to think that i was cheating on you. Cause honestly last thing i would do is that to someone I really care about.” The redhead took a few turns as she was talking, and soon they where at Costco. “So, don’t hate me for not telling you.”

OLIVER:

Rolling his eyes slightly, Oliver corrected himself "Yes, date but you know what I mean. I know this is us testing out the waters together, but I still wanted to know." If trying to break out in the music industry had taught him anything, it was the fact that tabloids would do anything to get a story--even if they have to make it up in order to do so. "I would still trust you if you told me nothing was going on. You've given me no reason not to trust you. It would be the same thing with me out on the road all of the time. Once we have this album finished, the band and I are planning on going on a small tour. Nothing major..just a few small venues, but you would have to deal with the idea of girls potentially being all over me. I just just hope that if we do end up giving this a real shot, that you would trust me." As the pair pulled into the local Costco, Oliver helped in the task of finding a spot. "I don't hate you. I mean its not like I ever made my feelings known." Looking down one of the lanes, Oliver finally pointed" I see a spot down there."

GIO:

Gio eventually had to (reluctantly) break the kiss for air. He wrapped his arms around Iris' waist, grinning up at her. "Well," he sucked in a breath, hoping to the gods that he didn't look as nervous as he felt. "That was nice," he said lamely. Way better than their little fling with Oliver. "We should, like, totally do it again."

IRIS:

It was only when he pulled away did Iris realize how on fire her lungs were, that there was this thing called air they needed. “Yeah, really nice.” She responded, not helping the laugh that escaped her, leaning forward once more, pressing a firm kiss to his lips before pulling back again. Her hands fell away from his neck to only let her head fall into them, another laugh escaping from her as everything that just happened in the last few minutes flew through her mind. “I can’t believe I just did that.” She muttered, thanking every god imaginable that not only did he obviously felt the same, but that their friends weren’t around for it.

STEPHANIE:

Stephanie shrugged a little bit. "Well.. you know now." She said softly as she hit the blinker on her car, pulling into the spot. "I'd trust you too, Oli." She turned off her car grabbing her bag and looked over at him. "And you're acting as if I wouldn't end up being a groupie following you guys around" she teased, tossing her keys into her bag getting out of the car, waiting for him. "Look, whatever happens between us, our friendship always comes first, deal?"

OLIVER:

The fact that she had always been supportive of his dream really meant the world to him. He wouldn't know what to do if his friends didn't support him, and the fact that the girl he wanted to try and make something with, seemed to always be his biggest fan. "You should know that no matter what, I'll always have VIP passes sitting at the box office for you." Nodding his head as he got out of the car, Oliver could only smile as he made his way over to her side. Wrapping an arm around her as they walked into the store. "Nothing is going to come between us and our friendship, Sunshine. I won't let anything happen."

GIO:

Gio lets out a soft snort, one hand flying up to stroke Iris' hair; as  amazing as kissing Iris felt, there was an unanswered question hovering in the air, and Gio certainly wasn't going to waste the rest of his summer away being a complete coward. No, he was moving to New York for fuck's sake. "I can't believe you just did that," Gio teased, leaning against her. "So," he started, licking his lips. "Did - uh, did that kiss mean anything, or...?"l

IRIS:

Iris lifted her head solely for the purpose of slapping Gio across the chest. “Don’t forget Gio, you’re the one who reciprocated.” She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. “No, it meant absolutely nothing. I just made up an excuse to kiss you for the hell of it.” She joked, sticking her tongue out at him, a sign she was messing with him. But as quick as she joked, she quickly got serious. “It did. It really did. And yeah you’re going to college in a few months, but doesn’t mean we can’t try, right? I mean, if you’re up for it. Because I am. I mean who knows, if you can deal with dating someone still in high school, we could totally make long distance work.” She said, quickly realizing she was rambling.

AU where Dick and Jason realized early on that their differences were actually all due to the same problem, one they had in common: Bruce is an ass. And so instead of continually butting heads, they agreed to call a truce and not let Bruce’s continued status as an Ass come between them. Allied against the Ass.

And thus they actually had a good sibling relationship, with Jason going to Dick when Bruce’s Asininery grew to unbearable levels, because GOD could Dick relate, and no way would he betray his little bro by letting Bruce know where he is or let him see Jason before Jason was good and ready. Because if Dick had had a Dick-like buffer when HE was a teenager butting heads with Bruce in very similar ways, their own conflicts would likely never have grown to the point that they did in canon, and cause a split as deep and long-lasting as the one between Dick and Bruce in canon was.

And maybe when Jason was grown enough that it was time for him to step out of Bruce’s shadow and adopt his own new identity, make room for a new Robin, he and Dick become partners. 

Only Jason being Jason, flat out REFUSES to be the Flamebird to Dick’s Nightwing, the natural other half of that duo, because Flamebird is a terrible name Dick, fuck you, that’s why. It’s LAME. 

Except Dick being Dick, flat out REFUSES to be something other than Nightwing, because he already picked it and is established and he LIKES it and everyone who knows anything about that name (even if its just other heroes who know Clark or Kara well) knows that Nightwing’s partner is supposed to be Flamebird, anything else will be WRONG, god, Jason, you’re the English lit snob, WHY DO YOU HATE SYMBOLISM??

And so finally they settle on a compromise that works for both of them: they’ll BOTH be Nightwing and Flamebird. They’ll take turns, switch off roles. 

Dick’s pleased because a) he gets his way and he’s a shit like that and b) aww his little brother really DOES love him, he’s willing to be Flamebird even some of the time so they can be a proper team, because they’re family, they’re brothers, and that’s more important than pride to both Dick and Jason even if they’re both so obviously prideful that this isn’t always evident. 

And Jason’s less obviously but still equally pleased because a) he didn’t totally cave, he resisted the power of Dick’s unapologetic guilt trips which is no easy feat and really it’s just the principle of the matter, principles are very important to Jason except when they’re not, he’s a shit like that, and b) aww his big brother really DOES love him, its so obviously important to him that he invite Jason into this identity that matters so much to him as a symbol of his independence, him being his own man separate and apart from Bruce, its a family thing, a brother thing.

And then they’re both pleased for an entirely different reason, the reason being that they’re both little shits who fucking love mischief and chaos in counter to Bruce and Batman’s rigid order and control. Oh, the glee once they realize the havoc that their constant switching has on villains and criminals. 

Because see, its not that hard to tell that they do it. Jason’s much bigger and broader than his acrobat older brother by this point, they have entirely different manners of movement even though they know all the same fighting styles, all the same gymnastics tricks. Their differences in size and center of gravity and muscle mass make it impossible to do everything the same, even if the moves are identical. Not to mention Dick physically can’t NOT run his mouth incessantly, whereas Jason’s quite content to stick to some well-timed cursing and catchy threats as punctuation for his beat-downs.

So its common knowledge that sometimes Nightwing is Nightwing and Flamebird is Flamebird and sometimes Nightwing is Flamebird and Flamebird is Nightwing except really doesn’t that still mean Nightwing is Nightwing and Flamebird is Flamebird even when Flamebird is Nightwing and Nightwing is Flamebird?

You see where this might begin to become confusing for their foes and hard to keep track of.

Especially since the Brothers Batty have gotten GOOD at compensating for their obvious differences, they crouch wherever possible in order to mask the difference in heights, they use shadows to obscure muscles and proportions, and they know each other well enough to mimic each other’s patterns and type of speech and banter when its for a good enough reason, like say, fucking with their bad guys’ heads. Like the order of prioritization goes Pride -> The Principle of the Matter -> Standing Firm Against Bruce’s Asininery -> Brothers -> Mischief and Mayhem.

See, its not that they don’t have clear priorities, its that their priorities aren’t immediately obvious to normal people aka non raised by the Goddamn Batman, that Emotional Toddler That We Nevertheless Desperately Seek Approval From, Ugh, Why Are We Like This, Why is HE Like This, Oh Right, We’re Like This Because HE’S Like This, Ugh FUCK BATMAN.

Point being, its not always easy to tell them apart in combat, let alone distinguish which one you’re talking about. 

And sometimes after a long week of patrolling Dick and Jason just kick back at home and replay the audio from their stakeout and resulting beatdown of the latest cabal of supervillains to try and set up shop in Bludhaven, cackling with glee as they listen to their targets ranting about those two damn Birds breathing down their necks.

See apparently, the Boss is really mad about an op Nightwing busted up the other night and one of his suck-up subordinates was like ‘Ugh yeah, me too, Boss man, he totally ruined that meet I was trying to set up with a couple of Gotham Rogues for you’, and then someone else is like no you nitwit, not THAT Nightwing, the OTHER Nightwing, the big one, the first one! You’re talking about Flamebird! 

And then someone else would be like shut up you dumbass, the first Nightwing is the SMALLER one, the one always running his mouth, everyone knows that! The big one is Flamebird! Y’know. Except for when he’s Nightwing.

And then someone else is like, that doesn’t even make sense, why would the first Nightwing be the smaller one, he was FIRST, obviously he’s the older and bigger Nightwing and what are you talking about anyway, the smaller Nightwing isn’t the one always running his mouth, he’s the angry one who says the really fucked up shit that makes you wanna crap your pants cuz like I fucking kill people but that shit is DARK

And then the Boss is like “EVERYONE SHUT UP! Alright. Look. There’s an easy way to settle this: Are we all talking about the Nightwing that hits harder than he kicks or the Nightwing that kicks harder than he hits?”

Which is when someone’s like “Well Flamebird’s definitely the only who hits harder - “ and it all starts up all over again.

Meanwhile, at home, Jason and Dick are on their sides, trying not to bust stitches they’re both laughing so hard.

And don’t even start with the times people hire Deathstroke to kill Nightwing. Because first Slade has to clarify. He’s like: “WAIT. Which Nightwing? Cuz I’ll only kill one of them, the one that’s really - usually - UGH FUCKING HELL - Look I’ll kill one of them but the other one’s off limits. So it depends on which one you want killed.” 

“And they’re like, well which Nightwing is off limits?”

And Dick and Jason REALLY get a kick out of the audio of what THAT devolves into. (They’re in the rafters of the warehouse the meet is happening in the whole time. This is just too fucking good to bust up any sooner than they have to. Slade looks hilarious when he’s frustrated).

Meanwhile, back in the Batcave, a highly confused Bruce is listening to the same audio, Barbara having sent it to him in order to keep him from doing something dumb like storming off to Bludhaven the second he heard Deathstroke was in town and pissing off both his eldest two because CLEARLY, they do not need his help. 

Tim and Damian have no idea whether to sympathize with Bruce over their brothers’ refusal to take this situation as seriously as they obviously should be, or to just find it fucking hilarious. 

Cass and Duke aren’t hindered by the same need to be Team Bruce ever or by weird and arbitrary standards of professionalism, so they just find it fucking hilarious. Their older brothers are the best.

Roots and Leaves, Pt. 4

They talk for hours, after that. Honestly, Jason’s still not sure what she knows or doesn’t know about…about Batman and the Joker and everything, but he can’t bring it up, he just can’t.

He’s only a little alarmed when they finally stand up to leave and she hugs him, shaky-armed and kinda frail-feeling. But. It’s, um. He may not exactly like it, because it came out of nowhere and there’s that little voice in the back of his head whispering worked for Joker, worked for Joker!, but he appreciates the idea. And. Um. People don’t…they haven’t…he’s had, like, four non-thank-you-for-saving-my-ass hugs since he got back, and one of them was a tackle-hug from Dick that scared the shit out of him and earned Dick a broken nose that Jason’s not at all sorry about.

He must not respond like normal people, though, because she steps back abruptly and says, “Hem, hem…I’m sorry. I just…I’m sorry.”

Whoops.

“It’s okay. Just wasn’t expecting it.” He forces a smile and hopes it’s not overly serial-killer-y or anything. “It’s not your fault.”

She steps back-ahh, personal space, you don’t realize how valuable that is until it’s gone-and straightens her shoulders.

“I understand if you don’t…want anything to do with me.” Um- “But-and call me selfish, it’s a flaw of mine and I know it-I. I’d like the chance to get to know the man you’ve become.”

There’s an out. There is an out, right there, tap-dancing in front of his nose. A simple ‘no’ and that’ll be the end of it.

But she doesn’t seem to have expectations, some built-up memories of a dumbass kid that thought he could save the world, and…and everyone else does and…

Just once. Just once he’s not second fucking choice or damaged goods and he’s selfish too, sometimes, and he hates himself for it.

“I’d.” His voice is choked and he’s going to blame it on allergies if anybody asks. “No, I’d…I wouldn’t mind. I’d like that.”

She looks relieved and he made the right choice.

She gives him a card from her purse-Dr. Sheila Haywood, Gotham General-with a myriad of numbers on it.

“The third one down is my cell phone,” she says, and he nods like he doesn’t go through phone numbers like a kid goes through favorite things.

“I’m between phones right now-mine sort of…died.” That’s true, at least. It did die. It fell twenty stories and into a sewer and he wasn’t willing to go and get it. “But I have an e-mail until I get a replacement.” He’ll worry about all the other replacements later. It’s Gotham, he can come up with perfectly plausible stories.

“Well, that’s mine.” She taps said e-mail, written in metallic blue letters near the top of the card, with one red nail. “I don’t have any other ones.”

That doesn’t surprise him. That lack of social life usually doesn’t mean having a crap-ton of e-mail addresses.

This is good, he reasons. This makes it easier to make sure she’s not, like, up to anything. It has a tactical purpose.

“Okay.” Across the street, a child squeals as it smacks at a balloon. The sound is reminiscent of Harley Quinn’s ‘BAYYY-BEEEE!’ and it’s an effort not to cringe. It’s time to go home. “I gotta go home and get ready to go to work.” Does that sound apologetic enough? It must, because she nods.

“Same. It was…it was good to see you.”

She pats his cheek again and vanishes into the crowd heading for the subway before he can say anything.

Well. He did not get out of bed expecting his day to go this way.

* * *

Gotham’s quiet. Probably because it’s cold and windy, but the only people out tonight are a couple of corner girls, one brave, brave mugger (not so brave anymore) and a twelve-year-old boy who’s now warm and wouldn’t stop gushing about holy shit it’s so cool they’re never gonna believe me but who cares wow wow wow until Jason finally gave him his jacket to get him to just chill.

He can get a new jacket. He has other jackets. This kinda thing may or may not be a big part of that.

His sought-after pimp is snug and warm inside, and Jason lets himself in through the window, rifles through his record collection and judges all of it, and slouches comfortably in the guy’s bedroom doorway. He’ll wake up soon. He knows from personal experience that if you’re stared at long enough, you’ll wake up. Usually quite abruptly.

It takes the fucker five whole minutes to sit up and turn the lamp on. It takes him five whole seconds to go for the gun in his nightstand drawer.

The gun that Jason…borrowed. Without the intent to give it back. He holds it up to make this clear and says, “Lookin’ for somethin’?”

“Fuck-”

“Yeah.” He drops his hand and straightens up, strolls into the room and picks up the overflowing wallet on the dresser. “You know why I’m here, huh.”

“I didn’t do nothin’-”

He refuses to feel bad for grabbing the guy’s ankle and yanking him out of bed hard enough to smack his head on the nightstand corner.

“Anything,” he corrects. “You didn’t do anything. And that’s not true, and we both know it, don’t we?”

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Samantha Rider, goes by Honey.” He moves his fingers along the man’s ankle, adjusts his grip. “April Green, goes by Missy.” Right there. “Need I go on?”

“What about ‘em? You interested? S’not like there’s a waiting list-”

CRACK!

There. Now he can’t run. Jason drops the ankle, ignores the howl of pain as it hits the floor, and drags him up by his shirt.

“This is your one warning, Pauli. You lay a finger on any of your girls again, and I come back. You don’t want me to come back, do you?”

“You sonofabitch-”

Rude.

Those corners are awful sharp. He’s seen plenty of people make do with less.

Nice that he doesn’t have to, though.

Said corners are just the right size to enter an eye socket, as Pauli finds out the hard way. Jason takes pity and pulls him back off rather than leave him there, but he’s not volunteering to clean the bloody white goop off. The police can do that, when they get here.

“You don’t want me to come back,” he confirms, drops the now-scarcely-conscious man onto the carpet. “So be good, or I won’t be so nice.”

No wisecracks this time. He pats Pauli on the head, careful not to accidentally jam his thumb into the weeping hole, and swipes the cash from the wallet. It needs to go to the people that earned it, after all.

Welcome to the DC Universe - Dick Grayson x Reader Headcanons

Summary: You suddenly drop into Dick’s, which means you are now suddenly stuck in the DC Universe.

A/N: Hey guys, sorry I haven’t posted in a while, had a lot going on this past week (and weekend general) so I didn’t have any time to write. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this because it’s way longer than it was originally was supposed to be. (Seriously, this is the longest headcanon I’ve done.) Love you all, let me know what you guys think, and please send in some requests, the inbox is open!

~It was an overly exhausting day for you, all you wanted to do was read fanfiction and take a nap three-hour nap.

~Well you were able to read the fanfic (On the one and only Nightwing, I might add.), the nap part well…

~Not so much.

~You were laying down in your bed nodding off when you hear something smash and break in the kitchens.

~Your eyes busted wide open, you were home alone, with not much to protect yourself from the intruder.

~Well you improvised on the weapon part with an overly heavy textbook that you had on your desk.

~You quietly walked out of your room, the book raised, and your mind screaming “THIS IS HOW PEOPLE DIE IN HORROR MOVIES!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????”

~Let's just say that you weren’t all in control of your mind at the moment.

~Going around to the kitchen, you see nothing amiss, just the broken bowl in the middle of the floor.

~You were still shaken but you shook it off, looking for a broom to pick up the mess and seriously hoping that your house wasn’t haunted.

~You weren’t even able to leave the kitchen when a bright light literally blinds you, and then you were just falling.

~There wasn’t even enough time to get a good enough scream, just a really strong yelp, as you landed on a freaking couch face first.

~Groaning, you turn yourself over, letting out a little “Ow.”

~Now, when you noticed that it was pretty dark out, that’s when the shock wears off and you start panicking, BeCaUsE tHiS iS nOt WhErE i LiVe AnD wHy Is It DaRk OuT!!!

~Yeah, you were having a panic attack.

~Well it turns out that you appeared in your fav’s apartment, not that you really knew that, you were just too busy freaking out over the oddly familiar place...

~Anyway, Dick was just getting back from patrol, when as he opened a window to his apartment (Because they don’t know how to use a door apparently.), an extremely bright light shines throughout the apartment, a girl seemingly out of nowhere falls onto his couch.

~Dick gets clear of the window, back against the wall, and his brain processing what he just saw.

~Meanwhile, you didn’t know he was there so, you dashed over to the window and realized you had absolutely no clue as to where you were, but everything looked so familiar but you were pretty sure you had never seen this skyline anywhere.

~Literally screaming with your mouth closed because you didn’t know how to process this information.

~Dick was watching this, seriously trying to see if you truly were a threat or not because you seriously didn’t know what the hell was going on either.

~He decides to show himself while you were looking out the window.

~When your vision was covered by black and blue spandex, you screamed.

~Then proceeded to do a too quick of a backup into the couch, to then fall backward and just because the universe wants to have more of an excuse to laugh at you, you hit the back of your head with the coffee table on the way down to the floor.

~You let out a small “Ow…” yet again.

~You were seriously surprised that you didn’t have heart attack throughout the whole situation, but maybe a slight coma, or at least a good-sized bump on the back of your head.

~Low key, you were ready to cry (Tears were literally building up at the corners of your eyes, from either shock or the pain of hitting the table, you weren’t sure which.) seriously you thought you lost your mind.

~Dick winced as he heard the impact, and the opens the window, getting himself inside.

~The next thing you know you were sitting on his kitchen counter, an ice pack put on the back of your head and a Nightwing making a couple of calls to Batman and then the League.

~After a while, you had your head in your hands muttering questions like, “Why am I in the DC Universe?”, ”How do I make it home?”, and the one that got Dick’s attention “Why am I in Grayson’s apartment?”

~Cue an awkward conversation on how you know who he is, where you’re from and the story of getting there, even if there wasn’t much to tell.

~Either way, he could tell that you weren’t lying.

~”Look, I know this is all overly crazy for you so you can stay here till we can figure out what to do.”

~You let a small smile creep onto your lips, because hey, it could be way worse, plus you get to stay with your fav.

~He couldn’t stop himself from saying you had a pretty smile.

~Then you blush and that can be the situation that could describe the rest of your relationship.

~Literally no joke, he would compliment you on something and then the next thing you know, you’re all flustered because this situation seriously should have been impossible.

~Thankfully it was possible, otherwise you wouldn’t be hanging out with the Batfam.

~It’s to be expected though, because Dick is Dick and everyone at least tolerates (This mostly Jason (Even then, not so much), and Damian says he might not hate him but he does love his brother.) him.

~So since you were staying with him, you see a lot of the Batfam.

~At first almost everyone was wary, but after five minutes of talking to you, they seriously love you.

~Except Damian, he was another story all together, and you were expecting it but didn’t like it.

~Like the kid was raised to trust almost no one, so you couldn’t blame him.

~Dami was weirded out by how like understanding you were, and how you knew what he was like, almost to the T.

~Then one day he had to stay at the manor because of a seriously bad cold, and since this was the one day Alfred was out, you were the lucky person to babysit the sick assassin.

~To you, that kid was lowkey scary sick or not, but he seemed to have less of a cold shoulder throughout the first couple of hours, so that could be counted as a pretty good win.

~Later that night you went to check on him, finding him fast asleep, and actually looking his age and the most relaxed you had ever seen him.

~You walked over to him and felt his temperature with the back your hand, and he seemed not to have a high fever anymore.

~Seriously, you felt really bad for the kid, he never really even got the chance to be a kid.

~You move his hair from his face, then after a little bit, you turn around to walk away when his hand shot out of nowhere to grab your wrist.

~Crap crap crap, now he’s probably really annoyed that you were there.

~”Don’t go.” His eyes were still groggy, and he still wasn’t feeling to well.

~Cue your heartbreaking and melting all at the same time.

~”I’ll stay, Dami.” You were pretty sure that this was the only time you were able to use that nickname.

~Then in the way early hours of the morning that’s how Dick finds you guys, with you on the bed and Damian curled into your side.

~Seriously, his heart soared and it was one of the most cutest sights he had ever seen.

~He honestly was so happy, like his little brother finally opened up to the girl that he’s falling for. (Yeah, he’s not afraid to admit that only to himself.)

~May or may not have taken a picture for blackmail evidence that this actually even happened.

~Anyway that did not allude to him that this could be a problem in the future.

~Now that Damian is attached to the both of you guy's hip, then there was absolutely no time for you guys to be alone.

~Dick often gets paired with Damian the only one who actively gets along with him during patrol, and after the heart-to-heart you and Damian had, he started going to your guy’s apartment afterwards.

~He even has gone to the apartment after school.

~It confuses the hell out of you sometime because you guys are in Bludhaven, and he goes to school in Gotham???

~One time he brought Jon, and you again were dying because he’s so sweet.

~You are now the go-to babysitter for everyone, not that you really minded.

~So after a long day at the station (and even patrol), Dick just wants to chill while you tell him about your day he wants to tell you about his feelings in this scenario but he wants it to be special.

~But nope, you’ve got your focus on the always pissed off Wayne, and the super nice half Kryptonian.

~Like seriously, pay Dick some attention, he misses you.

~Well when he came back home after work, really sore from the night before and the apartment was way too quiet than normal while walking in.

~This got Dick on high alert, because Damian usually gets out at 2:45 and Jon usually gets there soon after, so something was seriously wrong.

~He went further in and he felt his blood drain, with his apartment in a complete wreck.

~Calling your guy’s names throughout the apartment, there was no response and he was trying his best to stay calm.

~He called Bruce, and soon enough he was in the Batcave looking through all the street cameras’ footage, and everything else to try and find you guys.

~Bruce at this time was getting Clark caught up in the whole drama, and getting him to look for you guys too.

~Meanwhile, in a empty warehouse by the docks, there you guys were, with you tied to a chair (Your mouth was duct taped too), Damian chained upside down (gagged also, plus unconscious), and Jon in a cage. (You were pretty sure that there was kryptonite in there because the poor boy was knocked out.)

~You were too busy worrying over them to notice the presence that there was a presence behind you, just watching with amusement.

~When an insane chuckle flows through the air to the left of you, you feel the blood drain out of your face, because now the situation really hit home.

~That’s when you realize that, maybe the others wouldn’t get there on time….

~(You’ve read Death in the Family, and even though you thought Jason was a cool dude, you didn’t want to die like that.)

~You kinda were hoping that Harley was there because she’s great and because maybe you would have had a higher chance of surviving??? Maybe???

~Either way, you’ll never know since she wasn’t there.

~The Joker started walking over to you, and well, you were scared.

~He was just laughing his eerie cackle the entire time, and when he made to right in front of you, there was no way in knowing what he was going to do.

~You looked away, not wanting to see him up close (Or at all, really.).

~So all you could do was yelp (Didn’t sound like much, your mouth was taped.) when he suddenly yanked you by the hair to face him.

~Little tears were starting to fill your eyes, making him laugh all the more harder as he then ripped the duct tape off.

~Seriously, not the way a person wants to get a wax, hence why you let out a small cry of pain.

~”So dearie, what’s a girl like you doing in Gotham? Or in this world in general?” You didn’t want to answer that for sooooooo many reasons, but that moment you were too petrified to answer.

~He didn’t seem to care because he kept on going, pulling out a knife and playing with it.

~”You know, I normally wouldn’t care when one of these twerps with powers come along asking about someone else who doesn’t belong here, well I wouldn’t give a damn!”

~You narrowed your eyes, but stayed quiet.

~Then he starts to circle you, ”But when I notice the Bat brats with a person who suddenly appears out of nowhere, well, it warms my heart to see them care about someone.”

~Oh shit. Did he see you with them while they were in costume???? (They normally are good at changing beforehand but sometimes you would walk to the store at night and Dick would join you if he was by. So you’d talk to “Nightwing” for a bit till you got home.) You were panicking, but you didn’t let it show.

~”So then I thought, well wouldn’t it just be so nice to have you die, and watch Bird Boy #1’s face to see you all,” You cry out when he slashes your arm deeply with the knife. “All broken and bloody.”

~Crap, you seriously hoped that Dick was close.

~Damian was beginning to stir back to life, your cry making him slam his eyes open.

~The Demon Child is now pissed, but is currently unable to do jack shit.

~The Joker keeps talking, while both Damian and you were trying to get out. (You were trying but your arm was hurting too much to move.)

~”Oh this is so much fun,” Another slash to the opposite arm, but this time so much slower. “Don’t you think so?”

~With either a burst of courage or maybe stupidity, you grit your teeth and tell him, “Go take a cactus and shove it up your-”

~All of a sudden a window breaks open, and in comes Nightwing, in all his amazing glory.

~You were so freaking relieved, but there was a whole lot of blood pooling out of you, and your vision was going fuzzy around the edges.

~By the time that they got the Joker uncapacitated, you were barely awake.

~While Bruce got Damian, and Clark got Jon, Dick went straight to you, cutting the ropes holding down your arms and legs.

~His worry was skyrocketed to the max when you fell forwards, him catching you instantly.

~”Nightwing….” You mutter out, feeling way too cold. “It wasn’t your fault….”

~In all honesty he was blaming himself for everything, he knew that and so did you.

~”Just hang on (Y/N), you’ll make it out of this.” He lifts you up, running out of there.

~”Dick, thank you for making my life so much brighter-”

~”No, don’t talk like that. I’m not going to let you die.” He was determined.

~”Love you, Dick…” And with that everything went black.

~In complete and utter honesty, you were seriously thought you were dead.

~Until you woke up in the Batcave infirmary.

~Especially when you see a certain Grayson brooding staring at the wall.

~He must of noticed, because his stare snapped back to you and you could see some of the stress melting off his shoulders.

~”Hey.” Is all you say, throat a little sore from lack of use.

~”Hi.” Is what he says back and there weren't any need for other words as he brought is lips to yours.

~You were pretty sure angels were singing in your mind.

~Same with Dick.

~When the rest of the Batfam found out everyone was like FINALLY

~Damian is the only one that had a straight face but he was seriously happy for you guys, was low key jealous though.

~Either way, from that day out you guys stuck together, through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Treat You Better // Werewolf!Shawn

A/N: Someone mentioned wanting more werewolf shawn and somehow this happened. Enjoy! ♥

TW. This fic includes parts that include violence and fighting, blood.

The lights of the bowling alley are too bright for the headache you have pounding away at the back of your skull. It’s 5pm and you’ve just woken up about an hour ago to come to your friend Aly’s birthday party. The night before you’d stayed up until almost 6am with your boyfriend drinking and watching movies. You hadn’t wanted to stay up so late, and you definitely hadn’t wanted to drink that much. But it was Troy’s turn to pick the date night and you didn’t want to start a fight again so you just went along with it. Now you were regretting it though. The sound of your friends cheering and laughing as someone threw a gutterball was literally the most grating noise ever. You loved them all. You did. But did they have to be so goddamn loud?

Shawn sits down at the little table across from you and leans back in his chair, hands in his hoodie pocket. He was a weird one. He was always with you and your friends but never seemed actually that interested in anything the group was doing. He primarily only spoke with Geoff and when provoked to join in activities, got a little snippy. You’re pretty sure he dated Ashley for a month or two but it didn’t go anywhere. You’re not sure when or how he came to be ‘part of the gang’ but he was and no one seemed to mind that he just kind of lurked in the background. No one but you. You noticed him the first time Geoff brought Shawn along to the Harrendorf Pier during the Oktoberfest carnival they had down there every year. Shawn was hard to miss, being nearly as big and tall and Geoff. Much more attractive in your opinion but that was because Geoff was like a brother to you and you would have more attraction to a tree than you would to Geoff.

Your attraction to Shawn was undeniable. He was always sweet on you even when he looked downright annoyed with everyone. Shawn always kept his tone light and soft when he spoke with you. It was something you loved but never mentioned to anyone else. It was obvious he liked you too. But you had Troy...and you weren’t going to try and make a move on Shawn when you were in a relationship. Shawn obviously wasn’t going to do that either.

“They’re loud huh?” Shawn says quietly and you lift your head off the table to look at him.

“It’s a birthday party. They’re going to be loud,” you grumble and Shawn actually cracks a small smile.

“Can I ask why you aren’t drinking?” He looks to the half empty can of Pepsi sitting by your arm. “Seems odd you aren’t joining in the festivities.”

You groan and lay your head on your arms on the table once more. The thought of drinking made you wanna curl up and die. You’d rather take a shot of nyquil and go the fuck to sleep. “Bad night,” you say, opting not to go into too much detail about your ‘date night’ with Troy.

Shawn shifts in his chair and you glance up to see he’s gotten up and left. Typical Shawn. Start a conversation and then just wander off. You close your eyes and try to ignore the increasing laughter from your friends. Just as you find a moment of peace, something is set down on the table and you sit up to see what it was. At the end of the table is a bottle of water and two aspirin. You can see Shawn walking away from your table and over to Geoff.

Fast forward to three hours later and most of your friends are too drunk to be bowling anymore. They mention heading to a bar down the street for karaoke and shots. You say you’re going to head home. No one seems to notice you hadn’t been drinking and partying with them. For once you’re thankful not to have been included.

The minute you step out into the cool air outside the bowling alley, your phone rings. It’s Troy. He’s most likely just woken up and is wondering where you went. He was so needy when he was hung over. You press answer and bring the phone up to your ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Where’d you go?” he asks, no groans into the phone. Needy. Not what you wanna deal with. The aspirin helped but only enough for you to manage to get through the party. There wasn’t enough aspirin in the world for you to deal with Troy right now.

“Aly’s party? I told you about it yesterday.” You look back as someone comes out of the doors to the bowling alley. It’s Shawn.

“Can you come over? I need you,” Troy says and you just roll your eyes. No, he didn’t need you. He wanted his dick sucked and you weren’t in the mood. “Please, baby?”

“No,Troy,” you take a few steps down the stairs in front of the building and lower your voice so Shawn can’t hear you. “I’m not coming over. I need to go take a nap.”

“What? Are you still hung over? You’re such a lightweight.”

Your cheeks flare up in anger. How dare he call you a lightweight. You could hold your alcohol just as well as anyone, but when you were taking copious amounts of shots, you got a little fucked up. “I’m not a lightweight. I am just not used to being forced to take shots until six in the fucking morning, Troy.”

“I didn’t force you to do shit. You took those shots because you wanted to.”

Shawn comes down the steps and leans against the guard rail, eyeing you curiously as you start to pace out of frustration. “You know damn well if I didn’t drink with you, you’d get all pissed off and then date night would have been ruined.”

“Whatever, it was fun.”

“Yeah sure.”

“Are fucking coming over or what?” Troy asks and you cannot believe he actually thinks you’re going to possibly want to be in his presence right now.

You pinch the bridge of your nose and take a deep breath. “No. I am not coming over. I am going home and I’m going to bed. Good night.” Troy hangs up without so much as a goodbye and you pocket your phone, looking over at Shawn who was obviously listening in. “It’s rude to eavesdrop y’know,” you snip at him and he just shrugs.

“Can I tell you something, friend to friend?” Shawn asks, pushing away from the railing and walking over to you.

“Friend to friend?”

“Whatever, I’m telling you anyway. Your boyfriend sounds like a piece of shit.”

Your eyes widen and your jaw drops. Did he really just say that? “You’re hardly in a position to judge my boyfriend. Mind your business, Shawn.” You have no idea why you’re defending Troy. He was kind of shitty sometimes and he did have a crap attitude when he wasn’t getting his way.

Shawn stuffs his hands in his pocket and shrugs again. “I’m just saying you could do better.”

“Jesus fucking christ, good night Shawn,” you huff and start walking down the street to head home.

By the time you reach the street leading up to your house, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re being watched. You put your keys between your fingers and walk up the path to your front door. Turning, you see a very large dog sitting at the gate to your yard. It’s massive, has dark fur and nearly blends in with the darkened street. It has to be about the size of a malamute if not a hair bigger. It’s more wolf like than dog. You put your key in the front door and keep your eye on it.

Once inside, you lock the door and peek out the window. The dog-wolf has turned and is walking away down the street. Odd. You’d never seen it around before and you knew almost everyone’s dogs in the neighborhood, considering there weren’t very many. You flip on the porch light for Ashley when she gets home from partying with Aly and your friends.

You flip on the light to your bathroom and leans against the sink, looking at yourself in the mirror. You looked like death warmed over. No makeup. Hungover. Sleep deprived. How the hell did no one but Shawn notice you weren’t yourself. You turn the sink faucet on and wait for it to get warm as you run a hand through your hair. Shawn...his words were still stuck in your head. “You could do better.”

Could you though? Troy was your first boyfriend in four years. Like, actual steady boyfriend who went on dates with you and stuff. You wet a rag and start wiping down your face. Troy was difficult sometimes. Most of the time. He wasn’t a very good boyfriend and now you think about it, he really only liked to drink and have sex. The sex wasn’t even that good. Maybe it was time to end things with Troy. You couldn’t see it going anywhere and you definitely weren’t happy with him. You sigh and shut the water off, toweling your face dry as your phone chimes on the counter beside you.

Shawn M: you get home ok?

yes fine

Shawn M: is ashley home yet

no. still with aly

Shawn M: okay get some sleep

that’s the plan lol

thanks for the aspirin at the party btw

Shawn M: anytime

You put the phone down on your bedside table and get changed into your pajamas. You go through your normal bedtime routine of making your bed, getting water and double checking the doors are all locked. It’s when you’re standing in the kitchen filling your water bottle that you hear footsteps on the porch. The wood was old and cracked when anyone stepped on it so you figure it might just be a raccoon or something snooping around for some food. You cap your bottle and go to take a look outside and see if you needed to shoo away some critters. What you find though is the shape of a person moving past your front window. It’s too big to be Ashley and it’s too early for her to be back from the bar.

You creep back away from the front windows and hurry up the stairs to your bedroom. You grab your phone and call Troy. No answer. Of course not. You fumble with the phone, hands shaking in fear as there is a loud banging noise coming from the front door. You scroll through your contacts, knowing most of your friends wouldn’t be answering their phone right now. You click Shawn’s name and hold the phone up to your ear.

“Hello?” Shawn’s voice asks sleepily.

“Shawn, thank god. Sorry I’m calling you so late. I know this is weird and out of the blue and it’s totally not your problem at all but-” you flinch and let out a stifled scream, the front door sounds like it’s been kicked in. “but there’s someone in my house and-”

“Someone’s in your house?” Shawn asks, voice concerned. You can hear him shuffling around, probably getting out of bed. “Hang up and call the cops. I’ll be over in a minute.”

You hang up and dial the emergency number. A woman on the other end answers and asks for your emergency. “Someone is in my house. I-I don’t know who.”

“What is your location?”

“3314 Northpine Road,” you take a deep breath and sit behind the end of your dresser. “I-I have a friend coming over too. If the cops show up he’s uh...really tall....brown hair...um,” you rack your brain to describe Shawn but you can’t seem to think of anything else.

“Baby? Are you here?” Troy’s voice comes through your locked bedroom door. His voice is so slurred it makes your blood run cold.

“Ma’am? Is someone there?”

“Yes,” you whisper shakily, “it’s my boyfriend, Troy Hagen. I think he’s drunk.”

“I have a unit on the way to your location right now. Please stay on the phone with me.”

“Baby?!” Troy yells drunkenly, slamming his fist on the door and you squeak in fear. “Wake up!”

“Go away, Troy!” you shout.

“C’mon baby I just need- what the fuck? When did you get a dog?” Troy’s weight hits the door and you peek out from behind your dresser. You can see the shadow of his feet under the door. “Call off your fucking dog!”

“What dog?!!” you yell and he shakes your door handle viciously. You can hear loud growling from the other side of the door and Troy yelling at it to back off. Troy shoves his weight back against the door and it busts open, causing him to tumble into the room and land on his back. Through the door you can see the wolf-dog that was outside your gate earlier. It’s growling and snarling, stalking toward Troy. “Stop! Stop!” you drop your phone, accidentally hanging up on the emergency operator and hurry across the room to Troy.

The wolf-dog stops where it is in the doorway and you help Troy to his feet. “Stupid fuckin’ mutt, get out of here!” Troy yells and you flinch. It growls at him but backs off to go down the hall. “Who’s fucking dog is that?”

“I have no idea. I saw it outside earlier, I really don’t know who-”

Troy grabs your hair roughly and you let out a cry. “You think you need a fucking dog to protect you now huh? Am I not good enough?!”

“Troy! That doesn’t even make sense! You’re drunk, let go of me!” you shout as you push against his chest. He keeps hold of your hair and you punch him in the chest but he’s not letting go. “Stop! Let go!”

“Why wouldn’t you-”

A flash of dark brown fur crosses your vision and Troy’s hand slips from your hair as he is tackled to the floor by the wolf-dog. It’s got Troy’s arm in his mouth and Troy is screaming. You back up out into the hall, looking over to your right where a cop is making his way up the stairs, gun drawn.

Everything becomes a blur as the cop enters the room and the wolf-dog back off of Troy. Another cop comes to your side and asks if you’re alright. They ask if the dog is yours. Without hesitation you say yes. If you hadn’t, you don’t know what might happen to it. It was only trying to protect you. The cops escort Troy out and you can’t believe whats happened as you give a statement and the cops leave the house.

When you go back upstairs you find Shawn sitting on your bed in only a pair of your sweatpants that are very obviously too small. His face is bloody. You grab onto the door frame as you literally stumble back in surprise. “What the fuck is going on, Shawn? How are you in my house? Why are you bloody? Why are you-”

Shawn wipes his face with the back of his hand. “I’m a werewolf. Didn’t Geoff tell you?”

“You...I- you...” you look between him and the stairwell in the hall. “You’re the big ass dog?!”

“Wolf,” he corrects, standing up and walking past you and into the bathroom across from your bedroom. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this.”

You follow him into the bathroom and watch as he nonchalantly wipes Troy’s blood off his face. “Shawn.”

“What?”

“You bit my boyfriend, you...you ripped open his fucking arm with your teeth!”

Shawn looks at you in the reflection of the mirror and says, “Is he really still your boyfriend?”

“That is hardly the pressing issue here!” You stalk up to him and snatch the washcloth from his hand and he turns to look at you, leaning against the sink oh so casually. “Why would you do that?! Why wouldn’t you just come in like...like this!” you gesture to his half naked body.

“You said someone was breaking into your house and I ran over and shifted outside. What’s more threatening, this,” he sweeps a hand down himself, “or a huge ass wolf?”

You laugh in disbelief. “Shawn you’re fucking huge. You’re what like 200lbs of muscle on a giant frame. No one is going to want to fight you like this.”

Shawn rolls his eyes and walks around you to go back into your room. You follow and he takes a seat on your bed. “Listen, I know it seems insane what I did, but I was just protecting my own. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m really protective of you in particular and-”

“Your own?” you ask, cutting him off.

“My pack? My family?”

“I’m not your f-”

Shawn stands up and you step back against your dresser, intimidated by his height all of a sudden. “You, Aly, Ashley, Brian, Geoff, Andrew...you’re all my pack. I know you’re not a werewolf like Geoff and I, so you don’t really understand. But there is a reason I’m always quiet, always watching everyone else have fun. I’m observing and keeping on my toes in the event something happens.”

“O-oh...I didn’t know. I always just thought you were kind of weird to be honest.”

Shawn chuckles softly. “Maybe I am but it keeps you all safe and honestly, I’ve wanted to do that to Troy since you first brought him around.”

You let out a little gasp. “Shawn!”

“He’s a piece of shit. You know it, I know it. Shit, tonight when you showed up hungover and miserable to the party, I knew something happened with him. You seemed down, upset, stressed.”

You cross your arms and look down. He wasn’t wrong. You had felt all those things when you arrived at the bowling alley. You look away from Shawn and swallow hard as you say, “When you said I deserve better, did you mean you?”

This seems to shock Shawn into a momentary silence. He steps closer to you, fully invading your personal space and looks down at you. “If I did?” he asks in a low voice.

“Would you treat me better?” you find yourself asking. Your brain was going a thousand miles a minute. Only hours ago Troy was still your boyfriend, your shitty shitty boyfriend. Now, standing in front of you was a half naked Shawn on the verge of spilling his guts to you. Shawn had never been mean to you, never snipped at you like he did the other from time to time. He had only been sweet to you in the times you spoke with him. Hell, he’d technically walked you home tonight even though he was in his wolf form. You’re not sure if you want to start a new relationship...but Shawn...something about Shawn felt warm and whole. You were feeling things you never dreamed of feeling with Troy. Standing here with Shawn felt like everything was going to be okay, like everything was right.

“I’d treat you like a princess,” he whispers and you let out a little chuckle. He chuckles too and bring his hand up to your face and tilts your chin up. “If I’m reading this wrong, tell me now.”

“You’re not.”

Shawn leans down and places a soft kiss against your lips. Suddenly it feels like electricity running through you, coursing through your veins and kickstarting your heart. Your cheeks flush and you find your hands instinctively going to his back. He pulls back to gauge your reaction. “Not exactly how I pictured our first kiss.”

“So you picture it a lot then?” you say as you tangle your fingers into his hair and pull him down for for a second kiss.

He steps back, hands now on your hips and he falls back on your bed, bring you with him. “I picture a lot of things with you.”