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catxsnow · 4 years

Text

SAME FATE J.T.

Request: Hi, I have loved your work as of late I mean top tier work. I was wondering if you can do platonic Jason Todd imagine where the reader was the newest robin and a spitting image of him when he was robin so happy and proud to be a robin and Jason hates her because of it and one day he sort of leads her into a trap just to scare her and something wrong. She is killed by it and beyond being brought back by the pit. Sorry for the angst, I am just in an angsty mood and know that you will do it justice.

Warning: death, blood, angst.

A/N: I changed the request a little bit, hope you don’t mind. Just didn’t quite see Jason doing this but I think I envisioned enough angst in here to satisfy you.

Hope you enjoy! Requests are still open :)

GIF not mine

Word count: 2.1k

Jason Todd didn't like you. At all.

Everyone knew it: Bruce, Dick, Tim - they were all aware of how much the second Robin hated you. Even you were aware of it, even though you had done nothing to him to make him feel this way. He even hated you more than Tim and Tim was the one to take his spot as Robin. You had taken Tim's place and if anyone was to be angry it should have been him.

Instead, it was Jason.

No one knew why he hated you so much - in fact everyone thought that the two of you would have gotten along well considering how similar you were. Much like Jason, you had extremely terrible parents. Neither of them cared about you, put food on the table, and most times there wasn't even a roof of your head.

All the money that was brought in was spent on drugs and alcohol and whatever item that had value of your had to be well hidden if you wanted to keep it. All in all, when your father was sent to jail and your mom died of overdose? You didn't complain about it. Life was easier without them in it.

That was when Bruce found you. He had taken you in to live in the Manor and trained you to be the next Robin. You had learned pretty quick too, it was only months that you were there before taking Tim's mantle. The difference between the two of you and how you upheld Robin was drastic.

The first time you had tried on the suit, you had nearly screamed with excitement. Bruce watched you prance around the batcave with a grin on your face. You flipped and jump around, showing off some of the moves you had been taught.

“This is best thing that’s ever happened to me!” You were so proud to take on the mantle of Robin. When you were a kid, Batman and Robin would always bring you hope that things would be better, that they would change. Now, you got to make that happen yourself.

God, did Bruce see so much Jason in you.

You were reckless, dauntless when it came to being out in the streets beside Batman. Running towards bullets, narrowly escaping time and time again, you lived on the edge. Just like Jason. Also just like him, you were aggressive to the point that Bruce couldn't control you just like he couldn't control Jason.

Everyday he saw more and more of his second son in you. Bruce knew that he needed to keep you from making the same mistake that Jason ever did. He couldn't lose you too - even if Jason was back from the dead. No one was willing to take that same risk again, not without a Lazarus pit hidden within the batcave.

Each and every time that Jason showed up to the Manor, he had vocally expressed how he didn't like you. He was rude and undermining to you more than to anyone else. It hurt more than you thought it would. In a lot of ways, you looked up to Jason.

The way that he upheld Robin was something that you always thrived for. You wanted to be like him but, the more that you pushed to be like him, the more he seemed to hate you. He made you doubt your skill as Robin and as yourself. Jason was terrible to you, and you never knew why.

Night after night you would cry yourself to sleep. It wasn't often that someone would get to you but Jason had managed to do it. He didn't just break your walls down, he demolished them. Jason made you feel like a weak little girl, something that you hadn't felt like in years. After everything that you had gone through in life, this shouldn't have been your weakness, yet it was.

The night that you went patrolling on your own was a stormy one. Rain droplets blocked your vision and made everything twice as hard as it normally was. Bruce was busy with an event for WE and you weren't ready to call it a night. Crime didn't stop just because there was rain.

The night went as it always did. Taking out anyone you saw breaking the law and bounding across the city to find someone else to bring to justice. It was nights like those that made you wonder why Jason hated you so much - you were doing great on your own. In fact, you had to admit that you were just as good as he was.

Tim saw it in you. From what he knew about Jason, you not only had the same amount of skill, but the same kind. Bruce had confided in him about how much he saw Jason in you and how worried it made him.

He should have been more worried.

As the night seemed to get quiet, you had let your guard down. That had been the mostly costly mistake that you had ever made. You had just finished knocking out some sleeze when another figure arrived. Between the loud booms of thunder and the traffic on the street, you couldn't hear them approach you.

Before you could even turn around, you were out cold.

The second that Bruce got the picture of you he sent every resource available searching Gotham for you.

It was Penguin that had captured you - why, he still didn't know. The picture that was published for all the world to see was of you completely bloody and bruised. You hung from chains by your wrists, blood dripping from your face, soaking your suit, and onto the cement. You looked terrible.

The picture was posted on every single news channel, article, papers, it was everywhere. Penguin wanted to city to know that he could capture a Robin and torture them without getting caught. He had Batman in the palm of his hand if he ever wished to see his precious Robin again.

Bruce had everyone searching for you. Even Jason Todd, the one person on this planet that seemed to hate your guts, agreed to help find you. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Bruce this worried about someone. He had every right to be, this exact situation happened to Jason only a few years ago.

At least Penguin was a little more sane.

It had been just over forty-eight hours since you had been taken. Forty-eight hours of nothing but torture and pain. Bruce couldn't imagine what you were going through right now, he didn't want to. The entire time he hadn't slept, he had only been focused on finding you. This couldn't happen to him again.

Jason Todd might have hated you, but he knew that no one ever deserved to be in the same situation that he was in. That was why he spent day and night searching for you. Penguin had hid you well, too well for anyone to find you - hell they didn't even know if you were still in Gotham or not.

It was late at night when the video broadcast on every screen in Gotham. You looked worse than before. Suit torn, more blood and bruises than skin. Your head hung low and you could barely stand any longer. Penguin had put a number on you.

"Batman..." You coughed, blood spit down your chin and onto the floor. One of the Penguin's goons lifted your head up by the hair so that you fully faced the camera. "Penguin... admits he's got the smallest dick in Gotham and not even a goat would -"

The camera shut off the moment that you got another punch to the face. As dire of a situation that this was, Jason couldn't help but chuckle at you. Even in the face of death - you were going to give them hell.

"Got them," Tim's voice echoed over the comms. Thankfully, you had been on air just long enough or him to track down the signal. "He's got her in a warehouse down on fourth and twentieth."

"I'm right there, I'll go," Jason responded. He was already starting up his bike and driving to the warehouse that you were supposedly in. God forbid that Tim was right - after the comment you made Penguin was not going to be happy.

Jason's bike barely stopped before he hopped up. The place looked empty - the only sign of life was a singular light going off in the building. Gun's out and up, he kicked open the door and was ready to shoot anyone that stood in his way. However, there was no one. For a second, he thought that Tim had gotten the place wrong until he saw a lump of red, green, and yellow lit up.

Jason holstered his guns and ran over to you. A pool of blood surrounded your limp body and as he turned you onto your back, he had seen while. Two bullet holes punctured your suit and deep into your abdomen.

"Fuck," Jason muttered. He pulled his helmet off, not wanting to scare you more than you already were. You eyes fluttered up to him and you had to use all of your strength just to keep them open. "Batman, fuck, hurry."

Jason pressed down on your fresh wounds in hope to stop the bleeding but it already looked like you had lost too much. There was no way that he could move you - not when he only had his bike with him.

"You're gonna be just fine, (Y/N)," Jason tried to comfort you. You didn't feel the need to be comforted - in fact you didn't feel anything at all. Jason'a face was blurry above you and a ringing vibrated through your ears. No pain was felt in your body, just acceptance. "Stay with me."

"Bru..." You tried to talk but nothing was able to come out. Blood stained your teeth, only the metallic taste of blood was what you could sense. "Sorry..."

This time, your eyes didn't open again. "(Y/N)," Jason called to you. Your body was completely dead weight in his arms and your chest no longer rose up. "(Y/N)," Jason tried again. He ripped off his gloves and pressed his fingers to your neck. No pulse. "No! (Y/N)!"

Jason felt an overwhelming sadness fill his chest. For years he was never fond of you. You were reckless, dangerous, even a threat to this team. You cared about the thrill of it all no matter what kind of spot that put you in. You came from a broken home, just excited that you finally had a roof over your head.

You were just like him.

That was why Jason hated you so much. You reminded him too much of himself. Too much of what he used to be before Joker had gotten to him. Every time he looked at you, all he could see was what his life used to be like. He had everything he could have wanted, just like you had.

Whatever sick people looked over you had the same kind of fate in mind. You had gotten the same terrible ending that he had gotten. The ending that he didn't want for Tim, that he didn't want for you. That was why he hated you so much.

“Fuck, (Y/N). I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Jason’s voice cracked as he held back sobs.

The sadness and grief that filled Jason's chest grew so much that he could no longer contain it. Tears slid down his cheeks as he held onto your body. Sobs echoed through the empty warehouse for the loss of Robin. Jason had reached his breaking point with you.

He was angry with himself for neglecting you all these years. After being able to see so much of himself in you, he should have known that you could have followed him down the same path, he just didn't expect it to be this one. He never expected anyone to be in this same position again, especially with someone other than the joker.

Jason could have taken you under his protection, he could have taught you everything that he knew. Bruce had told him that you looked up to him in so many ways and he denied that you ever cared about him. It was easier to look you than to see the similarities within you.

Bruce had arrived too late as well. The second that he saw your dead body in Jason's arms, he had fallen to his knees in despair. Bruce has to watch his Robin die for a second time. What broke him even more, was seeing the absolute heartbreak on Jason's face. They had all been too late.

Jason Todd had failed you, and he was going to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd oneshot #batfam #batfam x reader #batfam imagine #jason todd imagine #dc #dc imagine #dc one shot #angst

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stxleslyds · 3 years

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EVENT LEVIATHAN issues 2 and 3

EVENT LEVIATHAN BUT IT’S ONLY JASON TODD.

Oh, Anon, I am sorry it took me so long to answer your ask, to be honest with you, I had completely forgotten this book ever happened and when I went looking for it, I saw who was the writer for it and my brain disconnected completely.

Michael Brian Bendis, what a polarizing writer. I had forgotten why I didn’t like his work much but this book made me remember that his writing gives me headaches. I swear, every time I read his work I am left wondering if I missed an issue or a page, it’s like I always lack information even though he makes sure to write a lot in those “monologue boxes”.

But I am not here to complain about Bendis, let’s talk about why Jason appears in this book and how is he characterized in it.

If you don’t know what Event Leviathan was about, in the first issue we are told that a terrorist has been attacking places simultaneously. This person, known as Leviathan collected some of the people that survived the attacks (like Batgirl), and others he let escape (like Green Arrow). All of the attacks were on organizations (A.R.G.U.S, Spyral, D.O) that were the pillars of the world intelligence community.

Because the case is big and operating on a big scale, several detectives and heroes (Batman, Robin, The Question, Lois Lane, Plastic Man, and Manhunter) have come together to figure out who is behind Leviathan’s mask.

In the second issue, their main suspect is Jason Todd after Damian suggests that Jason’s “special war on crime” can be related to this worldwide level of terrorist activity.

Well, If you couldn’t tell by the way that I phrased that, I really believe that DC and Bendis had to do some weird changes to the narratives because Jason hadn’t been really at “war with crime” for a very long time, or at the very least, not on that level (against organizations selling/controlling intelligence). So, right of the bat, I am confused as all hell.

Jason at this point in time was working as the Ice Lunge’s owner, so this was after the events of RHatO (2016) #25 and after Roy Harper’s death. But before I get to explaining why Damian and the others thought that Jason was behind Leviathan’s terrorist attacks, let's talk about Jason’s characterization.

How to write about a character based only on “tropes” that the publisher of the book told you. A Guide by Michael Brian Bendis.

We find Red Hood in Seattle, already investigating Leviathan. So, yeah, to me it was kind of obvious that Bendis put Jason there to build up the reason as to why Jason was the main suspect of being Leviathan or working with them.

We are offered some very casual banter with Batman as well as the ever-present subplot of Jason caring for Barbara Gordon. I am not a fan of whatever DC was and is trying to do when it comes to Jason and his crush on a person that he barely knew and has rejected him before. Bendis was probably told to put that there, I really don’t see Jason going out of his way to ask if Barbara is final but oh well.

In that panel we also see Jason say this to Batman, “can we put away the stuff between us so we can work on the case?” to which Batman answers, “of course”.

What the hell was that? First Batman beats the living shit out of Jason (Jason even says that he never saw Bruce hit the Joker as hard as he was hitting him) and rips the bat-symbol of his suit saying that they no longer work together or whatever, then we have Bruce going to Jason to tell him that Roy is dead, he gives him a hug but then proceeds to tell Jason that he is still banned from Gotham.

DC really reduced all that to “stuff between us”, alright, all I am getting from that is that I was right when I said that DC lets Batman get away with his horrible treatment of his kids as if it just were a subplot. Lovely, I hate being right.

But that’s not really what I want to discuss, I want to discuss the level of detective/investigation skills that Jason has got going on for him in this issue. Suddenly Jason has information about what happens with organizations like Spyral, ARGUS, and DEO? And then Bruce asks Jason if he has been in contact with Talia recently?

I am not mad about those last things, don’t get me wrong, Jason being good at investigating and him being (possibly) in contact with Talia are great things BUT they don’t fit in his story anymore.

Where is this Jason coming from, it must not be from the narrative that Lobdell had going on, Jason never showed much interest in keeping up with that side of the world or in doing detective work. And his relationship with Talia was downgraded a lot, basically, all Talia had done was keep an eye on Jason since she first met him before he was robin (yeah, that was a thing that happened as told in RHatO (2011) #25) and that how she found out that he died, after he came back from the dead, she put him in a Lazarus Pit and then sent him to the All-Castle so he could become Ducra’s apprentice. That’s literally it.

Or are we working with a Jason that maintains his Lost Days origins? There isn’t time on the timeline for that to have happened so his involvement in this book and the way that they are writing him is very confusing to me.

Jason doesn’t say anything about Talia except that he pulls an Uno reverse card on Bruce and asks him if he has been in contact with Talia. But just like many things with Bendis as a writer we never really hear any of them say anything about Talia and they continue talking about something else.

Alright, back to sharing what they found it is! Jason has apparently investigated this very closely because he cannot stop bringing up the fact that the attacks leave no bodies behind. Either people escape or vanish from the attack site.

But here is where the so-awaited “Batfamily” mention comes in. After Bruce tells Jason that he is putting a team of Detectives together Jason asks this, “we can’t keep this in the Batfamily?” Gods, was DC on crack when they wrote this? The Batfamily? Honestly? Two of your best detectives are not around to help you and your so-called family left Dick Grayson all alone in Bludhaven!

What Batfamily are you talking about Jason? You, Bruce, and Damian? I can’t with DC pushing and pushing the wildest concept in their universe.

After all that Batman spends a lot of time explaining what has happened or what was supposed to happen, he talks to Jason about how the other detectives were getting closer to retrieve a body that they needed to study. In between what Batman is explaining the scene of Plastic Man talking with Leviathan happens and there Leviathan says that they know each other. So, that’s a clue, whoever is behind the mask is someone that Plastic Man has met before.

We find out that Batman was retelling that story to Jason, so Jason starts putting the pieces together. Batman already has a team, they know that Leviathan has been spearing some heroes’ lives, there is a cause for all the attacks (“a new world order”), and that the attacks leave no bodies. Jason even begins to put together the list of suspects but then Jason asks Batman if they have their number one suspect and Batman says, “Yes”, and it’s Jason!

This is so funny to me, like what? How did they come to that conclusion? Luckily Bendis “explains” the Detectives’ team’s reasoning, I guess? They take turns to ask Jason basic questions that Jason deflects from some reason? It is so dumb.

From this page the most important thing that I gathered is that Damian (the one who initially accused Jason of being Leviathan) says that he doesn’t “think that you (Jason) know you are doing any of this. I think it manifested itself out of grief”.

What? A terrorist that has some sort of technology that makes explosions that leaves no bodies and spares some people’s lives, is being manifested by Jason because Roy Harper died. Did I understand that correctly? That’s their big idea as to why Jason is their number one suspect?

Team of detectives, yeah, I don’t see it.

It makes zero sense! First of all, what “war with crime” was Jason having at the time, and they also say that that war was “a point of controversy for years”. Excuse me? Are they really calling Jason using guns (with rubber bullets) a SPECIAL war with crime? What are they referring to? Are they talking about the events of Under the Red Hood? Because Jason hasn’t been that version of himself in years! We don’t even know if those exact events happened in this continuity!

I am so lost; I actually don’t know why they are relating a terrorist attack to Jason. I don’t know, to me, Jason’s appearance here is unjustified and lacks logic.

Now, we find ourselves in the third issue, where an unnecessary amount of time jumping is done. First, we are in the present after both Batman and Robin let Jason run away. Listen, I know that they tried to paint it as Jason kicking both their asses but I saw those pages, they threw three punches and one of them connect with Jason’s jaw. Batman and Robin just stopped fighting Jason.

I don’t know, why they had to make Damian say that Batman let Jason get away when he was there too and did nothing.

And then they had Damian say this about Jason, “I have never been a member of his fan club but Jason Todd is one of the great master fighters of all time”. Okay, sure, Jason has had a lot of training and he has been immeasurably overpowered over the years but I still find Damian saying this a bit weird, like why would he say that? The fight that is shown after this look into the present is just like any other fight that any Bat-related hero has had. Dick has had more impressive fights than that one after the New 52 and he was immeasurably nerfed.

I love Jason getting recognition for the things that he does right and that he is good at but I need you to represent those moments better. The fight isn’t that grand and they clearly let him run away!

In the fight there all jumped off of a building, (Jason, Batman, Robin, Manhunter, Arrow, and Plastic Man) Jason shoots at everyone and they have a “fight” midair. Then Batman, Robin, and Jason fall through a glass roof and they continue fighting in a pool, this is where I say that they let Jason ran away, they showed us Damian kicking Jason in the face and Bruce punching Jason in the face. But then Jason electrifies both of them while they are in the pool? Listen, this is very nitpicky but Batman and Robin are wearing proper suits for vigilantism, if their suits aren’t prepared to receive some electric shots then wow, but also, the electricity does nothing to Jason even though he is also in the water? Jason’s Red Hood suit at the time was a pair of pants, a shirt, a vest with a hood, and some bandages on his arms… You are telling me that Jason was wearing a suit that protected him from that? Alright, I will believe it, after all, I am very dumb.

Then Jason fights Manhunter, a simple fight apparently, he doesn’t show much fighting skill because she looked like an easy target and then Jason stops fighting and decides to have a nice chat with Lois Lane.

“Why did you run?” I think he ran because a bunch of people accused him of being a terrorist and threw themselves at him at the edge of a building, what kind of question is that?

This page is just, I cannot describe how confusing it is. Lois finally asks that if it isn’t the Red Hood, then why would Leviathan try to set him up? To that Jason answers this, “I was thinking about that on the way down here. Because I am perfect. All this should be me” then he explains “I lose sleep running the numbers in my head, on how measured response to the criminals of the world brings nothing but more chaos. Batman knows this. If this Leviathan is making a big play to change the world, maybe it is the move the “crime-fighters” just don’t, will never have the guts to take. Maybe.”

What. Is. Going. On? Where did this version of Jason come from, this isn’t really in tune with UtRH Jason, RHatO Jason, or RHO Jason. This take on Jason is completely different, Jason doesn’t involve himself with threats on a worldwide scale, he doesn’t care how all heroes around the world operate, and he is not the only one that does things differently from Batman and other heroes that have similar morals.

What is this Jason saying really, is he suggesting that a global terrorist attack can lead to the reconstruction of how heroes work?

Why does Jason think that what Leviathan has going on is similar to things that Jason has done? What did Bendis read that I didn’t? How did Bendis come up with this characterization of Jason?

Because even though RHatO and RHO Jason went beyond Gotham he still fought for things that were directly aligned with his story, Ra’s al Ghul, the Untitled, Essence, all of that wasn’t on a global scale, why is he so suddenly aware of more than that, I just don’t think that his participation in this book is justified.

In these other panels he also comes off as way too aware of what is going on, and I understand that to a certain level all heroes might keep up with what going on a global scale but it seems like Jason knows way too much for someone that hasn’t been connected to those organizations and or people before.

Jason appears a little more after that but nothing of true importance is said anymore in this issue. After, Lois finishes her talk with Jason she reunites with the rest of the team and is like “It wasn’t Red Hood, let’s move on” and that’s that.

That was all Jason did in those two issues. A mix between nothing, knowing too much and him speculating about what a terrorist would want to do next.

Before I give my last thoughts about Jason and these issues, I want to share with you these panels from issue 5 of Event Leviathan.

There, Zatanna and the others confirmed it. Even though Lois listed the Red Hood as a suspect the other detectives told her that not only none of their suspects were Leviathan but that none of them were Leviathan adjacent.

OF COURSE, JASON HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LEVIATHAN!

Here is what I think, Jason shouldn’t have been in this book, it makes less than zero sense for him to be there. Jason being set up by Leviathan had no logic whatsoever. Jason and Leviathan’s levels of “disruption” are on completely different levels.

I just don’t know why he was there.

Anon, once again I am sorry for taking so long to do this review, I hope you had fun reading this, and I hope that you have an awesome day!

#jason todd #red hood #robin #batman #event leviathan #dc comics #asksss #lois lane

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highonchocolate · 3 years

Text

Take Two: The Guardian in Gotham Chapter 14

First Previous Next Ao3

I suck at fight scenes, sorry.

---

“Alright, so the rules of the spar are pretty simple.” Diana stood in front of them, arms crossed. She was flanked by Batman and Superman, who waited as she listed out the details.

“Hits to the face are not off limits, refrain from hair-pulling, no breaking any bones, or causing injuries other than minor bruises.” She paced back and front before them.

“Since you are all heroes, I expect you to fight properly, and not resort to cheap tactics. Are there any questions as to what is allowed and what is not?”

“Uh, yes.” Ladybug raised her hand, fighting the urge to duck her head nervously when Diana’s gaze landed on her.

“Go ahead.”

“Is bantering allowed? Because we actually end up doing that a lot during spars.”

“Bantering is fine. Make sure you tap out when you're done.” She reminded them before standing on the side with the older heroes to watch.

Without further prompting, Ladybug and Chat Noir walked onto the mats. Ryuko, Viperion and Queen Bee stood beside Superman, observing them keenly.

“On my whistle!” Diana called, prompting them to nod in acknowledgement.

Ladybug rolled her shoulders and shifted her weight, sinking into a defensive stance. Across from her, Chat Noir mirrored her stance. He narrowed his eyes in playful anticipation, crouching low to the ground. She lifted her chin slightly in challenge, and he smirked back at her.

“Ready to get your butt whooped, Alley Cat?”

“You can try, Buggy!”

Diana's whistle trilled sharply, and the spar began.

Ladybug immediately crouched and swung her leg in an arc. Before her foot could make contact with his legs, Chat Noir was already jumping. He flipped backwards, landing on his feet. There was a dull smack as he landed two quick hits to her ribs and shoulder. She gritted her teeth and punched him in the solar plexus. He sucked in a startled breath, eyes wide. She pushed her advantage, hitting him twice more on the jaw and torso. On her third blow, he brought his arms up and blocked, the punch landing on his forearms. He lashed out, sending several quick strikes towards her face and stomach. She hastily retreated to avoid them, wincing as her shoulder complained.

“Had enough yet? He teased, inhaling the stench of cleaning supplies as he breathed.

“You're the one panting, not me!” She yelled, launching a kick at his chest.

He ducked and jumped forward, tackling her face-first onto the mats. She gasped, all her breath knocked out of her.

“Is that all you got, Bug?” He sat on top of her, one leg in the middle of her back, the other across her knees, grinning cheekily.

She huffed out a laugh, eyes casting about for a way to get out of the pin.

“Harmless kitten!” She taunted, buying herself time.

“Baby bug!” He called from above her, no doubt wearing a smug smile.

“Scrawny!”

“Tiny!”

“Stalker!” She shot back desperately, trying to get out of his hold.

He inhaled sharply from above her, hands loosening their grip on her arms.

She felt guilt twist in her chest, but ignored it. With a heave, she threw him off and lunged. As he stumbled back, she tackled him, bringing him to the floor with a thud. She quickly pinned him, restraining his arms and pressing him into the ground with her body weight. He didn't even try fighting the hold, simply tapping out the moment she pushed him down.

When she helped him up off his feet, there was no trace of his earlier joy on his face. He looked at her with an unreadable, melancholic expression, before turning away and walking over to the rest of their team. She sighed at his retreating back, feeling guilt twist in her gut, before pushing it away. He would understand, right? She reasoned, It was just a harmless joke to get out of his hold, that’s all. It’s not like I meant it or anything! Right?

Whatever. She ignored the small voice in her head chanting That was wrong. That was wrong. Walking over to stand beside Queen Bee, she noticed that Chat had stood as far away from her as he could get, in between Batman and Ryuko. She resolved to talk to him about it later, choosing instead to watch as Viperion and Ryuko began their spar.

---

“Alright, that’s it for today.” Diana announced as Ladybug and Queen Bee stepped off the mats. “We’ve seen all that we need to see, and I believe it’s near noon in Paris, so we’re at a good stopping point for today.”

“We’ll use the information we gained from today to set up a training schedule and regime for each of you, and next time we meet, we’ll formally begin your training.” Batman informed them as they walked back to the room with the Zeta Tubes.

“Do you know when we’ll be meeting next?” Chat Noir asked. Those were the first words he’d spoken since their spar.

“Most probably in a few weeks, we’ll need to find a time that works for everyone.” Superman explained, holding open the door to the entrance hall for them to walk through.

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“That makes sense.” Viperion agreed, standing beside Ladybug as she prepared the portal.

“Would you like for us to give you times when we are free?” Ryuko asked over Ladybug’s call of “Voyage!”

“That would be helpful.” Diana said, waving as one by one they stepped through the portal.

“See you soon, then!” Queen Bee called before it shut behind them in a flash of electric blue.

They stood there silently, the five of them, on the Eiffel Tower for a long moment before it was simultaneously broken by their laughter. Even Chat Noir cracked a small smile.

“Oh my gosh, that was totally nerve wracking!” Queen Bee exclaimed, still laughing.

“Right?!” VIperion agreed. “They’re all so intimidating! I felt like they could see all my past sins!”

“What sins?” Ryuko joked, nudging him playfully.

“Guys!” Queen Bee exclaimed, “It’s noon! Let's get lunch!”

“Sure!” Chat Noir agreed from where he leant against one a support girder. “But, ah, you three go on ahead. I need to talk to Ladybug for a sec.”

“Alright! See you in ten?” Viperion checked.

“See you in ten.” He confirmed.

As soon as they’d left, he slumped against the beam, head turned away from her.

“Let’s talk on the roof.” Ladybug suggested, pointing to Chloé’s hotel.

He followed her without complaint, landing on the roof and detransforming.

He turned away as she dropped her transformation, looking out at the skyline instead.

“Adrien?” She asked, tilting her head curiously. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes!” He snapped, turning around to glare at her. “Something is wrong!”

“Well what is it then?” She crossed her arms, annoyance seeping into her tone at his harshness. “I don't have time to deal with your little temper tantrums!”

“That!” He yelled, gesticulating wildly. “That is the problem! You keep acting like I'm just a stupid sidekick-fanboy hybrid that's obsessed with you! We're partners! Or at least, we're supposed to be! But it's hard for me to feel like your equal when you say things like you did back there! You called me a stalker-”

“Well you are!” Marinette interrupted, anger rising. She waved her arm in the air. “You have your little...Ladybug shrine or whatever all up in your room-yes, I've seen it!-and you’ve literally sat out on a battle because you were mad that I didn't love you back!”

He threw his hand up in the air, annoyance written on every line of his body. “That was in the past! Newsflash, it isn't all about you! I stopped harassing you to go on dates, and I don't have a shrine for you anymore! I'm aromantic demisexual, and I. Do. Not. Love. You! Not like that, at least!”

He jabbed his finger at her accusingly. “And stop acting like you're a saint as well! You literally spent your free time stalking me around the whole city of Paris and concocting insane plans to go on a date with me!”

She took a step back in shock, her feelings jumbling together into a roiling knot of shame and anger at his rage-filled accusations.

“You had a literal pull down chart of my entire schedule in your room and an entire wall covered in my pictures!” He ranted. “Do you know how creepy that is?! Do you know how unsafe that made me feel?! Knowing that one of my closest friends was obsessed with me? It literally rattled my world! I apologized for what I did to you, all the harassment and ignoring your situation, but you-you just shoved your mistakes under the rug like they never happened! Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, you always try to rationalize a lot of the mistakes you make! There’s always some explanation or the other. And that's just so...argh!”

He paced around the room, pulling at his hair in anger and frustration.

“Not to mention, you think your life is hard?! At least your parents loved you! The only person that loved me was my mother, and she fucking died okay? My dad was an emotionally repressed asshole, who knew nothing about showing affection in an understandable way, and he fucked me up! Badly! Like, I’m literally touch deprived. He consciously knew that being alone all the time while dealing with grief can fuck a child up. And he still left me alone! After my mom died, I can count on one hand the number of hugs I’ve gotten in that household. One hand!” He shouted, eyes wild, chest heaving.

She felt herself getting defensive, her anger rising like a tidal wave. “Oh yeah?! Boo-hoo the poor rich baby didn't get some hugs from Daddy. Get over yourself! My friends, who I've known since we were like, five, voluntarily beat me up! Several times! You couldn't possibly know how that feels!”

“You're right I couldn't!” He yelled, face screwed up in anger. “I couldn't because I've never been to school! My entire life is planned and thought out! I have no say in anything, I have literally zero independence! My whole life is in my Father and Nathalie’s hands! So no, I don't know how that feels!”

“And you know what Adrien?!” She shouted back, not bothering to control her voice.

“My life is pretty hard! I'm dealing with bullying at school, homework, commissions, patrols almost every night, as well as trying to keep my identity secret from my parents, because they like to check up on me!”

“Oh yeah?! Well, guess what?! Your leaving made Lila that much more comfortable with hanging off me! She constantly grabs me, pulls me around, she’s kissed me without my consent! You left, and she didn’t have to restrain herself anymore! And god forbid I tell anybody, because we all know they’re under her spell! And my father?! Hah!” He laughed, but there was no humor behind it.

“He’d just tell me to suck it up! Also, have you forgotten that I take almost all the hits for you?! Because I haven't! I take all of them! All of them!” He whirled around, glaring at her.

“I've died so many times! For you! And I remember exactly what it feels like, because I don't have the luxury of a mind wipe from your magical healing cure! So don't come here saying I don't know what it feels like to be bullied, unless you want me throwing this back in your face too!”

She inhaled sharply, ignoring the pain in her chest from his words. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she pulled out Kaalki’s glasses and prepared to portal back to Gotham. “You know what?! I can't deal with this right now. I'm leaving.”

“Stop running from your problems!” He shouted from behind her, the rest of his words cut off as she shut the portal behind her and collapsed on her bed.

@laurcad123 @liquid-luck-00 @toodaloo-kangaroo @stainedglassm

#maribat #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne #adrien agreste #chloe bourgeois #luka couffaine #kagami tsurugi #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #lila rossi #alya cesaire #lgbtq characters

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batarella · 4 years

Text

The Commander - Part 14 (Arkham Knight x Reader)

Only the epilogue is left! I can’t believe the Commander series gained this much love and support from all of you! And I honestly can’t believe how far this went. You guys are making me live the dream!

WORDS: 5422 WARNINGS: VIOLENCE (AND OTHER STUFF BUT I WON’T SPOIL YOU GUYS HIHI)

Masterlist

THE COMMANDER - MASTERLIST

------

Was it fear? With the whole world coming after her, everyone she’s come to know wanting her dead. After destroying the whole of Gotham, corrupting it just enough when its citizens have placed a bounty on her head, but not enough to actually succeed and instill the protection she needed?

Was it failure? How the entire Arkham Knight Militia failing at its most important task was almost entirely her fault, how she was thought to be its most prized soldier and would have been the key needed to occupy the city, and instead became the cause for its humiliating defeat?

Was it grief? Over the hundreds of lives she’s taken, or how the loss of her uncle has placed such a scar on her, something no one will be able to overlook, ending her career as the best markswoman?

Or was it hate? Failing at the one thing she was supposed to be best at, the one thing she was at least good at? How she has nothing left to her name, nothing to be proud of, nothing to show for. How she had so little of life left.

It was all of them. At the same time.

But there was also heartbreak.

The bag was still on the floor. 1.5 million dollars. All of which she had no right to at all. Not when she’s lost the militia so much. Not after what she’d costed Jason.

It was definitely heartbreak. At even just the slightest thought of his name, she could feel a part of her chest chip away like glass pieces on the floor.

Heartbreak. Fucking heartbreak. It hurts so much that her other bruises are so easily suppressed. Never will she complain about broken bones ever again. It was nothing compared to this.

She was so sure he loved her back. Maybe he did, and she tore that love away before she was even sure it was there. Jason was kind, gentle to her. And he saw her in an entirely different light than everyone else. And she failed him, knowingly drove a knife down his chest. She was now a part of the cause for his hurt. And Y/N will never forgive herself for that.

Y/N might never find that again with anyone else.

But she had to go.

She left the money bag on the floor. However things go, she’ll come back for it, if she even wants to. Y/N took one last look at her mask, her red gun optics.

She can no longer be Deadshot. Not after everything. Donning the mask would only cause her so much pain. Dropping it on the floor, she left.

And with that, she left the militia, Floyd, and everything else.

Rolling her shoulders, keeping her wounds in check and knowing which places to avoid getting hit. She was going to need more than just her wrist gun to get out of here. Slightly pushing the door, her eyes adjusted to the orange light.

The elevator was across from her, and judging from the view outside the mezzanine, she was two stories above the control room. The main entrance would most probably be blocked, but if she found some explosives, she could get out of the HQ and find a bike nearby. Weapons crates would probably be there as well.

Y/N couldn’t take the elevator, but a chute right beside it went straight down all the way to the bottom, at the center of Killinger’s.

Making sure her gloves were tightly secured, she stepped out of the room and removed the steel grates, prying it open with her bare hands. After pushing her weight against her foot on the wall, she looked down the almost bottomless chute and prayed her injuries wouldn’t come to bite her.

Y/N stepped in, breathed, slowed her heartbeat, then slowly slid down the metal with the fabric of her gloves and her rubber boots maintaining the friction she needed not to fall. Her muscles were killing her, but she could manage this. Slowly and slowly, she descended until she could see the floor. There was light coming from the other end, which meant it was definitely at the center.

She stretched her arms further out to not hit the floor so suddenly, and when she was just inches away, her boots met the ground, where it led her to another way under the floors of the department store. At the darker corners, she wouldn’t be seen. She had to be careful.

Y/N crawled under the tunnels. There was no noise, no voices coming from anywhere. The soldiers must have left, even when all the lights were on.

There should be another chute somewhere. Further down and an elevator should take her to safety. Y/N climbed up the grates. There was a number of bodies on different corners, and those bodies were still breathing. Batman.

“Anyone seen the Knight?”

“No,” she heard a voice. And it wasn’t coming from afar. She hid behind a pillar and peeked out.

A weapons case. Yes. She hurried to it and grabbed every gun she could find. A rifle, a machine gun, and two pistols. It was like she could breathe for the first time.

“He left his visor,” one of them said.

“He couldn’t have gone far. Spread out.”

Five men scattered around, and she’ll have to climb up to get to the elevator in one of the corners. There were medics tending to the bodies. She’ll have to get out of here fast. Y/N hid behind boxes and crates, avoiding any of the soldiers’ line of sight. She climbed up the side of the escalator, grabbing onto the ledge and sprinting out before anyone could see her.

The elevator was still on the farthest side. And one of them stood guard in front of it. Y/N snuck behind a railing, waiting it out at the corner where it turned. Clear.

But just as she got to the lift, the gears turned up. She sprinted to the grates and crawled to the darkest corner she could hide in.

“You son of a bitch. We had a deal!”

“Get a truck ready outside.”

Scarecrow. And Commissioner Gordon, who was tied up and hauled like a pig behind Crane as they made their way out.

There had to be around five men following him. She kept her silence.

“Where the hell are you taking me?”

After that, she could hear his voice being muffled with a cloth tied to his mouth. Y/N froze when a sergeant turned to her direction, eyeing the elevator.

“Deathstroke,” Scarecrow’s voice growled, and she swallowed hard at the rock lodged in her throat. “Send the divisions to Panessa Studios. I believe we have a person of interest in its confines.”

Gordon’s groans followed. Scarecrow spoke into his comms. “I have the commissioner. Send a squad to Arkham Asylum as well. Make sure they will be ready to broadcast live.”

The broadcast. The final phase of Scarecrow’s plan. That’s if Jason hadn’t killed the Batman already. Which, as it seems, didn’t happen at all.

Y/N crawled out from the corner and followed Scarecrow closely behind.

Then something exploded. The gates, the one leading to where she came from. From where she could see, a door fell to the ground and someone holding two guns in his hands busted out, aiming right at Crane.

Every other gun in the room pointed at him. Crane didn’t move, but he wasn’t bothered as well. Gordon was dropped to the floor and the man, wearing a red helmet, or a visor, clicked his guns.

“WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?”

Fuck. Fuck. Jason.

“I thought you’d left.“

“Tell me where she is!”

“I haven’t an idea who you're talking about.”

“The Commander! WHERE DID YOU TAKE HER!?”

Crane managed to laugh under his breath, drawing his syringes at the muzzles of Jason’s guns. “So Commander Y/N is alive. You are weak, Knight. What makes you think I have her?”

Jason dropped the white mask she’d left behind on the floor. The gun optics was looking straight at her direction, hiding under the floor just a yard away from Crane.

“Tell me where she is and you can do whatever the fuck you want with Batman, Crane.”

“You no longer have power here, Knight. These men answer to me and Slade.”

“None of you would be here if it weren’t for me!”

“And your cowardice allowed Batman to escape. If not for Gordon, all this would have been for nothing.”

“Stop wasting my time,” he whispered, placing his gun right at Scarecrow’s forehead. “Tell me where she is.”

“I don’t know.”

No. Fucking no. Jason raised his arm, ready to strike Crane with the bottom of his gun. She could sense a sergeant ready to fire at the suddenness of his movements. Jason was held by two men by the arms, his guns dropping to the floor while another held a gun right at his face.

“Get off me!”

“I told you to kill the Commander if she were alive, or I kill you…” Crane walked to kneel at Jason’s level.

“Fuck you.”

One.

Two.

Three.

From her angle, she couldn’t aim at any of them.

“Kill him. He’s of no use,” Scarecrow backed away and the gun pointed at his head clicked.

But that wall. It was slanted. A good 45 degrees.

“You son of a bitch-“ Jason coughed.

‘Ricochet,’ Floyd’s voice echoed. A critical angle almost the same as the ricochet. It would bounce off the steel and hit the sergeant’s hand at just the right place.

‘Think of a line, coming straight from your gun, to the wall, and know where that line would be redirected.’

‘Move a little to the left, and aim.’

Breathe.

His finger was on the trigger. She had less than a second.

‘Deadshot. Fire.’

Y/N raised her arm, aiming straight at an empty wall, and fired.

“Ah!” She heard a scream, then a drop of a firearm that shot at the cement ground. The sergeant held his bleeding hand and backed away from a still-alive Jason. She did it.

“Someone’s here,” someone said. “SPREAD OUT.”

Jason was still being held down, his head forced to look at the floor while ten armed soldiers roamed the perimeter. He was calm.

He knew Y/N was here.

“Look up! They could be at a sniping position!”

Crane was taken somewhere she couldn’t fire at him. The commander kept moving around in the grates and avoided any of the men’s line of sight.

She couldn’t fire at anyone directly without being noticed. Y/N will have to look at the walls again. The steel ones.

That one. In about five seconds, a sergeant would pass by right in front of that wall. With his armor, she only had such a tiny window at his shoulder blades.

Y/N aimed at the steel, moving slightly to the right, and fired.

The bullet bounced off the wall and hit right where the plates met. One. He fell to the ground, Y/N moved fast.

Two of them, standing right in front of the metal of the elevator. She fired one, which landed right at his neck. Two. The other soldier crouched and moved away.

So she fired at the opposite wall, and it ricocheted twice before landing on the soldier’s groin. Three.

Y/N was home schooled by her aunt, but it was Floyd himself who taught her physics.

She couldn’t get to them any longer. Y/N quietly climbed out the grates, hid behind a store island and waited.

There. She grabbed the man and held him by the neck, snapping it off in one count. Four.

Six more. She could take them now.

Y/N stood up, raising her arm with her wrist gun and a pistol on the other. She fired two bullets at a sniper who was just about to shoot her. Five.

“ HE COMMANDER. GET HER.”

She rolled on the ground, having less time than a bullet reaching her just so she could aim and fire. Six. Seven. Eight. She jumped over boxes, leapt off in the air and kept moving. They never caught her.

Her guns fired off before any of them could lock onto her. She shot the muzzle of a machine gun and it exploded on a soldier’s hands. Then she shot him in the head. Nine.

Last one. He was hiding. Y/N ducked and hid behind the islands. She caught the top of someone’s head. A bullet would easily graze off his hair.

Y/N climbed up and jumped, firing at the wall behind him. It bounced off, and hit him right at the back of his neck.

Ten.

Unscathed. Y/N propped herself up on the floor just below the escalator. She found her white mask and her gun optics, sitting on the floor. She didn’t even need them.

But she heard Floyd’s voice again. At least, for just one night, she’ll don the mask. Slowly, she pulled it over her head.

‘Nice job, Deadshot,’ Floyd said.

Someone moved. Her reflexes kicking in, she aimed her wrist gun behind her.

With his red visor staring blankly at her, Jason ducked and pulled out his own gun before Y/N could fire.

Y/N didn’t move. She didn’t breathe. Jason was going to kill her. He was going to shoot her in the head for what she’d done. She kept her gun pointed at him. She might have loved him, but God Almighty, she wasn’t going to let him kill her.

He told her about this once. The Red Hood. The new persona he planned on taking after being the Arkham Knight.

Robin. The Arkham Knight. The Red Hood. A different name for the same man who was supposed to be her enemy. Someone she should have killed a long time ago.

The fight that was always meant to be.

She couldn’t see the look on his face. And if he was trying to tell her something, she couldn’t hear it. Y/N circled around him, and he followed her movements. If he shoots, she fires back. she kept her gun up and made sure he couldn’t tell her hands were shaking.

She could hear her heart beat. And it wasn’t helping. She could miss. Again. And she’d die. Or worse, she could shoot him in the wrong place and he’d die as well.

Maybe he should. If he was willing to let her die, why shouldn’t she? Y/N gripped on the gun on her hip. Slow the heart. Slow the breaths.

‘Kill when you have to,’ Floyd once told her. ‘Self defense is the one reason you can always justify with.’

If he shoots, and she lives, no longer will she hope for anything normal. Or anything best out of life. No one will be able to hurt her like Jason would.

That way, she can rest assure she’ll be the best markswoman in the world.

“Enough.”

Crane. With twenty more men following behind. She and Jason wouldn’t take their eyes off each other, and their guns, even if there were a hundred in the room.

“You are fooling yourselves. Everyone knows none of you will pull the trigger.”

He said their names so sneeringly. But she kept her gun up, and he didn’t look like he was about to move. “Maybe you're wrong, Crane,” Y/N said.

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell either of you. I know about you two. I never had eyes on Gotham. This woman was willing to fulfill my every whim if it meant getting the Knight what he wanted. And this man was practically on his knees begging me and Deathstroke not to let her on the Cloudburst, never mind how she does the job inherently better than he could. I needed no one following you around to figure that out.”

Her heart sank and Jason’s head craned down, avoiding the look on her eye. He never said it wasn’t about her. Y/N just assumed with what happened.

“Let’s make this interesting,” Crane laughed. “Knight, shoot her, or we will.”

And at the moment five firearms aimed at her, he pulled out his second gun and pointed it at the soldiers. “IF ANY OF YOU FIRE, I’LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT.”

Y/N turned her head at another three men aiming at Jason, so she pulled out her machine gun and pointed it at them.

“Adorable,” Crane said. He raised his hand and filled his syringes with the toxin.

Fifteen guns armed and loaded. Silence. All but the clicking of their guns. Crane walked up closer to them, holding up the needles in the air. Even from so far, she could smell the toxin.

“I’d inject either of you, but I’ll save this dosage for Batman.”

“Crane. I’m at the Panessa Studios. Bring Gordon over here and let’s get this over with.” Slade’s voice, coming from his communicator.

“Perhaps I’ve wasted too much time on you.” He turned around.

Twenty men, all waiting for their next move.

Crane headed for the exit. “Kill them.” His last words, before he left.

At the first strike of a bullet, Jason rolled away from his position and moved quickly behind a pillar. Y/N did the same and leapt behind an island nearby.

The shootout began. She aimed her wrist gun and opened fire at anything she could point at. Jason conjoined his two guns to make a sniper and aimed.

Y/N’s machine gun burned her shoulders with the recoil. She kept firing, and one by one the men hid behind any structure they could find.

“Thought you never wanted to see me again?” she screamed at Jason.

She heard a wince. “I never said that, kid.”

“So you scream at me for not killing Batman-“ she ducked as a bullet narrowly grazed her shoulder. She gritted her teeth. “Then you do the same exact thing. Intentionally.”

“I’m still fucking mad at you-GRENADE.”

She leapt off the floor and covered her head. It exploded onto the escalators, and the rubble tore through the floor. She hid behind a big block of cement and fired. Two men down.

“You want an apology now?”

Jason fired at a sniper above. “It can wait.” He slid a box of ammo down to her side, and she reloaded her gun.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight down. Y/N dropped her machine gun and fired with the one on her wrist. Heads dropped to the floor. Another was at a sniping position, and there was no way she could hit it from here.

“JASON. THROW ME!”

He nodded, then Y/N ran to him. He caught her legs, flung her into the air. And from above, she fired, hitting two snipers hiding behind the pillars. Y/N rolled to the floor and hid.

Wincing, she ripped a part of her suit and wrapped it around her leg after a bullet had grazed against her skin deep enough to bleed.

“You're hit!” Jason cried.

“Keep firing!”

Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Four bullets ricocheted off the walls and hit four different soldiers, their necks bleeding before they even hit the floor.

She saw Jason aim at a gas tank, the one stationed near a car showroom. Y/N ducked and an entire wall exploded into rubble.

It kept going. The gas tanks blew up one after another and she ran to Jason’s side, pulling him up and shooting at a soldier just about to hit them. The mall started catching on fire. A wall had opened up and there was a clear exit to the streets.

She used the last of her pistol to fire, with Jason guarding her back, as they made their way to the exit. He pulled her to duck at the final explosion, which took the ceiling away and the building started to collapse.

The fire was burning too close to her face. The heat was immense, and her breath was cut short with the ashy debris.

They ran. Y/N threw her pistol away and ran at Jason’s side to the parking space of the mall. Two motorcycles. Parked against each other. “There!”

She took the one at the left and hurried with the ignition. The department store’s fire roared faster than anything they’ve ever seen. Jason started up his bike and Y/N soon followed. Their bikes sped down the street as they finally drove away from Founder’s Island

The heat. It eventually subsided. She didn’t hear anyone follow them. Not even if she’d look back, which she didn’t do.

They reached Perdition Bridge, sped past GCPD without much thought of where to go. They just had to move.

“Slow do- son of a BITCH.”

Police sirens, from two cars and three motorcycles, trailing behind them. They pulled at their ignitions and sped further.

“WE HAVE EYES ON THE ARKHAM KNIGHT AND THE MILITIA COMMANDER. PULL OVER.”

A sharp turn down a corner. They were still behind them.

“SPREAD OUT,” he screamed. Y/N nodded and they took opposite turns down a fork in the road. Two motorcycles and a car followed her, and the others after Jason.

She can't kill them this time, no matter how easy that would be. She’s never killed cops. She wasn’t about to start now. Y/N sat back and opened the throttle so the bike would wheelie up, roaring so loud the noise filled the streets. She turned, catching the front wheel onto an idle car drove right above it. She pointed her wrist at the same car before she drove too far away and fired.

It exploded, and she took another sharp turn, her hand grazing against the ground. It didn’t do much to slow them down, and eventually the cops were tailing behind her again. She turned, left and right, so suddenly they could never see where she’d go next. She went for the quieter streets, sped further and further until eventually she reached Miagani Island.

She saw Jason at the far end, about to meet her at an intersection. She saw him slow down right where the two roads met and she hurriedly did the same.

The two police cars were about to go after them. Jason jerked his head up, and Y/N understood.

At the exact moment they crossed, Jason held his hand out, Y/N took it, and he pulled her whole body to fall against his motorcycle on the seat behind him. Her bike crashed onto a police car, and it drifted too late to avoid it, eventually crashing into the second.

Y/N held onto Jason with her one arm, and her wrist firing at the parked cars with the other. Explosion after explosion, and none of them slowed down the three motorcycles.

“YOU HAVE A PLAN?” he asked.

“DON’T YOU?”

Another sharp turn. The road almost tore the skin on her leg. She stopped firing. “JASON, SLOW DOWN.”

“WHAT?”

“SLOW DOWN. I NEED HIS BIKE.”

With a frustrated huff, Jason slowed the bike just enough for one of the cops to catch up to them. From Jason’s hip, she pulled out his grappling hook. “MEET ME AT MERCY BRIDGE,” Jason said to her.

She shot it at the cop’s leg, flinging him off the bike. It kept speeding beside them. She only had such short a window. Y/N got on her feet, stood straight up with the bike dangerously moving, and jumped to the empty bike.

She pulled at the throttle, and at the next intersection, they spread out once again, one cop following each of them. Sharp turns, close calls, and stunts that shouldn’t have left her alive at all, Y/N sped back to Bleake Island.

The gas tank was running out. She only had so much of a chance. There was a dead end in an alleyway nearby.

Y/N paused, waiting for the cop to catch up to her, then she pulled at the throttle and the engine scowled out into the empty streets. Her head almost hit the ground when she turned, pulling at the throttle one last time and speeding directly into a wall.

Just before the cop came to a turn, she grappled up to the roof, grabbing onto a fire exit ladder and hiding before any of them could see her.

The motorcycle crashed onto the wall, and she fired the last shot on her wrist gun onto its tank, blowing it up before the cops could get near it.

She hid from the flying debris, ducking behind the railing and keeping so still, her breaths had to be subdued. It lasted longer, and the air around her choked her even more when the explosion almost met her skin.

The policeman backed off, hiding behind the building. Then when the fire had simmered down, he looked around, up at the roof. She was at an angle where he couldn’t see her.

And when he’d left, her chest sank to the ground.

It was done.

Everything was finished.

Breathe.

Even if it hurts.

Her blood was rushing so incredibly fast, she couldn’t see anything in front of her. Y/N laid on the ground, and the pain on her leg came back so gradually, that after a few minutes she could no longer hold it up.

Her lips went white. A bullet, hitting her flesh. The thought of it made her want to crawl into a sewers. She pulled herself to sit up, her knee folded up to where she could see. She unwrapped the bandage to have a look, and it was still bleeding. She couldn’t even touch it. Her hand was shaking, and her breaths were so short, she couldn’t do so much as think.

Y/N used the last of her strength to wrap the bandage even tighter around her leg. Then she laid against the wall, feeling her eyes drop down at every heavy breath that was hard to take.

She could sleep. The exhaustion from the whole night, only now did it come to a close. It didn’t feel like it was just from tonight, though. After everything she’d done, accomplished or failed at, for the past several months, only then did the weight fully land and the tiredness overwhelm her.

She was the commander of a militia army of more than five hundred men.

She lost her uncle.

She had her heart broken.

It wasn’t fear, failure, grief, or hate. She was just tired.

And now, if she sleeps, she’d most definitely die.

Y/N looked up, and a helicopter flew past where a serpent drone usually hovered over. She kept her head craned up, and a light trickle of rain droplets fell onto her face. It was so subtle, she didn’t even get wet, even after waiting at the fire exit for so long.

And it was the last, cool push that began to reign over the bursting fire. After everything that happened, the droplets on her face calmed her. She was silent, and she closed her eyes, but only to feel the cold.

She wasn’t going to die here. Not tonight.

She had one more thing to take care of.

Y/N climbed off the ladders, careful not to place any weight on her bad leg. Her feet met the ground, and she looked out of the alley.

No one. It was peaceful, and the rain continued to be subtle. Batman had finished off the command points, because she couldn’t see even one militia soldier on the streets.

Another bike, on the sidewalk near a convenience store. She walked up to it and pulled it to stand up. Still wincing at the pain, Y/N started the ignition.

She took off her mask and her gun optics. Staring at it, she could hear Floyd’s voice. Over and over like she could actually hear them in real life.

‘Bullseye,’ he’d say to her, after every successful training session.

She stuffed it into her pocket and drove, slowly this time, to Mercy Bridge.

The droplets were running across her cheeks, and it was like a hand, running down her back and calming her even further. The further she rode, the more the weight seemed to burn down.

He would have loved this. Floyd. He never had to lead an army, or do whatever she just did. He’d be proud of her. Immensely.

She’d failed as a commander, and the militia failed her. But she was Deadshot.

The greatest markswoman in the world.

At the turn to Mercy Bridge, she saw him waiting at the center, his red visor up so he could look at her, straight into the eye, when she slowly drove closer and closer to Jason.

Y/N turned off the ignition, swung her good leg over the seat and limped over to him. Jason looked at her leg, then at her, then he moved so quickly towards her so she didn’t have to force herself to walk anymore.

His arms were forceful, but they were warm. Jason pulled her into a tight embrace, his face buried into her hair while she did the same. Y/N closed her eyes shut, feeling him so close to her once again.

And there was nothing else in Gotham but them. No thugs. No cops. No stars. Nothing except the moon, which shined so largely that night, it was enough to light up the empty streets.

All the weight had come off. And she felt lighter than the droplets, lighter than a sparrow. She tightened her circling arms around him and never wanted to let go. “I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry-“

“Shut up.” He shushed her, slightly pulling away so he could look at her face. “For fuck’s sake, shut up.”

His lips. They still had the same warmth. They were right as she’d left them. They pressed tightly against her own, and his hand was holding the back of her head so she wouldn’t move. She grew still, letting herself slowly fall into the madness. His madness. But his lips were so gentle, she kissed him back.

“You can do shit like that ten times over. I’ll get mad. I’ll punch a wall,” Jason whispered. “and I’ll still love you. I love you. So much. I love you.”

She kissed him again, no longer fighting the tears that mixed with the rain water on her face. He held the sides of her head. “I love you,” she said back in between his kisses, and he kissed her harder. Y/N’s hands were on his face and she felt tears down his cheeks as well. She wiped them off, gently, then pulled away so she can kiss them.

Even if the bridge weren’t empty, the water below them wasn’t silently thrashing, and the moon wasn’t so bright, it would all feel the same.

He laid his forehead against hers, and he was so beautiful, even with a new scar right on his eyebrow. He was beautiful. Y/N kissed him again until her lips had the familiar, wonderful sting.

“I found supplies,” he said. And on his bike was a bag. “Food. Clothes. First Aid kit. Everything you need to last three days. Hide in my old apartment and don’t come out. Not until people come back from evacuation. The police will find you. I can't risk being followed. Not after what I’m about to do.”

“Let me help you-“

“No,” his voice stammering. “Y/N, no. This is my fight. You can't save me again. You’ve saved me so many times. For once, let me save you…”

The grip on her face was secure. And she felt like she could never be hurt again. She can't be apart from him. Not for a second more.

“Where will you go?” she cried.

“Arkham Asylum. Crane. Bruce. I have to go after them…”

She could see it. The first signs of his inner peace. He wouldn’t have to go through fighting his demons the way he wanted. “Save him,” she said, kissing him one last time.

“I will. Then when all this blows over, when it’s safe, I’ll come back to you. I’ll never let you out of my sight. I love you.”

It tore through whatever darkness was left in her. She hugged him, and at the pain that came with having to let him go, just for so long to keep them both safe, he pulled away. Jason glanced at her, smiled that beautiful smile that sent her miles into the sky, then closed off his visor and drove off.

Even with the night an empty black, she could feel the stars looking at them in hiding.

-----

THE COMMANDER - MASTERLIST

-----

Taglist: everyartistwas-firstanamateur @sarcasmismyfirstlove @damned-queen-of-gotham @idkmanicantenglish @wunderstell @birdy-bat-riya @get-loki@everyday-imfangirling @comic-nerd-dc @multifandoms916 @icequeen208@offendedfishnoises @egdolan @xemiefx @arkhamtoddler @elsenthal@mythicbitchx @supremehaunter @ burning-alive @lucy-roo roseangel013bf

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currentfandomkick · 3 years

Text

Marinette did not sign up for this part 10: Mari plots plotting

So long time no post. I live. Ish. Also finally figured out readmore on mobile, so yay. Will take forever to edit posts now though. Explanation at the bottom First part here previous part here. Ao3 here

Marinette wanted to go on record that Mandeliev did not, in fact, give her an extra day or so to study for the test. Why? Instead, she was told she may do a paper on the application of physics in gymnastics and principles of evasion in urban areas and how to combine the two to maximize one’s ability to run away from akumas and other dangers.

Or as Nino put it: “I am tormenting you into running better, the eight page essay.”

Alya dubbed it the “Run Better Paper.”

Aurore said it should include more formulas when Marinette showed her the draft. (as Adrien would complain about lack of theories and how she should have used this advanced formula she’d never heard of instead and then Marinette would have to forcibly stop him from taking over her paper. Again.)

Kim had taken to keeping her in his hoodie, escorting her to the bakery and didn’t leave her alone until Adrien said it was his “Marinette Anxiety Watch” shift.

Which she would like to go on record, is just plain mean to say. She has Liar 100% under control when world ending things and metaphorical bomb drops aren’t happening to her constantly.

—-

Bruce tried to contact Diana and Arthur again. Hal was off world, and therefore useless.

Why?

As his missing son hadn’t contacted them yet. Was still in the Miraculous team’s custody. And he saw the footage of Robin—Damian—being hunted by a lving shadow, an element casting swordswoman, and a strategist that seemed to know exactly what to do to keep Robin cornered in battle. The living shadows—Chat Noir—tried to kill his son with Cataclysm.

That was when they were in public, and had Hal watching over them.

He didn’t want to think about what the kids might do unsupervised to someone that tried to kill Ladybug, openly stalked her civilian self, and apparently tried stalk her again, in broad daylight. And possibly may have revealed her secret identity…

From the comments, it seemed that the Parisians hadn’t connected his sons aliases to the pair, writing it off as “Copy-cat Vigilantes” thankfully. And none of them were revealing more than “so the Fashion Disaster tried to go after Chat and Ryuko’s civvie… Not A Smart CopyBird” was the most he was able to get.

His children, on the other hand…

——

“I Fucking KNEW IT!” Tim yelled. “I knew it was her!”

“But,” Jason smirked. “You didn’t tell us.”

“Soup girl, baby bat!” Cass said gleefully.

“Wait, we both talked to her—and you didn’t say you thought it was her either Cass!”

“So what I’m hearing, if my ears don’t deceive me,” Jason continued. “Is that you all lost too.”

“What—“

“Wait a minute!”

“No way—”

Cass shrugged. She was the least invested in winning. She got to meet soup girl, who is very nice and her parents are safe for Baby Bat.

“We don’t have proof,” Dick pointed out. “Didn’t you say something about her being a mouse?”

“I—”

“Well—”

“Yes.” Cass cut through Tim and Stephanie’s waffling. “She is.”

Dick rubbed his forehead. “How many secrets can one kid have?”

“Five?” Jason said without much thought. “Limit is definitely five.”

—-

“Let me get this straight,” Miss Sting began, watching Ladybug very, very carefully. Rena and Carapace were busy that night and couldn’t act as the team’s Common Sense Filter in person. and texts only went so far.

So the job fell to Aurore. To talk (probably Marinette) Ladybug out of a Very, Stupendously, Inconceivably Bad Idea.

“You want to trust Robin—the kid who tried to kill you—to contact his mother—an assassin—to talk strategy about how to take down Hawkmoth’s civilian life’s business, not kill him, and trust that they won’t kill you?”

“…I’m bringing Chat with me.”

“Ladybug.”

“What, do you want me to use a Lucky Charm to prove this is our best bet?”

“You know what?” Miss Sting threw her hands up. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Fine.” Ladybug threw her yoyo skyward. “Lucky Charm!”

A red, spotted ball with an 8 on it came down.

“… you have got to be kidding me.”

Ladybug shrugged. “Uh, Magic Eightball, is it okay to trust Robin with this?”

One shake later and the floating die window read “Without a Doubt.”

“Give me that.” Miss Sting scowled, shaking as she asked. “Should she bring someone besides Chat and Robin—like someone from our team or Wonder Woman or Aquaman?”

The ball answered “Outlook not so good.”

Miss Sting glared at the magic eight ball. “I can’t believe this!”

Ladybug shrugged. “Lucky Charms are Lucky Charms—and I gotta go.”

Miss Sting checked her beeping spinning top. Someone was just akumatized.

“Re-charge first!” Miss Sting yelled before swinging ahead.

—-

“Oh, hey, when’s Demon Spawn going to contact us?” Jason asked as other bats calmed down.

“He’s not answering his communicator.” Bruce growled. “Hal took it earlier.”

The bats paused at that.

“Well then. Trackers?”

“Disabled—what? We didn’t need anyone crashing the apology and he ran off before I could stop him,” Dick defended. He is not Damian’s keeper. Just his Batman (as yes Bruce, he is Damian’s Batman and Damian is his Robin. Current masks not-withstanding).

“Then how are we supposed to find him?” Stephanie asked as the room grew uneasy.

No one answered that.

“How’s this,” Tim began. “Me, Steph and Cass agreed on who Hawkmoth probably is, each of us has a different set of evidence for it—and I’m counting breaking into his evil Liar and the cameras catching him mid-act a few minutes ago as absolute proof.”

“I’m sorry, you did what!” Stephanie leaned over Tim’s shoulder to see. “Oh shit. Isn’t that guy—”

“One of her friends? According to their private Instagram accounts, more like partner in crime and possible Chat Noir. I mean, he’s the one that calls her his “everyday Ladybug” and voices Chat Noir in everything." Tim answered idly. “My money’s on him not knowing at all.”

Bruce twitched. Then began to add ‘stalking social media feeds’ to his to-do list tonight.

“So,” Tim stepped forward. “I suggest we send this to the Wonder Woman and ask for Robin’s comm to be returned, and failing that, I bugged the video so anything they play it on, we get access to its IP and can find where they are.”

“Have Oracle go over the bug, just in case,” Bruce told them. “In the mean time, the rest of you suit up for the night. Gotham needs its vigilantes.”

—-

Marinette wanted to go on the record that her plan (to keep the bats away) was going well. Deciding what to do with Mu—R—Damian. Damian. Damian and his offer, was a challenge.

For obvious reasons, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were against her asking a bunch of assassins for their help. Chat has more than a few reservations. Carapace, Rena and Miss Sting gave her looks for that plan.

But.

But it would work. She needs more information on how to make the plan burning in the back of her mind work. It’s a lot of chaos (and she may thrive in chaotic battles but this wasn’t her usual battlefield, and her team didn’t know who they were going up against for once). And Marinette? She needs to know its not just her doing this when its so out of her depths.

So despite literally everyone and their disagreements she had Chat on her right side with Damian on her left, meeting up with his Crazy, Semi-Immortal mother. And possibly his Immortal, former Black Cat candidate, grandfather.

Why?

As Marinette isn’t trusting the likely cult that makes up the Gotham Ghost Gang (Batfam if you like them) when she can get real advice and vague directions to immortal and allied (loyal and terrifying) assassins.

And yes, she wasn’t sure if Liar was wrong or right when they said it was a bad idea too.

But fuckit she’s already got Kaalki at her shoulder, looking a bit bored at the deserted rooftop that Kaalki chose for their meeting.

“داميان*,” the woman smiled at her son. “It’s good to see you.”

“Mother,” Robin greeted. “This is Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug wished to speak to you about potential strategies to take down an enemy outside of battle without violence,” Damian stressed.

“I am well-aware of the Kwami and their Chosen, اِبْن.**” The woman spoke calmly. “The League of Assassins formed to act as the Black Cat to restore the world to balance and un-burden the Order with its maintenance.” The woman offer Ladybug her hand. “I am Talia al Ghul, and I am at your service, with or without violence Ladybug.”

Marinette took her hand. “Thank you Talia. Our target being directly exposed like I planned would have…” Ladybug trailed off, thinking over the ramifications not only to Adrien, but to the whole of Gabriel’s brand, workers and all that worked with them. “Some intense ramifications I’d rather avoid.”

Talia nodded her head, waiting for more information.

“I believe its possible to topple them without affecting their employees by uncoupling them from their business, but doing so is, well, stocks and economics isn’t my strongest point.” Ladybug admitted a bit sheepishly.

“I would suggest,” Talia began, “to create a bit of chaos in the stock market. Perhaps a rumor here and there, let investors pull out and grab the abandoned stocks quickly. Consolidate them under one owner and become the company’s owner.”

Marinette twitched a bit at that. “That… sounds complicated.”

“Oh, but it isn’t. My son knows just how to that, or did you forget our lessons?” Talia asked coolly.

Damian twitched at Marinette’s side. “I did not.”

“You know,” Chat chimed in. “I do know a few things about those things. If its general chaos, well…” Chat’s face twisted in a way Marinette forgot he could do after that Chat Blanc episode.

“… I will take that into consideration.”

“Anything else?” Talia asked, watching Ladybug and her son. Specifically, how her son seemed glued to the girl’s side. “I am certain my son is able to take out your target, if all else fails.”

Damian scowled at Marinette’s side.

“However, I do believe that whatever is happening, whatever has you active, might require a more… experience hand.”

Damian brushed against her side. Code for ‘Possible Danger.’

“Thank you for the offer,” Chat moved in front of Marinette. “But mi’lady and the Guardians have that much handled.”

Talia’s eyes shifted from Chat to Ladybug, staying on her. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I merely needed more information on how to execute this type of plan, that’s all!” Ladybug almost, almost slipped into Marinette while Liar, while silenced for the moment, prodded the back of her mind. “I want to minimize collateral damage as much as I can, to everyone. The kwami already said they get to chose the target’s punishment.”

“Ah, I see.” Talia relaxed then. “You are following the kwami’s wishes. I will respect their wishes as well, Chosen.”

Marinette categorized this interaction as one of the “not too horrible, but will avoid a repeat” once they left.

—

*Damian in arabic

**son

so we have Talia now as a Player, sort of. she plays by her word pretty well so hopefully its a cameo more than anything else.

any ideas on how JL will handle the video, and if Miraculous Team should see it and freak out or only LB and keep on the dl while JL assissts in her Chaos Plot?

End of update. Will have to repost from ao3 on my phone now as desktop tumblr is being exceptionally rude. Tags always open, just takes me a bit to do—sorry to vixen for vanishing from tags

TAGS: @heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06 @chaosace @jeminiikrystal @toodaloo-kangaroo @kris-pines04 @bisha43rbs @izang @dreamykitty25 @emu-lumberjack @vixen-uchiha

#maribat #marinette did not sign up for this #part 10 #updated at last #my writing #long post #my writings #bio!dad bruce

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 3 years

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Final Fantasy XIII Review

Year: 2009

Original Platform: PlayStation 3

Also available on: Xbox 360, PC, Android, iOS

Version I Played: PlayStation 3

Synopsis:

On the planet Cocoon, those who come into contact with anything from the planet Pulse are purged to that planet. Pulse is a feared planet full of monsters and strange creatures. Both planets are ruled by fal’Cie, mechanical godlike beings who sometimes brand humans as their servants for specific tasks, called a focus. Those who fulfill their focus are turned into crystals and obtain eternal life. Those who do not fulfill their focus turn into mindless monsters. Lightning is a former soldier whose sister, Serah, is branded by a fal’Cie and taken to be purged. Lightning sets off to rescue her.

Gameplay:

Going to say this now – the worst gameplay in the entire Final Fantasy series.

The battles are Active Time Battles but instead of you inputting individual commands, there are what’s called paradigms. Paradigms are somewhat like Job Classes from the old Final Fantasy games, except less fun and more automated. You can switch to a Medic paradigm in battle and every time you press “Auto-Battle” your character automatically performs a series of necessary cure and restore spells, based on what’s going on in the battle. The Sentinel paradigm specializes in keeping the enemy at bay. The Ravager paradigm uses magic. The Commando paradigm uses physical attacks. You get the picture.

As a result, the gameplay could be best described as:

With occasional switching of paradigms whenever you see fit. You can set up a number of combinations across the characters. Two Commandos and one Sentinel. One Sentinel and one Ravager and One Commando, etc.

The party automatically heals after each battle – you can even press start during a battle and restart the battle.

I probably only used an item once or twice. I honestly don’t see why they bothered putting any items if you hardly ever use them.

You can upgrade your weapons with pieces and junk you find after battles. You find so many of them that you hardly ever think about what you’re upgrading so long as whatever you make upgrades your stats. Is this better? No? What about this? Okay, good. Moving on.

Like Final Fantasy X, the game is linear. Much more linear. You follow a long hallway for about 30 hours of the game before you can do sidequests. The sidequests involve completing other people’s focus. That’s about it. There are no towns, no inns, no villages. You are entirely on the road, constantly in battle (Okay, there’s like one time where Sazh and Vanille are in a casino or something but that’s about it).

I wrote a blog piece a while back about what exactly was wrong with Final Fantasy XIII, and it’s not that it’s linear. We play really great linear games all the time. It’s the automation – the feeling that you’re not really doing anything.

There isn’t an ounce of customization. Leveling up is similar to the Sphere Grid of Final Fantasy X. It’s called the Crystarium but it follows a strict path. You can’t actually stray anywhere or customize anything. If that’s the case, why bother making you open the menu to level up through the Crystarium? Why not just automatically do it? I guess they want to give you some ounce (more like a milligram) of control over the game.

Basically – you’re watching a long movie and occasionally get to move the people around. That’s how I see it.

Graphics:

PLAYSTATION 3 HD GRAPHICS HOMG DO YOU HAVEA BONER YET? LOOK AT THIS. FIRST FINAL FANTASY GAME IN GLORIOUS HD.

Everything is pretty in this game. Everything. There is nothing wrong with this at all.

Story:

The characters appear to reference those in Final Fantasy VII. Director Motomu Toriyama wanted Lightning to essentially be a female Cloud Strife. She’s a no-nonsense, athletic female lead. While Cloud and Squall were introspective and antisocial, Lightning is slightly different by actively ordering people around. She comes off as a dick to everyone, and that’s due to her ex-soldier background. Think of your stereotypical ex-cop/ex-CIA/ex-military action movie hero, like Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills in Taken) or Bruce Willis (John McClane in Die Hard). That’s basically Lightning.

Can we go on a short tangent for a moment to talk about how weird it is that Lightning was also used as a model for advertising in Japan?

Here she is driving a Nissan.

And wearing Louis Vitton.

Cool? I guess? Unless you start to realize that Toriyama wanted to design his own personal waifu, and that he’s completely obsessed with her. That gets really weird. And sad? A little? Anyway.

Vanille has some reminiscent of Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII, although with more character via her inner monologues and narration. Fang is vaguely like Vincent Valentine. Sazh takes the place of Barrett as the token black dude, except instead of being aggressive he’s more like the comic relief and wants nothing to do with anything. Every time you control him, jazz music plays, because black people I guess. Hope doesn’t appear to be reminiscent of anyone – he’s just this boy who yells and complains a lot with Lightning. Snow meanwhile is a ripoff of Zell from Final Fantasy VIII, except somehow even more annoying.

(Every time I see his picture I think about your typical dude bro at a frat.)

The story starts of a bit choppy as you follow almost each character separately, then they run into each other, then separate again, then join again. The first 30 hours or so gives flashbacks of 13 days prior- BECAUSE IT’S FINAL FANTASY XIII GET IT? Vanille actually narrates some events but it’s not exactly clear why or from when – but that’s a spoiler. Along the way, I got really confused because I didn’t know why some people were fighting each other when they were on the same side a moment ago. The concept of the “focus” is really weird and sometimes confusing. People with a focus simply have visions or a general idea of what they’re supposed to do, but they don’t actually know for sure unless they actively seek it. If the gods granted them a focus, wouldn’t it make more sense if the gods just told them what to do? Seemed to work in Final Fantasy XII.

In short, the narrative weaves around a lot. If you stop playing in the middle and pick up the game again months later, you’re bound to forget what’s going on. I know I did.

The characters didn’t annoy me as much as you would think they would on paper. They all have character development and that’s good. The only character that effectively got on my nerves was Snow. Snow is Serah’s fiancé, and Lightning hates him because of course you need some family drama. I don’t blame Lightning though. Snow shouts cheesy lines left and right, like “Heroes never die!”. He shouts Serah’s name the same way Christian Bale shouts Rachel’s name in the Christopher Nolan Batman films. Snow is quite possibly the most irritating character of all the Final Fantasy games. He will not shut the fuck up about what it means to be a hero.

The rest of the cast works well in that their motives and desires clash with each other. But I’m still sore about the wasted potential for a great character in Jihl Nabaat. Sazh wants his son Dejh back, who was taken to be purged by the sinister and extremely hot Jihl Nabaat.

Goddaaayyyum. Seriously, look at her.

Too bad, because she’s only featured in a handful of scenes and then dies. Her death isn’t a major spoiler, at least one that I consider, because she hardly does anything except get in the way for a moment. You don’t even fight her. How lame is that?

Then you have this annoying bastard – Primarch Dysley.

When I think of him, I think of Mitch McConnell.

Old. Disagreeable. Been in power for too long. Always in the way of progress.

Primarch Dysley happens to be as annoying as Seymour from Final Fantasy X, so expect to be overjoyed every time you run into him.

Overall, the story isn’t as bad as you’d think. You just have to pay close attention. The gameplay is far worse than the story. I could easily slip into a coma while playing this game and still make it pretty far.

Music:

Final Fantasy XII saw the departure of Nobuo Uematsu (well with the exception of the pop song “Kiss Me Goodbye”). Final Fantasy XIII continues to head into the unknown without the beloved longtime composer. This game’s score is composed entirely by Masashi Hamauzu, who if you haven’t been paying attention, already partly worked on Final Fantasy X. I immediately saw how “Saber’s Edge”, the boss theme, is similar in nature to the boss theme of Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy XIII made the most radical changes to the score. There are no signature themes from the series. No “Prelude” theme, no “Main Theme”, no “Victory Fanfare” theme. Instead, we get a theme called “Fabula Nova Crystallis”. It plays frequently throughout the game, and almost acts as Serah and Snow’s love theme. In some portions of the game, some woman is singing along. Yes – this is the first time where you roam around a world in a Final Fantasy game with actual pop music playing in the background – “Sunleth Waterscape” to be exact. Final Fantasy XIII’s music gets pretty poppy.

youtube

Not saying it’s a bad idea.

Just.

You got pop music playing in the background now.

“Lightning’s Theme” is pretty sick. Her theme plays during the battles in a rendition called “Blinded by Light” – HA GET IT BECAUSE SHE’S LIGHTNING. SO CLEVER.

But Hamauzu was a good choice – the entire score holds up well and sounds like a movie score, with varying motifs running across. It can be a bit more subdued but that’s how contemporary instrumental music is nowadays, especially with film composers like Hans Zimmer.

Notable Theme:

“Blinded by Light”

Really epic, unique song. I always scat along to it as it plays.

youtube

Verdict:

Uff.

Look, if you just search on YouTube for all the cutscenes, there you go. That’s the game. And it’s entertaining to watch. But it has the worst gameplay that doesn’t feel like you’re even doing anything. No sense of customization or originality.

Direct Sequel?

Yes, two.

Final Fantasy XIII-2.

I started it around the time it first came out, but I’m still in the middle of playing it and I have no idea what’s going on in the story. NO idea. NONE at all. They use time travel but none of it makes sense. Apparently changing things in the future can change the past. I don’t know how. I only understand a vague semblance of a plot with the bad guy Caius. While it doesn’t tarnish the dignity of the original like Final Fantasy X-2 did, it’s still offbeat with its metal (yes, metal) music and utterly confounding story. It’s infamous for this metal rendition of the sweet and innocent Chocobo theme.

Then there’s the third game, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

I plan on playing it after I finish Final Fantasy XIII-2, if I don’t already die from an aneurysm by then. It’s supposed to be better than Final Fantasy XIII-2 but lacking in graphics.

#final fantasy #final fantasy xiii #final fantasy xiii-2 #lightning returns #lightning #final fantasy lightning #cloud strife #cloud clone #vanille #jihl nabaat #mitch mcconnell #video games #rpg #video game rpg #fantasy rpg #onvideogames

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blancheludis · 3 years

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@whumptober2021 Day 5: Misunderstandings

Fandom: DCU, Batman, Superman Characters: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Tags: Misunderstandings, Unhealthy Relationship, Miscommunication, Open Ending Words: 4.404

Summary: “I bought the bank,” Bruce says, his face unreadable as ever, but he looks like he is waiting for something.

Clark stands with his parents’ farm in his back, the farm that now belongs to Bruce, and he understands, loud and clear. I bought you.

So, with his mother’s home and well-being on the line, he has little choice but to follow when Bruce beckons.

---

“I bought the bank,” Bruce says, his hands hidden in his trouser pockets, completely casual.

His face is unreadable as ever but Clark knows that face by now, knows that Bruce never does anything without reason.

So, what Clark hears, loud and unmistakeably, is, I bought you.

He swallows, his mouth dry, searching for the right thing to say but coming up empty. The distance between them stretches, growing larger with every passing, silent second.

Then Bruce frowns, causing ice to spread inside Clark’s chest. Bruce bought him. That means he is not just holding Clark’s life in his hands but also that of his mother. He understands that the farm is safe for now, the house will remain standing – now the ball is in Clark’s corner to keep it that way.

“Thank you,” Clark says, far too late, but he somehow manages to sound calm, not as brittle as he feels, blindsided by this sudden change of his fate.

The frown vanishes from Bruce’s face but that only makes the icy grip around Clark’s insides tighten. He had not thought Bruce capable of this, trying to control him and demanding him to be happy about it, too.

“You didn’t have to,” Clark adds cautiously. Bruce could have just asked if he wanted Clark, did not have to go to the trouble of holding his home and family hostage.

“Nonsense,” Bruce says, dismissing in a way that seems to come so easily to him. It has Clark gritting his teeth, even while he keeps his face friendly – a very thin façade.

Here they are, regularly saving the world together, but they are apparently still not equals. Clark pointedly does not look at the house behind him, at the fading colours and the cracks in the porch, at the corner where the roof threatens to give in during the next storm. He did not grow up with money to spare but they were never poor, not in any way that matters. There was always warmth to be found in their house, always love.

Rather uncharitably, Clark thinks that is where they differ. Not because Clark is an alien with super strength and super speed, while Bruce is human. No, Clark is rich in terms of love. He knows where he comes from and where he belongs. Bruce, on the other hand, is lost, building relentlessly to hide the fact that there is no ground to build on.

“I’d invite you in,” Clark says, although he really, really would not. Whatever game Bruce is playing, he will not do it in front of his mother. “But I should tell my mom first.”

Bruce straightens even while his brow creases again just a bit, enough to make Clark wonder what the price for disappointing Bruce will be. Whether they will lose the house immediately or if he will dismantle Clark’s life in a different way first.

“I’ll come to the Manor once I’m done,” Clark offers quickly and takes a step towards Bruce, hoping he is not placating him too obviously. Bruce likes subtlety, after all.

They have known each other for a while now, fought next to each other, and yet he has no idea how to please Bruce, what is expected of him here.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bruce says, still as unreadable, but he looks slightly less tense.

Clark smiles. It is a real thing if borne of relief instead of happiness. He is glad to take this to the Manor. It is already such an empty place, grief permeating its shadows. Clark will not feel bad about adding his own to it.

“Give my best to your mother,” Bruce says as he is already turning away, off-handed like there is nothing to it, just a social nicety.

Clark’s smile freezes. He stares at Bruce’s back. Later, he will think that he should not have been surprised. Batman is built to be a threat, his every move and word meant to subdue and intimidate. But Bruce is subtler than that, underhanded. Hiding his threats beneath well-wishes that, under any other circumstances would have been innocuous, is right up Bruce’s alley, although it hits Clark like a sucker punch.

He hears the warning loud and clear. I bought you and I expect you to fall in line. Or else.

Clark loves his home but he loves his mother more. “I will,” he says and means it. There is no other choice anyway.

---

Clark thinks briefly about contacting Diana. Perhaps she would have some insight into what Bruce expects. Although, if he is honest with himself, Clark knows. He noticed Bruce’s stares, slowly morphing from distrust to respect to something he thought was welcoming but might have been simple want instead.

He could have asked. Ignoring their bumpy beginnings, Clark liked working with Bruce. They could have built something. But perhaps that is not what Bruce is interested in. He likes control, that much is clear, and maybe he sensed that Clark does not want to be on the receiving end of that. That could be the game and Bruce will tire of it quickly. Somehow, Clark knows that will not be the case.

He is stalling. After talking to his mother, he went to his old room, her relief leaving a bittersweet aftertaste. There is so much to do, but he guesses Bruce’s patience will run out if Clark starts retiling the roof instead of doing as he is told.

No, he decides, he cannot tell Diana. She does not do subtle and Clark cannot afford force. He will give himself half an hour and then he will do what must be done. That is what heroes do, after all, even if he has never felt less like one.

Later, Alfred opens the door for him, smiling with a warmth that Clark does not understand. “Mr. Kent, what a pleasure to see you here.”

Clark nods in greeting, tries to pull up his lips and fails miserably. “I guess Bruce is waiting for me?”

He is and he is not, looking surprised when Clark enters his office. “I didn’t expect you so soon.” Clark was not exactly given a schedule, but he prefers to be early rather than late. “Come, we need to go over some things.”

Privately, Clark expects rules on how this new life of his will run. Instead, it is business as usual, talking about the League. He barely hears a word Bruce is saying but makes sure to nod in the appropriate places.

He stays for dinner – Bruce does not say he can leave – and while he knows that Alfred is an excellent cook, everything tastes like ash.

---

The first time they kiss, Bruce holds him like he is afraid Clark will disintegrate in his arms. Only when Clark pushes forward, acting eager to drown out the churning of his stomach, does the tension bleed out of Bruce’s muscles. If things were different, Clark could even enjoy this. He had thought about it, even, about Bruce. But either Bruce never looked at him the same way or he just likes to make sure his lovers cannot leave on their own terms.

All the following times, Bruce kisses like a drowning man, desperate for the air in Clark’s lungs even knowing that it is poisoned.

None of it makes sense. Clark is here to stay until he is dismissed. He will not refuse any of Bruce’s whims. And yet it feels as if it is Bruce who is waiting for the second shoe to drop, as if Clark will one day decide his mother’s home and well-being are not important for him anymore and leave.

It does not give Clark a sense of power. Instead, he just wonders when their time is finally running out, afraid of what the fallout will be.

---

“Where were you all our lives?” Jason asks one night when they are waiting for Bruce so they can eat dinner. “B is like a new person since you decided to give his sorry ass a chance.”

Clark did no such thing, but that is better kept between him and Bruce, so he shrugs. “Waiting for the right opportunity, I guess.” Bruce certainly did, and Clark did not have much choice but to follow.

He does not have much contact with Bruce’s family, but they treat him like he is one of them. Somehow, Clark thinks, this would be easier if they did not, if at least someone would acknowledge that he is nothing but a stranger, one of Bruce’s few indulgences, just one wrong step away from being dropped and put outside with the trash.

“Well, I wouldn’t have minded having you around when I was still living here.” Jason’s grin looks real, not even a hint of sharpness beneath it, although nobody in this family could ever be described as soft. “Much fewer shouting matches.”

You should have bought your father a whore much sooner, Clark thinks but immediately scolds himself for it. Neither the children nor Alfred seem to know the reason for this arrangement. And Bruce treats him kindly, almost as if this were real.

And Clark does not only come here to warm Bruce’s bed. If he did not know any better, he would even say that Bruce values his company.

“Although your taste is questionable,” Jason continues, apparently not bothered by Clark’s silence. “You could do much better.”

And that is the thing, because in the situation he is in, Clark cannot do anything but acquiesce. He is getting a better version of Bruce than he expected, making it not hard to play along. But this, right here, is the best Clark can do while his mother’s fate is lying in Bruce’s hands.

“He’s your father,” Clark chides quietly, because what else is there to do?

Also, if he ignores the way it happened, he has little to complain about. Bruce is polite and giving and constantly concerned with Clark’s well-being. He does not think it is a façade. Not beyond the obvious.

But if it is not a façade and it is not real either, he has no idea what else it could be. Clark hates being lost. It makes him feel like he is in freefall and, for once, unable to fly. He is not naïve enough to think somebody would catch him either.

---

Clark expects kinks and pain and being uncomfortable the entire time, but Bruce is a generous lover. He never asks Clark to stay and yet always seems to be so glad when he does, almost like Clark is doing him a favour instead of not making a fuss about his duties.

None of it makes sense. Less so with every passing day.

Even with a handful of adopted children, Bruce is still regularly crowned most eligible bachelor. People are throwing themselves at him left and right. Some of them must be in it for more than just Bruce’s looks or money. There must even be someone who already knows about Batman. Someone who does not have to be coerced.

With a bit more time, Clark thinks he could have been that. Sometimes, when he lies awake in Bruce’s arms, warm and safe and satisfied, he resents that he was not given that time.

---

“Why don’t you invite your friend over to dinner?” his mother asks.

The roof has finally been retiled and Clark is thinking about repainting the living room. The question rips him out of his musings like someone dunked his head in ice water.

“My friend?” he asks, although he knows exactly who she is talking about.

Bruce is many things. His colleague and co-conspirator and lover. But they have never been given the chance to become friends.

“The one who helped with the farm,” his mother says, frowning at him. She knows exactly that he is stalling, just not why. And Clark will do everything in his power to make sure she never finds out. “I know you felt like we should have managed on our own, but who knows where we’d be without him.”

Without the farm, probably, but that does not necessarily mean they would be worse off.

“Bruce,” Clark says flatly as if he only just remembered the name. As if all of his thoughts do not circle around Bruce all the time these days – as if he does not sometimes think that is not only a bad thing.

“Exactly.” She smiles, honest and grateful and all the things she would not be if he were honest with her. “You never bring him here.”

Clark is sure his world would implode if he did. “He’s busy,” he dismisses, trying for a casual tone and failing. At least his mother might think he is merely nervous about bringing a partner home to meet her. And he is, just for all the wrong reasons. He is terrified of her liking Bruce.

“Well, you’re seeing each other all the time,” she keeps digging, knowing she always gets what she wants sooner or later. Not this time, though. “Surely it won’t be too hard to invite him sometime.”

“Mom –”

“Clark,” she says in the same tone she used when he smuggled frogs into the house as a boy. “I haven’t properly thanked him yet.”

What is there to thank Bruce for? Clark is paying their debt every day. It might not feel this way most of the time, but he is still acutely aware of the truth.

“I’ll tell him,” Clark lies. “But you shouldn’t get your hopes up. I can barely get him to sit down for dinner when he’s just a few doors down from his office.”

The very idea makes him sick, thinking about Bruce sitting at their dinner table, looking at their family pictures on the walls, sliding neatly into a spot where he does not belong. Bruce is a charmer, he would steal his mother’s affection within moments of coming into the door. And that cannot happen. Clark’s heart is not made to be broken in that way. His mother wants to see him happy, he knows, and it is too much to lie to her about that.

---

“Why didn’t you just ask?” Clark does not mean to say that out loud, but he has been thinking it often during quiet hours.

Because whatever this is, Bruce does not seem to want to rule him. He is content with them just being together and yet he lets that executioner’s axe hover over Clark’s neck.

“Ask what?” Bruce blinks at him, growing more awake. They are lying in bed together, worn out and sleepy and Clark has already decided not to go home tonight, which has too little to do with what Bruce is expecting of him and too much with how comfortable he is, here at Bruce’s side.

It would be easy to bow out, feed Bruce something inconsequential. But Clark is tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Why didn’t you just ask me to go out? Why did you have to buy me?” He has never said the word out loud and he stumbles over it.

Confusion burrows Bruce’s brow as he stares. He has gone very, very still. “Buy you?”

Clark clicks his tongue, remembering why they never talked about it. It is too cumbersome to hash out the details. “Me. The bank. Same difference.”

Understanding dawns on Bruce’s face, giving way to something far greater, far darker. Clark does not get a chance to interpret it properly because Bruce all but pushes him away, scrambling out of the bed and to his feet. He is naked but stands in a fighting position like it is second nature to him no matter what he wears.

“I didn’t buy you.” The offence in his tone is undermined by growing confusion. It sounds very believable.

“You went to quite some length to gain control over my life. I’d say that counts as buying.” Before him, Bruce’s expression grows brittle but Clark presses on. This has been weighing on his soul for way too long. “I didn’t expect you to threaten my mother, but I guess that’s all part of the game.” The words taste bitter on his tongue, still tinged with fear of the possible repercussions. “Only, you’re not even doing anything you couldn’t have gotten if you’d just asked.”

No underhanded humiliations. No kinks where superhuman regeneration abilities come in handy. No secret grievances to pay for. It almost felt real, a relationship like any other, if not for the way it started.

“You think I bought you.” Bruce sounds old, his voice is rougher than usual, almost pained. He is leaning away from Clark, even while his feet remain steady on the ground.

Clark frowns. “You did.” As much as he could be bought, chained not by strength but by concern for what he holds dear.

“And then -” Bruce clears his throat when his voice breaks. “You came into my bed because you thought I’d what?”

“Take the farm. Put my mother on the street.” Clark knows this and yet his voice lilts up, turning his words into a question.

Bruce closes his eyes, his face so raw and open as Clark has never seen it before. It looks like he is in pain, sudden and suffocating. A weight sits heavily in Clark’s stomach as he wonders, just maybe, if he got it all wrong.

“I bought the bank,” Bruce says, voice so low that Clark has to strain to hear him. “And then I forgave your mother’s loan the very moment I could. I have nothing in hand to harm you or your family.”

That is not true, a voice in Clark’s head says but even at that moment he knows it is uncharitable. Bruce would not – but –

“You’re not –”

He is cut off as Bruce starts laughing. It is a sharp-edged thing, clawing its way up from some terrible place, fed by self-loathing and doubt. “You thought I was blackmailing you into having a relationship with me? And you just agreed?”

Bruce does not mock him, the incredulity is clearly pointed at himself, drawing blood with a certainty that speaks of life-long practice. And yet, Clark feels offended. He might not be human, but he is not above emotions, above fear.

“What was I supposed to do?” Clark asks, watching as Bruce’s expression falls further, deep lines opening up where Bruce usually hides everything beneath a clear canvas.

“You’re Superman. You’re a reporter,” he says as if the latter somehow weighs more. “You know my identity, so even if you didn’t want to kill me you could have stopped me any time.” He puts out the idea of being killed as if there is nothing to it. “And you’d have been right to ruin my life because all I’ve apparently done is ruin yours.”

This is not how Clark imagined this conversation to go. He expected to be shut down immediately, to be pushed back into silence. But this? “You didn’t ruin –” he tries to say because, if anything, it seems they ruined each other.

“I raped you,” Bruce snaps, effectively cutting through Clark’s line of thoughts. “For months.”

For a long moment, all Clark can do is stare, the words sitting incomprehensible between them. His chest is hollow and yet something in there seems adamant to drag him down.

“No, Bruce. You didn’t,” he then says, his voice rough. “You never hurt me.” There was never any violence between them, no bruises, no humiliation. He never even had to hide a hickey. And yet, Bruce says the word rape with such certainty, such loathing, his judgement already made.

“You didn’t think you could say no. What else do you think that is but rape?” Bruce turns around abruptly, pressing one hand against his mouth. He looks small, like the tension in the air would be enough to smother him.

Clark knows he should say something, clear this up, but he does not know how. He is watching Bruce fall apart in front of him but all he can do is stare.

Then Bruce buries his face in his hands. “I can’t stop being Batman. I’ll do whatever else you want, but I can’t give up that. Gotham needs –” he cuts himself off, shrinks, impossibly, even further into himself. “If you insist, I’ll find someone to take over, but I’ll need some time. I’ll – you won’t have to see me ever again.”

Something is happening here, way too fast for Clark to follow. Bruce bought him, only – he did not? Because being acquainted with a billionaire apparently means that banks get bought just to help each other out.

He was so sure, though. The expectation for something lingered in Bruce’s eyes that day, and he never protested when Clark gave himself over.

“Bruce.” Clark’s mind is spinning too much to make sense of what is happening, but he cannot watch this, cannot watch Bruce damage himself beyond repair. And for what – an apology? Batman has nothing to do with this. “You forgave the loan?”

That is the easiest thing to reach for. Because Bruce did not rape him, did not harm him at all. That first night, Clark might not have come to him voluntarily, but he came willingly. He knew what he was getting into – or he thought he knew – and he still went. And it never mattered that Clark thought he could not refuse because nothing bad ever happened. A few scheduling conflicts, a few fake smiles when he was not in a good mood. But – it was a misunderstanding? Bruce never set out to control him?

Bruce is still turned away, likely as unable to look at Clark as Clark is to look away. “Of course,” he says, raw and honest.

“It’s not –” Clark breathes, then clarifies, “You don’t have to do anything. I definitely don’t want you to stop being Batman. We – I just misunderstood. But nothing happened.”

Months of uncertainty happened. Months of waiting for the punchline. Months of trying to figure out Bruce’s game only to learn that there has never been one.

“Nothing happened?” Bruce whips his head around. His eyes are wide, filled with some grief that Clark cannot even begin to decipher. “If that’s what you think then I’ll definitely make sure you won’t have to see me again.”

For some reason, that last thing stings more than the realization that all of Clark’s fears have been for nothing.

“I’m not a child, Bruce. Don’t treat me like one,” he snaps, not stopping when Bruce flinches away from him. “I might have thought that I didn’t have a choice, but you never did anything I would have said no to.”

A small voice in the back of Clark’s head asks him whether that matters. He would not have said no, not for anything as long as he thought his mother’s happiness was on the line. He pushes that thought down, unable to fully comprehend it, much less deal with it right now.

“Apart from demanding your presence and presuming your consent? I trapped you in a relationship you didn’t want.” Bruce sneers at himself, then deflates. He looks old, suddenly, hollowed out. “God, you must hate me.”

Does he? Clark wonders, even while he already says, “I don’t, aren’t you listening?” It is a painful dichotomy, this sudden anger and the stubborn incomprehension warring in his mind. “If you had asked me before you bought the bank, I would have gladly gone out with you.”

“But I didn’t ask.”

Clark has no argument for that, and while he still searches for one anyway, a sudden wall builds itself up between them.

Bruce’s composure is shattered but he still visibly draws the pieces together. Neither of them has yet reached for any clothes but he still stands as if in full armour. “You have my deepest apologies, Clark,” he says, too formal, too withdrawn, even if Clark does not doubt his sincerity. He has seen the ruin lying beneath Bruce’s mask, after all. “I know that’s not enough, but I promise you will never have to deal with me again. But, whatever you need from me, now or in the future, you will have it.”

What Clark needs is - “Bruce, stop.”

But Bruce does not listen, of course not. His eyes travel over Clark’s face as if to memorize his features and then he turns around, never looking back as he storms out of the room. Out of Clark’s life.

“Bruce.” No answer.

Clark should follow him. Bruce still has to find clothes and he does not have any super speed to aid in his flight. It would be easy and this conversation is not done. And yet, Clark finds himself remaining right where he is. In Bruce’s bed, naked but for the blanket pooling around his waist.

A misunderstanding, he thinks. Relief blossoms in his stomach but it sits there heavily, not quite releasing him. He cannot let Bruce go, not forever, but his mind is not his own right now. His skin still burns where Bruce kissed him just an hour ago and his muscles ache deeply. Soon there will not be any visible traces of their time together left and – Clark needs that. He needs to be his own person for a while.

Slowly, he gets up and puts on his clothes. He will leave town and visit his mother for a while. The living room still needs to be repainted and he is desperate to do something that makes sense.

Later, once he feels at home in his own skin again, he will go to Bruce. He can imagine the maelstrom of thoughts Bruce must battle right now. Guilt and shame and self-deprecation. Knowing him, he will not get out of this on his own but just do his best to bury it, ignoring the way it eats away at the very foundation of his being. Clark cannot let that happen, not when they have both contributed to their misery. He knows Bruce is a good person, knows he never communicates clearly. And yet he assumed the worst and gave in to it.

The living room, first, Clark thinks as he steps out into the sun, feeling its warmth as he has not done in weeks, even if his legs are not quite steady. And then the rest of their lives.

#whumptober2021 #no.5 #misunderstandings #dcu #fanfiction #consent issues #clark kent #bruce wayne #unhealthy relationship #miscommunication #talking helps #my writing #ao3

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buffaliengirlfriend · 4 years

Note

Writing prompt: Bruce calling in on Kory to see if dick is doing well (sleeping good, eating good, being healthy overall)

this took me a million years but I finally wrote something for this amazing prompt!! thank u for sending it in, i loved writing this. everyone, feel free to send in other prompts! i’ll do them!! eventually!!!

She really shouldn’t have been surprised that Bruce had her contact information. Based on what she’s heard from Dick and what she knows of the man herself, basically every single significant other to Bruce’s kids go through an extensive background check whether they know it or not. So, looking back, it made sense that Bruce would have her personal phone number. Still, getting a random call from Batman while sitting on the couch in pajamas would probably startle anyone.

“Koriand’r, this is Bruce. How are you doing?”

Kory smiled, even though she knew he wouldn’t see it, “I’m doing very good! And yourself?”

“Fine.”

Bruce liked to keep small talk to a minimum, something that Kory could appreciate. She and Dick had been dating for almost a year now and Bruce was only just starting to come out of his extremely polite shell and actually talk to her, not just out of obligation, but because he wanted to.

At first he had been very skeptical of their relationship. Kory didn’t take it personally; Bruce doesn’t trust the majority of the population, especially when his kids are involved. His apprehensions all but disappeared when Bruce saw her risk life and limb to protect her boyfriend in combat. If there’s one thing Bruce can respect, it’s Kory’s loyalty. And hey, if it means that a superstrong alien warrior princess is protecting his son from danger, bonus.

“I called to ask about Dick. I know he’s working a case and he often neglects to take care of himself while preoccupied.”

Settling back into the plush couch, Kory began brushing her fingers through Dick’s dark hair. He had fallen asleep with his head in her lap about an hour ago and showed no signs of waking, wrapped up in a blanket and lightly snoring into her thigh.

“No need to worry, I’ve been making sure he eats meals and takes breaks. Real meals too, not just coffee and tortilla chips,” she couldn’t help but smirk a little, “The bat work ethic sure runs deep.”

If she hadn’t known better, Kory would’ve sworn she heard him laugh, “That it does. I’ve been in contact with Barbara, keeping an eye on things.”

The last time Kory had seen Barbara, she was complaining about how inaccessible Dinah’s apartment was while eating slices of mango in their living room. But, knowing Babs, she was probably also hacking into some government database while eating the last of their fresh fruit.

“That’s good. I’ve been busy with some things myself, so it’s nice to hear that he has help.”

If Bruce paused a little awkwardly long, she wasn’t going to worry about it. She knew how hard it was to get the bat to warm up to you, and honestly it was rather endearing when he tried to connect with her. Bruce was really sweet, when he wanted to be.

“I’m sure Dick has things under control. Do you...need any assistance with your work?”

“Well,” she ran her nails through Dick’s hair, down to the nape of his neck and back to the crown of his head, combing out tangles, “it’s kinda an alien thing.”

“I see.”

Kory still was unsure how he felt about her being from another planet, but, given his undeniable crush on Superman, she knew he wasn’t exactly opposed. No matter how hard she tried, it was almost impossible to read that man’s emotions. Compared to her, Bruce was a brick wall.

“But thank you anyways! It’s great to hear from you. You should come have dinner with us sometime!”

“That would be great. Alfred has been asking about you, specifically about some repotted flowers he wanted to get to you.”

“Oh, what a sweetheart,” their shared love of gardening had filled many conversations, and Kory loved all the plants Alfred gave her to tend to, “I’ll have to convince Dick take me to the manor soon.”

There was a brief pause where Kory heard rustling of fabric, probably meaning Bruce was sitting down. She imagined him in the cave, sitting in front of the seemingly endless monitors, holding a hot cup of coffee.

“Dick was telling me that you two are living together now.”

The generic statement made Kory nervous for a second, but she ran her fingers through Dick’s fringe again and responded evenly, “Yes, we got an apartment here in Bludhaven. Great view of the skyline.”

“Sounds nice. I’ll send over a house warming gift sometime this week,”

Kory beamed. Whenever Bruce sent gifts, they were always embarrassingly expensive, something that made Dick roll his eyes and make some offhand comment about his adopted father’s need to buy people things since he’s so bad at talking to people directly. Kory, on the other hand, was always delighted when he sent something over, because really, the man has amazing taste in decor. The painting he sent to Dick a month ago really brought together the bedroom.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, Koriand’r, I have some matters to attend to.”

“Of course, I’ll have Dick call you tomorrow.”

The warmth in Bruce’s voice was undeniable, “That would be great. Take care of him for me.”

“Always.”

#fic #my writing #koriand'r #bruce wayne #dick grayson #dickkory #i love these idiots sm #Anonymous

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ayarnofpearls · 3 years

Text

Nolanverse Crane X Reader

Since I couldn't make a whole fic out of this scenario I'll put it down here. I just love me some Nolanverse Crane. This got weirdly fun.

For Jons plans work he needs complete access to the basement, for the most part no one goes down there except for the file wrangler (that's you).

You manage the patient files for the entire asylum, you spend your days down there, near the 'cage' the nickname of the archives room. It's situated behind a locked door, full of filing cabinets to the ceiling. Most people call or email you the requests for files, you work alone because the current patient files are all digital. If you turned right from the elevator that's your office, to the left is where eventually the water pipe is dug up. Jon knows he needs to secure your cooperation. One way or another.

When you hear the esteemed Doctor Crane knock on your squeaky door you aren't suspicious. It's rare that people come down to your drafty office but not unheard of. You take his list of files he wants and lead him back to the cage.

With Jon it's all about the mind games. He needs to establish his superiority in every relationship he has, after all he *is* the smartest man in every room. Plenty of people have tried to bully him and they all need to know their places.

You ask him to hold the ladder as you book it on up for the files on the tip top of the cabinets that he requested. Bad move. He holds you hostage up there, shaking the ladder until you cooperate. He knew the names on the files would send you high up.

You have to deal with his visits after that. He speaks to you like you are both a fool and yet worth his time distracting. He spends a few hours in the morning sitting across from your desk and ancient computer, talking about nothing but also he has a undercurrent of threatening. What he's waiting for is you to prove he should just remove you from this whole situation, but the fall out might be a even bigger pain in his ass. Still he studies you.

His attempts to undermined your self esteem is almost cute, sure you are in a shitty situation but you play it cool. You evaluate things, as it stands no one would believe you, you know is a matter of staying level headed.

He can respect that. You aren't designed for these unsavory dealings. Eventually the prisoners start digging and you find yourself having to run past them, purposely pushing out any chatter they have. If things go south you know it's going to include you. The guards with guns and the chatter leave you unsettled and still, Jon shows up acting like nothing is weird.

The strange intimidation tactics that Jon uses on you eventually just pisses you off, before he can even show up, you head to his office. You notice his office is lacking any personalization. Your office in contrast is covered in sentimental items. It unsettles you. Adding to your anger as you tell him that he doesn't need to play these games. You know you're screwed so just stop dicking you around. You think he's gonna loose his mind, but he takes it well. Raised eyebrows and a curt dismissal. He has even more respect for you after that.

There's a incident, you hear yelling and you run out, one of the workers got a chemical burn and you quickly apply first aide. You get thank yous from some of the other inmates (co conspirators really) and from the masked guards.

The first time you think he flirts is when he brings you a rabbit toy. "Left over from our plans, you seem the type to enjoy it." You end up putting the toy with your small collection. Toys that represent your graduation, a party for a niece and other such moments, you should throw it away but you allow it. You try not to think that his weird eye shift meant anything.

The next day one of the guards gives you blue flowers as thank you. Jon arrives later and is extremely uncomfortable. You keep things neutral, you notice when his eyes look back at the flowers.

"Be careful what weeds you keep around."

He's not angry, angry leads to carelessness. The league sent those guards to watch him and oversee the progress of accessing the water line, if they want to waste time giving you, a no body their flowers it was none of his concern. But of course it was, he spots you hanging the blooms to dry out, the point at which they could be ground up to create hallucinations. You keep them around on purpose to test his reactions. They disappear one day and you can't help but pin it on him. The one thought that keeps coming back is that he is jealous. Or trying to push your boundaries, but nothing else was touched or moved.

He disappears for a while, court dates, increased patient load, he had gotten to be an expected part of your life but you can't dwell. You immediately figure one of the guards is watching for you to step out of line.

In cases of emergency you are to hide in the cage, lock it from the inside and wait for the all clear. You get shoved into the cage and Jon takes your key. When you get freed, a police officer, you can't possibly know it's a undercover league member. You go home and only after it all do you get a full picture, the narrows turns into a war zone and you watch it on tv. In the early dawn you find him on your balcony, beat up to hell. Why he came to you was confusing until he started muttering, small parts of things you've said before to him during your meetings. You leave him on your couch.

You think over the way things have been reversed.. You went from vulnerable to in control and you find yourself waiting. When he finally gets his wits back you pretend things are totally fine making chit chat with him. Once again you find yourself having to assess the situation, to evaluate the danger you are in.

"Why'd you come here?" "Our little talks are a comfort, in a very uncomfortable world."

Any sense of vulnerability is an illusion, at least that's what he wants you to think. His eyes have always been a traitor to his thoughts. He takes off, and you over think the legality of housing a wanted criminal. Of how in your home he had become a familiar shadow.

He's on the news every now and then and out of the blue he shows up, more like he was at the asylum. Confident, but now he doesn't pretend at being a polite member of society and seems to lack a filter now.

"Why aren't you more afraid of me, I could kill you, you know." "Yes, but you love the company too much to do that."

By the time Bane shows up you think you've gone slightly mad. You listen to him complain about Batman and you try to pinpoint the moment that this started making sense.

It's a dance of thoughts, you wouldn't say of brilliant minds or of wits, but of mutually obtuse ramblings. He’ll go silent and just watch you, and you refuse to be intimidated and pretend he isn’t staring. Maybe he’s waiting for you to toss him out. Call the police or something. Which you don’t. For his part he might have new odd habits but for all his delighted speeches about fear and control he hasn’t actually earned your fear. He’s odd and benign. You suppose that’s some kind of affection from him.

Before total immoral anarchy takes the streets of Gotham you go with him, the chaos that follows amuses him endlessly. You should fight it, argue about the morals and ethics of it all but you find yourself thinking you need his protection. He’s happy to give it. Are you trapped? Did you walk into this by not turning him in?

You decide you like his company, this strange mutual companionship. The world might end but you can at least snark the master of fear.

#mod post #jonathan crane scenario #he primarily flirts through subtle threats #but i am an awkward duck so hopefully someone likes it

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 5 years

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what more can you do?

WOO! this week’s episode was sad and weird and badly paced and startlingly, unevenly mature in true titans fashion. i loved it (with reservations)! let’s talk about it in excruciating detail:

SPOILERS ahead.

1. i can’t say that i’m awfully thrilled about the show following up on a character’s literal suicide attempt by... not addressing said suicide attempt at all. maybe it’s the awkward way an entire episode’s worth of flashback was shoehorned in between the end of 2.07--where dick literally talked jason off the ledge while in the throes of a psychotic break of his own--and the beginning of this one, but it’s honestly not just bad storytelling, but irresponsible storytelling.

1.5. in a general sense, tho, the tableau at the beginning of the episode is so egregiously unfair--so shockingly, plainly one-sided, with a slump shouldered dick facing the world, only kory on his side, that it’s quite apparent that it’s the lowest these heroes can go. and i do think their individual reactions to dick’s confession provide an interesting insight into their characters. hank and dawn have been operating alone for so long, each a reminder of their traumas and losses and very human frailty to the other, without even the resources that dick and the batman enjoy. it’s been them v the world for so goddamn long; is it any wonder that they were looking for the first excuse to bail out of there, to not Deal with the idea that what they were doing to deal with their traumas and guilt was clearly not working, and dick was--and has been always--so willing to be the scapegoat? hank punching dick was utterly unwarranted--but i can accept that as part of the unaddressed emotional outbursts arising out of years of accumulated head injuries from both college football and vigilantism. (this isn’t to excuse what he did but to contextualise it within hank’s history and personality.) their instinct when facing ugly truths is to retreat to what they think is familiar and what they need--except, as hank realises later in the episode, that’s exactly what’s fucking them up further.

rose is understandably upset at being lied to about her brother’s death and the titans being complicit in the same--but i’m curious that her reaction was to merely leave and not try and fight them. maybe after being defeated by dick while sparring and nearly being killed by rachel she was sensible enough to realise that she couldn’t take them on all at once? i don’t know--she’s curiously been a bit of a cipher this season. jason leaving with her made sense tho--unburdened of the weight of being the team’s scapegoat, understandably miffed at dick for keeping a secret that nearly cost him his life and left him with a great deal of trauma, just Angry at the world in general, he gravitates towards rose, the only other outsider/rebel who tried to reach out to him when everybody else shunned him or looked at him like an impostor. i think the decision was more impulsive than anything--they still look confused and uncertain in the taxi as they leave the tower behind. but--i don’t know. theirs is the storyline that i’m the most perplexed about. we just don’t have a lot of information about either of them, rose especially.

(a part of me still thinks she’s slade’s mole in the tower. but why would she leave if she is? to keep up appearances bc to react in any other way to the news of her brother’s death would be suspicious? maybe she left because her job is done and the titans were splitting up? maybe she was part of the long game to seduce jason over to slade’s side--seeking revenge for dick swaying jericho over to the titans’? am i going to stop asking myself questions in this post? am i ever going to write a review that’s not just stream-of-consciousness nonsense? only time will tell.)

DONNA. oh, donna. her decision to leave seems to me a logical continuation of her s2 arc that i’d talked about in a previous review--paranoid, insecure, retraumatised, and taking out her frustrations on jason and dick. it’s also very interesting to me that she complained to rachel about dick treating them like “soldiers” and only told them things that he deemed that they “need[ed] to know.” it was because of jillian and whatever mysterious business that themyscira was conducting in sf that she and garth and slade ever landed up in that airport at all; even worse, jillian deemed it was something that donna didn’t need to know until it was too late. donna lost so much in that fiasco--the man she loved, her friends, several members of her amazon family, and her sense of purpose, her belief in her strength and her destiny and her faith that other people trusted her as a warrior and as a leader. she’s projecting all that pain onto dick--who again, doesn’t deserve all this shit but takes it anyway because of his own issues.

1.8. and, like. as much as jericho’s death became the Traumatic Event that overshadowed almost everything else in dick’s life for the last five years and helps explain a lot of his hang-ups right from s1, it just doesn’t have the same significance for the others. don’t get me wrong--i’m sure hank, donna and dawn are devastated and guilty about the part that they had to play in manipulating jericho and his eventual death. but their issues with each other, with the titans tower and with their past run deeper and in different directions, and i think all of that came into play when they each decided to go their separate ways.

1.95. idek what the fuck is going on with rachel. i felt every ounce of dick’s heartbreak and devastation when she got up to leave with donna. for all that she saved dick in the first episode of this season, she still hasn’t reached the point where she’s willing to unburden her emotions and issues on him. it must be frustrating and sad for her to realise just how much dick didn’t trust her either. but there’s something else going on as well: maybe she’s realised she has no real control over her re-emerging powers, and, carrying on with the fatalistic attitude she had at the end of 2.05, she wants to spare the titans the chaos and darkness that she carries around with her. (she’s used to running away at this point, after all.) she goes with donna bc donna knows her the least: it would therefore be easy to fool her and escape.

2. more faddei! and kory backstory! \o/

it’s curious that they never once bring up trigon, because s1 gave the impression that she’d come to earth with a specific mission to seek his portal out and destroy it before he could, y’know, Fuck The Universe Up. faddei makes it sound like kory just went on this fun little sabbatical before taking up royal duties, which kiiinda undercuts a lot of what was cool about her s1 arc. i realise you aren’t entirely happy with your freshman season, titans, and s2 looks like it might be a soft reboot, but you don’t have to mutilate it like this!

but seriously. the stakes just got upped exponentially for kory, and it would be really interesting to see where she goes from here. apart from a promise to rachel, she doesn’t really owe the rest of the titans anything--not that i think she views relationships in such transactional terms, of course. on the other hand, abandoning her responsibilities on tamaran has led to its takeover by an unfit leader and the deaths of several of her family and friends. the choice shouldn’t be a choice at all. she should go back home. and yet--she waited too long, and the choice has been taken away from her. faddei is dead, both of their ships are destroyed, and she is stuck on earth, grieving and frustrated and furious. kory is usually very clear headed about exactly where she stands emotionally, but after such a big event, she must be feeling so much pain, guilt, sorrow, anger, even resentment. it’s so easy to look at kory’s level-headedness and open, empathetic personality and use her to prop up other characters, but i hope that this isn’t always the case, and that she’ll be allowed to really work through these emotions while somebody else looks out for her.

2.35. (the little snippets of faddei and kory just enjoying the shit out of the Little Things that humanity has to offer is just... it filled me with so much warmth. i wouldn’t mind an entire episode of them just chilling and exploring and annoying each other with badly-applied out-of-context pop culture references)

2.5. blackfire! i don’t know much about comics!blackfire beyond “she was starfire’s sister, Evil, and possibly sold her sister into slavery??? yikes” so i’m just going purely off what the show has revealed about her so far. it was honestly disconcerting to see so many references to her possible disability (?) and to see both that and the efforts to accommodate her spoken about in... i want to say mocking way? i don’t know. i just saw a murder mystery/thriller movie today where the serial killer was revealed to have been both disabled from birth and mentally ill, and maybe i’m just feeling extra sensitive to the truly disturbing and pervasive trope of having disabled characters be Evil--and tying their Evil to their disability.

2.8. anyhow, blackfire appears to have accumulated a fair bit of power in the time that kory’s been gone: not only can she remotely possess other tamaraneans but she can blow up their ships too. (and didn’t faddei say that she had goons on the ground, looking for starfire?)

2.9. it’s a Lot to deal with this late in the season. maybe kory will leave for tamaran to deal with blackfire once and for all at the end of the season. and if titans ends up cancelled, wouldn’t that be a bittersweet ending.

(wherein ‘bittersweet’ translates to ‘devastating’ ofc)

3. oh where do i even start with dick

his worst fears came true. after his confession, not only did his old friends up and leave, but so did rachel and jason, which he found more heartbreaking than anything else. utterly consumed by guilt and convinced more than ever before of his culpability, he actively seeks out ways to self-flagellate, first by going to adeline to apologise, then by banishing himself, then by making sure he is punished (tho i have my doubts on that last one; will elaborate a little later). after watching him have an extended psychotic break and dash into not one but two suicide missions, watching dick grayson do this to himself feels like watching an extended feature on human suffering. it’s not fun, or pretty, and i can feel it reaching its nadir so that dick can bounce back up again, but i hope it happens soon.

(dick’s natural tendency to internalise guilt and responsibility into a hard little diamond core at his centre and his long training with batman with all the emphasis on secrets and subterfuge with a healthy underpinning of paranoia ironically means that he does so much goddamn emotional labour for this team. he’s the glue that keeps them together, that gives them purpose. he’s trying so hard to do good by everybody that he isn’t really able to achieve it with any of them, which leads to another self-flagellating spiral and him determining to try harder and the cycle just keeps going on. only kory seems to have ever broken this cycle, because she’s never demanded anything of him, nor he of her. it’s really sad to think how bereft dick feels right now, and more than that, how it’s stopping him from being there for the people who really do need him and trust him, like gar and rachel.)

3.25. adeline makes a very good point about how merely apologising doesn’t mean you’re owed forgiveness, and that seeking it out after all these years is a self-serving exercise in itself. but i can see dick taking it hard, especially after discovering that she’s letting slade--the man who actually killed her son--recuperate at her home. (and let’s be clear: however good her intentions, she participated in lying to her child about the truth of what his father actually does. wow, jericho was really just fucked over by pretty much every one he loved, wasn’t he?)

but i am glad to see dick isn’t so far gone that he takes the blame for jericho’s death in front of slade. he’s very aware that slade has permanently broken the team and very aware of the threat slade poses if they ever try to get back together again, but he’s not going to completely surrender every last shred of his self-worth and dignity to this man, and that was refreshing to see.

3.5. so he banishes himself to the farthest place he can think of with nothing more than the shirt on his back and a single duffel bag. it’s so over-the-top yet so... dick grayson.

3.8. BUT WAIT! ~PLOT TWIST~

ok so here’s what’s happening, all right? strap in:

a) jericho is one hundred percent inside slade. i have no doubts about this. adeline knows this too. it’s why she was so even-keeled while talking to dick, why she confidently said that jericho loved dick, and why she said “they” might be willing to forgive him. i’m thinking when slade crawled back home, jericho took advantage of his father’s momentary weakness to tell what was happening to his mother.

b) jericho tried to communicate to dick. i saw something somewhere which said that slade had gestured something very specific in asl while conversing with dick? i’m willing to believe that was intentional.

c) when dick was turning to leave and slade called him one last time and gave his “banishment sentence” jericho likely jumped bodies from slade to dick

d) so why did dick get himself arrested at the airport?

- dick was going through, as others have speculated, a dissociative episode. given how he’s exhibited signs of mental illness throughout this season this isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility, but it’s a weak and redundant narrative bridge and wasn’t shot in a way that suggested that it was a mental break. so i’m ruling this out.

- jericho took over. maybe he felt that this was the only way he could force dick to stay in sf. maybe some of his father’s anger/resentment leeched into him and he wanted to dick to experience some actual punishment instead of scarpering again. maybe he was overwhelmed by dick’s own self-flagellating tendencies and chose the shortest route to maximum pain. maybe it’s a combination of all three.

- dick finally got his brain into gear and realised at the last minute that jericho had possessed slade and was trying to tell him something. why he then proceeded to get himself arrested instead of running out of the airport is a mystery.

personally, i’m leaning towards the ‘jericho possessed dick’ possibility.

4. gar is such a sweetheart and i am so glad that he took centrestage this episode, even though, like always, it was to support another character and ended up with him crying and begging for help from an unresponsive dick. *sighs*

4.5. much like dick himself, he’s trying to do good by everybody, only to end up badly misjudging a situation, and all alone.

5. oof. this has gone on for far too long and i am Tired. more thoughts to come later, because right now my brain is as disorganised as... as disorganised as a titans episode. hah! self-burn!!!

#titans #titans spoilers #dick grayson #koriand'r #garfield logan #hank hall #dawn granger #donna troy #rachel roth #slade wilson #meta #aaaah this is 2.6k+ words long I'M SORRY

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the-unholy-typewriter · 4 years

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Even As We Know It

an: I've been trying to write this for two months but I kept getting stuck on different parts and I've changed the ending at least twice. I also had to cut out a few jokes that weren't as funny the second time I looked over them. Also I'm working on a part 2 of Summoning if anyone's interested.

For someone who was be precognitive, the apocalypse really hit you out of nowhere. Apparently your abilities thought it was more important to warm you about the guy with the nice ass doing sweet flips than it was to warn you about the undead cannibals.

warnings: language, guns, zombies, non graphic mentions of death and gore

words: 1,533

...

Seeing the future wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Overall it was pretty useless, really. Just because you knew that something was gonna happen didn't mean that you could do anything, let alone that anyone would believe you. That meant that the precognitive dreams were pretty much useless.

There was also the whole see someone's future with a touch but it felt really invasive and also just made you sad most of the time, which was why you opted to wear long sleeves that covered your hands no matter the weather. It had, however, led to a fairly lucrative career as a fortune teller. You could also get a pretty good read with a deck of tarot cards but that's besides the point. The crystal ball was pretty much bullshit, though - at least for your abilities.

Anyway, your abilities were pretty much useless. Which is how you ended up in the situation that you were in now.

You had moved to Blüdhaven about a year ago hoping to get mugged less. It got old fast when every time a thug grabbed you you got to see them get the beat down from Batman. Which you of course then got to witness in person soon after. Although sometimes it was Robin or even the Red Hood (you were really glad when he started using rubber bullets and you didn't have to see someone get shot in the head twice anymore and then complain about it to him). It didn't take you long to learn that Blüdhaven wasn't actually that much better than Gotham but at least you didn't get mugged during the day anymore. Plus Blüdhaven had Nightwing who was definitely more charming than any of the other Bats you'd had the chance to meet (which was all of them but Robin but you were pretty sure that that was for the best if what Jason had told you was anything to go by). Overall, it was at least somewhat of an improvement.

Or at least it had been until the zombies showed up.

You're not exactly sure what caused the zombies apocalypse (this time - you'd been there for the Gotham zombie apocalypse(s) as well and had been hoping to avoid another one) but you're pretty ready to kill who or whatever is responsible. You had been trying to mail a letter to your grandmother (who still lived in Gotham and hadn't quite gotten the hang of emails or texting yet) when the screaming started. You had lived in the most dangerous city in the world long enough to know that screaming meant that it was time to get the hell out of Dodge as soon as physically possible. Which is exactly what you did. Or at least tried to do.

You had only made it a few blocks when you were attacked by one of the undead. You had taken a few self defense classes at your college (Jason and Roy had tried to teach you some stuff as well but they were absolute shit teachers) but they didn't really cover zombies so you can't really be blamed for the fact that you weren't exactly winning this fight.

That's when the guy from your dreams showed up. Literally. He had been in your dreams every night for the past couple weeks, doing sweet flips and having a nice ass. You kind of wished you'd gotten a heads up about the whole end of the world (or probably not actually - apocalypses tended not to stick when you had superheroes) instead of the attractive guy you were now watching pistol whip a zombie with an airsoft gun. What the fuck.

When the guy turned to you, probably to ask if you were alright, you couldn't help but blurt out, "Why an airsoft gun? Wouldn't a real gun be more useful?"

"I'm from Gotham," he shrugged, as if that was all the answer you needed and honestly it was good enough for you right now. He then smiled, looking unfairly attractive given the circumstances, before offering his hand for you to shake, "Detective Dick Grayson, this place is looking pretty dead, huh?"

You groaned as you reached to shake his hand without thinking. A series of visions exploded in front of your eyes, too quick for you to properly discern what was happening. You saw Dick and Bruce Wayne and Nightwing and Batman and a familiar idiot in a dumb red helmet (suddenly the airsoft gun made sense). When you blinked you saw Dick Grayson staring worriedly at you and suddenly everything clicked into place. You withdrew your shaking hand from his and tried to force a casual grin across your face, "So, officer, you always carry an airsoft gun or is this just a special occasion?"

Dick glanced at the gun and chuckled, "It was a gag gift from my brother but it's surprisingly useful when the city becomes overrun by zombies. By the way, you are surprisingly calm about the whole zombie thing."

"I'm from Gotham, too," You explained with a casual shrug, "I was there when Scarecrow zombified the city. And the time the Joker zombified the city. And the time Ivy used plant mind control. And the time-"

"Okay, I get the idea," Dick sighed, holding his hands up in surrender, "We Gothamites aren't fazed by much these days."

You grinned before a nearby groan reminded you of the situation that you were currently in and you quickly sobered up, "Do you know of anywhere safe we can go? If not I think I know a place."

"Sorry but I won't be able to stay with you, I have to help protect the city," Dick frowned, "But I can escort you to safety if you'd like?"

You agreed, beginning the trek back to your shop, the way thankfully abandoned except for a few undead stragglers. It took you about fifteen minutes to get there, the two of you easily filling the time with talk of living in Gotham and how you like Blüdhaven so far.

As you got closer to the shop, you began to dread having to say goodbye to the handsome officer that you had just met. That thought was pushed aside, however, when you caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead through the shop windows. You sped up your pace, know that the idiot was prone to breaking your things and not wanting a repeat of the last time he had come to visit your place of work (he still owed you several hundred dollars).

"Damnit Roy," You called to the man as you roughly yanked the door open, ignoring the way that Dick's eyebrows raised as he entered behind you, "You better not have touched anything!"

Roy jumped, dropping the deck of tarot cards across the floor and turning to you with his hands in the air, "I didn't break anything! Please don't call the cops."

"Fine," You sighed, bending down to pick up the cards, smirking slightly as Roy fumbled to help you. You were reminded of Dick's presence when he bent to help the two of you as well, "Roy, you know Dick, right? Jason's brother?"

Roy scoffed at your question, causing you to reflexively roll your eyes, "Of course I know him. I've known him longer than Jason has."

"You know Jason?" Dick asked, seeming slightly concerned.

"Unfortunately," You muttered as the two men handed you their cards and you began to absent mindedly shuffle them, "Since meeting Jason and Roy my life has been nothing but suffering. I haven't known peace since they almost got me killed by what I'm pretty sure was a ghost dog and then abandoned me and left Batman to save me... but that's a story for another time."

Roy shifted, looking slightly sheepish, "To be fair, it's not our fault that it seemed to like you so much."

"You definitely have to tell me about that story later", Dick said with a grin that only widened when Roy groaned, "But I really need to get going and help get this mess taken care of."

Before he could leave you quickly grabbed one of your business cards off the table and handed it to him, pausing only a short moment as you processed the flood of images flashing before your eyes, "The second number is my personal. Call me later and I'll tell you the full story of how I met the two bastards."

Dick smiled and made sure to tuck the card safely in the inner pocket of his jacket before hurrying out and into the chaotic streets of the city.

"I can't believe I just watched you flirt with Dick Grayson in front of my own two eyes," Roy complained, "You know he's had like fifty girlfriends, right?"

"That's fine. I only saw one girlfriend in his future," You told him with a wink and a cheeky grin.

"Wait-"

"By the way, didn't you know that Bruce Wayne is Batman?" You asked, oddly casual about knowing the answer to Gotham's biggest mystery as you began making your way up to your apartment above the shop with your companion following after.

Roy tripped up the stairs.

#batman #nightwing #gotham #bludhaven #jason todd #roy harper #dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you #nightwing x reader #nightwing x y/n #nightwing x you

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danseru-kun · 4 years

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FFVII Remake Playthrough 9 - The End

For all my reactions for the entire game, they’re under #Danseru Review. This is not going to be reaction for the entire game but just the final chapters.

I finished my last run just after I climbed to the upper plates on the way to Shinra HQ.

So Tifa, Cloud and Barret look over to the sunset against the ruins of Sector 7. Instead of meaningful introspection of the weight of their actions and the devastation, Cloud is his usual edgy self, and Tifa is about rebuilding a bar. They talk like the bar burned down instead of thousands of people dead. I cant see any character growth from Cloud at 40+ hours and he’s really bland.

Shinra HQ in general

I geniunely love the moment when Cloud screams “Tifa!” and runs to her when she falls from the parkour stuff. I felt it’s one of the few genuine Cloti moments that doesn’t feel like fanservice. While it’s hella boring to do that platforming section (I’m played Uncharted and this is meh), I love controlling Tifa.

I debated whether I’ll take the stairs or the elevator. In the Original I took the stairs and it was worth the humor. I checked the cut scene of the elevator and it has more of Tifa’s “Shinra employees are humans too” bullshit (not her, but the writers). So I opted to the take stairs and it’s a delight because Barret is entertaining.

The museum and Mayor Domino

I think this section makes sense showing us Shinra’s history and propaganda but like my usual gripe, it’s not characterful. I must say Barret is decent throughout this section as he gives his thoughts and expresses his feelings over the matter. While Tifa and Cloud, who are supposed to have personal grudge over Shinra barely offers commentary.

I don’t have feelings over the mayor but he feels like a convenient ally to introduce so late in the story. It makes sense he’s a puppet leader. I just wish we can read stuff in his office for lore. Also I’m pissed his attendant tried to sell me information, and it turns out I should have accepted it for Barret’s gun? What a joke.

Aerith and Hojo’s Big Lab

Okay, Hojo seriously creeps me out, especially that part where he talks about impregnating Aerith and breeding her either with Seph or Genesis. (Shudders) I do feel that this captured the original...

But geez those Whisperers preventing Hojo from revealing the truth about Cloud not being in Soldier. I really hate the Whispers.

Yay finally she’s back. I have like three staffs that need some proficiency and I was itching to use Aerith again. I like seeing her room when she was a kid, but it’s just so cold when she was trying to say her mother was taken everyday, and Cloud was like “tell us about your past.”

Nanaki! Nice to have you around but sadly I can’t control you. He’s adorable.

Again this section is super bloat. On the upside, you get to play Tifa and Aerith together. The girls vs dogs was challenging and fun. You literally have to keep on going with Tifa and just one second of pause will make the dogs shred you.

I felt this section is similar to the sun lamp chapter that just drags soooooo long and just bloat. It makes no sense they’re suddenly on board with helping Hojo do his things because “otherwise we can’t get out of here.” Seriously?

Shinra President and Rufus

I’ve already expressed how much I hated this section because it makes absolutely no sense for Tifa’s character: https://www.tumblr.com/reblog/623070870698590208/EivVTTuc

It’s because again, Nibelheim Must Not Be Revealed Except Vague Flashbacks.

Jenova Dreamweaver! Tifa is an amazing tentacle smasher. Otherwise easy boss fight.

Also it makes no sense Cloud will remain and fight Rufus? Why? How is Rufus relevant to him as a character based on what he displayed so far? Barret makes more sense based on how he’s acting.

The Counter strike of Cloud was literally made for this fight. It’s... ok and I used Poison for the first time.

The Bosses and the Highway

Barret and Aerith vs the tank boss is the worst boss fight in the game. It’s literally just torture and patience, and repetitive hiding behind pillars and waiting for that weakness point to pop up.

The highway as predicted, was bloated with so many fights and I died thrice to that final boss. I’m an idiot because at 50 hours I just discovered how to slow down.

At this point I’m super tired of boss fights after one another.

The Final Chapter

I’ll probably express it in a better review but it’s just a huge mess and I was just too tired to rant. I thought Aerith was the best adapted character up to this point until she reveals that it’s actually a fight for... destiny! That’s like Goku suddenly saying he’s fighting for animal rights, or Batman suddenly about Global Warming. It also makes me feel they recycled FF13-2 and Serah/Yeul regarding destiny and fate. I went WTF and it needed me 50 hours to really know what we are fighting for? Only Barret is consistent because he’s fighting for the planet and Marlene.

Easy boss fight that’s so boring. I didn’t even remember dying.

Also yes Sephiroth and Cloud are just so homoerotic together.

So apparently they allowed Zack, Biggs and Wedge to live but people revealing Cloud’s past has to be silenced by the Whisperers. It’s so stupid I’m so tired of complaining. Also if you’re a new player, who the heck is Zack supposed to be?

Of all main Final Fantasy entries I’ve seen, Remake’s ending is the least emotionally moving. I hated FFXV but even at the end I went “awww” especially when they’re at the bonfire and talking about friendship.

The ending ties nothing together for the characters. I remember myself watching FFX and FF13′s endings over and over. Remake has nothing I wanna rewatch or relive. It’s a shallow story, weak character development and written with the assumption that the people are already familiar with the lore.

#Danseru Review #Dkun plays

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dorizardthewizard · 4 years

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TLNM musings, part 2

Okay, here I ramble about problems with the movie. Ended up adding more stuff since I first wrote this :’P

Screentime and characterisation of the other ninja:

One of the biggest complaints from fans... they're all introduced individually with very different personalities, they’re told they each have a special element they control, making you feel like they should each get some moment to shine and affect the plot of the movie, but then none of that happens. Ultimately you could take out all the ninja and the story would be the same, you don't even necessarily need them for Lloyd's character since his journey of reconnecting with his father and bringing his family together can still work without them. It's so sad because if you read and watch extra material, you can tell thought went into their personalities, but we never get to see this as they're all just lumped together, mostly there to support Lloyd's development.

For someone who hasn't seen the show, it must feel a bit off seeing characters with distinguished personalities and no payoff for it; take Zane for example. Imagine not knowing anything about the characters and seeing one of them is a robot, for some reason? You wonder why he's a robot, what significance that has for the plot and why it's important for his character (I mean they missed a big opportunity to develop Zane from always trying to fit in and seem like a “normal teenager” to accepting that he's different but that that doesn't mean he's less valid), but then this really specific characteristic is never expanded on except for comedy purposes. People probably thought “oh, guess it makes more sense in the show”, but this just detaches viewers and makes them feel like they're missing something if they haven't seen the show beforehand.

Sigh, still gotta give the crew credit for fitting in a load of little subtle details about the ninja, I had to rewatch it a couple of times because there were things I didn’t notice at first, like Kai sliding down a bannister in the Temple of Fragile Foundations and falling off :’D

Group dynamic:

Another thing that bothered me is that the movie isn't that good at making you care about them as a team. They're already established as friends but I wish there were more material showing us how much they care about each other. The Kai hug scene was 10/10 but then when Chen and the other cheerleaders started picking on Lloyd, nobody said or did anything? In merchandise it said Kai is a hothead who isn't afraid to speak up or stand up to people, then show it in the movie! Him and Nya should have been on the verge of tackling that guy to the floor! Ok, I can see Lloyd asking them not to get into fights as it makes people hate him even more and he probably feels guilty if one of the ninja gets into trouble because of him. This would still have given more emotional connection between the characters but we're never shown it, except in the novelisation where Cole tries to block Lloyd from his locker so he doesn't see the insult written on it, I think. But again, we shouldn't have to read/ watch extra material for that.

Instead of moments showcasing the ninja’s friendship and close bonds, we got the opposite- everyone turned on Lloyd incredibly quickly for one mistake. Sure, it was a pretty big one and resulted in Garmadon taking over the city and their mechs being wrecked, but Lloyd was the only one doing anything about Garmadon at the time and he didn't exactly know what the consequences of using the ultimate weapon were; it's not like he knew it could potentially hurt his friends. In fact, how did the ninja know he used it anyway? That would mean they already knew about it and what it could do, yet Lloyd was not told? In which case, how can they blame him?? Damn it Wu, why couldn't you just tell Lloyd that using the weapon would unleash a cat that could destroy the city, instead of vaguely saying the weapon can be dangerous in the wrong hands. That's taking too many pages from TV Wu's book!

Honestly, it's like the ninja were just one character either shunning Lloyd or supporting him, depending on what the plot needed :/ That scene where they're talking with Garmadon while carrying him through the jungle really rubbed me the wrong way because first, no one seemed to care that Lloyd is so snippy because he's been forced to work with the man who made his life hell, and second they joke about Lloyd with that very same person and imply they don't respect Lloyd as leader, as Jay says he doesn't usually want to listen to him when he's talking? What??

Lloyd and Garmadon’s relationship:

I mentioned this in part 1, but they really didn’t execute this well- I feel like they had so much fun playing up Garmadon being the worst dad in the world that they forgot to give him redeemable qualities. It took me a second viewing to realise his relationship with Lloyd was actually pretty messed up, because they played off his despicableness as comedic and glossed over it by suddenly giving him a flashback to make it seem like he’s sorry. They wanted to go for the father-and-son-have-issues-but-reconnect story, and had Lloyd say “I wish we didn’t have to fight all the time” in his emotional ending, but that’s a line usually present in a daddy-issue story where both have a part to blame and there's issues with communication. In this, though? Lloyd did nothing wrong! It was just Garmadon being trash, and there wasn't even a particular scene of him recognising and apologising for his actions- not the bit about driving Misako away, but how he treated Lloyd after.

The message is all mucked up - hoping to find some good in neglectful parents is just gonna get you hurt, and in a story like this it would make more sense for the protagonist to realise they don't need validation from this guy, shouldn't feel like they have to keep connected with toxic relatives just because they're family, and that they should focus on the friends and family who actually love them (although, whether Lloyd's friends were even portrayed as liking him is a different story). I mean, Koko could just teach him to throw and catch! Does he have to have two parents just for that?

Tone and humour:

I think another main reason this movie didn't do as well was its more childish tone and dialogue; unlike the previous two movies, it was marketed at younger children. One of the main reasons TLM and LB were so successful is because of the self-aware jokes that could actually be enjoyed by adults too, while in this movie I may have properly laughed only a couple of times. Plus, in its effort to connect with kid's humour it just got cringy in some parts, like the Ultimate Weapon compilation. It would have been funny if it was ironic, like Amazing World of Gumball style, but it just didn't come across like that, so I can see why many jokes fell flat for older audiences.

People probably had different expectations for the overall tone as well- everyone loved the previous LEGO movies because of their constant barrage of action, witty jokes and a ton of references. This was never the selling point of Ninjago, but TLNM didn’t manage to capture the show’s dramatic style and deep lore-driven plot either.

The writers:

Okay last thing. This movie had three directors, six producers, six screenwriters and seven people working on the story. Compared to most animated movies, that's a lot, and its shows. It feels like they had a few different ideas and themes and couldn't quite patch them together, with vague messages like “looking at things from a different point of view” being thrown in as well to try and link it up. I guess at the end of the day, this is a father-son story, and that makes it very difficult to fit in a power-of-friendship plot at the same time, but still. Also, the shifting plot and ideas is really clear in the trailers, I mean half the stuff there wasn't even in the movie, it's as if the entire story was changed!

Final verdict? I think an overall theme with this movie is that the writers wanted to overhaul Ninjago to introduce it to new viewers, but also wanted to keep the fans happy so shoehorned in lots of elements from the show without giving them enough development. This just disappoints fans and alienates general audiences, which is a problem since Ninjago doesn’t have a huge following already backing it up like LEGO Batman did, and could have been the pilot for more original LEGO lines making it to the big screen. It was a technically amazing movie, with beautiful animation and visuals, an epic soundtrack and stunning voice acting, but it was also such a waste of potential.

The only other thing we can do is think about how it could have gone differently, so here's some of my ideas :'D

NOT using the deleted time travel plot. I know that after being disappointed in a movie you welcome any alternative, but giant mechs were already a big deviation from the ninja theme; flinging in time travel as well would be too much for non-show watchers. Plus, I thought we were all complaining about how time travel in Ninjago always just messes things up :'P

Also not following the show closer. We have over 10 seasons of the show, the whole point of a movie is giving a fresh take; using a giant snake or the Overlord possessing Garmadon again would just be boring.

Delete the first act? One of the best parts of the secret high school heroes trope is seeing how they juggle both lives, if you're gonna drop it after half an hour there's not much point of it being there.

Could instead just have Garmadon attacking again, the last invasion attempt being ages ago. Maybe the ninja rediscover a rich history of elemental masters protecting Ninjago when Wu decides to get a new team together to fight the new threat?

Make it about learning master building instead so they build their mechs at the end, and then gain elements in a sequel?

Or don't mention anything about elements and have every ninja individually go through an obstacle to obtain an elemental weapon, then they all lose them but don't know they're not necessary, so it's actually a surprise that the power is inside them? Everyone gets a sort of true potential moment?

Ninja having to warm up to Garmadon's son, so we have a plot of Lloyd slowly gaining their respect and becoming leader?

Higher stakes at the end, make the Shark Army more threatening and have them turn on Garmadon using Meowthra, so there's still an intense climax of the ninja fighting the army before Lloyd reaches Meowthra and gets his emotional ending?

Get rid of the live action sequence, or make it fit the message of the story more?

Feel free to add any ideas/ thoughts!

#ninjago #ninjago movie #lego ninjago movie #RIP lego cinematic universe v_v #my posts

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mydeardeath · 4 years

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Ineluctable (3/4)

They hadn't budged an inch in the past twenty minutes, the silence only broken once by the sound of Alfred setting down cups and tea on the table separating Bruce and him, entering and exiting the room without a word. None of them had touched it, their gaze never wavering from each other. Tim didn't dare to break the silence, not really knowing what to say to Bruce. He would prefer that man start, even if it was to accuse him of taking advantage of his son. Anything would be better than this silence. But, well, what had Tim expected ? This was the Batman. Words weren't his things. No, the man was probably waiting for Tim to explain it all. Not that he knew much more. He had realized less than an hour ago what Damian was to him, why he had been so drawn to the Omega scent. He hadn't had time to think about it, to let the truth really settle in. Damian had been on scent blockers for years, never getting off them. It kept him from emitting any smell, making him pass easily as a Beta as their scent was fainter than the one of other casts. Had Damian's heat never happened in his presence, he would have never uncovered the truth. But Damian had. The other man may have been hiding his own scent, but Tim knew for sure that he could smell others. He had often complained about it, making snide remarks at Dick and him for smelling too strongly of Alpha. They had taken his behavior for jealousy, as Ra's had wanted an Alpha heir and looked down on Damian for "failing" to be one.

Dick had made the same realization after Jason had led Damian to his room, leaving him alone with Tim in the hallway. Damian had known that Tim was his Alpha but had not said anything. He had rejected their bond. It made sense since he was ten when they met so he didn't necessarily mean he deemed Tim unworthy of him. But it still hurt to be undesired by his mate.

"I'm sure everything will be fine" Dick had offered to comfort him. It was nice of him to try but Tim didn't have that much faith. Damian had made clear he hated Tim. Well, lots of people were happy without their mate. Tim could do without his too !

***

Damian started to emerge from sleep, slowly opening his eyes. It took some time getting used to the dark but he was quick to recognize his room. Patrol last night must have been really tiring for him to have no memory of coming home. He still felt exhausted after what was probably hours of sleep. His body was sore all over and his skin felt dirty, sticking to the sheets. He should probably get up and take a shower. But he didn't want to move at the moment. He was surprised at his own laziness. He wasn't usually like this. Unless...

Just as he thought about it, the thick scent of heat assaulted him and memories of his last night on patrol flooded back into his mind. He remembered his heat starting on patrol, the alphas surrounding him, touching him, and Tim...

Damian suddenly felt small in his king size bed, his nest of cushions and blankets no longer feeling safe and his breath became shallow as panic overwhelmed him. He brought his knee to his chest as to shield him from the rest of the world. His secret was exposed to Tim and certainly to the whole family. He may be in his room, but he wasn't in his home. He had never passed a heat at the manor before. And there was no chance that his family hadn't smelt it.

His heart was beating loudly in his chest now, blood rushing to his head and his whole body began to shake. Horrifying thoughts started to fill his head. He imagined what would have happened had Tim found him too late. He imagined the Alphas touching him more than they had already done. Of their leader really claiming him, making him the property of some low life. He would rather off himself than belonging to that kind of man.

Would be Tim's any better ? Theoretically, he knew that his predecessor wasn't the kind of Alpha to force himself on an unwilling Omega. But Damian was, by this country's law (and most country of the world) his thing. This was probably the best revenge he could get on Damian for the way he had treated him since the day they met. Damian knew he had been horrible to the other man, pushing him as far away as possible with insults and hits. He had even tried to kill him once. He had been so blinded by dread upon discovering that the boy donning the Robin costume as this time was his mate, that he had thought that killing him would be the safest option for him. He wouldn't have been the first time he had murdered someone to protect his secret, his integrity. His mother had taught to have no remorse when it came to it. She had many flaws, he had no trouble admitting it, but she had been the best ally he had ever had as an Omega. Even after disowning him she had kept silent about his caste.

Tim could easily force him to do anything from now on if he wished to. There was no escaping it. No matter how much of a good guy Tim might be, Damian couldn't trust someone holding that much power over him. It was inconceivable for him. No, he couldn't let Tim have that much control. He had to escape, far from him, far from Gotham.

Moved by his newfound goal, Damian finally got his breathing under control and finally got up from his bed. He took a quick shower, careful to not make too much noise and not bothering with waiting for the water to warm up. He mechanically got dressed and reached for the suppressant hidden under a wooden lath in his closet and masked his scent with a perfume imitating Beta pheromones. He still smelled too strongly of heat to go out with just scent suppressor.

Now he just had to leave the manor unseen. No big deal. He would have been easier at night when most of them were out on patrol or down the cave but since he wasn't that much hungry, Alfred must have kept bringing him meal while he was too out of it to feed himself and was bound to do so soon again. And as soon as the old man would see he was awake and standing, he would call his father. Call Tim. Not that Alfred hated him and wanted him to suffer but he was loyal to them too and would feel compelled to tell them. Plus he probably was worried that Damian would try to run away from the situation. With reason.

But, well, he didn't matter that his entire family was made of detectives. He had been raised by the league of assassins. By "ninjas" as some people liked to call them. He could go past them unnoticed if he really wanted too. He may not be easy to realize but it wasn't impossible. And Damian was no ordinary man anyway.

Damian opened his door silently, peering in the hallway to make sure that nobody was around before leaving his room. With his shoes in his hand, he advanced in the room without a sound. The entire manor was calm. Too calm. He felt like his breath was echoing in the whole house. Maybe it meant they were all out, but Damian doubted it. They wouldn't have let him alone here in his... condition.

He progressed slowly, all senses on alert. And he almost made it to the front door without problems but as his hand was touching the doorknob he felt someone watching him. He was tempted to not turn and just run for it. But he knew that he wouldn't go far. Not weak as he always was just after a heat. Or with his shoes still in his hands. He took his time facing the person behind him. He was surprised to find Cassandra here. Last he had known she was still out of the country. They must have informed her of his situation. She stayed silent for a while, studying him.

"My plane takes off in two hours" was all Cassandra said before turning her back to him, her offer clear for anyone that knew her. He hadn't expected to found an ally in her, Tim was the person she was the closest to in this family and didn't this counted as a betrayal ? But he wouldn't refuse her help, as strange as it seemed coming from her.

He knew she always used one of Bruce private plane, he was easier than to try to pass the security in an international airport with the kind of baggage their family usually brought with them. The two hours just left him time to go to his home, take his passport and a few clothes. Cash would be good too. He could be sure that his father would know if he used his credit card and he neither wanted to be a burden to Cassandra. She was already kind enough to him.

Keeping himself off the road and prying eyes, Damian made his way to an old abandoned barn not far away from the manor. There was once a passage here that laid to the cave. His father had shut it down years ago. But Damian knew that Jason had reopened it. His older brother had been tired of Bruce intruding in his safehouses and had sought revenge. He liked to watch Bruce narrowed his eyes when he mentioned things he should never have heard about. Damian did too, that why he had kept his mouth shut.

He knew Jason kept a bike here and hoped he wouldn't mind him borrowing it. Not that he really cared about it. He needed it and it's not as if Jason would be able to complain to Bruce unless he wanted to lose the kind of leverage this place offered him.

From there, he had no trouble getting home nor on the plane.

***

The meeting had been long and draining, and above all useless. Tim had felt tired for the past few days. He wasn't really productive at work and his employees didn't seem to be either. Mistakes kept happening in every department and the council was on his ass for it. Especially after he had completely forgotten to finish his presentation for the start of the week. And it's not as if he could explain to them that he had been too busy busting criminals that night to protect their pathetic asses nor that afterward he had had the most awkward conversation ever with his adopted father about Damian. Who happened to be an Omega. They would have adored knowing that part. Vultures like they were, they would have descended upon the boy to marry him to their own children and take possession of the boy's fortune. Yes, most of it was still Bruce's but like each of the siblings, he owned a part of the company.

Talking to Bruce that night had really taken a toll on him and he had gone right afterward. The man hadn't been angry at him, not that he had any reason to be. Tim had been as clueless as him. He had asked about what Tim intended to do. And he had answered honestly : he had no idea. He would wait to actually talk to the boy before doing anything. This had satisfied Bruce. But what had he imagined ? For what kind of Alpha did he take Tim to be ? He wouldn't do anything without Damian consent, no matter that he technically had the right to.

Getting home wasn't that much better these days. Damian's scent was less strong than before but still lingering everywhere. Tim had had to change room even after Alfred cleaned it. Dick had fled the Manor while he was talking to Bruce and Jason had left soon after. He had told Alfred to call him if he needed him but hadn't wanted to stay more than that. Which was understandable. Bruce was on edge, questioning himself as a father. His own son had never felt like he could be open about his caste with him. Another son he had failed. And a Bruce on edge wasn't even harder to live with.

He was halfway home when Alfred call him. Tim put him on speaker, frowning. The older man knew at what time he was coming back to the Manor, what could be so urgent to phone him now ?

"Master Timothy ? It's about Master Damian. I'm afraid he had disappeared."

***

Damian had never been to Hong Kong before. His mother had brought him once or two in China but never in one of the big cities. Having a new city to explore would offer him a nice distraction. He still would have to be discreet and not be recognized. He wouldn't be good if the newspapers were to give off his position. But he would give him something to keep busy.

Unfortunately, he never made it further than the airport. His grandfather was waiting for him, dressed in western clothes. He had a big toothy smile on his face as if he was happy to see Damian which made him feel uneasy. Ra's wasn't preparing to fight. He was acting like he had already won.

#Tim Drake #Damian Wayne #TimDami #damitim

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yeaaabudddy · 5 years

Text

Betrayal Pt.2

Ship: Damian Wayne x Reader (Y/N)

Type: Angst

Requested: Yes, by anon. (Thank you for the detailed request that the one anon sent, I hope I did it justice!)

Words: 1 768

Notes/Warnings: Death.

Hello guys, sorry this took so much time to write and also it isn’t the best sequel but I still hope you enjoy it! The transition might be a bit weird because I went from the end of Injustice 2, the video game, to Injustice Gods Among Us: Year 5 issues 25 & 26! Also, thank you for over 100 followers on this account!! More content hopefully coming soon!

Part 1

You don’t know what had happened, it was like you had woken up from a weird dream, essentially. You were present and awake while everything was happening but it was like you couldn’t make decisions for yourself, couldn’t control yourself.

You saw and heard everything but your brain was reprogrammed to follow every order without question and full loyalty to Superman. You don’t really understand what had happened but you didn’t see Batman after a while and you wondered why, hoping nothing bad happened. You were answered when he showed up in front of you after a few weeks, delicately inserting a needle in your arm and carefully piecing apart the machine that was restricting you.

All at once you could feel your senses come alive and you instantly felt rage. Rage and sadness to be precise. The emotions had been pushed away inside of you for so long that it accumulated. The last emotions you felt before you were placed under Superman’s control.

It all went towards Damian and you knew that. Your heart pounded, hearing the beats in your ear as you remembered what he had done to you. While you were under, you saw Damian many times. He would come to you when he was angry or sad to complain or hold your hand. You were unable to move or properly respond but you felt sad seeing him. That and anger.

You knew he wanted the best for everyone but to take away your freedom from you and make you a slave was too far that you couldn’t forgive him.

You look at Batman as he steadies you as you regain control of your body. You don’t know how he managed to come back from this but he’s Batman so you don’t question it.

“I have to go find Superman first, he needs to answer some questions.” You nod and stretch to get used to the feeling of moving your body on your own. You quickly follow Batman as he quietly makes his way into position in order to attack Superman. You hide behind a wall and watch, the dialogue of their fight catching you up to date and what you missed as you were still under control.

The realization that Alfred was gone had made your heart drop and you hated that the first thing you thought of was ‘How is Damian?’. Then just thinking about Damian made your heart hurt in pain as you realized how angry you are at him.

As you peek out from behind the wall you see Damian at a distance, slightly afraid as he watches the two most prominent figures in his life fight. The sight was horrifying to look at, even for you. Seeing how far this war had come to made this situation worse. How far has Superman has gone to ensure complete control over the world?

Seeing Batman put up a full fight against Superman and keep up was so surreal. Superman laid on the floor in defeat after a full fight and he was covered in his own blood which surprised you. Batman started dragging him up by his cape.

“Dad…” You heard Damian speak up from across the room. Your eyes snapped to his form, he looked almost speechless at the scene in front of him. You once heard Damian tell you that Alfred had said that Superman would lose to Batman because Superman was afraid and seeing this might have made him feel something more for that statement especially since Alfred died for Batman’s cause.

Batman wrapped his arms around Superman’s neck, choking him as Superman looked beat up and out of energy. He looked up at Damian, his eyes full of grief and sadness.

“Is this what you wanted? For me to cross the line and become a killer like Clark?” Blood ran down Batman’s face as he looked straight at Damian for an answer. Their relationship coming to a different level of sadness as the father faces his son for confirmation.

“Are you willing to kill me to save him?” You could tell Bruce was genuinely asking because he knew Damian didn’t believe in his way of bringing peace but would he go all the way and rebel against him with death on the line, with losing his father.

“Without a second thought.” Damian didn’t wait before throwing a shuriken straight at Batman but Bruce caught it without a struggle. The sight was heartbreaking because even though they weren’t on the same side, they should still not go to the stage where they were willing to kill each other.

Superman was Damian’s new dad, a dad who shared the same ideals, a dad who didn’t blame him for Dick’s death, a dad that was not Batman. That’s why Damian was on Superman’s side, he wanted a father figure who would understand his way and that’s who he thought Superman was.

Damian started to crack his knuckles to prepare himself for a fight with the intent of killing this time. Bruce left Superman lying on the ground, struggling to gather energy. He then attacked Damian with a super punch, his body still fueled by the green pill he took. Bruce held back a little of his power, trying to make Damian pass out and not kill him (obviously). He knew Damian wouldn’t listen to him and won’t leave him alone until they fought so he tried everything in his power to get him out of commission for a bit so he can leave.

While they fought you heard a noise from the other side of the room. You look and see Superman slowly getting up from the ground and mustering up a bit of energy in order to attack Batman, getting into position to ram into him. Yo notice that neither Damian or Batman notice this and you could tell Batman’s green pill power was running out as he wasn’t pulling his punches with Damian anymore. You knew he would not be able to take on Superman alone, especially not with Damian coming at him with the intent of killing at the same time.

So you did what you thought was best in the situation. Enough of hiding behind the wall and hiding from Damian. You used the anger you felt and ran as fast as you could in between the punch coming to Batman’s back from Superman.

You actually had a whole speech ready for Damian, you were definitely going to teach him a lesson and maybe punch him a bit just to get even for all he’s put you through. You didn’t imagine that you wouldn’t even get to say a word to him.

The strength of Superman’s punch was way more than you could ever handle. You were in no means a super and you didn’t have a green pill to strengthen you up. You knew this was suicide when you stepped out behind the wall but you needed to do this for Batman, for the world.

The punch went straight to your face, you felt your neck crack as your head turned around from the impact. You knew that it was it for you. You were able to hear Batman and Damian’s footsteps running towards your body as you felt the life slipping out of you.

Damian’s face made its way into your vision, his face visibly pale and tears gathered up in his eyes.

“No, no way. Not you.” Damian cradled your body into his arms and Superman looked surprised at his own actions. His hands bloodied up and the reason as to why you lay here dead.

It wasn’t his fault though, he didn’t mean to kill you. He was supposed to hit Batman not you.

“This is who you’re siding with?” Batman’s last words really struck Damian but he was still trying to make up excuses for him. It was also the last thing you were able to hear before you fully left your body. The last few seconds of your life held in the hands of Damian Wayne, the person you loved so much but hated at the same time.

Batman ended up taking your body even though Damian had objected as you were his girlfriend but you were fighting Bruce’s battle, ended your life for him and he had to fight for you, make sure to save more people in your name.

“She wasn’t yours anymore Damian, not after you gave her to Superman. I could feel how angry she was when she came back.” Damian’s face dropped as he realized that he did lose you when he gave you up. How could he accept himself if he doesn’t try everything though?

“W-what about the Lazarous pit?” Damian suggests, his eyes wide as he looks at Bruce and Superman who realized they needed to put away their fight as your corpse laid in front of them. Flash and Wonder Woman had joined since then, ready to capture Batman before seeing your lifeless body in his arms. The shock of another death of a fellow hero, even if you weren’t on their side. A death is a death no matter who it is.

Barry put his hand on Damian’s shoulder for comfort as they all knew that the pit wasn’t a good option. Yes, you would come back but at what cost? Batman wouldn’t allow it anyways.

“It’s still an option, she can come back. I just have to tell-”

“Damian.” Batman’s voice cut Damian off. Batman knew the effects of the lazarus pit weren’t ideal and that you would suffer more coming back into this world after you met your demise. You had come to terms with it when you died for Batman and you knew you wouldn’t survive the attack.

Tears fell from Damian’s eyes as he realized that you were fully dead this time. No bringing you back, you weren’t there as a zombie, and you were definitely not fully conscious in his arms. Only a few moments ago you were there, breathing and alive even if you couldn't speak and act out on what you thought. You were still there in some way. Now you were totally gone.

Damian would always hold the responsibility over your death. He will always remember what he gave away for what he thought was right. Seeing your lifeless body after having to endure Alfred’s death not too long ago made him realize that maybe he was in the wrong. He should’ve been able to help you or save you.

He had killed you when he gave you away and took away your freedom and now you really are just dead.

Thank you so much for reading, sorry this part 2 was so late and if it isn’t what you wanted. If there’s a different outcome you want, send in a request and I’ll try to do it!

#damian wayne x reader #damian wayne imagine #robin x reader #robin imagines #robin imagine #damian wayne imagines

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