#but then came back in the next game as a cyborg
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got hit with the sudden onset jak and daxter hyperfixation that was dormant in me for at least a decade and I’ve come to the conclusion I was set up from the start to like specifically dickbag rival characters
time is a flat circle.
#target4alterego.png#erol#jak and daxter#jak 2#I hit my faves with the cat beam. Sorry not sorry#if I had a nickel for every character I liked who was assumed dead#but then came back in the next game as a cyborg#I’d have two nickels. which is funny to me in a cosmic sort of way LOL#this one goes out to the jak fans on here who I’m pretty sure made my childhood#FORGOT TO TAG OOPS#cyber errol#why did he get that second r in his name anyways
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Hide and Seek and Training
Read here on Ao3!
Febuwhump 2024 | Day 9 | Prompt 9: Bees
Rated: T | Words: 2496 | Summary: Training with Omega goes awry when bees become involved. [Character Focus: Tech, Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, Echo]
“I love this game,” Wrecker whispers loudly to Omega, interrupting Hunter for the third time.
Tech adjusts his goggles irritably. “This isn’t a game, Wrecker. This is training.”
“If it’s training, then why is it fun?”
“I think all training is fun!” Omega pipes up happily.
Hunter sighs. “Can we just get through the instructions before we decide what’s fun and what’s not? Please?”
Echo chuckles from his perch on the Marauder’s ramp. “Kids, listen to your dad!” he calls out.
“Maker help me,” Hunter mutters. He takes a breath and starts again. “Alright. Omega, Wrecker, and Tech…you three, separately, are going to find places in the woods to lay low. Make sure to cover your tracks. After ten minutes, we’re going to see how long it takes me to find you.”
“And the last one found, wins!” Wrecker practically shouts.
Another sigh. “Sure,” Hunter agrees reluctantly.
“This sounds a lot like hide and seek,” Omega comments, smiling brightly up at Wrecker.
“The strategies are similar,” Tech admits, “however, this is a survival simulation.”
Wrecker laughs. “Can we start, Sarge?”
“Get out of here,” Hunter says, waving them off with a grin.
Wrecker and Omega are off like blaster shots, tearing into the forest like their very lives depend on it. Hunter can hear them crashing through the undergrowth even after they’ve disappeared from sight. At this rate, he won’t have to use his enhancements at all to pick up their trail.
Tech takes a much more tactical approach, starting the timer on his chrono and heading out in the opposite direction of his far more enthusiastic siblings. He is absolutely going to give Hunter a run for his credits.
Hunter ambles over to Echo and sits down next to his cyborg brother, glancing at his own chrono to keep track of the time.
“Who are you going after first?” Echo asks.
Hunter chuckles. “How upset do you think Tech would be if I made him lose to Wrecker?”
“You’d better start sleeping with one eye open if you go that route,” Echo muses.
“Well, then, I guess I’ll just play it by ear and see what happens,” Hunter decides, leaning back on his elbows, ready to enjoy the peace and quiet these ten minutes will indulge him.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Omega stops suddenly, turning to look back at where she came from. She can’t see the Marauder through the trees anymore. Perfect. Glancing around, she kneels and touches the cool, damp earth with her fingertips. Hunter will be able to track her to this point easily. Just as she planned. It will make it much more fun when she disappears like a ghost.
With little effort, Omega clambers up the nearest tree, the toes of her boots finding quick purchase in the gnarled bark, and her fingers easily curling around protruding knots. She makes it to the first branch in seconds, and straddles it for a moment to plan her next move. The neighboring tree has a branch nearly touching hers, so she stands and edges her way toward it. A small jump later, and she claims the adjacent tree.
A few minutes lates, Omega is more than half a dozen trees away from where she started. Hunter will begin his search soon. She might have the advantage of him going after her more experienced brothers first; however, she can also imagine him coming after her first, if only to make sure she is safe. Therefore, she needs to get herself out of sight as quickly as possible, just in case.
Omega begins to climb higher, where the leaves and branches become denser. She smiles to herself, wondering if Hunter will be surprised at how well she has done. Her training is finally paying off.
She is so distracted by her joyous thoughts that she doesn’t notice the humm of agitated buzzing just to her left as she settles comfortably onto a thick branch, peering down through the soft leaves.
After a few minutes of quiet, Omega feels the sensation of legs on the back of her neck. She stiffens, resisting the urgent impulse to reach up and slap away the unknown creature. If she threatens it, whatever it is might sting or bite. She prays it has wings and will just fly away on its own. Then the sensation tickles down to the collar of her shirt.
No, no, no, Omega thinks desperately, not down my shirt!
She catches movement on her arm out the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she sees an insect, brightly colored, winged, and armed with a stinger. Omega releases a shuddering breath when she sees another join its friend on her sleeved arm, and another flying lazily past her face.
She notices the buzzing now.
Slowly, Omega looks back at where the branch she sits on meets the tree. Tucked into the crook, a muddy looking structure is swarming with the colorful insects. Bees, Omega’s memory supplies frantically.
She needs to get down from here.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Tech has found the perfect hiding place when his comm pings. Internalizing a sigh of frustration, he glances down at the source code. Crosshair’s old source code…Omega’s current source code. He answers immediately. “Omega?”
“Tech,” Omega’s voice is strained and hushed. She sounds terrified. “I need help. I don’t know what to do!”
“Alright. First, we must remain calm. Tell me exactly what is wrong and where you are,” Tech says, keeping his own voice temperate. He pulls out his data pad and begins the trace on Omega’s beacon.
Omega’s voice quakes, and Tech thinks she might be crying. “I’m–in a tree…and there’s bees? A lot of bees, and they are everywhere! They have stingers, and I’m afraid they’ll sting me if I move.”
Not an unreasonable fear to have under the circumstances. Tech climbs down from his hiding place and begins to follow the beacon at a brisk pace. He plans to briefly research the type of insects Omega has encountered during his trek. It might be vital to her safe extraction from the situation. “Can you describe what these ‘bees’ look like? Do you see their domicile?”
“Uhm,” Omega’s voice wobbles through distractedly, “Yeah. They’re colorful…red and blue and orange and yellow with black stripes. And they have a hive that looks like it’s made out of mud…maybe?”
Tech types in the brief description and pulls up an article on the species. Polychromatic Wasps. His eyes drift over the information briefly. “Alright, Miss Omega, I am enroute to your location now. It seems that this particular species of wasp - or bee - will not attack unless they feel threatened. My recommendation is that you remain perfectly stationary until I arrive.”
“I’m scared,” Omega admits weakly.
Tech hesitates. “I understand. We will have you out of this situation in short order, and you will be fine. I promise.”
“Okay,” Omega says. A slight strengthening in her tone suggests that she believes him.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Hunter is surprised when he hears Tech’s familiar tread coming toward him, and is even more surprised at the speed at which his brother is moving. He comes into view a moment later, not even glancing up from his data pad as he approaches Hunter. “Omega is in distress. We must get to her location immediately.”
Tact and gentle verbal blows are not among Tech’s enhancements. Hunter’s heart rate accelerates to what feels like an inhuman speed. “What? Where is she?” he demands, falling into hurried step next to Tech.
“I’ve got her location locked,” Tech tells him. “She says that she came across a wasp nest when she climbed a tree. She is unharmed at present, just frightened.”
Hunter at first questions why Omega would comm Tech before any of her other brothers, especially brothers that might be closer to her aid. It dawns on him that Omega – always resourceful – would have called Tech first in order for him to provide her the information she would need until rescue came. She knows how to utilize her brothers’ strengths, and for that, he is incredibly proud of her.
“Here,” Tech says, stopping at the base of a tree. He looks up. “Omega?” he calls out.
A small voice calls back from the depths of the leaves and branches. “I’m here, Tech. They haven’t stung me.”
“Excellent!” Tech calls back. He starts to remove his pack.
“I can go,” Hunter says, already putting his hands to the trunk to find his first grips.
Tech shakes his head, dropping his pack to the ground and nudging Hunter aside. “I am far better suited to the task…and I’ll need you down here to catch her when I drop her down.”
“Wait, what?” Hunter asks in alarm, but Tech is already climbing.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Omega almost bursts into tears of relief when Tech appears through the leaves and branches. But she holds them back with a painful swallow, keenly aware that she now has at least a dozen bees crawling over her person, with dozens more flying about, perturbed about their motionless intruder.
Tech climbs the rest of the way up onto the branch, bracing himself so that he is facing Omega. “I have a plan,” he says immediately.
Omega gives the tiniest nod. “Okay.”
“It seems that the wasps are becoming agitated, probably due to the presence of your scent in their territory,” Tech continues. “That is why we are going to remove you from the situation rather abruptly.”
“How?”
“I am going to drop you down from the tree, and Hunter is going to catch you. That is the fastest way.”
“Am I going to get stung?” Omega asks. “They’re all over me!”
Tech moves closer, slowly. “I can see that. Unfortunately, there is the possibility that any or all of us will be stung. While it is painful and not ideal, it is not deadly. Clones are not allergic to bee or wasp stings.”
Omega knows Tech means to be encouraging; however, just the idea of being stung renews her impulse to cry. She sniffs, willing herself to be brave. After all, she got herself into this mess, and her brothers are bravely getting her out, at the risk of being stung themselves.
Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Omega says, “Okay, tell me what I need to do.”
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Hunter hates that the canopy of leaves is shielding his siblings from view, although he can hear Omega and Tech talking in hushed tones — which means, he supposes, that they are okay for the moment. If she hadn’t happened to come across a wasp nest doing it, Hunter would be very impressed with Omega’s hiding place. Obviously, though, they still needed to work on her spatial awareness…
His comm crackles to life. “Hunter, I am going to be lowering Omega through the branches, and on the count of three, I will release her. Are you ready to catch her?”
Instead of speaking through his comm, Hunter calls up, “I’m ready!”
“I should note,” Tech adds, as an obvious afterthought, “there is a high likelihood that you and Omega will be stung. I was not able to get many off of her without angering the hive.”
Hunter grits his teeth. He would rather none of them got stung, especially Omega; however, a sting or two is better than the alternative. “Got it,” he calls up.
There is rustling, and then Omega’s boots appear, immediately followed by her legs, torso and head. She is dangling by her arms, both hands clinging tightly to Tech’s forearm. Hunter can see the multicolored wasps crawling against the muted fabric of her clothes. There must be about a dozen of the things. He hopes most of them fly away the moment she drops.
As if they’d be so lucky.
Hunter shifts his stance, readying himself.
Omega’s eyes meet his for a moment, and he sees the tears glistening on her eyelashes.
“We got this, Omega,” he says encouragingly, hoping his expression doesn’t appear as frantic as the blood pounding in his ears.
She nods and looks up again at Tech, who is still invisible to Hunter. “I’m ready.”
Tech says over comms, “One…two…three!”
Omega drops then. It is only a split second between watching her fall and catching her, but it stretches for hours, especially when Omega lets out a squeak of terror at the brief free fall. Hunter catches Omega under her arms and places her on the ground. Using his gloved hands, he swats away the wasps that cling to her. Most of them fly away, but a couple decide to fight back against the assault.
Hunter feels a couple of stings immediately on his exposed wrists, and one just under his right ear. He is more focused on Omega, who seems to have been stung on the back of her neck and hands.
Tech drops down from the tree a moment later. “I suggest we run,” he says as the sound of enraged wasps buzz louder.
Hunter scoops Omega up and runs.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
Tech hates being fussed over but Echo is relentless. So he tries to hold as still as possible as Echo analyzes each sting to be sure they are healing properly, and dabbing bacta ointment over the wounds.
“Are you about finished?” he asks with a hiss after Echo accidentally prods a wound a little too hard.
“You are making this harder than it needs to be,” Echo says without a hint of remorse as he pokes at the next sting.
Tech rolls his eyes, but allows Echo to finish his checks without further complaint. At long last, Echo leaves Tech alone to do as he pleases, which is to sit in his rack with his data pad and try not to irritate his minor injuries.
He isn’t left alone for long.
“Tech?”
Tech looks up to see Omega standing at the foot of his bunk.
“Are you doing alright, Omega?” he asks her, noticing the swollen welts on her hands and neck from her own stings. They don’t look red or irritated, which is excellent.
Omega nods, wincing slightly at the movement. “I’m okay. I just wanted to thank you…for helping me…and I’m sorry you got stung more than any of us.”
Tech smiles. “No thanks are necessary. I was more than happy to assist.”
Omega smiles back, but it doesn’t reach her usually bright eyes.
“Also, I meant to tell you,” Tech continues offhandedly, “that had the wasps not been involved, I am quite confident you would have won the training exercise.”
This catches Omega’s attention. She stands a little straighter. “Really?”
“Absolutely,” Tech says. “I was hoping you might share with me your strategy. It could prove to be a valuable resource in the future.”
Omega looks absolutely delighted. “Sure! Are you going to write a report about it?”
“I’ve already started.”
At that, the little girl in their care practically radiates light as she rushes to his side to give him all the details.
END
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#febuwhump 2024#febuwhumpday9#prompt 9: Bees#star wars#fanfiction#the bad batch#ao3 fanfic#ao3 writer#echo tbb#tbb omega#tbb wrecker#tbb tech#tbb hunter#some whump with a dollop of fluff#this was a monster to write. But worth it!#stories by kyber
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The Last Flying Grayson
While out on duty, Robin sees a billboard that chills his soul. ‘Haly’s Circus 3000 Phoenix Tour, coming to Jump City at the end of June!’ Not long after, Mr. Haly reaches out to the Titans for a favor.
Ao3 | FF.net
“I’m beat!” Cyborg lamented, slouching forward. “I hate chasing Mumbo. He’s annoying and he turned my car into a wind up toy.”
“I’m right here,” said Mumbo, returned to his old man form. “Not much of a crime spree if I stay in one place, is it?”
“Man, shut up!”
“It’s alright Cyborg,” Robin patted his back. “Let’s drop Mumbo off with the police and then we can pick up some pizza for din—” as he spoke, he turned to look at their favorite pizza place, only to see a large Billboard next to it.
Haly’s Circus 3000!
Phoenix Tour!
Coming end of June!
He stood frozen. Suddenly confronting his past like this was not something he was prepared for.
“Hey, you okay?” Asked Cyborg. “You look paler than usual.”
“Yeah dude, you look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
He tore his gaze away from the billboard and looked back at his team. This was his present, and that was his past. There was no reason he couldn’t stop in and say hello, but there was no use lingering on it. “I’m fine. I just…suddenly realized how much paperwork I had to do.”
“Oh Robin, you must not lock yourself up in that office!” Starfire cried.
“Yeah dude! It’s movie night!”
“I’ll do the paperwork on the kitchen table, how about that?”
Beast Boy and Starfire cheered.
As they carried Mumbo off to the car, Raven caught Robin taking one last look at the billboard.
She knew more than the others.
She had been inside his head and saw his memories. It was brief, but she saw it. Whether or not this ‘Haly’s Circus 3000’ was the same one from his memories, she didn’t know. But it wasn’t her place to ask.
—-
Robin’s past came back to haunt him a few days later.
They were all gathered in the ops room, playing a card game together and hanging out, just being teens.
“Ha!” Beast Boy put down a card with a tornado on it. “I bet none of you nerds can beat that!”
Cyborg groaned. “Man, I had a lightning storm! I was certain I had it!”
“I got nothing,” said Raven.
“I, as well, have nothing to beat the tornado.”
“Well well well, looks like Beast Boy is cleaning up!”
“Not so fast, Grass Stain,” Robin taunted. “I still have one card.”
Beast Boy gasped. “You would not.”
Robin slammed the card down onto the pile. “Meteor shower! Read it and weep!”
“Noooo! That’s three games in a row! How do you keep winning!?”
“Let’s just say lady luck is a personal friend of mine.”
“You have a lady friend named ‘Luck’?” Starfire asked, a pout on her face.
“Relax Star, it’s just an expression.”
“Then…perhaps we can play once more and I can befriend this Lady of Luck?”
“Nah, I’m done,” said Beast Boy. “I got my butt kicked on the field enough times this week, I don’t need it kicked in my own home.”
The big screen came to life with an unknown caller number on it.
“Ohhh unknown caller? How much do you want to bet it’s a salesman?”
Robin’s jovial mood plummeted as butterflies erupted in his stomach. He had a feeling. “I don’t think it’s a salesman,” he said, subdued. He rose, and answered it.
A portly man with a curly mustache wearing a striped shirt appeared on the screen. A big smile came over his face. “Robin! Good to see you, lad!”
Of course he knew. ‘Robin’ and ‘Boy Wonder’ had been nicknames from the circus. His uniform was nearly the same too. Not to mention the death defying stunts he performed while crime fighting. It wouldn’t be that hard for anyone from Haly’s to piece it together. But, since Haly’s left Gotham and promised to never return, he hadn’t been concerned. Now, he was.
“Mr. Haly,” he greeted with a nod.
“I don’t want to take up much of your time. I’m sure you and your team are very busy.”
“Busy losing at cards,” Beast Boy grumbled.
“What do you need?” Robin asked.
“I’m not sure if you heard, but we’re having a comeback tour, and next month, we’re coming to Jump City!”
“I saw the billboard.”
“Oh good! I had hoped that advertising was working. I had an idea. We used to do these charity nights where we had special benefactors sponsor us, and all ticket sales would go to the benefactor’s chosen charity.”
Of course he remembered. It was why Bruce Wayne had been there the night that—
Robin assumed, “and you were hoping the Titans could sponsor a show?”
“That’s right! Of course, you would all be considered guests of honor and get VIP seats. But, if it’s not in the budget, I’d understand.”
“I’m sure we can make that happen,” Robin smiled. This conversation was going smoother than he expected. It seemed like Haly was being considerate enough to not assume everyone else knew who he was.
“And…I have a personal favor to ask.”
There it was. “What’s that?”
“I was wondering if you could find someone for me. You see, our circus has many new acts, and some old faces too, but…the Flying Graysons were still the greatest. I was hoping you could find Richard, the Last Flying Grayson, and see if he has it in his heart to perform as a special act. Just one night, as an homage to his parents. Is that something you could do for me?”
Robin was quiet for far too long before he agreed, “yeah, I’ll find him and ask.”
“Excellent. I know this is rather short notice. We’re planning on coming in two weeks, with the first show at the end of June. We were hoping you’d sponsor the show on June 27.”
“June 27th, huh?” There was no hiding the grief in his voice.
“Unless you’d prefer another day.”
“I’ll make it happen, Mr. Haly.”
“Wonderful! Wonderful! Let him know he can reach me at this number once he knows what he’ll need for his act. I can’t wait for you to see how the show looks now!”
Robin’s throat felt tight. “Is Zitka still there?”
“Of course! Fat on peanuts, but she’s still beautiful.”
Robin couldn’t help but smile. “Great to hear. We’ll see you in a few weeks then.”
“See you!” And the call ended.
“Soooo…” Beast Boy grinned. “Who was that?”
“An old friend,” Robin said vaguely. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but knew if he made a big deal about not wanting to talk about it then they’d pry and pry and pry until he talked about it!
“That’s obvious,” said Cyborg. “But what’s the story!? You know circus people?”
Robin swallowed. “They performed in Gotham City for a time. I knew them from my time there.” Half a lie. “I owe Haly a favor.” That was the truth.
“Man, you have the coolest experiences from working with Batman and you never talk about them!”
He scoffed, “like the 22 times Two-Face robbed the Second National Bank of Gotham of all its 2 dollar bills? Yeah, real exciting stuff.”
“Please,” began Starfire, “this sir-cuss is a performance, like theater?”
“Sort of,” Robin smiled. “Circuses travel from city to city, and perform in big tents. There’s big animals, strong men, clowns, all sorts of performers.”
“And who is this Zitka and why is she full of peanuts?”
“She’s an elephant.”
“Cool! Robin’s friends with an elephant!” Cyborg smiled.
“UM HELLO? You all are!” Beast Boy morphed into an elephant.
Cyborg grabbed his trunk. “I meant a real elephant, dummy!”
Beast boy shifted back, rubbing his nose. “So what is he having you do? Something about finding a performer? A Flying Grayson?”
He was afraid of this. It was too close. He had to play it cool, pretend it was nothing. He was removed from the situation, and none of it mattered.
Or he could tell them the whole truth.
Nononononono no. No. Not happening.
“The Flying Graysons…were the headliner. A family of trapeze artists,” he began. “Gotham is full of crazies like the Joker and Two-Face, yes, but it also has a lot of mafia activity. An extortionist threatened Haly, and when Haly didn’t pay up, the thug messed with the rigging to The Flying Graysons’ act.” Robin swallowed harshly. “John and Mary Grayson…f-fell. Their son, Richard, survived.” He sighed. “I saw it happen. It was…pretty traumatic.”
“What of the foul man that committed the crime?” Starfire asked.
“Batman and I beat him up and threw him in jail.”
“So, I guess this Richard guy owes you a favor, huh?” Beast Boy smirked.
“I suppose.”
“Need any help tracking him down?” Offered Cyborg.
“Nah, I know where to find him.”
“I don’t know dude,” Beast Boy wondered. “If my parents died in an accident like that, I’d never touch the trapeze again. Is he still practicing?”
“Not exactly, but he can do it.” Robin headed for the door. “I’m going to go ahead and reach out to him. Have fun with your cards.”
As he departed and was alone, his shoulders sagged heavily and the tears started to well up. “Not yet,” he whispered.
He walked swiftly towards his room, only to be halted by Raven appearing from the floor.
“Wanna talk about it?” She asked.
“About what?” Sooth.
“Robin, I’ve been in your head. I saw your memories. I don’t know the details, but that fall that you witnessed was a prominent memory.”
He had almost forgotten that she had read his mind. Raven was considerate enough to not do it very often to people.
“I’m fine, and I don’t need to talk about anything,” he said sternly, walking past her. Then he felt a wave of guilt, because Raven, the one friend who was the least likely to reach out, was concerned. “But thanks for the offer.”
—-
The next few weeks were quiet. Robin shared no more information about the Circus. He never said if he found Richard Grayson. In fact, he didn’t say much at all. He spent most of his days in his room. He admitted that he had been working in his office a lot of late nights, so he was taking naps during the downtime of the day.
One night at dinner, Beast Boy asked a question that Robin dreaded. “So…I was walking past your room, and I heard a sewing machine?”
Robin nearly dropped his fork.
“What’s all that about?”
Robin gnawed the inside of his cheek. “I’m working on a new costume.”
Starfire nearly floated out of her chair. “Are you becoming Nightwing?!”
“No, not quite,” he smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m just…making a prototype.” Another lie.
“Can we see it?” Cyborg asked.
“When I’m done, I’ll show you.” Not a lie!
—-
Soon, the date arrived.
Robin banked on the fact that Beast Boy was too preoccupied by games to notice what he was wearing. Just in case, we wore a trench coat over his new costume.
“Beast Boy, I have to leave early for the show, but I’m leaving your guys’ tickets on the counter with instructions.”
“Okay Robby, see you later!” Beast Boy didn’t even turn around.
Robin, the Boy Wonder, exited the tower, and Richard Grayson, the Last Flying Grayson, entered Jump City.
—-
Hours later, the Titans assembled in the ops room, preparing to leave.
“Hey, where’s Robin?”
“Oh, he left hours ago,” Beast Boy said easily. “But I think he left a note around here somewhere…”
“You mean this?” Raven picked up the paper that was very clearly right in front of them.
“Haha…yeah…”
“Dear Titans, I went early to pick up Mr. Grayson. I have left your tickets for you. Your seat numbers are on them. Don’t wait for me, I will meet up with you during the show. Love, Robin.”
“He can be so sweet,” Starfire smiled.
“Yeah yeah, bunnies and flowers, can we go? I’m starving!”
“Oh yeah baby! Carnival food!”
“This isn’t a carnival, it’s a circus,” Raven corrected.
“I hope they have popcorn! No! Pretzels!”
“Whatever they have, I hope it’s deep fried and delicious!”
They piled in the T-Car and made their way out to the edge of town. From even a few miles away, they could see the massive red and white tent, alight with search lights.
“Whoa…” Beast Boy gawked.
“Oh this is most exciting! Such an event on Tamaran would include the beheading of a shnerkel! Will any animals have their heads placed on pikes?”
“Uh…no.” Beat Boy looked ill. “The circus is a fun place with no maiming.”
“Actually,” said Cyborg. “I think their whole thing is death-defying stunts. So doing dangerous things to inspire awe.”
“Fascinating! I believe Robin called that ‘thrill seeking’?”
“Similar,” Said Raven. “Maybe you should just wait and see. It's hard to explain.”
They drove up to the gate, where a man in a purple clown costume waited. “Good evening! You must be the Teen Titans! Robin saved you a parking spot up front. Go ahead.”
“Awww Robin saved us a place so I don’t have to worry about my baby getting scratched!” Cyborg sniffed. “You’re right Star, he really can be sweet sometimes.”
Starfire giggled while Beast Boy made a gagging sound.
Cyborg parked up front, next to Robin’s motorcycle, and then they made their way to the entrance of the tent. They passed the ticket stand that had a sign up that stated ‘Sold out’. Next to the door was a huge poster of a silhouette of an acrobat swinging on a trapeze. The font read ‘One night only, The Last Flying Grayson!’ The song of a calliope rang through the air.
“Sounds like we picked the right show to sponsor,” Cyborg noted.
The tent was massive, with seating all the way around. Four giant poles held up the tent, which was blue with stars on the inside.
“Tickets please,” said a woman in a glittery leotard.
Starfire handed them over.
“Of course! You’re the Titans. You’ll be sitting in the VIP box, in section A.” She pointed to a spot in the bleachers that was raised up and out a little, presumably for the best view.
“We should sponsor more events,” Beast Boy grinned.
“Enjoy the show!” The woman smiled, handing back the tickets.
As they crossed the tent, Cyborg got a whiff of the concession stand. “I’m gettin’ in the food line before it gets too long. Whatchu guys want?”
“Oh! I would like a hot dog with a gratuitous amount of mustard!” Starfire licked her lips at the very idea.
“I’ll wait in line with you Cy,” said Beast Boy.
“Raavveeennnn,” Cyborg sang. “They have pretzels!”
“My day is made,” she droned.
Starfire and Raven went to their seats to wait for the boys.
“Where do you think Robin is?” Starfire asked, standing to peer through the crowd. People were still arriving and the stands were filling.
“Couldn’t say,” Raven shrugged. “Maybe he gets to help the Ringmaster or something.”
Like she summoned him, her communicator buzzed. “Robin to Starfire, come in, Starfire.”
“This is Starfire. Where are you?”
“You’ll see me soon. I need a favor.”
“Anything!”
“When I give the signal, I need you to prepare a Tamaranean discus maneuver.”
“What? Why?”
“Just trust me.”
“Alright, you know best. Where do you wish me to aim you?”
“At the center ring, the stage right in front of you, at the very center.”
“What signal?”
“Eyes on deck.”
“When?”
“You’ll see me. Don’t worry. And relax! Enjoy the show!” And he ended the call.
“Uh, that’s weird.” Raven quirked a brow.
“I hope there is no trouble.”
“He said not to worry. Maybe he’s helping Mr. Grayson out in his act?”
“Oh that would be wonderful! Robin is very good at the flipping!”
“Acrobatics,” Raven corrected.
Soon enough, the boys returned with arms full of all manner of popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, soda, and cotton candy. “A hot dog and pretzel, for the ladies,” Beast Boy juggled over the two items, as well as two sodas.
“Where’s my cheese?” Raven asked.
“You didn’t say you wanted any.”
“My day is ruined,” she droned.
Then, the lights dimmed, and a drumroll silenced all chatter.
A spotlight illuminated a singular man in the center. The same portly, mustachioed man, wearing a red and gold suit with a top hat. “Ladies and gentlemen!” His voice carried throughout the tent. “Welcome to Haly’s Circus 3000! We would like to thank our generous benefactors for this special event, the Teen Titans!”
Another spotlight ignited on the group, unexpectedly, and they all smiled and waved awkwardly as the crowd applauded.
“Tonight, you will witness performances the likes you’ve never seen! Prepare for awe, laughter, shock, and drama! Please, enjoy the show!”
Sparklers ignited around the ring and the big band struck up a jaunty tune. From all the aisles came the performers. Clowns on stilts, women standing on horses, strong men carrying barrels, and even a bear on a unicycle.
Beast Boy shook Cyborg as he exploded with excitement.
A man in a burgundy suit came to the center ring, holding a whip in one hand, and a giant hoop in the other.
“Please direct your attention to the center ring, where you will see God’s mightiest creature come to heel. I present Marko, the Tiger Whisperer!”
The audience cheered as the Ringmaster left. The man called Marko raised the hoop, and snapped his whip.
From outside the tent came running a streak of black and orange. The tiger leapt into the ring, through the hoop, and skittered to a stop, like an overgrown puppy.
The tamer pet his nose and fed him a treat.
The audience and Titans watched with fascination as the tiger performed tricks that only extremely disciplined dogs could do. The act concluded with the tamer sticking his head in the tiger’s mouth.
Starfire stood up with the crowd to applaud.
Each act that followed was just as spectacular.
There was a juggler that juggled flaming batons and chainsaws. A set of clowns bonked each other on the head with progressively larger and larger cartoonish hammers, and of course, the bear on the unicycle returned.
“Does that give you fond memories, Cyborg?” Beast Boy joked.
“It gives me memories alright. Fond? Not so much.”
“That bear is very talented!” Starfire cooed.
“I’m surprised the unicycle hasn’t broken.”
“And now, ladies and gentlemen,” called the Ringmaster once more, as the lights swirled over the audience. “The moment you’ve been looking forward to all night. A once in a lifetime opportunity. The living legacy himself! Performing high-flying death-defying stunts, 60 feet in the air, without the safety of a net, The Last Flying Grayson!”
The spotlights turned and illuminated a young man, standing in the center ring. The haunting sound of an accordian playing a waltz filled the air.
“Wait, is that–?” Beast Boy squinted.
“It can’t be…” Cyborg gaped.
“But it must!” Starfire gleefully beamed.
“No. Way.”
The young man had black hair, styled into slicked back spikes. He wore a tight, sleeveless red tunic with yellow ties across the front. He had dark green tights, and a yellow sash instead of a utility belt.
He had a sad smile on his mask-less face, along with face paint to make it look like he had a single tear on his cheek.
He bowed low, his arms back behind him. Then he flung back and flipped, once, twice, three times and landed on his feet. A swing, made of silk rope, descended down to him. He wrapped one side around his arm, and took measured steps in time with the music, until he broke into a run, and then twisted. He spun rapidly, gliding over the ground, and gradually raised into the air. The higher he raised, the more his body contorted, until he looked like he was twisted into a pretzel. It was all effortless, as his facial expression never changed. Just kept that look of bittersweet happiness.
“How is he doing that?” Beast Boy asked as Robin held onto the loop with just one hand that reached between his legs while he did the splits.
“I knew he was flexible, but…whoa.”
A woman began to sing while he performed. A sad tune, haunting melody, and unknown words to everyone in the audience.
Everyone, except Starfire.
“Go, go child, go, you'll see, go.”
She knew these words were in a tongue that was not English, but she wasn’t sure how she knew them. Robin had been the only language assimilation she’d had since she’d been on Earth. But perhaps…
She learned it from him.
“Go and you'll see that a smile often hides a great sorrow. Go and you'll see the madness of mankind.”
As he contorted, Robin twisted the rope around himself, forming a cocoon, until he reached the very top. Then, he pulled a pin on one side and he fell, unraveling like a ball of yard.
He stopped about a foot from the bottom, posed with one leg up by his head.
The audience cheered and whistled, but the only one who stayed totally silent was Starfire. Not because she wasn’t enjoying the show, but because she was mesmerized by him.
“Madness of mankind without righteousness, go. Madness of warriors without fear, go.”
Robin wrapped back up in the silk rope and soared through the tent, waving at the crowd as he passed by.
The swing raised up further, and reached the height of a platform that was built into the main beams of the tent. Up here, there were several bars, some stationary, and some hanging on wires.
“Madness of a child full of life who, playing at paradise as a soldier, was killed.”
He simply turned and stepped onto the platform, and offered a little bow.
He raised his arms, took two steps, and leapt, gliding out to a bar on wires. He swung out, flying over the crowd effortlessly, before he flipped and grabbed the next bar with his legs. At the peak of his swing, he flipped off the bar, spun in a tight ball, and landed on a platform on the opposite side of the tent.
The crowd clapped.
Oh, but he wasn’t done. Of course not! He ran and leapt again, catching the bar as it swung back. He used the momentum to swing all the way around the bar several times, getting faster and faster before he let go and flung himself up high. There, he tucked into a ball and rotated twice and caught another bar. He swung on that quickly and shot up again. At the crest of his arc, he hugged his arms to his chest and twisted, turning sideways and upside down.
The audience watched as he came down, and reached for the next bar…
And missed.
“No!” Starfire was on her feet, ready to fly out and catch him, only to watch him fall about ten feet before he twisted again and caught a different bar with his legs.
The audience went wild.
Starfire nearly collapsed with relief.
“Where fortune walks, you can't reach there with the heart anymore.”
He swung backwards, before hooking his feet around the wires and contorting backwards to climb up to stand on the bar. Once it reached the peak swing, he dropped down to his hands and swung, using momentum to swing out far and fast. From here, he leapt onto a hanging hoop. He hooked one leg around the hoop and braced the other inside, then relaxed his torso and threw his hands out. He glided over the audience, nearly touching them. Then he passed the Titans and gave them all high fives with a big smile.
He winked at Starfire.
The hoop rapidly rose up high into the tent, as someone pulled it on the other end.
At the top of the tent, there was a thin wire from post to post, about a hundred feet long, and 70 feet up. The accordion and woman ended their song.
“And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Flying Grayson will become the Balancing Grayson, as he performs the tightrope walk!”
The crowd ‘oo’ed.
Robin withdrew his bow staff from his belt, extended it, and very carefully started walking across the tightrope.
The drums below rolled as he shuffled forward, a little more, a little more…
Suddenly, it looked like he lost his balance as he started swaying and trying to over correct. Then he jerked to one side and fell—
Only to once again catch himself, with one hand on the rope. He flipped back up easily, before stowing the staff again, then he gave an exaggerated shrug and flipped forward, walking the tightrope on his hands.
The crowd went ballistic.
After a few feet, he flipped again, placing one foot down, then the other, then turning and doing a backbend. Up on his hands, then his feet, then he did a front flip, a cartwheel; a full balance beam routine before reaching the other side.
He raised his hands to quiet the roaring crowds.
He took out his staff again, and ran out onto the tightrope. A little before the halfway point, he extended the staff and vaulted up to balance on top of it! He had one hand out, the rest of his body completely straight with his arm. Then, slowly, he transferred the connection point to his forehead.
“Dude…” Beast boy gaped.
Robin balanced on a tightrope, on his staff, on his forehead. The drums rolled.
He gave a little shake of his hands and the band played a cheerful ‘ta-da!’
His friends clapped and cheered, only to be drowned out by the uproar of the crowd.
Robin flipped backwards onto the rope, tucking his baton back into his sash. He watched the swinging bars below and timed it perfectly as he leapt, fell thirty feet, and grabbed the bar expertly.
He whirled through the air, catching bar after bar in more and more precarious ways, like while he was spinning in a somersault, or by just one hand. He even dangled by just one foot.
Starfire watched with awe as he performed, laughter and joy bubbling out of him each time he landed a trick.
It was a side of Robin she’d never seen before.
He was…beautiful.
Of course, she and many other ladies (and probably several men) thought that Robin was cute, handsome, and ‘oh em gee a total hottie’ but seeing him right now, in this environment…he was just beautiful.
Like a galaxy made of an ocean of stars and colors, he was beautiful like a force of nature. His thin frame was deceitful to the strength he held. His ropey muscles had mostly been hidden under loose sleeves and gloves. But Starfire could see them plainly now, and hard at work, twisting under his skin with each aerial feat. The contours of his body were distinct with the skin tight costume. The peak of the human form, a rib cage, surrounded by bands of muscle, a chest with a rapidly beating heart. Even his fingers held incredible strength, as he dangled carelessly from just the tips.
A force of nature. A human in the most definite form.
Utterly mesmerizing.
Robin arched his back, hanging from his ankles with his arms far behind him. He swung his arms, pumping his body to climb higher and higher. He let go, somersaulting in the air, once, twice–five times, before landing on the tips of his toes on a platform. His silk rope dangled off to the side, and he used it to climb all the way back to the top, where the tightrope was.
Once up there, he looked down, right to her. He pointed two fingers at his eyes, then to her.
Eyes on deck.
The signal.
Starfire floated out of her seat, up about ten feet, to provide plenty of clearance for what he had in mind.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he spoke into a mic way up there. “Thank you so much for coming out tonight for my special performance. And to the Teen Titans, thank you for making this event even more special. I knew I had to design my costume after Robin when I heard you guys were going to be here.”
He was such a liar.
“For my final trick, I will need the assistance of a beautiful young woman from the audience.” He pretended to glance around for only a second before exclaiming, “oh Starfire of the Teen Titans! Thank you for volunteering! Give her a hand folks!”
There was an applause, along with laughter, as this had obviously been planned. Starfire giggled as Cyborg shouted, “yeah that’s our girl!”
Robin crawled out on the tightrope, pinwheeling one leg around his body, and then the other. When he reached the middle of the rope, he held his arms out to the side.
A drum roll went up.
He dropped, catching himself with his fingers, and began to swing faster and faster until he was rocketing around the wire, gaining speed.
Then he let go and soared.
Arms out wide like wings, he whooped as he flew.
Then he started to fall, but he had no fear. He was falling right towards her, and she’d catch him.
Starfire floated a couple extra feet, eager to make contact with her friend. She caught him with her hands coming to rest on his ribcage, while he took hold of her shoulders.
“Hi Star,” he beamed, piercing her soul with those vibrant blue eyes.
“Hello,” she smiled back, her heart in her throat. Then she twisted, never letting gravity have a turn with him in this dance. She spun, her grip dragging down to his arms.
Once, twice, three times she spun him, before she let him go. Letting go this time was so different from everytime they performed this maneuver on the field. She wasn’t flinging him into an attack. There was no enemy waiting.
She was throwing him into the end of his act. The end of this beautiful, sacred moment.
Robin twisted in the air and grabbed his staff from his sash. He extended it and dug it into the center of the ring, slowing his descent. He spun around it, his limbs just gliding across the surface as he slowed more and more.
He ended with one leg wrapped around the staff, while the other kicked out. He leaned back and threw his arms out and laughed.
It was like he was mocking the crowd. I flew, his laughter said, I got to fly and you didn’t.
“Ladies and gentlemen! The Last Flying Grayson!”
Robin got to his feet as the crowd stood, screaming and cheering. He bowed once again, and then departed out of the ring, choosing to cartwheel and backflip out.
Starfire was stuck floating in the air, tears streaming down her face, as a bittersweet smile came over her face.
“You coming down?” Cyborg asked.
She nodded awkwardly and sank back into her seat.
“You okay?” Raven asked, offering the edge of her cape to wipe her tears.
“I am only sad it is over,” she lamented.
“No worries!” Cyborg chirped. “I recorded the whole thing!” He tapped his head. “You can watch it over again whenever you want!”
“Oh glorious!” She clapped her hands together, feeling slightly better.
Of course, watching a video would never be the same as watching it in person, but it would have to be enough.
“You guys enjoying the show?” A voice asked from behind them.
They turned in shock as Robin, back in his normal costume and mask appeared behind them. He crouched and stole a handful of Beast Boy’s popcorn.
“That Richard Grayson is something else! Did you see that tightrope act? I wonder how long it took him to perfect that!”
Starfire grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him into a hug. “It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!”
Robin blushed, as she had basically pulled him into her lap, but he hugged her back, nonetheless.
“I wouldn’t say it like that,” said Beast Boy, “but it was certainly the craziest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“I knew you had some skill, but I get so focused on the martial arts part, I don’t even think about your acrobatics!” Said Cyborg.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Raven asked, not accusatory, just curious.
“Uh…” he pulled at his collar. “It’s like…really hard for me to talk about. I figured just showing you would be easier.” He adjusted his grip on Starfire, resigned to the fact he was sitting in her lap. He couldn’t get out of the hug if he tried. “It’s…it’s been 10 years. 10 years ago today that they…my parents…” He swallowed harshly. “Haly knew. He knew I would spend the day crying and in self loathing. It still hurts, and it might never stop, but by being able to do this…it was kinda like…being with them again.”
Starfire hugged him tighter, burying her face in his shoulder.
“You seemed to have fun. Are you gonna do it again someday?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Eventually, Starfire let him go so that he could sit next to her instead. She still held his arm, too emotional to let him go completely, and honestly, he didn’t mind so much.
They all watched the end of the show together, a rancorous applause as almost all the performers came out and took their bows.
Then, the lights came up, and everyone was free to go.
Robin released a little sigh. It was hard, but it had been worth it. He felt happier and more content than he expected he’d feel today.
“So,” Raven began. “Are you going to introduce us to your friends, or what?”
“Oh yes! I should very much like to meet your elephant!”
Robin smiled. “Whatever you guys want.”
—
They waited for the crowds to thin before Robin led them to another tent. Here, all manner of performers lounged about, some still in costumes and makeup. When the Titans entered, attention swiveled to them.
“Dickie Bird!”
Then there was an onslaught of ‘way to go’s and ‘atta boy’s, accompanied with affectionate head rubs and back pats. Robin took it all in stride, vainly fixing his hair afterwards. “Uh…thanks guys. It means a lot. Um, these are my friends, The Teen Titans. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire.”
“It is good to meet you all in person,” Mr. Haly himself said, shaking their hands. “Tonight was a smashing success. Thank you for all your help.”
“Uh, gotta be honest man, we just showed up tonight. Robin took care of everything. If anything, we should be thanking you guys for the amazing show!”
“Nevertheless, attaching your name to the show really brought the crowds in! We’re back, baby!”
Robin smiled, thrilled to see Haly’s Circus thriving.
“So,” Beast Boy began, talking quietly to Robin, but everyone heard him. “Everyone here knows who you are, huh?”
Robin blushed, embarrassed. “Yep.”
“You think a little piece of fabric would keep us from recognizing ol’ Dickie Bird?” A man with smudged paint on his face asked. “Even if you did grow a bit.” He nudged Robin.
A strong man spoke up, with a heavy Russian accent. “Your friends, they do not know how you got the name Robin?”
“Hey yeah!” Cyborg said, vexed. “How come we don’t know? Does anyone know?”
Robin rubbed the back of his head. “It’s…kind of embarrassing.”
“Please share!” Starfire asked, linking her fingers around his arm.
Robin sighed. “So…I was born on the first day of spring, so my mom always called me her little Robin.”
“Aww,” said Beast Boy. “That’s sweet!”
Robin continued. “She said it so often, it became kind of like a stage name, though never officially since I only performed with my parents. But we did talk about me having a solo act as I got older, under the name ‘Robin, the Boy Wonder’. When I joined Batman, I was 8 and didn’t know any better and used the same name.” He gave a little shrug. “I don’t even think Batman knows.”
“Oh, he knows,” said Haly with a laugh. “Shortly after your debut, he sent me a strongly worded email telling me not to tell anyone or there would be consequences.”
Robin rolled his eyes. “Did you respond to that nonsense?”
“You know, I did? I told him you were our boy and that we wouldn’t do anything to put you into harm’s way…which is why we let that playboy billionaire adopt you, despite the fact he clearly didn’t know how to raise a kid. Anyways, I asked Batman if he was in the habit of sending kids to fight on the street. And you know what he told me? He said that you went after Anthony Zucco yourself, at 8 years old. He found you out there and you told him you weren’t going to stop looking for Zucco until he was dead or behind bars.”
“Toughest eight year old I ever heard of,” Raven said, actually sounding impressed.
“So, I let it go. But, we've been keeping an ear out for you.”
Robin wasn’t all that surprised that Batman had basically threatened his extended family, but he was proud that Haly didn’t put up with his bullshit.
It also sounded like they didn’t know that Bruce Wayne was Batman. So that was a relief.
“It was Donna’s idea to reach out to you,” Haly continued. “I didn’t know if it was a good idea, but you don’t know until you take a chance, right?”
The woman that had taken the tickets came up to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “We still love you, Dickie Bird, and I knew we had to take that chance to see you.”
“Dickie Bird?” Beast Boy asked Cyborg, in a hush.
Another man started whistling a happy tune, before a few others joined in singing, “a Dickie Bird whispered ‘haven’t you heard? Spring is here, spring is here, spring is here’.”
Then Robin finished, “And you and I fell in love in reply on hearing the Dickie bird’s news.” His smile was tight. “I…had forgotten they sang that. But I guess I never forgot the song.”
Donna gave him a loving pinch to his cheek. “Now Dick, there’s something we wanted to give you. We found this in the archives, and we thought you would want it.” She retrieved a tube from a table, and two of the strong men opened it up and unraveled the large poster inside.
The Flying Graysons
New Addition
Dick, Our Boy Wonder
It was the poster from his debut show, three years before the accident.
“Is that you?” Starfire asked, nearly cooing. “You were so small.”
“Still is,” Cyborg grinned.
“Yeah,” Robin breathed. “Thanks Donna. It means a lot.”
“Of course, baby. Now, we’re gonna put the poster from tonight in there too, so you can have both, okay?”
Robin just nodded.
Starfire could see this was hard for him, and just laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Why don’t you go say hello to Zitka?” Donna urged. “I’m sure she missed you.”
“Will she remember you?” Cyborg asked.
Robin chuckled, “well, they say an elephant never forgets.”
—-
When they returned to the tower, Robin shut Richard Grayson away in the closet, where he belonged, along with both posters. Just a skeleton of his past life. He was Robin now, all the time. 24/7.
Whenever Starfire tried to talk about it, he deflected the topic. Not harshly or cruelly, he just decided not to answer her directly.
It broke her heart.
About a week later, she sat on the rooftop, looking at the moon, that haunting accordion tune playing in her mind, the silhouette of her friend against the curtain was just a shadow on the surface.
“Hey…you okay?” Robin’s voice asked from the door. “You were pretty quiet today.”
She wasn’t sure if she could handle a conversation with him right now. All she wanted was to talk about his performance. She had questions and observations, and she just wanted to share it all with him. She couldn’t bear hearing him shut it all down again.
“You know you can talk to me,” he said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Can I?” She asked just as softly.
“Of course.”
“It is…about the circus.”
He frowned.
She prepared herself for the wall that was about to drop.
Instead, he took a seat beside her, legs crossed in front of him. “I’m sorry. You’ve been trying to talk about it all week and…like I said, it’s really hard for me to talk about.”
“I understand. I have things in my life that are equally difficult to share.” She reached out and touched the side of his face, where the painted tear had been. “I just…admired your performance so much. You were most joyous. I have seen you happy, but never like that. I would like to share that experience with you again. Perhaps then maybe one day, it will not be so hard to talk about?”
Robin was quiet for a long time, considering it. Then he offered a small smile. “I’ll think about it.”
She returned the smile. “That’s all I ask.”
—
Another week passed. Robin seemed to clam right back up.
Starfire was resigned to the fact that that one night at the circus was all anyone was ever going to see. And she had to be fine with it. So what if he was her best friend? It was his tragedy, and only he could decide who he’d share it with.
But then, late one night, there was a knock at her bedroom door.
“Hello?” She asked, as she answered.
There was no one there, but there was a package at her feet. A brown paper wrapped parcel, with a note on it.
‘Starfire,
Please put this on and meet me in the training room.
-Love, Robin’
Curious, she ripped the paper off, only to find a purple piece of cloth, nearly the same color as her uniform. She unraveled it, surprised to find a suit made of stretchy material. It was purple but had silvery accents and glittery beads all over the front.
It was so pretty! She held it up and did a little twirl, then rushed to put it on.
It wasn’t a completely perfect fit, but it was comfortable and not too tight. She zipped through the tower in haste to get to the training room.
Richard Grayson was there, dangling from his ankle from a bar hanging from the ceiling. He looked at her as she entered.
“Oh wow!” He chirped, flipping off to land on his feet. “That turned out great! I wasn’t sure if it would fit, because I measured a spare uniform that obviously doesn’t have all the measurements—”
“You made this?”
“...yeah? I made all my uniforms. Always have.”
“There is so much I do not know about you, Richard Grayson,” she smirked, coming closer.
He blushed, but smiled at her. “It’s so weird hearing you say that name.”
“Why do you look at me in such a way?” She asked, tilting her head.
“What way? I’m just…looking at you. I mean, you’re pleasant to look at, but if I’m staring I’m not meaning to!” Shutupshutupshutupshutup!
“You mean to say this is how you look at me when your mask is on as well?”
“Yes?” Was that a good thing? Or was he in trouble now? Did he hurt her feelings? Was he leering? Glaring?
A pretty blush dusted her cheeks as her smile deepened, though it looked like she was trying not to show it.
He cleared his throat. “Um…would you like to…learn some moves?”
Her eyes glistened. When she asked if he would share with her, she had expected him to just talk, not this! “Yes please!”
“Alright.” He ran and leapt, grabbing hold of the bar, then he contorted so he could hang upside down, his feet hooked around the wires. “Okay, come here and hold my arms, facing the same direction as me.”
She gleefully did, having to hover a little to reach.
“Okay, you’re going to push off that box to get us swinging.”
She did, and thrust her legs to pick up momentum.
“Good! Now just do it in time with me so we pick up maximum height.”
“Can I not just fly us up?”
“You could, but where’s the fun in that?”
She giggled. “You always have a certain way to do things.”
“That I do!”
They swung together, making the bar go farther and farther out.
“Okay, now I want you to kick up and try to hook your feet with my calves. Don’t worry if it takes a couple of times.”
Using her super strength, she easily flipped up and hooked her legs with his. She was going to tease him about how good she already was, until she realized the extremely intimate position this put them in. They were completely pressed together, and she saw straight into his blue eyes. “Oh,” she whispered.
“What?” He smirked.
“We are close.”
“Yep. That’s part of the experience. Now, put your arms around my neck.”
She did so, amazed that they could get any closer.
He had kept the swing moving despite being nervous about having Starfire so close, and effortlessly, he flipped them right side up so he was sitting on the bar and she was in his lap. “Ta-da!”
She couldn’t help but giggle again.
“Hey Star?”
“Yes Robin?”
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. This is very sweet. What made you finally share?”
He kicked his legs so they stayed gliding through the air. “For the longest time, Trapeze represented falling instead of flying like it should. I figured…if anyone would understand flying, it would be you. So…” He avoided eye contact, feeling awkward. That was the dumb answer.
“That I do,” she grinned softly, tenderly. Her heart was full, she thought she might just burst. “What next?”
“Grab hold of the wires, then put your feet on the bar, right here.” He patted the space next to his hips.
She stood, sort of, and made a ‘v’ with her body.
“I’ll lean back, and you stand up straight. 1…2…3!”
Starfire readjusted her grip on the wires and stood, looking down. She watched as Robin fell backwards, and then disappeared. “What…?”
The weight on the bar shifted, and suddenly he was behind her, arms around her waist, and chin on her shoulder.
“How did you do that?”
“Trade secret,” he chuckled. “Now, when I tell you to, I want you to let go and bring your knees up.”
“But I am holding the wire, and you are holding me. If I let go…”
“Trust me Star,” he said earnestly. “You’ll love this.”
“Alright. I am ready when you are.”
He tightened his hold on her waist. “And…go!”
Starfire let go of the wire, tucked her knees, and instinctually clenched her eyes shut. She let out a loud ‘EEP!’ as she felt them fall backwards together. Then she flipped all the way around, before they came to a swinging stop. She peeled her eyes open to find herself parallel with the ground, being held by the hips.
She craned her neck to look at Robin, who was hanging by his knees. “Ta-da!” He chuckled. “It’s probably not all that exciting since you can fly on your own.”
She laughed and placed her arms out in front of her, like she did when she flew. “Contrariwise, it is very exciting! I am not prepared for what you are going to do. I am not in control.”
“So this is a good trust exercise then!”
“You have my trust, Robin,” she said so sincerely, so confidently, it brought a pang to his heart. He trusted her too. With his life, with his past, with his heart—
Starfire noticed he was using her like a pendulum to gain height again. So, she flew, just a little, just to get the bar moving.
“Ready Star?” He called down.
“What is happening?!”
“Here we go!”
Starfire let out a shriek this time as he yanked her upwards and let go, only to grab her a second later and hug her to himself. She fell to sit sideways in his lap as he sat on the bar.
“Did I scare you?”
“Only for a moment!” She giggled, the joy in her soul bubbling over. She wrapped her arms around his neck for a better hold.
Robin lazily kicked his foot to keep them moving, but otherwise just enjoyed having her close. What a thought. They weren’t even talking.
He shook his head, a little embarrassed by himself.
“What is it?” She asked sweetly.
“Nothing, just thought of something ironic.”
“Would you please share your ironic thought?”
He held his breath.
Well.
He was Richard Grayson right now. No mask, no polymerized titanium cape, and Starfire was sitting on his lap.
Couldn’t really get more vulnerable than that, right?
He exhaled. “I was just thinking…I lost the two people I loved the most to a fall. But I don’t have to worry about losing the girl I love, because she can fly.” He offered a small smile.
“Me?” Her eyes brightened.
He just nodded.
“Robin, you truly love me?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
She touched his face, gently drifting her thumb over his cheek. “The feeling is mutual.”
His shoulders sagged in relief, and his smile grew.
“Shall we initiate lip contact?”
He barked a laugh, not because it was funny, but because it was so Starfire that it brought him immense joy. Instead of answering, he just leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
Starfire smiled into the kiss and hugged him tighter. Thankfully not too tight, as she had a tendency to get carried away with these things.
As they pulled away, they stayed close, just savoring the moment.
As Robin was in what was probably the happiest moment of his young life, it all shattered in front of his face. Like a bucket of ice water, the sound of three people clapping slapped against his face.
Well, a cyborg, changeling, and an empath.
Robin whipped his head around to stare at the intruders.
“Bravo! Encore!”
“Bravissimo!”
“Yay.”
“How…long…have you guys been there?”
“Dude, like, the whole time. When I saw Starfire dressed like a purple disco ball, I knew something like this was going down.”
“The pageantry! The drama! The action! The romance! Best show I’ve seen all week,” Cyborg smirked.
“Congrats on the kissing,” said Raven, who seemed genuinely happy for them in her own way.
Robin sighed. He should have known better.
“So are you going to teach us how to acrobat?” Asked Beast Boy.
“Do we have to sit on your lap too?” Asked Cyborg, wiggling his eyebrows.
“As long as I get a sparkly leotard, I’ll be happy,” Raven made a rare joke.
Robin was far too embarrassed to retort to any of that, so he just hid his face in Starfire’s shoulder.
“Dudes! We can start our own circus! We have a full set! And we could all learn Trapeze from Robin and do a whole show! We can call it, ‘The Teen Swingers Club’.”
Cyborg and Robin burst out laughing while Raven desperately tried not to.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“Yes, I do not understand the joke either.”
Robin whispered the meaning to her quietly before she also burst out laughing.
“Aw man. I hate it when my best jokes are accidents.”
“The best things that happen to you are accidents,” Raven quipped. “You probably were an accident.”
“Hey!” He barked, offended.
Starfire giggled and rested her head on Robin’s chest. “Do not be embarrassed, Robin. For I could not hide what happened from our friends, and this way we do not have to tell them.”
He sighed. He supposed that was a bonus.
Besides, he had started this trend of showing vulnerability instead of talking about his feelings. Why stop now?
“Hang on,” Robin told Starfire.
She gleefully squeezed tighter as he fell backwards, and the rest of the Titans cheered.
—
The next day, both posters were hanging proudly in the training room, right by the acrobatics equipment.
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SONAMY ongoing evolution
I've been playing Sonic frontiers and I watched Sonic prime and I read the IDW comics... Omg where's do I start???
Sonic frontiers is just a work of art in general, but the sonamy inside is just beautifully portrayed, I can say that Ian Flynn totally ships them 😌😌. I'm just so utterly happy how things had changed even if it took so many years
Sonic changed a lot his perception of Amy! 🥲🥲🥲 Also the detail of the umbrella line, remember that sonic was created in Japan, say fellow anime fans what does usually means when two characters share an umbrella? What does it mean when students in Japan draw an umbrella in the blackboard with two names written under it? It is clear that Ian Flynn totally knows the meaning and the MUSIC! Seriously those scenarios with Amy and that music felt like it came right out of a shojo anime😖😖😖💗💗
But also the feels... THE FUCKING FEELS!! The way Amy is kind of too calm with her situation but Sonic is just so worried and you could tell how worried he was even if he tried to play it cool... His expressions girl... Look at him with his cute ears dropped 🥲🥲🥲 Guys this game fed us good stuff... We shippers finally got what we had always wanted.
Next topic: Sonic Prime.
So I'm a bit conflicted, cause i only liked one of Amy's different designs and that was Thorn Rose, I'm obsessed with her hair but dude Rusty Rose? That could have been better... Also why Rusty Rose and not Metal Rose? Cyborg Rose? Badnik Rose? Mecha Rose? Robot Rose? Rusty sounds a bit degrading... It is because she was made like that by the Egg council? Pff also her robot appearance is just so ugly! What with that eye? But I love the dark concept and I love her SASS 🤣🤣🤣🤣Anyway my problem with Rusty Amy and Sonic is that it feels like the situation is not treated nearly as serious as Nine situation and boy ok you are a hurt loner with bully victim issues but Amy is basically dead, like there's no flesh or organs in her, she literally has a Birdy as a source of life and what is the outcome of that? Is there another outcome different from Gamma's fate in sonic adventure? Because the second Amy gets back her emotions she will want to release the bird... But more importantly... I can't wait to see Shadow react to her... This is the girl that reminded him of Maria, i really shouldn't but I really have high expectations for what kind of interaction will they have, we really need to see Shadow and Amy interact more let's be honest. As for the other Roses, there's no much to say about Black Rose but with Thorn we got good stuff too:
But I have to say one thing... Ok I know Amy is a strong power character but... It's a bit ridiculous that she could fight off characters like Rouge and Knuckles THAT EASY is just...🙃🙃🙃 Well i loved the part when he tries to reason with her all like: you liked me... A bit? Remember? And she is just so irritated and done with him already 🤣🤣🤣 but then... We also got this:
Actually touch her cheek you COWARD!!😤😤 Also when he was about to smash her and but stopped because he has a flashback of his Amy 😭😭😭, it's curious that Thorn Rose seems to be more impactful in Sonic than Rusty Rose which is ok but is odd plot speaking, after all Rusty is the one in the worst condition and is the one hunting him down, I'll just wait for next season and see what happens
And last but not the least I Shall say something about THIS!!
This illustration hit me right in the kokoro, date with hands holding and Sakura petals... is pure shojo manga energy!! I'm so blessed 😭😭💗💗
And of course the important reminder that Amy is a POWER CHARACTER and that's why she and knuckles make a good POWER SIBLINGS team as I stated in their own post about them... And dear Silver fucking gave her a COLOSSAL hammer 😂😂😂do not mess with the pink hedgehog buddy, and of course Sonic knows exactly how awesome she is as it should be, seriously she is really getting better and better, i really hope we'll see her in the next movie
#sonic the hedgehog#sonic#sonic idw#amy rose#sonamy#sonic prime#sonic the hedghog movie#sonic frontiers
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OPM Manga Update 232 Review: Butterfly and Back
Story: Place Yer Bets!
The chapter opens with Murata casually flexing his rendering skills with a hand-drawn bicycle. This man!
The story opens to a defeated looking hero with incongruously-small butterfly wings on his back. Wondering why he's doing this. McCoy calls to ask if he's ready, and soon, he's on the trail of a monster for the benefit of a select group of punters.
The 'demon'-level monster turns out to be a giant, terrified monsterised chihuahua, which advances down the road uncertain of what to do. It's a planted Wolf-Level monster, intended to give the falsely-badged C-Class hero the appearance of a tough win against the odds.
But life turns out differently. Under the stressor of its most feared situation (being outdoors), Shiverhuahua blows up into a genuine demon-level monster, and soon, 'Papillion 800' is locked in a real life-or-death battle, all while McCoy thinks that he's acting to perfection.
As the odds lengthen, Mad Devil Yankee (the real identity of the hero) forces himself to face the monster, driven by the twin imperatives of wanting to save his mother from whatever harm McCoy has planned for her, and the desire to live up to the example of his hero, Mumen Rider.
Just as it gets hopeless, with characteristic timing, Saitama comes in and blows the monster away.
The major donor looking forward to an upset win is furious, and McCoy storms onto the scene to tell Saitama and Genos off for interfering.
Saitama may ask himself who cares about credit. Genos does, when it comes to making sure his master is recognised for his work. McCoy is about to find out why the Demon Cyborg lives up to his moniker...
.... but luckily for him, and for his role as bad-guy fixer, Child Emperor interrupts to mock him for having his rigged game upset. McCoy excuses himself quickly. Child Emperor explains the hero gambling ruse (more on that to follow). I'm just going to step out a bit to note that it's quite heart-warming to see that when Genos asks why the kid is giving them this information and Child Emperor admits to having been the one who'd been suspicious of Genos, Genos doesn't blow up but lets it slide. I like his little reassuring smiles.
After finding out what this is all about, we see Saitama sleepless in bed, furious at the idea of being thought so ill of as to deserve a x20 rating. However, he also smells opportunity.
The next morning sees him discussing with Genos the possibility of betting on himself to make money. He starts to portray it as a way to teach the Hero Association a lesson but Genos sensibly points out that it makes no actual difference to the house, which puts him on the spot. Luckily for Saitama, the odds start rolling again, meaning the game's afoot again. Saitama runs out the door, Genos following in hot pursuit.
They overtake the heroes assigned to the monster, and Saitama is just about to place his bet (his multiplier having risen to x25) when there is a scream: someone's purse has been snatched by a race-car driver! For a moment, Saitama is torn as to what to do, then...
... the lady is overcome with gratitude for having her family jewels saved. Saitama is also overcome with emotion, but it is not gratitude. At least he's getting a better public image!
However, he's then overwhelmed with a blackness. His depression is back, fuelled by his realising how close he came to the edge of becoming a corrupt money-grubber.
Temptation is never far away, and the lady offers him a diamond ring as a reward. After a long struggle, Saitama refuses it, saying he's not doing this for money.
Well done, Saitama.
Lots to say under the cut.
Meta: A Tawdry Affair
Method in the madness
A race car to snatch purses? Man, it seems anything can happen in this story! Still, when I look at how unsurprised the public is that Saitama caught the driver, I think there's method in the madness. Heroes are really super humans. Even your regular C-Class hero is impossible to out-pace on foot or on a push-bike. Modern problems call for modern solutions.
A world in which people are not surprised that the no-name hero catches a race car is a scary world.
Dirty laundry
The first thing I have to say about this is that it's tawdry. Not a great crime that leaves a giant stain to be dealt with but rather dirt, grubbiness, an all-pervading grubbiness that greys the entire fabric so that no amount of washing can make it look clean. Let's dig into this pile of dirty laundry, shall we?
Nothing wrong with aspiring to be more
I've got to give it to Mad Devil Yankee. In a world where people are often typecast for life (see Garou's despair at being considered a monster), his being able to turn his life around is testament to some serious mental fortitude. Furthermore, he's B-Class Rank 4, all without having joined the Blizzard Group: that takes serious strength.
If you remember nothing about the story, you might think that a high-ranking B-Class hero working independently is no big deal. If you do, you know this guy is the real deal: Fubuki is a hero-crushing asshole.
Turning heroism into bloodsport
It's inevitable that people would bet on heroes. Heroes are very much public figures, and the monsters are an unpredictable lot, so that makes for a highly exciting spectacle. As we can see, a lot of the people watching Papillion 800's predicament aren't anything to do with the HA.
The Hero Association getting a cut of the action is morally reprehensible. And as we see, it leads to moral conflicts. McCoy may be organising it, but the HA is facilitating it. As long as the money's coming in, look the other way.
Like a rotten apple, McCoy being allowed to operate unchecked taints everyone by association.
Unforgivable is what this betting did to Mad Devil Yankee. In a world where people often feel typecast for life (like Garou), turning one's life around in two months from infamous ne'er-do-well to hero has taken an incredible amount of mental fortitude as well as physical prowess. Additionally, as B-Class Rank 4 and yet not press-ganged into the Blizzard Group, this guy is really something in toughness. He's admired Mumen Rider, but his work ethic is all his. And for him to have nearly tossed this all away, thinking himself unworthy to think of himself as a hero, that's a crime.
Getting a guy to think that he deserved to die for making the best of an impossible situation? God, that's ugly.
McCoy bet that Mad Devil would not be psychopathic enough to bet his mother's life and dare him to threaten his mother's health. Even though he'd been coerced, he thought that a true hero wouldn't have taken up such an impossible task under any circumstance. And yet he hung in there and did his best to fight.
Threatening peoples' families is truly the lowest of actions. Using the very benefits given to heroes as leverage digs a basement under that cesspit.
It was good that Mumen Rider put it in perspective for him: no matter what had happened, he'd been faced with a very strong monster, and he'd stood up to it anyway, knowing that it was unlikely to end well for him. That's the stuff a hero is made of. I'm glad that Mad Devil looks to stay a hero, but for him to have been brought this close to despairing over his life and choices, is unforgivable.
Mumen may not have the best muscles, but he has the best words. Often imitated, but never equalled.
Take one wrong step...
Speaking of corruption, it's scary how easy it is to try to play the odds if there's money to be made. Saitama realising how close he'd come to actually participating in the hero betting game for profit was a salutatory reminder that this shit is easy to do and dangerous. If he'd chosen a little differently, he could be several hundred thousand yen up, but he'd have sold his soul to the worst of human impulses.
It's as Saitama said in a much earlier chapter, take one wrong step, and you're in hell.
Came real close to selling your soul there, didn't ya?
It's one of the things that has most endeared me to Saitama. His recognition that no matter how hard he works, there's still a lot of chance in how things have turned out for him and he remembers this when he looks leniently on people like Hammerhead, who he sees as not too different from him. Just one or two bad choices and that could have been him. That kind of wisdom and humility serves him well.
With friends like this...
I'd love to say that Genos would stop him, but damn, that guy… It's a pity he's a cocksucker has such a narrow viewpoint. Every so often, Genos reminds me that he's far more observant and intelligent than he usually gives out. He's noticed the odd rankings and monster disaster levels, and it made sense to him that it was a gambling ploy. So did he investigate the oddities? No man, he filters everything through the metric of 'does this threaten my access to Saitama sensei?' and if the answer is no, he doesn't give a shit. Seriously.
Yeah, yeah, corruption and problems at the Hero Association, but does it actually affect anything *I* care about?
Also, seeing him see what's wrong with Saitama's proposal to gamble but following Saitama to see what happens anyway… no, man, this fixation of yours is wrong. A healthy reminder of why King is so necessary. He'll not just point out what's wrong, but he won't go along with it.
Genos sees clean through Saitama's scam but stop him? Hell no! He's coming along to see what happens.
The Grab Bag of Pop Culture is Back, Baby!
This story reminds me of what's at the heart of One-Punch Man: its love of finding and referencing popular works while making them something of its own. If you know Squid Game, the rich guys betting on human lives will feel very unpleasantly familiar. If you don't, that's fine too: it's self-contained enough to not need familiarity with its references to work. It's true that a lore-heavy story such as this would often be put in an extra chapter, but because what's happening here is exceptionally germane to what happens next, it's here as a main chapter. I liked it quite a bit.
I am VERY GLAD not to see Narinki as one of the major donors betting. I would like to believe that he appreciates too much the actual sacrifices made by heroes to want to bet on their lives.
More on Monsters
I also liked a lot the fact that the HA has had to raise Saitama's ranking to maintain their fiction of a demon-level monster otherwise, it'd create more problems. Heh heh, suck it, fools. Although as it turns out, it was accurate.
Something else about monsters. When you see a monster, you see a monster. They're living creatures, and they don't rampage all the time under all circumstances, not even the newly-transformed ones. Given that most monsters (including the late Shiverhuahua) gain the power of human speech, they could have just talked to it to understand it better. It's a problem because I'm sure that Shiverhuahua was a very inoffensive monster indoors -- just looking at its sweet look and trustingly wagging tail as it was faced with a guy with a handgun and an electrified prong gives me a nasty pang -- but under the right circumstances, many a monster can blow up into a true terror.
Under the right circumstances, this monster would never have hurt a person
And so it happened here. To the end, the thing was terrified and confused. The nasty human habit of exploiting monsters is perhaps inevitable -- where anything occurs, humans will find a way to exploit it -- but the short-sightedness and failure to understand the beings they are exploiting just adds to the outrageousness of it all.
Where is this going?
So what's this leading up to? Not too sure. Saitama might have another bad night if he thinks about how close to the edge he danced, but he's not the reflective sort of guy. Oh yeah, he really didn't like the idea of being thought of as trash. Now imagine how your disciple feels. It's interesting to see that Child Emperor is continuing to dig. Naturally, this isn't the first of the wrong doings.
Come to that, if Child Emperor moves over to the Neo Heroes, he's going to have a nasty shock to find McCoy there too. That's going to be something worth seeing.
I digress. Back to what this is all leading to. There's going to have to be some precipitating event that starts giving heroes a push in a big way, and that brings the Neo Heroes out. Looks like it's going to be a target-rich environment whenever that happens.
#OPM#meta#review#update 232#long#Saitama#Genos#McCoy#Mumen Rider#Mad Devil Yankee#Child Emperor#world-building#Hero Association#man this is going to get ugly when it comes out#any bets that McCoy will leak about this? Nothing better than getting paid to double-cross your former employers#sorry this took so long: work-life balance isn't
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Late Night
Fanfic • agere • regressor! Virgil Hawkins, caring! John Stewart & J'onn J'onzz • AO3
Static Shock brain still going strong. Virgil wins Little Guy of the Year award. I couldn't find any ambient gifs of Dakota so I just used this cute one of Static! Trigger warning for themes of grief.
Virgil could not be more excited about his summer on the watchtower. A whole month of bashing bad guys with the biggest heroes on earth? Literally a dream come true. He knew he was gonna have a blast with the titans, and maybe save the world to boot. Even the first day was exciting, stopping a joker gang incident in jolly old Gotham. It was a good workout, but he was excited to get back to his quarters. He had packed his suitcase like he was packing for college - It’s not every day you get to say your stuff has been to space. Deep down though, there was one item he was the most happy to see.
“Enjoying the view, Pluto?” Virgil picked up the beanie baby puppy and tossed it back and forth, feeling the nice weight in his hands. It had been his favorite toy since he was a baby, and he had to admit, he was a little too sentimental to leave him behind. It was a little piece of home to take with him. Not to mention it reminded him of his mom. He laid on the bed with the dog on his chest, telling him about the day he had.
“- and then I swooped in and kshoom! Hit him with the energy ball! Then Bam! Take a moped to the jaw!” Virgil took the puppy and looked it in the face, “Wish you could’ve seen it, moms”.
He decided to spend a little of his down time brushing up on his Brawlin Bots game. Cyborg had wiped the floor with him earlier and he was not about to have a repeat of that game. He stayed up late, defeating all the cpus until he couldn’t level them up anymore. He was getting pretty good - good enough for Cyborg, he’d just have to see. He flopped onto the bed, letting the controller fall from his hand.
Even though he fought crime with them every day, it was easy for Virgil to forget his powers sometimes. There were little things about it that were just unobtrusive enough not to notice - like the slight charge he’d pick up when in contact with electronics for too long. Not only did it drain his battery life, it made him a little sparky. Considering he had just played xbox for 3 hours, it would’ve done him well to remember that.
He shuffled up to the pillows on his bed, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. The lights were off, he was in his PJs, only one thing was missing - Pluto. Even heroes needed a good cuddle buddy. He scooped up the plush dog and - its button eyes came flying off! His hands must’ve been so charged he attracted them! He was so startled he jerked his hand away, hard - pulling an arm clean off.
Call it the late hour, call it the long day - but Virgil felt hot tears well up in his eyes. No no no it’s fine everything’s fine, he tried to tell himself, finding the little lost buttons on the floor, it’s just the only thing you have from mom. He really shouldn’t have stayed up late, he always got weird when he stayed up late. He felt so sensitive, so vulnerable. He really, really wanted his mom. His thoughts came at him fast and it was all so overwhelming.
“Virgil?” Green Lantern, great. “You better not be up playing those games, lights out was an hour ago-”
Virgil choked on his tears, trying to stifle any sound. He prayed Mr. Stewart couldn’t see him in the low light-
“Hey, hey, what’s the matter?” - no such luck. Stupid green lantern powers. John came around to the edge of the bed, kneeling to try and meet Virgil’s eye. Virgil curled away, to find John’s hand on his back.
“What happened, kid?”
Virgil tried to take some breaths and speak, but all sound got caught in his throat. It made him feel even worse, shrinking into himself in embarrassment, holding Pluto tight to his chest. You’re gonna cry to Green Lantern about a doll? Some hero you are. GL sat down next to Virgil, examining him - and his eye caught the little toy dog.
“Hey, who’s this? Is this what’s got you worked up?”
Virgil unfurled a little, looking at the eyeless puppy and nodding.
“His name’s Pluto. I… I got him from my mom. And now I ruined him.” He couldn’t help another wave of tears from rolling down his cheeks. John's face softened.
“Hey, hey I get it. If something I got from my dad got messed up I’d be upset too,” He looked down at Virgil, who rubbed his tears away, “and you didn’t ruin anything. It’s gonna be okay.”
GL patted Virgil’s shoulder as he calmed down a notch.
“Let’s take Pluto here down to the infirmary, see what J’onn can do about it.”
Virgil looked up at John with a quizzical brow.
“Bother Martian Manhunter in the middle of the night? About a doll? No way,” he huffed, looking down at Pluto, “... what could he do about it anyway?”
“You’d be surprised Static, I think he’s just the right martian for the job,” With a smile, John got up and offered Virgil his hand.
Down in the infirmary, J’onn was up as usual. He fiddled with various charts for each leaguer, cataloged injuries and the like. Virgil felt sheepish in the doorway, even with GL beside him. He was still sniffling, tipping the martian up to their presence.
“Hey J’onn. I’ve got a special patient for you,” John looked down at Virgil and nodded toward the alien.
“Oh,” his voice was shockingly warm, “is something wrong, little one?”
Oh wow, Virgil thought. He expected the martian to be terrifying but something about his voice was profoundly calming. Virgil still felt shy though, looking at his socked feet as he presented the doll and it’s torn pieces to J’onn.
“Oh dear,” J’onn cooed in sympathy as he gently took the toy, “Your toy got torn.” Virgil nodded, still not meeting his eye in shame. The martian placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“I have just the thing. Come with me.”
The two followed J’onn to his desk, where he crouched down to look through one of the drawers. In it was fabric, yarn, and various sewing supplies. Virgil was profoundly confused, watching the martian lay his stuffie gently on the table like a patient in a bed.
“Here, take this while I’m working. To keep you company.”
Virgil examined what J’onn had given him - a hand sewn… rabbit? Well, not really a rabbit. It had too many eyes? And legs? Maybe they were ears…
“It’s a J’a’khal. They were common creatures on Mars - my own child simply adored them.”
“It’s adorable! You made this?”
J’onn smiled.
“Martians don’t need as much sleep as other species. I have a surprising amount of free time. I have plenty of little pets to choose from, if you'd like to look through them."
J'onn opened another drawer to unveil numerous plushies of other worldly animals. Virgil smiled wide, bouncing over to paw through them.
"I'm glad you like them, little one," J'onn chuckled, "You may take as many as you like."
Virgil huffed from his seat on the floor.
"Hey, I'm not so little."
"Oh?" J'onn paused and smiled, "A mere oversight. You see, Martian lifespans are hundreds of years longer than earthlings. We mature more slowly." J'onn took one of the small plushies from his desk, giving it to Virgil.
"You're little more than a baby to me."
Virgil felt himself flush. He didn't like to think about it, but there was a certain joy he got from being thought of as young. As a hero for one, but even in regular life. He knew he was growing up, but he wanted to be a kid a little longer.
"Anything else I can get you, kid?" John asked, "You look like you're good with Mr. J'onn for now."
Virgil nodded from underneath the litter of stuffies. John smiled.
"I'll be back in a bit to check on you. Hey J'onn, chocos?"
J'onn lit up, "Always." Virgil lit up too. "Bring some for the boy as well, please. "
J'onn got to work on repairing the torn stuffie, sewing and handling it with great care. Virgil watched in awe as he put the button eyes back in place, sewed up the arm, and even put some new beads and fluff in. When he was done Pluto was as good as new. Virgil reached out his arms for the doll, difficult considering how many he was already carrying, and squeezed the lovey tight with a big smile.
“He’s even better than new! Thank you Mr.J’onn!”
While Virgil was snuggling Pluto, John returned. His eyes were tired but happy to see the boy smiling again. He placed a box of cookies in front of J’onn, accompanied by some glasses of milk. Virgil’s eyes lit up.
“Are these for me Mr.Stewart?” Virgil picked up one of the three glasses.
“Yep. Little midnight snack. Go crazy, kid.”
J’onn and John chatted and ate while Virgil laid against the desk, feeling his adrenaline cease and sleep start to creep in. He tuned out the miscellaneous chatter from the adults, covering himself with various plushies, Pluto with a special place in his arms. He used one as a pillow, dozing off. He woke up the next morning in his bed, a few of the dolls tucked in with him. Let it never be said the Justice League didn’t have a soft spot.
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What were the Border Wars (headcannons)
Oooo boy headcannon time. This is some background lore for my NSR fic, The Comeback from the Fall. This post is gonna center around the Border Wars, Neon J's involvement in them, and how cyborgs came to be. Considering Neon J is a main character, that stuff matters at least somewhat.
Probably mild spoilers for my fic below the cut.
Alright, so the border wars. We don't know much about them outside of what Neon J mentions in his speech after being defeated, and the creators said they're purposefully leaving it vague to let people fill in the blanks. So that's what I shall do.
Name alone, I'm under the assumption that the "Border Wars" are about one country trying to take over other countries, expanding their borders. Maybe it started as a fight over where the border should be between two countries, but as more allies and other countries got involved, it turned into one country trying to take over others.
Now, which country went and started taking over all the others? Hard to say because we know next to nothing of this games geography, but based on what Neon J says in his speech, I would say Azkar.
Neon J said he was in the Azkar faction in the ridges of Kewan. I took that to mean the part of Kewan that Azkar had taken over.
This next part is where I start getting a bit cannon divergent. Its hinted at in the game's lore that before the war, Neon J had a toy shop in Vinyl City. I agree that he was 100% a toy maker, but I would like to argue for the sake of my headcannon that he wasn't a toy maker in Vinyl City, because he wasn't in Vinyl City.
I think that Neon J is a refugee from one of the countries that Azkar took over in the Border Wars. Vinyl City opened its arms to soldiers from countries that had been lost, as long as they fought in the war for Vinyl City. With nowhere else to go, Neon J joined Vinyl City's military and continued fighting in the border wars. Maybe his deployment to the Azkar faction in Kewan was his first as a soldier for Vinyl City, which is why he brought it up after talking about defending the city.
Despite how well off Vinyl City seems to be, blackouts aside, he still talks about his home in the past tense. What it was like, how he wants kids to be able to run around freely without worry, even though they can 100% do that in Vinyl City. Before B2J start rebelling for sure, but honestly also during because B2J were not causing that much harm. People were doing graffiti, and in the finale they were actually fighting, but Neon J said this before the real fighting had started. I feel like Tatiana's announcements made it seem a lot more worse than it actually was.
Either way, Neon J's words feel a lot bigger than just the revolution, because it wasn't causing that much chaos until the finale. Almost like he's talking about a home that he lost entirely, which is what would happen if his home country was consumed by Azkar. It's a home he can't get back, which is why he is so dedicated to NSR and Vinyl City. When he lost so much before, dude is probably constantly on edge about things going bad and losing everything again. Any threat to what he knows could send everything he has back to nothing, so he needs to protect his new home with everything he has from even the smallest disruption.
Also this line in particular makes it feel like he's not talking about Vinyl City to me. It comes right after the "A promise to bring peace back to my people" line. Until the day comes where peace is brought back to his people, he will serve this city. Seems like very extreme wording for a rebellion that has been around for like, 5 days max at the time Neon J fights B2J. He could be blowing things out of proportion (which is very in character), or he could be saying that until he gets his first home back (which might never happen), he will protect his new one the best he can. Also saying "this" city instead of "my" city, but that is very nitpicky so its only a side note.
Well, if Neon J is a refugee soldier from another country, how is he a charter and basically the head of military in Vinyl City? There are two major military based robotics developments in Vinyl City, cyborgs and warbots. In my fic, there will be more cyborgs than just Neon J. 2 major movements, perhaps 2 different people leading the Vinyl City military? Major headcannon territory below, but here is what I think could have happened.
When Neon J arrived to Vinyl City, he was still fully human, no robotics. Given that his home country was being consumed by Azkar when he was still there, they would not be able to make advancements in robotics to make cyborgs happen. The Vinyl City military at the time were the people developing cyborg technology. Injured soldiers were given robotic parts whether they wanted them or not, and dying soldiers got the worst of it all.
Dying soldiers were the primary experimental group for whole body replacements, as we see with Neon J. Some injury (perhaps an explosion on a naval vessel, because Neon J is a navy guy *wink wink*) almost killed Neon J. He was barely alive when he was rescued. Experimental procedures replaced his body with robotic parts that housed all his remaining human organs. I'll discuss this more later in a different post, but long story short, cyborg parts have to function in the same way human parts would in order for the brain to really recognize and use them. This made the procedure highly lethal until way later in development, where Neon J was one of the first successful cyborgs to actually survive. Not a lot of cyborgs exist, and since they were struggling too much to simply exist after the procedure, they were removed from the war force and left to fend for themselves in Vinyl City.
This is when Neon J started his toy shop in Vinyl City, while working to adapt to his new life as a cyborg. Obviously, we can see Neon J works with a radar on his monitor head, I assume that he is blind and uses the radar to "see". Him and other cyborgs who lost their sight can plug in cameras to see, but because its not how the brain wants to see, it gives Neon J a migraine, so he doesn't use it often. So it took him a while to get to the point where he was making coherent toys. That was enough time for like, 13 cyborgs to pile up, most of whom were pissed off about forcibly being turned into cyborgs and basically left for dead to try and figure out how to live.
What do said 13 cyborgs do? They go to complain to the leader of Vinyl City, of course. She must know that this was happening. Except she doesn't, not to the extent of full body replacement. That's no good, the head of military was keeping secrets and has got to be replaced. And who better to do it than the cyborg in front of her with one of the best track records as a naval commander. Neon J. He obviously accepts.
Now in charge, he ends the cyborg program for full body replacement. But that gets rid of Vinyl City's advantage over Azkar, because the robotic enhancements were really giving them an edge. Neon J has to come up with something else. If not robotic enhancements, how about robots in general. And thus, Neon J combined his newfound robotics expertise (thanks to needing to do self maintenance) and his old toy making abilities to start making warbots. Due to what happened to his first home, Neon J plans to do everything in his power to protect his new home. And when he finds out giving the warbots fake memories makes them fight better, he does so without hesitation.
Over time, the war continues going with no real end in sight. At this point, there is no real hope for recovering the countries that were overtaken. When no progress is made in recovering the lost land, Neon J shifts his priorities to defense, making sure Azkar doesn't take over more territory than they already have. Eventually he shifts his priorities further to make Vinyl City open to people who lost their homes. The war continues on at the time the game takes place.
If the war is still happening, then why are all the warbots at home? Simple, Neon J pulled Vinyl City out of the border wars and is now focusing even more on defense. He's defending his new home after having lost the first one to the war. Vinyl City is an island, its a fair distance away from where the war is happening, meaning they can afford to prioritize defense without the worry of constantly being bombarded by attacks. Vinyl City is very diverse because he is focused on helping refugees find a new, safe home. Something he didn't get to have when his home country was lost. It's also why he takes B2J's rebellion so seriously. Not only is it an attack on the home hes trying to protect, but it could be taken as a sign of instability to Azkar, a vulnerability that might cause them to attack. It draws unwanted attention to Vinyl City.
tldr: The border wars are the country of Azkar taking over other countries around it. One of these countries is the one Neon J is from, so he joined Vinyl City's military in order to gain citizenship to it. An injury during his time there resulted in him undergoing cyborg replacement against his will and then being left on his own. Himself and other cyborgs brought it up to Tatiana, who made Neon J the new head of military. As the head of military, Neon J switch to making warbots before eventually pulling out of the border wars all together to protect Vinyl City and allow other people displaced by the war to find a new home. Because he lost his first home, he will protect Vinyl City with his life.
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HAHA! THAT WAS A DOOSEY TO WRITE BUT IT IS HERE! I've been meaning to write this for a while. It's all been rotating around in my brain, but that's all I remember right now. Might edit it again later if i remember anything. Some of this is about to be relevant in a lore dump in the fic, so I figured I'd get my story straight. Hope you like it (:
There is gonna be another lore dump about how I think cyborgs work at some point, and then maybe also some stuff from my outline that isn't gonna be coming to the fic for, like, potentially years depending on how long it takes me to write when I'm out of college.
#NSR#no straight roads#neon j#the comeback from the fall#tcbftf#lore post for my fic#headcannons#this took me hours to compile all my thoughts lol
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Bbrae - Raven might don't know much about feeling but she did know how to show her affection with little touches.
It’s the small things in life
Sorry it took me so long to write this. I began writing it and unfortunately got a bad case of writer’s block. After my writer’s block went away I quite enjoyed using your prompt to write this. Thank you for sending me the prompt! I hope you like the fic I created with it! 😊 (also this is a 4+1 fic)
Beast Boy could confidently say that he was a very touchy-feely person. He loved hugging his friends and coming up and latching onto them from behind, and scaring the heck out of them.
But Raven was extremely different from him. She hated almost any touch of any kind. Anytime someone tried to high five her she raised an eyebrow at them and turned away. She never hugged anyone and tried to push people away when they hugged her. Very quickly a silent rule between the Titans was made. Rule #1: Don’t try and touch Raven.
1.
The Titans were fighting a group of bad guys. There weren’t too many of them, there was only around five of them, but they were strong. You see, where they were strong, the Titans were fast. They made up for their very outmatched strength with their speed. They were so close to being finished with the idiots who randomly decided to attack them, when one of them tried to run away from the fight when he saw they were losing. Beast Boy chased after the bad guy as the rest of the group put restraints on the rest of the gang. Beast Boy quickly turned himself into a cheetah so he could catch up with the bad guy who had a head start. The bad guy looked behind his shoulder with a look of panic as he saw that Beast Boy catching up to him. Beast Boy reached out his giant paws and tackled the bad guy to the ground.
Robin and Raven came rushing over with handcuffs and helped hold the guy down. Once he was handcuffed Robin dragged him over with the rest of his gang. Beast Boy changed himself back into his human form and went to smile at Raven, but he froze. Her hand was up in the air and she was staring at him nervously. It almost looked as though she was trying to high five him. Beast Boy felt himself start to smirk. He lifted his hand up as well and Raven gently smacked her hand against his. He watched as a deep red blush made its way across her face as she quickly turned away and walked back to the rest of the Titans. Beast Boy stood there for a moment still shocked by what had just happened, but soon began to laugh.
2.
The second time this happened Beast Boy was playing Mario Kart with Cyborg and surprisingly Robin as well. It had taken a while to get Robin to ignore his work for a moment but in the end persistence was key. They were on their third round and Beast Boy was losing horribly. He squinted at the screen trying to will his car to move faster as he tried hitting Cyborg with a green shell. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Raven walk into the room and look over at them. He looked away from the screen for a moment to flash her a smile, then he quickly went back to the game.
“No no no no NO!” Beast Boy screamed “ROBIN STAY BACK! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU HIT ME WITH THAT I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!” Robin threw a red shell backwards hitting Beast Boy’s car causing him to fall off the side of the Rainbow Road. “NO!” Beast Boy screamed throwing his hands into the air in frustration. He crossed his arms and pouted as he gave up and excepted his defeat.
His eyes somehow went from glaring at the screen to staring sadly at Raven. She rolled her eyes at him and he watched as she flicked her hand, causing a quick flash of purple to go off. Then she smirked at him and turned away. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her. What did she do? He turned back around to face the screen in confusion and saw that all of a sudden his racing character was speeding up. He had gone from 12th to 3rd. Right next to Robin and Cyborg. Beast Boy felt a sly smile form on his mouth and he quickly looked over at Raven and smiled brightly at her.
He raced the others hitting them with every boost the game gave him. At the very last second he saw a flying blue shell coming at the first player, who just happened to be Cyborg. It came crashing down on him. Beast Boy who had been right behind Cyborg swirled out of the way and slipped past Cyborg. Just as Cyborg was beginning to catch up with Beast Boy he crossed the finish line. Beast Boy won.
“YES!“ He cheered as Cyborg yelled “NOOO!” He felt someone pat his back. He turned around to see who it was. Raven was standing behind him with a smirk on her face “Good Job Gar.” She spoke quietly and began walking away to grab her book on the table.
Beast Boy smiled to himself thinking about how he could still feel the warmth on his shoulder from where Raven had touched him.
3.
Beast Boy knew as soon as he woke up that today was going to suck. He woke up to a painful headache and muscle cramps all over. Beast Boy sighed as he realized he needed to get up out of his bed to get some water for his extremely dry throat. He threw off his blanket, got out of bed and then headed for the hallway.
On his way over to the kitchen he saw Raven coming out of her room. “Hello Garfield.” She greeted quickly and began walking with him to the kitchen.
As they walked she stared at him for a moment “Are you feeling okay?” She asked “You look as though you’re feeling unwell.”
“I’m fine.” Beast Boy replied trying to smile but he’s afraid it looked more like a grimace. He tried to walk forward and not look at Raven in hopes she would drop it, but all of a sudden the room started to spin. Beast Boy quickly threw his hand up to catch himself against the wall. “I knew it! You’re not okay.” Raven’s worried voice came from beside him.
They both stood there for a moment as they waited for Beast Boy’s dizziness to clear up a bit. When Beast Boy could see properly again he tried to keep walking, but Raven stood in his way. “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere, except back into your bed.” Raven scolded.
“But-“
“No, no buts. You’re sick. Go back to your room.” Raven interrupted and stared Beast Boy down. Beast Boy sighed and turned around, then he started slowly making his way back to his room. “I’ll be there in a moment.” He heard Raven say from behind him.
Beast Boy waited on his bed for Raven as he stared at a comic book he’d left on the floor the other day. After a few moments of debating whether or not he should go pick the comic book up off the ground, his door slowly opened revealing Raven behind it holding some water in her right hand and a bowl in the left. Beast Boy sat up and began making his way out of his bed when Raven rushed beside him and shoved him back into the bed. “Stay in the bed Gar, and put this in your mouth.” Raven ordered as she set down the water on the bedside table and twirled her right hand conjuring a thermometer. She passed the thermometer over to him and he shoved it into his mouth. Then they waited. They waited in awkward silence listening to the thermometer beep as they waited for the results.
After about two minutes the thermometer’s beeps became rapid and loud, telling them that it had come up with results. Raven took the thermometer from his mouth and looked at it. Beast Boy watched as Raven frowned. “How bad is it?” He asked preparing himself for the bad news. Raven sighed before replying “It’s not great. It says 102.3.” She turned to look at him “You have a high fever.” Beast Boy groaned and slumped farther into his bed. He didn’t want to be sick. This was supposed to be his day off from hero work. He didn’t want to spend it being sick.
Raven reached over to him and seemed to hesitate a moment before using one of her cold hands to brush a sweaty strand of hair out of his face. Huh, he hadn’t realized how hot he was feeling until now. Ravens hand lingered there beside his temple for a moment before she quickly pulled back taking the coolness her hand had provided with her. Raven cleared her throat before handing him the bowl in her left hand. “Here, it’s soup.” She told him awkwardly as he excepted the bowl. She stood up then and headed for his door. “I’ll tell the others that you’re sick. I’m sure they’ll help you with anything you need after I tell them.” She opened his door but just before she could walk out Beast Boy called out to her “Thank you.” He couldn’t see much of her face but he was sure he saw the side of her lips twitch upwards. She walked away and gently closed the door behind her. Beast boy smiled at himself as he stared at the soup in his hands.
4.
What the heck just happened?! Had he really done that?! Beast Boy had just asked Raven to go to the movies with him, AND SHE SAID YES! He had been wanting to take Raven to the movies for a while but he’d never expected her to actually say yes!
The movie he had asked her to go to was going to be playing in the theatres in about two hours. So now here he was, running around his room trying to find his beast pair of shoes to match his hoodie. They had already been getting ready for an hour and it’s a 45 minute drive to the movie theatres. They needed to be leaving any minute now if they wanted to get there in time to buy food and drinks before the movie. All Beast Boy needed to do was find his shoes. Raven was waiting for him in the car, and the thought of that was causing him to panic more than he already was. He didn’t want Raven to be unimpressed by him making them late for the movie.
Beast Boy was close to tears when he bent down to check under the bed and he let out a laugh of relief when he saw his shoes pushed far back under his bed. He reached his arm under trying not to think about how dirty it was under his bed and grabbed his shoes. He quickly threw them on and ran out the door to the car. When he got in Raven was giving him a small smile. “I see you found your shoes.” She spoke looking at them in amusement. “Yeah I did.” Beast Boy replied trying to catch his breath after running around the house. He started the car and they made their way to the movies.
They managed to arrive with just enough time to buy food and drinks before they rushed into the room where their movie was playing.
Half way through the movie Beast Boy felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked over to the right and saw Raven had leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. She was still eating her popcorn not acknowledging what she had just done, but Beast Boy knew that this was a good sign. This meant that Raven really did like him. She probably didn’t like him the same way he liked her, but she liked him nonetheless and that was enough. He smiled and leaned his head down to rest on top of hers, and he shifted his attention back to the movie knowing he wasn’t going to be able to truly focus on the movie again after what just happened.
+1
Beast Boy had been getting lonely in his room. Robin and Starfire were on a date and Cyborg was… actually he had no clue where Cyborg was, but he wasn’t in any of the places he usually hung out. The only person left was Raven. He’d waited until he couldn’t wait anymore to start trying to find her, because he knows Raven likes being alone. He had searched everywhere except the roof of their base. He climbed the stairs and when he reached the top he pushed open the door and felt the cold night air against his face. He looked around and his eyes landed on a figure who was sitting on the ledge of the roof. Their legs were dangling down off of it.
Beast Boy made his way over and sat down beside them. “Hello Raven.” He said with a smile. “Hello.” She answered continuing to stare into the distance. After a few moments of silence Raven spoke “The stars are beautiful tonight aren’t they?” Beast Boy looked up towards the shining stars. “Yeah, they’re beautiful.” He replied looking back at her. She turned to look at him and blushed when she noticed he’d already been looking at her.
“You want to know what else is beautiful?” Beast Boy whispered leaning closer to her. “What?” Raven asked him quietly. “You.” He replied looking down at her lips. Raven leaned closer to Beast Boy, and before he knew what was happening he felt her lips against his. Just as quickly as her lips had gotten there, they had left. Beast Boy stared at Raven in shock, feeling dazed by what had just happened. He watched as blush began to creep up Raven’s neck and splash all over her face.
“You just kissed me.” Beast Boy said in disbelief. Raven chuckled awkwardly “Yeah.” She said shyly. A smile spread on his face. “You just kissed me!” He said with a laugh as the words clicked with his brain. “Does this mean we’re dating?” He asked Raven excitedly. “I- I guess it does.” She said sounding just as shocked as he felt. “Yes!” Beast Boy yelled fist bumping the air. He felt kind of proud of himself as Raven began to laugh at him.
She did like him the way he liked her. The girl he’d had a crush on for years liked him back. Beast Boy knew this was something he would be up thinking about all night long, and he was right. Later that night he was thinking back to all those times Raven had touched him and started hanging out with him. Was that when she started liking him? He smiled as he recalled the memories.
He was sure that at the moment he was the happiest guy alive, and that nothing could have brought his happiness down. He was dating Raven! What could possibly be better than that?
#dc titans#fanfic#fanfiction#9firefly9#fic writing#writing#bbrae fanfiction#dc comics#bbrae#raven x beast boy#beast boy#raven titans#tooth rotting fluff#fic prompt#5+1 fic#kinda
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I find it hilarious the Grandmaster probably banging Sektor's head on the wall about how loyalty is important and how Lin Kuei principals are absolute since he was baby and he didn't see Sektor might develop a tinge of independence to realize he didn't have to be told what to do once he's in a superior body. I feel like Sektor was kind of just waiting for a chance to seize power from his father and the Cyber Initiative gave him an opening and I feel his programming somewhat deteriorating was actually just Sektor's personality resurfacing above protocol and seeing that his father was no longer necessary.
I feel Sektor was honestly probably waiting for his father to die in the back of his mind prior(maybe he thought the guy would just die of old age or something) but when the Cyber Initiative was in motion and he got converted, this thought came back and eventually it just kind of weakened the loyalty protocols to where Sektor's desire to rule overrode his father's authority and he didn't feel like waiting for him to expire on his own.
The major reason why I have so hard time buying the whole human Sektor's desire to replace his father from MK9’s BIO is that the story mode, alongside other sources, doesn’t give me anything suggesting he was that ambitious or cunning to begin with and even less to think he was the designated heir. Quite the opposite, from the all named Lin Kuei characters from the same game, he is the most obedient one, the most willing to put Grandmaster’s wish over his own well-being and (at least visually wise) easily dominated by the presence of his fellow clan members. When Bi-Han is shown with Cyrax and Sektor, he takes the central place within their little group. When he is out of the picture, Cyrax openly questions Grandmaster’s vision of cyber Lin Kuei while Sektor is on the defensive, as he has no real argument to add to the discussion and Cyrax clearly doesn’t treat him as his superior, especially when Sektor confronted him about not killing Johnny Cage.
It may be just me, but the human Sektor lacks the initiative that is characteristic for his cyber version. Similarly, for a supposed heir he feels so… subdued and withdrawn, not to mention his father sent him on a very dangerous mission in which the chance of dying was very high. Sub-Zero’s BIO from Deadly Alliance summed Kuai Liang’s choice to aid Raiden in his quest against new threat as “It was highly unusual for the Grand Master to embark on such a dangerous mission” and I think it wouldn’t be too far-stretched to assume Lin Kuei had a similar approach to the Grandmaster’s designed heir.
Sektor is a grown up man in MK9, if he was meant to replace his father at some point, I imagine he would be trained from birth for this duty. However, all the BIO says is that he had no choice about being Lin Kuei, but there is no information he was designed to be next Grandmaster. For all we know, the Grandmaster could have more children than Sektor and even if the man was considered as a potential candidate, sending him to the Mortal Kombat Tournament seems like too much risk - if he died, literal decades of proper education for the leadership would be wasted, wouldn’t it?
My point is, I don’t think Sektor was seen by his father as the future leader of Lin Kuei - or anything more than an useful pawn, so I can understand that Grandmaster has never considered him a threat nor questioned his loyalty. Especially after automation, as C.I. Project was supposed to perfect the human warriors, not grand them better understanding of trauma and abuse they endured for Lin Kuei's benefit.
Frankly, maybe the fact that his son was so obedient and lacked initiative was the reason why he allowed Sektor to volunteer for C.I. Project - additional sources like Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms adds a lot to that feeling of my, as Grandmaster’s explanation - complaint - about human weakness seemed to be solely directed at Sektor, the only cyborg fully presented during the speech: “The mortal body is fragile, weak. So, we enhanced them.”
Maybe you are right and Sektor waited for a chance to seize control and C.I. Project provided it - and the BIO indeed tells the truth that his “ultimate goal is to supplant his father as Grand Master of the Lin Kuei”. However I personally think it was not human Sektor’s desire for power nor personal ambitions that corrupted his programming, as he has never been shown trying to enlist Bi-Han or Cyrax for his planned coup. I think the problem lies in the fact that Grandmaster removed the “flaw” that kept Sektor in check, be it out of love or fear of his father. And once the flaw was subdued, Cyber Sektor could clearly see for the first time that his father is the danger he needed to remove to ensure his own safety, but also Cyber Lin Kuei’s independence. Because this is what you get when you remove humanity from a ruthless killer - no loyalty, no mercy.
And yes, indeed, there is something hilariously ironic about Grandmaster's blindness to the danger of the C.I. Project and perfecting his own son that already dedicated all his life to him and the clan.
#mortal kombat#my replies#sektor#cyber sektor#sektor's bio and what we get in story mode feels like presenting two different people to me#not saying sektor couldn't dream to kill his father#but i feel like human sektor was too deep into the obedience above anything else to even consider that thought#while the cyber version could see the father was nothing good for him and as a smart & logical thinking machine he decided to eliminate#the threat at the first occassion#i think sektor feelings (actions) toward father are the same good source about his mentality as sektor's approach to cyrax#there is plently to unpack here#and i really i rather trust story mode than a bio in case of sektor
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8-Man vs. Cyborg 009 - Volume 2
Love a good 2 volume, short read every now and then. Unlike BGOO Parts, this one didn't outstay its welcome. Nothing ground breaking here, just some crossover fanservice like in the Devilman crossover. Fun times. Interested to see what's next for these franchises.
Ch. 7
8-Man tells Joe and Francoise about his past romantic drama with his secretary Sachiko. Francoise apparently "saw" Sachiko's presence when they were in 8-Man's office and wanted the tea lol.
If they're not gonna let Francoise fight, like ever, can they please introduce another female fighter or something? I'm getting really fed up watching her smile blandly on the sidelines or be a damsel in distress. Like if she's a pacifist, fine! But she's also the only girl cyborg so it feels insulting.
The two page spread of the demon God statue was a good jump scare. Let the final showdown, begin!
Ch. 8
Lol I guess the manga heard my complaints because they finally let Francoise shoot a gun at least. Also, her heightened senses finally did something useful. Alright, fine. You win this time mangaka...
Wait, what the hell!? Pyunma's back to his old racist design! THIS MANGA CAME OUT IN 2020 WTF??? (Good thing I didn't pay for this one lol).
Honestly, it seems ridiculous that Skull would just ignore the other numbers cyborgs. There's no way they wouldn't come after their kidnapped friends...just makes him look really stupid.
The Black Ghost minions were drawn all cutesy in like a chibi form. They look like they could be villains from a Mario game or something lol. Not very intimidating.
Ch. 9
Yaaay 008 pointed out the 8 thing =D lol. Glad he gets to contribute to the battle even though there's no water around lol.
Francoise has a weird bonding moment with Dr. Daemon because he saw her in a ballet once. He's definitely the chiller of the two evils but he's still actively working towards world domination and perpetual wars? I don't think this is really a "there's good in him" moment...
8-man sure loses his arms a lot. Guess they're just trying to emphasize his mechanical body.
I swear they used the EXACT same tactic to topple the demon God statue that they used to topple the Atlas-type robots in BGOO Parts! (006 digs a hole and then 005 pushes the big enemy over). Felt weird to see that used back-to-back in manga published so close to one another. Both times they emphasized it as some kinda ingenious strategy.
Ch. 10
Awe, I really liked this finale. They wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow and sometimes that's all you want.
So Dr. Daemon was actually playing the long game and never allied with Black Ghost at all! Rather convenient lol. Does they mean the gang wouldn't have been able to defeat both enemies at once?
I completely forgot about Joe's juvenile delinquent backstory. Why do I feel like that doesn't fit his character at all? He's such a bland do-gooder now...Anyway, having 8-Man explain that he was a cop on the scene at the time of Joe's escape attempt was a clever way to tie the two series worlds together in a believable way.
So I guess Dr. Daemon is still not a great guy but not that evil either? I don't know enough 8-Man lore to make a conclusion lol. He seemed pretty okay with the heroes dying earlier, so I guess he's just all for himself.
This chapter got all Ghost in the Shell-y with the reveal that Skull isn't a real person, just a robot with implanted memories. Pretty brutal that he decapitated his own lackeys to prove a point what the heck...what if they weren't robots!?
So Black Ghost is dead "for real" now...riiiight. Until they inevitably get resurrected again for some future manga.
I was kinda shook to find out that Joe's hair is a wig (or maybe it's actually implanted into his scalp? IDK). It doesn't actually make any difference, I just never realized that was the case.
Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Tani being science bros was cute. Also enjoyed seeing Ivan (and his one eye) very briefly.
Nice picturesque ending with Joe and Francoise dropping 8-Man off at Sachiko's house and validating his humanity. Wholesome cyborgs supporting cyborgs.
Omake - Duel
A closer look at some 8-Man/Dr. Tani lore. I kinda wish they didn't include this tbh because it ended this volume on a depressing note.
Damn, if I was Ken I'd probably resent my dad too! Ken was like "you only love 8-Man!" and Dr. Tani was like "that's not true!" but then the second Ken dies Dr. Tani's just like "meh, at least I have 8-Man" lol. Poor Ken!
Speaking of poor Ken...that's one severe widow's peak. On top of having a craptastic life, he's also balding? Oh the humanity!
Dr. Tani acted like Ken being a cyborg with a human brain was a revelation of some sort? Sooo...if Dr. Tani wasn't the one to turn Ken into a cyborg, who did?
Ken's hero suit (or villain suit, I guess) literally just looks like he sharpied some fake pecs on lol. What a weird design choice.
As far as 1960s manga go, I think I prefer Cyborg 009's art style because it's more over-exaggerated and stylized. I think this allows it to hold up more. 8-Man feels more traditionally drawn (more proportional characters).
I'm kinda glad I got a glimpse into the authentic, OG 8-Man for greater context, but I'll also probably just read this again someday if I ever get to that part of MAL haha.
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D.VA X Genji OneShot
Better Than You
Artist: https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts?tags=jocheong&z=1
The controller landed on the sofa with a dull thud, missing the cyborg's head by a fraction of an inch. Looking up from his phone, Genji watched as his girlfriend fell back onto her bunny gaming chair and began slowly spinning around. Her nose was scrunched up as she crossed her arms and huffed. The chair came to a stop with the girl facing him, her eyes full of fury.
"What's up?" He asked, resting his phone to the side of him. Hana stood up, took a couple of steps forward before flopping down onto him, her head nestled under his. The pair sat like this for a moment, Genji's hands resting on her back. Hana groaned as she sat up on his knees before quickly blurting out,
"I've been stuck on this stupid level for like three hours and I can't seem to get to the next point and I've even gone back to find all the secrets that I missed thinking it would help but it hasn't and there's like nothing else for me to do because I have to get past to progress the story and I can't fucking do it!" It all seemed to come out as one long word, but Genji managed to understand it.
"So...do you want my help?"
"I guess you can try," the brunette replied, going to sit back in her pink chair. The ninja picked up the controller before pushing the chair out of the way with his foot. "So you have to get through that door, but to open it you need four keystones and I've got three but I can't find the other one," Hana instructed, pointing to places on the monitor. She watched intently, bringing her knees up to her chest, as the character ran around the screen, climbing and sliding to reach all areas. After a couple of minutes, the streamer spoke again.
"See, it's impossible, it must be a glitch or something," She spun around and outstretched her hand, waiting for the controller to be returned.
"Just, hold on," her boyfriend replied, his brow furrowed in concentration. His eyes scanned the screen for a second before widening quickly. "There."
Hana spun back around, watching as the character broke the floor using one of his abilities, revealing a hidden area underneath. She shot up, knocking the chair over.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" She turned around to face Genji, her hands in little fists on top of her head. Genji threw his head back, laughing uncontrollably at her frustration. "It's not funny!" she shouted, walking over and snatching the controller out of his hands. Before she could stomp away, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.
"I think it is pretty funny," he smiled, kissing her on the crown of her head as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
"No, you must have played this before," she huffed, finally accepting that she wouldn't be able to escape him.
"Nope. Can't you just accept that I'm better than you?" Hana paused for a moment, turning to meet his gaze before bursting out with laughter. Genji's smile dropped as she continued to wheeze.
"Absolutely not. Just because you did one thing doesn't mean you're better. Oh, you're funny though," she sighed, wiping away a tear. She stood up, placed a kiss on his cheek, and went and sat back in her chair. The cyborg shook his head despite his smile as he looked over at the clock.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Hmm, squid," Hana answered, turning around to face her monitor.
"Oh yeah sure let me just go catch one for you," Genji said, raising one eyebrow.
"No, dummy, there's some in the freezer," the girl huffed, waving her hand to dismiss him if to the kitchen. He grabbed his phone and stood from the sofa.
"Alright, anything else you want?" He asked, pausing in the doorway.
"A Nano Cola pleaseee," she seemed up to him as he left. "Thank you!"
⋆⛧*┈┈┈┈﹤୨♡୧﹥ ┈┈┈┈*⛧⋆
Really short ik but there'll be more :D
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9 Some Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better
Tagged by @booksnchocolate - thank you love <3
3 Ships You Like: MERTHUR my first my beloved my everlasting!! It's been over a decade of going feral for these two idiots and they still have my whole heart. KakaIru - they are the only part of Naruto that I care about. Mori/Thaniel from Natasha Pulley's Watchmaker books - listen. LISTEN. The "easygoing jock/unhinged murderous nerd" dynamic is like crack to me. I am so soft for them!!
First Ship Ever: Max/Fang from the Maximum Ride books, if I remember correctly
Last Song You Heard: I am listening to music nearly 24/7 so I feel like it's a bit lame to share the last song that came up on shuffle. But the last song I heard that's not in my library was this song on YouTube, which the Algorithm put in my queue when it only had 60 views :o
Favorite Childhood Book: The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. And it is STILL one of my faves!! Everything about it slaps
Currently Reading: I'm currently between books, but I just finished The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley (which absolutely WRECKED me, btw; I know Tumblr has mixed feelings about this book + Pulley in general but my god, 10/10, I could not put it down). I think I might pick up Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell next. (If anyone has recs for authors like Pulley, please please hit me up!)
Currently Watching: Elementary! Technically it's a rewatch but it's been so long since I first watched it that I barely remember any of it
Currently Consuming: Milk + cereal
Currently Craving: I wanna learn linocutting I WANNA LEARN LINOCUTTING but I have too many other unfinished projects rn and also my home is a mess and I don't have enough storage for more craft materials ToT I am also craving enough free time to give my bathroom a makeover! I really wanna do a faux board-and-batten half wall treatment + paint the walls green but I keep going back forth on whether I want the bottom half or the top half to be green, so I've just been paralyzed by anxiety
Tagging: I feel like I don't know many people who are actively in fandom anymore.... @kairenn-n @coconutkay @cyborg-sabi annnd @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog because I think it would be funny if the world's only ethically sourced unpaid intern filled out a silly tag game. No pressure to anyone of course :)
#tagged#booksnchocolate#tag game#about neko#if hank green was active on tumblr i'd have tagged him too#hhhhhh now i'm dreaming about setting up craft storage in my hallway closet#i've got like a whole shelf that's basically empty atm. could make it a craft station if i planned it right
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Day 11: Team Work
Visiting Dick at Titan Tower is a big surprise for him. But I wasn't expecting to be sitting in the living room with his teammates playing video games. Dick was away on a mission when I arrived so my surprise has just became even better. Beating Beast Boy at one of his favorite games, then I took a swing with Cyborg at his racing game. With each win I jump up excited and smiles big. It's been back and forth between the two as Raven had entered to "meditate." Starfire had gone with Dick as far as I know.
Satisfied with my tenth win between the boys I set the controller down on the table and clap.
"Alright! I need help." I say.
"What do you need help with." Beast Boy says interested. Cyborg adjusts himself to listen to my plea. We exchange words and a plan is filled in place.
Back in position on the floor in the living room with the boys, Raven sitting next to Beast Boy on the sofa. The elevator dings signalling everyone that Robin and Starfire have returned from their mission. With a shrug we continued to play even when the two return holding hands.
"Hey guys, what are we playing?" Dick asks hopping over the back of the couch and Star leans over it.
"Beating Mari at Racing." Cyborg declares just before I slam my car into his to the side and speed forward, leaving behind in my dust. His smile falls with a painful groan and throws his hands in the air, losing his controller behind him. A loud noise follows the thud of the device that grabs everyone's attention. I release a shiver of discomfort but tries to keep my car from crashing into the half wall. Letting out a curse as I did wreck and puts the device down when the power shuts off.
"What was that?" I asked looking around barely able to see everyone.
"The power just shut off. I'll check it out." Cyborg says getting up and leaves out the double doors he had to force open and disappear. Star moves close to Dick scared a little about what is happening. Suddenly a loud yell could be heard around the tower and sending all of us into a huddle.
"Is Cy alright? He has to be. It's just the power." Beast Boy said stuttering. Raven looks around confused before stepping back and walks toward the door. Beast Boy follows after her not wanting to leave her alone. I watch as they disappear around the door and then jump from the sudden thunder that roared around the Tower. I move to the window and stare out wondering where the weather came from and see the water rushing against the island. Interesting.
Starfire let's out a squeak as the thunder roars again. I turn with a smile on my face seeing her grip Robin's arm. I stare at them not wanting to feel like I am interrupting them again. That is a story another time, if you must know.
Okay so, Dick is trying to calm Starfire down before moving toward me by the TV. He's trying to not show any signs of fear that he is emanating from inside. He may not show his emotions physically but I could always feel it from him. Thanks Batman.
"Should we go check on everyone? They went quiet?" Dick looked at me confused then cleared his throat.
"Ye-" He stops fixing his squeak of a voice. "Nah, they should be fine." He says clearer and lower in tone. I have never seen him this scared before. Suddenly something touches my foot letting out a sudden squeak and jump on the sofa.
"The hell!" A pink wiggle worm with a big mouth was sitting where I stood smiling up at me. "What is that?" I point at it not sure I had ever seen it before and Starfire giggles picking up the icky worm thing like a baby, literally the size of the baby.
"His name is Silkie. He's my pet." Starfire says smiling so big almost all of her teeth can be seen.
"You have a pet Larva?" I stare dumbfounded by the sight. A shudder goes down my spine. Star gives a nod then kisses the insect. Eeeewww. I look at Dick sickly as he just watches like his heart isn't racing from the fear but with desire for the space teen. Wow, just wow and ew.
The tower suddenly shook underneath us causing Star to jump and float as Dick and I fall against the table. We set each other up and try to stay stable.
"Okay something is going on. We need to find everyone." My voice shaky and instructive. Dick scowls before giving me a small nod. I move to take the lead, only for him to get in front and walk us to the hallway. Pitch black, no movement, no light from the outside. Lightening strikes around us giving us the brief light showing a shadowy figure floating around the walls.
"The heck was that?!" I shout, covering my mouth. Dick pulls out something from this utility belt, a flash light, and shine it down the hallway. The crazy shadow had disappeared but the others were still no where. Dick walks forward with Star and I still behind him. We look around opening every room finding nothing. Between every tower shaking rumble of the thunder follows the limited lighting from the lightning and the glitching of the flashlight. Star, floating next to me with her pet, was shaking with fear. Id be lying if I wasn't enjoying this a bit. We ended up near the elevator and pushed on the button forgetting we have no power at all until we hear a loud thud and Cyborg appears with a thud behind us.
"Cy!" I run over to check on him. He had no light through his robotic side of him but he moved just a little to look up.
"It's back Robin." He says with a rasp trying to reach for me. I reach for his hand as a dark tentacle like thing wraps itself around his waist and yank him away. Everything in me says to jump for him and so I do, slamming my body into the floor with no avail. I'm sure there will be a bruise somewhere on my upper body. I stand turning to run back to Dick and Star.
"Mari! Watch out!" Dick runs to me, reaching to grab my hand. I stretch out feeling the tentacle wrap around my waist taking my feet out from under me and lift me up. He jumps, grabbing my hands, and pulls down to try to free me. Star drops her pet and grabs Dick's body forcing the three of us against the tugging tentacle. My hands become sweaty, slippery, and wet, sliding out of his grasp and screams as I get engulfed by the shadowy figure.
I found myself in a room with Raven, Beast Boy, and Cy playing cards as they waited for me.
"About time. we were getting bored." Beast Boy says, dropping a pair of doubles on the floor and stands up. "Ready for part 2?"
What? You didn't know this was my plan? Surprise! That's okay. So here's what happened next. The four of us move along the shadows of the tower following Star and Dick as they look for us. Raven forces the shadow monster to move them back to the lounge. Starfire keeps throwing her weird green blasts at the monster. Beast Boy shifts into some odd small creature moving through the shadows and hide in the lounge and begin to open and close all the cabinet doors. Loud bangs fill the room. Cyborg went and connected to the power supply and force the tv on, making it change channels and replay different words.
Dick circled the room confused and scared. He reached for Starfire wanting to keep her safe, but I reach for her and drag her into the shadow with me. Covering her mouth to keep her silent for the remainder of this whole thing. We I make a shh sound and get a nod from her as Raven moves the creature closer to Dick, eyes and teeth ready to eat him. I've got everyone ready to move closer, and we began. The closer the monster got, the closer we got. Star stayed behind watching trying to figure out what was happening.
And just as the boys and I get ready to jump on Dick, the freaky pink bug slides and rubs against my leg. I let out a loud shriek and jumped prematurely falling through the monster and in his arms. The reaction caused everything to dissipate and reveal everyone standing around us. The power kicks back on, the boys are laughing, Raven just stands there shaking her head, and Star just blinks then picks up Silkie. My heart stops pounding long enough to look around finding myself on Dick's lap and our faces bright red. Quickly I crawl off his body and stand there mad at myself for ruining the plan but more embarrassed for landing in his arms.
"Haha well.." Cyborg begins.
"That didn't..haha." Beast Boy follows. Cyborg hits his leg.
"Go as...haha... plan.."
"Haha..but that..was.."
"Too funny..haha!" The boys kept laughing enjoying themselves at my misery. Dick looked between all of us confused then connected the dots. He blushes with embarrassment and glares at me. If looks could kill.
"So what happened next Aunt Mari?" One of the little kids asks Marinette.
"Well my little ones. Robin refused to talk to Ladybug for a whole month." She says.
"That's not okay!" The crowd of children shout. Dick had just walked by stopping as he heard the shout.
"Now, now children. Don't worry, Ladybug still plays many pranks on him." And only to emphasis Marinette pulls it out a nerf gun and shoot a balloon that hung over the door way popping over and covering Dick's head with washable paint and glitter. She quickly stands up and makes a run for out the manor door, Dick hot on her heels.
@maribatserver
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Way too Much HGTV
"How does it look?" Beast Boy called down the stairs.
"Like a basement!" boomed a voice from the dark.
"Cy, I am the funny one don’t mess with our dynamic, you know what I mean." Beast Boy yelled back down from the kitchen.
"You know most people would just hire a building inspector!"
"Most people do not have to worry about supervillains, and have best friends with scanning equipment built into their knees!"
"Foundation looks good," Cyborg shouted as he climbed the stairs into the kitchen. The flashlight built into his shoulder closed when he reached the top and looked around. "And the floor joists are old, thick, and solid. They do not make them like this anymore"
"I will take your word for it, mostly because I have no idea what a floor joist is."
It was an older house. One of the thousands built right after World War II. Back when everyone was just happy to be home, alive, and raring to start a family. The front of the place looked like something right out of an old sitcom. Clapboard siding, black rod iron on the windows, and for better or worse had not been updated since it was built.
"You are gutting this kitchen right?" a look of mild disgust on his face.
"What? You don’t like brick linoleum and avocado cabinets?" Beast Boy was sitting on the countertop marveling at the time warp kitchen from the 1950s. He hopped down and walked over to a fridge that should've been in a museum. He opened the door and the old appliance made a rattling sound. Beast Boy quickly tossed his friend a bottle of water and grabbed one for himself. "Maybe this antique is worth something, they don’t make them like this anymore either."
"With good reason, that "antique" would be half your electric bill." Cyborg took a pull from his water. "Aside from decor being a retro nightmare, the water heater looks just about as old as this kitchen you're probably going to need to re-pipe the place."
Beast Boy leaned back against the counter. "Anything else?"
"The fuse box is undersized, and I have not seen a single outlet with a ground which means some very old wiring. With all of that, we might as well take the place down to the studs. "
"The joys of home ownership." Beast Boy said his hand over his eyes feeling a headache starting to form behind them. "Is that it?"
"Well we won't know ‘till we open up the walls but there is always mold, asbestos, lead paint, rodents- "
"Ancient Indian burial grounds, Voodoo, a ghost with unfinished business, etc, etc. So you think we should just walk away from this one?"
"The roof is new, as I said the foundation is solid, four bedrooms upstairs, and under this plastic crap I think the original hardwood can be saved.” He said looking at the floor. "If you do walk away give me the seller's number, for what he is asking this would not make a bad flip."
"Thank God, house hunting looks so much more fun on HGTV."
“Just picture it; He is looking for an open space with really tall ceilings so he can transform into animals that strike his fancy.
She is looking for a cozy intimate space where she can read, meditate, and conjure.
He loves video games and movies, her passion is the written word.”
Beast Boy pauses. And asks “Can Jonathan and Drew create a home that’s part library part GameStop for a very eclectic couple? This week on Property Brothers."
Both men started laughing "I do not think Drew and Jonathan would understand that the place needs to be supervillain proof."
"I think Rob might have a few ideas about that."
"Oh God No!" Beast Boy came to his feet almost dropping his water.
"This is going to be “a home”! We let him lose and he will try to turn this place into the Batcave Mark III or something. I do not want to have to use a retina scanner every time I want to use the microwave.”
Cyborg kept looking around the place like he had missed something. "Does this feel strange to you?"
"What?"
"This!" Cyborg waved his hand as he walked around. "You and Raven buying a house, Rob and Star getting hitched next year, new Titans…When the hell did we grow up?"
"We can't be that grown-up Cy, this isn't beer." Beast Boy said holding his bottle, he started following his friend as he walked around the bare living room. "You okay? I mean you didn’t get like this when Raven and I got married."
"Green Bean, you and Raven sounded like an old married couple since about 5 minutes after you met I think we were all used to that by the time you popped the question.”
"What do you think about fixing up the basement? I mean if we need more space?"
"All those bedrooms upstairs, how many times are you planning on knocking up my little sister?" Cyborg asked. A hungry look came over Beast Boy's face. "Wait, you know what cancel that. I don’t need that in my head"
“Cy seriously, can we do something with it?”
"The basement is almost the entire footprint of the house there is some room in there, what are you thinking pool table? You looking to build a man cave?”
"Maybe, or a space for guests, a small living area, a class 3 220 amp DC transformer."
"B, It’s a nice thought but you do not have to put a charging station for me in your house, the tower is not that far and I got the rig in the car. "
"Well, what if there was more than a charging station down there?" "Maybe a nice bed, dresser, kitchenette, disco ball?"
"Beast Boy are you asking me to move in with you guys? I mean I thought that the whole point was to have your own space. And to do things in it I do not want to think about.”
“We-”
“Or hear about!”
“Cyborg I think it’s great that you are going to take care of the new Titans. I mean we had to figure a lot of things out on our own. Looking back it would have been nice to have someone that -”
“Knew what the hell he was doing?” Cyborg asked.
“To be fair, we got pretty far improvising. But they are going to need some independence, and you are going to need a break from time to time. All I am saying is that we want you to have a place you can call your own if you need it.”
“B-”
“Look you can come and go as you please, put in your own door, some soundproofing so you can play your music as loud as you want. “
“Some soundproofing so I do not hear what you two are doing up here!” he snapped back. “I will think about it Beast Boy, but let’s worry about the rest of the place first?” He said pushing his friend playfully.
“Okay, Okay. So I am thinking of paneling! The whole house!”.
"I am thinking all decor decisions are going to your better half.”
"They had better, Gar was talking about keeping that ghastly wallpaper upstairs,” Raven said as she came through the front door. “I am not sleeping in a green room, surrounded by ducks.”
“Aww” Garfield whined as he walked over to greet his wife with a kiss on the cheek. “Wanted to take another look at the place?”
“I was more concerned about you two being without adult supervision.” She turned to face Cyborg. “So what's the verdict?”
“We have great floor joists!” Beast Boy stated.
“And do you have any idea what those are?” His wife asked
“Nope!”
“It's got good bones,” Cyborg began explaining what needed to be done. After his rough assessment “It’s going to be a lot of work but, I think it will be worth it.”
“I am glad, I really do like this place,” Raven said looking around.
“Me too, but I also liked the one over on Bayshore.” Beast Boy said, “It has a huge yard.”
“Yes, it was a nice house, but Control Freak’s mother lived next door.” Raven turned to him.
“She seemed ok?”
“Control Freak lives in her basement,” Raven stated.
“Yea, let’s go with this place” Beast Boy agreed
“So, do you think we can have this place ready in six months?” Raven asked to Beast Boy’s surprise.
“Rae?”
“We did agree that he was going to be the first.” She said turning to Beast Boy and taking his hand.
“Yea, Cy about those bedrooms upstairs…” Beast Boy started rubbing the back of his neck.
“You didn’t?”
“We did,” Raven answered pulling herself a little closer to her husband. “We just wanted to wait till after the first trimester.”
“It was kinda the reason why we needed the house.” Beast Boy finished looking sheepishly at his large friend.
Cyborg started laughing. “Raven, we did talk about this, I warned you. He is a big responsibility. You should have gotten him neutered right away.”
“Hey!”
“I know but I look at those green puppy eyes and I didn’t have the heart.” She said starting to scratch behind one of his ears.
“Is this the reason why you’re asking me to move in?” He said between chuckles “To babysit and to keep him off you before you fill up the rest of the rooms?”
“Cy?!”
“Victor” Raven began she walked over to him and took his metallic hand and placed it on her shoulder. “We want to make a place for you here because we’re family and you fit in just fine”
“Okay…can we start talking about bathroom tiles or something before I get all sappy”
“How about I call the realtor and we all get dinner?” Beast Boy suggested.
“Pizza?” Raven guessed
“If this is going to be home; we should try the neighborhood place!” Beast Boy said as he opened the door for his wife and friend.
*******************************************
This is another one from the depths of my draft folder that I finally finished. That has been the issue as of late not sure when these are done.
Cross-posted on AO3 September 8th, 2022 https://archiveofourown.org/works/41587560
Also, all my other stuff is there in case you were wondering.
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Blonde twink gets destroyed by the clap of Brazil's ass cheeks
Jet stream Sam:
You like Brazilian chads with dummy thicc thighs that save lives, are an avid listener to bury the light, or have probably never played any other Metal Gear game since you are an avid RaidenxSam shipper who tends to forget or not know that Raiden has a wife (to be fair Rose repeatedly manipulated him and is a terrible cook so obviously Sam is the better choice and you have good taste in husbandos).
First Date:
You were at the local strip club, your boyfriend recently having dumped you. You decided you would go get drunk and watch some hot men dance to ease your troubles. You poured down your tequila and burped. "This better be worth it!" You brought all the cash you had on you which was pathetically small since your only source of income was from working at Wal-Mart.
Suddenly bright lights were flashing in neon colors and for some reason it reminded you of your friends rgb pc setup. "Hey ladies, give it out to our first man of the night, the incredibly sexy Corrente de Jato" Next thing you knew, men and women around you were screaming like they were at a boy band concert. "I guess this guy must be really popular huh?" Soon catchy techno music was blasting and out came a rugged yet chiseled man.
"Lets dance!" He began taking off his clothes and was soon only wearing a thong, not leaving much to the imagination. His rythmn matched the beat and you had to admit that he was pretty good because he could do some wicked moves on that dance pole. The money started pouring in. "Yes, yes I like this!" the man thought. In the corner of the room a slight growl could faintly be heard. There was a lone cardboard box. Underneath of course was none of then Raiden.
"That bastard! So this is what he's been up to? Well I think it's time to make my entrance!" He slowly crept to the front of the row. "What the hell is that?" Raiden was bumping into more people than someone playing bumper cars so everyone eventually took notice and stopped paying attention to Sam. "Shit! I think I've been compromised. Alright, plan b!" He tore away the box and revealed himself.
"Raiden? Is that You? What on earth are you doing here!?" The cyborg pointed his blade at the Brazilian man. "I'm the one that should be asking you that! This sword is a tool of justice but tonight I shall prove that I'm the victor!" Samuel laughed. "By all means pretty boy, if you think this is so easy then why don't you try it yourself?" Raiden took this as a challenge and entered the spotlight. "Alright. Girls like hot guys with accents rights? I think I've got this."
He readjusted his sombrero. "Hola, putas! Se habla español." An angry woman threw her beer bottle at him. "TAKE IT OFF!" He tapped the mic. "Please bear with me ladies and gentlemen, the show will start momentarily. El elemento por favor!" He tore off his suit and smirked. "WHERE IS IT?" Raiden thought he was doing everything right. "Huh?" The crowd was getting restless. "WHERE'S HIS DICK!" Just before Raiden could protest and trauma dump to the entire audience about how the patriots removed most of his body, Sam interjected.
"Hey, why don't we get back to dancing!" The boos turned back into cheers and then Raiden noticed the difference in the crowds reactions. He decided to give dancing a shot. He may be Liberian but he is 100% white with the way he danced. "GET HIM OFF THE STAGE!" Raiden was starting to get angry. "YOU GUYS JUST DON'T APPRECIATE THE ROBOT! BESIDES, WHAT'S HE HAVE THAT I DON'T!"
In unison the drunk patrons began yelling "NO DICK! NO DICK! NO DICK! NO DICK!" The cyborg sighed. He began to feel himself losing to Jack the ripper. "Fuck this, I'll just kill Sam and go home." he thought. Raiden tore the dance pole down and began to use it like L'Etranger. He went to stab Sam but the man managed to parry him. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" he screamed. Unfortunately for Raiden, he was oblivious to the fact that Samuel hadn't been dancing at all but had been doing capoeira.
"SHOW ME A GOOD TIME JACK!" Everyone began to evacuate as the two men battled and the speakers began to play the only thing I know for real. The building was soon turned into rubble and the men lay there motionless, panting. "Well I'm out of a job now blondie so you better find me some work." Raiden let out a loud "GOD DAMNIIIIIIT!" and curled into the fetal position. He didn't want to deal with this shit again.
#samuel rodrigues#jetstream sam#raiden mgr#mgrr#metal gear rising revengeance#shitpost#Barely x reader#Mgr
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Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Let’s be honest - Zack Snyder has a history of being a hit or miss when it comes to his films. Yes, there’s the visually stylish and blood dripping action romp, 300, which greatly exemplified Snyder’s directing style. Then, there was the mess that came about from WB’s Justice League, which prompted years of fanboys demanding a Snyder cut that still left much to be desired. These ups and downs throughout the years haven’t made critics much of a fan of Snyder’s work. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that his new epic, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire garnered a low Rotten Tomatoes score. However, though it’s certainly not Snyder’s strongest work, it’s also not his worse and provides audiences with an entertaining ride that only creates more excitement for Part Two.
Rebel Moon is a project years in the making. It was originally meant to be a Star Wars installment, but when that fell through, Snyder reworked it into his own original sci-fi adventure. Part One centers on Sofia Boutella’s, Cora, who is working as a farmer in a quiet, peaceful village that’s suddenly invaded by a tyrannical army lead by a relentless admiral. After the invasion, Cora becomes the village’s last hope and decides to gather a group of warriors from throughout the galaxy to fight back against the army. These warriors are considered rebels in the eyes of the army. The Hunger Games and Seven Samurai- esque story is only one of the sci-fi tropes that are used throughout the film including one or two that are reminiscent of Star Wars. However, despite this, Snyder’s visual style still shines especially in the action scenes. While there are more than enough slo-mo shots, the fight choreography is one of the strongest aspects of the film and captures the audience’s attention.
Snyder was able to round up a stellar cast that includes Cary Elwes, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, and Ray Fisher - who was great to see under Snyder’s helm agin after the drama he encountered at WB as Cyborg. While Sofia Boutella shines as the strong willed leader, the real star is Ed Skrein as the ruthless Admiral Atticus Novel. Skrein is no stranger to portraying villains i.e., Deadpool, and is the spark that drives the story as he and his army travel to different planets destroying communities in the most violent ways. Due to Skrein’s performance, by the end, you’ll find yourself wanting us to join Cora to take him down.
As stated previously though, this is not Snyder’s best. As Cora gathers her team of warriors, the only thing they share are their disdain for the tyrannical army and Admiral Nova, but there’s not much character development beyond that. The most time spent with the warriors are their scenes in battle where Sydner’s action directing chops are in full effect. The one with the most development is Cora and it’s clear that Part One is centered on her story and her connection with the Admiral within this grand epic. This is what I think some critics forgot during their watch. Yes, there are some story elements that are not fully fleshed out leaving viewers with more questions than answers in some cases, but it’s important to remember that this is just Part One of the story. Part One does excel at setting up the universe and the conflict between the army and rebels leaving audiences eagerly awaiting for Part Two next year - I know I am.
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