#let him work his way through crime rings and solo work and be a drug lord and how he helps gotham directly and just have some growth that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

moonlitceleste · 3 years

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straight up villain (Villain AU)

This is a songfic based on “Villain” by K/DA ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras. There’s really no plot to it; I started with a vague idea and just went along with whatever my brain told me. It kinda jumps around and I didn’t proofread this at all, so sorry if it’s confusing!

I’d suggest listening to the song and watching the visualizer video because it’s honestly such a vibe. If I could animate I’d totally make a video full of epic fight scenes, but unfortunately I don’t have that talent learned yet.

This version of the song is a little more chill, so if you find the original too intense you can always listen to the slowed one instead.

On the low Only love myself, no more Take you to the grave, I'll ghost I know I can be so cold In the dark Where I like to keep my heart Know I'm all bite, no bark Like to catch you way off guard

A shiver ran down the crime boss’ spine.

His eyes darted around the room, searching through the darkness.

Shadows flickered. He swore he could see movement in them.

The night was crime’s time to rule; people feared the darkness it brought.

Now, he was the scared one.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“Who’s there?”

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, revealing his false bravado.

Shaking hands gripped the gun around his waist, knuckles turning white with pressure.

Creeeakk.

The man whipped around, heart hammering in his chest.

Who—or what—was lurking in the shadows?

A snap echoed through the air as he fired a round.

Silence.

The only sound came from distant echoes of Gotham’s nightlife and the frantic beating in his throat.

He swore he had seen something sweep out in the corner of his vision, if only for a moment.

Perhaps it was the paranoia.

He slowly lowered his gun, shoulders relaxing—

Only to whip around when he felt a phantom hand brush his shoulder.

A pair of eyes flashed in the darkness, gone the next second, but he knew what he had seen, what he had felt.

Icy fear seized his body, taking hold of his limbs.

Something was watching him.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

“Stop toying around.”

The gravelly voice was met with a cackle, almost cat-like in nature.

That was his only warning before it stepped from the shadows: a creature out of his nightmares, shrouded in darkness like part of the night itself.

Sharpened black claws glinted under the streetlights, and dark black orbs pinned him in place as it slunk forward. He couldn’t move, frozen like a deer in headlights.

The thing was so human-like in shape, but it was too monstrous to be one.

A wicked smile spread across its face, and his face blanched as he caught sight of the fangs protruding from the top.

The creature stalked forward like a predator chasing its prey.

Then, it pounced.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of drеad 'Til you go pow

It was common knowledge within Gotham’s criminal underworld that the Arkham Knight worked alone. He played by his own rules, merciless in his distribution of justice.

But lately, it was rumored that the Knight had an ally.

There was no proof of this, no sightings to go by, but there was a subtle shift that could be felt—an underlying sensation of imminent danger.

Gunfights and confrontations lessened, and the Knight’s enemies started disappearing without a trace. No blood, body, or evidence of struggle could be found; it was as if they had simply ceased to exist.

Whoever this new player was, they were dangerous.

Is it really a surprise if I'm playing with your mind And I treat you likе a prize, then I throw you to the side? And am I really that bad if l love to make you mad? And get happy when you're sad, only care about a bag

Jason shook out his hair, metal helmet in his hands, and leveled a glance at his companion.

“Did you really have to take so long to kill him?”

The two were in one of their few safe houses, recuperating after their long night of fighting.

“It’s the thrill of the chase.”

Marinette, no longer transformed, stated this as if it were obvious—which it was. Jason had been with her long enough to understand her concept of fun. She leaned forward and stretched, looking much like the animal after which her magic ring was themed.

“We can’t waste time playing around. There are more important things to be done,” he growled.

Marinette simply giggled, bounding over to bat her eyes at him with mock innocence.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “You know what you’re doing.”

Her smile grew wicked, arms darting out to wrap around his waist.

“You look so good when you’re mad,” she purred.

Jason leaned down, and their lips met in a kiss.

In control That's how I like it and I'm never letting go, nah Never had a soul (soul) So you ain't taking nothing from me when you go, nah

Crack.

Marinette smirked as her staff made contact with the target’s skull.

Normally she would use Cataclysm for a more swift kill, but the remains were needed in order to send a message to Arkham Knight’s enemies.

They were growing more volatile, more desperate to expose whatever they thought she was.

Phantom Killer, they called her. The name sounded like something out of a badly-written horror movie. Marinette much preferred the one she had already: Reine de L'ombre.

Of course, she didn’t need a title, but Jason had come up with it. She was pleasantly surprised by his naming skills—it meant Shadow Queen, for she was a queen, and Jason her knight, as he put it.

She didn’t feel any remorse as the pile of bodies below her grew. Perhaps this made her soulless, but she didn’t need one anyway.

Marinette had all she wanted right beside her.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“...you do what you gotta do, am I right?”

Marinette nodded at the man standing across from her, a smile on her red-painted lips.

He had been leering at her from across the bar the whole night, and although that was the goal, she was still disgusted. He had to be at least twenty years older than her. Heck, he was old enough to be her dad.

The intel she and Jason had acquired said the businessman had a thing for younger women, which was apparent. According to the same source, the company he ran was also a front for trafficking and drug rings.

Marinette wanted to see him bleed.

“How about we take this to my room?”

The comment was abrupt, and Jason would probably kill her for her indiscretion later, but she was getting tired of the man’s blabbering.

Her hand moved up his arm, the expensive material of his suit cool against her fingers. She bit her lips seductively, which seemed to convince him.

Bingo.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (yeah, yeah) Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

Marinette gritted her teeth as the man tried to reach for her butt again.

She attempted to stop him by saying she wanted to wait until they entered her room, but he was persistent. She couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

As soon as she opened the door to her hotel room, she shoved him inside and up against the wall. He seemed to be expecting a kiss, but she punched him hard. For a crime lord he certainly wasn’t a good fighter. Maybe it was the drugs she slipped into his drink earlier that contributed to his quick defeat.

Marinette cuffed his arms behind his back with a pair she had stashed earlier. She could have waited for the man to undress so she could ensure he didn’t have any weapons, but she had gone through enough torture already. Her eyes didn’t need to see that.

She turned him around, giving him a smile that promised warmth and kindness, before pulling out a dagger and pressing it to his throat.

“Now talk.”

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread 'Til you go pow

“Claws in.”

Marinette’s black suit faded away, revealing her now blood-spattered red dress.

She flopped onto the couch, not bothering to remove her shoes or dirty clothing.

After hours of trying to get information out of the businessman, she only managed to wring a few coded phrases from him. He seemed to only be a figurehead of his shady organization rather than its actual leader.

A Cataclysm later and here she was, back to the drawing board.

“Jay?” Marinette called.

It was unusually quiet in the safe house; usually after solo missions they’d greet one another with a kiss. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Jason?”

Silence.

Marinette huffed. She knew exactly what this was about.

Bang, bang You can do anything No fear, no pain Listen to your brain go Go stupid, go dumb, go stupid and Then we go insane, woah Just do what I say Follow me, I'll lead the way

“Are you jealous?”

Jason whipped his head around, caught off-guard by the appearance of his girlfriend in his doorway. It seemed as if she wasn’t wasting any time.

“I’m not jealous. That guy couldn’t get you if he tried.”

“Then why are you mad?”

His jaw clenched.

He wished he hadn’t agreed to let Marinette extract the information alone; Jason almost wished he was there to see the man in pain.

“He was putting his hands all over you.”

“It was for a mission. Besides, I thought you said he couldn’t get me even if he tried?”

Her last words were said with a lilt, and Jason knew she was riling him up. He couldn’t stay mad, anyway—she had a point.

He deflated and leaned forward to brush his lips against her. Marinette smiled into the kiss, then pulled away. She looked him up and down, a glint in her eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to make it up to you, hmm?”

She paused, then wrinkled her nose.

“After I take a shower. I don’t want this guy’s blood on me any longer.”

Maybe they acted stupid sometimes, but the two always followed one another in the end.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price (Woo-ah) All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain (Yeah) Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (Woo-ah!)

Marinette panted deeply, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

A mass of bodies surrounded her, but she wasn’t paying attention. This wasn’t just a battle. It was war.

It was a fight for her life, and she wasn’t going down now.

Reine de L'ombre tore through her enemies like a terrifying force of darkness, one after the other. The Arkham Knight fought by her side, fueled by pure destruction.

Maybe they wouldn’t make it out, but they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread

'Til you go pow

A week later, a couple rose hand-in-hand from the ranks as new rulers of the Gotham Underworld.

Reine de L'ombre and the Arkham Knight—a queen and her king.

PERMANENT TAGLIST @avengerthewarrior @enternalempires @freesportspalacesalad @h1sss @nathleigh

#maribat #celestewrites #jasonette #cel's fics

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chandelier-s-notebook · 3 years

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Hey look it’s chap 2! They won’t all come out today I promise.

(Also the other characters tagged appear later in this chapter after the :readmore: this isn’t cross tagged for publicity purposes)

Let me know if you wanna get tagged when I post new chapters in “These Streets Are Made For Walking”. @sleepysnails.

Ao3 Link

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After school, Dream, George, and Sapnap tossed their bags into Techno’s trunk. Technically, he and Dream did have PowerPoint projects to complete, but it was a solo project and he already finished it at lunch.

Snagging the shotgun seat, Sapnap cheered, “To the mall!”

Techno grimaced. At least Sapnap was excited.

Actually, there was one good thing that came from them: friendship. Techno had met Dream at one of these mall fights while they went to different middle schools, then they ended up at the same high school and started to drag Dream’s other friends to them. Techno didn’t mind George and Sapnap, they were just more Dream’s friends than his.

Techno drove them out of the city, and they cruised down the highway for twenty minutes before pulling off to the exit towards the abandoned mall.

“I’ve never understood why this shit happens right after school,” George said.

Dream answered him, “It’s because the cops think this stuff happens at night. They don’t think to look for this stuff during the day.”

“Plus, there’s a lot more of the other stuff going on, so they’re busy.”

“Why do you know that, Sapnap?”

“Reasons.”

Techno rolled his eyes at the trio, and pulled the first aid kit and his backpack out of the trunk. “I’m gonna stay in the car today.” He handed the box to George. “Math homework due tomorrow,” he explained.

“Ah man. That’s too bad,” Dream said, stretching out his arms. “More practice for me.”

“Maybe you’ll even beat me next time,” Techno joked.

Dream wheezed, and Sapnap had to push him away towards the building.

Techno got back in his car, cranked the radio, and blasted the AC, shutting the windows tight. Throwing the bag into the seat next to him, Techno pulled out his binder, and opened it to a fresh piece of graph paper. Study time lasted all of forty minutes before the sirens rang out.

“Snitch,” he muttered to himself. He slumped down in his seat, and pulled out his phone. He debated who to text before deciding that George was least likely to be busy at any given moment.

Techno Got snitched Cops in lot

George Fuck Dream says leave Drop our stuff at Bad’s Drop Tubbo with Punz

Techno Roger

A squad of four cars descended on the parking lot. Most of the officers stormed the mall, but three stayed behind. Two began making their rounds around the parking lot, but--of course--the other was left behind to secure the entrance. It was standard procedure, so Techno wasn’t very surprised to see this happening.

Techno made the decision to continue doing his homework rather than try to get away. He tossed his phone on the passenger seat and turned the radio off.

He was calm. He was cool. He was doing his math homework. He was rolling down the window when prompted by a tap on the glass.

“Captain Craft,” the officer stated.

“Pleasure,” Techno responded.

“License and registration.”

Techno grabbed his wallet from his backpack and gave Captain Craft his license. He leaned over to the glove box to grab his car’s registration. “Afternoon Sir,” he muttered, handing over his paperwork.

“Techno Blade? Unique name.”

Techno snorted at the officer’s attempt at small talk. “Was born with it, I'm afraid.”

“That’s cool.” He handed Techno back his paperwork. “What are you doing here?”

Techno gestured to the paper in his lap. “Homework. Got a calculus test next week.”

“Smart kid.” Captain Craft was writing things down in his notebook. “Do you know why the police were called to this location?”

“No Sir.”

“What brings you here?”

“A quiet space to work, the foster home gets really loud. Normally this place is empty.”

“Normally it is,” Captain Craft agreed. “So you don’t know anything about a potential drug deal?”

The surprise on Techno’s face was genuine. Yeah this was an illegal ring, but drug deals? Really? “No Sir. I’m just doing my homework.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah,” Techno said, not playing the officer’s game.

Captain Craft leaned back to look at the backseat.

Techno had never been more thankful that Dream, Sapnap, and George liked throwing their stuff in the trunk for more leg room in the backseat.

Captain Craft patted the car. “Well. I feel comfortable letting you go free kid. Clearly you have nothing to do with this.”

“No Sir.”

“Techno Blade was it?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Do you have a number we could potentially call if need be?”

Now, Techno would have loved to give the officer his home number--giving the police a direct line of contact with his cell didn’t sound good--but that was a horrible idea. One of the other kids would pick up the phone, and they’d talk. Or the Foster Bitch would pick up, and she’d just cuss out the poor person who called. “Yeah. Let me get you my cell number.”

Captain Craft scribed the number down in his notebook. He flipped the page and ripped off the next page. “Doctor’s note to get you out of the parking lot.”

Techno snorted as he grabbed the paper. “Thanks.”

Techno shifted the car into reserve and pulled out of his parking spot. He drove towards the checkpoint and didn’t roll up the window until the officer standing guard approved his departure.

Techno arrived at Sapnap and Bad’s house. He pulled into the parking spot in the apartment’s garage that Bad paid for, so Sapnap’s friends could leave their cars when they came over. He grunted in annoyance at the weight of the three backpacks; there also wasn’t a convenient way to carry three backpacks. He rode the elevator up to the first floor and buzzed Bad’s apartments.

“Who’s there?” Bad’s voice crackles through the intercom.

“Techno, I’m here for delivery and pickup.”

Bad laughed.. “Hi Techno, they’re in the middle of something so it’ll be a little while.” The buzzer sounds and Techno steps into the room, taking the elevator to Bad’s floor, which was unreasonably high. How was Sapnap supposed to climb through the window late at night at this height?

Although Techno was required to have someone buzz him in, he conveniently had his own key for the door, and could use that. Techno couldn’t be bothered to remember which room was Sapnap’s, but he knew where the guest room was, so he tossed all their stuff in there.

“Hi Bad. Have any snacks?” Techno asked, entering the kitchen. Mario Kart sounds floated over from the living room. “It’s time to go home!” Techno called out to the kids.

“Why?” Tommy yelled back.

“Because. Also Tubbo, Dream said that I’m dropping you off with Purpled at Punz’s place.”

“Oh.” Techno could hear the way Tubbo’s face fell. “He got into something again?”

Techno took the plate of sandwiches from Bad and brought them out to the boys. He gave Tubbo a tight smile. “Apparently, but he’ll be fine.”

Once the boys finished their game--Ranboo won--they all bid Bad adieu and head back for Techno’s car. The boys and their backpacks file in. Tommy sat up front; Tubbo situated himself on the middle hump, and Purpled and Ranboo arranged their legs accordingly.

He let the boys karaoke on the way to Punz’s place. They were very loud, but it helps that he didn’t have to worry about where he was going, as he is far more familiar with these streets than he would have liked to be.

Techno pulls into the driveway. “Get out.”

“Thanks for the drive Blade!” Tubbo said, following Purpled out of the backseat.

“Good luck!” Ranboo yelled after them, stretching his legs into the newfound space he had at his disposal.

“Stay safe!” Tommy shouted, only half joking. “Let’s get out of here.”

Techno pulled out of the area once Tubbo and Purpled had made it into the house. He then drove them out of the slums to the richer areas of the city where Ranboo lived. He parked the car in Ranboo’s cul de sac.

“This is my stop,” Ranboo said lowly.

“This is your stop.” After a few minutes of silence Techno spoke again. “You gonna get out?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Ranboo opened the door. “Thanks for the ride!” He pushed it shut once outside and walked up the lawn to his manor.

Tommy waved goodbye to his friend then turned to look straight ahead. “Let’s go back now.”

“Are you still mad at me for hanging out with Dream?”

Tommy didn’t respond.

Techno pressed on the gas and brought the car back to the main road. “I’m allowed to have friends, kid. I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

“Then stop. Stop defending yourself. You don’t need my approval.”

“When did you get older than me?”

“When you started hanging out with kids who get put in the newspaper for petty crimes!”

“I’ve been hanging out with Dream since long before you even got here.”

“And? People change. Little Dream isn't big Dream!”

“I know who my friends are,” Techno bit.

“I hope you do. Because Tubbo is having a sleepover with Purpled which means Dream isn’t home. And you were there. So what happened?”

All of Techno’s pent up energy left his body, and he fell into a steely expression. “Nothing.”

“Something happened! Why isn’t Dream home?”

Techno turned on the radio.

“Tell me bitch boy!”

“Do you want to eat tonight?” Techno shouted back at him, turning to face him directly now that they were stopped at a red light.

Tommy’s eyes were wide. He had one hand on his seat belt buckle and one on the door handle. He was as pressed away from Techno as he could get in the car. He was holding his breath and his body was tense. “Please,” he whimpered.

Techno tensed up as well. He had gone too far. He knew he had gone too far. That wasn’t cool playing on Tommy’s fears like that. “Tommy--”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll shut up. Please. I know it’s your stash. Please.”

“Tommy.” The light turned green. “We’ve been over this. My stash is your stash.”

Tommy mutely shook his head, refusing to reply.

Internally sighing, Techno tapped his finger on the side of the steering wheel, his brain working hard. He should have known not to say that with Tommy, but of course he had to mess up again.

The car behind them honked its horn loudly, jerking Techno out of his thoughts. He lifted his foot from the brake, and placed it down on the gas, accelerating forwards, and allowing the long line of traffic behind him to go.

Tommy still hadn't spoken, but was shaking slightly, and it wasn't because he was cold.

“My stash is your stash,” Techno reiterated, if only to fill the silence.

“No it’s not,” Tommy said in a small voice. “You keep saying it is, but it’s not.”

“Then steal from my stash to make your own stash. You’ve done that before.”

“Not from people I need to like me.”

Techno stopped looking at Tommy in hopes he would calm down slightly. “I do like you,” he reassured. “If I didn’t I wouldn’t be trying to convince you that we share a stash.”

Tommy fiddled with the radio stations and made a noncommittal sound of what Techno pretended was agreement.

Techno and Tommy spent the rest of the ride home in silence, Techno glancing at Tommy out of the corner of his eye the whole time.

When they arrived home, Techno put the car in park, and undid his seatbelt, but made no move to get out of the car. Twisting his neck, he looked Tommy in the eyes.

Techno knew what Tommy needed to hear, even if he hated having to need to say it. “You can eat tonight. Grab whatever you want from my stash.”

“Really?” Tommy asked more hopefully than Techno was comfortable with.

“Yeah.”

Tommy then bolted out of the car, as if to make sure he did the thing while he had permission before it was taken away abruptly.

Which Techno would never do. Techno was feeling like shit playing on Tommy’s insecurities to get him to shut up. That wasn’t cool and he knew that. Techno slowly pulled himself out of the car. He grabbed his backpack, and the one Tommy had left in his haste.

Walking slowly to the house, Techno gave Tommy some time to settle in before entering their shared space. Yes he generally wished that Tommy was quieter after 10pm, but tonight it would be for the wrong reasons.

At least Tommy didn’t seem to think Techno was about to hit him.

#Technoblade #Dreamwastaken #Sapnap #Georgenotfound #Badboyhalo #TommyInnit #Tubbo #Ranboo #Purpled #Philza #These Streets Are Made For Walking

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multishippingtrashfire · 4 years

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Diego’s First Kiss(es)

Summary: Diego was 14 when he first kissed a girl. Diego was 20 when he first kissed a guy.

Or Diego's Bisexual Awakening

Notes: Hi this is my first ever story, so any constructive criticism, please let me know. This story was not beta'd so if you notice any mistakes, let me know and i'll fix it. I just wanted to give Diego some love and he's my bisexual king.

2003

Diego was 14 when he first kissed a girl. The night started out the way it usually does, with Klaus sneaking out because he can’t take another minute in the Academy. With Klaus sneaking out, Ben decides he has to go with Klaus because Ben knows Klaus is reckless and he feels it is his personal responsibility to make sure Klaus gets home safely. Diego, as the second oldest and protective of his two brothers, feels as though it is his responsibility to make sure that Ben gets home safe too, so at 11pm, they all sneak out.

They end up at the park, where a small party seems to be taking place. It’s just a bunch of other 14 year olds, smoking weed, drinking and making out, hanging off the various playground equipment and throwing red solo cups around, while a stereo is playing the radio in the background. Klaus fits right in, always ready for a good time, a moment to quiet the spirits. He’s already dancing, swinging a bottle of what looks like Jack Daniels and he took a hit off a blunt before he even started drinking. He’s the life of the party and everyone already loves him; they never even question where he came from.

Diego and Ben don’t fit in quite as easily.

They aren’t really sure how to mesh with this new crowd of people and honestly Diego is afraid to speak, because he doesn’t want to stutter and embarrass himself. So instead he chooses to migrate to a swingset a little off to the left, deciding to really just observe, mainly for danger but also because he doesn’t know how a party really happens. He sips on the solo cup and pulls a face at the taste of its contents but says nothing. His intense focus on watching Klaus and Ben’s figures is interrupted by a girl sitting in the swing next to his.

He’ll swear she didn’t startle him but truthfully? She did.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. In the dim lights from the park, it looked like it was black and her eyes are truthfully what really pulled him. It was two of the bluest eyes Diego had ever seen and they had flecks of brown throughout too. He doesn’t even realize he’s staring until she starts waving her hand in his face.

“Huh?” Diego blurts out, realizing she said something

“I said these stupid parties suck. And then you looked like I started doing Umbrella kids tricks.” She snorts, taking a sip of her drink. And for the first time Diego is reminded that this is kind of awesome, he’s not Number 2 of the Umbrella Academy, he’s just Diego.

He takes a deep breath and nods, choosing the strong silent route, at least until he can get his thoughts under control. And with his thoughts under control, his words would come out clearer, that’s what Mom always told him.

“Quiet type? Me too usually.” She offers up, kicking her legs a bit in front of her. “I’m Zoey.”

“Diego.” He responds. His name was the first word he worked on with Mom. If nothing else, he was determined to say that without his stutter.

“Nice to meet you, Diego.” She tosses him a lopsided smile and Diego realizes he’s started holding his breath, and that his heart is beating abnormally fast. He’s never been this close to a girl who wasn’t his sister. She’s pretty.

“Where do you go to school?” She inquires, cocking her head to the side.

He takes a deep breath, visualizes the words in his head but it still comes out as “Pri-Private Sch-School”. He drops his head in shame. He feels like a fucking idiot. He’s too old to be tripping over his words like this.

But Zoey just nods, acts like she didn’t hear the stuttering. “Cool. I go to public but I skip all the time. School feels like a waste, all they do is teach you to be the same as the person next to you.” She looks off thoughtfully. And Diego just nods again. Before he realizes it, they’ve been sitting in each other’s silence for 10 minutes, just swinging back and forth. And it’s nice.

She startles him again, when she grabs at his hand. He blinks at her owlishy and she just looks at him, waiting. He realizes she’s waiting for him to show his consent. And he has butterflies in his stomach, so he squeezes her hand and smiles back at her.

It’s another 10 minutes of comfortable silence, just feeling Zoey’s hand in his own, when she stops swinging.

“You should kiss me.” She states boldly, but Diego can feel the tremor in her hand too. He’s holding his breath and his heart is beating impossibly fast and Diego realizes he’s about to kiss a girl.

He gulps, nods and starts leaning over. Before he makes it in for the kiss, he closes his eyes, too nervous to look at her now. And then their lips touch. It’s gentle, a soft brush of the lips and for the first time, Diego can smell her hair and whatever perfume she’s wearing. It smells like cupcakes. He feels like he might be falling in love.

She pulls back and smiles shyly. And Diego feels his cheeks start to pink. He just kissed a girl. A girl wanted to kiss him and did.

Before he can enjoy the moment more, he hears Klaus and Ben shouting his name as they sprint towards him. The panic in his brother’s faces, makes him bolt upright, breaking his handlock with Zoey. He feels himself slipping into Number 2 mode, his hand moving to the knives tucked on his side, ready to eliminate whatever threat coming for his brothers.

“Gotta go! Gotta go now!” and “Someone called the police!” are being said overtop of one another and for the first time, Diego notices the quick movements of the other teenagers as they begin to scatter to all directions of the park. Diego hears the distinct whop whop of a cop car siren as the flashing red and blue lights come into view.

By now, Zoey’s jumped up too and poured their cups out in the grass. Klaus and Ben start pulling him away and he never gets to say anything to Zoey, as he pulled off. He waves dumbly and she whisper-yells a quick “Bye Diego!” and then it’s back to the Academy.

That night Diego smiles as he lays in bed, touching his own lips and replaying their moment over and over. Zoey

2009

Diego was starting to notice that something was...off about himself.

At this point in his life, he tells people he’s had a long list of hookups. It’s easier than admitting he’s really only had one and it lasted all of a week before Diego began to fear the intimacy he was craving. That was a year after Ben died and it was easier to explain to the woman that he didn’t want to date anymore than to explain why in a week's time, he’d be uncontrollably sobbing for at least a week, as the one-year anniversary approached.

He, Klaus and Ben had always been closest, and now it was just him. He hadn’t heard from Klaus in months and at this point, each time he saw him hurt more than the last. His little brother was addicted to all kinds of drugs, and had done all sorts of illicit things to get those drugs. Klaus couldn’t go one day without a substance, be it alcohol or drugs, but it was always a party for him. Diego wanted to help him and a couple times Klaus had agreed to be helped, and when Diego woke up the next morning, he was nowhere to be found. The first few times, Diego had gotten up and scoured the city for him, checking alleyways, known drug hideouts, hospitals, everywhere. After the fifth time Klaus had done this, Diego didn’t see the point, he wouldn’t find him anyway. He just hoped each time, his brother was still alive.

But in the meantime, Diego kept to himself for the most part, save for when he decided to fight for the people of New York, since the police let more than their fair share of crime fall through the cracks. In the last couple months, he got Al from the boxing gym to agree to let him move into the boiler room. Partially, Diego thinks it's just as thanks from when Diego stopped some muggers from getting him after he was locking up. Either way, Diego was grateful for the space to himself.

Diego liked his boiler room. It was all his. In the depths of the boxing gym, he could make noise (he didn’t), have as many people over as he wanted (he didn’t) and do whatever he wanted with the space (he was a simple man, with simple tastes).

And then one morning there was this guy in the gym. Guys being in the gym wasn’t unusual, but this guy was different, because Diego thinks he may be attracted to him. He’s tall, taller than Diego, broad shouldered, tattoos covering his chest. He was all hard muscle and he was beating the hell out of the punching bag in front of him. He had dark skin, a short cut hairstyle and the deepest brown eyes that Diego had ever seen. His focus as he trained made Diego swallow thickly, before he shook his head to stop from starring. He made a beeline for the door, and hoped that this guy was just practicing here as a one off.

He wasn’t.

His name was Lance, it turns out. Al told him that while helping reposition the punching bags after closing. He was new in town, making a name for himself in the mid-level boxing circuit and could be looking to go pro. He was young, just 21 and found Al’s because he lives around the corner. Diego didn’t respond to this information verbally, choosing to purse his lips instead and nod.

Later that night, Diego wondered if finding Lance attractive was a fluke. He hoped so.

The next morning, Diego came upstairs to the gym and Lance was back, practicing his dodging in the ring with Al. He was shirtless again and focused. And Diego was starring again. He was broken out of his trance by Al telling Diego to answer the damn phone, ringing near the desk. Diego hadn’t even heard it, but sprinted over, and picked up. The call was asking specifically for Al and it sounded like an equally grouchy older man, so rather than deal with telling him Al was busy, he approached the ring.

“It’s for you!” He coughed, interrupting the drill Al was working with Lance, holding out the phone.

“Who’s calling?” Al questioned, as he pulled his hands from the training mitts. Lance was in the background chest heaving, taking this moment to catch his breath.

“Tommy, I think?” Diego shrugged as he passed it over and Al took the phone, stepping to the other side of the ring, leaving Diego and Lance on this side.

Master of subtly that he was, Diego looked everywhere but Lance, glancing at the rafters, the other parts of the gym, the windows, the lockers, the door to the basement, everywhere.

“Hey.” Diego snapped his head around to face the only person that ‘Hey’ could have belonged to. Lance.

“Hi.”

“I’m Lance.” He extended his hand and gave Diego an award winning smile. His teeth were so white and straight and perfect. And Diego was holding his breath.

“Diego” was all he managed before Al was back and Diego was able to retreat before Lance could see his blushing cheeks.

I’m so fucked

Diego had never thought he’d be the one of his siblings to experience a sexuality crisis. It would’ve made more sense for Vanya or even Five, but him? No way. Diego was always certain about who he was. He was Number 2 of the Umbrella Academy, he was Diego Hargreeves, he was 20 years old, and he was attracted to women...and men, it appears. In a moment like this, Diego really missed Ben, or even Klaus. Klaus who was never scared of the things that he liked or what anyone thought of them and would advise Diego to be just as carefree. Or Ben, who gave the best advice and was the most level-headed Hargreeves sibling, who would talk him through what this means (if anything), and listen to Diego as he questioned his world out loud. He couldn’t even visit Mom or else he’d have to see his father, and seeing his dad in the midst of his sexual identity crisis sounded worse than pulling off his toenails with a spoon.

So it was just Diego and his sexuality and the crisis of it all.

The next day started much like the two days before it, except Diego was sleep deprived from being up all night trying to sort through his sexuality, and he was maybe hearing Klaus’ voice in his head just a little bit. He spent half the night wondering about if all those times he took more than two glances at a guy, he actually found them attractive. The second half, he tried to go through every man he could think of to come up with his ‘type’. He really missed Klaus.

Diego came up the stairs and found Lance was training, running a drill on the bag again, but Al was nowhere to be seen. At 7am, the gym was deserted; it looked like it was just Lance here alone. Diego looked around the gym once more before Lance stopped his drills and addressed him.

“Al said he had to run an errand but that it was cool for me to practice here.” He huffed out. He was shirtless again. Diego should institute a ‘shirt required’ policy, because this was starting to feel like a trap. Maybe a just general ‘no Lance’, because at this point, Diego doubted the shirt would help much anyway. It didn’t help he could just hear Klaus’ voice talking about licking stuff. He really really should’ve slept more last night.

“Oh okay. Yeah that’s fine.” Diego nodded, walking toward the desk to start doing the small clerical stuff he agreed for Al.

“So how long have you worked here?” Diego looked up and found that Lance decided this was his moment to take a break, sitting on one for the benches.

“Uh” Diego swallowed, willing himself not to stutter but he was nervous. “A couple months”. In that moment, Diego thanked every deity in existence.

“Oh cool. Do you live in this neighborhood?” Lance asked, all casual and with a kind smile.

“Yeah…” Diego nodded slowly, wondering if he should divulge that he lived here. In that moment he heard Klaus telling him to take a risk, so he did. “Actually, I live in the gym.” He rushed the words out before he lost his nerve.

“Oh that’s awesome! Do you box?” Lance asked excitedly and Diego felt his heartbeat speed up.

“Uhh, sometimes. Not too much.” Diego ducked his head down, so he could try to catch his breath even for a second.

“That’s cool too.” Lance nodded and then he was up approaching Diego and Diego stopped breathing. “We should hang out sometime.” Diego only got to stare at him wide-eyed, before the door to the gym was banging open and Al was walking in, complaining about some idiot who couldn’t watch where he was going. Once Diego turned back around, Lance was back near the bag, re-wrapping his knuckles.

While Al went about putting his coat down and continuing his rant, Diego hears Klaus again. Be bold, Di.

And while Diego still had Klaus’ nerve, he walked up to Lance and said “Yeah, we should. Tonight?”

And Lance smiled and nodded.

Tonight

Diego will never admit how long he spent in the mirror, making sure his outfit didn’t scream part-time vigilante, former superhero. He just wanted to exude as much normalcy as possible. He settled on a black shirt, some black jeans and boots. He was still Diego, afterall. In the mirror, he told himself that he may like men, and that’s okay. And that this all may be a fun experiment and he could be perfectly straight too.

Then he realizes, Lance never actually said this was a date and Diego is dry heaving trying to figure out what he’s doing. And then he gets a message from Lance saying he’s outside.

Diego doesn’t have time to backout anymore.

He takes a deep breath and heads upstairs, where he opens up the side entrance that Lance said he was waiting at. He came in a white t-shirt, with a brown leather jacket on, with dark wash jeans.

And he had a pizza in his hand.

“Hey” Lance smiled brightly at Diego and his heart fluttered a little bit.

“Hey. You brought pizza?” Diego questioned, stepping aside to let him in.

“Yeah, and beer” He pulled the case of cheap beer up to show Diego. “ You seemed like maybe you’d like a more lowkey setting.” Lance moved forward heading towards the ring and said over his shoulder “plus I thought it’d be nice to get some alone time with you.”

Diego could feel his face heat up and he was grateful that Lance’s back was turned. He followed him to the ring, where Lance had settled cross legged in the center, with the pizza box open and beer right next to it. The moon light from the windows above made it look kind of romantic.

“Th-Thanks” Diego felt his face get hot in shame. He was 20 years old and still stumbling on his words. Pathetic. He sat down opposite Lance, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“No problem. You like pepperoni, I hope?” Lance asked, shooting off that winning smile again. Diego just nodded.

“Perfect. And please take as much as you want, because I’m about to scarf this down. I’m starving.” Diego nodded again but this time with a smile.

At first, they ate in silence, and Diego blamed himself. He couldn’t get his words straight and Lance thought he was weird and this was dumb and he was so stupid and-

“I’m sorry if you didn’t realize I meant a date.” Lance said, looking down at his plate.

“Huh?” Diego asked incredulously.

“The silence right? I made you uncomfortable because I asked you out but you thought it was just hanging out and not a date.” He nodded as he said all this, deciding that that was the reason behind the stoney silence.

“No!” Diego jolted forward a little bit, surprising even himself. He stopped and took a deep breath, and when his eyes were open, Lance was staring back at him. “It’s me. I-I have a st-stu-” Diego stopped himself, breathing out in frustration, looking up to the ceiling as if it would give him strength.

“A stutter?” Lance offered.

Diego nodded, “I get fru-frus-frustrated and fe-fe-feel st-stu-stupd”. Diego finished staring down at his own hands.

“Oh! The stutter doesn’t bother me.” Lance tried to reassure him but Diego wasn’t convinced, looking at him in skepticism. “No really! I think it’s cute. I think you’re cute.” Lance ended softly and Diego’s heart was thrumming loudly in his ears. “I just wanna get to know the cute guy who works at the boxing gym I like, if you’ll let me?”

And Diego felt his face get warm. He smiled shyly and nodded.

They talked for hours, about everything. Diego told him a little about Ben and Klaus. Lance shared a story about getting caught putting a flaming bag of dog poop on his principal's porch. After that story and the story of Mom walking in on Diego singing a Spice Girls album, they couldn’t stop laughing.

It was the most fun Diego had had in forever.

In their storytelling, they had migrated closer to one another, with Diego sitting up and Lance lounging back on his elbows. And this is the closest Diego has ever been to a man who wasn’t one of his brothers or someone who was about to get beat up.

He looked down at Lance’s mouth and swallowed. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted Lance to kiss him.

And then Lance leaned up and did kiss Diego. It was sweet at first, just a gentle brush and then there was more pressure and Lance was sitting up. He was pulling Diego to him and Diego was pulling Lance closer by the shoulders and then Diego was on his back. They broke the kiss and panted heavily, and Diego just looked at him.

“I’ve never been with a guy!” Diego rushed out (higher pitched than usual), realizing how quickly this situation could move, how quickly he wanted this situation to move.

“Oh! I’m so sorry Diego!” Lance pulled back, helping Diego up at the same time. “That was way too far. I’m sorry!” Lance apologized, looking guilty.

“No! It’s okay, I just...wan-wan-wanna slow d-do-down” Diego offered.

“Yeah! For sure! I’m still really sorry.” He said earnestly and Diego reassured him it was okay.

They slowed down and started talking more, kissing and making out here and there. It was really nice and romantic.

And around 1am, Lance said he had to get home, so they started packing up. And as Diego walked him to the door of the gym, Lance told him he had a great time and that he’d love to do it again. They kissed at the door and Diego felt like he was walking on air to his bed.

Lance. He liked Lance.

Diego was 20 when he first kissed a guy.

The next time he saw Klaus, he casually mentioned that a guy he knows likes men and women.

“Only men and women?” Klaus questioned between mouthfuls of pancakes.

“Is there anything else?” Diego cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t be so closed minded, there is everything in between and of course, neither.” Klaus gestures wildly, as syrup drips down his chin.

“He says men and women.” He spoke slowly.

“Ah, a bisexual then.” Klaus shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

Bisexual.

Huh, I’m bisexual.

#the umbrella academy #tua #diego hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #bisexual diego #my writing #not beta'd #first kisses #OMC #OFC #fanfic

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tiptapricot · 5 years

Text

Age switch AU where Jason was Bruce’s first partner and is older than Dick

Read on AO3

Jason has been working with Bruce for years by the time Dick comes into the picture. The kid is small, athletic, and bright eyed, clashing horribly with the muted browns and reds of the manor.

And he takes an immediate liking to Jason.

Dick follows him everywhere, talking non stop and pestering Jason to play with him. It’s annoying. It’s annoying as shit. Jason really doesn’t have time for this, but Bruce insists that he spend time with Dick.

So he does.

And Jason doesn’t like Dick, he doesn’t, but he makes sure the kid stays out of trouble, knows his way around the manor, that sort of thing.

He doesn’t hang out with him because he wants to. He doesn’t help him with homework because he wants to. He does it because it’s what’s expected of him, because he’s told to. He and Bruce had been just fine before, Batman and Sparrow: The Dynamic Duo, but Bruce had decided to pick up another kid, and now Jason is stuck babysitting.

So what if Dick makes him laugh? So what if the kid has a fiery temper and a heart to match? So what if he makes the manor feel just a little bit brighter? It doesn’t mean Jason has to like him.

But he does.

Shit.

***

Jason calls Dick everything under the sun: Kid, Squirt, Bud, even ‘My little brother’ when talking to an interviewer one time (to Dick's utter delight).

And, surprisingly… it’s not that bad.

It’s great.

If he has spare time between school and patrol, Jason sits with Dick in the library and reads him his favorite stories. They fall asleep on the couch more often than not, but Jason doesn’t mind. Trips to the park become normal, Tuesday movie nights unskippable (“Sorry Old Man, no patrol tonight, I’m showing squirt Hercules.”), manor hijinks a worse pain in Alfred’s neck.

Dick becomes family, and as much as Jason doesn’t want to admit it, he fits perfectly.

***

When Dick finds out about Jason and Bruce’s nightlife, he’s ecstatic. He starts staying up every night to talk to Jason about patrol, eyes wide and shoulders shaking in excitement as Jason describes epic fights on the city’s building tops and long hours spent hiding in the shadows (he only embellishes the stories a little bit).

One morning, Dick triumphantly announces that he wants to grow up and be a crime fighter.

“I could be Robin, like my momma used to call me!”

And while the rest of the family is resolutely opposed to letting Dick anywhere near the hero life, they still let him wear Jason’s (much too big) costume from time to time.

“Guess this means you’re the ‘Baby Bird’ now, huh Squirt?” Jason says affectionately, ruffling Dick’s hair.

And Dick responds with the fiercest smile Jason has ever seen.

***

One night, Jason wakes up in the cave, head pounding, Dick sleeping softly by his bedside. He remembers going out with Bruce to bust a drug trafficking ring, but nothing much after that. If the bandages are anything to go by, he must’ve been knocked out cold.

He rouses Dick with a soft nudge, the boy blinking blearily at him for a few seconds before he sits bolt upright.

“You’re awake!”

Jason chuckles softly and props himself up on his elbows, the motion making his vision swim for a moment. “‘Course I am. Couldn’t leave you alone with the old man, could I?”

Dick lets out a watery laugh and pulls him into a hug.

“I thought… When Bruce brought you back, all bloody n’ stuff... I thought you were dead, Jay. I thought” Dick chokes on the last word and starts to cry, pressing his face into Jason’s shoulder.

“Oh Baby Bird, no no no, It’s okay, I’m alright, I’m here.” Jason whispers, rubbing comforting circles against the small of Dick’s back. “I’m so sorry I worried you Dick. Listen, look at me for a sec,” he pulls Dick off and looks him straight in the eyes, “nothing can hurt your big bro, alright kiddo?”

Dick sniffles and scrubs at his cheeks.

“You sure?”

Jason smiles and nods.

“Promise.”

***

The first time Dick gets kidnapped, Jason notices first.

They’re getting ready to leave a gala, late enough to have each made the required appearances, but still early enough to spark a few rumors. Jason is planning to drive Dick home on his motorcycle, because the kid just loves riding on the cycle, but he can’t seem to find him in the crowd.

Dick had said he was feeling a bit off earlier, but Jason had chalked it up to nerves. He’d gotten him another glass of apple juice from the bar and settled him in a seating area away from the main crowd. Jason had left Dick to continue socializing, expecting him to be back on his feet within a few minutes like he usually was, and hadn’t thought much of it. But now…

Now that little bit of paranoia, that piece he carries with him as both Jason Todd-Wayne and as Sparrow, nags at the back of his mind.

He finds Dick’s juice glass, still half full, sitting on the table, but nothing else out of the ordinary.

When he asks around, Jason can’t find anyone who saw where Dick went, and it’s then that his brain kicks into overdrive.

Jason grabs Dick’s juice glass, a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and steps to the side of the room. Smoothly, and as inconspicuously as he can manage with shaking hands, Jason pulls a small tablet out of his jacket pocket. It’s a modified version of the ones manufactured by Wayne Tech to detect date rape drugs, used for more potent poisons and sedatives. Bruce had given them to Jason once he’d started coming to parties, but they hadn’t given them to Dick yet.

The tablet fizzes red when it comes in contact with the drink and Jason curses under his breath, rushing back into the crowd.

He tugs Bruce away from a gaggle of reporters and pulls him quickly towards the exit.

“Jason what’s-?”

“It’s Dick. Someone’s got Dick.” And Jason tries to keep his voice level, but he knows Bruce can hear the slight rush of his words, the hint of panic.

“We’ll get him back.”

“I know.”

***

It’s hours before they figure out where Dick’s being held. Jason grows more anxious with each passing minute it takes to suit up, chest tight and breaths coming rough and stilted.

Bruce grabs hold of his arm just before they climb into the Batmobile.

“What are you doing?” Jason snaps. “We need to go!”

The grip tightens.

“You’re on edge, Jason, angry. I need you to calm down and focus."

Jason stills for a moment.

“For Dick’s sake.”

Jason knows, he knows, but when he sees Dick’s wide eyes, his wrists chafed from the ropes and cheeks wet with tears, he descends in the thugs in a flurry of rage.

Their jaws crunch under his fist, each bruising kick a little more satisfying than the last, a little harder. He keeps landing blows until Bruce grabs his wrist in a death grip, the expression of surprise clear even behind the mask.

Jason steps back and looks down at his bloodied gloves, red dripping over the black, and up to his little brother’s terrified stare and his stomach drops.

The ride home is silent.

***

“I don’t think I want to be a crime fighter anymore…”

It’s the first thing Dick has said since they got back to the manor, his voice soft and fragile under the comforter. Jason smiles weakly and pulls him into a hug.

“I’m sorry bud.”

“I know.”

***

Over the next few years, the arguments with Bruce get worse.

Jason is standing at the edge of his bed, shaky hands putting the last few things in his suitcase, cheeks still hot with rage, when a voice rings out from behind him.

“You’re leaving?”

Jason turns sharply to see Dick standing in the doorway, a pack of colored pencils and a sketch pad tucked under one arm.

“Bud, I-”

“You’re leaving?!”

Jason bites his lip. He can’t seem to find the right words, guilt gnawing at his gut. He has to explain, he has to make him understand.

“Dick… Bruce is... he and I, we... I don’t-” he swallows the words I don’t think I can live here anymore and lets out a long sigh.

“Baby Bird, I’m so sorry.”

But when he looks up Dick is gone, and a door slams from somewhere down the hall.

***

Cold concrete pressing against his cheek.

Blood dribbling over cracked, swollen lips.

His chest hurts.

His head hurts.

His body hurts.

How did he ever think he could do well on his own?

Another blow slams into his ribs and he screams, the sound dampening into a whimper.

How did he ever think he could amount to anything without Bruce?

Laughter echoes through the warehouse.

A door clicks shut.

Not even a year solo and he’d gotten captured.

Each breath is a labor.

His eyes sting.

His skin burns.

He pushes himself to his hands and knees and inches towards the exit, knees dragging against the floor.

The first try, his fingers slip uselessly off the door handle, leaving a smear of blood in their wake. The second try, he gets a good grip, ignoring the searing pain that erupts through his fingers.

Locked.

He hears the tick of a clock.

His breath hitches.

Pathetic.

Heat kisses his flesh and slides sharp fingers through his hair, enveloping him in a wave of fire that rips through his body.

And Bruce is too late.

And Jason is dead.

***

Bruce arrives back at the manor, to the darkness of the cave, at almost two in the morning. His gloves are still covered with flecks of concrete and wood, the dried blood thankfully too dark to see against the Kevlar.

The corpse is in the trunk of the car, sealed inside a body bag.

He has to figure out a cover story.

He has to plan a funeral.

He has to live with letting his son die.

Because Jason was so close, just a few miles outside of Gotham. If only he'd caught on quicker, driven faster, maybe... maybe. But he'll never know now, will he? Bruce takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on the steering wheel.

He shouldn't be thinking about this right now.

Dick and Alfred are waiting for him by the computer, both turning slowly when they hear him approach.

“Dad…” Dick's eyes widen, “where’s Jay?”

Bruce freezes.

He can’t. He can’t tell Dick right now. Not this soon, not when it’s so fresh he can still taste the smoke.

“Dad…? Bruce?” Dick stands up and takes a step forward. “You said you were going to save Jay, what happened? Where is he?!”

Bruce stays silent, letting Alfred usher an increasingly panicked Dick upstairs.

When he’s alone in the darkness of the cave, Bruce collapses in a chair and weeps.

***

Dick is quieter in the following months.

Most nights, Bruce is interrupted by screams from down the hall. He always gets to Dick as fast as possible, holds him close, and rocks him until he manages to fall back asleep.

After all, Bruce isn’t really sleeping anymore.

The dreams are too vivid.

He’s better off without them.

***

Dick doesn’t go down to the cave anymore, but Bruce has seen the costume, the one he stole. The one he stuffs in the bottom of his backpack when he goes to school, the one he carries around the manor, the one he fiddles with when he’s sitting in bed or doing homework.

Bruce sees the familiar brown and black and red, the colors that make his chest ache, but he doesn’t have the heart to have Dick put it back.

And so a little piece of Jason follows him wherever he goes.

***

Dick is furious.

Because Bruce can't be serious when he says this guy is going to be his new partner.

Tim Drake is tall and lanky, with dark hair and blue eyes so very much like Jason’s. He’s maybe four or five years older than Dick at most, with an obsession for photography and the gall to think he can become a hero.

Because what about Jason? Bruce can’t just replace him, not after everything that happened.

How could he?

Dick yells and screams, but it doesn't get him anywhere.

So instead he tries avoiding Tim as much as possible.

It’s not easy. Tim spends most of his time at the manor (even though he has parents, Dick notes), moving between the cave and the kitchen.

He always talks to Dick if they run into each other, carrying a pleasant conversation even if Dick makes a point not to respond.

“Hey Dick, how was school? I joined photography club today. I’m excited to show them my composition skills.”

“Oh hi! Do you want some cereal? I got some out for myself but I can pour you a bowl if you want.”

It's slow, but Dick starts to notice that Tim is actually… alarmingly comforting to have around. He doesn’t force his way into Dick’s life, he doesn’t make him reply when he talks to him, he’s careful about what he says, about how he talks about… the job.

And Dick’s thankful for that, even though he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to fully relax around Tim, he’s thankful. And it gets better… over time.

A year passes and Tim’s parents are killed. He moves into the manor and takes the room a few doors down from Dick’s, not Jason’s room, but close.

Dick knows Tim is struggling, not just with his parents’ deaths, but with the damage they left him with. He hears talking late at night, Bruce using the same, smooth, low voice he uses to calm Dick down when he’s scared. He can’t really make out words, but once or twice Dick is sure he hears Tim call Bruce Dad.

One morning, he and Tim lock eyes over the dining room table. It’s just them that morning, Bruce and Alfred having left much earlier for a company meeting in Metropolis.

Tim looks tired, the bags under his eyes darker than usual, his hair mussed and tangled.

They look at each other.

A moment passes.

Then another.

“‘M sorry about your folks.” Dick mumbles. “And ‘m sorry for being kind of a jerk.” He adds.

The corners of Tim’s eyes crinkle when he smiles.

“Thanks kiddo.”

And even though those words make Dick’s heart stop, make his hands tighten around the table cloth, he manages to hide it until he gets to his room.

There, he has privacy.

There, he doesn’t have to block out the images of dark hair and a wide smile and a loud laugh.

There, Dick still has Jason’s costume hidden under his bed.

He takes it out when he needs to talk.

“You wouldn’t believe what Tim did today. He gave away their position on patrol and got sent back because a thug broke his arm. That never would’ve happened to you, huh Jay? Nothing could ever hurt you.”

“The manor’s still so quiet. Remember that time we played tag and you broke one of Alfred’s tea pots? He was so mad. You grabbed my hand and we hid in the garden for hours. Remember that Jay?”

“Hey… I miss you.”

***

It’s a rainy night and the manor is quiet. Bruce and Tim are out on patrol, investigating a new string of chemical robberies, and Alfred has long since gone to sleep.

Dick is sitting on his bed with Jason’s costume spread out over his lap, crying quietly and rumpling the fabric between his fists.

It was the same nightmare he’s been having for the past two weeks. Jason is drowning in a pool of inky black liquid, sinking slowly below the surface. Dick tries to hold on, to pull Jason out, he always tries, but Jason slips into the darkness, just like he always does.

But this time… this time Jason had been screaming.

Dick can still hear it, the cries ringing in his head. Ear splitting, blood curdling, bouncing against his skull like a pinball.

He takes another shuddering breath, shoulders shaking.

He hasn’t had a nightmare like that in years.

Dick almost doesn’t hear it over the patter of rain.

Almost.

A light knock, coming from his window.

Dick stands up and hides the costume back under his bed, wiping uselessly at his cheeks as he makes his way to the window.

He pauses for a moment before opening the curtains, letting a faint sliver of moonlight spill into his bedroom.

Nothing’s there.

The world outside is dim and dark and filled with the distant sound of thunder.

Dick is about to turn away when something large crashes through his window, tumbling into the bookshelf next to his dresser. It takes a few seconds for him to recover, to make out the shape of a human in the dim light and see the glint of metal hidden under their jacket.

Dick retreats towards the door and watches as the stranger gets to their feet. The jacket is leather, thick and sturdy, covering a dark Kevlar body suit and several loaded holsters. Dick tries to make out a face, but the head is smooth and featureless, gleaming red in the low light from the window.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

The stranger takes a step forward, reaching out.

Dick takes a step back.

The stranger hesitates, hand recoiling, and settles awkwardly against Dick’s dresser.

After a moment of silence the stranger sighs.

“This isn’t how I wanted this to go.”

They shift and press a finger to the back of their helmet, releasing it with a soft hiss.

With the helmet removed, Dick can make out a mop of black hair and ginger roots, the outline of a mask, the curve of a jawline.

The stranger steps closer, face coming further into the light, and Dick feels fresh tears spill down his cheeks.

“Jay?”

“Hey Baby Bird. Sorry I took so long.”

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animalpetcel · 5 years

Text

Ideal RHATO

Okay, so I’ve done some thinking. While Red Hood and the Outlaws was an interesting concept; give Jason friends and a team of his own, get him out of the Batfam Shadow, it’s been bogged down by L*bdell spotty writing and questionable Editorial decisions. So I’ve taken the time to think of what I would personally want the Outlaws to be.

First of all, I don’t believe that Jason would be better of if he remained solo. While he does deserve a good solo run other than UtH, the idea of permanently sequestering from creating meaningful, recurring relationships with other heroes is just repulsive to me. He should be allowed to have friends and people to talk to outside of the Batfamily guys, there’s only so many adventures he can have by himself before they all start sounding the same. You could even have him gaining friends as part of his character development.

Okay! So let’s begin

In my version, the Outlaws would be a more obvious antihero team. They take cases by those who feel that regular heroes can’t help them, that they won’t go far enough to achieve justice. The Outlaws won’t kill often, but it would usually be awful criminals like drug dealers, traffickers or those in charge, but if they don’t kill, they won’t be above dissing out harsh, lasting punishments to those who cross them. There could be the possibility of them being a team looking for redemption, but I’ve never really thought about them going in that direction.

Btw: This will be a hard reboot, everything from New52 to Rebirth regarding RHATO will be completely retconned, because Lobdell wrote almost all of them and despite what people want to believe most of it is bad save for some barely passable moments

Outlaw Members

Jason Todd

Can’t have the Outlaws without their infamous leader. Like I said above, I believe that having his own team can be a good thing for Jason, he can establish a history disconnected from his history with Bruce and actually start to move on. I’d imagine him being a reluctant leader, preferring to work alone but admitting that having people to rely on has made his mission a lot easier. He’s a very driven and calculated person, and after reading Arkham Knight Genesis, I have no doubt in his leadership skills and his ability to turn a ragtag group of antiheroes into a team to be reckoned with.

Idk if I’d keep his All-Caste stuff. I know that it was probably created to give his backstory something that stands out, since he’s the third Batfam member to have the League of Assassins in his backstory and isn’t the only one that’s died before, but he barely uses the All-blades or brings up the All-Caste to the point were you can omit it and don’t really have to do that much to replace it. At this point, I’d accept Talia making him train with Brother Blood over the All-Caste.

I’d probably say that the Lazurus pit Talia used to bring him back was kinda special, giving him a minor healing factor and increasing his strength, idk, something small.

Eddie Bloomberg

(I hate Tom King and this dialogue too but I wanted a recent image of him)

Did you know that unlike Roy Harper, Eddie was actually Jason’s best friend pre-reboot? Most people don’t because DC doesn’t care about using pre-established canon or developing its less popular heroes! 🙃

Okay, I used to be a huge fan of Jason and Roy’s friendship in New52 RHATO, but then I learned that Roy was originally Dick’s friends, that his personality was dumbed down for New52, Roy actually hates mercenaries and would never become one, they only used Roy because he was more popular and that most Titan/Roy friends actually hate his New52 counterpart and friendship with Jason. While I believe that Roy and be both friendship with Dick AND Jason (but in different ways. Dick is more of a close friend while he and Jason should have a more big brother kind of relationship), I have to admit that DC dropped the ball here, and it would be easier to just scrap everything instead of trying to make it work.

Eddie’s personality is actually quite similar to New52 Roy’s, and he and Jason already have unexplored history, so switching Roy with him won’t mess anything too much.

And now, I hear you ask “Ani, what about the Outlaw’s being an antihero group? Wouldn’t that make Eddie stand out?”, and I will reply “Don’t worry, I have a plan!”

Back when Eddie first got his powers, Neron, the king of hell at the time (?) wanted Eddie to be his protege, but Eddie refuses. But what if Neron was more forceful? Eddie could be offered, now powerless again because of the events of TT (but his death is retconned to just getting badly injured), to become Neron’s protege once again. With nothing left to lose (his relationship with Blue Devil is still in the fritz, Teen Titans no longer seem to give a damn and Rose & Jaime is still off doing their own things), he takes it. I guess he’s probably look different with more of Neron’s power coursing through his veins, but the point is that Outlaws become a “Fall from grace” for him. He’s trying to still be a hero, but as Neron’s influence continues to grow, his ability to tell right from wrong gets more and more clouded.

He’s the one to approach Jason with the idea of being a team, wanting to relive the “Good Ol’ Days” when they were younger and less bogged down with personal trauma. While Jason is reluctant, he admits that since being self-exiled from the Batfamily that it’s been kinda lonely, so he agrees, but only short-term. Eddie then segways into the next member of their burgeoning group–

Rose Wilson

While pre-reboot, Rose and Jason did not have the friendliest interactions, with her holding a blade to her throat while his brothers threatened him with a crime he never committed. Post-reboot, he and Rose seem to have a more “friendlier” relationship, but the Wilson family have been rebooted at least theee times in both New52 and Rebirth, so who knows if they even still know each other now,

Rose and Eddie were very close friends in Teen Titans, and I think that getting Rose away from the madness of her family and father could be good for her character.

Eddie manages to convince her to join the “Outlaws”, but like Jason, she goes into it thinking that it’ll be a one-time thing. She cares a lot about Eddie, and sticks with the team to make sure that he’s doing alright. She probably could have an arc were Nightwing confronts her on her work in the Outlaws (since the other heroes see them as white-hat mercenaries) since he mentored her in being a hero, so it could be about dealing with what other people expect of her.

Essence

While L*bdell might be basically a shit writer, he does create interesting concepts. With a better writer, Essence could be a very interesting character, watching from the shadows and judging whether or not the Outlaws are actually “good” people, before she eventually starts taking a more active role in helping them punish criminals.

While she would at first interact solely with Jason, asking him questions about his deeds and ordering him in what direction she feels is best, she would eventually introduce herself to the rest of the group. I think she’d get along best with Komand’r, while the others might test her absolutism, Black-And-White morality a bit.

Rankorr (Jack Moore)

I know that there’s some people who want Guy Gardner to be Jason’s lantern, but what about a lantern who is close to Jason in age and actually fits the Outlaw theme?

Jack Moore is a Red Lantern, not only a Red Lantern, but the first human lantern who is also the first Red Lantern to be capable of creating constructs. He struggles with his rage, and deep down, he wants to enjoy a normal life on earth.

Maybe after Red Lantern (retconning Lobo or if not, he’s brought back using Red Lantern Blood Magic), he decides that the RL’s are a bit too cult-like for him and tries to lay low on Earth, finishing his literature degree and opening up a small bookstore somewhere in London. He’s close with Guy, but still can’t/refuses to let go of his rage, so Jack is still a RL

Of course, keeping his rage at bay is hard work, and after witnessing police brutality one more time, he loses control.

The Outlaws were hired by the family of the victim to make the officers see justice, but after seeing Jack work, they realize that this might be their easiest case yet.

Afterwards, Jack tries to downplay the entire thing (before resorting to threats when the Outlaws won’t listen), but Jason eventually convinced him that his talents would be wasted just being a civilian (and that his rage will only get worse if he continues to just let it boil without an “outlet”) so he joins the team

Blackfire

I’ve read Komand’r’s backstory, I know how bad it looks. However, in a medium where retcons and reimaginings are features instead of bugs (and can benefit a character’s story if done right), I really think it could be possible to make her work.

After reading New52 RHATO, I began thinking that it could be so much better if not only Eddie took Roy’s spot, but also if Komand’r took Starfire’s, since I feel like she had more potential beyond “Kori’s evil disabled sister”, “War Criminal” and “Struggling queen of Tamaran”

First, I’d change her pre-reboot backstory so instead of taking over the Gordanians, she is instead captured by them after Starfire frees her from the Psions (Komand’r still hates her sister and refuses to follow her). Through her clever mind and manipulations, she manages to earn favor with Lord Damyn, feigning romantic interest. Of course, given Komand’r’s nature, she ends up killing and replacing him, but her rule doesn’t go over well and she is again recaptured, but this time she’s brought to Earth.

Realizing that she’s now trapped on the planet whete her sister has become a successful and popular hero, Komand’r is at first angry, and then conspires to free herself and take revenge on her sister (who she still blames for everything despite that not being the case).

The Outlaws bust the alien trafficking ring, and Komand’r, seeing her chance, decides to show off and make nice with them to eventually use them for her revenge.

She finds Eddie and Rankorr easy to manipulate, but she bumps Heads with Jason whenever she tries to take his role as leader away from him and finds Rose’s mind to be “weak”. Overtime however, she bonds with Jason over feeling inferior to their siblings, realizes that her anger shares Rankorr’s intensity, and grows a genuine friendship with Rose and Eddie

Oh yeah, and maybe she tries to make things right with Kori

Artemis Grace

What would the Outlaws be without the greatest Amazon to have ever lived? Nothing, that’s for sure.

While I don’t agree with Jaytemis (at least not yet), I have to admit that Jason would be a fool not to like her. She’s a cool, confident character with a lot of interesting lore behind her.

Her joining will probably be pretty close to canon. The Outlaws are tasked with going after Black Mask, and Jason decides to go undercover, as the Red Hood still has his fingers in various criminal pies. While investigating, he runs into Artemis, who is looking for the Bow of Ra, and rest is history.

I feel like she’ll get along really well with Rose and Komand’r and maybe she’ll date one. She’ll definitely view Eddie a bit dismissively, and she isn’t a huge fan of demons. Rankorr would probably come off as stuck up to her.

Bizarro

Anyone who knows me will know that I’m am not a huge fan of Bizarro clones. I consider them to be an overused concept (that sometimes feels as if it relies on gene superiority, but idk if I’ll ever fully process my dislike for them), and the fact that as the time I’m writing this, there are at least four currently in continuity does not enamor me with the concept more.

However, after re-reading RHATO a few times, I’ll admit that the Outlaws’ Bizarro has grown on me. Since he already kinda has a unique name (Bizz), all I think he needs is a more visually distinct costume (doesn’t even have to directly reference Superman, but I can go 50/50 on the backwards “S”)

The Outlaws getting Bizz is exactly the same as canon. I’d imagine that he and Eddie would be as close as brothers. While Rankorr might find Bizz’s way of thinking and speaking to be annoying, I’d think that Rankorr will eventually warm up to him and probably teach him how to read and help Artemis teach him. Komand’r and Rose will probably be less receptive to him, but who knows

August Heart

I’m a Godspeed fan first and human second, we’ve been knew.

In all seriousness, Godspeed is the perfect Rebirth era character for RHATO and the fact that he and Jason still haven’t met is why DC doesn’t have any rights.

Okay okay, but he’s honestly a perfect fit. Like Jason, he also kills when dealing with crimes, but he isn’t so good and knowing who’s guilty and who isn’t just yet.

This will probably be after Death of the Speedforce, with August finally making things right with Barry, but still not forgiving himself for everything that happened. Deciding to self-exile himself rather than go back to Iron Heights, August travels, trying to figure out what do to do next, trying to follow Barry’s rules (which he finds to be very wishy-washy) to the best of his ability.

Eventually, he learns that Black Hole is still running, and against his better instincts, he goes after them.

His trail of lightning destruction catches the eye of the Outlaws.

Barry, realizing that his best-friend might need someone who can actually be there all the time to help reign him in, Barry goes to the Outlaws and asks them if they can help him once they catch up to him

They do in the form of offering a spot on the team.

August is very self-assured (even if it is hiding a softer, more emotional center), but has proven to be able to work with others, so I can see the other Outlaws coming to like him. They might find him a little cocky/early to jump the gun, but still a trusted and valued member of the team.

Since every Robin has their own flash, it only makes sense to finally give Jason (and have them date) a speedster of his own, and it should be someone who fits his morals, and who else could Then the speedster fans literally call “The Red Hood of the Flashfam”?

Final Thoughts

Other possible members I would consider/accept are

Eradicator Superman

Koryak

Vanessa Kapatelis/Silver Swan lll

Simon Amal (Crux)

Danny Chase

Clone!Roy Harper

Connor Hawke

Orm Marvius

Man O’ War

Lagoon Boy

Scarlet

Zachary Zatara

Thomas Merlyn

Ragman

Bleez

Walter West

Even with a cast as sizable as the one I just listed, with a good enough writer, there could still a few minor side characters. I would personally want the them to be

Scarlet: Jason’s former sidekick. She could be either a civilian who he talks to get experience some normalcy or the leader of her own version of the Outlaws made of up the Generation Outlaws we meet in RHATO #37-40. Either way, it could contrast with Bruce and the way he (mis)treats his own sidekicks and family

Zachary Zatara: Eddie’s old friend who helped him get his devil powers. Zachary would definitely be worried over Eddie once again accepting Neron’s power and will want to try to help. Whether he suceeds or not will depend if the writers want to go in that direction

Isabel Ardila: She’s a nothing character, but there’s a small chance that with a better writer, she might gain an interesting personality or an actual purpose in RHATO

Talia Al Ghul: before the reboot, Talia was Jason’s mentor figure and even gave him a cool dagger. It would be so cool if we can bring that back and erase Morrison’s problematic charactization of her. Maybe the dagger she gives Jason could be an All-Blade or smth. They’d definitely take a few cases from her however

Batfam, Titans and respective groups: it would have to happen eventually. It could lead to some interesting, angst filled conversations. And who knows, maybe they’ll actually make progress with their issues

But this post has gone on long enough. I just really wanted to talk a bit about my ideal Outlaws team that I will never see anywhere except for my dreams because mass media hates me and DC still thinks that Lobdell deserves to write Jason 😔😭

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

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National Enquirer, December 14

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Prince William’s secret cancer crisis

Page 2: Chris Martin is caught between girlfriend Dakota Johnson and ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow who are both hawking sex toys -- Gwyneth is accusing Dakota of copying her Goop brand and she’s letting Chris know it loud and clear -- Dakota signed on as co-creative director with the sexual wellness brand Maude to launch a line of hip sex products and Dakota’s gotten wind of Gwyn’s whining and thinks she’s being ridiculous -- Chris is proud of Dakota and he feels for Gwyneth but he really wants to be left out of this

Page 3: Martha Stewart has whipped up a new recipe for romance which is red-hot dates with a string of men ordered up online and she may be 79 years old but she’s still cooking with gas in the dating department -- Martha’s getting more dates now than she ever has and she’s saying it makes her feel younger and hotter than ever but all the guys know the deal that there’s no pressure and no commitment and it’s just for the fun and the good company because Martha’s not looking for a relationship

Page 4: Just weeks after Blake Shelton popped the question to longtime love Gwen Stefani they have something else to celebrate as Gwen is expecting a miracle baby at 51 -- after years of trying and failing to have a child together new photos show Gwen sporting what looks like a telltale baby bump -- after years of enduring grueling rounds of IVF treatment without any success Gwen had given up hope of being able to conceive again and she and Blake even looked into adopting but their baby dream has come true naturally

* Reba McEntire’s romance with actor Rex Linn is less than a year old but she’s already driving him crazy -- it was wonderful for the first few months but Reba is so controlling Rex is begging her to give him some space -- Reba wants to be together 24/7 and while Rex loves being with her he’s starting to find her a bit suffocating -- Reba also sees red whenever Rex mentions his former fiancee Renee DeRese and she’s worried Rex is talking to his ex when he’s not around and he has a good relationship with his ex and believes that’s none of Reba’s business

Page 5: Britney Spears lost her bid to have her father Jamie Spears removed from a controlling role in her conservatorship so she’s spending whatever money she can get her hands on to exact her revenge -- Britney is worth about $60 million and she gets a very healthy stipend from that so she’s going through it like water to thumb her nose at her dad and her recent no-holds-barred trip to Maui to celebrate her 39th birthday was more than a little payback because dropping $50,000 on a birthday trip to Hawaii was a satisfying slap in the face to her dad��

Page 6: Matthew McConaughey is taking his midlife crisis to an all-time high by planning to do a stand-up comedy tour -- after baring his soul in a memoir the 51-year-old star is totally gung-ho about the comedy thing and he’s cleared his schedule and hired a coach to work on his timing and punch up his jokes -- he’s written a lot of jokes and tried them out on his wife Camila and friends but they’re already tired of his cheesy one-liners and dad jokes and fart gags -- Camila wants to be supportive but she can’t fake it and friends wonder if Matthew’s lost the plot and others claim he might get more inspiration is he took up smoking weed again

Page 7: Grieving Bobby Brown worries he’s cursed after the tragic death of his 28-year-old son Bobby Brown Jr. -- his son’s death follows the deaths of his ex-wife Whitney Houston in 2012 and the couple’s 22-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in 2015 -- Bobby has suffered through so much pain in his life and it’s left him feeling like he’s cursed and he’s a loving father who always does the best he can and what’s right for his kids but there seems to be no escaping tragedy -- no foul play is expected in the death of Bobby Jr. but the coroner has yes to release the cause of death but Bobby Jr. seemed fit and healthy and had never been a drug user and was excited about a singing career after releasing his first single in September

* Donny Osmond is heading back to the Vegas strip to do a one-man show without his sister Marie Osmond and she’s fuming over the betrayal -- Marie is still smarting after getting dumped by The Talk and she thinks Donny could have been sensitive enough to at least invite her to join him -- Marie’s jealous co-stars on The Talk drove her off the daytime chat show because they couldn’t handle being overshadowed by her -- Donny will debut his new solo show at Harrah’s in August

Page 8: Doting Dolly Parton swooped in to save goddaughter Miley Cyrus from a meltdown after Miley trashed her sobriety during a boozy bender -- Miley has been on the wagon for six months after years of indulging in weed and alcohol but the boredom of lockdown pushed her over the edge -- Dolly has been a source of inspiration and strength to Miley during this difficult time and she’s never lectured Miley about her lifestyle only shown her unconditional love and understanding and that’s what Miley’s responded to

Page 9: Lady Gaga hopes to tango with Brad Pitt and they’re close to making a love connection -- the two have been in deep talks about working on a big-screen thriller and the conversations have turned up close and personal because the two have more in common than people realize -- Brad has always been a huge music nerd and Gaga wants to throw herself into movies in a big way after the success of A Star Is Born -- Gaga is ready to cash out of her latest relationship with businessman Michael Polansky because they quarantined together and things got a little too close for her tastes and she’s now set her sights on Brad who recently became unattached after giving the brush-off to German model Nicole Poturalski -- Gaga’s interest in Brad has not gone unreciprocated because Brad is fascinated by Gaga saying she’s cool and talented beyond words and he’s made it clear she’s his number one choice to star alongside him in next movie and as a result the new duo is set to spend months together in Japan filming the racy thriller Bullet Train and they both think that this will be a great opportunity to see if the chemistry they’ve shared in conversations is real

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Julia Garner filmed her role as a phony heiress in Inventing Anna in NYC, Gary Busey picked up a copy of the National Enquirer at a Malibu newsstand, Jay-Z tossed around a football with pals during a Hawaiian getaway, Heidi Klum shot Germany’s Next Top Model in Berlin

Page 11: In the latest tragedy to strike the Getty dynasty 52-year-old John Gilbert Getty was found dead in a Texas hotel room -- he was a descendant of J. Paul Getty the oil tycoon who was once the world’s richest man -- the Getty fortune is worth an estimated $5 billion but the family has been rocked by a string of tragedies

* Gutsy Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman kept his colon cancer diagnosis secret from his own brothers Derrick L. Boseman who is a pastor in Murfreesboro in Tennessee -- but when Derrick called Chadwick to congratulate him on his career the actor broke the tragic news -- Chadwick’s last words to him still echo in his heart: Chadwick said, “I’m in the fourth quarter and I need you to get me out of the game,” which Derrick understood to mean it was time for him to go -- Chadwick died on August 28

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- the scrawny look of the holiday tree at Rockefeller Center revealed something that happens every year -- the tree is always filled with faux branches because that’s the only way the tree can sustain 50,000 LED lights

* Marie Osmond hasn’t spoken to Sharon Osbourne since she left The Talk because Marie and Sharon were professional but never friends

* Scarlett Johansson is worth $165 million while her new husband Colin Jost tops out a $6 million but despite the difference Colin bought both wedding rings -- some men may be intimidated by a wife who’s rich and famous but not Colin and paying the bills is something the two have worked out together

* Woody Harrelson chats with police after a day filming The Man from Toronto in Ontario (picture)

Page 13: Conan O’Brien is putting on a happy face on his retirement from late-night TV but he was forced out -- after nearly three decades hosting a daily show Conan announced he’s leaving his TBS talker for a weekly variety series on HBO Max but he knew he had to go even before he was asked because he was made aware months ago that his show would not be renewed because the ratings weren’t great and the network was looking to replace him so he started looking for other opportunities

* Lizzo wailing about the pitfalls of fame in an emotional TikTok post has sent out the alarm among her friends who fear she is days away from a full-on meltdown -- she seems to be hanging by a thread and is trying to numb the pain with endless cycles of comfort eating and she already weighs 350 pounds -- Lizzo’s unhappy with her weight and hates the sight of herself when she looks in the mirror but she’s unable to stick to a diet and ends up binge eating through the night

Page 14: Crime

Page 15: Emboldened by his legal victories last year accused sexual abuser Kevin Spacey is denying all the allegations in a 2020 lawsuit in New York against him and demanding the case be brought to trial so he can clear his name -- Kevin is feeling pretty confident after two sexual harassment cases against him in Los Angeles and Massachusetts were dismissed last year and he wants his day in court to prove he is not the monster these charges paint him to be -- in the September suit two male accusers charged Spacey sexually assaulted them when they were 14 and the first accuser alleged Spacey assaulted him on multiple occasions after they met in an acting class in the ‘80s -- in the same suit actor Anthony Rapp charged Spacey invited him to a party at his home and grabbed his buttocks and lifted him onto a bed and lay on top of him

* Serial killer Ted Bundy relived the details of one of his horrific killings in his final conversation before he was fried in the electric chair in 1989 -- Bundy who was convicted of killing 30 women and suspected of doing the same to many more across four states in the 1970s and ‘80s spilled his guts to a psychologist just hours before his execution death and it can be heard in its frightening entirety on the Crimedoor app -- Bundy details the murder of Georgann Hawkins

Page 16: Accused Jeffrey Epstein madam Ghislaine Maxwell is under quarantine in a federal pen after being exposed to a guard with COVID-19 and now sources fear she could die before facing justice on child sex trafficking charges next year

Page 17: Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton’s kids are devastated after their best friend Lupo the family dog passed away -- the beloved dog had become a fixture in family photos but sadly died at age nine leaving Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte and especially Prince George enormously upset -- for George especially this is a tremendous upset as Lupo was his best friend and he has been there his entire life and this is his first experience with loss and he’s been crying nonstop and asking where Lupo is now

Page 18: American Life

Page 19: Russia is using a brain-frying microwave weapon to target American envoys in the U.S. and around the world -- a team of doctors and scientists at CIA headquarters determined the mysterious illness that’s plagued embassy workers in recent years was the handiwork of a weapon that can send a mind-scrambling sonic beam through windows and walls from two miles away -- since 2018 the weapon has zapped 26 diplomats in Cuba who reported suffering from migraines and ringing in the ears and dizziness and vertigo -- Some has longer-term effects such as fatigue and loss of vision and difficulty sleeping symptoms dubbed the Havana Syndrome

* Elon Musk is already designing posh planetary digs for residents of his future city on Mars and he said the first million Earthlings to arrive will live in glass domes -- Musk’s outer-space enterprise is still a little sketchy on details of how to ship a million people to Mars by 2050 and change the atmosphere by terraforming or planting the right stuff to create oxygen

Page 21: American Pie singer Don McLean’s daughter has blasted him as a verbally abusive tyrant who left her with deep psychological scars -- Jackie McLean claimed her father insulted and degraded her and forbade her from following in his musical footsteps and even threatened to exclude her from his $50 million fortune if she spoke out against him -- despite her dad’s warning Jackie has embarked on a musical career with her husband Shawn Strack forming the group Roan Yellowthorpe

Page 22: Hey, Big Spender! Hollywood’s tippers and tightwads -- Jessica Simpson, Mick Jagger, Rachael Ray, Taylor Swift

Page 23: Russell Crowe, Donnie Wahlberg, Jeremy Piven, Johnny Depp, Bill Cosby

Page 25: Justin Bieber is questioning his future in the scandal-scarred Hillsong church after his former pal and pastor Carl Lentz was booted out in disgrace -- the singer has long relied on Hillsong which some have branded a cult and Lentz to help him navigate fame -- Justin’s at a crossroads right now because he definitely felt betrayed by Carl and now he and his wife Hailey Bieber are deciding whether to stay with the church

Page 26: Viola Davis has revealed how growing up poor in Rhode Island affected her self-worth saying what comes with poverty is invisibility and we just want to be somebody desperately -- Viola says her feeling of I’m Important helped drive her career which has led to an Oscar and two Tonys and an Emmy

* Hollywood Hookups -- Vanessa Hudgens is dating Cole Tucker of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jordan Fisher and Ellie Woods married, Luann De Lesseps dating Garth Wakeford

Page 27: Nicole Kidman has revealed there is only one cure for her desperate struggles with loneliness which is in the arms of husband Keith Urban -- Nicole said she practices psychological discipline to keep her career and home life separate but isolation still plagues her

* Dallas star Linda Gray is mourning the death of her son Jeff Thrasher at the age of 56 -- she’s heard from some former Dallas colleagues who have rallied around her and expressed their condolences -- no cause of death for Jeff has been revealed

Page 28: Cover Story -- Prince William is trapped in a cancer nightmare after medical tests have led doctors to suspect the heir to Britain’s throne may be fighting a slow-moving form of the deadly disease and now the 38-year-old royal and his family are terrified he is in severe danger and medical experts are monitoring his health for any symptoms of the illness -- there’s talk around the palace the prince’s decision to reveal he tested positive for COVID-19 during the spring is really an attempt to explain away his condition because doctors found something funky when they checked for the virus -- if William’s health takes a turn for the worse it could further erode confidence in the monarchy which has already endured Prince Andrew’s sex scandal and the defection of Prince Harry -- when William’s doctors dropped their cancer bombshell his wife Duchess Kate Middleton locked herself away with just their kids for five days and she’s practically had a breakdown but she’s learned to be a royal and is now coping very bravely and confronting the future with steely resolve but she is urging William to mend fences with his estranged brother Harry

Page 32: Health Watch

Page 36: Jessica Simpson is preparing her windpipes for a post-pandemic musical comeback -- she hasn’t released an album since Happy Christmas a decade ago but wants to storm the pop charts once again and recruit some of her wider family to give her a disco edge because Jessica has always looked up to Diana Ross who is sister Ashlee Simpson’s mother-in-law and Jessica has been bugging Ashlee to hook her up with Diana and she thinks they could do an incredible duet

Page 38: Paul McCartney has taken a seething jab at a two-faced gold-digging mystery woman in his new song Lavatory Lil but insisted it’s not about his ex-wife Heather Mills

* Lil Wayne’s ex-girlfriend fears he will go insane behind bars -- the rapper is a convicted felon banned from possessing a weapon and now faces up to 10 years in jail after federal agents in Miami caught him with heroin and cocaine and ecstasy and marijuana and a gold-plated gun -- former girlfriend Melissa Howe says he won’t cope and it took him years to get his life back to normal after his last trip inside so for it to happen again for him to be put behind bars it would really get to him mentally

Page 42: Red Carpet -- American Music Awards -- Kristin Cavallari, Christian Serratos, Paris Hilton, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Megan Fox

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- LeAnn Rimes holding a dog on Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family

Page 47: Odd List

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killshope · 4 years

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so casual ,,,,,,,,,, modern verse background information , for what i would consider a very .................. like ‘catch all’ modern verse & will be using for all modern interactions likely .

warnings for ; s/ex trafficking / , abuse / , death / , drugs / , blackmail /

i’m willing to write w/ any muses in this verse , just let me know where’d you’d fit .

side notes : in this verse , ben’s grandfather anakin is the reason that leia and luke are so vehemently involved in bringing down organizations . anakin , a child from the streets surviving on spite , determination and making his living from carrying drugs was taken in by obi-wan kenobi , a straight edge mentor with ties to the law ( fbi ) . through obi-wan , anakin met padme , an activist for women rights and fighting to break down the crime infiltrating through cities by going after dirty politicians . anakin unable to escape the control of his past gang affiliations was given the option of continuing to work for them or they’d kill padme , his now fiance . during a stint gone wrong , anakin killed padme while out of his mind on drugs which were put in his drink earlier without his knowledge -- padme died but obi-wan finding them , was able to get her medical help before the twins were lost . anakin overdosed and leading both his children to develop strong dedications to eradicating crime and t/rafficking from their streets. it’s unknown but implied that anakin was likely taken as a trafficked child himself as his mother shmi was never found .

obi-wan incapable of taking care of twins / not allowed by the state due to lack of legitimacy as a ‘blood’ kin , etc. owen lars agree to take both twins but by the early age of six , leia was already showing immense academic skills , and bail organa , who had been visiting the children and helping owen when he was able , asked to take her in as his wife and he could not bear children and they would be honored to send her to the finest schools and prepare her as best they could . luke , taking a shine to the country life , rather than school , went a different route , investing his time in criminal justice and studying what made people tick while living a rather quiet life out of the limelight . leia , not wanting her skywalker legacy to taint her chances at political success , took the name organa at an early age , legally changing it long before taking any position of power .

infamous undercover cop han solo , who single-handedly disbanded two major crime organizations with ties to drugs and se/x t/rafficking after infiltrating them as a smuggler for nearly 10+ years after his rags to riches story in which he put himself through the academy after living on the streets most of his life . wildly popular and inspiring leia organa , who met han solo while captured during a political stint in which she attempted to bring down the ‘empire’ by putting herself into their gang territory and was captured , only to be taken by jabba , the ring leader . obi-wan had invested his time in helping them with anything he could , becoming a mentor and respected figure to both twins . leia , after being captured is able to get one last message out to obi-wan requesting help , to which he is able to get luke involved which eventually leads to her being saved . her brother luke , a private detective went to the authorities and together devised a plan to get han solo close enough to save leia & get the intel to bring down the crime ring . han and leia had a rocky , on again off again relationship , into which obi-wan benjamin organa-solo was born .

ben solo , grew up with very little emotional support . with his father han , working largely either away from home or undercover after being promoted to a government job ( ben isn’t sure what but thinks it must be something like a spy , or handler ) and his mother , involved in her own extremely busy and important life , he was left largely relying on house staff to care for him . beyond this , he was introduced to his uncle luke at the age of 13 when his mother found him after punching a hole in his wall . while not the first time he’d broken something on purpose , it was the first time he admitted that the action made him feel relief . fearing , wrongly , that her son could be exhibiting similar tendencies to her father , she sent him away to be luke , hoping that getting him away from the city would help .

through luke , ben solo made contact with a persona via email known as ‘snoke’. after being emotionally and physically blackmailed through photos of ben altered to appear as though he were committing crimes , and threats they would hack his internet profiles he was sufficiently scared enough to do what they asked . things started out small , deliver this to so and so , show up here and say this , but became more and more unsettling - have this girl call this number , get her to meet you at the bar but don’t worry about showing up. one night , a message appeared on his phone while he was sleeping with a address and a code word . luke , having been hunting snoke for sometime , assumed the worst , and tried to take ben in , who attacked him , knocking him unconscious and running for his life .

ben solo was known as code name kylo ren from ages 13 - 29 , working for snoke when forced to , and using his cover as an accountant at a corrupt firm to make money and stay off the radar from his family . ages 21-24 , ben solo tries to leave , running away twice , once he is beaten and left with a scar from eyebrow to chest as a reminder that he is owned by the company . ages 25-29 , ben has completely taken on the moniker of kylo ren , hardly remembering anything of his family or his past. age 29 , kylo ren meets rey.

my canon has 3 forks here .

if rey is a kenobi , then she is obi-wan’s daughter (out of wed lock or accident or something), or she’s adopted later on , etc. and she is working for the police , investigating the crimes of t/rafficking and / or the corruption in the accounting firm. she could also be captured - but either way , he meets her and tries a second time to break free of snoke.

if rey is a palpatine , then she works for snoke as well , either willingly or unwillingly like ben . when they’re put together either via a heist / etc . they realize together they can escape , they can save one another as she’s likely be indoctrinated since birth into the ring.

if rey is a nobody , then it’s likely she’s been either captured / somehow involved with the ring / or she could just simply fall into ben’s life somehow , as someone from the office , or just as a random person . again , he would try to escape again after meeting her .

#obviously twisting canon somewhat because in this anakin didn't go vader exactly #dark /#sex trafficking /#cw /#tw /#read with caution /#death /#whew #i think this is a pretty good rendition of s/tar w/ars as a real crime type verse ?#001. 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑠 ☇ modern.

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tinsley-goldsworth · 5 years

Text

blood still stains when the sheets are washed

summary: c.c. has a sneaking suspicion that ricky is hiding something from him [or the five suspicious signs c.c. noticed about ricky]

(Week 1 of my 30 weeks of prompt challenge; dice and playing cards)

wc: 2851

read on ao3!

Ever since his teenage years, C.C. never liked parties all that much. The glamour of it all, the loud music, and the messy drinks never really appealed to his interest, but C.C. agreed to attend Francesca’s party as he knew she would probably murder him if he didn’t attend it. Francesca had questionable morals and a sketchy life but C.C. firmly separated his personal life from his work life. Every detective had a friend who occasionally committed crimes and got away with it, right?

C.C. wasn’t having the best time at her party and frankly, it was a little boring to have to make small talk with some mutuals he didn’t know well After a few drinks, he transitioned from talking to people to playing card games with strangers (drunk Tinsley was much bolder than sober Tinsley would ever be). He sat at a table with a dim light hanging over it and his long legs still reached the ground, even though he was sitting on a barstool. There were dozens of red solo cups on the table and he was surprised that nobody had knocked over any drinks during their games.

They played a variety of different card games, including poker, and C.C. was still sober enough to notice that a particular person was winning every single game and suspiciously, that person was always the one to shuffle the cards. He couldn’t recall the person’s name but as the person began shuffling the cards, C.C. asked loudly, “Hey, uh, shuffle guy! What’s your name again?”

“Ricky Goldsworth,” The person answered, raising an eyebrow at C.C.’s unruly volume. He continued to shuffle the cards nonchalantly, his fingers moving swiftly as he skillfully bent the cards. As inebriated C.C. was, he still took note of how oddly familiar Ricky was with the cards, which was seeming like he had spent the majority of his life just playing card games.

“Ricky! You’ve been shuffling the cards all night and you’ve been winning every single game! I think there’s something fishy here,” C.C. could hear the slight slur in his own words and he knew that he was too drunk to be taken seriously. The other people playing didn’t seem to think so as they laughed uproariously at his remark and Ricky cleared his throat as he placed the perfectly stacked and shuffled deck of cards in the center of the table.

“There are no such things as coincidences in the world, Tinsley,” Ricky commented mysteriously and C.C. couldn’t decide whether that remark was seductively mysterious or meaninglessly deep. Either way, the way Ricky’s eyes glinted mischievously after talking made C.C.’s heart skip a beat. The party had started to die down and eventually, the people who were avidly playing the card game moments earlier left.

The detective was too intoxicated to make good decisions so of course, his night ended with hooking up with Ricky because a) he was insanely attractive and b) there was so much unresolved romantic tension between them and C.C. could never let anything remain unresolved.

The morning after, C.C. expected Ricky to disappear mysteriously but Ricky didn’t leave. He and Ricky never really discussed what happened as their relationship sort of took off from there. At first, it was a casual relationship where they went on a few dates and then, their relationship strengthened and they began spending more time with each other.

Despite C.C. sharing a large amount of information about himself, he still didn’t know much about Ricky. But in a way, he liked the mysterious sheen of Ricky’s personality so when Ricky brushed off any specific questions about his past, C.C. didn’t push farther. However, C.C. did learn that Ricky worked at a drug company but somehow managed to live a somewhat luxurious lifestyle.

After a few months of dating, C.C. decided to ask Ricky to move in since Ricky was basically already living with him. Many of Ricky’s belongings were already in C.C.’s house so the move was relatively easy and quick. For some reason, C.C. didn’t really process the fact that Ricky was going to be moving in with him until he gave his boyfriend a key to his house.

“Now, you better not lose this or else you’re going to be in big trouble,” C.C. half-joked as he handed his boyfriend the key. When Ricky received the key, he broke into his signature charming grin as he took out his keychain that had his car keys and attached the house key to the keychain.

As he held up the keychain, Ricky proudly announced, “Don't worry, if it’s attached to my car keys I won’t ever lose them.”

When Ricky held up his keychain, C.C.’s detective senses flared when he noticed that there was a small gold dice charm attached to the keychain. C.C. would have brushed it off if the gold dice was plastic and coated in fake gold paint but the charm appeared to be made out of pure gold as it had scratches on the surface but no paint or other colors had been revealed from the scratches.

“Hey, is that a gold dice charm? It looks cool,” C.C. asked casually, pointing to the dangling charm. His mind was racing as he tried to connect the dots to find a logical explanation. There was no way Ricky could afford to buy a charm made out of pure gold if his only source of income was working at the drug company.

“Oh, a friend gave it to me for my birthday. It’s just a good luck charm. Hey, do you want Thai food for dinner tonight?” Ricky asked, smoothly switching the topic away from the charm as he put his keychain back into his pocket. The charm wasn’t mentioned again for a long long time after that interaction.

Living with Ricky was a dream but as time passed, C.C. started to notice more suspicious things happening. For example, there would be black cars that would constantly drive past their house and sometimes, they would park for a couple seconds and C.C. could feel whoever was hiding behind those dark tinted windows staring at the house before driving away. He hoped that he was just being paranoid and that these signs didn’t mean anything but it happened too often to be a coincidence.

One day, C.C. returned home from work early and he saw one of the black cars that often drove by their house parked in their driveway next to Ricky’s car, occupying C.C.’s parking spot. The detective parked his car next to the sidewalk in front of his house and since the curtains were drawn, C.C. couldn’t see who was inside the house. He had a hunch that there was a conversation going on inside the house that he wasn’t supposed to hear so he entered through the back door quietly.

As he gently closed the door behind him, C.C. heard the soft lull of a hushed conversation in the living room floating through the air and after removing his shoes, he carefully walked closer to better hear what the conversation was about. The people were speaking in deep, low voices, which made it hard to distinguish words, but C.C. heard the words “money”, “delivery”, “job”, and “deadline”. He was approaching the living room and getting closer to hearing the conversation but he tripped over a fallen letter and made a loud noise.

C.C. swore under his breath, cursing his clumsy behavior as the conversation halted to a stop and he heard somebody stand up and start moving towards where he was standing. He held his breath and when he saw that it was Ricky who walked out of the living room. His boyfriend had a frown on his face as he asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you were coming back later.”

“I got off work early. What’s up with the black cars in the driveway? Also, who are you talking to?” C.C. tried to move past Ricky to take a look at who was in the living room but Ricky blocked him smoothly.

“Nobody important. Just dealing with some business. They’re leaving now anyway. Stay here,” Ricky instructed and C.C. nodded. When Ricky slipped back into the living room, C.C. broke his promise as he shuffled closer to the living room, trying to get a good look at whoever was in the living room without being too obvious about it. There were two or three men dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses that Ricky was talking to and C.C. was unsure whether they were government officials or outlaws.

Ricky murmured something to the men and the men nodded before leaving the house. C.C. quietly returned to his earlier position so when Ricky walked out of the living room, C.C. didn’t seem like he moved at all. The detective knew that if he pressed for answers, Ricky would divert the subject. And even though this was clearly a red flag, C.C. decided to yet again give Ricky the benefit of the doubt.

A few weeks later, Ricky surprised C.C. with an extravagant gift. Although he didn’t seem like one, Ricky Goldsworth was one of the biggest sweethearts C.C. had ever met. So, of course, on their one year anniversary, Ricky bought C.C. a gift.

They were sitting at the dinner table when Ricky took out a small bag and placed it in front of C.C. with a giant grin on his face. C.C. gasped delightedly and took the bag off the table, carefully placing it in his lap as he looked inside to find a small box. He took out the small black box and opened it to reveal a stunning red and silver ring.

“Just to clarify, it’s not a wedding ring. I would’ve spent more if this was a wedding ring. This was just a tiny gift I wanted to give to you,” Ricky explained nonchalantly as C.C. examined the ring. The ring was rather thin and delicate but the red ruby seemed to pop out against the silver band. Ornate vine patterns were carved into the ring and C.C. deducted that this ring was handmade and probably costed a fortune.

“How did you afford this ring, honey?” C.C. asked incredulously, still trying to comprehend how expensive the ring was. With a large jewel, hand-carved intricate designs, the ring must’ve been at least ten thousand dollars, which was definitely out of Ricky’s budget.

“Oh, just another shift at the drug company. It’s not a big deal. It’s not that expensive anyway.” Ricky casually replied, taking a sip out of his wine glass. C.C. eyed his boyfriend suspiciously, uncertain of whether Ricky was joking or actually trying to convince C.C. If he was trying to convince C.C., it was definitely not working as only an idiot would believe that an extra shift could cover the cost of this exquisite piece of jewelry.

Before C.C. could probe any further, Ricky quickly brought up the new topic of buying a new car and C.C. brushed any thoughts about Ricky’s behavior into the corner of his mind. The detective did end up wearing the ring often and as a result, he received a lot of questions about it. With each question asked about how much the ring was or who gave him the ring, C.C. was reminded of how shady the whole situation was. But then again, it wasn’t a big deal, just like the men in black, and C.C. didn’t want to make it seem more important than it was.

However, C.C. wasn’t able to make any more excuses once he found a dead body in the bathtub. Once again, the detective had returned home early from work and he was surprised that Ricky wasn’t home yet as he usually arrived earlier than C.C. did.

C.C. wasn’t looking to snoop around to find anything Ricky was hiding but a dead body lying face down in a bathtub was sort of hard to miss when you were using the bathroom. When C.C. first saw the body, he had a moment of frozen shock as he stared at it in dismay, uncertain about what to do with the bloody corpse in the tub. He had no clue how it got there in the first place but he had a very strong suspicion that Ricky was associated with the dead body.

The blood was already caking in the body and C.C. carefully inspected it the best he could without touching it. He was examining the stab wound on the person’s bad when he heard Ricky coming in. Instead of pretending that there was no problem present like he had always been doing, C.C. decided to confront Ricky.

“Hey, sweetie! How was your day?” Ricky called out as he entered the house and walked towards the bathroom. C.C.’s heart rate quickened as he heard his boyfriend walk closer and closer and when Ricky opened the bathroom door, his mouth fell open in a surprised “O”. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Ricky, can you please just explain what’s going on? I’m kind of tired of you brushing aside all these weird things you do. You owe me an explanation.” Looking Ricky in the eye while saying that was one of the most difficult tasks C.C. had ever done and he had solved hundreds of murders. Ricky sighed and he nodded in defeat, closing the bathroom door behind him as he stepped in.

“Where do you want me to start?” Ricky, normally warm and caring, started to display signs of defensiveness as he crossed his arm after anxious running his hands through his hair.

The detective sat on the edge of the bathtub, where there was thankfully no blood, and thought for a moment before answering. “Start from the moment we met. When you were shuffling the cards. I couldn’t help but notice you were really good at shuffling cards.”

“You really do pick up on everything, huh?” Ricky smiled slyly at C.C. and C.C. couldn’t help but crack a small, proud smile at his skills. “Well, obviously, I don’t work at a drug company. I sort of deal with criminals. I did most of my connections when I was in Vegas over games of Poker so I learned how to play cards well to impress potential business partners.”

“And the golden dice?” C.C. raised a questioning eyebrow and Ricky leaned against the sink, tapping the side of the counter with his fingertips.

“I won the golden dice in a game of blackjack and to this day, the guy who I won it from still contacts me,” Ricky’s pride was starting to reveal itself in his voice. Even though being a criminal was nothing to be proud of, Ricky somehow managed to make doing dirty business seem like he was a famous actor rising to fame.

“What about the men in black?”

“Oh, those guys.” Ricky casually picked up a loose coin lying near the sink on the countertop and began fiddling with it mindlessly. “They were business partners. They gave me a task to do and they offered a lot of money for the job.”

“Which is what you used to buy the ring,” C.C. filled in the blank and Ricky nodded, placing the coin down on the countertop as he locked eyes with C.C. again.

“That’s right. They paid upfront since they’ve been working with me long enough to trust me so u decided to buy a small present for you. It didn’t cost too much compared to what I earned.” As Ricky spoke, C.C. glanced down at the breathtaking ring on his finger and realized that he was never going to be able to look at the ring again and not associate the deep red ruby with blood.

“What’s this about then?” C.C. gestured to the dead body and Ricky sighed, pursing his lips a bit. He clearly was fine with sharing everything but this.

“He’s just a job. I needed someplace to put the body and I thought you weren’t going to come home early. Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of him.” Ricky flashed his signature smirk and C.C. hated the fact that that one simple gesture was enough to make him blush.

“You know I could technically call the police right now and you could be convicted with countless crimes, right?” C.C. asked loosely as he stood up to his full height so he was towering over Ricky. Ricky didn’t seem threatened at all as he calmly leaned further back against the counter and looked up at C.C., his classic smirk still on his face.

“You could. But are you going to?”

~ click the link in my bio for my bfu fics!

#fics #tinsworth #ricky goldsworth #c.c. tinsley #cc tinsley #bfu #buzzfeed unsolved #bfucu #buzzfeed unsolved cinematic universe #fanfiction #buzzfeed unsolved fanfiction #songfic #5 + 1 fic #5 +1 things #getting together #organized crime #mobster #sam's 30 week prompt challenge

52 notes · View notes

thisweekingundamwing · 6 years

Text

TWIGW March 18-24th

Happy Spring, amazing fandom!

Check out all the cool stuff we have for you this week below, and remember to show the creators some love!

Thanks for all you do!

-Mod CB

Fanfiction:

A Little Piece of Gundam Wing

The archive is being ported to AO3! Check it out!

Amberly with @yourbloodlikewine

In This Light

Duo spent the last semester working in his older brother's coffee shop. He's resigned himself to a boring spring when a stranger appears, shaking up his entire life. Eli left home last fall, choosing to spend the last six months living out of his van on his travels from the Midwest to the East Coast. By the time he arrives at Ink's, the novelty of traveling alone has started to wear off. Still, the last thing he's expecting is to meet someone who's going to change all that for him

Pairings: 2xOMC, 3xOMC, Solo x OMC,

Warnings: Rape/Noncon, Original Characters - Freeform, Alternate Universe, child abuse mention, Sexual Assault Mention, homophobic parents, Re-Written Characters, Drug Use, Violence, off screen murder, gratuitous author indulgence

@anaranesindanarie

The Shinigami and The Silencer

They say a person only needs three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. I had all three, despite my rough start in life. I had a lover, a hobby that I loved, and I had a hope… hope that my lover would get better, that we would be together forever. But he didn’t. He died in a hospital bed, cold and alone as I watched through a window, my body covered in chains. I wasn’t even allowed to bury him as the prison sent his body off to be cremated. My heart broke that night and the next day, on the way to my execution, I killed five of my guards before the others opened fire. I was dead before I hit the floor, my blood staining it. Why was I being executed you ask? Let me tell you the story of The Shinigami and The Silencer.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Major Character Death, death, angst

@claraxbarton

Singularity

Dr. Trowa Barton has a problem - he's this close to figuring out the secret to manufacturing a nanocarbon black pigment that could compete with Vantablack. But he's also hit a dead end, and he's tired and maybe a night of drinking beer and painting Beagles is exactly what he needs to get his research back on track.

Pairings: 2x3, 3x5, 2x3x5

Warnings: Art, Science, Chemistry, singularity - Freeform, AU, ex-lovers now friends, Threesome, Threesome - M/M/M, drunken sexy times, sober sexy times, weird art, i mean. maybe it's not weird. to each their own, nanocarbon black, paint pigments, what are these tags, Quatre is a good wingman

Silver Strand

Summary: The world had shifted, boundaries had been crossed, right and wrong had long ago been abandoned. A dark story of revenge, love, loss and drug smuggling. AU set in Coronado, California in the 1970s. Based on/Inspired by Joshuah Bearman’s “Coronado High”

Multiple pairings including but not limited to: 1x2, 2x5, 2x3, 2x3x5, 13x2, RxH, 9xS, 6x4

Warnings: Angst, drug use, Vietnam-era politics

@claraxbarton , @kangofu-cb

Bad Company

"The only hell and the only paradise are the ones we build ourselves." - Unknown Years after the wars, Preventers has decided to tackle one of the most powerful and oldest of all the Terran crime syndicates. Embedded dangerously deep in an undercover operation targeting the violent and bloodthirsty Sinaloa Cartel, Trowa Barton is pushed beyond even his flexible morals - and when his new "partner" arrives in the very unexpected and unwelcome form of Duo Maxwell, the one person he'd been trying to protect at all costs, both men must deal with the realization that preserving peace for humanity is turning into a bloodsport.What follows is race against time to uncover the evidence they need to bring Sinaloa, and its beautiful but deadly leaders, down - all while keeping each other alive in the process

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Post-Canon, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Human Trafficking, Gang Violence, Canon Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Moral Dilemmas

Foopy, kirallie

Knights of Avalon

Multi-series crossover fic

The Galaxy is a weird, wonderful and dangerous place. There is far more to history than anyone remembers.

Warnings: Very AU, Stargate pushed up to movie in '04, sentient weapons, many dates have been played with to fit

@kangofu-cb

If You Let Me

If Trowa could give the new residents one rule for surviving the ICU, it would be ‘Don’t Touch Anything. (Especially The Patients.)’. In reality, he’d actually give them a lot of rules, possibly with diagrams for clarity. But his main rule essentially covered the bases. When you worked in one of the largest ICUs, in the biggest medical center in the country, at a hospital known for taking on unstable patients for the most complex and risky surgeries that were performed no-where else, new residents were a menace. Until he meets Dr. Maxwell, the newest anesthesia resident.

Pairings: 2x3, background HxD

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Medical, Doctor/Patient, Nurses & Nursing, Fluff and Smut, this is literally my feel good thing guys ok, I mean I'm not saying there won't be any angst, but basically this is all WAFF, Explicit Sexual Content

@ladyjstruth-blog

Friend Zone

Duo and Hilde's wedding is fast approaching but after a heartwrenching breakup, how will Trowa and Quatre get through the weekend?

Pairings: 3x4, 2xH, 1xR

Warnings: Drama and Romance, Post-Canon

LadyLilyAnne, Melfice13

The Trials & Tribulations of a High Society Shinigami

Duo was a very caring woman, an open book so to speak, always there to help those that needed it with a smile on hand. The problem was she was surrounded by insane men who needed to be watched over like kids and her fellow women left her to it. Resigning herself to being the team mom Duo did her best, but she hadn't planned on Heero admitting he loved her. Things are weird now...

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Warnings: Fem Duo, oblivious characters, Developing Relationship, Obssessed Relena, Obssessed Zechs, The Pink Thing, Explosions, Non-Graphic Violence, Duo and Trieze Have a Weird Friendship, Non-Chronological, Related Drabbles, gratuitous cursing

LavenderKisses

Stay

Duo watches Heero leave his bed every time the phone rings. All he wishes is that, for once, he would stay.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR

Warnings: Angst, Songfic

Lil_1337

2018 Comment Fic_Feburary

Drabbles and short fics written for the Live Journal community Comment Fics which can be found here: http://comment-fic.livejournal.com

Multiple fandoms/pairings, please see chapter specific warnings

Lthanz

Life is War

Multi-series crossover fic

Sequel to 'Life is Fringe'. Five years later, Max, Chloe, and Kevin have settled into their new lives. However, they soon find themselves caught up in a power-struggle between two powerful men competing to control the fate of the world. Loyalties will be tested but a greater threat looms in the darkness, ready to strike.

Characters: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Kate Marsh/Original Character(s), Maxine "Max" Caulfield, Chloe Price (Life Is Strange), Kate Marsh, Olivia Dunham, Treize Khushrenada, Natasi Daala, Lucrezia Noin, Lady Une

Warnings: Science Fiction & Fantasy, War, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Crossover, Multiple Crossovers, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, pricefield

Luvsanime02

The Taste of Peaches

A @gwcocktailfriday submission

Relena's had a long day, and so she stops off somewhere for a drink or two.

Pairings: none

Warnings: AU- modern setting, introspection

Maldoror

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

Pairings: 3x4, 2x5, eventual 1x2x5

Warnings: alternative universe, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Two Halves

The two kingdoms of Sanq and Lin were at war for years; a conflagration involving magic, armies and political murder. The conflict left both nations devastated and strewn with refugees. The king of Sanq finds his infant son, lost at birth, among the death and the ruin, a miracle he barely dared to hope for. But there isn't just one boy, there are two, clinging together like two halves of a whole that cannot be separated. Decades later, the truth behind that second child’s existence will put a hole in the world, or possibly save it.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Fantasy AU, medieval setting with magic, starts with our heroes as children, Cousin Incest, sort of, eventually, being royalty this is in fact the norm and rather expected of them, Canon-Typical Violence

Merula31

Sleepless

It started that first night that I got him out of the hospital. I don't know where he found the time between raiding my gundam for parts and fixing his, but he did. He slipped into my room, managing not to wake me up until he got into bed with me.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Yaoi, Lime, Implied Lemons, post war-ness, Angst, Sappy, POV Alternating, Spoilers, but if you haven't seen the series by now - what's wrong with you???, Original Character(s), Preventers (Gundam Wing), but no action, well - not THAT kind, Suicide Attempt, Misunderstandings

@miss-m-muses

The Cabin

Trowa’s debut novel became a best-seller and now he is failing at writing a follow up. In order to find peace and quiet to write, he rents a secluded cabin near a small town to find inspiration. Yet writing becomes hard when he keeps hearing howls from the woods in the middle of the night and even harder when he meets a charming diner owner named Duo…

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Explicit Sexual Content

@noelleian

Open Book for @weiclown (Moreena)

One would think being skewered on a rapier was the worst part, but then Quatre was always full of surprises.

Pairings: 3x4, 1xR

Warnings: Humor, Canon Compliant, Takes Place Between the End of the Series and Odds and Evens, Trowa's POV, Injured!Quatre, Delirious!Quatre, Love Doctor!Duo, Iatrophonia - Fear of Doctors and Hospitals, At Least Sally Has Her Shite Together, Fluff, Friendship

@noirangetrois

The Story of Wrong

Duo recounts his experiences during the war in order to explain... well, why he was wrong.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Angst, Drama, Tragedy, slight AU, Spoilers, very dark, Heero and Duo don't dieI, promise, Yaoi, slowburn, Mental Instability, Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, If those are in any way an issue for you then go ahead and skip this, Eventual Smut, VERY eventual, this is mostly canon-compliant but I've changed a couple things here and there

@passingdestinies (MorbidBirdy)

Animus

A ghost of Heero's past takes possession of his life, relationships and his identity.

Pairings: 1x3, 2xH

Warnings: Post-Canon, Psychological Torture, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

PubLicEneMyNumBah1

Super Robot Wars GQ

Multi-series crossover

Long gone are the Ancient Ones and the will of Mankind triumphs, yet with catastrophes and wars that beset them, will their reign soon end?

Original Character(s), Mecha, Giant Robots, Gundams, Crossover, Multiple Crossovers, Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Alien Invasion, War, Canon Rewrite, Space Battles, Cthulhu Mythos, Pseudoscience

QMC

Over Tea & Other Things

The first fan-fiction piece that I wrote back in 2010 on FF.net. I've edited it a little. "Tea" is the first of a series I decide to write about general moments and life rather than on any significant story line or plot point. They're all stand alone pieces so I'll keep them here as chapters rather than in separate posts. Comments are welcome. :)

@remsyk-blog

Souls for the Bayou for @maevemauvaise and written for @fandomtrumpshate

For Trowa Barton, exploring the bayou is the ultimate adventure. Drawn to its borders since before he could walk, he spent his childhood learning its paths and uncovering its secrets. But a chance encounter sets him on a path that spans across time, challenging everything he thought he knew, plunging him deeper into its mysteries than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Supernatural - Freeform, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Bayou, Cajun, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Mystery, Slow Burn, Technically Speaking, Young Love, Use of accents, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I don't want to give it all away at once, Fandom Trumps Hate

Robot_Qwerty

Finding Home Again

Harry Potter crossover

Morgan lost any family he had left during the horrors of the Canadian Civil War, he lived on his own and carved out his own existence at eighteen years old. Adventure and magic only existed in fairy tales and daydreams, survival is all he knows anymore. The Civil War ends a little before the Eve Wars. So when the new laws after the Eve Wars come into place, his world was turned upside down and Canada's new government left little choice to the die-hard patriots. Finally escaping to the Sanq Kingdom wasn't the sanctuary he had hoped it would be. Add the former Gundam Pilots to the mix and he might just find his escape, or will he never find the freedom he craves?

Pairings: 4x5, 1x2, 3xOMC, Sx11xOFC

Warnings: Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Mental Health Issues

sylvieforaday

Neighbors

A/U - Meilan is learning, not everything happens the way you thought it would. Sometimes you fall for the perfect girl next door when she gets knocked off her pedestal.

Pairings: Meilan x Relena

Warnings: None

@the-indomitable-bhg, @passingdestinies (BHG and Morbidbirdy)

End of Line

The Grid, the legendary Tron System, has always intrigued Duo Maxwell. After years of dreaming and months of tireless work, he finally receives the final part he needs to unlock the door to the digital frontier. A blast of a digitizing laser later he finds himself in the world of his dreams. However, soon that dream becomes a nightmare as he comes to realize that his existence in this new world is both a danger to him and to the programs who reside there. With the help of Security Program Trowa and a mysteriously damaged and glitchy program named Heero, he embarks on a journey through The Grid to seek help from a mysterious entity known as the Gatekeeper. Will he be able to get out of the Tron System, or will the organizations who are hunting him manage to derez him first?

Pairings: 1x3, 3x4

Warnings: Slash, AU, Angst, Post-Tron: Legacy, Action/Adventure, implied sexual violence, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Complete

white_fox

Life Is A Highway

On an impulsive plan to travel from California to New York City to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Heero Yuy did not plan to pick up a hitchhiker in nowhere Texas. Faced with some setbacks and a growing attraction to his passenger, Heero goes through more challenges than he planned on facing.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR

Warnings: light slash, Fluff, Road Trips, Dubious Morality

Snippets:

@lifeaftermeteor

LAM!verse - Duo and Trowa chatting

@ransomedbard

Snippet Saturday

Photo Edits/Manipulations

@gundamwing-ellesmith

What if Gundam Wing was real? - Chang Wufei’s office ft. Sally

What if Gundam Wing was real? - Une

What if Gundam Wing was real? - Sally’s table ft. Wufei

@kangofu-cb

Whose Line photo edit - “Gundam Wing, where everything’s made up and the ‘canon’ don’t matter.

Multiple Contributors

Come at me Yuy

Headcanons / Meta / Discussions:

@lifeaftermeteor

L1′s origins and history

@ransomedbard

GW and cars headcanon

Fanart:

@downwarddnaspiral

Relena ice skating

@duointherain

Duo

@hackedmotionart

Just Wild Beat

@huehanya

Gundam Wing re-watch comic

@lemontrash

Heero doodle

@noelleian

Human Sandrock

@noromax

Wufei

Calendar Events:

Cocktail Friday

https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/

A new prompt every Monday!

Submissions should be posted Fridays between 3 and 5pm EST, and tagged with @gwcocktailfriday

Interview with a Creator by @remsyk-blog @interview-with-a-creator

Remsyk has created an online interview for fandom creators to fill out and then she features one each week so that everyone in the fandom can learn a bit about each other.

If you haven’t filled out her interview, go! do! now!

This week’s featured creator is @cosmostar - check her interview out here!

Calling all GW COSPLAYERS by @ahsimwithsake

Metrowing—our gundam wing cosplay group that comes to metrocon (Tampa Florida) every year—will be hosting a panel at Metrocon 2018!

We’re looking for additional cosplayers to round out the cast for a Q&A panel on Friday 7/20 at 4 pm.

If you’re interested, please private message me here on tumblr. I can provide you with more information and set you up with a group Skype chat with the metrowing cosplayers.Help us celebrate 25 years of Gundam Wing!

Check post for more information.

NHK is running a poll for the 40th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam!

Voting is open here

You can vote for your favorite series (TV, OVA, and Movie only), mobile suit (pick 3), characters (pick 5), and songs (pick 2). Unfortunately the site is in Japanese but with the help of Google Translate, it’s easy enough to navigate. Let’s vote our GW boys to the top!

Gundam Wing Stream Rewatch by @the-indomitable-bhg and @amyole

Post found here - they are currently looking for interest/time suggestions/platform suggestions.

#TWIGW #this week in gundam wing #march 18th through 24th #3/18-3/24 #mod cb

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stressful-and-deathy · 6 years

Text

each step draws us closer to the aisle

“Hey, babe.

Because I’m an amazing work AND life partner, I know you pretty well.

That means I knew there’d be a very high chance you’d be getting all nervous and stressed out about things going right right now. But listen, that’s not your job today, okay? The only thing you have to do is show up and marry me. Let your mom and Kylie and the rest of the wedding party put out the fires and try to relax a bit.

I made you something that I hope will help you do that.

Don’t press play until you turn the first page. And no peeking!”

link to previous chapter - (x)

song #2 - together we stand, divided we fall

read on ao3 or click on Keep Reading below!

“Amy, do you have your first aid kit in there?” - Rosa asked again. “Nikolaj’s allergies are attacking again and he needs your epipen. If you want your flower boy to actually be able to walk down the aisle you should probably open the door.” “Coming!” Before Amy even registered anything Rosa said, she was already getting up and picking up the phone, the still opened book and the box as she hastily moved to open the door. For some reason, she felt like a child getting caught stealing candy from the kitchen cabinet in the middle of the night.

“Hi, Diaz. Rosa. Hi, Rosa Diaz. Which is you. Hi, you. What’s up, girl?” Amy managed to say after opening the bathroom door while fumbling with all the items she was trying to hold. That, of course, resulted in the scrapbook being dropped to the floor and Amy immediately diving to catch it.

Rosa stood there for about five seconds with a “Do I Really Have to Deal With This Right Now?” look on her face until she decided that no, she didn’t. There were more pressing issues at the moment. “Okay, just move before Nikolaj’s throat closes up.” Rosa moved past Amy, spotting the small kit on the counter top behind her.

“Oh, that’s really great for him” - Amy mumbled, completely distracted by the new page of the scrapbook that had been revealed when it fell. She didn’t really understand what she was seeing at first. There were no pictures, just hundreds of very small printed sequences of numbers and letters, that at first seemed completely meaningless, organized in about nine or ten columns under the title “SONG #2”. On the bottom of the page, a small massage in Jake's chaotic handwriting that said: "It sucks A LOT less when I get to do it with you".

She picked up the book, and moved towards the couch, still mesmerized by the curious inscribed numbers, but before she could actually sit down, Kylie, who was still on the phone, grabbed her arm and moved her slightly to the side, avoiding the fact that Amy was about to sit on a bunch of Gina’s makeup, therefore, saving her life from certain murder.

Kylie threw her an exasperated look but Amy didn’t even look up, so she rolled her eyes and went back to yelling into her cellphone.

Amy put on the headphones again just as she began to suspect what all those numbers were. She pressed play and when “Let’s Work Together” by Canned Heat began playing, she was sure. That was the song Jake made her, and everyone in the precinct, listen to whenever they were assigned to work together on a case for at least two years into their partnership.

Every time Jake left Captain McGintley ‘s office with a file in his hands, playing air guitar while making his way to her desk, singing “Let’s get on the ball and work together. Come on, Come on. Let’s work together”, Amy would take a deep breath and accept the fact that she was in for a long ride.

But that’s the thing, though. After a while, she stopped believing that all his buffoonery and childish behavior interfered on his abilities to do his job, he had proved time and time again what a great detective he was, there was no denying that. And more importantly, she stopped believing that the two of them would never work well together because of their very fundamental differences. Turns out, their partnership was so powerful and solid because each brought their own strengths to the table and even though Jake had insisted for a long time that he was a lone wolf and worked best alone, they both knew that was not accurate at all. When they were solving crimes together, they found a balance that just made everything easier.

Those series of numbers on the page were actually the numbers of cases she and Jake had solved together as partners, since day one up until the grand larceny case they worked on a few weeks ago. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

Amy was thinking about all the work Jake had put into getting all of those files and wondered if Kylie had actually helped him, as she scanned the page once more, just now noticing a few small drawings around some of the numbers. Some of them made her sigh lovingly, for example, surrounding what she recognized to be number of the Augustine case, there were dozens of badly drawn tiny hearts.

Others made her roll and eyes and smile, like the drawing of (barely recognizable) car keys around what was probably the number from the case of that crazy woman, who insisted she had every right to leave her small children locked inside her car alone and actually tried to swallow her car keys to prove that point. They didn’t know how long those kids had been inside the car, so Amy acted on impulse and literally shoved her hand down that woman’s throat, successfully recovering the keys while Jake already had her on handcuffs. She’d never forget seeing Jake with his mouth hanging open and a look of complete wonder on his eyes, as if she was his own personal hero.

Also there was what she assumed to be a vulture next to the numbers of every case they had almost lost to Major Crimes but managed to solve first. And lastly, she noticed the small drawing of a green and a white bar, intercalated between gold vertical bars, that was probably an attempt to reproduce the Excellent Police Duty Medal, which both she and Jake proudly wore on their uniforms. She ran her finger softly over the number next to it as her mind drifted once more to a time when she would’ve laughed out loud if told that she’d be marrying her partner.

It was a little less than a year before Holt became their captain and Jake and Amy were working on a huge case. Their informants were hitting at a new guy in town who had begun a big distribution ring in Brooklyn. After months of investigating, they found out his name was Gregory Giordano, he was the youngest kid in the Giordano family, a huge name in the mafia active on the West Coast. From what they had managed to gather, it seemed that Gregory had a major falling out with the rest of his family, so he decided to fly solo and move to New York.

Everyone they arrested with information about him would said he wasn’t like any other boss they had ever had before. Because he didn’t have an established network he could trust, he was very hands-on and liked to oversee every operation himself. They described him as a large man, who was very passionate and blew up very easily, especially when talking about his family, but still was very careful and did not do things without thinking them through first.

Finally, after weeks trying some way to approach him, they got intel that indicated he had a new dealer he was training on the streets. That meant he would be watching the new guy work throughout the day to evaluate him and accept him or not into his operation. They knew they had to get Giordano to take down the ring and that was their best shot.

It was settled that Jake and Amy would go undercover, act like they wanted to buy drugs from the new kid and try to get Giordano to engage, hoping for at least a first contact with him. They would be surrounded by backup and Rosa and Charles would also be strategically positioned in case anything went wrong.

They were in the car, about to drive to the location, and Amy was really nervous but hearing Jake babble about his ridiculous made up story for their cover in the driver’s seat actually helped a little.

“So, let’s go over it one more time: I am Jack Daniels, a successful motocross rider that has but one flaw — he is an adrenaline junkie and being on two wheels in very dangerous roads is just not enough for him anymore. Now, he started to do cocaine hard. Like, right before the doping tests so he never knows if he’ll be picked or not. You see, it’s like russian roulette but it’s his entire career on stake, not his life. Well, metaphorically his life is at a stake too, because, you know, motocrossing is his entire life. And you are, Stephanie Garcia, my trusty assistant who would do literally anything for me because you’ve been secretly in love in with me for five years now. You don’t want me to be recognized so you’ll do the talking with the dealer while I’ll just hang here wearing these cool sunglasses.”

“Sure, okay. Just drive already, we’re gonna be late.” - Amy answered.

It was less than twenty minutes until they arrived on the street where the dealer supposedly was and they quickly spotted a skinny kid, looking like he couldn’t be older than seventeen years old hanging around a black SUV.

As instructed by their informant, Jake drove to the front of a abandoned football camp, and parked beside a “Keep Out” sign. He did the code, which was to honk twice and roll down all four windows and waited. It wasn’t long until the scrawny looking boy came their way.

He stopped by Amy’s window and said “Sup”.

Amy took a deep breath, looked at him and muttered the following words: “May I have some cocaine, please?”

It was dead quiet for about five seconds.

Then Jake started to cough nervously and the kid jumped, taken aback.

“The fuck, dude. You guys fucking cops or something? What the fuck.”

At the sign of trouble, a huge guy left the SUV followed by two man dressed in suits. Both Jake and Amy noticed how all three of them kept one their hands on their waist, indicating they were all armed.

The large man, who matched Gregory Giordano’s description, reached their car after pushing the kid back and looked inside. It seemed that the kid was wearing a wire and Giordano was listening to the whole thing in the small device he was still holding.

“Is there a problem here?”

Amy was about to answer but Jake was faster.

“Oh man, not at all! You have to excuse my girlfriend. It’s the first time she’s doing this and with her kind of backstory, it’s hard to let some old habits go.” Everyone, including Amy looked at Jake like he had literally lost his mind but he just kept going.

“You know, she’s embarrassed to say it but… Jacintha here is actually the only heir of the family that owns all of the… art places in New York City. Or should I say…” - He took of his sunglasses in a dramatic manner for effect - “... was the heir, because you see, Jacintha was done with being told what to do and how to behave, she was sick of being the princess who had her future set in stone without being able to choose what she wanted to do with her life. She had a very formal upbringing and we met when she was forced into grad school, then Jacintha fell in love with the bad boy, which is me, by the way, if you can’t tell by these awesome sunglasses I’ve got here. So, I took it as a mission to show her the darker, more fun side of the world with the drugs and the um… staying up late. Anyways, that’s why she’s so formal, she had to grow up like that, but we are actually super chill and my girl here is just really inexperienced with this kind of thing, thanks to her family.”

Giordano was now staring at Amy, as if he were carefully examining every aspect of her face. She just tried to keep on smiling, whispering a small “sorry” through clenched teeth.

“You wouldn’t let anything bad happen to a happy couple in love that’s just looking for some cocaine, would you?” - Jake said, holding Amy’s hand and flashing him the best smile he could muster.

Giordano, who had never taken his eyes off of Amy, said: “So, your family’s just a bunch of assholes, huh?”

“Hm, yes, sir. They most definitely are.” - Amy managed to answer.

“I know how that feels like. Having your stupid family telling you what you should do and shit. Fuck them. I feel you, I really do. But listen to me, the best thing you can do is get the hell away from them and get your sweet revenge, you know? Like me, my dumb family was planning on moving to New York and shit. To expand the business. Guess what I did? I moved here first, took all their little plans and now I’m about to become the motherfucking main king of the area. Right in their fucking ugly faces. So yeah, I got your coke. On the house. And if you look for me again in about a week, I’ll be serving some meth, too. ‘Cause business are going great, baby! Those fuckers never saw this coming.”

He was very altered, basically yelling for anyone who wanted to hear.

And Jake and Amy were smiling from ear to ear, because just when he turned around to get the drug from the kid, he was faced with Detective Diaz and Detective Boyle, who had already taken down the three remaining people in the scene, pointing their guns at him.

Amy left the car with her handcuffs ready - “Gregory Giordano, you are under arrest.” and after she had gone through the Miranda Rights, Jake whispered to Giordano - “I’m sorry your family never loved you, dude”.

A few days later, Jake and Amy were at a ceremony in which they’d be receiving the Excellent Police Duty Medal for “an intelligent act materially contributing to a valuable accomplishment”.

Right before they were called up on stage, Jake turned to Amy and said: “I guess you are a pretty good detective.”

Amy smiled and was about to return the compliment but he kept going before she could say anything.

“Not better than me, of course. But second best is not that bad.” That made Amy’s face transform immediately, going from a soft thankful expression to furrowed eyebrows and incredulous look.

“What? Are you kidding? I am obviously a much better detective, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You wish. If I hadn’t made up that story for you insanely soliciting drugs in perfect grammar, we wouldn’t be here today.”

“Well, if I hadn’t done that in the first place, there would be no story for you to create and Gregory would be selling meth left and right. And, oh yeah, that’s right, we wouldn’t be here either.”

They kept going back and forth all through the night and until the next day, when they were all in the conference room before the morning briefing. The rest of the squad could not take anymore of Jake and Amy's banter, everyone was sick of hearing the two of them discussing about who was actually the best detective.

“You guys should just make a bet and settle this already.” - Gina suggested.

After the small crowd, including Jake, hollered in approval of the idea, Amy put her hands on her hips and asked: “Okay, but what are the stakes? And don’t say money because I know you’re in debt.”

Before her mind could take her down that path, the song ended and she hadn’t even turned the page when the next song started. As her mind caught up with the familiar beats, Amy laughed out loud.

“Oh, my God. You didn’t.”

#finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy #i'm sorry it took forever #i'll try to not let that happen again #anyways #let me know what you guys think!!#fanfic #b99 fic #jake x amy fanfic #peraltiago fic #my writing #my stuff

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betterdaysareatoenailaway · 3 years

Text

Out on the Interstate: S’more Thoughts on Neil Young

I don’t have any fentanyl stories today, so I’m writing another Neil Young post. (Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to mention heroin. You’ll see.) I still have a ton of fent stories, don’t worry bout that. I just don’t feel like mining my memory for any right now. Instead, I wanna talk about my favourite Neil Young song ever. It’s called “Interstate.” This performance was recorded at Farm Aid 1985. Young’s backing band at the time were called the International Harvesters, which is a funny joke (International Harvester was a company that manufactured tractors and other agricultural equipment). Young was on a roll in the 80s with clever band names. Later on he would front Neil Young & the Restless. Anyway whoever is playing piano with Young was the perfect choice, plucking individual keys instead of slathering big chords all over the descending minor chord progression. Young’s guitar is tuned to drop D, a favourite tuning of his throughout his career, from “Cinammon Girl” to “World On A String” to “Be the Rain,” and you can hear the low D buzzing throughout, giving the song a raw off-the-cuff feel. Of course, Neil Young is known for his raw performances, especially on albums like Tonight’s the Night, but by the time the 80s rolled around he was making albums with a lot of processing and production like Landing on Water, along with silly genre exercises like Everybody’s Rockin’ and Old Ways.

youtube

Young would eventually be sued by his own record label, Geffen, for making “uncharacteristic music.” David Geffen would eventually apologize to him, but he wasn’t wrong that Young’s early 80s records were a bit of a disaster. This performance, however, shows that Young hadn’t lost a single step when it came to live performance. His vocal is clear and convincing, world weary but still kinda defiant, like all his best songs. And whether those are real or synth strings, they sound great, and really tug at one’s heartstrings. They have the spook, that high lonesome train whistle feel. To my ears, all the best Neil Young songs are haunting and plaintive. There is a loneliness at the heart of most of Young’s best work (ever hear “Albequerque”? Prolly the saddest song to ever mention the eating of ham?) Neil Young doesn’t write carefree party music. Hell, he once recorded an entire album about the death of his friend and former bandmate Danny Whitten - and to a lesser extent, former roadie Bruce Berry who was fired for pawning instruments to buy heroin...told ya I’d find a way to mention the drug ;). What I’m saying is, Young is no stranger to sad songs. As to which song is his saddest, there are many contenders, but as Young’s biographer himself admits, “Interstate is Neil Young’s loneliest song.” I agree.

Young’s longtime producer David Briggs, who knew damn well that “Interstate” was a rare gem, tried to get Young to record it for 1991′s Ragged Glory, but in typical fashion, “[Young] acceded, but perversely,” eschewing the full-band format and recording a solo acoustic version instead. That particular version would eventually see limited release on the vinyl version of Young’s 1996 album Broken Arrow, a forgettable affair that was hammered by critics and disavowed by most members of Crazy Horse. You can find the solo acoustic “Interstate” on YouTube but I’m not gonna post it, simply because it is so freakin’ disappointing.

I love the line “I can hear a soft voice calling...telling me to bring my guitar home.” In the tradition of the Rolling Stones’ “Moonlight Mile,” "Interstate” is one of the all-time great I’m-A-Lonely-Rock-Star-On-Tour song. A more modern version of this idea can be found in Kurt Vile’s unimaginatively titled “On Tour,” a song where Young’s influence can be identified, especially in the way Vile tunes his lower strings to let them buzz, a technique pioneered by Young in the abovementioned song and most prominently in “Bandit.”

Thank God for YouTube, so that you can hear "Interstate” in all its gorgeous majesty. You can hear Young play the same guitar solo he’s been playing his whole career in minor key masterpieces like “Hey Hey My My,” “Like A Hurricane,” “Goin’ Home,” “Be The Rain.” Every time Young returns to it, you can feel the long shadow of his past, echoes of former greatness, the shambolic glory of his band bashing away at the chords, always emphasizing emotional delivery over technical proficiency. It’s a really really beautiful song, a song I treasure, and I hope you like it.

I’m also posting a rare version of “Shots.”

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In “Shots,” Neil Young returns to a technique previously used on “Cortez the Killer,” where he switches from a third person omniscient voice describing trauma and violence to a first person voice describing personal emotion. In Zuma’s “Cortez the Killer,” Young spends two or three verses describing the endeavours of genocidal explorer Hernan Cortes, and also the Aztecs: people worked together/they lifted many stones/they carried them to the flatlands/they died along the way/but they built up with their bare hands what we still can’t do today/and I know she’s living there and loves me til this day. Now, that’s not Shelley, but it’s an effective and jarring switch. Young tries it again in “Shots,” and for me, the effect is even better. For whatever reason, maybe his sharp right turn when he became an outspoken Reagan supporter, or maybe because of the Iran-Contra Affair, Young’s lyrics took on a particular preoccupation with crime, border zones, and desert iconography in the 1980s, manifestations of which can be heard in “Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)” “Rockin’ In the Free World,” “On Broadway,” and “Eldorado,” all songs that ended up on Young’s last album of the 1980s, Freedom. But because of the remarkable internal consistency of Young’s discography, you can also hear such sentiments in one of his first 1980s releases: “Shots.” Children are lost in the sand, building roads with little hands Trying to join their father's castles together again Will they make it? Hey, who knows where or when old wounds will mend? Shots ringing all along the borders can be heard Striking out like a venom in the sky Cutting through the air faster than a bird in the night But I'll never use your love, you know I'm not that kind And so if you give your heart to me I promise to you Whatever we do...that I will always be true To jump from depictions of border violence to gooey Hallmark card sentiments shouldn’t work, yet it does. The words might look silly written down, but the sheer conviction they are sung with, and the sheer power of Young’s loon-like vibrato, is what sells them, at least to my ears and heart. I’m not the first to make the loon comparison, Young’s biographer Jimmy McDonough has done so too. Young’s father Scott was the first writer to compare his son’s unique voice to the sound of the loon cry, a very Canadian sound, associated with Muskoka nights in summer, nights often soundtracked by Young’s vast and varied discography.

Disappointingly, the album version of “Shots,” which appeared on 1981′s Re-ac-tor, is pretty fuckin annoying, with its overblown machine gun affects (done by Young on the Synclavier), and Ralph Molina’s incessant marching beat. The song is already called “Shots,” Neil. You didn’t have to add machine gun sound effects. This isn’t audio verite. I’m not gonna post the album version here but you can find it easily. The album iteration has its fans though. Canadian blue-collar rockers The Constantines would cover “Shots” on a vinyl-only release with The Unintended, in which the Cons covered Neil Young and The Unintended covered Gordon Lightfoot. The Cons picked some weird songs, “Shots” among them, and you can tell they are referencing the Re-ac-tor version, not the superior one posted here. I’m not sure why Young slathered so many effects over the album version of “Shots.” The 80s definitely saw him taking his heavier music in an unpalatable direction. The Eldorado EP, in particular, has one of his most savage recordings ever, a song called “Heavy Love” where Young blows his voice out completely by the end of the song in an attempt to sing louder than the savage pulsing thrust of the band (the abovementioned Young & the Restless). The drummer on Eldorado was Chad Cromwell, not Steve Jordan who’d played with Young on his legendary SNL appearance where he played “Rockin in the Free World,” the definitive performance of that song, where Young tore all six strings from his guitar at its denouement. Unfortunately, SNL guards its content as jealously as a rabid guard dog, so I can’t post it. Maybe one day I’ll find a gif. I’ll leave you with two strong cuts from Eldorado. The first is “Heavy Love,” which is obviously a sister song to “Rockin In The Free World,” with its similar sonic texture and E minor riff. Listening is worth it just to hear Young’s voice go to pieces a la “Territorial Pissings” at the end (3:58 if you don’t wanna wait).

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And this is the title track “Eldorado,” which ended up on Freedom. Young employs a fingerpicking style redolent of 80s megastars Dire Straits, and he sings of mission bells and senoritas and golden suns rising on runways and Mariachi bands while playing the A minor chord, a chord strongly associated with Mexican music and Mariachi styles. It’s a cool verite approach, one that works much better than the machine gun effects of “Shots,” especially when the gun violence Young has been hinting at the entire song finally explodes in a shower of distortion at 4:40. Have you ever heard something so loud compared to the backing track? I remember showing “Eldorado” to my friend/bandmate James, and I told him to prepare himself for how loud it is. Afterwards, James said, “even though I was ready for it, that scared the shit out of me.” It is so fucking loud. Check it out @ 4:40. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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One last point I’ll make...the Spanish-influenced guitar lick you can hear at 1:06 is really similar to the pre-chorus guitar riff Young plays on “War of Man” from Harvest Moon. I don’t consider stuff like that to be self plagiarism. I think it shows a consistency, but also it’s a way to reward fans for paying attention. Frank Zappa was known to do the same thing, re-introduce little musical nuances he’d recorded years or decades before. It’s cool. It’s what makes a discography live on long after the artist has burnt out or faded away. If you’re interested, here is a wonderful live early version of “Eldorado” titled “Road of Plenty” recorded with Crazy Horse in 1986: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By6_oLYfrYk

#betterdaysareatoenailaway #neil young #interstate #shots #ronald reagan #1980s #re-ac-tor #1981 #David Briggs #Scott Young #ralph molina #synclavier #steve jordan #SNL #bruceberry #danny whitten #heroin

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Stargirl: Who are the Justice Society Members?

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Any time the Justice Society of America make it off the comics page and onto a screen, it’s a big deal. Why? Because without the Justice Society, there’s no Justice League, no Fantastic Four, no X-Men, no Avengers, and no shared superhero universes, cinematic, televisual, or otherwise. And while the DC Universe and CW Stargirl TV series isn’t the first time we’ve seen the JSA on screen, it’s looking like it will be the most faithful version of the team ever to make it to live action.

Y’see, while the comic book industry exploded in the wake of Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, and the superhero arms race was on with dozens of publishers competing for seemingly endless space on the newsstands, characters weren’t teaming up with each other. Superman, Batman, and others were published by National Periodical Publications while the original Flash (Jay Garrick) and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) were under the auspices of All-American Publications (which was soon absorbed by NPP, who later morphed into DC Comics), but there were no crossovers, no “event” stories, and certainly no superhero teams. If anything, all of these super characters were in direct competition with each other as they tried to become popular enough to break out of their anthology titles and support their own books.

Just for a little perspective here, Superman and Batman shared a title, World’s Finest Comics, for over a decade before they actually teamed up in it!

In 1940 All-American introduced All-Star Comics, an anthology title featuring big names like Flash and Hawkman (who had debuted the previous year in Flash Comics #1), as well as some second stringers like Spectre and Sandman. It was just another anthology title, though, until its third issue, which had a striking cover…

Remember that cover, because I’m going to come back to it in a few. You may already notice some familiar faces that were teased in the first episode of Stargirl.

Essentially, All-Star Comics #3 was still an anthology comic, however. The Justice Society of America promised on the cover, with a meeting of superheroes around a roundtable, ended up just as a bookend, with the heroes meeting up to tell each other stories about their solo adventures. With All-Star Comics #4, instead of telling tales, the idea was that the team would meet up for a mission, and then split up on solo missions, thus preserving the anthology format. This eventually gave way to more full-blooded superhero team stories, but that “let’s split up and tackle different aspects of this mission” is a format that still plays quite heavily in comics and on a superhero team show like Legends Of Tomorrow to this day.

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The JSA headlined All-Star Comics through the title’s demise in 1951, when superheroes were falling out of favor, and if your name wasn’t Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, you were getting shunted off to back-up stories, or worse…cancellation. But a few years later, DC revitalized their publishing line and the superhero genre when they introduced the Barry Allen version of The Flash in the paged of Showcase #4. Barry was an updated speedster who bore little in common with the original Flash other than his speedster powers and a taste for the color red. Other updates and revivals followed, including Green Lantern, and a new superhero team who went by the name of the Justice League. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.

Continuity wasn’t much of a concern for the comic book fan or creator in those days, so the original heroes of the World War II era were hardly referred to. That is, until, “The Flash of Two Worlds” which brought Jay Garrick and Barry Allen together in a story that established that Jay and his fellow Justice Society heroes existed on a parallel world. Flash team-ups became a regular feature, and that soon extended to a yearly Justice League/Justice Society party. There were a number of Justice Society revivals, with the team headlining a revived All-Star Comics for a time, and the exceptional All-Star Squadron comic launching in 1981, showcasing previously untold stories about JSA-related characters during World War II.

This all changed in 1986 when DC Comics decided to clean up their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths, eliminating their multiverse in favor of a linear timeline (sound familiar TV fans?). This gave the JSA a new mission, and perhaps a more important place in the overall DC Universe. Now, the JSA were the original heroes of a unified DC Universe, fighting during World War II and beyond, with a legacy that inspired younger heroes like Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and others.

Because of assorted comic book shenanigans that I don’t need to get into here (it’s a headache, trust me), the JSA were able to exist in the modern day, only slightly older than they were in the late 1940s/early ’50s. As a result, the JSA became the proving ground for a host of even younger heroes. The Justice League had their sidekicks break off and form the Teen Titans, but other new heroes found themselves schooled by the JSA, and heroes like Hourman, Sandman, Commander Steel (fan fave Nate Heywood over on Legends of Tomorrow), Doctor Mid-Nite, Starman, and others passed their legacy on to new characters.

Is any of that starting to sound familiar to Stargirl TV fans? It should! The TV version of Crisis on Infinite Earths eliminated the Arrowverse multiverse as it used to be, but re-established it with some new rules. The version of Earth-2 that had been introduced during the second season of The Flash was a weird, slightly darker reflection of the main universe. That was wiped out early in Crisis, but the conclusion saw the formation of this new, wholesome and kinda timeless Earth-2, and that’s where Stargirl takes place. And without getting into spoilers, the idea of legacy characters taking up the mantle of the JSA is a major theme of this season.

Justice Society Members

So let’s talk about the Stargirl TV version of the Justice Society…both the ones we actually meet in the first episode, and the ones teased via Easter eggs in the rest. Take a look at the photo that Courtney finds with Pat’s things, which looks quite a bit like that All-Star Comics #3 cover!

And now let’s break it all down…

Starman

First and foremost, we have Sylvester Pemberton (Joel McHale). In the comics, Pemberton originally went by the non-powered name of the Star-Spangled Kid (and later, briefly, Skyman). He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #1 in 1941. Here, he’s wielding the cosmic staff that was designed by and used by the original comics Starman, Ted Knight (who first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 that same year). It’s not clear what Ted Knight’s relationship to the JSA will be on this show, and it’s possible that they’ve just condensed Pemberton’s origin story a little to make things flow a little more smoothly, since the legacy of the Starman name is a long one. We’ll probably have to get into this in another article all its own at some point this season.

Green Lantern

No, not the cosmic kind. The green flames billowing out of the JSA headquarters in the episode’s opening come from the magical power ring of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. We never see his body, though, so is it possible that Alan Scott will show up later in this series?

The Flash

Visible on the ground during the battle is the helmet of original Flash, Jay Garrick. Like Alan Scott, we never see Jay’s body, so it’s possible that Jay is still running around out there. In a perfect world, this would turn out to be the same Jay Garrick that John Wesley Shipp plays on The Flash, the classic Flash of Earth-3, but his status remains unknown after Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Dr. Mid-Nite

We see the original Dr. Mid-Nite, Charles McNider, fall in battle here. McNider was a surgeon blinded by a gangster who was trying to murder a witness who could testify against him. McNider gained the ability to see, but only in the dark, and got to work fighting crime. He first appeared in All-American Comics #25 in 1941, and has passed the mantle of Dr. Mid-Nite on to several other characters…one of whom we may have already met on Stargirl.

Hourman

Also fallen in battle we see Hourman. First appearing in Adventure Comics #40 in 1940, Rex Tyler was a chemist who created a drug that could give him superhuman strength and endurance…but only for one hour. Like many other members of the JSA, he has a legacy to fulfill, and expect to see more of Hourman on this show soon enough.

Sandman

Visible on the stairs is the discarded and damaged gas mask of Wesley Dodds. The Sandman was one of the very first superheroes, first appearing in 1939 with his gas mask, gas gun, trenchcoat and fedora (he was later given a more traditional superhero costume makeover by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby). If you’re looking for some truly unique pulp noir superhero tales, check out DC’s Sandman Mystery Theater series, which took a hard edged look at the earliest days of DC superheroes, including the occasional cameo from JSA members.

And then there are the JSA members visible in the photograph that Courtney finds later on…the one that almost mirrors the All-Star Comics #3 cover discussed up above.

Wildcat

Ted Grant was a former boxing heavyweight champ who turned his skills to crime fighting. He’s also famous for teaching younger heroes how to fight. A version of the character showed up on Arrow season 3 where he trained Laurel Lance as Black Canary. He isn’t the only character to wear the ears and whiskers, though, and Stargirl will introduce another Wildcat later this season.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl

It’s not clear if we’ll see Hawkman and Hawkgirl on this series at any point other than in that photo, but fans of Legends of Tomorrow are already familiar with their story. Of course, these are the Hawkman and Hawkgirl of a different reality than the ones we met on Legends, but the broad strokes (two lovers reincarnated throughout eternity) remain the same.

Johnny Thunder

Not visible on the show yet, but definitely in that photo, is Johnny Thunder, who uses the magic word “cei u” to control a djinn…which is contained not in a lamp, but a pen. Johnny was something of a mascot for the JSA, despite harboring some of its greatest power.

Dr. Fate

Debuting in More Fun Comics #55 in 1940, Kent Nelson gains the mystical powers of Nabu when he dons an ancient helmet and cloak. Others have also worn that helmet, and perhaps we’ll meet one of them on Stargirl down the line.

If ever there was a feature of the DC Universe that set it apart from Marvel’s brand of superheroics, it was the JSA. That sense of legacy, which often drew a direct line from the era that birthed the entire superhero genre to the modern day, was lost when DC rebooted its publishing line in 2011 with the New 52 initiative, but they’ve finally returned to DC Comics continuity in all their glory. Something tells us there will be lots more Justice Society stories both in the comics and on the screen for many years to come.

The post Stargirl: Who are the Justice Society Members? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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headquartersforlievmuses · 6 years

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► Cassandra Cain

Cassandra Cain is the fourth Batgirl. Born with the assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva as her parents, she was trained to become the perfect warrior. Her father deprived her of speech so she would learn movement and physicality as her first language. Batman adopted her into the Batman Family during No Man's Land, to replace Helena Bertinelli as Batgirl. Cassandra would eventually turn her Batgirl costume over to Stephanie Brown, and become a member of Batman Incorporated as Black Bat.

The daughter of David Cain and Sandra Wu-San (Lady Shiva), Cassandra Cain was conceived and trained from birth with the intention of creating the perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. After many unsuccessful attempts to train children from birth in martial arts to make them inculcate it like a native language (the most successful being The Mad Dog), David Cain, then a member of Ra's League of Assassins, decided the right genes were necessary to create this "Who Is All". With Ra's go ahead Cain searched for the perfect mother for this child, finding her in the Wu-San sisters of Detroit, who practiced martial arts with each other nearly every moment of their childhood in a type of sister's language. Cain sympathized with the younger sister, Sandra, when he noticed that she held back out of love for Carolyn. To "help" Sandra reach her full potential, Cain murdered Carolyn, then lured Sandra into an ambush by the League of Assassins, where he defeated her. Cain spared Sandra from death on the condition that she bear his child, and leave her for him to raise. Awed by the potential heights she could reach in her physical talents now that Carolyn was gone, Sandra agreed to Cain's bargain in order that she might go on to become the unstoppable force of nature known as Lady Shiva: creator and destroyer. Shiva's hope for her child was that she might one day grow to be the force that could stop her reign of destruction.

Trained by her father to be the ultimate weapon, Cassandra was not taught to speak. Instead, he relied mostly on actions to communicate with her. Also, he cut her off from the outside world, only exposing her to anything or anyone other than him only when absolutely necessary. As a result, the parts of her brain normally used for speech and language processing were trained so she could read other people's movements and body language to recognize their thoughts without verbal communication and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move in a fight. This also caused her brain to develop learning functions different from most, a form of dyslexia that hampers her ability to talk, read, and write.

When she was 8 years old, Cain decided his experiment had progressed far enough for him to test Cassandra's abilities in the real world, and took her to a hit; the target being Faizul, a 'book man' in Macau. At the time Cassandra had no idea what she was doing and believed it was only a game (an interpretation in keeping with her own reaction to what happened, and matching the interpretation of Alfred Pennyworth, an expert on children who saw a tape of events). After striking a deathblow, she "read" the target as he died, and saw death as he saw it.

In addition to scarring her emotionally, she realized murder, like her father's profession, was wrong, and she ran away.

Cassandra spent the next nine years homeless, guilt- and fear-ridden as she traveled the world. Entering Gotham City at 17, Cassandra came to be of Oracle's agents in the No Man's Land of Gotham City. After saving Commissioner Gordon's life from her assassin father, she was given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and Oracle. She became Barbara's ward and in a sense, the Batman's adoptive daughter. As the No Man's Land wore on, the new Batgirl was introduced to the rest of the Bat-Family with varying levels of acceptance. Usually acting as the Batman's watchful eye, she was finally allowed to go on a solo mission when a petrol station needed guarding against a local gang. Near the end of No Man's Land, Batman noticed her death wish and forced her to make a decision between suicidal actions and self preservation. She opted for self preservation.

Despite her notable handicap of being unable to talk, read, or write, Cassandra did remarkably well. Capable of understanding others' intentions due to her ability to read body language she was a more than capable listener, despite the fact she couldn't process their words or reply to them. It was this trait that made her one of the Batman's most loyal and trusted followers and helped her to survive when the Bat-clan became hunted by the Bloodhawks. Although the fact that she couldn't talk frustrated Barbara Gordon, she proved herself useful in other ways during a team with the spectral vigilante Ghost in tracking disappearing corpses. The running successes and final understanding of her mission as Batgirl allowed Batman to give her the privilege of running solo in Gotham City on the condition that she faced no 'costumed criminals' (Joker, Bane, Two-Face, Penguin, etc)

From going undercover in Madras with Batman to saving local heroes from the mob, Cassandra continued to impress as the new Batgirl. Especially when, despite Batman's warnings, she went face to face with a meta-human and won. She even managed to, despite her restriction to Gotham City, make it on the reserve member list of Young Justice.

But Cassandra's career was not the only thing that was growing. In the background a rift between Oracle and Batman was slowly emerging, as was the growing image of Batman as a father figure in Cassandra's eyes but the major development was David Cain's intentions to get his daughter back.

Cassandra began training immediately; going after every talented fighter she came across in order to gain more skills. After hearing how notorious the Joker was with the Bat-clan, she freed him in order to apprehend him again in order to gauge just how good he was. Batman and Oracle deduced that Cassandra had not given up her death wish and that it was due to guilt over her murdering Faizul. They began looking into what had brought the death wish back. Her reckless training was interrupted when an officer down was called over the frequencies. Batman's longtime ally and friend, Commissioner Gordon had been shot in cold blood.

It was during yet another training session in the Batcave that Cassandra first met her future friend Stephanie Brown (The Spoiler).

Unfortunately the victory would be short lived. Bruce Wayne was in jail on suspicion of murder. Cassandra arrived back at the cave in time to see Batman leave. Cassandra's resulting investigation revealed that Batman and Bruce Wayne were in fact the same person. Later she, along with Spoiler and Nightwing, discovered critical clues that pointed to Bruce Wayne's innocence and, eventually, incriminating evidence to the real culprit: David Cain. Her father safely behind bars and no battle-to-the-death with Shiva to train for, Cassandra focused on her crime fighting career.

Batgirl makes a mistake due to stress, and Oracle insists that they vacation on a cruise liner. Superboy happened to attend the same cruise, and together they stop a terrorist named Black Wind. Superboy gives Batgirl his number, and Batgirl kisses him. Batgirl goes on date with Superboy in Smallville, but they end up deciding to just be friends. Batgirl and Batman work together when Doctor Death tries to auction his chemical weapons in Gotham. They pursue him to Tarakstan, where they're forced to ally with Black Wind. Doctor Death is shot, and Black Wind sacrifices his life to contain the chemical weapons released. Before leaving the country, Cassandra, imitating a local custom, professes her feelings for him and vows to keep it a secret.

Barbara Gordon lends her old costume to Cassandra, who briefly uses it on patrol, but decides she prefers her own costume. Later, Batgirl investigates a new drug called Soul. This leads her to the Lost Girls street gang, whom Cassandra fights, unaware that the leaders are all metahumans. Midway through the fight, she accidentally swallows a Soul pill. Because Soul's effects are deterrmined by whether a person has a good or evil heart, she briefly hallucinates as her inner good and evil wrestle for control. When her evil side wins out, defeats the Girls under the Soul's influence. Later, Batgirl hunts and stops a serial killer named Doll Man. When she tries to stop a white slavery ring, but Batman shows up, angry because she ruined his sting operation. Batman tells Cassandra that she has been making too many mistakes recently, and forces her to suspend her activities as Batgirl. When Barbara tries to console her, Cassandra steals her Batgirl costume and takes to the streets. Investigating Soul again, she leads her to the scientist supplying the Lost Girls, who is revealed to be Doctor Death. Doctor Death doses Batgirl and Batman with concentrated Soul, and they fight to the death. When the effects wear off, Batgirl has a tender moment with Batman, and she explains that her father never let her display affection. Batman asks who she is loyal to, and Batgirl responds that she is loyal not to him but to their symbol. Robin takes Doctor Death into custody. Cassandra begins enjoying her new freedom, and Oracle takes her to a public garden. This garden is revealed to be a plot by Poison Ivy to recreate the Garden of Eden. Batgirl burns down Ivy's Tree of Knowledge, from which the entire garden grew from, stopping her.

Cassandra joined the Justice League Elite, masquerading as an assassin named Kasumi to monitor the team for Batman and participated in several missions with them. Ultimately she helped them save the world from the Worlogog and a psychic impression of Manchester Black that had taken over the team's leader, Vera Black. She revealed herself to her teammate Coldcast to tell him that he was not a bad guy before he was accused of murder. She personally stood by him in clearing his name.

Feeling partially responsible for what happened to her, Batman allowed her to return after a strict detoxification program and gave her a strict curfew. Nightwing however was not so accepting, regarding her with open hostility and suspicion. When Cassandra began seeking vengeance upon her father and Slade, she had to do it secretly due to their mistrust. Unfortunately her activities eventually were found out, resulting in her clashing with Nightwing and stealing a Batwing from the Batcave. However, the ordeal resulted in Cassandra officially adopted as Bruce Wayne's daughter.

With Batman's invitation Cassandra began working in the Outsiders team and, despite some mistrust from some members due to her recent activities, was accepted as part of the team. When Batman suddenly disappeared without word or warning, the Outsiders went looking for him all across Gotham. Cassandra went to the Iceberg Lounge to question Penguin about Batman's whereabouts, but learned nothing from him and instead she was forced to deal with Johnny Stitches. Back at their headquarters, the Outsiders received a message from Batman, but Batgirl noticed that he wasn't the real man. However, she decided to play along the impostor's plan, allowing REMAC to be injected wit a virus that caused him to die in a explosion that left Thunder in a coma. Batgirl was blamed for the disaster and the Outsiders disbanded. Afterwards, Batgirl went to the Batcave, where she learned that the attack was part of the Black Glove's plan and she decided to reform the Outsiders.

Batgirl began recruiting heroes across Gotham that matched Batman's unique abilities in order to create a team that could replace the missing Batman and the disbanded Outsiders at the same time, but Batgirl didn't expect that Nightwing would not agree with her plan. Nightwing was having trouble coming to grips with his adoptive father's possible death, but this would eventually sort out their conflict after Alfred intervened on a fight between the two. Cassandra handed over further creation of the Network to Nightwing.

Following the Battle for Batman's cowl, Cassandra began to feel emotional about her adoptive father's death, becoming disillusioned and passing her costume on to Stephanie Brown who becomes the new Batgirl. Cassandra leaves via the Gotham Airport, warning Stephanie not to follow her. After Batman's return, it was revealed that Cassandra had handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie, acting in accords with her mentor's order in the event of his death or disappearance and because giving over the role would help Stephanie become a stronger hero. Drake remained in contact with her, implying that she's been working as an anonymous agent in Batman's plans.

Cassandra later becomes an operative of Batman Incorporated protecting Hong Kong, using the suit given to her by Tim and calling herself Blackbat. Bruce Wayne has her take a neo-heroin smuggling operation.

Black Bat traveled to Paris following a homing signal to Red Robin to the final site in a tournament of assassins, saving him from being raped by Daughter of Acheron, Ra's al Ghul's half sister, and defeated the vigilante Promise while freeing Drake. Cassandra then proceeded to take a sword and impale Tim in the chest, triggering confirmation that she had won the tournament, being one of the few in history to do so, and activating a system that would 'immortalize' her, by killing her with a laser. Red Robin saved her from the beam, and then revealed they had faked Red Robin's death using a trick sword, blood packets, and a stopped heart to fool the temple's automated systems. They attempted to examine the base, but although Tim conversed with the assassin tournament's creator, a previously unknown centuries old immortal, the base self destructed before they could learn any close as to his location.

Red Robin came to Hong Kong to assist Black Bat in Cassandra's hunt for Cricket, but they were defeated by the Cricket, badly injuring Tim and promising to fight Cassandra 'For real' next time.

Powers

Peak Human Condition: Through continuous intense training Cassandra represents the greatest fighting weapon ever conceived. She possesses peak level strength, stamina, speed and agility comparable to the finest human athlete.

Martial Arts: Due to her life long training Cassandra has a master level knowledge of all fighting arts known and unknown and continues to learn with every new opponent she faces. She was trained by her father (David Cain), along with several other members of the League of Assassins, including Bronze Tiger, Merlyn and Alpha. Upon taking the mantle of Batgirl, she was trained further by Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, and Lady Shiva. She received supplementary instruction from Onyx. She has also invented her own styles and techniques.[citation needed]

Dragon Style Kung Fu

The Falling Leaf Technique: A nerve pinch invented by Chinese monks in the 16th Century. Cassandra and her father are the only people who know how to use it.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Cassandra is schooled in all known and many unknown assassin techniques such as pressure points, killing techniques and stealth to name a few.

Body Reading Ability: Cassandra has the advanced ability to read body language enabling her to read what people are thinking and tell what they are going to do next before they do it. She has been shown able to read opponents far faster than herself, along with non humans and even alien lifeforms once she is given a chance to learn their body language. This enables her to identify disguised and transformed people as well.

Investigation: She was also very briefly trained in detective methods by Tim Drake during their time in Blüdhaven.

Stealth: Due to her excessive training she is also a master of stealth. This ability was furthered during her time as The Nothing and Kasumi.

Dyslexia: Due to her training using the language centers of her brain to read body language, Cassandra has extreme dyslexia, making it very difficult for her to read and write.

Over-Reliance on Body Reading Ability: While a definite strength in combat, Cassandra's ability to read body language can work against her when she can't properly discern an the intent of the opponents actions based on body language. Generally this can be happen when an opponent is very good ad disguising their intent like Slade, who can keep Cassandra distracted with subtle body language that could hint at many possible actions (Cassandra stated that when Slade moves, his body "sings like a chorus. Too fast with too many voices to pick up accurately".) In another instance it could be that an opponent isn't thinking or focusing on their movements as they make them like when Cassandra tried to stop a gunshot from a cybernetically enhanced assassin but couldn't because his cybernetics took over the aiming for him independently of his movements. The last way in which this weakness manifests is when Cassandra is facing an opponent who is mentally unstable or ill. Such an opponent is simply too unpredictable to anticipate. When Cassandra fought the Joker, the Joker had an edge in the beginning of the fight because she couldn't understand the Joker's body language or as Batman put it "she can read his body language too, but his body language just comes out as gibberish".

Cassandra has scars across her back from bullet wounds made by her father during her childhood training.

She tended to keep a rose around during her time as Batgirl.

She possess high levels of serotonin.

Due to her upbringing, Cassandra was unable to understand words being spoken and used body language to understand what people were saying. Eventually, she gains the ability to process and attach meaning to words.

She possessed a death wish due to guilt over killing that resulted in nightmares and self destructive behavior (seemingly solved after her second encounter with Lady Shiva).

Her favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.

Her favorite tea is Assam.

Cassandra's first kiss was Conner Kent.

Cassandra was formally adopted by Bruce Wayne, and now goes by Cassandra Cain-Wayne.

Verses

tba

#Batman #Batman [Cassandra Cain]#Female Character #non mutuals #face claim: Oh Yeon Seo

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florincia-blog · 6 years

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Solo

Tigger warning: Adult situations, gore, rape

Solo about characters job, and the cases she works for the FBI being a Criminologist.

Florincia woke up, her heart thundering and dampened in sweat. For a moment she thought she was still there, in the depth of her nightmare. But after a few minutes of her eyes darting around she realised she was safe in the comfort of her own bedroom. It was the soft ringing of her phone that broke her free from her dreams. Playing the factory set classical tune through the speakers, telling her someone was calling. She already knew who would be calling at 2:30 in the morning. It was Special Agent Tucker Milolo, her senior officer. He’d been working in the unit for years, and yet somehow he was able to sleep a full night. She herself had been working there for over a year, and the latest case had her tossing and turning through all hours of the night. It haunted her.

Please don’t be another victim. She sent a silent prayer to someone, god or maybe just the world. It was hard for her to decide what to believe in anymore. “Hello,” She answered a knot in her chest growing.

“Florincia, they found another body.” Tucker’s voice was level as it always was, but there was the smallest hint of sadness behind it. Something you’d only notice if you worked shoulder to shoulder with someone for over a year like she had.

“Is it the same M.O?” She asked her voice coming out as a sigh, a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding until then. She didn’t have to ask really. It was always the same, for the last four months. She lifted herself up off the comfort of her pillow and grabbed a cigarette, a bad habit she’d only recently picked up from all nighters looking through files. Every victim had different names, different jobs, but there was always something the same.

*Each victim was female. Between the ages of 23-30

*Each Victim had brown hair and blue eyes. (These similarities lead us to believe there is an emotional connection, maybe the mother of the killer of a wife.)

*Each Victim is brutally tortured, beaten and raped for over forty-eight hours.

*The extent of this is: electrical burning of the arms face, torso, legs and genitals. Breaking of the fingers and or removal of the nails, penetration of foreign object. (Object leaves wooden splinters tracing back to Brett Bros MM110 Maple Wood Bat Untracable)

*The killer seems to be sporadic during the torture but coherent during the clean up, leading us to think he may be experiencing a psychotic break. The level of torture also leads us to believe this is personal he’s making a point with each victim, maybe releasing rage from an over bearing partner.

*A note made from the victim's blood is always found.

“This is.. Different.” He mumbled.

“I’m on my way.” She mumbled into the speaker before lighting her cigarette, and hanging up. The tired hung over woman swung her feet of the bed, forcing herself to stand on the cold hard wood that cleared her mind from the tired feeling that washed over her. Quickly she peeled the sweat stained nighty from her skin and tossed it aside into a pile of dirty clothes that needed to be washed. She promised herself she’d get it done when she had time. If she had time. She got dressed pulling on a pair of black tight dress pants that held the curve of her hips, and a navy blue blouse to match. Her red waves she pulled into a tight ponytail at the top of her head.

Once she was dressed she pulled on her boots and headed out. It was quite, the late fall night chilled her to the bone as she drove. Putting in the address for the crime scene into her GPS. She stopped only for two coffees at a local McDonalds, wasn’t her best choice but they needed it. It woke her up just in time, she was pulling into a driveway in front of a dole grey single story house. The grass outside was well maintained. Even with the time of year it was most of the leaves were still green. Cops stood talking outside, a few Flora recognised from previous cases. Others must have been rookies. Tucker stood on the porch his arms crossed as he waited for her. He was tall, with black hair that withered at the front from years of stress. Deep crows feet played at the corners of his almost black eyes.

“Catch me up on what I don’t know,” She said, all business as she climbed the stairs.

“Victim’s name is Amber Bowers, head of Bowers Tech, and is a single devorsy.” Devorsy that was strange, up until then all the victims were women who’d never been in a serious relationship otherwise alone. “Also mother of Jayleen Bowers, a six year old. She’s missing.”

Flora stopped before entering the house, her eyes going wide as she looked at her partner. “She has a daughter? How long has the kid been reported missing.” She asked her voice going high slightly as anxiety began to build deep in her chest.

“Two days, the school called her father, so he showed up after not being able to get a hold of his ex wife.”

“Is he being questioned, maybe its a copy cat.” She told him continuing inside. But once she caught sight of the scene she knew it wasn’t there was no way. Written across the room in blood, on the far wall was her name. F-L-O-R-I-N-C-I-A Find me. In front of it in clear view of the window looking out on the front porch was the mothers mangled body. For a second she wanted to throw up. There was so much blood. You’d think she’d be used to it by now. But this was worse. Worse than anything she’d seen. Even by this perp. The skin was peeled from her fingers, leaving only nubs of muscle and flesh to be seen. Her face was burned beyond recognizing that she was ever human, the smell of charred flesh still lingered in the air. The most noticeable thing of all though was the chunks of flesh and hair that had been sculpted from her skull. There was so much anger this time, it practically puddled from the body. “How long did she endure this,” Flora asked unable to pull her trembling gaze from the horrific scene. There was only one thing that ran through her mind.

The little girl, her daughter, was probably witness to what happened. Watching her mother scream and beg to be killed. “They said she was probably tortured for the entire two days, maybe longer before her heart gave out.”

Upon closer inspection she noticed bite marks. Something that hadn’t been found before on a victim. She stopped one of the officers that were passing by. “ Have Katie swab every bite mark for Saliva, and check the database for any matching dental records.

“She was home alone,” Flora said noticing a single microwave lunch sitting on the coffee table, it had to be at least three days old by then. “ That’s when she heard a knock on the door. She must have known him somehow, because she let him in. That’s when he attacked.” She could see the struggled played across the room, the table next to the door was knocked over the phone and keys that had been on top flung across the room. The curtain that was once up on the window was ripped free, “she almost got away. She was headed towards the kitchen to go out the back door when he hit her with something,” it was like a movie that played out in her head as she connected the dots. “Probably his bat, he tortured her, until the school bus came, and her daughter came home. Then there was another struggle.” She noted the backpack forgotten about down the hall. Each time she pointed something out a picture was taken. She followed down the hall to the little girls room. The door was left open. There were toys flug towards the hall as if she tried fighting him off. She could see the little girl being caught and drug back into the living room where she was forced to watch her mother being tortured for two days until he grew tired of his latest victim and left.

“Put out a APV on any cars trying to leave town through the highways, have officers posted on every back road.” She came to a sudden realisation. There was something he liked about Jayleen, and she was on a road to being groomed for him. That’s why he took her. That’s why he let her live. There was an urgency to her words now as she left the house descending the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Tucker called out after her fallowing her to her 2014 Chevy impala.

“ I need to go back to HQ and do some research, go back with the body and tell me if Katie gets anything back.” He raised a brow at her ordering him around and she smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders pulling out of the driveway. There was something they hadn’t looked into something she needed to know. And now time was running out on a innocent little girl. She had to make a break. It was now or never before another victim was weighed on her conscious.

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