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thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years

Text

Monument Woman

Pairing: Marcus Pike x OC (Rosemary Carter)

Warnings: None

A/N: God, I have been wanting to finish this story for weeks, but once we got out of quarantine, I lost all ambition to write. So, I’m glad I finally have enough of a cushion to get part 1 out to you guys. I won’t be following my old posting schedule, but I hope I don’t go so far between posts that you all forget about me!

Reminder: I ain’t ever seen Pedro Pascal in FUCK ALL, I’m just coming up with this as I go along, using imdb.com, wiki, and 84,000 tabs I got open to plan out this shit. I also write soft versions of his characters so if you’re craving asshole vibes, I ain’t got any but my own to offer.

Tag List:

@zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @beskars , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale , @ahopelessromanticwritersworld [please message me to be added or subtracted]

Part 1 – And So We Begin

“Thank you for calling Fort Jamison Historical Museum, this is Rosemary. How can I help you?” The jaunty-sounding phrase rolled off her tongue automatically with little thought behind it until she heard the wizened chuckle on the other end.

“Do you always answer your cell phone like that?” She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned as Robert Lancaster’s chuckle morphed into a hearty laugh. She couldn’t help but giggle along as she dropped her pencil and took off her glasses, setting them on the desk in front of her.

“You know, sometimes I do, especially when I’m not paying attention.” Rosemary leaned back into her chair, propping her feet up on the desk. Her free hand dropped down to fondle Banana’s ears as the dog snoozed next to her. “What’s up, Robert?”

“I’m doing some spring cleaning at the house and shop. I got quite a few boxes accumulated, including stuff I’d like to donate to the museum. When do you think you can come down to look through them? I don’t expect you to take them all, but there are a couple of items I want you to specifically have.” His voice sounded muffled over the phone as he bent down to toss another book into the Friends of the Library box.

“It’s a little slow this week,” she started as she checked the calendar on her wall. “Looks like I can come as early as tomorrow. So, if that works for you, I’ll bring the paperwork with me and we can just get it all done at once.”

“Oh, great! I was hoping you could come soon. It’s been a while since we had time to visit.” His smile was evident in his voice. “Can you do the paperwork on the computer?”

“Sure, we have the fillable PDFs.”

“Even better. Just bring your laptop and we’ll work on it as we go through everything. We can connect to the printer here and then you don’t have to worry about doing any of this at the office. By the way, do you think you’ll have time for lunch?”

“Robert, you know I always have time for you.” She smiled. They had been friends for ten years by that point and he never failed to ask the lunch or dinner question and she never failed to make time for him. Robert had been her first friend when she arrived in Michigan and the long-running friendship between the perpetual bachelor and the bold curator was stuff of area legend.

There had been speculation of a May-December romance between the two, but Robert saw the younger woman as the daughter he never had and on her part Rosemary saw Robert as the father figure she lost when her grandfather passed away.

“Want to do Phil’s or Coral Gables?” She smiled. Just as their dates were always guaranteed, she knew that their location was as well. But it was habit to ask and it never felt right if she didn’t.

“Why do you even ask the question? You know it’s supposed to be nice tomorrow, Coral Gables’ patio all the way.” The two chatted a bit longer before they hung up, returning to the rest of their respective duties. Rosemary sat up and Banana whined when she stopped petting him. Spoiled dog.

“Sorry, Baba. Work calls.” She stood up from her desk and wandered down the hall to the director’s office, knowing Helen was at her desk. The third floor of the museum was workspace for the staff and despite working there for so many years, Rosemary never failed to draw an appreciative breath at the stunning sight of the Kalamazoo River.

As she ambled down the hall, Banana’s nails clicked on the tile floor, hinting that she wasn’t alone on her journey. She smiled as she waved her hand and the dog rushed to her side. The two slowly walked to the director’s office, warming themselves in the afternoon sun that poured through the windows.

Rosemary heard the muttering first as she rounded the corner and entered the office. The stout woman was hunched over her laptop, her salt and pepper pixie cut sticking up everywhere. Whatever she was working on, it was stressing her out. Helen always pulled at her short strands when she was concentrating hard.

Smiling, Helen’s head jerked up as Rosemary knocked on the door. The older woman waved her curator into the office and leaned back. As she stretched, both women could hear a series of loud pops and they started to giggle.

“Ugh, I am getting too old to sit like this. I need a massage.” Helen groaned as yet another loud pop emitted from her shoulder. As Banana scooched under the desk to get scritches from Helen, Rosemary plopped down in one of the armchairs and it creaked in complaint. “Do you have to sit so hard? Those are collection pieces, you know.”

“Not anymore. I deaccessioned them last week into the decorative collection. Donor approved, mind you. So, we can sit in these however we want.” Rosemary grinned as she threw a leg over the arm of the ornate chair. For being so ugly, it was comfortable and not for the first time, she wondered if she could move them to her office without Helen noticing.

“That may be, but it’s not like we have money to fix something you broke because you were being too careless.” Helen raised her eyebrow and Rosemary sat back up in the chair like normal, having the courtesy to look chagrined. The director sat back.

“So, what do you need? Are you still having issues with that Gaylord order?”

“Naw, I talked to them last week, they shipped it out yesterday. Finally.” She rolled her eyes. “Robert Lancaster called me just a bit ago, wanting to donate some items to the museum. I got the time, so I’ll head to Saugatuck tomorrow to handle it.”

“Well, I know Robert is quite the collector, but do you think there are things we’ll want? I’m hard pressed to start accepting any old thing again after we finally got the collections cleared up and decluttered. I know he’s a long-time supporter of the museum, but I don’t know if I can take another ugly piece of furniture with a smile.” Rosemary laughed at the comment.

“To his credit, he said there were things we probably wouldn’t want, and I doubt he’ll be sad if I said no to some things. I certainly want to see what books he’s got for us. We have a few things in the library that probably need to be rotated out into archives for their own protection.

“Besides, I am not going to pass up a chance to swoop in and yank the rug out from underneath Saugatuck. You know that. Watching Fred get mad that I got the leg up on him adds ten years to my life.” Rosemary rubbed her hands gleefully, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“You really hate him, don’t you?” Helen laughed. Lake Michigan History Center was a charming coastal museum, but everyone agreed their curator was a bit odd. Rosemary took an instant dislike to the man when she came on Fort Jamison’s staff and over the years, their dislike turned into a mutual hatred. Like her friendship with Robert, everyone knew Fred was Rosemary’s mortal enemy and vice versa.

“God, yes! Helen, he’s a dick and greedy as hell. I don’t trust him any further than I can toss his skinny ass. I am still pissed over the diary! Mrs. Greenwich assured me that we were getting it and he slithered into the village last year and took it!” Rosemary’s voice got louder. “THAT DAMN DIARY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAUGATUCK, LET ALONE MENTIONS IT!”

Helen laughed harder while raising her hands in surrender and her curator stopped herself before she got too carried away. Rosemary cleared her throat and drew a deep breath. Ugh, he always managed to get her riled up even when he wasn’t around. Damn Fred.

“Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t let him get me so mad, but god. I hate him so much! So, if Robert Lancaster’s got something that would make Fred die with envy, then by god, I’m gonna bring it home.”

“Alright. I trust you as usual. But since you’re here, I want to go over a couple of things with you for this grant so I can get it out Friday.”

The two women moved on to other things and fell into discussion about the future of projects for the museum and how to fund them.

---***---

“Cripes.”

The word was accompanied by a deep groan. Agent Marcus Pike sat back in his chair to rub his eyes for the third time in less than an hour. Some intern had dumped four boxes of case files in his office and was coming back with four more. And the intern was certain there was another half dozen.

When three art pieces were stolen in Canada last year, Pike had been notified as a courtesy from his Canadian counterparts. Which in and of itself wasn’t unusual, but the notes from the agents there stood out to Pike and he realized that the details match another case he had worked on earlier in the year. And further digging uncovered almost three dozen cases dating back almost thirty years that carried all the hallmarks of this most recent one. And more importantly – they were all still open.

He had taken his concerns and theories to the Art Squad chief, Agent Maria Luisa Armand, and with her blessing, assembled a crew to explore these cold cases. Maybe with new technology and eyes, they’d get the lead to solve them all.

The dull throbbing behind his eyes seemed to get worse and he leaned further back in his chair, trying to do some breathing exercises to reduce the pressure. He let his eyes go unfocused, letting the colored light reflected on his ceiling go blurry. The stained glass propped up in his office window had been a bit of an indulgence for him, but Pike never regretted the purchase and, in that moment, the colored streaks help bring some sense of zen that he needed.

A knock on his door forced him out of his zone and he sat up to see his partner, Brenda Carmichael, waiting at the door. He smiled when he saw her and she returned the gesture, coming in to sit in one of the chairs. The two had been partners for six years and together they had solved dozens of cases and thwarted twice as much.

“Do we have a plan, Carmichael?”

“Yep. Someone is coming to get these boxes and take them to Conference D, which I commandeered.”

“How did you do that?”

“Threatened to tell Harrison’s wife that he was spending big cash on that escort he’s seeing.”

“Ouch, a little low, don’t you think?” Pike laughed.

“God no. Harrison doesn’t ever play nice, so you can’t do it with him.” She waived her hand and laughed, her tightly coiled hair bouncing as if it was laughing, too. “Anyway, three junior agents are on the job currently preparing to create the timeline and pulling all the files. Two more are working to create point of contact lists for witnesses and such. And finally, I think Armand is putting on the coffee.”

“So where does that leave you and me?” He didn’t think he’d get such a big crew to do this. Must be a slow day in other departments. “I want Fitzbender on the NSAF search and follow up, though, before I forget.

“That’s fine. And we supervise.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it for now. Until we have more material to work with. So up off your duff and let’s get going.”

Pike smiled as he pulled himself out of his chair, grabbing his jacket and gesturing to Carmichael to leave first. If they could solve these cases, it would be the biggest win in the Art Squad’s recent history and Pike really wanted to bring those pieces home where they belonged.

---***----

“Robert, you know I love you, but you have some ugly stuff here.” Rosemary’s nose wrinkled at the stuffed monkey with murderous eyes staring at her from a box. The only place that creepy thing was going was in the garbage. She moved on to another open box, pawing through the items that were housed there, pulling out a couple of potentials.

“Yeah, well no accounting for taste, I guess.” Robert groaned as he leaned over and pulled open another box. He thought he had labelled all of them for the museum, but he realized three of them got mixed up in the junk pile. “God, how did I miss all these boxes. I’m sorry Rosie, I am usually better organized.”

“It’s not a problem, Robert.” Rosemary walked over with the contents of yet another box, a bounce in her step as she realized she snagged a two-hundred-year-old map of the area that Fred would have murdered her to get for himself. Her grin was almost feral at the idea that she one upped the old bastard. “Hey, question.”

“What?” Robert had moved on to a small box on his desk that had a post-it with Rosemary’s name on it.

“What’s with all the cleaning and giving away all of a sudden? The house wasn’t like this when I visited two months ago.” She wiped the sweat off her brow and turned to look at him. He was quiet and she took a moment to really look at him.

She knew from long talks that Robert had been living in the Saugatuck area since the 1990s. He had come from Chicago, declaring he needed a slower pace and his bookstore was a welcomed addition to the downtown area. He was highly philanthropic to causes he loved, like the Fort Jamison museum.

After her Pops passed away several years ago, she seemed to lean even more into Robert to fill the empty void and he did so gladly. As she watched him shuffle about, she grew concerned because he looked more frail than usual. The man had always been on the thin side, but he looked scarily thin and a thought skittered through her mind that sent a wave of sadness through her.

“Robert, are you sick?” There was no hiding the sadness in Rosemary’s voice. When he stopped and hesitated, she didn’t need a verbal answer from him. She walked over from where she was standing and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him around. “Robert.”

He bowed his head and wrapped his arms around the younger woman as tight as he could, and she did the same. He began to cry on her shoulder, and it startled her, causing tears to form in her eyes. She silently rubbed his back in comforting circles as sobs wracked Robert’s body. They stood there a long time before he quieted down, but even then, Rosemary refused to let him go, hugging him close to her.

He was her friend and she loved him dearly, so if he were dying, it would devastate her. Robert made a move to pull back and she reluctantly let him go but held onto his arms with her hands to keep him close. His red-rimmed eyes crushed the broken pieces of her heart. He sighed.

“Rosie.” He took a deep breath. “I met with my doctor last week and I have stage four pancreatic cancer. He only gave me a few months to live.”

“Oh Robert.” The tears started up again and she threw her arms around him. They cried together a second time and the sadness enveloped them. As she held him close, her tears made her voice rough. “That’s what spurred this on, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But you’re the only one to know right now. I didn’t want to tell anyone else until you knew.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, for starters, this hug is pretty good.” He chuckled a little bit. “And get some of this stuff out of my house. And then just be my friend until the end.”

“Always.” She pulled back to look at him. “But it will be a cold day in hell before that ugly ass monkey comes with me.”

The tension and sadness were broken, letting them laugh a bit through their tears. They stepped apart and let themselves smile at each other.

“Let’s get lunch and come back to this stuff later. It’s too nice of a day to miss out on the patio.”

#Agent Marcus Pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x oc #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #fanfic #the mentalist

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violetsmoak · 4 years

Text

Philtatos [13/?]

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20101543/chapters/47690671

Blanket Disclaimer

Summary: During a patrol where Red Hood and Red Robin cross paths, Jason is infected with the blood of the Eros, the ancient God of Love, who informs them that they must track down his missing bow and arrows, or Jason will go slowly mad with an obsessive desire–for Tim. Though overwhelmed by the sudden attention being paid to him, Tim sets to work trying to solve the case, before Jason succumbs to madness. In the meantime, Jason discovers that there’s more than godlike powers at work here, as well as a legacy that reaches back through the sands of time.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

Beta Reader: None at the moment.

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: #fatal flaw #secrets #riddle #fate #revenge #oracle #betrayal #prophecy #jealousy

First Chapter

________________________________________________________________

Tim feels a little bad about using Jason’s skin hunger against him but only for a moment. Any concern about that vanishes when he peeks back at Jason as they walk, and observes the color returning to the other man’s cheeks. The hand clasped in his own stops shaking the longer they touch.

Tim has never been one to enjoy holding hands—often he’s felt uncomfortable or self-conscious, worrying about sweaty fingers or whether the other person might consider it lame—but this doesn’t feel like that.

This feels right.

It’s actually concerning how right it feels, especially in light of his recent discussion with Steph.

Stop it. This isn’t about you. It’s about putting Jason at ease.

They return to the containment unit to find Barbara facing down Eros—an impressive feat considering she’s in a wheelchair and he’s the one looking down on her. Her face is drawn in irritation, and he’s gratified to see that Eros seems put-out about something.

“Took you long enough. Cherry here says she’s got a bonafide prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi and wouldn’t share it until you got back.” He eyes their entwined hands and leers. “I take it the domestics are going well?”

“Get bent,” Tim snaps in irritation as Jason tugs his hand back so fast he might as well have been burned.

“Only if you do the honors, pretty boy.”

Jason growls and makes a move for his gun, but Tim reaches out to stop him.

“Can you not tease him?” he demands of Eros. “Especially when the only reason he’s like this is because of you.”

“Oh, if only you knew…”

Before Tim can comment on that, Jason interrupts.

“What’s the feathered freak talkin’ about?” he snaps, radiating tension. “What prophecy?”

“The one Signal was able to recover from the girl that was killed,” Barbara says coolly. “He transcribed it and sent it along. Do you want to hear it, or do you want to keep acting like a child?”

This she directs at Eros, who actually does look chastised a beat, before gracing her with a cool smile.

“I guess it is apropos if you do the honors, darlin’,” Eros says with a cool smile. “Is it ironic or coincidental if someone who stole the title of oracle interprets a prophecy from the actual Oracle of Delphi?”

“Who cares? This whole situation is making me hate both irony and coincidence,” Tim says.

“It’s making me wonder if there are any coincidences,” Jason mutters, eyes fixed on Eros in intense dislike.

Barbara offers him an identical look, before thumbing the screen of her phone and opening her incoming messages.

Then she begins to read:

“The Unseen darkness cannot keep its captive thrice for mortal masks the divine that seeks its reward in the city where dark nights conceal the greatest of secrets.

“Crossed beneath the stars when the Rager’s Moon is full, eternal freedom is neigh upon the eleventh moment of the small hour.The sacrifice of the virgin gifts triumph to the prisoner and that which drowned in Lethe’s tears is reborn.

“But take heed, for the winged scion of Cythera, willingly blinded by the veil of vengeance revealed by Discord’s most cursed boon, awakens the warrior guided by the Physicians heir.

“Fury dooms the fair, heralding the return of magnificent Alexandros and one whose name is painted in blood and stone.

“Greatest of loves, damned by the gleam of a golden barb, torn asunder by jealousy and parted by cruel death, they will stand against Strife.

“Titans will rise and one who Death names hero, betrayed yet shielded by love, will sunder the chains of Aidoneus and avenge the victim of grievance. One will be born anew, the other bound eternally to Stygian Darkness.”

There is silence as she puts the phone down, eyebrows drawn together in thought.

“What?” Tim says.

“I see your ‘what’ and raise you a ‘the fuck’,” Jason adds. “Does any of that make sense to anyone else? Because it don't make sense to me.”

“Blame my uncle,” Eros says, apparently annoyed.

“What? Why?” Tim wants to know. “Which one’s he?”

“Apollo,” Barbara says, still considering the puzzling words on the screen. “Aside from being a sun god, he was also the god of prophecy.”

“Talking in riddles is his favorite pastime,” Eros agrees. “It’s a pain in the ass.”

“I’ll bet,” Tim agrees. “We’ve got someone like that here in Gotham.”

“Yeah, and he’s a frequent guest of Arkham, so what’s that tell you?” Jason grumbles.

“That people who come up with riddles have too much time on their hands.”

“There’s a reason the Oracles of Delphi didn’t put their predictions into simple words,” Barbara points out. ”If you give people information about what’s coming, how do you know you’re not ensuring it will or won’t come to pass? It was important for them to be seen as the medium of the message and not an agent.

“By keeping information vague, it would seem like they were allowing a querant the chance to defy fate, while at the same time allowing fate to take its natural course, whatever that might be,” Eros agrees. “Ans it was good insurance. Even Oracles needed to cover their asses. You were less likely to get your head lopped off by a visiting king that received news he didn’t want to hear. And whatever the outcome, they could still say, ‘we told you so’.” He considers Barbara. “You know, I don’t usually find brainy sexy, but you might just turn me.”

“I’m thrilled,” she deadpans.

“So what’s all this supposed to mean, anyway?” Tim asks, trying to bring the discussion back to the matter at hand.

“It could mean anything. Though to start with, that bit about ‘unseen darkness’, that’s an epithet for the Underworld in old Hellenic documents.”

“We called it that in the old days,” Eros confirms.

“And then there’s the part about someone captive in Hades.”

“I thought Hades was a person?” Tim says.

“It is. But it’s also a place.” Jason tells him.

“It depends on what story and what source you’re drawing from,” Barbara elaborates. “And what translation.”

“What about the next bit? About mortal maskin' the divine?”

“Could that mean whoever’s possessing Carrie Cutter?” Tim suggests. “We’ve already established she’s got help from a god, and if they’re inhabiting her body even for short amounts of time, it’s a pretty effective mask.”

“No doubt,” Eros agrees. “Not so sure about that part with dark nights, but I guess it’s referring to this cesspool you people call a city.”

Tim, Jason and Barbara exchange glances, knowing exactly how dark nights and secrets relate to their city.

Maybe Duke misheard. It might not be dark ‘nights’ so much as dark ‘knights’. Which makes sense, considering Bruce and Dick both have that title depending on the day.

“Safe to say it’s Gotham,” Tim confirms. “So all that begs the question, do you have any idea who’s locked in the Underworld trying to get out?”

Eros snorts. “The better question is who isn’t locked in the Underworld.”

Jason is glaring furiously at Eros, clearly growing tired of his evasive and snarky answers. The way his fists clench, Tim suspects he’s close to throwing a punch at the glass in frustration. Not something Tim wants to see, especially given Jason’s injuries from their altercation with Carrie Cutter and Dick haven’t even been seen to yet.

God, it feels like it was days ago but it was only hours. He probably came right here to confront Eros without even looking after himself.

He has to put that out of his mind for now. Deciphering any clues in the prophecy takes momentary precedence.

“…. A lot of myths end with someone displeasing a god and getting sent to Tartarus, so he has a point,” Barbara is saying, her thumbs busily texting something on her phone.

“So that’s not going to tell us anything,” Tim decides. “What about the ‘crossed beneath the stars’ part?”

“More of the same in terms of pinpointing when everything is supposed to happen,” Eros says.

“Which is when?”

“November twenty-third,” Barbara says, frowning at the small screen in her hand.

Jason looks askance. “How d’you know?”

“'Moon’ equates to month, and another name for Zeus was the Rager,” she replies. “So, Zeus’s month. According to the Athenian calendars we still have access to, Zeus’s month was Maimakterion—which in modern times would fall somewhere between November and December. And the next full moon—” She holds up her phone, showing a lunar calendar for the month, “—falls on November twenty-third. It’s the only full moon that falls during Maimakterion.”

Eros nods along in approval. “What she said.”

“And the small hour?”

“Midnight.”

“So, whatever’s supposed to happen is going to happen eleven minutes after midnight…assuming that’s what moment means,” Tim muses, glancing at his own phone calendar. “That’s this Friday.”

“Five days from now,” Jason agrees, and side-eyes Tim. “We’ve all had shorter deadlines.”

“That’s not necessarily referring to your deadline, sweet cheeks,” Eros reminds him. “I figure you have about half that.”

“No thanks to you.”

“You know, the last Jason I knew wasn’t this whiny.”

“Children,” Barbara says sharply. “Let’s stay focused, shall we? I’m concerned about this virgin sacrifice part—specifically the part where it ensures success for someone we probably don’t want to succeed.”

“Cutter did kill that girl,” Tim reminds them. “Maybe it was some kind of offering, so she’d be successful at whatever she’s trying to do.”

“It’s a good an explanation as anything else,” Eros agrees, examining his nails. “We always did love our human sacrifices. And a virgin does increase the likelihood of something working out to your advantage.”

“You’re a piece of shit,” Jason growls. “That’s a kid you’re talking about!”

“And as an Oracle of Delphi she’s entitled to an eternity of bliss once she enters the Underworld,” Eros dismisses. “It’s a better end than some people are entitled to.”

Jason’s eyes blaze as if that’s a personal insult. Tim can certainly empathize.

“What about the second part?” he prompts. “What’s Lethe?”

“The Lethe was the river the souls drank from to forget their previous lives before being reincarnated,” Barbara explains.

“The Ancient Greeks believed in reincarnation? But I thought that was something from the Far East?”

“Many ancient cultures had a concept of reincarnation beyond the Hindu and Buddhist mythos,” Barbara explains. “Just look at the belief systems of the indigenous peoples of North America and you’ll see countless examples. And they didn’t have any contact with the civilizations of Asia during the time when those faiths were evolving.”

Beside Tim, Jason is as stiff as a board and appears to be having trouble breathing. Automatically, Tim edges closer to him, and though he doesn’t outright take his hand—he leans into him, nudging him with his shoulder.

Jason’s eyes dart to him for a moment, and he relaxes incrementally.

“How does that relate here though?” Barbara wants to know.

“Maybe the prisoner forgot something,” Eros suggests, not sounding very interested.

“Or maybe whoever’s tryin' to escape Hades as made to forget something,” Jason counters darkly.

“Only mortals can be made to forget by drinking from the Lethe,” Barbara says. “The prisoner could have been human. Salmoneus or Tantalus or one of the Dainads.”

Tim doesn’t even get a chance to question who they are before Eros interrupts. “Actually, it’s a little broader than just mortals. More like mortals, demigods that haven’t consumed ambrosia, giants, hybrids—”

“So again, we’re back to a broad spectrum of people it could be talkin' about,” Jason complains. “Great. Is there anyone or anything in this stupid prophecy that isn’t doublespeak?”

“Well, the next verse is pretty self-explanatory. Obviously, we’re talking about yours truly,” Eros says, pointing at himself. “What other 'winged son' do you know from mythology?”

“A case could be made for Pegasus.”

“No, it’s Eros,” Tim says. “Cythera’s another name for Aphrodite.” Everyone looks at him in surprise.

“How do you know that?” Jason asks, but where the emphasis ought to suggest incredulity, he sounds impressed.

Tim tries not to bask in that.

“My parents used to visit the island of Cythera a lot when they weren’t on business trips, especially before I was born. It was their favorite vacation destination. Full of history, not touristy—they didn’t like having to socialize with people when they were on vacation.”

Tim falls silent then, remembering sitting in his living room with his parents, pouring over their vacation photos of the Mediterranean island while they told stories. They’d always promised to take him one day…

He glances up and notices the others are watching him now—Eros with a sharp, calculating gaze while Jason appears concerned. As for Barbara, she seems to sense his discomfort, because she navigates them past the lull. “Okay, so if it’s Eros, what are you wanting revenge for? It’s not exactly your M-O.”

“I can think of a few people who have it coming,” Eros answers. “Starting with my mother.”

“What’d she do?” Tim asks.

“Do you have a few centuries worth of couch time?”

“Isn’t she the reason your wife died?” Barbara wants to know. “In the myth, she survived, but Tim told me that's not what happened in reality.”

Eros expression goes cold.

“That’s right,” Tim remembers; he and Eros had this conversation a few days ago, didn’t they? “Aphrodite is the one who sent Psyche to the underworld.”

Eros bares his teeth. “One of her many sins, but not the only one.”

“Then couldn’t the prophecy maybe be referring to her? Psyche, I mean? Maybe she’s the prisoner.”

“Are you implying my wife is the one behind your Cupid’s actions?” Eros growls. “Because that’s impossible.”

“How would you know? It could be—”

“Because she died a mortal! Her soul is mortal and wouldn’t have the power to escape the Underworld in any capacity! Furthermore, Psyche would never kill or arrange the death of anyone! She was good and pure of soul and that’s why I fell in love with her.”

“That’s not what I read,” Barbra says. “Didn’t you prick yourself on one of your golden arrows while watching her?”

“I pricked myself because I fell in love with her,” he snaps. “I’ve already told Jason here that the arrows only work to magnify emotions that are already there.”

“That makes no sense. You liked her before you made yourself fall in love with her?”

“Look, you know the story: Psyche was beautiful. So much so, that the idiots in her kingdom started treating her like a living goddess, bringing the gifts meant for my mother to this human princess. You can guess how well that went over.”

“Right. She sent you to make her fall in love with a horrible beast.”

“Yeah, one of Diomedes mares. Gorgeous animals—people would stop and stare at them for hours. Also, vicious, flesh-eating beasts. Just getting to close to one of those and it would have ripped her to shreds—and she would have stood there and let it.” Eros’ expression becomes soft, eyes faraway at the memory. “If she had been some arrogant, selfish royal I would have let it happen. But I watched her for days while I tried to put her in the path of that thing. And everything she did was just good and kind. I had never seen as pure a soul like hers.” He shakes his head. “The idea of a girl like that being sent to her death just because a bunch of idiot humans had the audacity to praise her alongside my mother didn’t seem fair.”

“And you’re all about fair, aren’t you?” Jason sneers.

Tim has to agree; if Eros cared about fair, he would have been a lot more helpful about curing Jason and wouldn’t have demanded they find his diviners beforehand.

“I was young and stupid, and I didn’t realize the world didn’t work that way,” Eros dismisses. “Even for gods. I thought my mother would never want to harm me—and so if I put Psyche under my protection, she couldn’t hurt her. And if I could show my mother what a good wife Psyche was, even if she was unable to see me, it would prove the point.” He snorts. “It didn’t exactly go my way.”

“And there’s no way her soul could have somehow been corrupted when she died?”

“The Underworld is stagnant. There’s no such thing as change or time there. Everything occurs both in one moment and in all moments there.”

“So you’re saying a soul going in would remain in the same state as it was when it died,” Barbara posits.

“Exactly. How else do you expect the judges to judge souls if they kept changing after death? It’d be a headache.

“Then if it’s not Psyche, who else can you think of that it might be?”

“It might be more than one person,” Tim suggests. “That line about 'greatest of loves'—what if that’s why Carrie’s been targeting couples? She hears the prophecy—or whoever’s riding along inside her hears the prophecy—and thinks there’s a couple out there that’s going to stand against her. She could be trying to eliminate potential threats to her end goal.”

“If so, we need to decipher her criteria for choosing her victims. You already said it didn’t seem like they had anything in common.”

“We’ll have to check again. Maybe now that we’ve got this prophecy, something new will jump out.”

“We skipped a whole verse,” Jason points out. “The ‘warrior guided by the physician’s heir’. Any ideas?”

Eros shrugs. “Since the rest of the prophecy involves me, I’d say it’s me.”

“How do you figure?”

“The Physician is another name for Apollo.”

“So?”

“So, who do you think taught me archery? Next to him, I’m the greatest archer among the Olympians.”

“Or it could be Jason,” Tim ponders.

Jason seems to go pale, almost panicked. “What?”

“I mean, assuming you’re interpreting ‘awaken’ by activating the way you do with a sleeper agent. You infected him with your blood however accidentally and then pressed him into doing your dirty work.”

“I resent your tone, boy,” Eros grumbles, but Jason interjects, “And the other bit?”

“The other bit is just really literal,” Barbara catches on. “Jason, you were trained by Batman. Who was the heir to an actual physician. The M.D. kind.”

Thomas Wayne.

Jason looks like he doesn’t know what to do with that information. “Shit.”

Eros watches Jason, inscrutable eyes considering; Jason glares back at him as if waiting for him to make a comment.

“But if it’s Jason, the next bit wouldn’t make sense,” Barbara says after a moment. “‘Magnificent Alexandros’. The only Alexandros I can think of off the top of my head if Alexander of Macedon. But that doesn’t really track with the rest of the verse. He was a historical figure, not mythological.”

“That’s offensive, you know,” Eros drawls. “All those stories you call mythology actually happened.”

“Then why don’t we have an archaeological record for them?”

“Because screw you, that’s why.”

“If it is talking about Alexander the Great, Robin will be happy,” Tim says with a rueful smirk.

Jason is perplexed. “Why?”

“Apparently he was on the list of the kid’s League-approved childhood heroes. Mother-son bonding time seems to have included traveling in his footsteps as preparation for world domination.”

Jason looks surprised and amused. “Really?”

“Is it that surprising?”

“No, it’s just…” Jason shakes his head. “Never mind.” He clears his throat. “So, back to the prophecy. It talks about the Titans—are we talkin' the creatures the Olympian gods overthrew?”

“Well, whenever one of us mention the Titans, it is usually those bottom feeders rotting in Tartarus, yes,” Eros says dryly, inscrutable focussed on Jason. “Them going free is never a good thing. Don’t believe me, read the Titanomachy. Hesiod got it pretty close to right.”

“Could be the goal, could be the result,” Tim suggests.

“Which brings us back to possibly being on the lookout for more than one prisoner escaping Hades,” Barbara says.

“And all of that leads us to the typical ‘one shall live and one shall die’ device,” Eros concludes.

“Only we don’t know who either of those is.”

“I can tell you now if it’s a prophecy involving me, I have no intention of dying."

“If it’s even about you. It’s not really an exact science, interpreting this sort of thing,” Barbara warns. “Even an Olympian like you can misunderstand—there’s evidence of that in the myths. In fact, I’m sure we’re missing more than is good for us. It will take some time to decipher it and we need more information.”

“At least we have something,” Tim maintains. “The exact date when it’s going to happen and where. We can begin preparing for that.”

“It’s a whole hell of a lot to think about,” Jason agrees.

“Which you can do back at the Cave. We only came here to see if Eros could shed some light on the prophecy or see the arrows.”

“What arrows?”

“Wonder Girl told us that to reverse what’s been done to Nightwing is to remove the arrow that Carrie stabbed him with.”

“Uh, there is no arrow,” Jason says. “Cupid took it with her, remember?”

“I guess that answers that question,” Barbara sighs. “You can’t see them.”

“Of course he can’t,” Eros says. “I’m the only one that can see the wounds caused by my arrows. Even this pseudo-Cupid wouldn’t be able to see them.”

“After she stabbed Jason she seemed to be looking for something, so I’m not sure about that,” Tim argues.

“She can’t see them. Though it may be possible her divine passenger might. I don't know. Never had another god take my diviners before."

“Speaking of being stabbed,” Tim goes on, nodding at the bruises coming out on his face. There are likely more hidden by the leather jacket and gear. “You should get those looked at.”

“I didn’t physically get stabbed, you know. Magic wounds don’t need to be looked at.”

“You went toe-to-toe with an enhanced fighter and Batman. You could have internal bleeding for all we know.”

“If you think a little tussle with that dick is going to do lastin' damage—”

Tim cuts off his indignation. “I don’t, but you haven’t been eating or sleeping properly, and your system is already compromised, so how do you know what damage was or wasn’t done? You didn’t stay to get treated at the Cave.”

Their eyes meet, remembering exactly why that is, and Tim’s cheeks darken. Jason is the first to look away, though.

“It’s nothin'. I can patch myself up whenever.”

“I can help—”

“I’m good.”

“Jason—”

“I’m an adult and I’ve been treatin' myself without help for years now,” Jason interrupts tensely. When Tim can’t stop himself from flinching, Jason’s eyes flash with dismay. “I mean…” He flounders like he’s trying to take it back, and instead changes the subject. “Didn’t you say somethin' about a list? Maybe get started on that and I’ll do an injury check myself.”

It’s a clear cop-out, and if they were alone, Tim would be calling him on it.

“I’ll ask for help if I need any,” he adds, awkwardly, like it’s been a long time since anyone actually cared about his injuries being treated.

Barbara glances between the two of them, obviously sensing the undertone, but not commenting on it. Instead, she says, “I don’t mind helping Jason. Besides, Red Robin needs to contact the Family and let them know what we know.”

“And I need food,” Eros says. “I haven’t eaten since before you went on your little reconnaissance mission. Can’t you see? I’m wasting away.”

“If only,” Jason mutters.

Tim is torn, wanting to argue that he can help Jason, but at the same time trying to respect the other man’s obvious need for distance.

At last, he nods.

“Okay,” he says, feeling a little defeated. “Let’s take a break. I’ll make a food run…you get yourself fixed up.”

“Whatever you say, babybird.”

⁂

Once Tim vanishes, Barbie indicates with a jerk of her head that Jason should follow her upstairs to the Nest medbay. He knows better than to think it’s just her wanting to take a look at his injuries—like him, she’s probably looking for some privacy.

They take the elevator up in silence, and Jason wonders vaguely when the last time was, he was this close to Barbara Gordon.

I don’t think I have been, actually. We both avoid the manor unless there’s no choice. And we both have good reasons for it. And when we are there together, there’s usually about six to ten feet of distance between us.

They were never what he would call close before she was paralyzed and he died. Barbie was Dick’s girl and Jason’s occasional babysitter until the Joker ruined her life. And then she wasn’t around at all. Jason wasn’t alive to watch her painstakingly drag herself up and pull it together again, so he never got the chance to interact with the Barbara Gordon that became Oracle.

Since returning to Gotham he’s kept her at a distance as much as he did the rest of the Family, so it’s somewhat surprising to him that she’s here now and working to help him.

Probably it’s on account of Tim.

Still silent, they enter the surgically pristine room of the Nest’s medical wing—and Jason is a little jealous of the supplies here. It makes the kits he has in his safehouses about as sophisticated as a needle and threat.

Barbie watches him, framed in the doorway.

“Well? Spit it out,” he grunts, deciding to get whatever reprimands are forthcoming out of the way.

Her look turns sharp before she reaches into her jacket pocket for something; Jason can’t help tensing up, even though she knows the likelihood of her pulling a weapon on him are slim to none.

That suspicion is confirmed when she instead draws out a device and turns it on; there’s a high-pitched background whir that Jason recognizes as a listening device scrambler.

Clearly we’re both aware of what a paranoid freak Timbers can be.

“Okay, Jason, what’s going on?” she asks without preamble. “You know Tim only wants to help you.”

“Yeah, at his own expense,” he retorts sourly.

Barbies raises an eyebrow as if waiting for him to continue, and when he doesn’t, she presses, “You’re being cagey. And it’s more than just worrying about losing control around Tim, I can tell.”

“Oh you can, can you?” he challenges.

“I’ve known you since you were still desperately trying to live up to Dick while pretending like you didn’t care. I know when you’re hiding something,” she folds her arms. “Believe it or not, Jason, you’re a terrible liar when it comes to things that matter.”

It’s reflex to want to say something caustic to that, but he stops himself in time. He needs Barbara’s help and pissing her off isn’t going to make his life any easier.

“I need a favor,” he admits after a beat.

“Another one?” she repeats, sounding like she doesn’t believe him. “You’re going to owe me a lot.”

“Yeah, well, now would be the time to collect on those debts while I still can.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means everyone else is tiptoein' around the subject, but at some point, I’m gonna need to be put under,” he says, erring on the side of just enough truth to keep her from questioning him further. “We both know what I’m talkin' about here.”

As expected, Barbara only just keeps herself from visibly recoiling; she’s already ready with an argument. “You don’t know we won’t find something before that happens.”

“I’m already feelin' like I’m livin' in someone else’s skin—” Literally, in a way. “—I’m not gonna get any better than I am right now. We’ve already seen what it looks like when I dip toward worse. So while I’m still lucid, let me make my decisions. And my decision is, I’d rather go under while I’m still me instead of violent, mindless…reaver.”

Barbara does a minor double-take. “Did you just make a Firefly reference?”

“It’s the last series I was watching before I died,” Jason says, a little defensive.

“I’m not judging, just surprised. Dick and Tim are usually the ones making pop-culture references to deflect. I’m not used to it from you.”

“And I’m not used to you stallin',” he counters. “You’re different from the other Bats, O. You know how to cut your losses, and you know how to make decisions when no one else wants to think about it. You get makin' the hard calls. So, I’m gonna ask you: when it comes down to a choice between me and Tim—and I mean when, not if—who do you save?”

Something like pain passes over her face, and then resolve hardens her face. “Tim.”

“Exactly,” he approves. “Because unlike me, he’s good. And smart.”

“You’re both of those things, even if you pretend like you’re not,” she protests.

“And he hasn’t committed multiple murders,” Jason continues, acting like he didn’t hear her. “Not that what I’ve done wasn’t justified. It wasn’t good, but I don’t regret it because I will go to my grave believin' sometimes that line needs to be crossed. Again. But it’s still a line Tim’s been lucky enough not to have to cross.”

She doesn’t argue with him, instead inclines her head.

“More people will miss him if he were gone then they would me,” Jason concludes. “I’m not supposed to be here anyway.”

There’s a long beat of measuring silence. Then, Barbara sighs. “What is it you need, Jason?”

He tilts his chin in gratitude.

“I didn’t just come here to yell at Eros,” he admits. “If Wonder Woman doesn’t show up, he’s the only one I know who has access to the stuff I need.”

“The Stygian Sleep.”

“Yeah. But it’s probably in GCPD lock-up.” He gives her a quick run-down of events, minus anything about Eros’ intentional plan to infect him. Babs listens, jaw set and eyes narrowed; given what she just said about him, she likely knows he’s not being completely truthful, but his explanation clearly holds enough water that she doesn’t call him on it.

“I’ll get someone to look into it,” she decides at last.

Which, even though he’s relieved about, he’s also suspicious.

“And by ‘look into’ you mean grab hold of and perform a million tests on it before handin' it over,” he posits.

“Just because you’re hellbent on using something that’s effectively going to kill you doesn’t mean I don’t want to know everything about it first,” she says, unapologetic. “Like the prophecy, it might have clues about how to circumvent it.”

“Yeah, because we’re having so much luck with that.”

“Also, when Bruce comes to me later in a righteous fury for letting his son die a second time, I’ll be able to assure him we knew everything we did about it before making an informed decision.”

Jason doesn’t pretend to believe that’s the end of it. Barbara might be willing to humor Jason a little more than Bruce, or even Dick when he’s not compromised—she might even be a little more objective in considering things, but she’s not going to trust Jason’s plan to be the only plan. She’ll have her own contingencies, the same as any Bat.

The only difference with Babs is that once it’s over and done with, and it becomes clear there’s no saving him, she’ll have an easier time getting over it than Bruce will. And she won’t let it compromise her work.

Tim’s told Jason what Bruce and Dick were like after he died the first time, and if it happens again, Gotham needs someone competent in keeping things in check.

And Tim…

Jason’s heart thuds with guilt.

This time, Tim won’t just be sweeping in to pick up the broken pieces of Batman and Nightwing as he did as a kid. He won’t be watching it from the sidelines.

The memory hits him then. To his surprise, it’s not from Achilleus or Alexandros.

Jason hates Wayne Charity galas.

People are always staring at him, murmuring through pasted-on smiles that even if he couldn’t read lips, he would be able to hear the judgment dripping from their words. These people are so achingly dry and genteel, their teeth don’t even unclench around their vowels.

Bruce doesn’t make him come to all that many of these shindigs, thankfully; only the ones involving children’s advocacy and the like. Jason doesn’t mind those too much, considering their purpose. He just hates that even at those—like the one tonight—he’s the only kid that has to parade around in the straitjacket Alfred calls a tux.

He gets it, of course; he’s the poster-boy, the success story, a means of showing the rich snobs how well a dirty Crime Alley orphan can clean up so that they’ll open their checkbooks.

It doesn’t mean he has to like it.

Except for tonight, for the first time, he noticed another kid that’s been dragged along. A tiny boy whose meticulously fitted tux still manages to look too big for him.

A man and woman who must be his parents are chatting with another couple, seemingly oblivious to the way their son is staring into the distance, a neutrally polite expression fixed on his face. He might as well be sleeping standing up, and Jason has the odd suspicion that’s by design.

That makes his mouth twitch; maybe rich kids get bored with this kind of thing too.

Jason keeps staring across the manor ballroom until the strange kid senses his gaze and looks up. He grins when the boy’s eyes widen—their color is startling, even from across the room, and they take up practically his whole face—and wonders at the sudden flood of color in his cheeks.

He’s about to motion the boy over to the edge of the reception area—hanging out with another kid, even a little one, will definitely break up the monotony of the evening—when Bruce’s hand falls hard on his shoulder.

“Time to make an exit, son,” he says, voice quiet and intense and incongruent with the false smile he’s still beaming at everyone within a ten-foot radius. From the distracted note in his words, Jason doesn’t even need to look out the window to see the signal lighting up the sky.

They meet Felipe Garzonas that night, and he doesn’t think of the boy again.

Jason shudders as the technicolor recollection fades out, his stomach twisting angrily.

He’s never made the connection between Tim and the boy at the fundraiser before. It occurs to him how stupid that was—at the same time it occurs to him that if not for that case that night, he might not have been on the outs with Bruce. He might have endured more Wayne event galas instead of limiting whatever time he was with Bruce to being Robin by night. He might have gotten to know Tim in this life, instead of dying.

He might not be in this damned predicament right now.

“Jason?”

He looks up, realizes that Barbie is watching him with concern. He is quick to revisit their conversation and mutters, “Yeah, fine. Just make sure the stuff actually makes it to me before my brain dribbles out of my head, okay?”

“Stop being so dramatic,” she replies, reaching out to turn off the scrambler device, though she continues to exude suspicion.

“All Bats are dramatic, or have you forgotten?” he quips back, offering an irreverent smirk to cover up.

“Hard to forget something you live with every day,” she returns dryly. “Now get over here and let me check you over.”

“You don’t need to,” he points out. “I’ve had worse than this, you know.”

“Yes, yes, we’re all aware you’ve died and come back, who hasn’t these days?” she returns. “Now, shirt off, or I’m telling Tim you didn’t do what you said you would.”

Jason glares. “This is going to become a thing, isn’t it? You people using Tim to make me do things.”

“Things that are for your own good, yes. Now strip, Todd.”

“Yes, mother…”

“You wish your mother was as cool as me.”

Which Jason can’t argue with, because she’s right; he’s had a total of three mother figures in his life (two of which he’s not sure even qualify because of how messed up they were), and none of them have been as capable or decent as Barbara Gordon.

Once he’s shrugged his top half out of the body armor and leather, she reaches for him.

Jason experiences a nauseous swoop in his stomach at the idea of anyone but Tim putting hands on him. Instantly, his hand snaps up and knocks hers back.

“Don’t touch me!” he snarls.

Barbara pulls away, watching him with a raised eyebrow and instantly Jason is overwhelmed with shame.

“Sorry,” he bites out. “I didn’t mean…”

“We can wait for Tim to get back,” she suggests, instantly understanding.

Alarms blare in his head at the thought; he shakes his head. “No. No, I’m…I’m good. Now that I’m expectin' it.”

She considers him several beats longer and then makes the next attempt to check his injuries. This time he concentrates on forcing the sick feeling away and tries to ignore how it feels like someone is rubbing sandpaper across his skin.

That’s a new symptom. Great. Because it wasn’t enough that I’ve been trying to claw my skin of myself, now other people get to do it too…

Barbara checks him over with quiet efficiency, evaluating the shallow slash between his arm and shoulder which his armor didn’t cover, as well the bruising along his hips, elbows and lower back.

“It could be worse,” she decides eventually, considering the mottled purpling across his chest. “Ribs are bruised, not broken.”

“I could've told you that…”

“And were you going to tell me about that?” she points at his shoulder and the spiderweb of gold leeching out around the long-healed-over bullet wound. From the way he’s been itching at it this past day, he doesn’t need a mirror to know it’s beginning to creep up his neck as well. “How long has it been growing like that?”

“Pretty much since I got it,” he replies.

She reaches up, brow furrowed and reaches toward one of the raised lines winding toward his chest. Again, he braces himself for the pain of the touch his body doesn’t want.

Thankfully, she barely grazes that. “You haven’t been keeping better track, have you? It might give us a more specific idea of how much time you have.”

“How so?”

“The same as any poison, I would guess. The closer it gets to your heart, the less time you have.”

He frowns. “At this point, I don’t think it even matters.”

Movement outside of the med bay window draws his attention, and he across the floor to see Tim climbing the stairs from the ground floor.

Jason is quick to grab his shirt and tug it on; it’s not something he wants to discuss with Tim just yet.

Barbara watches him, lips pursed in worry and disapproval, but he could care less about the latter. She knows his thoughts on this, and she’ll respect them.

Tim strides in and then slows like he’s wondering if he’s supposed to knock or not.

“How are you doing?” he asks, hesitant like he’s afraid expressing concern will set Jason off like a bomb.

Guilt hits him at that, but he forces himself to remain calm and blank-faced. “Fine.”

“I have to go,” Barbie announces, maneuvering her chair toward the door. “I need to go back to the Cave and check on Dick’s condition. I don’t know how long it will be before he tries to escape or pull something to keep from going nuts.”

“Also, it’d be nice if this month was one of the ones where Alfred doesn’t get knocked out,” Tim suggests with false levity.

“Or lose a hand,” Jason mutters darkly.

“Exactly. And whether he knows it or not, Feathers downstairs gave me some ideas about how to remove the arrow,” Barbie says as they leave the med bay.

“I should come with you.”

“No.” Both Barbara and Tim speak at the same time, but she’s the one that keeps talking. “You should stay here.”

“Not sure that’s the best idea.”

“I think it is,” Tim counters. “It will keep us out of everyone’s hair and they’ll know where we are.” His tone is reasonable—too reasonable; clearly Timmy has some ulterior motives.

Whether those motives are to circumvent Bruce or Jason’s plans, he doesn’t care. But one thing is for sure. “They can know where we are if we’re at the manor.”

And isn’t that a reversal—Jason being the one to insist on that?

I need to have people around because I don’t trust myself right now.

The mutinous expression is back on Tim’s face, before he visibly switches tactics.

“Okay, how about this,” he suggests, tone only a shade off exasperated. “Why don’t you go lie down somewhere and try to catch a few hours' sleep? If you’re sleeping, you’re not doing anything else, right? And then we’ll either go back to the Cave or see if anyone can be spared to chaperone here.”

“There’s no need for that,” a voice says, and they all look up to see Damian stride in still in full Robin-gear.

Tim scowls. “How did you get in here?”

“It was fairly simple,” the kid snorts. “A fish tank, Drake? Really?”

Tim looks like he wants to protest, but Jason chuckles. “It was kind of obvious, babybird.”

“You can barely take care of yourself, and you expect someone with a brain to believe you have the patience to care for fish?” the boy continues. “Exactly who do you think has been feeding them when you forget?”

Tim gapes. “You…break into my apartment…to feed my fish?”

Jason can’t help the loud guffaw that escapes at that, earning two equally unimpressed glares in return. He doesn’t care—that might be the funniest thing he’s heard in days.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Barbara says and wheels out of the room. “Try not to kill each other, boys. Alfred would be unhappy about it.”

“Luckily, we are standing in a well-stocked room with several methods for resuscitating a dead body,” Damian replies easily.

“Don’t you have school?” Tim grumbles.

“It’s Sunday, Drake.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“I have been sent to babysit you two and put Todd down with extreme prejudice should he try anything.

Which Tim gapes and, while Jason is…kind of relieved about.

“Aw, Dami, I knew you cared,” he teases.

“Don’t address me with that infantile drivel!”

Tim sighs.

“Just don’t set anything on fire while you’re here…”

⁂⁂⁂

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patsdrabbles · 4 years

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I Spy a Spy Spider

Title: I Spy a Spy Spider Fandom: M*A*S*H Pairing: Charles Winchester/Donna Marie Parker Rating: Gen Word Count: 1755 Summary: Nothing helped more in a dire situation than having the support of a beloved co-worker after all. Zoo AU; they’re dating and Flagg is being his usual insufferable self. ❤ A/N: Part 18 of my Daily Fanfic Chocolates calendar :D This is a fic that I wrote for a prompt sent to me by my dear friend @onekisstotakewithme a while ago- “Did you just propose to me?” ^^ Please enjoy ❤

(links to AO3 and the DFC masterpost are in the reblogs!)

There was a spider in her lab.

In and for itself, that wouldn’t have been much of a problem. She was used to spiders, almost something sort of friend with them, seeing how so many lived next door to her. She wasn’t afraid of most of them either.

But this was a big one – a familiar one.

“Chuuuuuck!”

Nothing helped more in a dire situation than having the support of a beloved co-worker after all.

He came running through her lab’s door only moments later, safety glasses in his hand.

“What is it, Donna, dear?”

She just pointed at the wall and its recurring occupant quietly.

“Oh, hell no.”

Charles seldom swore, but they had been in this situation far too often by now for the two of them not to slowly but surely get annoyed by it.

“Is that one of Flagg’s spy spiders I spy?” He said it with a rise of the eyebrow and a critical glance at the spider in question.

Donna couldn’t help it, she snorted.

“Okay, that was awful but true, and you get a lab point for that.”

“Allow me to get another one and aah–” He was already standing on the tip of his toes, an empty big glass vessel from her workbench already in his hand.

“Come here, spidey spidey.”

Donna chuckled and watched as Charles stretched his arm out some more.

“Aaaaaaa–”

Both Charles and Donna gave a jump at the sudden shout.

“ –ha!”

They turned around in unison to stare at–

Flagg.

“I knew you weren’t actually supportive of my spiders! I betcha don’t approve of my plans for the new big terrarium either! But now I have proof–” He held up his phone. “And I will go to the zoo administration in the morning! What? Did you think you’d just get away with trying to hurt Amelia?”

Flagg marched toward the wall, pushing a baffled aside Charles as he did, and held out a gloved hand for the spider to climb on. To Donna and Charles’s surprise, the spider immediately started crawling toward him.

“There we go. Hello, my dear.” Flagg held up the spider at eye level to inspect it more closely. “You better be glad that she is unharmed, y’know?”

“What the hell, Flagg?” Donna just stared at him, however more angry than perplexed by now. “You let a poisonous spider escape that you blame us for wanting to catch- and bring back to you?”

“Now, listen here, Miss Parker–”

“No, Sam, you are going to take that spider and get it back to where it belongs. And then you’ll stop ‘accidentally’ letting them escape. God knows we’re busy enough as it is trying to work, but do you know what would happen if Amelia or one of her friends would have fallen into one of our chemical solutions, for example?” She stared at him firmly. “Do you want your spy spiders to dissolve? I don’t want that for them, Chuck doesn’t want that for them–” Charles nodded. “And I’m sure you don’t want that for them either.”

Flagg was silent. But just for a moment.

Then he pointed at Donna with his spider-free hand.

“This isn’t over yet, Miss Parker.”

Flagg turned around sharply to leave the room, when suddenly, Charles felt something on his leg.

“Oh good god.”

He said it so quietly that not only Donna looked into his direction immediately, but Flagg paused and turned around, as well.

A long brown snake, a jararaca, was currently making its way up his pants leg.

“Flagg, this has gone too far. Take it back. Now.”

But Flagg didn’t move.

“Do you want me to die at this animal’s whim?” Charles’s voice was starting to sound somewhat high-pitched. He wasn’t entirely sure how venomous the snake was, but he knew that it belonged to those that they were considering to be at least somewhat dangerous.

“Don’t move, Chuck!” Donna suddenly instructed him, coming toward him from the supply shelves at the side of the room. She wore thick protective gloves, a determined expression and quickly took hold of the jararaca.

Then she marched toward the door, quickly.

“Flagg, move!”

Flagg... moved?

“Door.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now let’s hurry to get this one back behind glass again, asap.”

Charles walked toward the door and stared after them, Donna giving Flagg short and sharp instructions on what to do to help get the animal back to its terrarium safely and quickly.

He remained standing in the doorframe for several minutes, trying to regain his composure. He wasn’t certain but perhaps he could have died, and all of that only because Flagg was hell-bent on ‘proving’ that everyone (and especially the lab team, for some reason) was against his plans for a new terrarium by documenting situations – that he had created himself – that allegedly showed them treating his animals badly.

Charles considered writing the man a letter and telling him that what he really needed for his plans to get approved was an actual financial plan, crucial but lacking in Flagg’s requests so far. Maybe then they’d finally get some peace in the lab once again. At least for a while.

Donna returned after a few minutes, shaking somewhat, and Charles took one glance at her before pulling her into a hug.

“It almost bit me when I put it back.”

Deadly or venomous or not – Charles considered going to Flagg right this instant and telling him off for today and all the other incidents over the course of the last few months. But Donna was still in his arms and had just rested her head against his chest. He could very badly leave her now. Weren’t he so concerned for her (and the rest of the team’s) workplace safety due to Flagg continuing to breach it, the thought of letting go would never even have occurred to him.

Donna started laughing shakily, making his attention return to the present situation.

“Chuck?” She looked up at him but didn’t let go of him as she kept talking. “You do realize that you owe me another dinner now? That should certainly count as the two lab points I was still missing.”

Charles just nodded softly and slowly ran a hand over her hair as she leaned her head back against his chest, shaking it lightly.

He would have asked her out on another date soon anyway, silly lab points or not. They had only been an excuse for the first time she had wanted to be able to ask him out on a date anyway.

He remained quiet as he looked at her with a fondness that had long been going beyond words already. Donna...

She was clever enough to take it up with anyone at the zoo, including Hawkeye when he was feeling extremely witty, tough and strong-minded enough to take it up even with the nuisance Flagg, a splendid conversation partner, including when they were discussing classics, and the unquestioned champion of the science section’s bi-weekly Friday evening trivia quiz game. Add to that her charming personality and endearing sense of humor and–

“Donna, please marry me.”

He had said it quietly, under his breath, but the moment the words escaped his mouth he knew that he meant it, wants this, from the bottom of his heart.

The next second, he began to lose his nerves. Donna let go of him and moved a step back, looking him into the eyes with an intensity that made him gulp nervously.

Had he really just proposed to her?

“Chuck, we’ve been on... what. Ten dates so far?” Her voice was soft, but...

Charles felt like he was mere seconds from running away. And two more seconds from realizing that it would be pointless, as they both knew the zoo better than their own lab coat pockets.

In the end, he let out a deep sigh and looked away for a moment, before moving to place his hands on her arms and dropping them again the next instant.

When their gazes met, he suddenly calmed down enough to tell her what he had been thinking about for weeks already. On the one hand, ten dates seemed like very little to him, as well, but they had known each other for five years already, worked together, gone on weekend trips together... He was sure she was the one for him. He took another steadying breath and smiled at her.

“What can I say?” He took hold of one of her hands. “I love you.”

If red lories were red, Donna’s cheeks turned redder after his confession.

She moved to hide her face behind her hands but Charles wouldn’t have any of it.

“Donna? Donna, dear, please – talk to me?”

When she moved her hands down again slowly, Charles saw that there were tears running down her cheeks. Charles stared at her in shock for a second. Had he just ruined the best thing he had in his life? How was he going to fix this? What–

“Charles, calm down.”

And Donna was laughing despite the tears that were still running down her face. “It’s alright.”

“Alright?” Charles kept staring at her, unsure of what to do next.

How was this alright? He had accidentally proposed to the woman he loved and she had started to cry and now she was laughing and–

“Charles!”

She suddenly closed the distance between them and held him tightly.

“Does it calm you if I tell you I’ll say ‘yes’ if you just give me a little more time?” She paused when she noticed that he had stopped breathing. “I’m not going to say ‘no’, alright? I just need a little more time. But I’d... I’d love to marry you, Charles.”

She looked up and smiled at him, bright as the sun that he secretly liked to compare her to.

“Oh.”

She chuckled quietly and stood on her tippy toes to kiss him gently on the nose.

“I love you, Charles.”

And, realizing his unfounded worries, he simply knew that she wouldn’t say ‘no’, no matter when he would ask her again.

He put his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers.

“And I love you. Donna.” His voice was nearly inaudible, he said her name so softly.

Then, he smiled at her, almost grinning.

“Our future grandchildren won’t hear that spiders and snakes were involved in this proposal.”

Donna just grinned back at him and couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“Oh, they absolutely will.”

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buhl20lindahl-blog · 5 years

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New Crowdfunding Hub For Diabetes Fundraising.

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galfridus1 · 5 years

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Happy Birthday Hexxe!!

Happy Birthday @penumbrcge! It has been so great getting to know and work with you for the past few months. You’re a wonderful person and a truly talented writer. I’m so happy to be able to call you a friend.

@thestarrynightgazer and I collaborated on a present, set in the universe you created in Glitter & Gold (and I am so glad you liked the fic). Kat did this amazing art.

Hope you have an amazing day! This is called Home - thanks for the title Kat!

It is grey: cloudy, drizzly and dank, the day so drab and devoid of sunlight that not even the bright reds and golds of autumn can cheer it up. With a sigh, Moth moves away from the window of the comfortable room she knows she has become too attached to. It is her sanctuary, her place of calm, and she feels her disappointment keenly as her eyes alight on the blobs of blue tac fixed to the wall, the half-empty bookcase and the flimsy, paper calendar sitting on top of the desk, today’s date circled in a warning of red.

She should be glad, excited, thrilled now that she is finally, officially an actual teenager. Most of her peers would no doubt celebrate their thirteenth birthdays in style, with sleepovers, trips to the cinema, maybe even a theme park. But then they had parents, she reminds herself as she accidentally catches sight of her reflection ghosting the window pane and quickly turns away. The plastic bag she is holding rustles with the movement and she resumes her task, her heart sinking as she moves to the wardrobe, pulling clothes from their hangers and stuffing them away in handfuls. She knows she should fold them carefully, that this will make more space, but she just cannot make herself do it.

And pack up she must, for it is not only her thirteenth birthday, it is also eighteen months to the day since she first came to live with Derieri and Monspeet. The kindly foster parents had taken her in, giving her space, leaving her alone, seeming not to mind her sullen, lacklustre replies to any question they put to her. After several weeks she had felt comfortable enough to join Derieri on the couch, the woman quickly changing whatever she had been watching on Netflix with a guilty look. They had spent the rest of the evening plonked in front of the TV, her foster mother making snide remarks about the endless Disney movies they mainlined, her snark enough to bring Moth to giggles.

And now, once more, it is time for the dreaded plastic bags. Every time she changes home, Moth stuffs her possessions into black bin liners, so that now she is an expert in the art. She has learned how to balance the load so the flimsy material does not stretch and snap, how to wrap her books in blankets so their sharp corners do not pierce the sides. This is what she now does, retrieving a jacket which has fallen to the floor and carefully placing it around the few volumes she has not yet stowed away.

As she finishes her task she straightens up, feeling the muscles in her back protest slightly, wondering what she will find when she starts her next placement. It will be her fifth since her parents died, and she flushes slightly, irritation ticking under her skin. How can she not be aware that, on average, children only stay in foster care for three years, and that the longer she remains in it the less likely she will leave? No adoption, no permanency, she will just age out of the system trudging her plastic bags from one house to another.

The memory of her face in the window causes her to grit her teeth. She has no mirror in her room, hating the sight of her own reflection, but she does not need one to see the dark hair which frames her pale face, her smoke grey eyes and thin lips. Perhaps if she looked more sunny, more playful, more girly then she would not now be packing away her worldly possessions, but she point blank refuses to test the hypothesis. She is Moth: she will go through life as her own person, and will not change for anyone.

But her resolution does not make the process easier. With a sigh, she grabs the three bags in her fists and starts to haul them all downstairs, feet tromping as she makes her way to the lounge. The house is eerily quiet and it is then she realises that the television is off, which catches her by surprise. Even when no one is watching it, it is generally left on as background noise.

It is with even more surprise that she hears an unfamiliar voice floating into the room from the kitchen. “I am so pleased to be able to give you this news. Sorry it has taken so long.”

“No problem.” Monspeet sounds suave, calm, his deep voice soothing. “We understand that you have to be careful.”

“I hate it honestly, particularly when have to do it to foster parents who are already looking after the child. But, rules are rules,” the voice continues more cheerfully. “And you passed all the checks. The court hearing is scheduled for next week, but it’s merely a formality at this point.”

“It’s not! She might not want it you… she might not want it,” Derieri mutters and, despite her growing curiosity Moth fights to suppress a giggle. It always is fun listening to her foster parent try not to swear.

“We haven’t mentioned anything to her yet,” Monspeet explains, “in case it fell through. But we’ll talk to her tonight. Thanks very much for coming to tell us in person.”

“No problem!” There is the scraping of chairs as they are pushed back from the table and the chink of china as cups are collected. Moments later, Monspeet emerges from the kitchen ushering before him a young lady Moth has never set eyes on before, an official-looking lanyard swinging round her neck. Instinctively she shrinks back against the wall, but Monspeet smiles at her reassuringly as he sees the woman out.

As the door clicks shut Derieri yells, “What an ass! I oughta…”

“Hello Moth,” Monspeet calls rather loudly, Derieri falling silent in an instant. Before long, the blonde emerges from the kitchen, and Moth has to bite her lip not to bark out a laugh. Derieri is wearing a very smart jacket and skirt, the edges of a frilly blouse poking out from the cuffs, the outfit making her look older than usual and closer to her actual age. The sight is so incongruous that Moth cannot help but stare, a smirk catching the corner of the other’s mouth in response.

“We’ve got some things to discuss with you,” Monspeet declares and Derieri grabs her hand, leading her to the couch. The cushions give as they all sit down, and she registers the warmth of Derieri’s hand as it stays round her own.

Monspeet pauses, his lips pressed together as he stares into the distance. Moth waits, taking short short, shallow breaths, heart thrumming in her chest until finally the man says, “That was someone from the child protection service.” And at once she is angry, eyes burning in her head as she works hard to maintain her composure. Derieri must have noticed the way her whole body goes rigid, and the hand holding hers squeezes her tight.

“S’nothing to worry about,” Derieri says flatly, “she came to tell us we’ve been approved for adoption. So how’s about it?” she adds without ceremony, though Moth can hear a slight tremor to her voice. “You want to stay here? With us?”

“We did not want to tell you until we were sure it would be allowed,” Monspeet continues into the ringing silence and Moth wonders when she has ever heard him talk so much. “You don’t have to say yes of course, but… think about it would you? We’re very fond of you, and we’d love you to make your home here with us.”

Moth stares at him, her eyes flicking to the woman at her side and then back again. Her throat burns uncomfortably as tears pool in her eyes, and she swallows hard, saliva pushing painfully past the lump in her throat. She struggles for words, but her larynx has shut down, so she flings her arms around Monspeet’s neck, hugging him fiercely before doing the same to Derieri.

How much time passes she does not know, but when she breaks apart she sees Monspeet standing over her, black bin liners in hand. “I’ll take these back upstairs, shall I?” he asks, head cocked slightly to one side, moving away as Moth gives a grateful nod. “And we’ll buy you a suitcase,” he adds acerbically as he wrinkles his nose. “Never understood why they don’t give those to children in care.”

“Wait!” Moth calls as he starts to move away. He stops and she springs to her feet and darting towards him, rummaging around in the fullest of the bags. “Here,” she says shyly as she pulls out a carefully wrapped parcel, dark grey ribbon tied around it in a neat bow, thrusting it into his hands. “It was a leaving present…” Without needing to be asked, Derieri is at her side and wraps an arm round her shoulder.

Eyebrows raised, Monspeet begins to unwrap the gift, taking care to remove the sellotape in a way that does not damage the paper as Derieri clicks her tongue impatiently. He removes the box, opening the lid and pulling out an apron. His mouth twists in a smile as he unfolds the cloth to see the words Kick The Cook written on in permanent marker.

“I’d best go make use of this. We’ve got a birthday to celebrate,” he murmurs as he ruffles Moth’s hair before tying the garment around his waist. A rustling sounds and Moth turns to see Derieri now holding the bags.

“Come on, I’ll help you unpack,” she huffs and, without waiting for an answer, she heads up the stairs, Moth grinning from ear to ear as she follows behind.

#nnt #moth #derieri #monspeet #monderi #fanfiction #art by thestarrynightgazer #HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEXXE!!#have a wonderful day!

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sunsetjesuss · 5 years

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como estudar para o enem

7 worthwhile tips to spend on Enem

Enem is considered the most expected exam with the 12 months for tens of millions of scholars who would like to enter higher training. Using the test rating it is possible to get yourself a spot in community universities, scholarships in non-public colleges as well as college student financing at reduced desire premiums. To accomplish an excellent score you must devote much time for you to studying. In addition, it is crucial to know the way to control exam time and reply issues swiftly.

one. Simulate and command check time 1 with the insider secrets to executing very well at Enem is to coach hard. The checks are certainly comprehensive as well as the contributors have only some hours to reply them. On normal you can have a few minutes to solve every single query and about one hour to arrange the essay and also to move your textual content clean to the corresponding sheet. Quite simply, together with studying the contents a lot, it is important that you know how to control the check time so you don't run the risk of leaving blank thoughts or kicking responses. Carrying out simulated aids lots. You may take advantage of the ones that are organized by colleges and programs, resolve some online as well as down load the prior Enem tests about the Inep web-site. It is a great way to get acquainted using the form of problem you are obtaining over the Exam. Soon after solving the simulation, look at the template and critique the issues you missed. It truly is significant to establish which information requires much more focus.

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two. Observe composing It's essential to train not merely for that goal checks, but also to the composing. The simplest way to try this is by writing a good deal. Practice the required model during the Enem using the themes that have by now appeared within the Examination. Keep in mind that your essay have to respect human rights which you require to defend a point of perspective, and existing a proposal of social intervention with the trouble dealt with. Within the commencing, take the time it will require to generally be equipped to argue and discuss the proposed concept. With apply, make an effort to framework your textual content additional promptly (remembering you'll need about an hour or so to write your essay and cleanse it on check working day).

3. Relaxation to the eve of your race Take pleasure in each free time in the calendar year to pursue your studies. Around the eve in the Exam, look for relaxation and snooze early. The evidence on the Enem is considerable and fairly exhaustive. Hence, it truly is crucial that you're calm, focused and sleepy!

four. Define a review routine Just as crucial as researching, is usually to generate a plan that actually works nicely to suit your needs. The main step is usually to strategy the number of several hours a day you may need to face the guides. Answer the inquiries beneath and start building your plan, even when you happen to be presently shut into the tests (just before later on than under no circumstances!): The quantity of hrs per week do you need to devote to retaining up with every one of the content you have not yet analyzed? What topics do you possess the most issues with? The quantity of several hours each day do you want to "cool your head"? What other routines do you need to reconcile? Job? University? Cursillo? When you finally set the routine, seek to stick to it for the letter on a daily basis, with no excuses. It may well sound irritating, but finding out for authentic may be the only approach to get paid a very good grade in Enem. Bear in mind the university is not gonna be easy both, so this plan now performs for a coaching for that in close proximity to foreseeable future.

5. News Becoming up to date could be the least you'll want to assume from the one that intends to go the ENEM, so retain an eye fixed on anything that may be occurring especially in Brasilia, the remainder of the entire world and various news that have great countrywide repercussion. Unfortunately, lots of individuals even now sin in this article.

6. Really know what to do on check days As crucial as acquiring analyzed extremely effectively the content with the Enem is figuring out the way to act on days of evidence. Here are some tips: Once the position of proof is launched, print out your affirmation card and visit the area wherever you will do the Enem. Utilize the same method of transportation that you're going to use inside the day and estimate an additional time, as website traffic is going to be much more complex. Inside the days before the check, feed properly and get more than enough snooze. About the day on the race, depart early for getting into the spot easily. The gates open up at noon (Brasília time). Go within and head over to your living room. The gates close promptly at one pm (Brasília time) as well as the Enem corporation does not tolerate a next of hold off! Keep in mind to deliver your original photograph ID, in superior situation and within validity, and black ink ballpoint pen produced of clear content (this is the only real content allowed to solve the check concerns). If you want, chances are you'll enter the space with beverages and light-weight food items to eat in the course of the Assessment.

seven. KNOW THE Classes ON-LINE Common cus- toms are frequently very high-priced and much in the home of the majority of people. A good alternate to that is to go with the web solutions, such as Kuadro.

Do not squander time and find out more: como estudar para o enem

With it, you help save on tickets, in tuition - the value is far decreased - and you also can manage in the way that you fully realize your time. The standard of training also leaves very little for being desired. In case you continue to choose to go the Enem by studying on your own, understand that it's not necessarily not possible. As an example, amongst all all those approved on all Fuvest phone calls in 2016, 42.1% did not go to virtually any coaching.

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jeanetteearley-blog · 6 years

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Practical Rule.

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Sadly many seem making oversights when making use of body language and non-verbal signs to the magnitude that their attempt in reading actually lessens the premium from the interaction. Your employer as well as your affiliates are actually particular to be ticked off if you seem to be to certainly not care that you slipped up. Yet I have actually discovered how to observe change as a chance, as well as discovered how to adore my oversights because of the incredibly rich sessions I gained from all of them. When opening their very own business is to somehow forget to put aside a certain budget for advertising and marketing, the 1st blunder business make. Actually, life's ideal lessons are usually know at the most awful opportunities and coming from the most awful errors. This insurance policy is actually made to safeguard professionals as well as his employees from lawsuit coming from injury, carelessness or property harm. My Huge Fat Greek Wedding event is actually merely one of the greatest movies ever before made about shut households and also their heritages. In addition, the offender's reliance on any of these resources must have been reasonable, similar to blunder of truth. The 3rd popular car repair oversight car managers make is certainly not being on call for dialogue along with the auto mechanics regarding the repair work method. Poor choices or flawed methods may often bring about oversights, but that does not indicate that every poor result is actually a blunder. Rather than splashing around on the blunder you've made, pay attention to just what you may do to deal with the problem. This is actually all important and should be meticulously thought about when making a training course exclusively produced you, and also as your physical body and also bodily problem improvements therefore must your plan. The trouble along with condemning other people for our mistake is actually that we will suffer the pain and also repercussions from our blunder, but will not profit from that, and so bingo! Discussing in a non-defensive way what brought about the mistake could aid individuals better recognize why that took place and also how you can avoid that down the road. Mistake # 4)) No Dating Funnel: A male stalks a girl, customers a brilliant opener, acquire's her telephone number, phones her a couple times eventually, he establishes a very first time and after that they walk out. See that you do not provide an excessive outcome for an oversight that was offered beneficial initiative. While Katie felt like she had created an enormous blunder, she profited from it. Her calendar of deadlines currently likewise features unformulated" ones as well as conferences along with the challenging times released by funders. There is actually certainly not a ton of factor telling your employer that an error was actually made without recognizing just how or even why that happened. Therefore allow me give you a review from the 10 very most popular oversights I view guys creating when they initially move toward a woman - as well as this isn't just trainees - this applies to frequent men I note when I go out. If your blunder has triggered somebody to lose trust in you, move toward the individual and also deliver a truthful apology. The Hynix court discusses the variation in between an oversight of regulation ... where the facts are actually known but the lawful effects are not, or are actually felt to be different compared to they truly are ...," Century Importers, Inc Some of one of the most popular credit report mistake is actually co-signing on a loan for family and friends participants that do not spend there certainly expenses. They informed the news website that the precise procedure for handling such a mistake was unknown since such errors had actually never been actually made in the Oscars' 88-year history. Do not trump on your own up. Go back to the first step where you evaluate the oversight. That is actually why most contestants (and dieters) find yourself acquiring back their authentic body weight As our team've said prior to: physical fitness is actually a skill-set So as to really grow, you'll must drop the word error from your vocabulary so that you may completely transform internally. To see more about yellow pages ni (click through the following website) take a look at the web page. The first common error folks create when that takes on highly effective communication is actually that they are actually certainly not knowledgeable about their physical body voice, intonation or language fluctuation. Below are actually 7 common mistakes that gets a degree make in their resume and should prevent this. That doesn t mean you need to entirely reinvent the tire but you undoubtedly need to share an information that you use something that none from your competitions carry out. Consider delivering in an organisation professional that specializes in assisting providers create an one-of-a-kind identity in their sector if you re puzzled for concepts. At times customers will try to stay away from utilizing a REALTOR (R) under the misconception that they are going to save money through embodying on their own in a purchase transaction. However, many house owners make a series of oversights when this comes to buying and also mounting this kind of windows and also several of these errors are actually also below. This will alert the health center or even surgical treatment to the act concerned and also they are going to be able to ensure that the exact same blunders to certainly not occur once again. They tried it, knew just what will make this far better the following opportunity, created the renovations and maintained practicing. Syntactic oversights provide a really negative impact and it does certainly not matter if you are coming from a technical background or otherwise. Upcoming opportunity you experience that you've miscalculated, merely smile as well as be happy that you simply created a big down payment in to you experience profile. This is far easier in a learning culture in comparison to in a performance-focused society, through which oversights are often viewed more harshly. Lots of people bring in the oversight from not safeguarding the pre-approved finances before searching for houses. Anybody that has ever before possessed the guts to head out in to the planet and perform something recognizes there are actually merely pair of kinds of blunders: ones our experts may bounce back from and ones our experts can certainly not recover off. To find the best solutions to mistakes when putting up marble floor ceramic tiles mentioned within this short article, you can possibly do therefore here. And without fail, ONE HUNDRED% of the moment, I made the examination costs back in renegotiations with the resident. This is actually constantly sensible to find out and also remedy the mistakes right before the last represent the year are made.

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barttom566890-blog · 6 years

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For Much better Physical fitness Success, Quit Making use of The Word "Mistake".

OK, you produced oversights, how to receive your ex lover back in 4 actions is actually mosting likely to help with the condition you deal with currently after the separate. It is actually typical certainly not really recognize that you are heavily crazy with your ex-spouse until your ex-boyfriend has actually left the partnership unexpectedly. The right method to an error is actually to recognize that, improve this, and also gain from this. Errors must not be made use of as a reference point that are going to consistently remind you of just how traits can easily fail. Producing a. error could injure you for time, yet you have reached move beyond that and gain from these oversights, thus you may avoid them down the road. Cops sergeant Merryll Manning gones on vacation on an island in the Fla Keys for a Murder Mystery weekend. Also, the mistake must be one that will seem sensible to a judge or court. That is actually why most participants (and dieters) find yourself acquiring back their authentic weight As our company've stated prior to: health and fitness is actually an ability To really progress, you'll need to go down words error from your vocabulary so that you can easily enhance internally. The very first usual blunder folks make when that reaps highly effective communication is actually that they are actually not knowledgeable about their physical body foreign language, intonation or even vocal change. Here are actually seven usual errors that earns a degree make in their resume and also must prevent it. There is a principle that a body or even individual can easily certainly not be made much more responsible simply through remaining in the info chain as well as reaching information enjoyed good faith in the view that it was true, or at the very least without know-how from the chance of falsity or miscalculation. If you have any thoughts concerning the place and how to use yellow pages advert 1992 - prev,, you can get hold of us at our website. And also I again express assurance in them that they possess it within all of them to steer clear of creating that oversight once again. One more approach of securing this ability is actually to discover a number of the fundamental strategies and stay clear of the best popular errors. Error refers to an inappropriate action, belief, or even opinion; this could likewise propose an improper understanding, belief, or even analysis: a blunder in calculation; This was an oversight to trust all of them. Error 1: Not featuring stamina training in your exercise - All frequently, people gravitate toward cardio type exercise including strolling, jogging, biking etc and also shun toughness instruction. When the people to a deal are both wrong regarding the same information fact within their contract, a shared error occurs. Anybody which has ever possessed the tenacity to walk out right into the world as well as carry out something knows there are actually only pair of type of mistakes: ones our experts may bounce back from as well as ones we could certainly not recoup from. To discover the most effective solutions to errors when putting up marble flooring tiles discussed in this short article, you may do so listed below. And without fail, ONE HUNDRED% from the moment, I made the inspection costs back in renegotiations with the individual. That is consistently prudent to determine as well as fix the inaccuracies right before the final accounts for the year are actually made. To profit from a mistake, our experts initially must 'possess this, as well as this is actually where lots of people can easily come reversed, considering that they commonly blame somebody else for their error. Steady nagging is not going to get that performed any earlier if you have actually made that crystal clear what you prefer and also exactly what requires to be actually carried out. This is actually crucial to presume concerning why that oversight occurred as well as know exactly how to stay clear of creating it again when oversights perform take place. While it may be appealing to just attempt and also copy an effective rival, doing this is a huge mistake. Each Gergen and Schoemaker stress that numerous employers try to find folks which made oversights as well as happened out in advance. Know-how being actually to become had only of certain and obvious truth, inaccuracy is actually certainly not a mistake of our expertise, however a mistake of our opinion, offering assent to that which is not true. Every fantastic error possesses a halfway instant, a flash when that could be remembered and also possibly remedied. Following time you feel that you've made a mistake, simply smile and also be happy that you only made a large deposit in to you experience account. This is much much easier in a knowing culture in comparison to in a performance-focused society, where errors are typically looked at extra roughly. Lots of folks make the mistake from certainly not protecting the pre-approved loans prior to searching for residences. Always keep providing your kids with discovering knowledges, yet at the same time construct their setting so they can not help make a lot of blunders (having expensive glass wares around your home where youngsters might damage this is actually certainly not their mistake). For even more wisdom, make certain to see Funny Quotes About Lifestyle There we discuss a few of the funnier factors people have actually said about life, relationship, as well as loved ones. Aesthetic performers profiles is really a popular theme within the movie earth. While Katie believed that she had actually made a substantial mistake, she profited from this. Her calendar from target dates currently also features unformulated" ones as well as appointments aside from the tough days provided by funders. There is actually not a considerable amount of factor telling your manager that a blunder was made without recognizing how or even why it occurred. When determining if they may, a huge oversight initial opportunity customers create is actually centering on the monthly residence repayment amount afford a certain property. Seek the weak locations in your lifestyle such as restricting views that induce you to earn oversights and after that aim to alter these limiting opinions, actions, and also habits. Keep in mind that mistakes are actually not signs of weak spot or clumsiness; recouping off all of them demonstrates durability and determination. This is actually intriguing that any type of tendency to judge or even condemn other individuals stems from our personal need to become mistake-free, our very own concern from errors. Then you will certainly not view mistakes on your account that can be actually costing you a lot from funds, if you do not look at your statements appropriately. BLUNDER 7: Having actually obsoleted information- Developing a really good web site is actually certainly not completion from duty, when that relates to search engine marketing. Getting points that colleagues possess is actually yet another usual mistake brought in by people who are aiming to enrich their appearance, especially their professionalism and trust at the office. To determine our own selves for our blunders is actually to create yet one more mistake, accordinged to the initial, and then bolster this. It is this self-condemning process which should be deposited in order that our team can easily obtain the best take advantage of our every error. OVERSIGHT 8: Making use of Black Hat Search Engine Optimisation Techniques- Improving your online search engine marketing through methods and unprofessional strategies would certainly not assist you for long. Unilateral oversight (where one event is actually mistaken and the other understands or even must have understood from the mistake). Error describes an incorrect activity, idea, or judgment; that might also recommend an incorrect understanding, belief, or even interpretation: a blunder in math; It was an error to reputable all of them. Oversight 1: Not featuring stamina instruction in your workout session - All too often, people incline cardio type physical exercise like walking, running, biking etc and also keep away from toughness training. A mutual mistake happens when the groups to a deal are actually each wrong concerning the exact same content reality within their deal. Classifying your own self as a person who's consistently making mistakes wrecks havoc on a person's self-confidence. By learning exactly what these blunders are, you could quickly put all of them behind you and also get along monitor to observing much better results. Youngsters which are actually honest and experience okay about correcting a mistake seldom blame others.

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minnievirizarry · 6 years

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How to Get Things Done With a Remote Team (Do Better)

Steve Jobs is famous for the quote “Real artists ship.”

He was referring to the fact that everyone has ideas, but real artists deliver on them or ship them, as he put it.

According to the folklore at Apple, this was a favorite saying meaning you have to have the guts to actually deliver when it's time to deliver.

While we haven’t yet defined a set of core values at NinjaOutreach, if I had to start with something, this would probably be near the top of my list.

What I’d like to do is explain first, why, fundamentally I believe we have an uphill battle with “shipping” and what we can do to change that.

First, Why Does Shipping Matter?

While it may seem obvious as to why shipping matters, I think it’s worth reiterating.

There’s too much credit given to things being 50% done, or 99% done.

In fact, I really think ‘Done’ and percentages between 0 and 100 should never be allowed to be together; like raisins and cookies - fine on their own, but terrible when combined.

Done is binary - it’s a 1 or a 0 - something is Done or it’s Not Done, and nothing in between ever matters.

Users don’t benefit from a feature that’s half done.

The business doesn’t benefit from an asset or a redesign that’s 99% done.

Employees do not get credit for almost completing a lot of tasks.

Therefore, we must start prioritizing done over everything else.

We must starting thinking that it’s better to finish something that is low priority, but near completion, than to switch gears to start a higher priority issue from scratch, only to the switch back later to finish the original thing, and delay the finish date of all tasks.

So, How Do Things Get Done?

Have you ever thought about how things actually get done?

Consider a project that, in total, should take around 8 hours to complete.

Theoretically, it could be finished in the following ways:

1 Individual works 8 hours in one day and ships it at the end - Time to complete: 8 hours

1 Individual works 1 hour per day for 8 days Time to complete: ~168 hours (7 days * 24 hours)

The difference in the two scenarios is 160 hours - think about what can happen in that time?

In our business about 100 people sign up a week.

If this was an onboarding feature, or a welcome video, that’s 100 people that could have been impacted - but weren’t!

This scenario, by the way, is sort of the best case scenario, as it only involves one person fully in control of their time.

Imagine what happens when another person in a different time zone is thrown into the mix, as is usually the case for anything of significant value.

For example, consider a hypothetical product feature that is going to take the following amount of time:

16 hours of development

1 hour of bug review

2 hours of bug fixing

.5 hours of a final review

Let’s assume 8 hours days, which in and of itself, is a bit of a stretch. In an ideal world, if a developer worked two full uninterrupted days, the feature was reviewed immediately, and then the following day the bugs were fixed, combined with a final review, this feature would take about 2.5 days to launch.

But here’s the thing:

Uninterrupted days rarely happen

Bug fixing and reviews are rarely immediate

People in different time zones rarely match up coincidentally

Weekends happen

Work, spread over a long period of time, takes longer as you naturally have to catch yourself back up

As a result, what typically happens is something like this:

Day 1 - Developer works on the feature for 3 hours

Day 2 - Developer works on the feature for 6 hours

Day 3 - Developer works on the feature for 1 hour

Day 4 - Weekend

Day 5 - Weekend

Day 6 - Developer works on the feature for 6 hours

Day 7 - Developer works on the feature for 2 hours extra to account for the fact that working on a feature for over a week requires additional time to think, remember, get in the zone, etc

Day 8 - Reviewer is busy with other project so no review gets done this day

Day 9 - Review takes place, bugs are listed

Day 10 - Developer fixes bugs

Day 11 - Weekend

Day 12 - Weekend

Day 13 - Final review takes place and feature is launched (maybe)

The result is something that resembles closer to two weeks as opposed to two days.

Mind you, this could easily extend even further, if for example, the product development cycle decides to change launches to being only once a week (something we are planning on doing), which would extend this another 5-7 days.

If you think this is only an issue related to product development - think again. This scenario could easily exist between two marketers, a marketer and a designer, a marketer and an external client / contractor, etc.

Now imagine how it might look with 3 or more people involved...I think you get the idea.

The difference between 13 days and 2.5 days is what I call ‘space’ and it’s virtually the enemy of businesses in general.

Our goal is the minimize it at all costs, because despite the fact that all people are working and making progress on some tasks during this time period, the end result is that typically the most important / high value tasks (which often involve multiple people and take the longest), are getting done the slowest.

Considering that the value of something is measured over its lifetime of being live - that’s a lot of lost value.

The Problem With Remote Team And Space

The paradoxical nature of business is that the more people get involved in a project, the slower it goes.

Overall, of course, the net output of things getting done is usually higher, but with diseconomies of scale.

That is to say, that doubling the people working rarely doubles the amount of things that get done - instead maybe it’s something like 1.3x.

It’s no wonder why I feel that we as a company are operating at the slowest pace we’ve ever been.

Startups, in theory, are supposed to be agile and to get things done much quicker than large bureaucracies like Microsoft.

This is because there are less hurdles that are needed to get something approved, implemented, etc.

The exception to this are remote startups - which operate notoriously slowly. Here’s why:

Different time zones make it difficult for everyone to meet. A meeting that could happen today, instead, has to be planned out several days in advance. Sometimes, people can’t even sync up to plan to sync up!

Instead of hopping on a call, peoples’ default is to leave chats to each other, or notes on a Trello card. This is useful when the person is not around, but often ends up creating a game of “phone tag”, in which basically notes are left to each other over and over.

Consider just a few things that are still unfinished at NinjaOutreach:

The eBook task, which was started in December

The redesign of the services pages, which was started in January.

The influencer marketing place, which was started in March

Implementation of the new onboarding flow, which probably should have taken 3-4 days and is now on week 3.

To name but a few of the many tasks in our Trello board that are overdue or have had to have their dates changed so as not to look so behind.

But really, just about every task has some sort of unnecessary space in it - which to some extent is normal and to be expected, but I think we can do much better.

How To Get Things Done Faster

So, what’s the solution?

Well, here’s a few things you can and should do to quicken the pace at which things get done.

Act Immediately

The best thing you can do is always to act immediately.

If we just discussed a task, or we just finished a meeting, and the next steps are clear and they involve someone else, then immediately act on reaching out to them, setting up a time, or getting an understanding of their current bandwidth / schedule.

Don’t wait!

Schedule Meetings As Often As Needed And In Advance

Be quick to schedule meetings. Remember, you don't need someone’s permission to schedule a meeting with them.

The extra communication to confirm a good time just creates unnecessary space.

If you can’t get ahold of someone via chat then just send them a calendar invite for a time that is convenient for you and appears reasonable for them given their time zone (keep it 9-5), chances are they can be flexible enough that, with advanced notice, they can make it happen.

Additionally, you can follow up in chat to let them know about the invitation and throw out some optional times they can reschedule to in case it doesn’t work.

Then schedule meetings with Mark and I to discuss progress on a particular task, which will hold you accountable to getting things done in a timely manner and hold the other person accountable on delivering.

The key to effective meetings are to

Keep them short

Only involve the necessary people

Have a clear agenda

If you do those three things, have meetings as much as you need.

Think Ahead

Let’s say you know you’re going to have a meeting with myself or Mark and that a decision will likely come out of that.

Instead of waiting for that decision to happen and then saying,

“OK, now what?”

Think about whether or not you can schedule the next step beforehand.

For example, even if you don’t know what the decision will be, you might already know who it will involve, which is enough to get you started and scheduling that meeting in advance.

Hassle People

Look, internally I understand that no one wants to be “that guy” - the guy who is always bothering people asking when something is going to be finished, etc.

Although, I think just about everyone could stand to be a little more of a “that guy” than they are currently being.

Regardless, for the few people that often go outside of the internal team aka to work with Hau, or something related to business development, or a freelance designer or writer - then it is not just OK, but encouraged to be “that guy”, because ultimately it is your responsibility to get things done and make sure your work is prioritized by everyone who is involved.

That guy might be annoying, but he gets shit done.

Launch Smaller

Getting large projects done is hard because they’re large - but what if they were smaller?

While it might not be possible to ship an incomplete ebook, there are certain tasks, particularly with product development, that can be shipped in parts.

Think of things in terms of the MVP - Minimum Viable Product, aka the smallest, acceptable form in which something could reasonably be shown to the end user or partner.

Use Your Calendar Wisely

Remember the example I gave about the 8 hour task that could be done in 1 day or 8 days?

As best as you can, try to block off as much time as possible to complete tasks.

Think about tasks as being made up of miniature milestones, and for a task that involves multiple people a typical milestone is a handoff to someone else, such as a designer or a reviewer.

Therefore, if you need 4 hours to work on something to then be able to hand it off to someone else, block off those 4 hours on your calendar and then immediately hand it off to the next person.

Combine that with scheduling a meeting with them to set the expectation of when they should be handing it back to you.

For example, say:

Person A works on the service pages mockups for 4 hours, hands them off to Person B, and immediately schedules a meeting 2 days later to meet and discuss her designs.

Is much better than

Person A works on the services designs for an hour a day for four days, then hands them off to Person B.

Person A prioritizes them low, because no one has told her otherwise, and gets them done after 4 days of partial work combined with a weekend.

When she’s done, she leaves a chat message to Person B about having a meeting, and he comes online (when she isn’t) and leaves another chat message saying that these times work for him, after which she comes online (when he isn’t), and says that none of those work for her can he do this time, after which he comes online and says yes, and they meet.

So, Now What?

If you haven’t gathered - getting things done is really important.

It’s probably the thing we can work on the most and also the thing that will have the largest impact on getting the business from here to there in X time vs. 2x time.

So, take a hard look on what you’ve been “working on” for a long time, and think about what you can do to get that done asap.

How can you eliminate space in your workflow?

Remember, the year ends in a few more days - what do you want to be able to say you’ve accomplished?

The post How to Get Things Done With a Remote Team (Do Better) appeared first on NinjaOutreach.

from SM Tips By Minnie https://ninjaoutreach.com/remote-team-management/

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